By Sarah Lombardo
The summer music series returns to the Mountain Winery this summer under the management of Villa Montalvo Center for the Arts. Officials from Villa Montalvo and the winery signed an agreement by which Villa Montalvo will have exclusive rights for four years to produce the popular summer series, which has been silent since 1995.
Under a shared expense and revenue agreement, Villa Montalvo will be adding the Mountain Winery to its list of three other theaters. Bruce Labadie, director of performing arts, said the winery will now be considered and marketed as Montalvo's fourth theater.
Labadie, former booking manager at the Mountain Winery, said the first concert in the series could be expected the first week of June.
"We couldn't put any offers in [with musicians] until after today," Labadie said. But officials said there was interest on the part of many musicians who have played at the winery in the past.
Saying he hoped to have the broadest range of music possible at the winery, Labadie said he saw the task of booking both venues as "not a competition, just a challenge."
"There's plenty of room for concerts at both, and plenty of people to buy tickets in the Bay Area," he said. For the 1997 season, Villa Montalvo executive director Elisbeth Challener said about 25 concerts will be scheduled; about 60 will be offered in 1998, and a maximum of 75 performances will be planned in following years.
Dan McFadden, winery owner Ravi Kumra's representative in the negotiations, said Kumra will be subsidizing the winery's first season of concerts until the series gets off the ground.
Kumra said the deal had been in the works for some time. "We have been working behind the scenes for quite a while, but we did not want to say anything prematurely," he said.
Now that a letter of intent has been signed, all that is left to do is obtain the appropriate permits. Santa Clara County associate planner Juanell Waldo said winery officials still have a few issues, such as sewage disposal, to finalize for the environmental impact report before public hearings can be held and a use permit issued. But, she said, she did not foresee any problems.
"[The permit] will be out in the spring," Waldo said. "We're hoping to get through hearings in the late spring."
Challener said Montalvo officials have received a letter from the county assuring them that they will be awarded a conditional-use permit in time for their concert series.
City officials and businesses are heralding the return of the music series. Saratoga Chamber of Commerce director Sheila Arthur called the news "absolutely fantastic."
"I happen to know that some of the restaurants in town thought that their summer income was drastically reduced when the series ended," Arthur said.
Vice Mayor Don Wolfe said he thought the music series would be good for Saratoga's reputation as well.
"I appreciate the cooperation between the two groups that will enhance Saratoga's theme as a place for culture and the arts," Wolfe said.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, January 22, 1997.
©1997 Metro Publishing, Inc. All rights reserved.