Doyenne of Da Camera Society Faces the Challenge

With the beginning this fall of an 11th season at “Chamber Music in Historic Sites�--the successful and highly visible concert series which attempts to match chamber repertory, specific ensembles and appropriate performance venues--founder MaryAnn Bonino says she remains fascinated by organizing and running the series.

“Every season brings new artists, new ideas, new challenges,� the doyenne of the Da Camera Society--sponsor of the multi-part series--and professor at Mount St. Mary’s College, says, describing her work. And, bottom line, Bonino’s concert projects are thriving.

About the historic in Historic Sites, the impresario acknowledges that her thinking has changed on that subject.

“I now take an optimistic view of history, based on what I’ve learned in the business of putting on concert events in many differing locales,� she claims.

“I now believe that what is new and good right now--recent architecture, in particular--will be considered historical in two years. So, this season, we are featuring a larger number of contemporary sites.�

And, she adds, “As always, homes and buildings created by the imaginations of architects who are today still alive.�

The 1990-91 lineup of Chamber Music in Historic Sites, extending from late October to mid-May, closely matches in size and makeup the previous season. In 1989-90, the Mount St. Mary’s-sponsored events numbered 52; according to the latest count--concerts are being added to the roster right now--the 1990-91 year will offer 59 concerts.

These peripatetic events will take place in a variety of expected and surprising public and private locations:

* The now-being-refurbished Uniroyal Tire and Rubber Plant, overlooking the Santa Ana Freeway in East Los Angeles, which Bonino calls “probably the second most recognizable landmark, after City Hall, in all Los Angeles.�

* The fabled Dunbar Hotel on South Central Avenue--Los Angeles’ first integrated hotel--where the Alexander-Clayton-Hamilton Trio will offer a “jazz afternoon,� Jan. 6.

* The Riviera Country Club in Pacific Palisades.

* The Fenyes Mansion in Pasadena, a Beaux Arts home where Calliope, the touring Renaissance band, will perform, Jan. 13.

* The Mayan Theater in downtown Los Angeles, where the “Aztec jazz� ensemble, Huayucaltia will offer its crossover musics in a Mayan temple setting, April 12.

* Villa Narcissa, a garden home overlooking the Pacific Ocean in Palos Verdes, where the Amadeus Winds will play Mozart on a Fall afternoon, Oct. 28.

* The so-called Jesse Lasky estate, a sprawling Mediterranean villa “with a Busby Berkeley, Art Deco pool,� in Hollywood, where guitar duo Julian Gray and Ronald Pearl will play an eclectic program.

Organizing and producing these concerts is, says Bonino, “an endless and creative process, which every year is different. No matter what happens, there are always surprises.�

Still to be completed on the concert roster are three minifestivals, two- or three-day visits to outlying districts (this season: Riverside, Rancho Santa Fe and the Santa Clarita Valley) with appropriate musical incentives.

Bonino’s favorite event of the season?

“I can’t resist Monteverdi, and we are bringing the Taverner Consort to Wilshire Christian Church (Feb. 5) for its Los Angeles debut in a Monteverdi program, including the concerted motets from ‘Selva morale e spirituale.’ �

Information: (213) 747-9085.

COMPOSERS’ CORNER: “Denizens of the Realm, Faerie� is the title of Mark McGurty’s new orchestral work, just completed (according to the composer), and scheduled to be given its premiere performance by the Long Beach Symphony, conducted by JoAnn Falletta, April 20, on a subscription concert in Terrace Theater at the Long Beach Convention Center. McGurty is the orchestra’s composer in residence for the 1990-91 season.