By Gayle Carnes
San Manuel Miner
If you want to talk music, Annalupe Rodriquez, 17, of Oracle might be a good place to start.
She has played the piano for 11 years under the training of Elaine Helzer of Oracle, as well as taken voice lessons from her.
But that is not all she has accomplished. She also plays the French horn and guitar.
She graduated from Canyon del Oro High School this year where she sang in the choir, accompanied choruses and choirs, performed with a chamber music group and played in the orchestra, as well as getting to travel to New York to perform while in high school.
She said she had a playing partner with the accompaniments.
“He was really good with improv – adding all the extra notes. I can’t do that, but I can sight read (play a song she has never seen before with few if any mistakes.) So we made a good combination,” she said.
When the suggestion was made to fellow student Isaac Tineo of San Manuel to do a benefit concert to help raise money for his grandfather, in typical Annalupe style, she volunteered to perform as well.
The two will combine their talents to help raise $55,000 in donations to help Daniel Tineo of San Manuel get urgently needed brain surgery to remove a tumor on his pituitary gland.
Their joint concert is panned for Saturday, July 10, at 2 p.m. at the Oracle Piano Society’s Center for the Performing Arts. Attendees will be asked to make a donation in lieu of ticket sales and are asked to please wear a mask. There will be a bake sale after the concert.
Annalupe is the daughter of Juan and Maria Rodriquez, who own DeMarco’s restaurant in Oracle. She plans to attend the University of Arizona to earn a performance major in piano, while continuing to work on her voice.
While playing partner Isaac leans toward classical music, Annalupe lists jazz as her favorite.
“I can feel it and like the sound,” she said.
She is also an avid reader and likes journaling.
“I like to write it out by hand, not use a computer I like the feel of the pencil in my hand.”
Her parents are very proud of her.
“When we lived Mexico we had noting. And we had nothing when we got married. We wanted our children to have more that we had,” Juan said.
“We wanted to open doors for our children and music was Annalupe’s door. We wanted them to do something they liked and to be happy,” Maria said.
Her dad added, “She listens to us.”
Dr. Stephen Cook, the founder and artistic director for the Oracle Piano Society and the faculty/director of the online conservatory has worked with Annalupe preparing for her university auditions and said she is the most advanced of Elaine’s students, describing her as “fantastic” as well as “hardworking, dedicated and unique.”
Correction
Pianist Isaac Tineo does not play for the the Living Word Chapel as reported in last week’s Miner. He plays for the Full Gospel Fellowship Church of God in San Manuel.