Press Release
November 26, 2007
Surprise Appearance of "Baroque" Composer at San Diego Chamber Orchestra Delights the Audience
It wasn’t just extraordinary music with a few surprises tucked in, as
fans of Jung-Ho Pak and the San Diego Chamber Orchestra have come to expect.
The November Classics Series concert, “Baroque Pearls,” featuring
the most loved and well-known melodies of all time and played in authentic
Baroque style, was already delighting the audience members when Maestro Pak
and the Orchestra introduced a new Baroque overture and asked the audience
to guess the country of origin. Much to the surprise of the audience, it had
been composed by a young American composer who was introduced onstage.
“It was a rush,” said Roberto José Bancalari, a mandolin
player from Long Beach, California, “seeing it come to life…it
was much different from hearing it back on the computer’s speakers. To
see the musicians enjoy playing it was a huge compliment!”
Known as Bobby to his friends, Bancalari mesmerized and charmed the audience
as he talked about why he’s attracted to the rhythm and the use of counterpoint
in Baroque music, likening it to jazz, with its improvisational form. “It’s
cool,” he said onstage as he talked about finding two early music societies
on the Internet, Vox Saeculorum and The Scharffeneck Collection, and “really
getting into writing Baroque music.”
He began learning to play the flute at age eleven, taking lessons initially,
but eventually dropping the lessons to teach himself as he learned the French
horn, the bassoon, the violin and other instruments. At that point, “my
dad got me private lessons for the violin and viola,” he says. He was
fifteen when he joined the Burbank Philharmonic, playing the viola. At seventeen,
he started playing keyboard, joined a few rock bands and started writing Baroque
music. One of his hobbies was classical guitar for which he would transcribe
old lute pieces. This hobby turned into a multi-book deal with Mel Bay, mostly
Baroque music for mandolin and recorder. “So, I’ve always kind
of had this double life,” he says. He currently plays mandolin
several nights a week in clubs and private parties and sings with his wife
one night a week.
Jung-Ho was surfing the Internet when he found Bancalari and
contacted him to learn more about his Baroque music. “Jung-Ho is awesome,” says
Bancalari, “he has such a great approach, both with the musicians and
the audience. You can tell he genuinely loves what he’s doing and wants
to bring the audience in. I think his passion and down-to-earth interaction
will draw in a fresh crowd.”
The San Diego Chamber Orchestra will perform
Handel’s Messiah on
December 14, 15 and 16 and its next Classics Series concert, “Music for
all Seasons,” on January 15, 15 and 18 in La Jolla, Rancho Santa Fe, and
downtown San Diego. For more details, go to www.sdco.org.
For
more information about Bancalari, visit www.myspace.com/baroquenoise.
For
photos and more information, please contact Marketing at San Diego Chamber
Orchestra.
|
 |
|
