Music

Romantic concerto MUSIC

VIOLINIST Gabriel Anker will pair Tchaikovsky’s concerto with a work by Bach as part of a preview performance Feb. 16 for the upcoming Coyote Creek Music Festival.

Submitted photo

Violinist performs in festival’s third preview concert

By SUSAN L. RIFE

The perfect music for a romantic Valentine’s Day weekend is, in the opinion of violinist Gabriel Anker, Tchaikovsky’s Concerto in D Major. “For me, personally, no other piece for the violin represents love more purely,” said Anker, who will perform the concerto on Feb. 16 as the third preview concert for the upcoming Coyote Creek Music Festival.

The concerto was written by the Russian composer in 1878 in Switzerland as he struggled out of a depression after the end of his marriage. Scholars speculate that Tchaikovsky’s student, violinist Iosif Kotek, was a love interest of the composer, but that potential gossip about their relationship kept Tchaikovsky from dedicating the concerto to him.

Anker began working on the concerto after participating in last year’s NorCal Music Festival. A native of Puerto Rico, he was raised in Houston and earned his undergraduate degree in violin performance at Rice University’s Shepherd School of Music. He’s finishing his master’s degree at the University of Southern California. “The Tchaikovsky concerto is pretty much synonymous with the violin,” Anker said. “I’ve been hearing it forever. It’s a piece that is pretty much required reading for everyone. It’s notoriously challenging but covers the full scope of the instrument.”

Anker, who will perform with pianist Elene Kartvelishvili, will pair the Tchaikovsky concerto with Johann Sebastian Bach’s Partita for Violin No. 1, written in 1790.

“I love performing Bach in general,” Anker said. “I find it’s music that changes the room instantly. This particular piece, well, solo Bach in general, I feel is a place where string musicians go for self-discovery.”

The partita, one of a set of six sonatas and partitas written for solo violin, is “maybe the most virtuosic of the six,” said Anker, because each of its four movements is followed by a variation, called a double.

“It’s constantly varying itself, even though it’s in the same key,” he said. “I feel like it works in contrast with the Tchaikovsky, practically speaking because it’s solo violin versus violin and orchestra, and metaphorically speaking, finding oneself and finding love, perhaps.” The Feb. 16 concert is the third of six concerts to preview the Coyote Creek Music Festival, which will take place June 12-21 at Advent Lutheran Church in Morgan Hill. Upcoming concerts in the series are Quintet Latino on March 14; soprano Heather Faulhaber with pianist Kyle Jones on April 26 and a string quartet with Anker, Kymber Gillen, violin, Kate Brown, viola, and Evan Kahn, cello, on May 31.

Gabriel Anker, violin, and Elene Kartvelishvili, piano, will perform at 5:30pm Feb. 16 at Advent Lutheran Church, 16875 Murphy Ave., Morgan Hill. Free; donations accepted. For information, visit www.coyotecreekmusic.org.

Library, 350 W. Sixth St., Gilroy. To sign up to reserve a spot, visit tinyurl.com/sbstbpa.

ACTIVE KIDS Kids are invited to groove it at Children’s Discovery Museum’s “Kids Like to Move It” Week. Boogie with dance instructors, enjoy activities with local sports teams and learn aerobics, Zumba and yoga moves at this event that is part of the museum’s commitment to childhood obesity prevention. Monday, Feb. 17-Friday, Feb. 21 at Children’s Discovery Museum of San Jose, 180 Woz Way, San Jose. Festivities are included in the price of admission. For information, visit cdm.org.

CHAMPAGNE DINNER The San Juan Oaks Golf Club will present an all-inclusive Champagne Dinner to celebrate Valentine’s Day. Guests will enjoy a champagne greeting, shared appetizer for two and a special Valentine’s Day menu. The Moondance Band will set the mood for the evening with romantic live music. Friday, Feb. 14, 6-10pm at San Juan Oaks Golf Club and Restaurant, 3825 Union Road, Hollister. Ages 21 and over only, reservations are required and space is limited. For information, call 831.636.6127.

MORGAN HILL

STARRY NIGHTS Astronomy docents will share the view at Starry Nights in Open Space. Dress in warm layers and bring drinking water; telescopes will be provided. Space is limited; registration is required. Saturday, Feb. 15, 7-9pm at Rancho Cañada del Oro Open Space Preserve, 4289 Casa Loma Road. Participants are asked to arrive before the gates close at 8pm to allow for undisturbed viewing. Register by the number of cars in each group. For information, visit openspaceauthority.org.

EVENTS

CRAFT CLUB The Gilroy Library presents the Black History Dream Lantern Craft for Kids. Guests are invited to explore what their dream is for a better tomorrow and create a Dream Lantern that expresses their creativity and imagination. This program is free and ideal for children and families; all craft materials will be supplied. Sunday, Feb. 16, 1-3pm at Gilroy

SPRING BARREL TASTING Sample a selection of La Vie Dansante 2017 Wines straight from the barrel before they are finished for bottling at the Spring Barrel Tasting Event. Winemaker Jeff Fadness will be presenting the wines and available to answer questions. Small bite food pairings will also be featured. Saturday, Feb. 22, 1-4pm at La Vie Dansante Wines, 3200 Dryden Ave., Gilroy. For information and tickets, visit laviedansantewines.com.

MARDI GRAS Bear’s Hideaway’s Annual Mardi Gras Party will celebrate Fat Tuesday in San Juan Bautista. The event features appetizers and specials; masks and beads will be provided. Guests must be 21 or older to attend. Saturday, Feb. 22, 4-8pm at Bear’s Hideaway, 402 Third St, Ste B, San Juan Bautista. For information, visit tinyurl.com/ u7dhzk5.

JAZZ NIGHT Award-winning Bay Area Jazz and R&B vocalist Tracy Cruz will perform at Gallery 1202’s Jazz Night. Cruz and her band, Instrumentali-T, will perform jazz numbers throughout the night while guests enjoy local wine and hors d'oeuvres. Jazz Night will be hosted amongst the abstract expressionist works of Helen Bellaver. Saturday, Feb. 22, 8-9:30pm at Gallery 1202, 7363 Monterey Road, Gilroy. For tickets and information, visit gallery1202.com.

INTRO TO BEEKEEPING Arthur Kubogamell of the Gilroy Beekeepers Association will host “Intro to Beekeeping” at the Gilroy Library. Sunday, Feb. 23, 2-3pm at Gilroy Library, 350 W. Sixth St., Gilroy. For information and to register, visit tinyurl.com/wfxqq92.

DRIVE SMART The California Highway Patrol’s Hollister-Gilroy Area office will present the free driving seminar, “Age Well Drive Smart.” The presentation will last approximately three hours and is designed to help senior drivers tune up driving skills, refresh knowledge of the rules of the road and become better, safer and more alert drivers. Attendees will also learn about normal age-related physical changes and how to adjust to them, discuss when it may be the time to limit or stop driving and understand alternatives to driving. Thursday, Feb. 27, 1-4pm at Jovenes De Antano Senior Services, 300 West St., Hollister. For information, visit tinyurl.com/ sel89ak.

BOOK CLUB The GardenShoppe will host the Boozy Bees Book Bonding book club to read and discuss books. Each attendee will get to choose a book at some point. Thursday, Feb. 27, 6-10pm at The GardenShoppe, 364 Seventh St., Hollister. For information, visit tinyurl.com/wykfvlm.

ADULT DRAWING Artists aged 16 and over are invited to draw at San Benito County Arts Council’s drop-in Adult Drawing Workshops where students will explore fundamental drawing techniques and methods. The $10 drop-in fee includes registration to a single, two-hour class and students will be provided with a materials list at their first class. Drop-in special sessions will be held select Mondays and Fridays through February, 6:45-8:45pm at ARTspace Annex, 217 Fifth St., Hollister. For information, call 831.636.2787.