Published in the Oct. 28 – Nov. 10, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Daniel Lelescu
Daniel Lelescu
I encourage Morgan Hill and Gilroy children to attend and enjoy South Valley Symphony concerts because the performances can help them develop an appreciation of classical, graceful symphonic pieces performed by talented orchestra musicians.
My family and I attended the opening fall concert of the symphony performed in the Gavilan College Theater Oct. 10. The concert was called “Pictures at an Exhibition” and was part of the four-part season “Portraits, Paintings and Poems.” It started with the “Star Spangled Banner,” America’s national anthem, with the audience standing up and honoring the flag.
The first piece played was “Overture to Poet and Peasant” composed by Franz von Suppe, a 19th-century Austrian.
According to conductor Anthony Quartuccio in the program: “It’s sort of in the same genre as ‘The William Tell Overture,’ a melody that members of the audience might not know by name but when we play it, will be familiar to their ears. It’s a really festive, light-hearted, tuneful way to start the concert.”
The second piece performed was “In the Halls of the Overlook Hotel,” composed and conducted by Christopher Niemann, a graduate of Sobrato High School. It was suppose to be scary based on the Stephen King best-selling novel “The Shining.” Listening, I kept thinking about a “supernatural” shark fighting against a super-strong submarine. Every time the drum would hit, I imagined a torpedo was being fired at the shark. Every time the violins would “waver” a little, then the shark would be shaking off the torpedo and attacking again.
The first part of the concert closed with the musicians playing “The Moldou” composed by Bedrich Smetana. It made me think of a graceful river in which every time the music would change its pace, then the imagined “water” would also speed up or slow down depending on rhythm.
Whenever the string instruments would go a little bit wilder, then it seemed like I was catching an imaginary fish along the Moldou, which is a river in Prague, in the Czech Republic.
After the intermission, in which I enjoyed a delicious chocolate chip cookie, the orchestra performed “Pictures at an Exhibition” composed by Modest Mussorgsky.
I liked how Quartuccio told the audience a small summary of each “picture” created by the sound of the music — such as “Gnomus” (gnome) a small, grouchy, disfigured creature that had a powerful aura. Because of this, I understood the music differently. I actually “saw” how the music would connect with the art photos displayed in the program. It painted a picture in my mind and I compared it to the actual painting.
The South Valley Symphony provides a wonderful experience for families.
Children usually dress up semi-formally, which makes the event extra special. The concerts are free for children with a parent or guardian attending. I encourage parents to bring their children to the next South Valley Symphony concert which is the “Holiday Panorama” concert held 4 p.m. Sunday Dec. 13 at Gavilan Community College Theater in Gilroy.
Daniel Lelescu is in fifth grade at Challenger School in San Jose. He takes piano classes with Morgan Buciak of Morgan Hill. He wrote this review for Morgan Hill Life.
