Folsom pair gear up for first concert tour

More than 10 years ago, a young Dylan Jowell was sitting outside Snooks Chocolate Factory on Sutter Street, cradling his cello with a tip jar by his feet, hoping to raise money to go on a Sacramento Youth Symphony tour. "They (Snooks) would even bring me chocolates," reminisced Jowell, fondly recalling that time in his childhood. Now, Jowell is a college graduate, teaming up with his longtime friend and fellow musician John Kiunke, preparing for their first professional musical tour as a duo, which includes a performance in Folsom. The pair's childhood in Folsom and specifically Sutter Street has even inspired a song which will be a featured piece in the concert. The story of Jowell and Kiunke began when they were children going to school in Folsom. They were classmates and casual friends in elementary school, but it wasn't until they attended Folsom High School that their friendship blossomed. And then, they had a realization: Both had a passion for music, especially classical music, and both played instruments. Jowell picked up the cello quite by accident in fourth grade when he was asked which instrument he wanted to play. "I actually wanted to play the bass and wanted to play jazz," said Jowell. " I loved Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, that kind of old-style jazz. And then I picked up the cello and fell in love with it and never put it back down." Meanwhile, Kiunke's passion was the piano; as they discovered, the piano and cello are considered extremely compatible instruments. "There's so much written for the pair. We realized oh, this is awesome, we both play similar instruments. And that's when we started kind of casually playing together," explained Jowell. The duo played together mainly for the joy of it and sometimes hosted house concerts for friends and family. But eventually, as is the case with teenagers, their paths went in different directions. When Jowell was 16, he left Folsom High for a dual enrollment program with Sacramento State and then left the area to attend the Eastman School of Music at University of Rochester and then the University of Tennessee-Knoxville. Kiunke, meanwhile, attended Sacramento State as an under-graduate and now is in his first year of a masters program at the San Francisco Conservatory. While college kept the friends separated for most of the year, they reunited in Folsom during summers and holidays, and there was always music and fun visits to Sutter Street, especially during the Christmas season, when the street comes alive with lights and festive decorations. Now, Jowell is 25 and happily back in the Folsom area. He is a principal of the Auburn Symphony, plays with the Sacramento Philharmonic and occasionally the Stockton Symphony. Kiunke, 24, often plays at area churches, the San Francisco Conservatory and teaches private music lessons in Folsom while he continues his studies. With years of music experience under their belts and some of the best classical music training in the country, the pair had an epiphany: Why not take their performances to the next level? The idea for their first professional tour was born. The friends are putting together a five-city concert tour which kicks off this month. The performances will be in Folsom, Carmichael, Fair Oaks, Sutter Creek and Lincoln. The program is titled "Songs Without Words," which Jowell admits is a bit ironic. "The whole idea behind it is painting pictures and stories with just instruments so no lyrics, no vocals," said Jowell. "And the reason it's a bit of an ironic title is because John and I are both doing what's called a spoken program notes, which is basically where we are guiding everyone through, talking about the pieces and introducing them, telling their stories and then sitting down and then playing them, which I think is a really wonderful way to play classical music." "We want it to be a little more fun for everyone. You don't have to study before you go," added Jowell. Jowell describes the show as a smattering of classical styles across hundreds of years and different countries in one program that ties them all together. The pair have also written some pieces to include in the program, with one song especially close to Jowell's heart: Sutter Street Nocturne. "That place means a lot to me so I wanted to honor it by writing it into a little song," explains Jowell. "I would go there for birthdays or to see the pretty lights during Christmas. Both John and I have this group of friends; some of us have known each other since first grade. About once or twice a year, we would all get together and go to Sutter. A mini-reunion for our friend group." Bringing this tour together has taken countless hours of work, with Jowell cold-calling more than 100 venues to book the tour. And now, the dream is about to come to fruition. The tour begins Sunday, May 24, at 4 p.m. at Pacific Institute of Music, 540 Plaza Drive, Suite 130, in Folsom, and runs through June 13. The music duo plans to use revenue from these concerts toward a potential album of the performance. As for the more distant future, that's still TBD, but no doubt it will involve their passions in life: music, and perhaps another tour. For now though, the longtime friends and music team are excited to kick off their tour together and play for hometown crowds. It's something the two kids at Folsom High School couldn't have predicted so many years ago, but like a sinuous melody, it all just blended together perfectly. "It's so cool, I really can't overstate how happy I am to be back," said Jowell. "Folsom has been such a huge part of who I am and to be able to play here as an adult is really special." For more concert dates, information and lesson information, visit https://dylanjowell.com/