With the Poway Symphonette performing a concert on Sunday, May 4, it was a natural fit to include the theme for “Star Wars” by John Williams on the program.
“Star Wars” fans often say “May the fourth be with you” — a play on the movie franchise’s often-repeated phrase “May the Force be with you.”
But before the free 7 p.m. “Classical Delights for Spring” concert at Incarnation Lutheran Church, 16889 Espola Road in Poway, concludes with that familiar score, there will be nine other classical music selections to entertain the audience.
One of them is the first and third movements of Johann Sebastian Bach’s Concerto for Piano and Strings in D minor. The piano soloist will be Dr. Roland El Ghazal, who ed the Symphonette a few years ago.
“I ed because I love music and it is a fantastic orchestra,” El Ghazal said. “ Ulli (Reiner) has created an amazing place for musicians.”
Reiner, the group’s artistic director and concertmaster, leads the community-based orchestra through the Poway Unified School District Adult Education Department. Its musicians consist of local residents who range from retired professional musicians to high school students, music educators and accomplished amateur musicians who have pursued other professional careers.
That is the case with El Ghazal, a Poway resident for over a decade who is a Sharp Ress-Stealy physician that specialized in pulmonary and critical care medicine at its Sharp Memorial Hospital.
“I love music,” said El Ghazal, who started playing the piano at age 10. “The piano is an easy way to get into music, as opposed to strings that can take many years to produce sound. That is not the issue with piano.
“It is hard to put into words why I love music, but it is one of the joys in my life,” he said. “It is a beautiful thing that relaxes me and that I very much enjoy.”
El Ghazal said he selected the Bach concerto, one of six Bach composed for the keyboard.
“It is very long with a lot of difficult ages and one of the best concertos,” he said. “That is not just my opinion, but also other musicologists’ opinions.”
This is the first time El Ghazal has performed these two movements of the concerto, though he has performed one of its other movements before, he said.
El Ghazal will be accompanying the Symphonette for some of its other selections, such as “Star Wars,” “Libertango” by Astor Piazzola and the first movement of “Palladio” by Karl Jenkins.
The concert will open with the first and third movements of “Water Music” by George Frederic Handel. That will be followed by “Entrance of the Queen of Sheba” also by Handel.
Also on the program are the first and third movements of Sinfonia in D major by Tomaso Albinoni, the third movement of Concerto in E minor by Charles Avison, “Bohemian Dance” by Anton Dvorak and the first movement of Bach’s “Brandenburg Concerto No. 3.”
The Poway Symphonette is planning to return for its European tour this summer. Its musicians will be going to Budapest, Vienna and Salzburg, Austria, where it has been the “Orchestra in Residence” for the annual Cantus International Cultural and Music Festival since 2023.
El Ghazal said he went on the tour to Austria three years ago.
“I loved the camaraderie of the and the orchestra playing music in the birthplace of classical music,” he said. “Playing in Europe was a tremendous experience, especially playing in the cathedral where Mozart was baptized. It was a fantastic experience.”
The Poway Symphonette rehearses on Monday evenings from September through June and performs free concerts at libraries, churches and other venues throughout the Rancho Bernardo and Poway area year-round. For details, visit powaysymphonette.com or email Reiner at [email protected].
