All-star lineup includes local performers
“Bach to Blues,” Gavilan’s annual music department fundraiser, returns this year with an all-star lineup of local performers. Albert Marques, an organizer of the concert who will also be performing on flamenco guitar, said that the spectrum of performers ranges from Gavilan students to well-known members of the musical community.
“We’re really excited about this year’s line-up,” he said.
The program will commence with a performance by Connie Kuang, the winner of Saturday’s Marian Felice Youth Piano Competition. Other acts on the program include the Gavilan Performance Ensemble; Kathryn Waggoner with the Gavilan College Dance Ensemble; Nate Pruitt, a jazz vocalist and voice teacher at Gavilan; and John Garcia, a blues guitarist who has played with John Lee Hooker, B. B. King and Bonnie Raitt.
Staging an all-volunteer concert is no easy feat, but Marques praised the volunteers’ spirit of community, saying “Everybody donates their time. It all goes back into the program.” And the volunteers aren’t limited to the music department. “It’s school-wide. The communications department is helping with refreshments and ushering,” Marques said.
Originally presented in 1998, the “Bach to Blues” series went on a brief hiatus after a few concerts, returning in 2004. The annual event has been going strong ever since. The proceeds have been used to repair instruments and facilities. According to Marques, one of the school’s priorities this year is a piano that is in desperate need of refurbishment.
In addition to repairs and maintenance, Marques said that the concert also serves a long-term goal: “We’re trying to establish a fund to bring big-name groups to the area so people don’t have to go up to San Jose. (Musical acts) coming up from L.A. can stop here on their way up (to San Jose),” he said.
The concert has traditionally sold well, with the majority of tickets going in the final week before the show. Marques estimated that 200 seats were left for the concert.
Tickets are $30 for VIP seats, $15 general admission, and $10 for students.
Tickets are available at Porcella’s Music in Gilroy, Music Tree in Morgan Hill, the Gavilan College bookstore, or online at
