“His family’s passion was music. His passion was peace,” writes Jessica Yadegaran in Friday’s (10/5) Contra Costa Times. “Later this month those missions will merge in Walnut Creek when the California Symphony pays tribute to J. Christopher Stevens, the Piedmont resident and U.S. ambassador to Libya who was killed on Sept. 11 in a militant attack on the U.S. mission in Benghazi. David Commanday, his stepbrother, was preparing to guest conduct the Oct. 18 concert at the Lesher Center for the Arts when he and his family, including Stevens’ mother, Mary Commanday, and stepfather, Robert Commanday, of Piedmont, received the news. ‘It’s a tragic loss for everyone,’ says Commanday, who grew up in Kensington and now resides in Illinois, where he is the founding artistic director of Central Illinois’ Heartland Festival Orchestra. … Commanday was devastated by his stepbrother’s death and began to revisit his plans for the upcoming concert, crafting the program as an homage to the late U.S. ambassador, who grew up loving music. Stevens’ mother, Mary, is a retired Marin Symphony cellist. His stepfather, Robert, the founding editor of San Francisco Classical Voice, was the music critic for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1965 to 1993. … To open the concert, he added John Williams’ ‘Summon the Heroes,’ a ‘thrilling piece’ originally written for the 1996 Atlanta Summer Olympics that celebrates discipline and idealistic dedication, qualities that defined his stepbrother, Commanday says. The concert will also feature Falla’s ‘Ritual Fire Dance’ and Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird Suite.’ ”
Posted October 5, 2012
