Local High School String Quartet To Join Touring Beatles Musical

PHOTOS: “Quartet sand” shows (l-r) Pete Flores, Sammi Garner, Cindy Jones and Rafael Vasquez; “Abbey Road resized” shows Flores, Garner, Jones and Vasquez. Photos taken by Maria Carney.

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From Andy Nagle:

When the touring show “In My Life - A Musical Theatre Tribute to the Beatles” comes to the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz on Sept. 11, be on the lookout for two quartets -- not just one.

The Marina High School (Monterey) string quartet has the privilege of joining the professional actors on stage to add an element of orchestral texture to the evening.

“In My Life” is the musical retelling of the Beatles story through the eyes of manager Brian Epstein and featuring the live music of renowned tribute band Abbey Road. The band features Chris Paul Overall (“Paul”), Nathaniel Bott (“John”), Zak Schaffer (“George”) and Axel Clarke (“Ringo”). Brian Epstein is played by Murphy Martin.

The string quartet: Marina High School students Rafael Vasquez, Cindy Jones, Sammi Garner and Pete Floreswill join the band for the songs “Eleanor Rigby,” “Yesterday,” “A Day in the Life,” “Hello Goodbye,” and “Hey Jude.” In a special touch, “Yesterday” is played as a scene in which the Paul McCartney character plays the song for the first time for Beatles producer George Martin, with the songwriter explaining that he envisioned a string-quartet accompaniment.

In addition to performing with the MHS Orchestra, the quartet’s members have played with prestigious youth orchestras, including the Central Coast Section High School Honor Orchestra and Youth Music Monterey.

Marina High’s other music achievements:

Last year, the orchestra received first place with a rating of “Excellent” at the Great America Music in the Parks Festival. At the same festival, the band won first place, with a “Superior” rating, and the overall best band award. The orchestra has grown by 50% in the last year, and now has 27 students. Last year, MHS Orchestra received a grant from the S.T.A.R. Foundation which allowed them to purchase music books and marching percussion for the first time. Before this grant, percussion performed on buckets, and the students learned technique from internet printouts.

How the “Beatles” connection was started: The producers of “In My Life” approached Marina High School’s Orchestra Director Maria Carney looking for a talented ensemble which could hold their own with a rock band in front of an audience. The show commonly uses a local quartet to augment the production while on tour.

The quartet’s Beatles fans:

Garner and Flores are the quartet’s Beatles fans.
“When I was young and having a bad day, Beatles songs used to cheer me up,” said Garner. Her favorite songs are “Eleanor Rigby” and “The Long and Winding Road.”
“Whenever my family visited my uncle, he was always playing Beatles music,” said Flores. “He introduced me to Beatles music.”

The multi-media musical comes to the Rio Theatre in Santa Cruz on Friday, September 11 at 7:30. Tickets are $30/$45 and available online at www.riotheatre.com or at Tomboy, next store to the theatre.

The Rio Theatre is located at 1205 Soquel Avenue in Santa Cruz, Ca 95062. The show is appropriate for all ages.

Additional information about the Marina High School String Quartet:

Rafael Vasquez,14, has been playing the violin for four years. He also plays the viola and guitar. “I like the violin because you can play a lot of different music genres such as jazz and classical with the violin,” said the sophomore.
Vasquez is a member of Marina High’s Orchestra, was the principal second violin of the Central Coast Section High School Honor Orchestra last year. He also performs with Youth Music Monterey.”I enjoy playing with an orchestra because everyone has to work together to make it work,” he said.
After graduation, Vasquez plans to attend college and take up a career as a music teacher.

Cindy Jones, 15, has been playing the violin for five years. In addition to being a member of her school’s orchestra, Jones also sings with choir. The junior has also participated in Marina High’s Color Guard for three years.

Pete Flores, 17, switched from violin to cello seven years ago. “I enjoy the deeper sound of the cello,” said Flores.
Flores is a member of his school’s orchestra and has run cross country at MHS for two years. He volunteers at the Community Hospital of the Monterey Peninsula.
After graduation, the senior aspires to attend the Air Force Academy. “i would like an opportunity to give back to my country,” said Flores.
Flores has been a life long Beatles fan. “Whenever my family visited my uncle, he was always playing Beatles music,” he said. “He introduced me to Beatles music.”

Sammi Garner, 17, plays the viola, cello, baritone, trumpet and piano. She plays viola in the MHS Orchestra, serves as her school’s Music Club president, is the band’s drum major, and the student conductor for both band and orchestra. When not playing music, she enjoys outrigger paddling and Polynesian dancing.
The senior hopes to attend the University of California at Santa Cruz and become a music teacher.
Garner has been a Beatles fanfor most of her life. “When I was young and having a bad day, Beatles songs used to cheer me up,” said Garner. Her favorite songs are “Eleanor Rigby” and “The Long and Winding Road.”

About MHS Orchestra Director Maria Carney: Carney graduated from Arizona State University with a BA in Music and earned her teaching credential from California State University at Northridge. She is currently a board member of the Central Coast Section of the California Music Educators Association, and studying to get an MA in Music Education from Kent State University. This is her eighth year of teaching and sixth year teaching music at Marina High.