Candlelight Classics to ring in holidays

TEMECULA – The holidays are traditionally the busiest time of year at the Old Town Temecula Community Theater. This year, the theater will kick off the season with Candlelight Classics when Sorrento Camerata performs at 3 p.m. on Sunday, Dec. 1 and Sunday, Dec. 8.

“Our holiday performances begin the day after Thanksgiving and continue right up to the eve of Christmas Eve,” said theater manager Bea Barnett. “You can hear festive holiday music, experience an inspiring Christmas musical, and let your imagination run wild with a traditional ballet.”

One of Barnett’s favorite events kicks off the holiday season each year. “In our very first season, we realized that The Merc was the perfect venue for a special celebration,” Barnett says. And so, each year the theater staff dresses up the century-old performance space in its holiday finery for a festive chamber music presentation.

While the performance is a tradition, the details vary from year to year. “We’ve had string quartets, and brass quintets. And some larger chamber ensembles, too,” said Dana Zimbric, artistic director and conductor of the California Chamber Orchestra. “For the last several years, we’ve partnered with our friends Sorrento Camerata for these performances. They’re a group of this region’s most accomplished string players, and they always put together a wonderful program.”

Several times, the concert has featured Antonio Vivaldi’s popular “Four Seasons” concertos for strings. “People love the Vivaldi,” Zimbric said. “But this year we wanted to feature something just as beautiful, but a bit different.”

That something different is the “Cuatro Estaciones Porteñas” by 20th Century Argentine composer Astor Piazzola. “The most common translation is ‘Four Seasons of Buenos Aires,’” said Zimbric. “So it connects back to what we’ve presented before. But this is tango, or at least Piazzola’s reimagination of the tango. It’s rich, lovely music, and it evokes each of the seasons in that part of the world.”

Fans of Vivaldi have nothing to fear, though. The concert will include his Concerto for Guitar and Strings in D, as well as a concerto for guitar and strings by Luigi Boccherini. “The concert offers a great combination of old and new,” Zimbric said. “I think we’re really going to evoke the festive nature of the holiday season.”

Tickets are $25, and include complimentary champagne and chocolates during intermission. Seating in The Merc is limited, and these performances typically sell out in advance. To purchase tickets, visit the ticket office in The Merc, 42051 Main St. in Old Town Temecula; call (866) OLD-TOWN; or visit

http://www.CalChamberOrchestra.org.