The musicians of the Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band and C.P. Construction Company will present “Music From Far Away Places” on Monday, March 17, 2025 at 7:30 p.m.
The concert, to be held at Gardiner W. Spring Auditorium located on the campus of Chaffey High School at 1245 North Euclid Avenue in Ontario, will celebrate St. Partick’s Day.
The Woodwind Celebration Ensemble will present a pre-concert recital in the auditorium lobby at 7:00 p.m. Complimentary coffee and cookies will be served in the lobby prior to the concert. The performance is free to the public.
The March concert is to feature a repertoire of music from around the world; included are the countries of Ireland, France, Argentina, Spain, Cuba, Italy, Sweden, Germany, Korea, Japan, and the United States.
Special guest artists are Dr. Sylvia Mann, director of the Southland Symphony Orchestra and University of La Verne Orchestra, and professional harp soloist Ellie Choate. Show Band soloists include dancer Kathy Soderlund and clarinetist Neil Vargas.
Dr. Sylvia Lee Mann – composer, conductor, violist, educator, and performer – appears with many musical ensembles in Southern California and across the nation. Currently a faculty member at Chaffey College and the University of La Verne, Dr. Mann is the pastor & minister of Music at Bethel Congregational Church, UCC in Ontario. She is the music director and conductor of the Southland Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, Temecula Valley Jr. Youth Symphony, La Verne Symphony Orchestra, and a popular guest conductor throughout Southern California. In addition, Sylvia is honored to be a featured guest conductor at Carnegie Hall in New York City Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage for the 42nd season of MidAmerica Productions International NY. She will be conducting a special concert in the Spring of 2025.
Sylvia completed undergraduate studies at Chapman College and graduate studies at the University of Southern California and London University. As a violist and violinist, she studied with many distinguished teachers. As a composer, her mentors include William Kraft, Gunther Schuller, and Samuel Adler. Her conducting studies included such notable teachers as Daniel Lewis, Gunther Schuller, and Neville Mariner.
Sylvia’s music is heard on the concert stage, in film, television, and media outlets. Her works have also been commissioned and performed by many orchestras, and she was featured in the Culver City Symphony’s historic concert, “The American Beat – Women Composers.” Dr. Mann will conduct her composition entitled “Heritage Suite.”
Harp music is capable of enhancing the elegance and elemental beauty of life. Harpist Ellie Choate’s touch with that instrument has been credited with reach the musical soul with a magical ambiance.
From the multiple Grammy award winning CD, Genius Loves Company with Ray Charles, to the Ojai Festival with Pierre Boulez; from the motion picture scoring stage to daytime television; from weddings and corporate events to a healing and therapeutic session of bed-side harp, Ellie Choate brings her professionalism and deep understanding and love of the harp to listeners throughout Los Angeles, Orange County and all of Southern California. She will perform Spanish composer Joquin Rodrigo’s “Concierto de Aranjuez, Movement 2.”
Also featured on the program is Show Band 1st Clarinetist Neil Vargas who will perform a solo in a composition written by American and French jazz musician and composer Sidney Bechet entitled “Si Tu Vois Ma Mere,” (“If You See My Mother”). The solo is a direct transcription of the one performed by Bechet in the 1950’s. Show Band musician Kathy Soderlund will be featured as a dancer in “Don’t Cry For Me Argentina” and “Malaguena.” The outstanding musicians of the Show Band will entertain their concert goers in “Irish Folk Song Suite,” and “Tarantella and Canzone” both composed by Dr. Gabe Petrocelli, along with “Vive La France,” a medley of well-known French songs.
The performance will be narrated by Chaffey Adult School Principal Dr. George Matamala and Montclair High School English Teacher Bess Silva.
Those who wish to support the Show Band can do so by visiting and feeding the Hungry Tuba located in the lobby. The concert will be broadcast on local Ontario cable Channel 3. Check your cable listings for the date and time.
The Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band was founded in 1985 by R. Jack Mercer and is now under the direction of Dr. Gabe Petrocelli and assistant directors David Schaafsma and Pat Arnold. Band members represent at least two dozen communities throughout Southern California. Adult musicians and students are invited to participate. Rehearsals are held on Monday evenings from 7 to 9:00 p.m. at the Chaffey High School Jack Mercer Band Room. The band performs monthly concerts on the campus of Chaffey High School as well as at other venues throughout the community. All performances are free to the public.
For more information about the concert visit the Show Band website at www.showband.net or contact Dr. Petrocelli at gabe@showband.net. The “Friends of the Ontario Chaffey Community Show Band” is a registered charity under Internal Revenue Code Section 501 (c)(3); EIN # 46-1422958. Donations are welcomed. Checks may be made out to: Friends of the OCCSB, P.O. Box 1512, Ontario, CA 91762. Concert goers interested in being included on the Show Band mailing list are encouraged to fill out an information card at our events. The Show Band can be followed on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and its website at www.showband.net.