The third decade began in the fifth year of Jonathan Khuner’s 12-year tenure as Music Director (1980 to 1992). Under his tutelage, the Prometheus Symphony thrived. The programming was rich and diverse and our musicianship improved. His exacting rehearsals and extraordinary musicality pushed us to new performance levels. Karla Lemon continued as our Associate Conductor for a couple of years, helping bridge the gaps when Jonathan had to be elsewhere.
Opera for Us
Jonathan shared with us his passion for opera. In addition to his regular gig with the San Francisco Opera, he worked with the emerging Berkeley Opera. He brought us exceptional vocalists, mining the San Francisco Opera’s Merola Program for extraordinary young soloists who sang arias to the Prometheus accompaniment. Among them are several who have since become opera superstars – Ruth Ann Swenson, Nancy Gustafson, Pamela South, James Patterson and Ravil Atlas. He also drew on Bay Area talent, like the magnificent bass-baritone David Tigner, and soprano Sara Ganz, now at Mills College.
One of our more singular achievements was the 1986 West Coast Premiere of the comic opera, The Three Pintos, by von Weber and Mahler (Mahler completing the unfinished effort of von Weber). The production, with the Berkeley Chorus Pro Musica, made the papers; although the reviews of Mahler and von Weber’s composition, and of our production efforts, weren’t exactly glowing, we sure had fun!
The Proof is in the Playing
One thing about playing in the Prometheus – we never get bored! A big hit was the Children’s Concert on “Music and Animals” at Lawrence Hall of Science. Perhaps the most magical was when we were the “pit orchestra” for the Berkeley Ballet Theater’s Nutcracker Ballet in December 1990 at Julia Morgan Theater. The most moving and memorable was the premiere of the “Holocaust Memorial Cantata” by Bay Area composer Aaron Blumenfeld, with the Five Penny Opera Chorus at the Temple Beth Abraham, in April 1987.
Jonathan’s programs were a great deal more than opera selections. We ran the gamut of classical music, from Bach to Schoenberg. Each season he presented a “3 B’s” concert – Bach, Beethoven, and Brahms. In his last two seasons, Jonathan did that twice with the Oakland Symphony Chorus. In April of 1991, we presented Beethoven’s Mass in C. In March of 1992, we did Honegger’s The Story of King David, a Symphonic Psalm, narrated by David Tigner. Both productions were in the beautiful and historic First Presbyterian Church on Broadway.
Discovering Teenaged Talent
This decade saw the start of one of Prometheus’s most rewarding activities. In 1989 we launched our Youth Concerto Contest. The inspiration of Dorinda Chase, a music teacher and our principal clarinetist for many years, the competition serves two purposes: giving aspiring young musicians the experience of auditioning, and the winners the opportunity to perform a concerto with a full orchestra in a concert hall.
In the first competition, the winner was Ilana Blumberg (Thomas) whose career as a professional musician has taken her across the country to play with several prestigious orchestras and chamber groups. The second year, our winner was the remarkable cellist, Julia Tom. After attending Julliard, she embarked on an extraordinary international career, now with Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra and the Amsterdam Ensemble.
Featuring Our Own
Prometheus members as soloists were an important element of Jonathan’s programming. Among those was oboist Keith Sklower (now in his 33rd year with Prometheus) who performed Bach’s Concerto for Oboe and Violin in 1985 and 1990. Ron Cohen (principal trumpet with Prometheus since 1981) performed Hertel’s Trumpet Concerto #1 in 1990. Elizabeth Baker was our concertmaster when she soloed, and at the same time was playing with the San Francisco Symphony. She is now with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.
Felix Khuner Joins Us
The Khuner Period included Jonathan’s father, Felix, who played violin with Prometheus, after retiring from an international career that included the San Francisco Symphony, San Francisco Opera and California String Quartet. He would whistle the part of any player who was missing from rehearsal, while quietly coaching from the very back of the violin section. On April 12, 1992, we dedicated a memorial concert to Felix Khuner that Jonathan conducted. We also honored him by naming our youth concerto contest the Felix Khuner Young Artist Concerto Competition.
1992 – A Time of Change
Jonathan’s farewell concert with Prometheus was June 7, 1992, when we played the spectacularly challenging Rite of Spring by Stravinsky. The Orchestra then auditioned a number of conductors before choosing the multi-talented George Thomson to take up the baton for the 1992–93 season. He brought wit and a special brand of musicality, and an exceptional resumé as performer and conductor. He played viola and conducted with many Bay Area groups – including cutting-edge new music with EARPLAY and the Berkeley Contemporary Opera, and period instruments with the Philharmonia Baroque and American Bach Soloists. He was principal violist with the Carmel Bach Festival during the same years he conducted Prometheus. See Chapter IV for more about George’s tenure.