“At 70 years old composer Henry Mollicone has no plans to silence the music,” writes Leeta-Rose Ballester in Tuesday’s (5/10) Mercury News (San Jose, CA). “As part of a lineup of birthday celebration shows, his environmental cantata ‘A Song For Our Planet’ will be performed May 15 by the San Jose Symphonic Choir … at [San Jose’s] California Theatre … with the Mission Chamber Orchestra. The piece blends multi-religious text with the underlying theme of responsibility for caring for the planet…. Mollicone is fresh off a world premiere of his one-act opera ‘Ladybird’ in San Marcos, Texas, and a premiere of his Concerto for Violin and Orchestra commissioned by the Redwood Symphony…. The composer said he’s never had so many events in a row…. In 1978, he wrote ‘The Face on the Barroom Floor,’ a one-act opera with a cult following that has become one of the most widely performed modern American pieces.” In 1999, Mollicone founded the Winchester Orchestra of San Jose, where he now is conductor emeritus. Says Mollicone, who turned 70 in March, “I’m never retired; if you have a purpose to be alive, there’s more chance to be around.”
Posted May 11, 2016
