Program Notes for Stockton Symphony Reunions Series: Coming Full Circle at Civic Auditorium

Sunday, May 15 | 2:30 PM
Civic Auditorium
Stockton Symphony
Peter Jaffe, conductor
José M. Hernández, featured guest
Ricardo (Ric) Campero, tenor

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Program subject to change

Guest artist sponsors: Zeiter Eye in memory of Henry Zeiter, M.D.
Architechnica

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Guest Artist

José M. Hernández, astronaut and vintner

Former astronaut José M. Hernández was born into a migrant farm working family from Mexico. José—who didn’t learn English until he was twelve years old—spent much of his childhood on what he calls the California circuit, traveling with his family from Mexico to California’s southern San Joaquin Valley each March, then working their way northward to the Stockton area by summer, picking strawberries, cucumbers, cherries, tomatoes, and grapes along the way. In late November they would return to Mexico spending Christmas and waiting for March to start the cycle all over again.

While in California, José’s weekends were filled with laboring in the fields with his family, and, whereas the end of the school year meant summer fun for his peers, it meant working seven days a week in the hot summer fields for José and his family. The neighborhoods he lived in were not the best and often plagued with drugs, alcohol, and gang violence.

Through all of this, José’s parents stayed strong and focused on their children’s education which allowed José to dream of one day reaching the stars. Determined to fulfill his dream, José obtained his undergraduate and graduate degrees in electrical engineering. After a successful career as an engineer and scientist at Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory—where he worked on the development of an X-ray laser, helped develop the first full-field digital mammography system for the early detection of breast cancer, and traveled to Russia to work in the nuclear non-proliferation arena—José joined NASA in 2000 and was selected as part of the nineteenth class of U.S. astronauts in 2004. 

On August 28, 2009, José, assigned to the STS-128 Space Shuttle Discovery mission as the flight engineer, realized his main dream of reaching for the stars by blasting off into space on a fourteen-day mission to the International Space Station.

José left NASA after twelve years of service and decided to come home and raise his family near his parents, who live in Lodi. In doing so, José was able to focus on and realize his next big dream, which was to one day own his own vineyard and produce his own wine. This is how Tierra Luna Cellars was born. Today, José and his father Salvador  own and farm a small vineyard north of Lodi and produce their own line of wines. José’s view of the constellations from space inspired the naming scheme for his wines.

Special Artist

Ric Campero is a graduate of the University of the Pacific, Conservatory of Music in Stockton, where he is now a visiting lecturer conducting their choral groups. Mr. Campero was a dedicated music educator, teaching choir and band at Ceres Unified Schools for nearly thirty years. He also serves as the Chancel Choir director at Central United Methodist church in Stockton. Mr. Campero is well known locally and abroad for his lyrical tenor vocal performances and is also in demand as a music adjudicator and guest conductor.