NAVO Chamber Orchestra’s Kansas musicians brings ‘French Connection’ to Unity Temple
When violist Shah Sadikov, a native of Uzbekistan, and the French-Canadian violinist Veronique Mathieu decided to found a chamber orchestra in 2015, they wanted to choose a name for their ensemble that would reflect the newness of the group as well as the ethnic backgrounds of its founders.
They hit on NAVO, which reflects the Indo-European root word for new, “nav,” as well as more specifically the Russian and French words for new: noviy and nouveau.
The NAVO Chamber Orchestra, whose members live in Kansas, will open its new season with “French Connection” Sept. 1 at Unity Temple on the Plaza.
Sadikov, 30, has had quite a journey from Uzbekistan to the heart of America, where he’s now music director of the Hays Symphony Orchestra. He was born in Tashkent and studied viola at the Uspensky School. It’s the same school where the internationally acclaimed pianist and Park University graduate Behzod Abduraimov studied.
“We are actually very close friends,” Sadikov said. “I’ve known Behzod since he was 6 years old. One summer when he came back to Uzbekistan, he said Park University was looking for a violist and asked if I had any recordings he could take back. Violinist Ben Sayevich and Stanislav Ioudenitch (the founder of Park’s International Center for Music) listened to my recordings and, with Behzod’s recommendation, they invited me to Park. That was exactly 10 years ago.”
Sadikov has been busy in America ever since graduating from Park.
Sadikov is bringing Abduraimov to open Hays Symphony’s season Sept. 8 with Grieg’s Piano Concerto.
In October, Sadikov will take part in the Tokyo Conducting Competition.
“I passed the preliminary rounds, and they invited me to take part,” he said.
Sadikov has many irons in the fire, but he says NAVO is his “passion project.”
NAVO is devoted to chamber orchestra repertoire, but Sadikov says the group takes on works other ensembles are hesitant to do. For example, on “French Connection,” in addition to classical hits like Aaron Copland’s “Appalachian Spring” and Debussy’s “Prelude to the Afternoon of Faun,” NAVO also will perform the Requiem by Toru Takemitsu, a work that has almost certainly never been performed in Kansas City.
“It’s a unique piece,” Sadikov said. “Takemitsu’s Requiem is the piece that made him famous. He was heavily influenced by Debussy and Impressionism. This is the sort of new, not necessarily crowd-pleasing music we want to do. The route we’re taking is risky, but it’s fulfilling at the end of the day.”
7:30 p.m. Sept. 1. Unity Temple on the Plaza, 707 W 47th St. Free. To reserve your tickets, visit www.navoarts.com
French Organ Music Festival VI
Mario Pearson’s brainchild, the French Organ Music Festival, will celebrate its sixth year Aug. 26. The three-hour festival is going strong and is far from done exploring the glories of the French organ repertoire.
Pearson, organist and music director for the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, founded the festival to balance Bachathon, which is held every May at Grace and Holy Trinity Cathedral. Pearson wanted to show that organ music wasn’t just a German thing.
French composers in the Baroque era were writing music to rival that of Bach, but French organ music took a quantum leap forward in the 19th century with the development of the Cavaillé-Coll organ.
That mighty instrument had a coloristic and sonic range to rival that of an orchestra, and the Cathedral’s spectacular Ruffatti organ is especially well-suited for music written for the Cavaillé-Coll.
Pearson has once again lined up some of Kansas City’s finest organists to show off the range of French organ music. From the music of Nicolas de Grigny, considered one of the greatest French composers of the Baroque, to the delicate and dreamy Messe Base by Gabriel Fauré, which will feature the Kansas City Chamber Singers led by organist Thomas Vozzella, it promises to be a day of great variety.
Pearson’s presentation will give background information on all the music, and you won’t go hungry with authentic pastries and sandwiches for sale in the French Café in the south chapel.
2 p.m. Father Paul Turner
2:30 p.m. Sr. Claudette Schiratti
3 p.m. Nicholas Good
3:30 p.m. Thomas Vozzella and the Kansas City Chamber Singers
4 p.m. Elisa Bickers
4:30 p.m. Jan Kraybill
Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, 416 W. 12th St. $10. For more information, visit www.kcgolddome.org.
Midwest Chamber Ensemble
The Midwest Chamber Ensemble will kick off its new season with music by Haydn, Mendelssohn and Chopin Sept. 2 at Lutheran Church of the Resurrection.
Music director Steve Lewis also will conduct the “Pastorale d’été” by Arthur Honneger. This “summer pastorale” was inspired by a trip to the Swiss alps, and should make lovely listening.
7:30 p.m. Sept. 2. Lutheran Church of the Resurrection, 9100 Mission Road, Prairie Village. $10-$12.
You can reach Patrick Neas at patrickneas@kcartsbeat.com and follow his Facebook page, KC Arts Beat, at www.facebook.com/kcartsbeat.
This story was originally published August 26, 2018 at 6:00 AM.