TOPANGA : Philharmonic Brings Classics to the Canyon

Strains of classical music threading through a leafy glen--what could be more divine?

The Topanga Philharmonic Orchestra will create just such an atmosphere at 2 p.m. Saturday, when members perform their 16th annual benefit concert for the Topanga Co-Op Preschool at Will Geer’s Theatricum Botanicum, an outdoor amphitheater at 1419 N. Topanga Canyon Blvd.

Orchestra members--professional and amateur musicians--come together but once a year to put on a show, which features classical music, a casual dress code and a kid-friendly environment. Music enthusiasts in jeans generally tote picnic baskets to the concert.

One of the biggest draws of the concert is the lush scenery that forms its backdrop: oak trees, a waterfall and a brook running under the stage.

“It really has become a celebratory rite of spring in the canyon,” said Laura Whitney, event coordinator and parent of a preschool student.

Guido Lamell of Santa Monica has volunteered as the orchestra’s conductor and music director since 1990 for the chance to perform in the canyon.

“Topanga is a beautiful area. There’s a wonderful lifestyle and a wonderful feeling,” Lamell said. “Second of all, the natural setting is really unparalleled. Those two things combine to make it the treat that it is.”

This year, audience members may recognize a familiar face in the string section--that of Los Angeles County Supervisor Ed Edelman, who will play the cello and be recognized for his role in ensuring that 662 canyon acres once slated for development will be preserved as parkland.

The program will feature the Italian composer Ottorino Respighi’s “The Pines of Rome,” written in 1924. The music attempts to capture the mood of children playing at a grand Italian villa, the military glory of the Appian Way, and the mystery of a catacomb.

Lamell and guest conductors Barry Socher and Ivan Shulman will also present other works by Mexican, Italian, Russian, French and American composers.

Members of the orchestra hail from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, the Long Beach and Pasadena symphonies, and the ranks of “very good” amateur and student musicians, said Lamell, who plays second violin with the Los Angeles Philharmonic.

The performers have to be good, the conductor said, to cope with the fact that there is only one rehearsal--on the morning of the concert.

After the rehearsal, after the stage is decorated and children’s artwork displayed in a nearby garden, there will be nothing left to do but pray that the weather cooperates, said organizer Whitney, who has been planning the event since September.

“My main concern right now is rain,” she said.

For more information about the concert, call (310) 281-7378.