Varied TICO Program Delights JCC Concertgoers

TICO opened with a spirited reading of Glinka’s Overture to Ruslan and Ludmilla, under the baton of their founder and conductor, David Amos. The violins scampered up and down the fingerboard in rapid runs and the cellos sang out their Slavic folk melody with confidence.

Handel’s four movement Royal Fireworks Music was conducted by Robert Zelickman, TICO’s assistant conductor. He elicited rhythmic control in the dotted figures of the Overture and throughout the dance suite.

The Menuetto featured a duet between concertmaster Bryce Newall and principal second violin, Jenee Wallace that was nicely executed and featured beautiful playing by the principal oboe, Ron Fox and the principal bassoon, Laura Ford.

This program of contrasting styles and eras ended the first half with the Mexican composer, Moncayo’s Huapango. The percussion section of TICO shone in this multi-rhythmic work and the principal trumpet, George Hangen, sounded Mariachi-like in his well-played solos.

This piece is particularly popular in Mexico. Amos, in his introductory remarks, compared its popularity in Mexico to Sousa’s Stars and Stripes March in our country.

Following intermission, the 16 voice Imperial Valley Master Chorale, under the direction of George E. Scott, joined TICO to present the world premiere of Scott’s ten-minute piece, Anne Frank, Portrait of a Young Girl for solo clarinet, chorus and orchestra.

Scott constructed his programmatic work in four sections.

The clarinet, beautifully played by Robert Zelickman, opened with an unaccompanied introduction. The klezmer-like portion that followed represented Anne’s early happy childhood. The next episode described her time in hiding. The third section, a gripping passage, included six strokes of a chime, representing the six million Jewish lives annihilated, and the chorale speaking the names of children who perished in the Holocaust, ending with the name, Anne Frank. The final part, incorporated hope, with the words and melody of Hatikvah.

Scott’s work left a strong impression, especially on this audience, many of whom had relatives who were murdered in the Holocaust.

The final music on the program was Tchaikowsky’s Capriccio Italien, a result of the composer’s travels to Italy. Its sunshiny tunes and joyous climax lifted our spirits.

Amos and Zelickman are to be congratulated for their interesting programming and for TICO’s accomplishments as a non-professional ensemble made-up entirely of volunteers.

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Eileen Wingard, a retired violinist with the San Diego Symphony Orchestra, is a freelance writer specializing in coverage of the arts.