Culture Spotlight: Mainly Mozart

Culture Spotlight: Mainly Mozart

Posted on December 10, 2014

Established in 1988 by David Atherton and Nancy Laturno, the mission of Mainly Mozart is to provide the people of both Southern California and Baja California an opportunity to hear live classical music performed by top musicians, and appreciate the beauty of the world’s best masterpieces.

Mainly Mozart’s year-round performances and outreach programs attract tens of thousands of people yearly. The highlight of Mainly Mozart’s year is undoubtedly its annual summer festival at the Balboa Theatre, which has remained one of the most popular of California’s arts programs for a quarter of a decade. Every summer the festival attracts the best symphony players from around the country to be a part of the Mainly Mozart Festival Orchestra. The music doesn’t stop when summer ends, though, and every winter the organization’s signature Spotlight Chamber Series comprises a collection of concerts performed at numerous North County intimate settings, including The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla, the Rancho Santa Fe Garden Club, and St. Elizabeth Seton Church in Carlsbad.

In appreciation of their many years of patronage, the organization enjoys giving back both to its loyal supports and the community at large. The members-only Club Amadeus program brings exclusivity to performances in the form of private salon concerts for ticket holders. Last year the organization formed the Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra, the first-ever orchestra-in-residence at The New Children’s Museum in San Diego. Working closely with our international neighbor, the binational Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra of the Californias brings together the Mainly Mozart Youth Orchestra and the Centro de Artes Musicales Orchestra of Tijuana. In addition, Mainly Mozart offers cross-border performances at Tijuana’s El Cubo Centro Cultural Tijuana, and routinely performs at schools for underprivileged children.

The 2015 season is gearing up, with many upcoming Mainly Mozart events in winter and spring including Mozart’s Sonata for Violin and Piano No. 26 in B-Flat Major; Tchaikovsky’s Piano Trio in A minor, Op. 50; Czerny’s Piano Quartet No. 1 in C minor, Op. 148; Bach’s Concerto for Four Pianos in A minor, BWV 106; and Brahms’ Piano Quartet No. 2 in A Major, Op. 26, to name a few. 619.466.8742, mainlymozart.org   Ryan Thomas

Photography by Marco Borggreve