Bakersfield.com

Loading...

Larger Map

larger view larger view

   Classical guitarist and pianist Tim Callobre from Pasadena will bring  energy, talent and experience to his upcoming Bakersfield debut as guest artist at the March 15 Young Artists of Kern concert, as part of  the Fred and Beverly Dukes concert series at 4 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 5 Real Rd. There is no charge for admission to the event, which will also feature several Kern County youth.
    At age 15, Callobre already boasts an impressive resume with  television and radio appearances, including a PBS special “From the Top: Live from Carnegie Hall.” He has appeared live with the Young Musician’s Foundation Debut  Orchestra and the South Coast Symphony and has also won or placed in several national and international competitions.
    A student of William Kanengiser of the USC guitar faculty, Callobre sets aside over an hour a day for practicing both piano and guitar, aiming for perfecting his performance skills.  “It’s extremely rewarding to see all your hard work pay off,”  he said in a recent phone interview.  “The performances are the most fun.”
    Callobre, who is a sophomore at Polytechnic School in Pasadena, listens to all sorts of music with the goal of studying music in college and becoming a film composer.  His selections for the local Young Artists event  include “Courante from the Third Cello Suite” by Bach and “Prelude No. 2” by Villa-Lobos.
    Pianist John Lee, violinist Jazmin Morales, and flutists Janet Kwon and Mary Cervantes  will join Callobre at the event.  Lee, a student of Bonnie Farrer, started piano lessons in Wonju, Korea at age 3 then resumed study after arriving in the U.S. four years ago.  As a sophomore at  Bakersfield Christian High School, he  likes science and math, participates on the wrestling team and hopes to go out for swimming and football.  He plans to play Bach’s “Well Tempered Clavier.”
    Morales, who studies violin with Becky Brooks, is a senior at Caesar Chavez High School in Delano where she  engages in diverse school activities, such as Academic Decathlon and forensics.  Her planned college major will be in some area of musicology. Born in Whittier, she has played the violin since the age of 4  and is interested in all kinds of music, including mariachi.
    Kwon, a Stockdale High School junior, has been taking lessons from flutist Nancy Ayala for about seven years,  Her resume includes several honor music groups as well as a master class in Carmel Valley last summer from flutist Jim Walker. 
    “Initially I tried almost all the musical instruments,” she said, “but I’ve always been attracted to the flute.  To me, it’s the easiest instrument I’ve played.”  Kwon thinks that she may attend college as an English or history major, but says she would also like to study more music theory.

Cervantes, a Garces High School junior, plays saxophone in the school jazz band, steel drums, flute and piccalo.  Also the president of French Club, she has a keen interest in history and English and hopes for a college music major at USC with the goal of playing flute professionally in an orchestra. She takes lessons from Ayala and often partners with Kwon in flute duets.
    Fred and Beverly Dukes were local educators who founded the concert series at the church through an endowment intended solely to compensate musicians.  The Young Artists of Kern event is the fourth concert in this season’s series, now in its third year.  The last concert  will be Mary Moore on clarinet and Helen Rummelsburg on piano on May 3 at 4 p.m.