Gary Berkson-Conductor

Gary Berkson has been Resident Conductor of the Royal Swedish Ballet and Royal Swedish Opera for twelve years as well as Principal Conductor of the Gothenburg opera house "Stora Teatern" where he has also served as Artistic Advisor. Most recently he concluded ten years as Head of the Opera Division at the Royal Swedish Opera.

Berkson is a native of west Los Angeles. He began playing the piano at the age of four. After spending his first year in university studying theoretical mathematics, he switched to music and completed his undergraduate studies in three years. He was the first student at the Claremont Colleges to be awarded a Bachelor's degree in music with conducting (orchestral and vocal) as a major. After summer studies at the Aspen Music Festival in Colorado, he studied at the Juilliard School of Music in New York, receiving a Masters degree in conducting. While a student in New York, he was the music director for an orchestra in Brooklyn Heights.

Berkson is best known for his work as a conductor in the theatre, appearing with companies like the Dutch National Ballet, the Nederlands Dans Theater I & II, Hamburg Ballet, Norwegian National Ballet, Royal Swedish Ballet and Finish National Ballet. In the operatic field he has conducted the Greater Miami Opera, Chattanooga Opera, Royal Swedish Opera, and the Malmo Opera och Musikteater. At international music festivals in the United States, Germany, Bulgaria, and Norway he has conducted operas and ballets ranging from traditional to contemporary as well as musicals and operettas.

Berkson is no stranger to symphony orchestras. He has conducted the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic, Gothenburg Symphony, Oslo Philharmonic, Royal Swedish Court Orchestra, Sophia Philharmonic, Orquesta Sinfonica de Bilbao, Stavanger Symphony Orchestra, Holland Symfonia, Helsingborg Symphony and Malmo Symphony Orchestra, National Arts Center Orchestra of Canada, Evansville Philharmonic, Chattanooga Symphony Orchestra and the San Antonio Symphony.

Mr. Berkson has had the honor of conducting for Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip of Great Britain, King Carl XVI Gustav and Queen Silvia of Sweden, Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands as well as the Presidents and Prime Ministers of many European countries.

Gary Berkson was recently selected as one of the hundred alumni to be featured in "Dance, Drama, Music: 100 Years of the Julliard School" published in celebration of its centenary.
 
 
 

Andrew Shulman-Conductor

Andrew Shulman, the first British musician to win the "Piatigorsky Artist Award" from the New England Conservatory, comes from London, England. He has extensive experience as conductor, soloist, chamber musician, orchestra section leader, recording artist and college professor. He has performed extensively throughout Western and Eastern Europe, Scandinavia, North and South America, Asia, the Far East, and Australia, directing the symphonies of Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner, Haydn, Mahler, Mozart, Sibelius, Tchaikovsky and many others. He has conducted major orchestral works by Bartok, Debussy, Dvorak, Elgar, Holst, Ravel, and Stravinsky.

Born into a family of professional musicians, Shulman studied 'cello and composition at the Royal Academy of Music and the Royal College of Music in London. After winning major 'cello prizes there, in addition to the "Madam Suggia Gift" and the "Royal Society of Arts" prizes, he was appointed solo 'cello of the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic, and the St. Martin-in-the Fields, before being offered the first chair position with London's Philharmonia Orchestra, at the age of 22, by conductor Riccardo Muti. He has performed as soloist with Sir Simon Rattle, Giuseppe Sinopoli, Semyon Bychcov, Franz Wesler-Most, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. He has over twenty-five CD's and was solo 'cello on Elton John's "Candle in the Wind 1997," a tribute to Diana, Princess of Wales, the highest selling single of all time.

Shulman was bestowed with the title of 'Honorary RCM' by The Queen Mother in 1996, and subsequently became a professor at the historic Royal College of Music in London. He has given masterclasses all over the world. Since coming to Los Angeles he has given many classes, among them those at USC, UCLA, the Corwin Awards Masterclasses at the Music Center and various summer music festivals including Aspen, Las Vegas, and Blue Mountain, Carlisle, Pennsylvania.

In 1999 he moved to the United State after he was hired by Esa-Pekka Salonen to be first chair cello of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. At the end of 2002 he left the Philharmonic to expand his solo, chamber music, teaching, and above all, conducting activities still further. He returns to Europe twice every year to conduct orchestras with which he has built up lasting relationships. In 2007 he conducted the Brandon Hill Chamber Orchestra in St. Georges, Bristol, England in their 20th anniversary concert, which marked the twelve years he has been conducting that orchestra.
 
 
 

Ricardo Soto-Conductor

Dr. Ricardo Soto is professor at Orange Coast College in Costa Mesa, CA and chair of the music department. He conducts OCC Symphony, and OCC Chorale in addition to teaching music history and musicianship. Last year Ric presented over 15 concerts with his OCC ensembles.

Ric earned a DMA in conducting from USC, graduating Magna Cum Laude. His Masters and Bachelors are from Cal State Fullerton. He attributes his conducting style from two major influences: Helmuth Rilling from the Oregon Bach Festival and Rodney Eichenburger from USC. Ric also sings tenor and is capable on both piano and organ.

He started his conducting career in 1992 at UC Irvine, conducting the UCI Men's and Women's Chorus until 1996. From 1993 to 2006 he was Director of Music at St. Elizabeth Ann Seton Catholic Church in Irvine CA, and from 1997 to 2000 he was Music Director for the Southland Opera in Costa Mesa and conducted the Opera Orchestra at Cal State Fullerton. He has been at OCC since 2001. His conducting repertoire includes over 30 composers ranging from Bach to Copland and over 60 symphonies and major orchestral works.

Dr. Soto has published extensively and won awards and honors in conducting and teaching. He lives in Orange County with his son, Brian.


 
 
 

David Weiss-Conductor

David Weiss has had the good fortune to have played for a combined thirty-four years in three of America's finest orchestras, observing nearly all of the world's pre-eminent conductors during that time from his principal oboe chair. Along with his performing career, for the past 20 years he has conducted and coached numerous wind chamber music ensembles on a regular basis, and recently was guest conductor for two performances with the Los Angeles Doctors Symphony.

Principal Oboist of the Los Angeles Philharmonic for thirty years (1973-2003), David was born in New York City in 1947. At three years of age he began piano lessons and at age ten began oboe lessons. As a youngster in Los Angeles, he played in several youth orchestras, winning the prestigious "Maurice Abravanel Director's Award" from the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara.

As a scholarship student at the University of Southern California, he joined the Metropolitan Opera National Company as Principal Oboe on a 43-week tour of the U. S., Canada and Mexico. Having lost his student deferment during the Vietnam War, he enlisted in the Army to play in the West Point Military Academy Band (1966-1969). He then joined the Pittsburgh Symphony as Associate Principal Oboe, and two years later became the Principal Oboe of the National Symphony in Washington, D. C. In 1973 he returned "home" to join the Philharmonic.

Mr. Weiss has recorded numerous symphonic works with such conductors as Leonard Bernstein, Anta Dorati, Carlo Maria Giulini, Erich Leinsdorf, Zubin Mehta, Andre Previn, and Esa-Pekka Salonen. As a soloist Mr. Weiss has appeared several times in Carnegie Recital Hall, at New York's Caramoor Festival, at Avery Fisher Hall, and at the Kennedy Center. When he was fifteen years old he made his first concerto performance with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, and since then he has been featured dozens of times.

Mr. Weiss teaches at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music, along with the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, and the Henry Mancini Institute in Los Angeles. Previously he was on the music faculties of Vassar College, Duquesne University, Catholic University, and the Sarasota Music Festival. He serves as a clinician and judge for major international oboe events.

Since 1982, Mr. Weiss has gained notoriety for his performances on the musical saw (a hardware-store variety Stanley Handyman). July 1985 marked his Hollywood Bowl debut on the musical saw in a work specially commissioned for him by the Philharmonic. David has appeared on the Tonight show, Prairie Home Companion, at Disneyland, on television commercials, and in movies.


 
 
 
Peninsula Symphony Association PO Box 2602 Palos Verdes Peninsula, CA 90274
For information: call 310-544-0320 Tax ID 23-7008895 www.pensym.org