Sweet sounds of symphony

Staff report / Tracy Press / Friday, 29 February 2008

The Stockton Symphony is coming to the Grand Theatre to play the annual Tracy Family Concert.

Classical sounds of the Stockton Symphony will fill the Grand Theatre Center for the Arts on March 27.

The symphony’s Tracy Family Concert, an annual Tracy music event for more than two decades, is moving to the Grand’s ETK Theatre this year, according to Gretchen Talley, president of the sponsoring Tracy Friends of the Stockton Symphony.

She said tickets for the Thursday evening concert on March 27 go on sale at 10 a.m. today at the Grand Theatre box office or on the Internet at http://atthegrand.org. Prices are $10 for adults and $3 for students ages 5 through 18. Children younger than 5 are admitted free.

"The Stockton Symphony’s annual Tracy Family Concert has been a popular cultural event in Tracy for 24 years," Talley said. "Moving to the Grand should make the experience even more enjoyable for members of the entire family."

She said Peter Jaffe, the symphony’s music director and conductor, has visited the Grand and found the extended stage large enough to accommodate the 60 musicians. The acoustics in the refurbished 560-seat theater should be special, he predicts.

The 7:30 p.m. concert will be preceded by an hour-long "musical petting zoo" that will allow Tracy students to try out a variety of musical instruments provided by Ken Cefalo of Main Street Music.

For the concert, the symphony will play pieces by Louis Gottschalk, Rimsky-Korsadov, Leroy Anderson, Musorgsky and Ravel.

Special selections will feature Motoshi Kosako, winner of international harp competition, and Genevieve Micheletti, a 17-year-old violinist who is winner of the Manlio Silva Young Artists Concerto Competition.