Before Ansel Adams committed to making a career out of creating the evocative photographs that have struck a chord with so many people worldwide, he seriously considered a life in music as a concert pianist. And before Dave Brubeck became synonymous with cool jazz – earning status as a Living Legend by the Library of Congress – he was awestruck by the sights of Half Dome and the Glacier Point Firefall during childhood visits to Yosemite.

Both men went on to become icons in their fields. Now the two emissaries of American arts have collaborated – albeit posthumously for Adams – for a multimedia presentation that will be premiered by the Stockton Symphony in April 2009 as the centerpiece of University of the Pacific’s Brubeck Festival.

“Ansel Adams: America” will be an orchestral piece coordinated with projections of Ansel Adams photographs. It has been commissioned by orchestras across the nation, but Stockton will be the site of the world premiere.

The piece will be co-created by Dave and his son Chris – an accomplished composer and musician in his own right – with cooperation from Stockton Symphony Music Director Peter Jaffe. For both Brubecks, the Ansel Adams project is a continuation of a series of collaborations with the Stockton Symphony and Jaffe.

In 2001, Dave’s orchestral piece “Millennium Intervals” premiered at Stockton. Two years later, the Brubeck Festival included programs by the Stockton Symphony featuring Brubeck music. In 2005, Chris became the Music Alive Composer-in-Residence of the Stockton Symphony and created the genre-melding opus “Mark Twain’s World.” 2007 saw the world premiere of Chris’s community-engaging project “Music is the Power.” The debut of “Ansel Adams: America” will keep in step with the Symphony’s pattern of presenting a new Brubeck collaboration on the odd-numbered years of the new century.

“It is significant for me to have another opportunity to work closely with the best ‘midwife’ a composer could imagine, Maestro Peter Jaffe,” says Chris. “There is also a level of trust between me, the Stockton Symphony musicians, and the audience. We have had tremendously successful premieres over the past few years and I expect the trend to continue.”

The Brubecks’ ties to Stockton run deep. Born in Concord, Dave moved to Stockton and worked his way through College of the Pacific playing jazz piano at local nightclubs. It is there that he met Iola, his wife of nearly 66 years. In 2000, Pacific established the Brubeck Institute, which houses the archives of Dave and Iola, provides a forum for jazz musicians and students, and hosts the Brubeck Festival
every two years.

Chris explained that when his father, now 87, was first approached about the Ansel Adams project, he was initially nervous about undertaking a work of its magnitude. When Susan Carson, co-commissioner of the work, referred Chris and Dave to Ansel Adams’ autobiography, the composer found many parallels between himself and Adams that helped him feel more comfortable about taking on the work, not the least of which was Adams’ own musical experience.

Adams began his formal training on piano at age thirteen, studying Bach under the guidance of his neighbor, Marie Butler. Later, he moved on to Beethoven and Chopin.

“Ansel Adams’ devotion to Chopin and Bach corresponded with my own love of both composers,” says Dave. “I felt that had we ever met, we would have gotten along very well.”

The Brubecks will not be performing at the premiere of “Ansel Adams: America,” but they plan to attend the Stockton Symphony’s presentation of the finished work. Likewise, some Ansel Adams family members, including Adam’s granddaughter and Stockton resident Alison Jaques, plan to be in the audience.

“Ansel Adams: America”
Stockton Symphony
www.stocktonsymphony.org
209-951-0196