Soprano Emma Berggren will be one of the voices featured at the concert.
Palisades Symphony under Music Director Maxim Kuzin will present a free concert at 7 p.m. on Sunday October 26, at the Mount Olive Lutheran Church, 1343 Ocean Park Ave., Santa Monica.
The theme of the concert is “Voices and Symphonies” which brings together a small collection of beloved selections by composers including Beethoven’s Symphony No. 8 I.Allego vivace e con brio, , Brahms’ Symphony No. 4 IV. Allegro energico e passionate, Grieg’s Holberg Suite, Op.40, Zoraqi’s Kaba for Orchestra and Verdi’s arias from Rigoletto and Un Ballo in Maschera.
Featured singers include soprano, Emma Berggren and baritone, Mathew Peterson.
Berggren, a Swedish soprano, was a finalist in the 2024 Bayreuth-Stipendium Wagner Society Gothenburg Vocal Competition in collaboration with GöteborgsOperan and the 2022 Burbank Philharmonic Orchestra and the Hennings-Fischer Foundation Young Artist Competition.
She has been featured in the Falsterbo-Skanör music summer program in Sweden with Maestro Skanör Falsterbo Musikförening and recently made her role debut singing Violetta Valéry in La Traviata with Pacific Lyric Association at the California Center for the Arts in Escondido.
Peterson was raised in Colorado and is a graduate of Yale School of Music. A baritone, he has been praised for his rich voice and expressive acting.
In 2019, Matthew won first place in the Denver Lyric Opera Guild competition. His other accolades include placing as a regional finalist in the Metropolitan Opera’s 2023 Laffont competition and was recently the highest placing male singer with the Palm Springs Opera Guild.
Conductor Kuzin assumed responsibility for the Palisades Symphony after the death of its founder Joel Lish. Additionally, the Ukrainian-born Kuzin is currently the Music Director of the Thousand Oaks Philharmonic and the UC Santa Barbara Chamber Orchestra. He also guest conducted for several Eastern European orchestras, including the National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine, Presidents Orchestra of Ukraine, and the National Symphony Orchestra of Georgia.
Kuzin, who moved to the United States in 2014, received his doctoral degree in Orchestral Conducting at UCLA.
Baritone Matthew Peterson brings his rich voice to the concert.