In what seems like an instant, I am 50 years old. Believe me, I am not complaining and am very fortunate. And, while I don’t plan to quit my job as the CEO of iConstituent, a company I founded 17 years ago, I DO plan to make more music in my life, and this means building and conducting the Vicente Chamber Orchestra, the orchestra I founded in 2016 (“Why Another Orchestra?”).
Before earning an MBA and launching my career in tech, I studied music in college (USC School of Music, Bachelors of Music, Class of ’93) and played viola in the American Youth Symphony under the direction of Mehli Mehta, who was a mentor to countless young musicians. Mehli’s love of music had a profound impact on me. It was Mehli who taught me how to conduct. After graduation from USC, I spent much of my twenties in pursuit of my dream of conducting, which included studying with Yehudi Menuhin while he toured with the Sinfonia Varsovia and a summer at the famed Chigiana Academy in Siena, Italy.
I gradually left behind my love of music to pursue other ambitions. For well over 20 years, I put my musical aspirations on hold to raise a family and build a business. I did so at the sacrifice of my musical ambitions, and told myself that I would “do what I love to do later.”
But, as we all know, tomorrow is not guaranteed and the time to do what you love is NOW. So, in 2016, I set out to form my own chamber orchestra. Called the “Vicente Chamber Orchestra” (named after a street close to my home), the ensemble did not have a Board, an organizational structure, or committed musicians. I was even told that there was no need for yet another orchestra in Los Angeles. Who would come to listen? Who would play? Why bother?
However, with the help of some close friends who were interested in starting a new orchestra on the Westside, I formed the Vicente Chamber Orchestra. Later that year, the VCO gave its first performance on Saturday, November 16, 2016. Our first concert featured acclaimed violin soloist Irina Tseitlin in a stunning performance of Beethoven’s Violin Concerto and a performance of Schubert’s Symphony №3. Though, our performance was not perfect, we played our hearts out and the audience felt our love for the music (“Perfection in music does not equate to greatness in music making”). Our emerging group had even managed to fill up the hall that evening.
Since that night in 2016, we have performed twice more. Our last sold out concert at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica featured the brilliant young pianist Noah Simon in a performance of Robert Schumann’s Piano Concerto in A minor.
“So, what’s next for the Vicente Chamber Orchestra?”
So, what’s next for the Vicente Chamber Orchestra? I plan to build it into something truly great. Since the formation of the VCO, it has become clear to me that there IS a need for more classical music in Los Angeles. But, what makes the VCO special is it’s musicians; most of the musicians in the VCO volunteer their time and talents to the orchestra, and like me, truly believe in our simple mission: making “music for music’s sake” (“We’ve been wrong all along”).
Next year (2019), the Vicente Chamber Orchestra will present the amazingly gifted cellist, Gabriel Martins in a performance of Robert Schumann’s Cello Concerto in A minor.
We are in the planning stages of our first two-day festival, in which we will perform all five Beethoven piano concerti featuring a different Los Angeles-based pianist for each concerto.
Finally, we will present our Annual Gala Concert on October 5, 2019 — featuring violinist Anne Akiko Meyers, pianist Wendy Chen and cellist Julian Schwarz at the Broad Stage in Santa Monica in a performance of Beethoven’s Triple Concerto in C major.
“Plans for 2020 and 2021 are in the works as well.”
Plans for 2020 and 2021 are in the works, as well. I Although I never fully pursued my dreams of making music when I was younger, I have no regrets. I now enjoy music making on my own terms. It’s not a job, a stepping stone or a resume builder for me. The VCO is IT for me. I have nothing to prove and nobody to impress. I make music for the sake of making music — and only for the love of it.
