Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra

From Mozart to Brahms
Review by Nathalie Plotkin

Continuing the 19th season of Ensemble Monterey's very special, widely varied and very innovative musical offerings, an enthusiastic audience was treated to a pair of seldom programmed gems of the chamber music repertoire.

From Mozart to Brahms offered a sampling of a late Mozart String Quintet in C Major, K.515 written late in the composer's life and the early Brahms String Sextet No. 2 in G Major, Op 36.

Five of the six musicians who took the stage are old friends of Ensemble Monterey fans. Violinist David Dally and cellist Margie Dally are founding members of the group, closely followed by violist Leah Bayes, violinist Susan Brown and cellist Marilyn George.

We have watched these talented and able musicians grow and develop and have come to appreciate their abilities and their devotion to bringing excellence and enjoyment to their audiences. For this concert set, they were joined by violist John Wineglass.

The Mozart Quintet was a thoroughly delightful and polished performance of a work that surely ranks among the composer's finest inspirations and the group under the sparkling, strong and spirited leadership of David Dally was a joy to listen to. These musicians, having played together for so long, displayed great sensitivity and graceful responsiveness to each other. The entire performance was totally coordinated, full of awareness of musical content and had a strong and dynamic quality.

The Brahms Sextet was a strong Romantic Era contrast to Mozart's Classical formality. The musicians brought out the personal quality of the composition. There is an unfulfilled love story in its background and the longing and emotive mood which surfaces throughout the music is inescapable.

Brahms allotted much expressive music to the first violin and cello with additional fine lines for the first viola. Thus they were a melodic, warmly songful and sensitive core with the other three players in a supporting role. All were exemplary performers in a difficult and involved work which was thoughtfully brought to life with excellent dynamic control and balance.

Next Concert

Our next concert, “Light-Hearted Winds” is a concert of classic delights featuring the wind section of the orchestra in compositions designed for pleasure and enjoyment. Come enjoy Mozart’s spirited overture from The Magic Flute, Beethoven’s lovely Rondino, Hummel’s early romantic-era Octet, Jacob’s Divertimento for Winds and one of Mozart’s most joyful compositions Serenade in E Flat Major.

Concert dates for “Light-Hearted Winds” are Saturday, March 20th, 8 pm at Monterey’s Golden State Theatre, and Sunday, March 21st, 7 pm at Santa Cruz’s First Congregational Church. Be sure to join conductor John Anderson for Insights from the Conductor and a complementary reception one hour before each concert.

Meet The Board

EMCO Board Bios

Diana Tomasi, Executive Director
Diana came to Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra in 2006, bringing previous experience with nonprofit arts organizations and a passion for world-class musical performances. She has held prominent positions in event management, marketing communications, community relations, sales, and corporate and public affairs across several industries. She is dedicated to promoting education, community awareness, and involvement with the performing arts. With her degree in music (vocal performance), she also sings in the acclaimed vocal ensemble Cantiamo! where she is occasionally a featured soloist. She enjoys spending time at the beach, dancing, hiking, cooking, and being with her family and friends. 

Candace Tanner, Volunteer Coordinator
Candy began her association with Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra in 2006. Her talents as an event planner and bookkeeper have both been valuable. Candy earned a master’s in education in Earth Science from Pennsylvania State University after majoring in both Fine Arts and Geology at Colgate University. She currently co-directs the Musical Mondays program at First Congregational Church in Santa Cruz with Cheryl Anderson and works as a kindergarten aide and tutor. Candy and her husband sing in the Chancel Choir at FCC and in the Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus. Her two daughters are in college. The empty nest is filled with music!

Gail Groves, President
Gail has been on the board for three years and is in her first year as president. Gail holds an M.A. in Social Science with an emphasis in Women’s Studies from San Jose State University and is a second-degree brown belt in women’s judo. Her background is in self-defense instruction, curriculum development, social work, and management. She currently manages a social services office for Santa Cruz County and sings in Cabrillo Symphonic Chorus and the Chancel Choir of First Congregational Church. She enjoys opera, world travel, gardening, and cooking, and her Swedish Vallhunds, Tizi and Tichka. She lives in Santa Cruz where she has been married to her partner of 27 years.

Claire Horn, Vice President
Claire Horn earned her B.A. in Music Education at Ithaca College and two master’s degrees in Music and Education Administration at CSU Fullerton. She was the high school band and orchestra director for years at Mission Viejo High School. In 1988, she became the director of the Defense Language Institute Pan Cultural Orchestra in Monterey. She also conducted the youth orchestra for Youth Music Monterey. During her working years, she was on the boards of Southern California School Band and Orchestra Association, Orange County Music Administrators, California Music Educators Association, Mozart in Monterey, and Youth Music Monterey. She has been on the board of Ensemble Monterey for 16 years and was the board president for ten years before becoming vice president this season. She plays piano, oboe, and violin for personal enjoyment and professionally with numerous groups in the Monterey Bay Area.

Jean Haneke, Treasurer
Music has always been a huge part of Jean’s life; she has sung in choirs in her church, school, and community. She met her husband, retired choral conductor, Don Haneke, when he was Director of Music at the Methodist Church in Palo Alto, and she sang in the choir. They traveled to Europe several times on choir tours, have enjoyed attending the San Francisco Opera, San Francisco Ballet, and now enjoy attending many musical events throughout the Bay Area and Central Coast. Professionally, she has been in the automobile business for over forty years starting as a bookkeeper and working into positions of Business Manager and General Manager. She enjoys spending time with family, walking (especially with her recently adopted boxer, Redford), and reading. This is her first year as Treasurer and on the board of Ensemble Monterey.   
   
Robin Phillips, Secretary
Robin received a BFA from Texas Tech University in 1991, and, having played the violin in orchestras from youth to college, he has cultivated a lifelong enjoyment of the more adventurous types of symphonic music for which Ensemble Monterey is well known. This marks the second year that Robin has served on the board and the first as Secretary. When not performing his secretarial duties, he can sometimes be seen crossing blades with the denizens of the local fencing clubs or performing various set changes for Ensemble Monterey.

Dr. John Anderson, Artistic Director
John is the founder and Conductor of Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra. He has served on the faculty of Monterey Peninsula College for twenty years and has been Chairperson of the Division of Creative Arts for the past ten years. His faculty appointments have also included conducting positions at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo, Indiana State University, and Transylvania University in Lexington, Kentucky. He held the position of flutist in the Alpine Wind Quintet and was Assistant Conductor of the Breckenridge Music Festival for seven years. In addition to guest conducting, he also has an active career as a classical recording engineer and has worked on recordings for the Mormon Tabernacle Choir, the West Palm Beach Chamber Players, among many others. He holds two degrees from UCLA and a Doctorate in Conducting from the University of Northern Colorado. John lives in Watsonville with his wife, Cheryl, an eminent Choral Conductor, and it has become a happy tradition for them to combine their talents at the end of each concert season with a joint concert.  

Sachi Guzman, Director
Sachi is a Central Coast native and has spent much of her life here, attending elementary, middle school, and high school in Carmel. While in the Carmel Unified School District, she was active in music, having played piano for twelve years and performed in local stage productions. She has a B.A. in Political Science/International Relations from University of California. For the past 20 years, she has worked in the educational publishing field and is currently Editorial and Production Manager at Pacific Metrics in Monterey. Sachi has a passion for mentorship, risk management, and creative problem solving. This is Sachi’s second year on the Board of Directors for Ensemble Monterey.

Kent Imai, M.D., Director
Kent just retired from a 40-year career in internal medicine.  
Married to Marie for 44 years, he now spends time with their five grandchildren, plays golf, sings with Cantiamo!, and recently resumed his relationship with the violin after a long estrangement (they broke up in high school). He also recently got his first viola, but was embarrassed to discover that viola music is all written in that strange alto clef!  In the meantime, he's delighted to join the board to further support the outstanding programs of Ensemble Monterey and hopes to be instrumental in growing the audience and support in Santa Cruz.

Faith Sherry Lessen, J.D., Director
Sherry is an attorney and has over twenty years’ experience as an innovative leader in providing fund-development services. She is the CEO of Strategic Fund-Raising Solutions and provides consulting services in all areas of fund development, with the mission to be a leader in creating successful and sustainable organizations and businesses. Her expertise includes grant awards for housing, health and human services, education, environment, and art and music programs. She has been instrumental in linking funding partnerships with universities, businesses, and hospitals. She has been involved in music organizations for many years and has worked on funding and support of music programs in the schools. She is also a seminar instructor and provides group and one-on-one training sessions in all areas of fund development. Recently she has been providing grant seminars on the ARRA emergency economic stimulus grants throughout the Monterey County. She enjoys playing flute with the Monterey Peninsula College concert band.

Dr. David E. Thompson, Director
David is a clarinetist, playing with the Monterey Peninsula College Concert Band, Santa Cruz City Band, and the South Valley Symphony. He also plays alto clarinet with the Clarion Clarinet Quartet. David studied with the clarinetist of the Chicago Symphony in 1965 and was awarded a music scholarship and academic scholarship to Indiana University. For several years while a high school student, David was a standing member of the professional West Suburban Symphony Orchestra outside of Chicago, for whom his mother was concertmaster for over forty years. Pursuing an academic career in science and earning a Doctorate at UCLA in Planetary and Space Physics, he has only recently returned to music performance and is very pleased to support Ensemble Monterey Chamber Orchestra as a board member. David has been a nationally ranked cross-country skier and was a member of the U.S. National Cross-Country Ski Team from 1978–1984. He was also a member of the U.S. National Speed Skating Team from 1986–1988, participating in the Olympic Trials for the 1980, 1984, and 1988 Winter Olympics. David and his wife, Haze, are also experienced high-altitude mountaineers, climbing in the U.S., Canada, New Zealand, Bolivia, Peru, and Ecuador.  Not just a pretty face, David is also a fulltime Senior Research Scientist at NASA Ames Research Center where he works in the fields of astrophysics, intelligent data analysis methods, applied math, and computational physics.

Upcoming Concerts