Family’s Devotion to Music Plays Out Locally

Arlette Cardenes picked up the cello for the first time when she was 9 at Culver City’s El Marino Elementary, just around the corner from her childhood home. That’s also where her older brother, Andres, was introduced to the violin, and her younger sister, Alys, took up the viola.

That was the late 1960s and early ‘70s when music programs in public schools were strong. And those early encounters with classical music led the Cardenes children to a love of music, and two of them into professional music careers.

But after touring Europe and playing with the Inland Empire Symphony for four years, Arlette returned to her hometown five years ago and found a city that not only hadn’t developed its music programs for kids but no longer offered the very opportunities she had had as a child.

“I was disappointed to see that we were in no better cultural situation today than 20 years ago,” Arlette said. “It just seems like there’s a whole generation that has no information about classical music.”

So, with a few other local musicians, she formed the Culver City Chamber Orchestra--which opens its third season Saturday--with a $45,000 operating budget donated by the City Council, Culver City-based Sony Studios and area businesses.

The orchestra plays only a few programs each year. Each consists of an educational program for children in the morning, followed by the nighttime concert for adults.

The children’s portion of the program is particularly satisfying, Arlette said. The musicians play a few pieces but then try to make the kids feel comfortable with classical music by letting them come up on stage to touch the instruments, plunk the strings and ask questions. Last year about 200 children attended the concerts.

“We have no intention of doing any concerts ever without including something for young people. It’s part of our obligation to the community,” said Arlette’s brother, Andres Cardenes, who, as concertmaster at the Pittsburgh Symphony since 1988, went furthest in the family’s musical careers.

Giving Credit to the City

“Culver City started mine, my brother’s and sister’s careers,” said Arlette, who earned a master’s degree in music from the University of Michigan. Although not a professional, Arlette’s sister, Alys Aguirre, is an accomplished violist.

“I want kids to have the same things we had growing up,” Arlette said.

And now they do. But don’t expect the Los Angeles Philharmonic--at least not in budget and number of musicians. The musicians receive only a small stipend, so most of the 19 orchestra members work day jobs.

Arlette, 39, works as a secretary at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. She says that, for now, the day job allows her to teach cello privately at night and to work on establishing children’s orchestras in Culver City.

To be sure, money is tight. Arlette prints much of the orchestra’s materials--including the fliers inviting the children--at Kinko’s, while her mother, Arlene, pitches in by soliciting donations.

And the group’s venue? Not quite the Music Center yet. This season’s first show is at the Holy Nativity Episcopal Church in Westchester. The sites for the other two concerts this year are yet to be determined.

But the performances--each attended by a couple hundred people--draw world-renowned guest artists and conductors, such as Nelson Nirenberg, who will conduct Saturday’s concert.

“We are so fortunate to see a concert in the vicinity of $15 or $16 [per ticket] and watch a performer of that caliber here in Culver City,” said Charles Warren, a longtime resident and classical music fan.

Andres Cardenes has been influential in booking the big-name conductors and artists--such as Anne Martindale-Williams, principal cellist of the Pittsburgh Symphony, and Arturo Delmoni, a violinist from Boston.

“We wanted to do something for our hometown,” said Andres, 42, who will fly in from Philadelphia to be the guest artist at Saturday’s concert. “We wanted to provide first-rate performances, particularly because [Culver City is] its own city, not a suburb of Los Angeles.”

The story of the Culver City Chamber Orchestra perhaps has its origins with Arlette’s parents--Arlene and Andres--longtime classical music fans who instilled the love of the arts in their children. As a young woman in Queens, N.Y., Arlene played piano and mandolin. Andres was never a musician in his native Cuba but nonetheless enjoyed the arts.

Recalling Her Mom’s Advice

“You gotta practice, you gotta practice, you gotta practice,” Arlette remembers as her mother’s instructions.

Arlette and her siblings started lessons with an El Marino teacher they remember fondly--Raye Mulholland. There were also private lessons and Saturday sessions at West Hollywood’s Plummer Park, where teacher Peter Meremblum ran three successful orchestras for children and young adults.

“Saturdays were fun,” Arlette said. “We were silly, we were cracking jokes, then we performed in front of uncles and aunts. We got the applause.”

* Culver City Chamber Orchestra performs Saturday, 8 p.m., at Holy Nativity Episcopal Church, 6700 W. 83rd St., Westchester. The children’s program is at 10:30 a.m. Tickets for night performances are $18 for adults, $12 for seniors and students. For the morning program, tickets are $3 for adults and $1 for children. They can be ordered by calling (310) 397-2490.

* Jose Cardenas can be reached via e-mail at jose.cardenas@latimes.com.