Saratoga Sampler

Nova Vista Symphony to perform Saratoga composer's work

By Mary Ann Cook

DANSA TRIMBULA: An original composition for saxophone and accordion by Saratoga's Henry Mollicone will be among the highlights of the Nova Vista Symphony concert Jan. 15 at 8 p.m. in Smithwick Theater at Foothill College. Saxophonist William Trimble and accordionist Anthony Quartuccio will perform "Dansa Trimbula." Trimble has been called "the Pavarotti of the saxophone," and Quartuccio is an award-winning performer and assistant conductor of Opera San Jose.

Mollicone writes for orchestra, ballet and chorus, and he has composed for film, theater and TV, including music for Barnaby Jones and Fantasy Island. He directs the Santa Clara University orchestra and has served on the school's music faculty since 1985. Mollicone's Hotel Eden opera had its premiere at Opera San Jose in 1989.

Mollicone's one-act opera, The Face on the Barroom Floor, is among the most often performed contemporary operas in the United States, and it has been produced in several European countries. It won the American Composers' Recording Award.

"Composing comes easily to me," he says. "I knew from a very early age I was going to be a composer." The world is the richer for his determined direction, dedication and talent.

Also on the Jan. 15 concert bill is the world premiere of "Fantasia for Orchestra" by British composer Richard Arnell and works by Saint-Saens, Mussorgsky and Anton Liadov. Tickets are $10, $8 and $5 (available at the door), and parking is $2 in quarters. For more information, call 408.245.3116.

TRAVEL NUTS: These two have been described as "travel nuts," as in people who love to travel so much that they are nuts about it. Case in point: Ruth Bauer and Olive Stocking spent Christmas at Yosemite National Park, taking in the famed Bracebridge Dinner.

The Bracebridge Dinner is a magnificent hoopla of ceremony and celebration. It features a script derived from a Washington Irving tale and is replete with a mighty seven-course meal. Ansel Adams wrote the script that is now in use.

In the story, the lord of the manor is hosting a grand holiday feast and great platters of food are brought forth. At Yosemite, the meat course is labeled Sir Loin, Baron. As the feast continues, the poor people of the village hammer on the door to be let in and the lord munificently obliges.

It's all enacted in the majestic, high-domed dining room of the Ahwahnee. Bracebridge has proved so popular over the years that an additional seating was added recently. Now there are two seatings on Christmas Day and one on Christmas Eve. Diners are chosen by lottery early in the year.

Because the price is as generous as the room, it would help to win the other lottery beforehand. Bracebridge is one of the few events in the California world for which people still dress to the nines. Bauer particularly commended the goat-cheese tart appetizer and the fish tureen.

SHAKE THOSE TILES: Mah Jongg keeps the brain active, say geriatric experts like Dr. Patrick Fitzsimmons of Los Gatos. Congregation Beth David is helping the cause by sponsoring its second annual Mah Jongg Tournament on Feb. 20 from 9:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m.

This sounds like a long stretch away, but the deadline to register is Feb. 1; space is limited to 200, and advance registration is required. Participation costs $18, which includes welcoming coffee and lunch. Checks should be payable to Congregation Beth David and sent to Phyllis Zis, 12260 Via Roncole, Saratoga, 95070.

Sponsoring club is the South Bay Mah Jongg Mavens. Mah Jongg, which originated in China, is among the most ancient of games. It is usually played with four people using 144 tiles, which are drawn and discarded until one person has a winning hand.

SUMMIT LEAGUE LEADERS: New officers for the Summit League are: Betty Colwell, president; Molly Swenson, vice president; Carol Parker, recording secretary; Sarah McCollum, corresponding secretary; and Ginny Bowman, treasurer. The league is already planning its biannual holiday house tour for December 2000. There are 45 club members, and the charity to benefit from the tour has yet to be chosen.

ART AUCTION DONATION: Maree Lubran will donate two of her portraits--one of poet Maya Angelou and one of columnist Murry Frymer--to the KTEH annual art auction Jan. 13-16. The Angelou portrait is a black and white watercolor, autographed by the poet. The Frymer portrait is also autographed and inscribed to the yet-to-be-decided recipient.

SLIDE SHOW: Next on the agenda for Sanborn Park Hostel is a presentation by Dorothy Terrell on Morocco, Spain and Portugal on Jan. 27. A pot-luck dinner at 6:30 p.m. precedes the slide show. The hostel number is 408.293.3787.

CHAMPION IRISH DANCERS: Sean Collins, 14, of Los Gatos and Thomas Holford, 12, of San Jose won as soloists at the Western Regional Championship in Irish dancing held in Seattle. Now they'll compete in the world championship in Belfast, Ireland, in April. Their instructor, Patricia Kennelly, recently opened a class in Los Gatos, and the number is 408.268.4548.

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