The Southwest Voice

All > Having Faith
Gordon Mehling Violin Concert
Topics: concert, music, Education
Posted by marjoriebell Fri Jan 26, 2007 11:57:48 PST
Viewed 370 times
0 responses 0 comments Several Spanish dances by Pablo de Sarasate are among selections on the program by violinist and retired Cal State University Bakersfield professor Gordon Mehling in a concert on Feb. 11 at 4 p.m. at First Congregational Church, 5 Real Road. 

The concert is free and open to the public as part of the Fred and Beverly Dukes Memorial Concert Series.
   
Other pieces include “Spanish Dance” by Enrique Granados, “Danse Espagnola” by Manuel de Falla,  and “Sonata in D Major, Op. 12. No. 1” by Ludwig van Beethoven. 

Mehling is being accompanied by local music teacher Helen Rummelsberg.
   
“I’m trying to do something different,” Mehling said in a recent interview. “Several of these pieces do not get played that often in public. They are also quite difficult.”
   
Mehling, who has spent time traveling with his wife, Marilyn, since his retirement from CSUB in 2004, is originally from Calgary, Alberta, Canda. He received his B.A. degree from the University of Alberta, then his M.A. and Ph.D. from Michigan State. 
   
Early in his 30-year tenure at CSUB, Mehling spent a year in Vienna with Capella Academica du Wien, a small ensemble dedicated to Baroque music performance.  When he returned, he founded Musica da Camera, which gave at least six concerts per season for 20 years. At CSUB he also founded the chamber orchestra, concert band, and jazz ensemble.
   
Mehling began taking violin lessons at age 5, with his father learning the instrument  and practicing with him. 
   
“Music is important for kids, for discipline but also for brain development,” Mehling said. “It has been shown that people do better academically when they study music. It’salso important to carry on the cultural tradition.”
   
Rummelsberg grew up in the Redding area and started to play the piano at age 12.  Her major at Whitman College in Walla Walla, Wash. was piano. After college she lived in Germany for two years teaching in the U.S. army schools. She met Arnold Rummelsberg, a water resources engineer, and moved with him to Bakersfield where they raised four children. She still maintains an active piano studio and often performs on piano and harpsicord. She is the grandmother of 11 grandchildren.
  
After the Mehling concert, the remaining programs in the concert series are the Bakersfield Classicus Clarinet Choir with Mary Moore on April 29 and Great Notes Wind Ensemble from Southern California on May 6. All concerts are on Sundays at 4 p.m.

Send to a Friend

Report a Violation