Ojai Pops Orchestra Benefit Concert

The Ojai Pops Orchestra will present a FREE Community Concert on Sunday, October 20, 2024, at 3:30 PM Libbey Bowl.

​The Ojai Pops Orchestra plays for “the love of music” and the camaraderie. The orchestra is unique because its members are a mix of professional, amateur, and student musicians.

The October 20th concert will feature a wide variety of music, including music from Star Wars by John Williams, Aretha Franklin, and a violin concerto and flute concerto.

Alejandra Moreno Gonzalez will perform the Legend Violin Concerto by Charles C. Taylor.

Alejandra Moreno Gonzalez is a Los Angeles-based violinist, violist, and visual artist originally from Monterrey, Mexico. A classically trained musician with a profound passion for contemporary and new music, Alejandra is committed to performing works by living composers and highlighting the contributions of Latinx and minority artists.

With extensive experience as an orchestral violinist, Alejandra has performed with organizations including San Luis Obispo Opera, Mission Opera, Long Beach Opera, Monday Evening Concerts, OC Philharmonic, amongst other groups and ensembles in Southern California. Recent highlights include a solo performance of Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams with the Symphony of the Vines.

Juan Antonio Rivera will perform the Concertino for flute by Cécile Chaminade.  Puerto Rican flutist Juan Antonio Rivera has appeared with numerous organizations such as Ballet Austin, Opera San Luis Obispo Grand Orchestra, State Street Ballet, Temple Civic, and Chorus, Las Cruces Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Mr. Rivera has performed Vivaldi’s Piccolo Concerto with the Valley Symphony Orchestra and Los Angeles Symphonic Winds. Currently, Mr. Rivera is playing Principal Flute with the Los Angeles Symphonic Winds, Ojai Pops Orchestra, Genesis Opera Theater Orchestra, and Symphony of the Vines.

Conductor and founder Scott Weiss studied trumpet and conducting at UCSB.  Additionally, he has studied trumpet privately with some of LA’s top studio musicians and attended the Conducting Guild workshop at the Cabrillo Festival with Marin Alsop of the Baltimore Symphony and with Gustav Meier.

The concert will also feature guest vocalists Eva Weiss, Freda Ramey, Eliya Frantz, and Stacey Boccali.  These singers will perform hit songs Midnight Train to Georgia, Feeling Good, Respect, and Don’t Rain on My Parade.

Joining the orchestra will be several local student musicians, including Nicholas Collins, a 6th grade Music 4 Kids scholarship winner.  Nicholas has a passion for music. During the pandemic, he asked his parents to buy him a violin, and as he wandered around playing it, people would say “Oh, we don’t want to hear all of that noise.”  A neighbor showed Nicholas how to tune the violin. After that, he joined the Harmony Project and his school music program.  He says music is his life, that he loves music, and having private lessons has helped him a lot.

Nicholas is a recipient of the Larry Weiss Scholarship Fund from Music 4 Kids.  Larry was a music teacher in the schools for 52 years.  Donations to the Larry Weiss Scholarship Fund will be gratefully accepted at the concert to enable Music 4 Kids to continue providing music scholarships.

Students in need of a music scholarship for private lessons may contact Music 4 Kids at ojaipops@gmail.com

Please refer to the website: www.ojaipops.com for additional information. Volunteers are always needed to assist the orchestra.

Volunteers are always needed to assist the orchestra. The Ojai Pops Concert Series is sponsored by the City of Ojai and by Music 4 Kids, a California 501(c)(3) non-profit organization whose goal is to provide low-cost music lessons, instruments, and free concerts.  Donations are greatly appreciated.