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Although the title of John Wineglass' latest orchestral work, "Big Sur: The Night Sun," indicates the site where the composition was created and the time of day, the music has a definite Salinas connection.

While Wineglass was creating the work which will be performed at Sherwood Hall on Friday, Oct. 21, he was living at the Big Sur Land Trust's Glen Deven Ranch. The D.C. native used some musical material he had gathered from coaching a group of students from Youth Orchestra Salinas (YOSAL) at a summer camp run by his friend and colleague Edwin Huizinga — who performs regularly with the Carmel Bach Festival.

"I used several of the motifs the children created during their first attempt at composing in this work," Wineglass said, "and then I expanded upon them musically."

Wineglass also felt the spirit of the ancients who once lived and died in Big Sur before there was any contact with Europeans. During his time in Big Sur, he felt the dramatic and ever-present sense of nature imparted by trees, mountains and ocean. "The Night Sun" is a reference to the full moon.

John Wineglass was born in 1972 and raised in Washington, D.C. where he learned to play the violin and viola and performed in local youth orchestras.

He did his graduate studies at New York University and worked with the composition faculty at Juilliard. For many years, he was employed in the jingle business, composing music for TV programs and commercials.

"My first commercial was for Texaco gas," Wineglass said.

For his work, Wineglass has won several Emmy Awards. He knew he was going to come out to California eventually because he was already working in the film business. He said he had reservations though about living in Los Angeles and heard from others that Santa Barbara and Monterey were options.

Wineglass and his wife didn't want to raise their daughter in Brooklyn so they looked at places out here. The family then moved to Monterey County from New York City.

"One of the conduits to living up here was my work at Shoreline Community Church," he said and has provided the large congregation with music and advice during his time here

Wineglass, now, is an adjunct professor at California State University Monterey Bay and lives in Marina.

In 2012, Marin Alsop, music director of the Cabrillo Festival of Contemporary Music, presented a work composed by Wineglass, "Someone Else's Child." It was based on the poetry of kids in juvenile hall.

"Big Sur: The Night Sun" was composed last year but had been conceived the year before.

John Wineglass has performed in the viola section of the Monterey Symphony as a regular substitute since arriving here. From this involvement, he learned that Max Bragado-Darman, the orchestra's music director enjoys hiking as much as he does. Soon they connected and combined their interests and that led to talks about future projects.