Lawrence Spector (with guitar) plays with the Imperial Valley Symphony on Saturday at the Jimmie Cannon Performing Arts Theatre at Southwest High School in El Centro. (DENNIS JACOBELLI PHOTO) |
Franz Schubert’s “Symphony No. 5” was among the classical highlights patrons enjoyed Saturday during the 2012 Mid-Winter Concert by the Imperial Valley Symphony orchestra at the Jimmie Cannon Theatre for the Performing Arts at Southwest High School.
Now in its 38th season, the free concert featured Shubert’s work in B-Flat Major before an audience that cheered conductor Joel Jacklich, who, during an intermission, spoke highly of his time with the Imperial Valley Symphony.
Jacklich, the retired head of the music department at Imperial Valley College, said that there were 14 professional musicians in the orchestra as some members could not make it for Saturday’s performance.
Typically, there are 50 to 55 in the orchestra, but for Saturday’s event there were 42, Jacklich said.
Jacklich has conducted more than a dozen orchestras in the U.S. and Mexico and served on the national executive board of the Conductors’ Guild of the American Symphony Orchestra League.
“We’ve been meeting for 38 years now,” Jacklich said.
A highlight of the evening was the performance by solo guitarist Lawrence Spector, an Idyllwild resident who studied with the late Spanish flamenco and classical guitarist Vicente Gomez.
Spector said he was called by a conductor — not Jacklich — to “help out” here and decided to perform.
When asked what he would recommend any aspiring guitarist, Spector, as he was preparing himself inside a dressing room, said, “find a great teacher and practice a lot.”
Staff Writer Silvio J. Panta can be reached at 760-337-3442.
Now in its 38th season, the free concert featured Shubert’s work in B-Flat Major before an audience that cheered conductor Joel Jacklich, who, during an intermission, spoke highly of his time with the Imperial Valley Symphony.
Jacklich, the retired head of the music department at Imperial Valley College, said that there were 14 professional musicians in the orchestra as some members could not make it for Saturday’s performance.
Typically, there are 50 to 55 in the orchestra, but for Saturday’s event there were 42, Jacklich said.
Jacklich has conducted more than a dozen orchestras in the U.S. and Mexico and served on the national executive board of the Conductors’ Guild of the American Symphony Orchestra League.
“We’ve been meeting for 38 years now,” Jacklich said.
A highlight of the evening was the performance by solo guitarist Lawrence Spector, an Idyllwild resident who studied with the late Spanish flamenco and classical guitarist Vicente Gomez.
Spector said he was called by a conductor — not Jacklich — to “help out” here and decided to perform.
When asked what he would recommend any aspiring guitarist, Spector, as he was preparing himself inside a dressing room, said, “find a great teacher and practice a lot.”
Staff Writer Silvio J. Panta can be reached at 760-337-3442.
