Kontrapunktus to tap into spirituality of music in return to Laguna Beach
Chamber music originating from the Baroque period will be played in downtown Laguna Beach on Saturday night, when Kontrapunktus makes its return to Orange County.
The nine-piece orchestra of promising young musicians will perform inside the sanctuary at Laguna Presbyterian Church, where it first appeared in 2017.
Back in those days, Kontrapunktus experienced a few obstacles. At least locally, the group dealt with relative anonymity and a showtime that was less than ideal. The performance took place in front of a couple dozen people on a Sunday afternoon.
Since that day, Kontrapunktus Executive Director Raymond Jacobs says, the turnouts in Laguna Beach have been outstanding. Jacobs said the attendance, as well as the time slot, are a sign of how far they have come.
Kontrapunktus is nearing the end of its current string of shows, during which the chamber music orchestra is performing music from composers Georg Philipp Telemann and Johann Sebastian Bach.
Notably, the performances tend to take place in houses of worship. Grace First Presbyterian Church in Long Beach was booked for Friday.
The Laguna Presbyterian show on Saturday begins at 7:30 p.m. The concert schedule concludes on Sunday evening with an appearance at Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels in Los Angeles.
“You have to look at the origins of the music and what inspired the music,” Jacobs said when asked about the selection in venues. “During the Baroque era, the clergy were a major influence on society at large. Most people were almost required to go to church every Sunday. It wasn’t necessarily a subculture. I think it was more of a culture where even the most prolific composers were involved in some capacity in working with the clergy, Bach being principal among them.
“Bach basically dedicated his whole life to writing choral music, sacred music, as it’s now called. I try to find atmospheres that bring out the spirituality of the music, for people to feel a greater connection with the music in that environment.”
The musicians performing on Saturday night will include Cameron Alan-Lee (concertmaster), Leonard Fu (first violin), David Chang (second principal violin), Haesol Lee (violin), Cassia Drake (viola), Ethan Moffitt (double bass), Osheen Manukyan (cello), Keika Mori (harpsichord) and Aubree Oliverson (violin soloist).
Laguna Presbyterian, which was founded in 1917, will be the site for an official recording performance of the current production, “Bach and Telemann: Collegium Musicum.”
The sanctuary was completed in 1928, and the chancel upon which the musicians will be playing was expanded in 1948. Restoration efforts for the sanctuary were finished in January 2010. That project included a resurfacing of the chancel with Jerusalem limestone.
Various features help set a tone, including four thematic stained-glass windows. The Ferris Window, which looks out toward 2nd Street, was donated by the children and grandchildren of Sylvanus and Sabra Ferris, who established the founding congregation of the church by hosting bible studies on their front porch in the 1890s.
There are also the Four Gospel, the St. Paul and the Good Shepherd windows.
“I think what our church provides is a much more intimate setting,” said Beth Pinney, an associate pastor for Laguna Presbyterian. “It seats probably 300 [people on the ground floor]. They’ve had 250, maybe, in there, which is even bigger than an audience would typically be for chamber musicians.”
After 46 years at Laguna Presbyterian Church, the Rev. Jerry Tankersley is retiring.
Pinney pointed to the history of the church and its congregation, noting that it has had an appreciation for art and divine creation. Plein air painter Anna Hills was among the members when the church was formally organized in 1917, according to church records. Hills’ influence remains in the sanctuary via the color palette of the windows.
Given that history, Pinney says that is reason enough to support young artists in a variety of mediums.
“If I take you around to show you the paintings that the church has, you could go back and just listen to the excellent music that has been created by this congregation over 107 years, it’s really astounding,” Pinney said. “I think that’s the connection. I think we love good art, we love wonderful, exceptional music.”
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