Henry Mollicone ump-bah-bah’s with the best of them. He has to
tonight, since half of his string section and a couple of horns are
missing. The cellists have a gig somewhere else tonight, so he
plucks out their part with his voice while conducting the remaining
members of the South Valley Symphony.
Henry Mollicone ump-bah-bah’s with the best of them. He has to tonight, since half of his string section and a couple of horns are missing. The cellists have a gig somewhere else tonight, so he plucks out their part with his voice while conducting the remaining members of the South Valley Symphony.
“The sound just isn’t full tonight,” he laments, “so you’re not going to get the full effect.”
The group powers through their instrumental selections – pieces of Handel’s Messiah and the Carmen Fantasy for Flute and Orchestra – and works its way to the Christmas selections they’ll be performing Saturday afternoon with the Gavilan College Chorale. The absence of a few strings doesn’t register, at least to the untrained ear.
“The string section is the most key part of an orchestra,” said Al Navaroli, vice president of the symphony’s board of directors. “About nine or 10 years ago, I was at a concert, and was disappointed to see we only had seven string players. Ideally, strings should make up about 50 percent of your orchestra.”
Classical music enthusiast Navaroli decided to attend a board meeting and, once there, offered his help to increase the size of the section.
Nowadays, he keeps an eye on pictures and names, asks acquaintances if they play an instrument and hopes.
“I’ll ask what instrument they play, and I’m hoping to hear string,” said Navaroli. “I’m not looking to hear guitar, but I always am on the lookout. For instance, I was in St. Louise, and I noticed their employee of the year, Pat Farrell, was pictured with a cello. I asked if I could go talk to him.”
To be part of the symphony does require talent, but unlike other organizations made up primarily of professional musicians, the South Valley group leans heavily on casual players and unpaid volunteers.
Founded in 1974, the symphony is technically listed as a class at Gavilan College. Thanks to this arrangement, the group’s board is able to access more funding through grants, and the college supports the arts by paying one half of Mollicone’s yearly salary.
The symphony board pays the other half, along with tuition fees for each of the symphony members.
“I just show up and play,” said Audrey Gray, a violinist who also teaches the instrument.
Gray began playing the violin as a seventh grader in San Francisco. She majored in music in college and moved to Morgan Hill six years ago when her husband retired.
“When I read about (the symphony’s) concerts, I was very excited,” she said. “I wasn’t expecting anything like that, and since I joined I think the caliber of the orchestra is just going up and up all the time. We’re working with more difficult music each year.”
Mollicone is widely credited by area musicians with slowly stretching their abilities, no humiliation required.
“Our pieces are more and more sophisticated, and I think that has a lot to do with our conductor,” said Sue Piccardo, a violinist. She started playing with the symphony nearly 15 years ago after another mom told her about the organization. “It’s a huge deal. For us in the South County to be able to draw people out to see us and to draw people from all over to play with us.”
Members come from as far away as Aptos, Monterey, Soquel and Hollister to play in the symphony’s five yearly concerts, according to Navaroli.
Since the musicians are unpaid, most are there simply for the love of their combined sound.
Hollister resident John Prichett hadn’t touched his violin in more than 30 years when he saw an ad asking musicians to come forward for the San Benito Stage Orchestra.
With a little practice he was soon playing for the symphony, too.
“They say the pay is lousy, but most of the people are nice,” said Prichett with a laugh. “When I moved here in 1978, I had been playing in an orchestra in Connecticut. My son was also playing cello at the time. I got here, and there wasn’t anything.
“You could always be in band because it went with football, but strings? Forget it!”
Stan Soroken, a professional musician and commercial player from Salinas, volunteers with the orchestra because it gives him a structured time and place to play.
“I got a call to substitute one time and I wound up playing,” said Soroken, who has played for Johnny Mathis, Wayne Newton and the Four Tops. “It’s a totally different mental set, this whole other way of playing, and it’s very disciplined. It kind of takes me back to my roots since I studied classical trumpet.”
Disparate stories will combine for a single vision soon.
The South Valley Symphony and Gavilan College Chorale will perform their Christmas selections at 4pm on Saturday, Dec. 18 at the Gavilan College Theatre in Gilroy.
Tickets can be purchased at the following locations, according to the Symphony Web site: Porcella’s Music (7357 Monterey St., Gilroy), California Music Company (7565 Monterey St., Gilroy), The Music Tree (17470 Monterey Rd., Morgan Hill), Dorothy McNett’s Place (800 San Benito St., Hollister), Snappy Photo Imaging Center (785 First St., Gilroy) and Terry’s House of Candles (400 Third St., San Juan Bautista).
