Seattle Sun Newspaper - Vol. 7, Issue 12, December 2003

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Pontiac Bay Symphony Orchestra

celebrates soundtrack composers

By JAMES BUSH

The soundtracks to her favorite films were never background music to Sheila Espinoza.

"Film music was what drew me to music when I was just nine years old," says Espinoza, an award-winning composer and Meadowbrook resident who has composed and orchestrated music for films, television shows, and Public Broadcasting System programming. She is the founder and director of the Pontiac Bay Symphony Orchestra, a performance group for area musicians ages 12 to 18, which brings older musicians into the mix as fellow players and mentors.

The symphony will present the first concert of its 2003-04 season on Saturday, Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m. in Kane Hall on the University of Washington campus.

The guest conductor for the performance is Hummie Mann, a composer/arranger with two Emmy Awards and many film and television credits on his resume. "I think, in years to come, some of the great film music will become part of the orchestral repertoire," says Mann, a Seattle resident for the past seven years. "I've always believed that film music is the orchestral music young people listen to."

The selections at the concert will feature some of the most familiar orchestral film music of recent years: John Williams' stirring theme music for "Star Wars" and "Jurassic Park." Also performed will be several Mann soundtrack pieces which have never before been performed in a concert setting.

"I think every film composer loves to have the opportunity to get their stuff performed in concert," says Mann. While great compositions for film leave a lasting impression on viewers, the performance aspect is lacking, he notes. "You write it, musicians come in, they sight read it, you get ten minutes to perform something and that's it."

Used to leading groups of experienced studio musicians, Mann acknowledges the challenge of adapting to working with talented novices. After a particularly creaky take of "Jurassic Park," the conductor of the scores for such Hollywood movies as "City Slickers" and "The Addams Family," drew laughs when he remarked cheerfully, "Well, we made it to the end together."

But Mann's been impressed with the skills of his young charges, saying "These kids are doing a pretty spectacular job."

Many of the young musicians have been working together since July and August, when the symphony held its summer camps. Applicants must bring some experience paying with an ensemble, in addition to being able to sight-read and play in time. Many play in their school orchestras and other groups in addition to the Pontiac Bay Symphony. Proceeds from concert ticket sales pay for the school year program, although participants in the summer camp (which does not include a concert performance) are charged a $100 registration fee.

Violinist Karen Zemplenyi says the attraction for her was the chance to play film music. A pianist for 10 years and a violinist for six, the high school junior says she doesn't intend to play professionally. "No, this is just for fun. I just love music," Zemplenyi says.

Playing next to her in the string section is Richard P. Langford III, a longtime studio musician in New York and Los Angeles who quit the business for a day job at Xerox Corp. The Crown Hill resident, who plays violin and viola, says the mentorship concept of the group appeals to him. "I knew about the summer session," Langford says. "I heard good news back from people who had participated."

Langford praises Zemplenyi for seeking out different groups and different styles of music. "That's one of things we try to teach them is how to balance playing in multiple groups how to keep all the balls in the air," he says, adding, "She's a good player; she can handle it."

The mix of younger and older players makes the Pontiac Bay Symphony Orchestra unique. "We try to have an adult musician within each section of the orchestra," says Espinoza, "The goal of the orchestra is to provide a mentoring and performance opportunity for youth." The orchestra includes about 15 adult musicians (including professional musicians, music teachers, and college students) and almost twice as many 12 to 18 year olds.

The orchestra's three-performance season is built around the school year, with each performance following a seven-week rehearsal cycle. Concerts are followed by an informal reception for the orchestra members, audience, and guest conductor. The group is a registered non-profit organization and is governed by a volunteer board of directors.

The community has gotten behind the program. Last summer, the group held a fundraising car wash at Sam's Club on Aurora to finance summer camp scholarships (it will be replaced as the group's major fundraiser this year with an annual Sock Hop). The Starbucks coffee shop on Capitol Hill's 15th Avenue East sponsors the after-performance receptions.

Espinoza was honored this May by the Municipal League of King County as its "Citizen of the Year" for her work with the orchestra.

Even the group's name reflects its ties with North Seattle Pontiac Bay is the cove on Lake Washington just north of Sand Point (near the location of the former town of Pontiac).

In the "audience" for a recent group rehearsal at the Meadowbrook Community Center, Eileen Vebelacker sits in a chair reading a book as son Evan performs on the viola. A veteran of the summer camp, Evan also plays in the Cascade Youth Symphony Junior Orchestra and takes lessons on piano and trombone. "It's a nice change of pace to do film music," says his mom. "School groups and youth symphonies don't perform it as much."

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Tickets for Pontiac Bay Symphony Orchestra's Winter Concert are $15/$12 students and seniors and can be purchased online at www.pontiacbay.org or by calling 1-800-595-4849.