UNPLUGGED VIEW Arias

by Aaron Rowan

chorusmaster, Liisa Davila. Abner became involved with OM through their Summer Opera Institute intensive training program, and then at my annual multilingual concert spectacular co-hosted with them, sharing a song from his childhood based on one of the Psalms. He was a guest performer at my most recent Young Artist showcase a few months ago. Now the time has come for Abner to step up front and center.

As local students of all ages prepare to return to school this Fall, they will be benefitting from the immense development and renovations of school facilities undertaken by Modesto City Schools. For some, their school’s construction may still be ongoing, posing some logistical hurdles to the start of an otherwise normal school year. It was not very different in Fall 1923 when Modesto schools started the new term while Modesto’s Board of Education oversaw the construction of two new elementary schools: John Muir School and Franklin School, which was named for the adjacent street now designated MLK Drive. While John Muir School tragically burned in 2007, the original brick Franklin School building is still standing today and turns 100 years old later this year. Located at 426 Locust Street, the old schoolhouse continues to serve Modesto’s students, but now as the Modesto City Schools Administration Building.

The elementary-level classes of Franklin School in its first year were scattered across the schools of West Side Modesto: Washington School, Pioneer School on 6th Street, and the site of Franklin School. The new main school building and grounds of the Franklin School “on the Maze road” were not yet complete enough for use, so teachers utilized two bungalows which were moved for use and children were escorted off site to Maze Park for recesses. As the Board eloquently stated on September 16th, 1923 in the Modesto Morning Herald, “While we are opening school under great disadvantages, the important thing to remember is that we did commence in spite of these disadvantages, and with everybody, parents, pupils, and teachers, pulling together, we will make our school year a successful one.”

Although classes were spread around, the enrollment for the start of Franklin School was 265 students at the beginning of the term and increased as the school year commenced to over 300 students in December.

W.E Faught was the City Superintendent, W.P. Dean was the Grammar School Supervisor, and Elsie VanWyck Turner served as the first Principal of Franklin School.

The old Franklin School went on to serve students of the Modesto area until 1951. At that time, with new state earthquake safety laws in place, the brick school building was deemed no longer seismically satisfactory for school use. In response, both brick schoolhouses of John Muir School and Franklin School were replaced by new campuses in new locations, which were designed by Fresno-based architects Swartz and Hyberg. Students and faculty moved into the new schools on January 2nd, 1952 with the return from winter vacation. This transition, leaving the old Franklin School empty, allowed for the Board of Education to consolidate school district administrative offices which had been spread across various school properties into one location. By early January 1952, Modesto City Schools had moved its offices into the old Franklin School building. Now over 70 years later Modesto City Schools is still located in the 1923 Franklin School, and the Franklin School’s 1951 campus on South Emerald Avenue and Maze Boulevard continues to serve West Modesto students.

A rare extra layer of icing on the cake of Modesto Unplugged programming happens when a featured musician shares a name with an instrument or musical term. There was Viola: violinist & vocalist with the traditional Italian folk group PizziCali, one of the zestiest headliners I’ve hosted. There was Banjo (named not for the instrument, but after a famous Australian) who played percussion with the Aussie family band The Hollands. More recently, Melodia, a young fado singer I met through Opera Modesto, put together her own starring concert for my series last year. One more member of the club, who I also know from Opera events, is the most aptly named of them all: a talented young tenor named Abner Arias. Abner got his start singing in church from a young age. Artists such as Mariah Carey, Kirk Franklin, and Israel Houghton were early musical influences; later, Andrea Bocelli, Placido Domingo, and Luciano Pavarotti would serve as his gateway to opera music. Abner’s first vocal coach was Seija Anderson, the mother of one of our local opera stars and Opera Modesto

On Saturday evening August 19, Abner will lead his first recital concert at my invitation, with a program titled ‘El Sonido De Mis Raizes’ (“The Sound Of My Roots.”) The focus is on romantic songs with beautiful lyrics, many performed in Spanish and drawing slightly from mariachi music but without the repetitive tempos of that genre. The program also includes a song in Tagalog, a Filipino language with similarities to Spanish which Abner appreciates. Abner will be joined by fellow young vocalists Michael Balerite, Philomena Iorns & Lola Fletcher; Roy Mendiola on piano; and David Perry Molina on guitar. Enjoy this intimate listening concert with Abner and friends starting at 6:30 pm at the Mistlin Gallery on J St. Admission is $15 cash at the door, and as always, seats can be reserved at modestounplugged@yahoo.com. The presentations I cohost with Opera Modesto have been some of the most enriching of the past few years, and this one will be no different. We hope to see you at this haute August night of musical magic. Intimate performances. Infinite playlist. MODESTO UNPLUGGED. www. modestounplugged.com.