Bay Philharmonic Presents:

Bay Philharmonic Presents:

Tchaikovsky GOLD

Sun, Jun 23 • 3 pm

2023-24 Season Final Concert program featuring Tchaikovsky GOLD is set to mesmerize audiences with stunning performances and exquisite musical masterpieces.

The music of Tchaikovsky has sparked the imagination of the world. From the dramatic 1812 Overture to the beloved Nutcracker, his music always touches the heart. For this concert we’re presenting two of his most famous pieces alongside International Van Cliburn Piano Competition gold medalist, Jon Nakamatsu. Heralded as the “pianist’s pianist,” Jon’s touch on the keyboard is sophisticated and masterful, and he’ll perform the most famous piano concerto ever written. Guest Conductor, Lara Webber and the Bay Philharmonic will share their passion for Tchaikovsky’s ultra dramatic 4th Symphony, his musical biography of a hero overcoming fate to triumph with hope and victory.


Lara Webber, Guest Conductor
Jon Nakamatsu, Pianist

Chabot College Performing Arts Center
25555 Hesperian Blvd
Hayward, CA 94545

Meet our Guest Conductor for our Tchaikovsky season finale Lara Webber!

  • Now in his third decade of touring worldwide, American pianist Jon Nakamatsu continues to draw critical and public acclaim for his intensity, elegance and electrifying solo, concerto and chamber music performances. Catapulted to international attention in 1997 as the Gold Medalist of the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition—the only American to achieve this distinction since 1981—Mr. Nakamatsu subsequently developed a multi-faceted career that encompasses recording, education, arts administration and public speaking in addition to his vast concert schedule.

    This season, Mr. Nakamatsu returns to live performances throughout the United States and in Europe. Between 2020 and the spring of 2021, he was engaged in a myriad of online events including… Read More.

  • Widely admired as a dynamic, creative and engaging conductor, Lara Webber is dedicated to inspiring audiences through the power of symphonic music. She has been praised by fellow musicians around the country for her musical depth, genuine ex-pression, strong personal vision, and collaborative spirit.

    Ms. Webber brings a broad range of experience to the podium. She has held titled conducting positions with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra and Charleston Symphony Orchestra (South Carolina), and was music director of the Charleston Symphony Orchestra Chorus. Lara currently serves as Music Director and Conductor of the Livermore-Amador Symphony and the Palo Alto Philharmonic. Her career began as music director and conductor of the Los Angeles Debut Orchestra, a post previously held by such conductors as André Previn, Lawrence Foster, and Michael Tilson Thomas.

    Lara Webber's activities as a guest conductor include multiple performances with orchestras around the country such as the Houston, Pittsburgh, San Antonio, Louisville, Santa Barbara, Modesto, the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, and the Chicago Sinfonietta, among several others. She has served as a cover-conductor for the San Fran-cisco Symphony and The National Symphony Orchestra. Ms. Webber’s operatic associations include conducting posts with Glimmerglass Opera, and conductor of the Baltimore Opera Studio.

    Strongly committed to arts education and community engagement, Ms. Webber was a conductor of the Emmy-nominated Disney's Young Musicians Symphony Orchestra. These concerts were broadcast nationally by the Disney Channel to millions of viewers nationwide. She has taught student conductors as a faculty member of the League of American Orchestra’s Conductor Workshops, and has coached youth orchestra and community orchestras. At home in Livermore, Lara is active in her community, bringing music to the local elementary schools, coaching chamber musicians and advocating for the arts as an essential part of the educational curriculum, and a vital part of our culture.

    Ms. Webber began her conducting studies at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music with Robert Spano, where she received her Bachelor of Music degree in Vocal Performance. Her studies continued at the Sweelinck Conservatory in Amsterdam and in the con-ducting seminars of the both Aspen and Tanglewood Music Festivals. Ms. Webber received her Master of Music degree in Orchestral Conducting from the University of Southern California, where she studied with Daniel Lewis. In recognition for her out-standing service to the community, Lara was honored with a Los Angeles City Council Resolution, upon completion of her tenure with the Debut Orchestra.