Sonoma County Philharmonic concert offers inspirational note for low-income and Latino children

Conductor Norman Gamboa was 10 when he first made it onstage. The Costa Rica native was sitting with his father in the front row at a symphony orchestra concert when the conductor turned around and invited the boy to help direct the ensemble.

“I was frightened beyond belief, but it made such an impact in my life,” said Gamboa, music director of Sonoma County Philharmonic orchestra. “That’s why I’m a conductor.”

He wants to bring that inspiration to children in Sonoma County.

Hoping to introduce classical music to low-income and Latino families, he and other members of the Sonoma County Philharmonic orchestra will host a free bilingual concert on Saturday at Santa Rosa High School. It will start at 1:30 p.m. in the school auditorium.

The 45-minute concert will be narrated in English and Spanish and feature music from composers Heitor Villa-?Lobos and Carlos Guzman, of Brazil and Costa Rica, respectively. They’ll also show images of those countries to enhance the experience for the children and families, said Gamboa, who has worked to reach out to Latinos in the area since becoming the orchestra’s music director about three years ago.

“We’re trying to let people know that symphony concerts and all these cultural activities are within means of everyone who wants to be part of them,” said Gamboa, a Denver-based traveling conductor who also directs two other orchestras - Colorado’s Aurora Symphony Orchestra and the Powder River Symphony Orchestra in Gillette, Wyo.

Gamboa has organized similar bilingual concerts in Colorado. Each time, they filled the house, he said.

“We’re hoping the experience will be as positive as it is in Colorado,” he said.

A child will be selected to join him Saturday in directing the orchestra during part of the concert. After the performance, other children will be invited onstage to meet the musicians and learn about the instruments.

They hope to pack the auditorium, which holds 900 people, said Nubia Padilla, community engagement project manager at Via Esperanza.

The philharmonic paired up with the family education and support center, housed at Cook Middle School, to reach out to Latino parents throughout Sonoma County. After the concert, the center is putting on an outdoor family fair that will include a clown, balloon animals, face painting and more music.

Padilla said the concert is a rare opportunity for children whose families don’t always have the resources to take them to these kinds of performance.

“Who knows? They could get interested in pursuing (a musical career),” she said.

Gamboa doesn’t expect all kids to follow his rarefied path. But he’d like to encourage more Latino youth to get involved in the arts, whether it be through music, drawing or dancing.

“There is still a gap in terms of education, especially cultural education, in that community,” he said, voicing hope that such events will help close that gap.

“The arts are not just reserved for the elite,” Gamboa said.

You can reach Staff Writer Eloísa Ruano González at 521-5458 or eloisa.gonzalez@pressdemocrat.com. On Twitter @eloisanews.