EL CENTRO – Two concert opportunities – both of which are free and open to the public – will be taking place this weekend for music lovers and local concert-goers.
Today, Friday, November 3, there will be at the violin recital of local up-and-coming violinist Alexis Huynh, a private violin student and member of the Southwest High School orchestra, at Sts. Peter & Paul Episcopal Church in El Centro.
On Saturday, November 4, the Imperial Valley Symphony will hold its “Novembrance: A Symphonic Tribute” concert, at the Jimmie Cannon Theater for Performing Arts at Southwest, also in El Centro.
Though no stranger to performing as current Southwest High School (SHS) sophomore Alexis Huynh has been performing since the age of eight, Friday’s public recital is a way to both showcase her progress as a musician, serves as motivation for her to continue in it, and also will be a way for her to continue to “open up,” her private violin instructor, Dr. Christina Kim, said.
“The recital is going to showcase Alexis’ playing in different types of music,” Kim, who is also concertmaster of the Imperial Valley Symphony, said. “It is a public recital and everyone and anyone is welcomed to come see it.”
At the recital, Huynh will be playing a mix of a solo violin concerto, a double violin concerto, string quartet music and she will also sit in the role as concertmaster for her formal recital, with various musicians from the Imperial Valley Symphony and other local school orchestras supporting her musically.
“It’s basically all focused on Lexie,” Kim said.
Kim said the idea for a public recital came about as the youth “really turned around a few years ago when she first prepared to do the Young Artist concert (with the Imperial Valley Symphony) as a solo violinist.”
“That experience really changed everything for her and she became very motivated to practice more,” Kim said. “She experienced something enjoyable during the preparation process and a the concert itself. Ever since then she’s been doing great, following all my instructions to the T, and improving a lot.”
“I think Alexis is going into medicine later (on in life) but what I do as a music teacher is to make sure students learn music but also learn to perform at increasingly higher and higher levels. … and these recitals are part of the process,” Kim, who is also the director for the Kennedy Middle School Orchestra and adjunct faculty in the Imperial Valley College music department, said.
“It’s sort of an assessment point … but at the same time it’s a huge learning opportunity,” she said. “In my opinion, musicians learn a lot on stage while performing in public and in front of a lot of people. …it can work as a huge motivator and you also feel a lot of things (on stage). I think for students it’s important to experience this too because it’s a way to showcase your progress and it’s also a very valuable learning experience (for them).”
For the Friday evening recital, Huynh will be playing the Violin Concert in G Minor, Op. 12, No. 1 by Antonio Vivaldi for her soloist with Imperial Valley String Quartet members (Dr. Kim, Luke Hamby, Joel Jacklich and Marissa Gohl), backing her up. Huynh will play a Concerto for Two Violins in D minor by J.S. Bach with IVS and Mariachi Aurora de Calexico member Astrid Ruelas and the IVS Quartet. Next a family Mozart piece – Eine Kleine Nachtmusik, mvt. 1, will be performed.
Huynh’s recital will end with a bevy of songs – “Baila Conmigo,” “Palladio,” “Lady of the Lake,” – with fellow local youth musicians Esperanza Orozco, Alejandro Solorzano and Lizette Moreno in chamber-style string quartet, followed by the pieces where Huynh will lead as concertmaster –“Molly on the Shore” and the “Capriole Suite” – with members of the Southwest High School Chamber Orchestra.
The Alexis Huynh Violin Recital begins at 6 p.m. tonight, Friday, November 3, at Sts. Peter & Paul Episcopal Church, located at 500 S. 5th Street in El Centro. A reception will be held at the church after the recital.
On Saturday, another equally lively musical experience, the Imperial Valley Symphony (IVS) will be out in full for the “Novembrance” concert.
“I think it’s amazing that this is our 50th season (of Imperial Valley Symphony), so that’s kind of why it’s important,” said Dr. Mathew Busse, IVS director, Southwest High School music chair and SHS orchestras director.
Busse said the “Novembrance” theme encapsulates the various holidays of remembrance in fall, such as Halloween and Dia de los Muertos as well as Veterans Day.
The IVS will performance musical pieces such as the Overture to La forza del destino by Giuseppe Verdi, Piano Concerto No. 23 in A Major, K. 488 by W.A. Mozart, Danse Macabre by Camille Saint-Saëns, Bugler’s Holiday by Leroy Anderson, and American Salute by Morton Gould.
“It’s kind of a combo,” Busse said of the theme and songs selection. “Dansa Macabre” as the whole ‘dance of the dead’ because we just had Halloween and Dia de los Muertos, and we’re a week away from Veteran’s Day, so we’re trying to remember all of these things in November. We’re kind of combining multiple holidays,” he said.
As Dr. Kim will be pulling multiple duties in the Huynh recital as co-organizer and in-concert performer, Dr. Busse will also be performing the Piano Concert No. 23 in addition to conducting the Imperial Valley Symphony. “It’ll be fun to watch me try to play it,” he laughed.
Both master musicians noted that the Imperial Valley Symphony cannot continue without the support of the local Imperial Valley community.
“It still amazes me that a community this still can have a symphony orchestra but at the same time it kind of saddens me that we have such little support throughout the community,” Busse said.
“It’s not common for a community this small to have a symphony orchestra in their own backyard, and we do and it’s been going for 50 years, with lots of struggles here and there,” he said. “We’re still struggling financially and we’re trying to keep our concerts free, but I don’t know how much longer that can last because we still have to pay for a lot of things to make it happen (for free admission).”
Busse said expenses such as new pieces of music – using John Williams pieces at $600 to $1000 a piece as an example –, licensing fees to perform the music live, reliance on ‘hiring’ supplemental musicians from San Diego to fill necessary symphonic instrument spots, and performance venue costs all add up to the IV Symphony’s costs each season.
“We’re going to attempt to hold some future major fundraisers to support the symphony but we still rely on support from our community, from community members and businesses throughout the community,” Busse said.
Kim said she hopes that Huynh’s recital inspires not only her student to continue but other students as well.
“I think doing music has kind of helped (Huynh) open up a little bit more in terms of her personality,” Kim said, “so I’m giving her those opportunities to come out of her shell even more.”
“A lot of people experience that through music – I am a prime example of that – so I want Lexie to be less shy and less scared of opportunities like this,” Kim said, “not just in music but (also) later on in life … so this is kind of to prepare her for life experience as well.”
“It’s important, especially in our country,” Busse said. “The arts need support.”
Imperial Valley Symphony’s “Novembrance: A Symphonic Tribute” concert will be held on Saturday, November 4, at the Jimmie Cannon Theater at Southwest in El Centro at 7 p.m.
