Historical Highlights
20182018 After several years of Mother’s Day concerts at Mission San Juan Bautista, SVS began a new tradition of celebrating Mother’s Day with an outdoor concert under the canopy at Guglielmo Winery in Morgan Hill.
| 1972 | Six members in Morgan Hill’s Continuing Education music class formed a community orchestra with the aim of developing and preserving local talent. The class was organized by Kathleen Baraclough who served as the orchestra’s first Music Director and Conductor. |
| 1974 | Orchestra members performed their first concert for an audience of 35 people at Live Oak High School in December. |
| 1976 | Prop. 13 ended Morgan Hill School District support of the orchestra. |
| 1977 | Orchestra incorporated as South Valley Symphony Association, Inc. with an 8-member Board of Directors responsible for managing the affairs of the Symphony. |
| 1979 | South Valley Symphony attained 501(c)(3) non-profit status with IRS. |
| 1982 | First guest artist performed with the Symphony in the Winter Concert |
| 1990 | Jason Klein replaced Kathleen Barraclough as Music Director & Conductor. |
| 1991 | Arts Alliance was formed with Gavilan College. The orchestra became a ‘for-credit’ class and the SVS Music Director a member of the Gavilan College Faculty. |
| 1998 | The Winter Concert saw the first of many performances with Gavilan College Concert Choir under the direction of Phillip Robb. |
| 1999 | 25th season was celebrated with two Youth Concerts and a joint performance of Peter and the Wolf with the Gavilan College Theater Arts Department. |
| 2000 | Henry Mollicone replaced Jason Klein as Music Director & Conductor. During his tenure concerts frequently featured guest soloists, unusual instruments and members of the Symphony orchestra. |
| 2001 | SVS Orchestra performed The Messiah with the Oriana Chorale and Gavilan College Concert Choir. |
| 2002 | Youth Concert featured the South Valley Suzuki Violin Academy and the Morgan Hill Dance Company. |
| 2004 | The Spring Concert presented Mariachi Santa Cecilia. |
| 2005 | Anthony Quartuccio replaced Henry Mollicone as Music Director & Conductor. His leadership brought renewed emphasis on young musicians as solo performers at two or more concerts in the season. |
| 2006 | The March Family Concert featured the South Valley Ballet. The first Music at the Mission Concert in San Juan Bautista was performed. |
| 2008 | The May concert – Opera at the Mission – spotlighted four soloists from Opera San Jose singing familiar favorites by Mozart, Verdi and Rossini. Opera San Jose rejoined the SVS orchestra and Gavilan College Concert Choir for a performance of The Messiah in December. |
| 2009 | The winner of the lst Navaroli Young Musicians Competition performed a violin solo in March. A second solo performance by a 16-year old pianist was presented in October. |
| 2011 | October’s opening concert featured Dr. David Thompson narrating Aaron Copland’s A Lincoln Portrait. In December, Gavilan College Choir performed Bach’s Christmas Oratorio with the SVS orchestra. |
| 2012 | Four winners of the Young Musician’s competition performed solos with the SVS orchestra. A special free concert at Live Oak High School shared the stage with LO Jazz Band. Opera San Jose singers returned to Mission San Juan Bautista for the May concert and in August the Symphony helped organize and participated in Jackson Academy for math & Music first Music Festival. |
| 2013 | In March, Chris Niemann, a gifted young composer – senior at Sobrato H.S. – debuted with the SVS orchestra. The Symphony orchestra and chamber singers from Gilroy and Christopher High Schools with Director, Phil Robb performed to a full house at the May concert in Mission San Juan Bautista. |
| 2019 | Our season featured Glazunov seasonal works, Tchaikovsky, John Rutter, Holst. Our May concert features Rachmaninoff’s Piano Concerto No 2, Shostakovich, and an arrangement of Midnight and Dawn in Moscow by Jim O’Briant. In the fall, our program included Ennio Morricone, Korngold, John Williams, and Daveed Behroozi |
| 2020 | In spring, SVS debuted Ozian Symphony by Chris Niemann and Pergolisi’s Flute Concerto. In the fall, SVS’s reduced COVID performances allowed us to present Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess with Mozart’s Eine Kleine Nachtmusik. |
| 22021 | For the May concert, SVS presented a program with a strong Latin flavor: Anderson’s Blue Tango, Gardel’s Por Una Cabeza, Albeniz’s Tango, Piazzolla’s Libertango. In October, the season started with Brahms’ Hungarian Dance No 5, Stravinsky’s Firebird, Mussorgsky’s Night on Bald Mountain, Grieg’s Peer Gynt Suite No 1. Holiday provided Beethoven’s Piano Concerto No 5, Waldteufel’s Les Patineurs waltzs, and John Williams’ Schindler’s List. |
| 2022 | March’s concert was shared with a local high school choir conducted by Jon Sousa. SVS played Faure’s Pavane, Brahms Concerto in A minor for Violin and Cello featuring Valery and Starla Breshears. May’s concert included more Latin flavored music including Marquez’ Danzon No 2, Rimsky-Korasakov’s Capriccio Espagnol, and Bizet’s Carmen Suites 1 & 2. In October 2022, SVS saluted American music with Henry Mollicone’s Behind Me Dips Eternity, Morton Gould’s American Salute, Aaron Copeland’s Our Town, and Bernstein’s West Side Story. In December 2022, SVS honored the memories of Henry Mollicone and to our own Patricia Meyers. |
| 2023 | Fiftieth anniversary season 2023-2024! Holiday concert feature favorite symphonic music and big band holiday classics with Sandra Marlowe and Ted Sanchez. March’s NextGen Youth concert featured first of 2 co-winners from the Al Navaroli competition, Katelyn Deng who played Liszt’s Piano Concerto No 2 with amazing skill and maturity. May’s Mothers Day concert was an audience thrilling program featuring Tchaikovsky’s 1812 Overture and Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue. Our soloist for Rhapsody in Blue was our second co-winner, Aidan Kwon. |
