SJSU celebrates anniversary

By: Kyle Hansen

Posted: 4/4/07

San Jose State University students, alumni and faculty will be featured in a special concert tonight at the California Theater as part of the yearlong celebration of SJSU's sesquicentennial, and as a benefit for the College of Humanities and the Arts.

The 7 p.m. concert harkens back to the Centennial Symphony Concert held in 1957 at the San Jose Civic Auditorium. One of the headliners of the concert, Irene Dalis, returns tonight as the mistress of ceremonies.

"Clearly we have a precedent set because they did a concert in 1957 and we really wanted to make the connection with Irene Dalis," said Jennifer Cauble, chair of the 150th anniversary committee and one of the organizers of the concert. "To be able to have her at a concert was an opportunity we felt we could not pass up."

Dalis graduated from SJSU in 1946 and had been performing in Europe when she returned for the centennial concert. Dalis was a principal artist at the New York Metropolitan Opera for 20 consecutive seasons, according to the concert program. After her retirement, she returned to SJSU to teach and went on to found Opera San Jose in 1984.

Tonight's concert will feature a mixture of performers from Opera San Jose, Symphony Silicon Valley and SJSU, Cauble said.

Amie Jan, a senior majoring in violin performance and music education, will be performing with the professional Symphony Silicon Valley in the concert.

"I am really excited," she said. "I think that this is an excellent opportunity to play alongside a professional orchestra."

The symphony will be the main musical group throughout the concert, Cauble said, but the goal is to show the impact SJSU has had on the arts community around San Jose.

"San Jose State has had a tremendous impact on the arts community in this region," Cauble said. "Students, professors, faculty are still having an impact, not only in the region, but nationwide … . Almost everybody in this program has some connection to San Jose State and this is a very professional production. It is very reflective of what this community is all about."

Four current SJSU students will be performing with the professional members of the symphony; Maryam Parto and Jan will be playing the violin, Cole Tutino will be playing the cello and Greg Messa will be in the percussion section.

"I think it is important and it matters because it demonstrates that our school has a history of producing quality members of society," said Aaron Gilbert, a junior majoring biochemistry. "I am not much of a music buff, but for music majors, it is important."

The concert will include the world premiere of a new composition, written especially for the event, Cauble said. Craig Bohmler, a former SJSU faculty member and an accomplished composer, wrote the piece, entitled "Overture 1-5-0."

Faculty member Gwendolyn Mok will perform a piano piece. According to the concert program, Mok is currently the coordinator of keyboard studies at SJSU and has performed in Carnegie Hall, Avery Fisher Hall and in several movie soundtracks.

Two SJSU alumni, Lori Decter and Sandra Rubalcava, will be performing opera selections with the symphony under the direction of professor emeritus of music David Rohrbaugh.

The final piece performed at the concert will be the first movement from Ludwig van Beethoven's Symphony No. 3 "Erotica." According to Cauble, this piece is being performed in memory of Ira Brilliant, founder of the Ira F. Brilliant Center for Beethoven Studies, which is the only institution in North America solely dedicated to Beethoven and is located at SJSU.

Tickets to the concert are $150 or $75 each, depending on the location of the seats. Proceeds go to benefit the College of Humanities and the Arts. Student rush tickets will be available tonight at the door for $25 each.