MARIPOSA – Visiting holiday guests may not know that Mariposa is believed to be the smallest town in America with its own symphony orchestra.
With this year’s Mariposa Symphony Orchestra (MSO) Festive Holiday Concert held just before Christmas, locals have a great opportunity to show friends and family what we’ve got.
The one-night-only concert will be on Saturday, Dec. 21, at 7 p.m, in the Fiester Auditorium of Mariposa County High School.
The event has been programmed by MSO Music Director/Conductor Les Marsden with classical holiday favorites including Tchaikovsky’s beloved Nutcracker Suite of course, but also Beethoven’s greatest overture, the best-loved waltz not by Strauss, a dance from the Nutcracker that even ballet aficionados haven’t heard before, and much more.
MSO cellist Gay Hagen Dunn will be featured in Édouard Lalo’s Intermezzo from his sole cello concerto. Dunn was born in Lincoln, Nebraska and began her orchestral career at age 16 with the Lincoln and Omaha Symphony Orchestras, performing as a Young Artist Competition winner with the Lincoln Symphony. Her studies began with Carol Work and Priscilla Parson and she participated in master classes with the internationally-esteemed cellist/teachers Leonard Rose, Zara Nelsova and Janos Starker. Ms. Dunn earned a Bachelor of Music Education degree at the University of Nebraska.
After moving to California, Ms. Dunn studied cello with Irene Sharp and chamber music with Ronald Copes. She played with the San Luis Obispo, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara Chamber, and Ventura Symphony Orchestras, Livermore Valley Opera, and the Pleasanton Chamber Players. As a faculty member of The Suzuki Music School of Livermore she taught cello and chamber music and also acted as Assistant Conductor of the orchestra.
Ms. Dunn moved to Mariposa in 2011, and is now in her 3rd season with MSO. She plays chamber music and teaches cello privately, and performs classical, folk, and jazz music with her husband Greg and daughter Aminta. She has mixed her musical career with one in graphic arts, designing magazines, logos, brochures, etc. She plays a German cello, made in 1795 by Josef Klotz (the younger).
Tickets for the Dec. 21 Mariposa Symphony Orchestra’s 12th Season Festive Holiday Concert Concert are $6 for adults and $4 for students and are on sale at the Mariposa County Arts Council’s office at 5009 Highway 140 in Mariposa (top floor of Chocolate Soup) adjacent to the Mariposa Art Park. For information call (209) 966-3155.
Tickets are also available at the Mariposa County Visitors Center (call 209-966-7081 for hours) across from Miners Roadhouse. Full concert information including extensive programs notes on all pieces to be performed are available on the Mariposa County Arts Council’s website: http://tinyurl.com/MariposaSO
Friends and family home for the holidays? Make very merry indeed by sharing the gift of live music from your symphony orchestra – bragging rights included at no charge.
