Al Navaroli was 12 years old when he moved with his Italian-born parents from Massachusetts to Bellflower, California. Not long after arriving the family moved to Gilroy where he spent most of his life until he died in June 2008. Al Navaroli was a lifetime lover of music and a long-time, passionate supporter of the South Valley Symphony and an extremely active member of the SVS Board. Although Al didn’t play a musical instrument nor sing, music had filled his heart since childhood thanks to his father whose love of music, especially Italian Opera, made a lasting impression.
Al’s tireless promotion of the symphony increased public exposure and financial support of the Symphony at a time when it was desperately needed. When Al first heard the Symphony perform in 1995, the orchestra had only seven string players. Al strongly believed in the need for additional players to balance the sound and bring forth the strength and complexity of classical music; he envisioned an orchestra of 50 – 60 musicians with two-thirds of the musicians playing string instruments. Between 1995 and 2008, Al worked to realize this vision. Today we are very close to realizing this vision.
In addition to his endeavors to raise awareness and funds for the Symphony, Al worked extremely hard toward bringing more guest artists to perform with the Symphony and to attracting young musicians to play in the orchestra. To honor his memory when he died, the South Valley Symphony established The Al Navaroli Young Musicians Competition. The competition seeks to find and showcase talented young musicians in south Santa Clara and San Benito counties. More information
Al Navaroli was a much loved and respected member of the Gilroy community. His tireless efforts enable the Symphony to perform great music for the listening pleasure of Gilroy, Morgan Hill, Hollister and the entire south county community.