A major work for chorus and orchestra, entitled Flight through the Stars, by Saratoga composer Henry Mollicone, will be performed March 16 by the San Jose Symphonic Choir with the Nova Vista Symphony. The concert begins at 2:30 p.m. in the Smithwick Theater at Foothill College, Los Altos Hills.
Mollicone works in a wide variety of musical media and is internationally known. His one-act operas have been performed extensively.
Mollicone has also written a full-length opera, and works for voice, chorus, ballet and various chamber combinations, in addition to music for film and television and incidental music for productions at various theaters. He has guest-conducted at opera companies and was assistant conductor at the New York City Opera for five years. He once assisted Leonard Bernstein for the show 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue. He had two orchestral works premiered in 1995, recently completed a new work for concert band and is presently working on a new opera. He is currently an artist in residence at Santa Clara University.
Flight Through the Stars was commissioned in 1992 by the San Jose Symphonic Choir to commemorate the 500th anniversary of Columbus's voyage. Subtitled A Cantata of Discovery, the work celebrates the spirit of discovery and brings together various figures and events beginning with the dream of Columbus, continuing through the discoveries of Galileo and the philosophy of Einstein and ending with the first walk on the moon. The libretto by poet Cory Wade weaves together the historical threads.
The concert also will feature the premiere of a song cycle by Los Gatos composer Craig Bohmler, sung by Bay Area mezzo-soprano Cara Rae Cook. The work was commissioned by the Nova Vista Symphony Orchestra for this event.
Other works on the March 16 program include the Anvil Chorus from Verdi's opera Il Trovatore and Slavonic Dance op. 46, no. 2, of Dvorák.
Concert tickets will be available at the door. Admission is $10 general, $8 seniors and $5 students, with children under 12 free. For more information, call 245-3116.
This article appeared in the Saratoga News, March 12, 1997.
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