Page 62 - ASMF Marriner 100 Coverage Book

Along with staple stuff of Brahms’s Violin Concerto in D (with cadenzas by Bell) and
Schumann’s Second Symphony, this program includes a world premiere piece by the
much-acclaimed composer-arranger Vince Mendoza. The new work, Flight of Moving
Days, asserts a strong link to the mighty Marriner dynasty. Sir Neville Marriner, who
was born 100 years ago this year and died in 2016, founded the orchestra in 1958
and boldly led it until 2011. His grandson Douglas Marriner is now a noted jazz
percussionist and a spotlighted soloist, alongside Bell, in Mendoza’s ink-still-wet
piece.

We recently checked in with Mendoza, based in Los Angeles when not working in
Europe or elsewhere, to get intel from the source about his latest opus, life on the
border of jazz and classical, and other matters at hand. He looks forward to heading
up to Santa Barbara next week, noting, “I hear that the orchestra is
rehearsing Flight as I write this. I will hear it for the first time the morning of the
Santa Barbara concert.”

Composer-arranger Vince Mendoza | Photo: Pamela Fong

Can you tell me how this project and commission came about?

This project came to me quite delightfully out of the blue, although I suspect
Douglas’s involvement in the jazz community might have something to do with it. I
do think that I have a following in the U.K., and the chief executive of the Academy
Orchestra was also a fan. Adding to that their overall interest in expanding the scope
of the repertoire for the orchestra, this commission — and soloists — seem to be a
great fit.