If the enthusiasm of an audience promises success of a
performance, attendees of last Friday night’s South Valley Symphony
concert lifted the musicality to new heights.
If the enthusiasm of an audience promises success of a performance, attendees of last Friday night’s South Valley Symphony concert lifted the musicality to new heights. Overwhelmed with the welcome from South County, guest conductor Tony Quartuccio led the symphony through the concert repertoire of Mozart, Gershwin, Respighi and two opera intermezzos, Cavalleria Rusticana and Pagliacci.
Many audience members were thrilled to have Quartuccio take some time after the Mozart opening and informally discuss the history of the opera pieces, giving them clues of musical passages to listen for during the performance. As assistant conductor of Opera San Jose, Maestro Quartuccio is intimate with opera music and history.
The chemistry between Quartuccio, the symphony and the South Valley audience was bordering on alchemy, so much so that the South Valley Symphony Board of Directors has offered Quartuccio the permanent conducting position, and Quartuccio accepted. He will replace Maestro Henry Mollicone, who recently stepped down from the job and heartily recommended passing the baton to Quartuccio (Mollicone’s former conducting student).
Among the magnificent audience members, local musicians and instructors at Gavilan College, pianist Maria Amirkhanian – back from a teaching post at Fresno State – and her husband and flamenco guitarist, Albert Marques, came to support the symphony. Maria’s private piano students Trang Bui, Sathea Khay and Adena Chen, finalists in the Marion Filice Piano Competition, played solo pieces during the concert highlighting their accomplished musical skills.
Friends and fellow music-lovers Ann Cretin, Carrie Gose (a former Morgan Hill School Board member), Biserka Chargin, and Phylicia Brozene (mom and grandmother to the two Tom Brozenes playing in the symphony) added to the enthusiastic response of the audience. Cretin’s opinion of the guest conductor? “We thought he was wonderful.”
Al Navaroli, past president of the symphony board, played the “I spy” game with me on the phone, reviewing through his special Italian audience scope the names of local audience members: “I saw Laverne Tyler, Roy Dale, Maureen Hunter, Ann Jaszewski, Nancy and Ken McDonald, Ruth and Matt Saco, Wilma Smith, Roxi and Marv Thomas …”
Oh, by the way, Quartuccio qualifies for the next eligible bachelor story in the Lifestyles section of the paper. Move over Frank Leal, this guy’s got a baton and he knows how to use it.
Speaking of Italians, Guglielmo Winery is hosting a fundraiser for the Poppy Jasper Film Festival from 5-10pm June 25. What else is there but an Italian film, “Cinema Paradiso,” under the stars with a bottle of red (or white)? The graduation wind should have calmed by then, and the warm summer evenings will be perfect for a drive-in winery movie. Call (408) 782-8087 for details.
Ciao for now.
