Imperial Valley Symphony hosts free concert; 43 years strong

The Imperial Valley Symphony will be performing at the Jimmie Cannon Theater at Southwest High School tonight.

A program of patriotic pieces will be included in the performance to night for the Memorial Day weekend.

News 11 spoke to music director about tonight’s performance and their 43 years of music.

“Each year the students work on a concerto to perform and the ones who are up to concert speed are invited to play with the orchestra,” said Joel Jacklich, Music Director with Imperial Valley Symphony.

The symphony is made up of a vast array of musicians of all ages

“To supplement our local musicians, we hire about twenty professionals from San Diego to come in and play the concerts with us. You see community adults and you see a few professional musicians. There are a number of local music teachers who also play with the orchestra,” explained Jacklich.

Tonight’s concert will be featuring four special soloists.

“Two from Southwest High School in El Centro and two from Imperial High School in Imperial,” said Jacklich.

“I play piano, which I think is I think is the greatest instrument out of all the instruments over there. I think music is generally good for everybody. I think to be exposed to this especially, just to know something about it, is really good for everybody, human to human communication,” said Dane Drewry, Senior at Imperial High School.

Tonight’s performance is free, but these concerts do come with a price tag that may surprise you.

“For 41 of the 43 years of the imperial valley symphony our concerts have always been free. We do ask for a donation at the door if that’s possible because it does cost about $7,000 to put on a concert,” added Jacklich.

The concert will take place at the Jimmie Cannon Theater in El Centro, the show starts at 7:30 p.m.