Courtesy of José Crespo Conductor Boris Brott led New West Symphony through a rousing performance of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony last week in Oxnard.

The unfettered exuberance of the final movement of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, with the spirited force of the New West Symphony, conductor Boris Brott, four well-matched soloists and a combined chorale of 139 full-voiced singers straining to eke out every exciting aspect of the uplifting work, is just the way to end a season.

It wiped away any earlier frustration Thursday night when ticketholders swarmed Oxnard's Performing Arts Center parking lot, snaking through rows of cars, then cruising adjacent areas and most of the nearby streets looking for a place to settle before heading into the auditorium. We found a spot across the street about half a block from the auditorium and considered ourselves very lucky, especially when we walked past two bass players parked on the street wrestling their huge instruments out of a car and lugging them across the lot. No one ever said that making beautiful music is easy.

But the instrumentalists and choral singers, members of Los Robles Master Chorale and Master Chorale of Ventura County, representing, roughly, the east and west ends of Ventura County, were assembled for a very good cause. The season-ending show, which was repeated Saturday at the Thousand Oaks Civic Arts Plaza, included Beethoven's priceless symphony but also Anton Bruckner's arresting "Te Deum," an ode of spiritual joy and thanksgiving that echoed the heroic tradition of Beethoven's expansive paean to the brotherhood of man. Bruckner was born in Austria in 1824, three years before Beethoven died in Vienna.

The soloists for both works, all of whom have previously been heard locally, were well matched to the tasks. Tenor Robert MacNeil, who seems to grow better with every appearance, lent a strong, soaring voice to the proceedings, complemented on the distaff side by the flawless soprano of Shana Blake Hill. Cynthia Jansen provided warmth and depth in her mezzo-soprano roles, and bass-baritone Dean Elzinga brought an emotional heft that drew immediate focus when the Ninth Symphony turned to vocal input in its final movement, announcing that it was time to turn to joy.

The orchestra had already filled the auditorium with the formative moods of the first movement, the romp of a scherzo and the serenity of a contemplative adagio before making its way to the finale, where the chorale and soloists would join in the celebration of thrilling emotions in the "Ode to Joy," based on Friedrich Schiller's poem. But before the voices were heard, the orchestra's bass and cello players sent a shiver of expectation through the audience as they introduced the "Joy" melody with great delicacy. From there, the theme layered with increasing strength until the voices burst forth. The sheer exhilaration of it all, with musicians furiously fingering their instruments, soloists exulting and the chorale bursting with pride, is an experience that can't help but produce a memorable night.

Overhead microphones helped to bring the choral voices forward so that members' individual prowess could be heard.

Preparing the massed singers for the performances were Burns Taft, director of the Master Chorale of Ventura County; Elizabeth Helms, associate conductor and accompanist; and Wilbur Skeels, assistant director of Los Robles Master Chorale, who were led forward for multiple bows along with the soloists. The orchestra and choral singers, who happily included members who look like a new generation of singers, also stood to accept well-deserved applause.

— E-mail Rita Moran at ritamoran@earthlink.net.