The Al Navaroli Young Musicians Competition came about after the passing of Gilroy resident, music lover and avid supporter of the South Valley Symphony the contest was named for. It was created to showcase the young musicians and teachers in our area. Now in its eighth year, the winners performed solos with the South Valley Symphony orchestra in their spring concert March 5 at Gavilan College.
This year two violinists were chosen as winners, as they were so close in the judging.
Michael Kong from Gilroy, who plays with the Philharmonic Orchestra, the premier orchestra of the San Jose Youth Symphony, offered a magnificent rendition of the difficult first movement of the Mozart Violin Concerto No. 5 in A Major, at the concert. He played with technical ability and feeling of someone more mature than his 16 years.
He appeared at Carnegie Hall with the Honors Performance series last month and toured with the San Jose Youth Symphony to Spain and Portugal last summer. He is planning to tour through Hungry and Croatia in 2017. Kong also plays the cello.
Dohyun Kim from Cupertino performed the first movement of Bruch’s Violin Concerto No. 1 in G major, with an exceptional aptitude. Mr. Kim also studies the piano and appeared in 2012 at the MacPhail and Aria Concert with Mozart’s Piano Concerto No.23.
The fine South Valley Symphony Spring Concert was joyfully conducted by Anthony Quartuccio, whose chemistry with his orchestra and audience is a rich experience to behold.
For tickets to upcoming concerts go to: www.SouthValleySymphony.org. Students with ID and children accompanied by an adult are admitted free.
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