John G. Pronko

MUSIC

I started playing the violin in grade school and stopped playing in my early high school years. Stopping was a bad decision on my part and I have regretted it ever since. However, I did play the tuba (Sousaphone) in the high school band. I later picked up a soprano recorder during my graduate study years and began playing it on a regular basis. I eventually began playing various size recorders from the tiny sopranino to the F bass. This lead to my joining and performing with the following organizations from 1985 to the present day.

• Sacramento Recorder Society
  
• Mid Peninsula Recorder Orchestra
  
• Village Festival Recorder Orchestra In 1997,
• I began taking violin lessons again. However, within a year, I had an operation on my left wrist which prevented me from continuing. As a result I began playing the mandolin because it had the same string set as a violin and the mandolin did not require bending the left wrist as is necessary with a violin.  Since then I have learned to play the Turkish Oud and dumbek. I do a bit of dabbling with many other medieval and ethnic instruments, none of which I play proficiently. In January 2004, I began voice lessons to see if some one who never sang could do so at such a late stage of his life. My voice teacher is Beverly Marks of Nevada City, CA. Some of the other teachers that I have had are: – Fred Palmer and Judy Linsenberg (recorder) of the SF Bay area; Elizabeth Glattly (violin) of Truckee, CA; Rob Bonner (mandolin) of Colfax, CA; Tynowyn French (dumbek) of Nevada City, CA; and Tom Slattery (Oud) of Nevada City, CA. A group, that I now play with, specializes in Baroque, Renaissance, and Medieval music. The number of players varies depending on the venue. Click the web sight for more information.
• Bach Etalia – Trovadores Mediavales 

 

Past Performances

Mission San Jose, CA -MPRO Christmas Concert – 1995
John Pronko and Diana Fischer performing a Handel Trio Sonata with continuo

John Pronko and Diana Fischer performing a Corelli Trio Sonata with continuo at an MPRO Concert (1996).

 

 Village Festival Recorder Orchestra’s Madrigal Dinner performance (1999).

 

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 Intensive Spanish Summer Institute- 2004.  This was a performance of Cantigas de Santa Maria and other Spanish medieval music.

 

 

Soroptimist Garden Tour – 2004

 

  Soroptimist Garden Tour – 2007

 

Renaissance Fair – 2007

John with Turkish Oud and Moroccan Jalabah

 

 

Soroptomist 2008 Garden Tour

 

 

Playing and Singing “Tres Moricas” at an SRS Recital – 2009

 

  Playing “Hanalei Moon” on a tenor recorder at our son’s wedding ceromony on the beach at Hanalei Bay, Kauai – Sept. 2012

 

A January 2013 performance called “Al Andaluz – Las Tres Culturas” at which we played Arabic, Sephardic and Christian music from medieval Spain. Members of the group are Alex Ives, Billie Hamilton, Dorothy Orolin and John. The instruments played included harp, Turkish oud, viola da gamba, recorders, voice, and drum.