Concerts conclude symphony season
Published in the April 29 – May 12, 2015 issue of Morgan Hill Life
By Staff Report
Photo by Marty Cheek
Tony Quartuccio, South Valley Symphony conductor and music director, runs the musicians through a dress rehearsal.
The South Valley Symphony will bring its 2014-2015 concert season to a close May 10 with a grand finale of musical styles including the stirring emotions of Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, Baroque pieces, and the 20th century sound of Aaron Copeland’s “Rodeo” dance pieces.
The symphony will hold its popular Mother’s Day concert at the Mission San Juan Bautista. This “Master’s Legacy” concert location brings a completely different atmosphere, compared with the Gavilan Community College Theater where the other three concerts are held during the season, said SVS board member Chris Hopwood. The Mother’s Day concert usually sells out, so she encourages fans to purchase tickets early. General admission tickets are $35 for adults, and children and students with student I.D.s can enjoy the concert for free.
“It’ll be a very festive, joyful atmosphere at the mission church,” she said. “Afterward, at the reception in the mission garden, people get to say hello to the musicians.”
Wine from Lightheart Cellars will be served at the reception with appetizers including strawberries from local farmers, she said.
Tony Quartuccio, the director and conductor of the symphony, called the 41st season for the symphony — which featured the theme “A Musician’s Journey” — a success in terms of the quality of the concerts and attendance. The Mother’s Day concert will bring a variety of styles together for the enjoyment of the audience that includes Beethoven, “Rodeo” and baroque solos performed by cellos as well as trumpets.
The combination of solo cello and trumpets has never been done by the South Valley Symphony and will feature musicians from within the orchestra instead of using non-symphony talent, Quartuccio said.
May 8, the symphony will join with the Live Oak High School Jazz band to put on a free-to-the-public concert at the high school’s theater starting 7 p.m. Last year, the symphony played with the jazz band at Sobrato High School at a special concert, and it was such a hit that Quartuccio realized that bringing classical and jazz music together at a single concert needed to become a tradition for Morgan Hill.
“Last year seemed to be extremely successful,” he said. “The audience loved the combination of the two styles, so we’re going to do something similar, including a similar length of the program.”
The symphony will showcase excerpts from the Mission concert as well as “Rodeo” at this Live Oak concert. The school’s music teacher Jason Locsin has built a strong set of student musicians to perform.
“I think this particular jazz ensemble is at such a high level,” Quartuccio said. “And sharing the stage with the symphony orchestra, these two groups are at a very high level with contrasting styles, and they deserve to be paired together on the stage.”
