June 29, 2023 - Full information on the Mariposa Yosemite Symphony Orchestra's free July 1st "Independence Day Spectacular!" Concert in Yosemite National Park is now available at the orchestra's website (http://MYSO.live) along with menu and pricing from the Wawona Hotel's Summer BBQ, to be offered that night from 5:00 P.M. - 7:00 P.M. immediately before the concert. The MYSO's chief sponsor/partner is Yosemite Hospitality, a division of Aramark and the orchestra, now in its 21st year, has proudly partnered with Yosemite National Park since 2007.
The concert, conducted by MYSO Founder/Conductor Les Marsden, begins at 7:00 P.M. that Saturday, July 1st evening on the Great Lawn of the landmark 1876 Wawona Hotel, four miles inside Yosemite National Park's South (Highway 41) entrance. The concert is free, with a suggested donation of $10 per person.
The repertoire features all-American film music and patriotic classics with Marsden's extensive program notes on each work and composer available for reading or download at (http://myso.live/Program07_23.pdf) Attendees are advised to bring lawn blankets and/or chairs for this concert under the stars, the orchestra's season-closer for its 2019-2023 "Season Interruptus."
Marsden highlights three of the orchestra's members with each concert. The public is invited to learn more about Flute Player Katherine Smith of Merced, Trumpet player Dr. Teenie Matlock of Mariposa/Santa Cruz and Double Bass Player Dr. Carl Bosco of Coarsegold.
Kathy Smith, Second Flute, is impressed to find herself in the company of her fellow fine musicians of the MYSO, who have intensive training and varied experiences. She feels that she's "one of the luckiest people in the world to play with them." Kathie grew up in the Sierra Nevada foothills in Angels Camp and Sonora. She began flute lessons in fourth grade at Sonora Elementary School and played through high school, but abandoned her musical training through college. She earned her teaching credential and taught in the elementary grades for over thirty years. Other creative interests were inculcated into Kathy by her mother and grandmother, and include sewing clothing, quilts, and gardening. But music continued to play an important role as she taught her students to read music and play recorders every year. A fellow teacher friend invited Kathy to play in the Merced Community College Band and though she hadn’t played since high school, has now happily played with that group for more than 25 years. "When in 2016, the (then-)Mariposa Symphony Orchestra, established by Les Marsden, needed a flute for their "Our Nation’s Nature" Tour, one of those wonderful musicians arranged for me to play with this talented group. Maestro Marsden miraculously approved and I actually went on tour! Imagine, I have performed at Glacier Point in Yosemite National Park with the sunset lighting up Half Dome as a backdrop!" She continues: "Few musicians have had THAT opportunity or even dreamed of it. I have played with them ever since and am so honored to be a part of this ensemble. The music is always challenging, but wonderfully rewarding to perform with a wonderfully talented Maestro conducting."
Dr. Teenie Matlock, Second Trumpet, is Professor of Cognitive Science, the McClatchy Chair in Communications, and the former Vice Provost for Academic Personnel at University of California, Merced. A cognitive scientist and linguist by training, she has authored over 100 scientific articles on how people communicate and reason, and has served on many editorial boards as well as the Associate Editor of Cognitive Linguistics. Matlock is a former standing member of the National Institutes of Health’s Language and Communication Study Section and served on the Cognitive Science Society governing board. Over the years, Matlock has been recognized for many significant contributions to her field and to the University of California, including awards for distinction in teaching, for faculty mentoring, for academic leadership, and for research. She was raised in Mariposa, California, and is proud to be an enrolled member of the American Indian Council of Mariposa County. Matlock plays trumpet and flugelhorn and performs classical and jazz music with various local bands.
Carl S. Bosco, DC plays Double Bass, though his first musical instrument was the mandolin, the basics of which were taught to him by his father, also a professional musician throughout the war years of the '40s. Then came the guitar and string bass. There were many "jam sessions" with professional musicians at his home in New Jersey while a young teenager, where he learned many of the jazz "standards". Throughout the '60s and early '70s he played bass with various jazz piano trios in Southern California, rhythm and blues groups, and a high point was an 8 month "gig" with a trio at the Disneyland Hotel. As with many kids, the movie Fantasia sparked an interest in classical music so early on he started collecting records. Next to his love of music came the study of natural methods of healing. As a young child he suffered with chronic headaches, allergies, and frequent colds. Doctors were consulted but offered no relief, so he started reading books by practitioners outside of the medical world, and there lay the answers: diet and lifestyle changes. At age 34 he decided on the avenue he would take to help others, graduating from Cleveland Chiropractic College in Los Angeles in 1977, focusing his practice on counseling on healing with dietary changes. Then, about 18 years ago, not long after the first of its concerts, he was offered a position in the bass section of the (then) Mariposa Symphony Orchestra.
Source: MYSO
Photos submitted by the musicians
