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SV Symphony presents holiday concert Dec. 14
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The South Valley Symphony warmly presents to the Morgan Hill, Gilroy and San Benito County communities a gift of traditions new and old for music lovers—and especially for families—at its annual winter concert this Sunday afternoon.
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The musical celebration of the holidays will start at 4 p.m. Dec. 14 at Gavilan Community College’s theater, 5055 Santa Teresa Blvd. in Gilroy. It will kick off with a humorous retelling of the legend of the Pied Piper of Hamelin, told from the point of view of a rat. “A Rat’s Tale” was composed by Bay Area musician Henry Mollicone who, dressed to resemble a rodent, will provide the comic narration of the story as the symphony’s musicians and the Cabrillo College Youth Chorus perform the score.
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Other pieces to be performed include Debussy’s Dances Sacred & Profane for Harp and Strings with the harp solo by the talented Ruthanne Adams, the Trans-Siberian Orchestra’s “Christmas Eve Sarajevo,” and our concertmaster and principal violinist Bev Blount performing favorite holidays songs.
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Our winter concert is a wonderful way for families and friends to take a break from their holiday shopping and enjoy a moment together in festive musical merriment. As is the case at all our concerts, children accompanied by their parents and all students with a valid ID can enjoy the concert for free.
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Please join the South Valley Symphony this Sunday afternoon and discover the musical joys of the holiday season.
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Sincerely,
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Anthony Quartuccio, South Valley Symphony director and conductor
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Invest in conservation
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Over the last couple of months I have read Santa Clara Valley Water District Board Member Dennis Kennedy write in the Times about the drought in Santa Clara Valley. The articles reiterate existing conservation policies and projects that have been planned in prior years. My expectation was something more in this county in a water crisis.
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This is not like any other drought and our approach should not rely on past policies to use less, wait and hope for rain. In many ways it underscores the significance of the drought and the impending impacts of climate change. We must not just use less, but implement stronger policies local and countywide and invest in new projects so we can get more from less.
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To be specific, in Morgan Hill we need a “scalping” plant. It’s a recycling plant that removes as much water from our waste as possible, and recycles it back to our very own aquifer. We need to use this recycled water for farmers like Andy Mariani and George Chiala. We need to use this water our parks and trees, and use it for manufacturing. We need to invest in an infrastructure and technology that expands as needs grows.
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Currently we pump our waste nine miles to Gilroy. Millions are spent annually for electricity just to pump. This is the same electricity we get from hydroelectric dams. We empty our reservoirs throughout the state just to produce electricity. If we use less electricity we actually save water. If we recycle our waste water, we save water AND we save electricity. It is such a simple concept.
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The great challenge for us today and tomorrow is to sustain what we have.That should be our priority and our investment and it includes a scalping plant as much as fire trucks and ambulances. We need to rely on bright minds and bold leadership. I believe we know what to do, but we don’t have the leadership to do it.
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Mark Grzan, Morgan Hill
