San Antonio violist Julian Tello Jr will perform Bowen’s Viola Concerto in C Minor at the next Symphony of the Hills concert on Feb 24.
Feb 14, 2022–If not for attending a middle school concert at age 10, Julian Tello Jr would not be the featured violist at the Symphony of the Hills concert on February 24.
“I was one of those kids that didn’t want to play any instrument at all,” said the now 30-year-old San Antonio native. But after hearing a presentation at his older sister’s middle school concert on the benefits of learning an instrument, Tello’s father had other plans. “My dad wanted us all to go to college. So he turned to me and my brother and said, I don’t care what instrument you choose. But in fifth grade, you’re choosing a string instrument, and you’re going to play it until you graduate.”
Young Tello decided on the violin since it was small and be easy to carry around. But again, someone in his family had other plans.
“My sister said, no, you can’t play the same instrument as me. Play the viola, you’ll get more money. And I was like, okay, cool. I like money. And as I started playing it, I fell in love with it.”
So much so that he never wanted to stop practicing. He played so far into the night that his parents bought him a heavy-duty mute so they could sleep.
After graduating from John Jay High School, Tello started his music major at the University of Texas at San Antonio, then to Texas Christian University and later the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. The boy who didn’t want to play any instrument now regularly performs with major symphonies around the world as soloist and principal viola.
Growing up in “a traditional Mexican-American family,” he was exposed to a cross section of music styles, none of which were classical. His father was a fan of rock and roll, and Tello still plays violin in mariachi bands. But it is the viola that speaks to him at a deep level.
“I can’t say what really drew me to it. But now, probably my favorite thing about playing the viola is that low C string. Man, I get the vibrations going through my chin bone and I just feel it in my body. It has this beautiful singing quality that’s just so human and can be so touching, that I absolutely adore playing it.”
The piece on which he will be featured is Viola Concerto in C Minor, Op. 25, a rarely-performed work by English composer Edwin York Bowen (1884-1961). It will be “loud and bombastic, with intimate moments.”
“You’re going to see some really incredible orchestral colors,” Tello said. “To me it’s a love story with these really gorgeous, intimate moments where it’s just me and the harp. Then you’re going to have these big theatrical moments where it’s like the whole orchestra is angry and the violas are fighting back. There also are these moments where we work collaboratively, and you hear the clarinet or horn taking my solo, and I’m there accompanying, and we tell this beautiful story together. It’s going to be a lot of fun. It’s also devilishly difficult!”
The music program also includes Florence Price’s Concert Overture No. 2, based on three spirituals; and Haydn’s Symphony No. 88 in G Major.
But Tello encourages every classical music fan to attend just to experience Bowen’s Viola Concerto.
“This concerto is never played,” he said. “The composer fell into obscurity, writing very romantic music during a time in history when most were going into the modern style. This is a piece you will never, ever get to hear performed live again.”
Details:
The Symphony of the Hills presents “Heart of the Strings: hidden beauty” on Thursday, February 24, 2022, 7:30 p.m., at the Cailloux Theater, 910 Main, Kerrville TX.
Seats can be reserved online at caillouxperformingarts.com or by calling or visiting the Cailloux Theater Box Office, (830) 896-9393. Box Office window hours are 10am to 1pm Monday through Friday, 10am to 3pm Saturday. Tickets start at $25.
Concert information at www.symphonyofthehills.org.
