“A Ruby Celebration” at the Music at the Mission concert will celebrate 40th anniversary
By Marty Cheek
Robert Alexander composed “As a Tree Grows…”
Audience members of the South Valley Symphony’s season-closing Music at the Mission concert will hear a musical piece titled “As the Tree Grows…” specially composed by 18-year-old Live Oak High School student Robert Alexander to celebrate the symphony’s 40th year anniversary. The May 11 “A Ruby Celebration” concert will be performed at the Mission San Juan Bautista.
The symphony is always looking for ways to mentor and nurture aspiring young musicians, and when Music Director Tony Quartuccio learned of Alexander’s composition talent through orchestra member Martin Groen, he was impressed by the student’s talent, said symphony board president Chris Hopwood.
“Following a meeting between key orchestra members and Robert to describe the symphony and its 40 years, Tony commissioned Robert to write a piece specifically for this finale of South Valley Symphony’s 40th anniversary, which coincides with Robert’s graduation from Live Oak,” she said. “The two events gave Robert the idea of a tree and so ‘As the Tree Grows…’ took root.”
Alexander will be attending the University of Southern California for a bachelor of music degree in composition. At Live Oak, he plays saxophone in several bands and served as drum major for the marching band in 2013.
The Morgan Hill resident realized his passion for music when it first occurred to him that a person had to write out those notes for an orchestra to play for concerts and movies, he said. “Maestro John Williams’s score for ‘Star Wars’ was the main catalyst that brought this epiphany about and this passion for composing has held fast,” he said.
In June 2013, the Interlochen Center for the Arts chose Alexander as the winner of its inaugural Interlochen Summer Arts Camp Fanfare Competition for the world premiere of his piece “Sparks” performed by the World Youth Wind Symphony. He has entered into the Santa Clara County Band Directors’ Association Composition Competition twice, in 2012 and 2013, and participated as a member of the county’s honor band in 2013 as well as a member of the California Band Directors’ Association all-state honor band in 2012.
Besides Alexander’s piece, the symphony will perform at the concert operatic arias with renowned tenor Christopher Bengochea and soprano Sandra Rubalcava. The audience will also hear Handel’s “Music for the Royal Fireworks” and the Tchaikovsky’s crowd-pleaser “1812 Overture.”
“Both pieces are significantly triumphant, which is most appropriate to bring our 40th anniversary celebratory year to a conclusion,” Hopwood said. “The orchestra will be larger than usual as these pieces demand additional instruments. Probably everyone will be wondering how we’ll handle the booming cannon at the close of the ‘1812 Overture.’ I could tell you the secret but I would rather people come to hear for themselves.”
Setting the symphony’s final concert for the season in San Juan Bautista’s Spanish mission will add to the enjoyment of the music with the historic ambiance, she said.
“Music at the Mission has become a tradition with the symphony for the last of its four seasonal concerts,” she said. “The acoustics in the church are wonderful, the crowd is always happy and in a festive mood, and everyone enjoys getting together at the reception afterward in the beautiful Mission Garden.”
The concert will start at 4 p.m. May 11. Tickets are $35 for adults and seniors, free for children and students and are available in Morgan Hill at BookSmart. For more information, visit www.southvalleysymphony.org.
On May 9, the South Valley Symphony will give a free concert at Sobrato High School.
