By Dr. Ginger Gabriel
Special to the Alpine Mountaineer
Our Lady of the Lake Catholic Church is the perfect, idyllic setting for the Arrowhead Arts Association’s Fall Festival of Music. Ken Camarella, vice president of the Arrowhead Arts Association (AAA), opened the Sept. 21 program, saying, “This is the 35th year for the AAA Fall Festival. It’s an annual event. You can put it on your calendar (the third Sunday in September).” He reported that he has been the emcee for 25 of those years.
The Arrowhead Arts Association brings the experience of live classical performances directly to Lake Arrowhead, with no long drive to Los Angeles. The Fall Festival has been free for the past several years, thanks to the Arrowhead Arts Association and very generous donors.
The afternoon program opened with the Mountain Top Strings, who are preparing for their Italy 2026 tour. Mountain Top Strings (MTS) has grown out of the school programs sponsored by AAA and is composed of accomplished student musicians. MTS was established in 2011 and is led by director, cellist and music educator Sharon Rizzo. It is made up of young musicians from the communities of Big Bear Valley and Lake Arrowhead.
Rizzo’s students have won awards for their outstanding performances and are becoming recognized in Southern California for their excellence in strings. The students have been trained to be in tune with each other, so that they play as a unified unit, without a director. Jeannie Fox, at the greeting table said, “If you close your eyes while the MTS are playing, you will believe you are listening to a professional string ensemble.”
Maestro Tomasz Golka, who is currently the music director of the Riverside Philharmonic, took his podium with the authority of a professor. He proceeded to function as both educator and performer. He instructed the audience with insights about the composers, the life of the musician, about musical expression and so much more. Before each piece on the program, Golka shared captivating insider stories and humor through the rich history of that particular piece.
The afternoon program continued with the work of Leonard Bernstein’s “On the Town: Three Dance Episodes” from 1944.
As Maestro Golka conducts, he appears to be dancing. (Photo by Kirsten Wiest)
It is easy to get mesmerized by Golka as he uses his whole body to inspire the musicians to feel the music and bring that feeling through their instrument to evoke emotion in the audience. The tone of the music was definitely New York City. Some in the audience admitted to thinking of Golka as “the dancing conductor.” In watching the audience during one of his performances, it was obvious that many were swaying and bouncing to the movement of Golka’s’ baton.
The three dance episodes from “On the Town” included: I. Dance of the Great Lover, II. Lonely Town: Pas de Deux and III. Times Square: 1944.
Grammy-nominated cellist Sergey Antonov then took the stage to perform Tchaikovsky’s “Variations on a Rococo Theme” for cello and orchestra. Antonov has enjoyed a versatile career as a chamber musician and has been hailed as “destined for cello superstardom.” He has traveled the world extensively as a soloist and chamber musician. He was born into a family of cellists, all of whom have been awarded many honors.
The Arrowhead Arts Symphony continued after the intermission with the “Lithuanian Rhapsody,” Op. 11 (1906), composed by Mieczyslaw Karlowicz (1876-1909). This was followed by the “Slavonic Dance in C major” (1878), followed by the “Slavonic Dance in E minor” (1886), both composed by Antonin Dvorak.
The fitting conclusion to this amazing soul-stirring, “get up and dance” afternoon of music was the main title from the film Star Wars by John Williams. The standing ovation at the conclusion, was not only for that piece but for the entire afternoon of the Fall Festival.
Sue Parks, of Rebuilding Together and winner of the Soroptimist 2025 Ruby Award, when interviewed, said, “Daryl and I put thi Fall Festival on our calendar every year. It is a musical feast every year and not to be missed. We have been coming to this festival for 20 years.”
Debbie Mount, Cara O’Brien and Jeannie Fox sang praises for the Arrowhead Arts Association for bringing music to mountain children’s lives. “I see the joy in the children’s eyes as they played,” Fox said.
Erin, an eighth grader from Big Bear, said she started playing when she was 7 years old. She and her violin survived Covid. She and the other MTS took a difficult time in history and became stars. These student musicians included practicing their string instruments as essentials to survival during Covid.
To support music on the mountain, visit www.arrowheadarts.org.
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