SM Symphony To Perform December 11:

The Santa Monica Symphony will make its second appearance of the season at a free concert on Sunday, December 11, under the baton of Music Director & Conductor Allen Robert Gross. The concert will begin at 7:30 p.m. at the Santa Monica Civic Auditorium, on Main Street, just north of Pico. On the program are the dance music from Aaron Copland’s American classic “Rodeo,” Schubert’s lyrical Third Symphony, and the west coast premiere of a new concerto for the  piccolo and contrabassoon by young Los Angeles composer Damian Montano.At seven, Montano began teaching himself composition on the family piano. Although his formal music training has been as an instrumentalist, he is an award-winning composer with commissions from symphony orchestras. He has also written film and television scores. His ’Concerto for Piccolo, Contrabassoon & Orchestra’ was  commissioned by the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Montano is himself a bassoon/contrabassoonist. He will be introduced by Gross, and, after the Concert, he will appear in the lobby to talk with concert goers. He will also be present at the pre-concert talk given at 6:30 by Professor Raymond Knapp in the Meeting Room. The soloists for Montano’s piece are Susan Greenberg, piccolo, of Pacific Palisades, and Patricia Kindel, contrabassoon, both of whom are well-known to Los Angeles area concert-goers. Concert seats are not reserved.For information about the Symphony, call (310) 395-6330 or visit the Symphony’s web site, www.smsymphony.org.