Musicians from the Seattle Symphony performed at Sunnylands on a perfect desert day. Over the course of several hours on February 25, they conducted a “very open rehearsal” with band members of both Cathedral City and Desert Hot Springs High Schools and provided a chamber concert attended by more than 300 people who obtained free tickets to the event.

During the morning, nearly 100 students participated in two sessions. They discussed and asked questions about the way the musicians used their instruments, how they interpret the music, and learned how different a violin, viola, or cello can sound depending on how it is played.

After a sound check and a quick lunch, some of the Symphony’s finest players were introduced by Symphony Board Chair Leslie Jackson Chihuly and Music Director Ludovic Morlot. They performed a program that included a string quartet by Beethoven and a clarinet quintet by Mozart. The musicians were Alexander Velinzon on violin, Mikhail Shmidt on violin, Susan Gulkis Assadi on viola, Efe Baltacigil on cello, and Laura Deluca on clarinet.

All attendees enjoyed magnificent music in an extraordinary setting. The day, a celebration of the passion shared by Sunnylands and the Seattle Symphony for education and for giving back to their communities in positive and meaningful ways, was attended by more than 400 adults and students from the Coachella Valley.