the Magazine, Volume 2 Issue 2 - The College of Coastal Georgia

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MaestroLuis Haza named College of Coastal Georgia Volunteer of the YearAs an 8-year-old child in Santiago, Cuba, Luis Hazaresponded to an act of political violence by throwinghis heart and soul into music. All of his anger, grief andloss, his sense of being powerless to right a great wrong,poured out in passionate music pulled with a bow fromthe strings of a violin.The act was the execution without trial of his father,the Chief of the National Police of Santiago de Cuba whosupported democracy in Cuba, by Fidel Castro.By the age of 11, Haza was touring the provinces of Cuba,performing on the concert stage. A year later, he obtainedhis first professional post as Assistant Concertmaster ofthe Lyric Theater and debuted as a conductor in a programwhich included one of his own orchestral compositions.As a child prodigy, he was offered opportunities to studyabroad in his choice of Iron Curtain countries. Instead,he and his mother sought asylum in the United States,immigrating on Election Day in 1964.Chance and circumstance eventually brought Haza tothe Golden Isles – to the benefit of the community andthe College – and he was recognized this spring as the2012 Volunteer of the Year by Coastal Georgia. What weresupposed to be Haza’s lazy days of retirement on thebeach have instead become days packed with instruction,rehearsals, performances and arts-in-education advocacy.A Brief History of a Prodigious TalentIn the United States, Haza studied on full scholarship atthe Curtis Institute, the Peabody Conservatory, and theBlossom Music Festival with teachers including DanielMajeske, Efrem Zimbalist, Robert Gerle and Eduardo VidalAviles, as well as being coached by Mstislav Rostropovichand Henryk Szeryng.His extensive performing career includes 36 years asfirst violinist with the National Symphony Orchestra atthe Kennedy Center in Washington, DC. He conducted theAmerican Youth Philharmonic Orchestras for 25 seasons.As a soloist, he has performed extensively in the UnitedStates and internationally in Europe, Central America, andthe Caribbean.As a conductor, he has led the London SymphonyOrchestra, the National Symphony Orchestra, the nationalorchestras of El Salvador, Panama, and Guatemala, andAustralia’s Conservatorium Symphony Orchestra, amongothers. He served as director of the Virginia Chamber Orchestra,conductor of the Virginia Ballet Company, and member of theBoard of Governors for the Grammy Awards. Former First LadyLaura Bush appointed him to the President’s Commission forArts and the Humanities. He was the recipient of the NationalAcademy of Recording Arts and Sciences (the GRAMMY’s) HeroAward – their highest honor presented in Washington.6 College of Coastal Georgia – the Magazine
A Georgia peach from Augusta, Dana Owens, brought himto the Golden Isles. They married in 2004 on the groundsof the St. Simons Island Lighthouse. When he retired, theyreturned to the Georgia coast.A series of conversations piqued his interest in the localyouth symphony which, dueto mandatory budget cuts for theschool system, was challenged tomaintain a strings program throughthe public schools. He committedto working with the Coastal YouthSymphony and December 12, 2010,marked his first performance as themusic director and conductor.The student musicians, ages 10to 19, come from a multi-countyregion to rehearse weekly duringthe school year under his direction.He began a rigorous scheduleof weekly private violin instructionfor the more advanced students.The youth symphony’s tworegularly-scheduled concerts becamestanding-room-only events.The community, responding to Haza’s vision and inspirationof young student musicians, provided financial support forgroup lessons, private instruction and coaching.With such support, Haza began a local summer musiccamp on the campus of the College.In prior years, students had attended camps acrossGeorgia and in Jacksonville. The camps were based on typeof instrument and level of experience. Those experiences,however, did not result in a cohesive orchestral sound, Hazaobserved. He believed the student musicians needed anintensive camp experience that would unite them as a teamas well as increase their skills and technique.So Haza polled regional talent and called friends withwhom he had collaborated in the Washington, DC, andnorthern Virginia area. The result was the 2011 CoastalYouth Symphony Summer Music Camp. The inaugural musiccamp students were among the first to stay in the new oncampusresidence center, Lakeside Village.The camp grew from 60 participants in 2011 to 81 in 2012.One of the major highlights of the camp is a Thursday nightArtists’ Showcase on campus with camp faculty and selectstudents performing classical and contemporary piecesduring a one-hour program - a joint donor appreciation eventfor the College Foundation, the Coastal Youth Symphony, andthe Coastal Symphony of Georgia.When the College Foundationestablished an adhoc Planning Committeefor Cultural Arts and LifelongLearning Programs(CALL) to help define theattributes and potentialuses for the Coastal CommunityCenter for the Arts,Haza was one of the firstcommunity members invitedto participate.Haza’s first public performanceas a residentof the Golden Isles wasat the request of CollegePresident Valerie Hepburn.On December 2, 2010,Haza took the stage withhis chosen accompanist, the Cuban-born pianist OrlandoAlonso, founder and music director of the Ossia SymphonyOrchestra in New York. The proceeds of the concertbenefitted cultural and performing arts programming atCoastal Georgia.Haza will reunite with Alonso on the stage of the campus’Thomas Auditorium on December 7 when the ChamberEnsemble of the Ossia Symphony Orchestra inaugurates anew concert series, From the City to the Golden Isles.Haza gently teases music camp student Kate Lane aboutperformance jitters before they perform during the 2012Artists’ Showcase on campus.Recognition as the Community Volunteer of the YearThe College’s award for volunteer of the year recognizesan individual demonstrating team spirit and unwaveringsupport of Coastal Georgia through commitment of timeand talents.In presenting the award to Maestro Haza at theHonors Day ceremony in April, Foundation Trustee AnitaTimmons said, “He has made a tremendous difference inour college community, our local community and in theworld community.” uFrom the City to the Golden IslesMaestro Luis Haza will reunite with Orlando Alonso on the stage of the campus’ Thomas Auditorium onDecember 7 when the Chamber Ensemble of the Ossia Symphony Orchestra inaugurates a new concertseries, From the City to the Golden Isles, funded by a gift from the Eric and Julie Epstein Charitable Trust. For ticketinformation, call 912.279.5925 or visit www.ccga.edu/advancement/ossia .College of Coastal Georgia – the Magazine 7
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