The Sonoma Valley Woman’s Club will be celebrating their 125th year in 2026. As a lead up to this very exciting anniversary the club’s foundation has reinstated the clubs first project, The Plaza Fund, now renamed the “Plaza Beautification Fund”. The project will start with the Italian Fountain and surrounding garden. Plans are well underway in partnership with the Valley of the Moon Garden Club as well as the Sonoma Public Works Department and City Council.
Shortly after its formation, the Woman’s Club initiated the Plaza Fund to finance improvements to the Sonoma Plaza. They planted trees and paths and installed three benches in 1903. On March 25, 1904, the Santa Rosa Republican published an article about the project, stating that beautifying the Plaza would significantly enhance Sonoma’s attractiveness and help the Women’s Club achieve its goals.[6] In 1905, the club president Mrs. Robert P. Hill, sent out postcards featuring the stone foundation the club placed in the Plaza.[7] In 1908, they erected a monument commemorating the Bear Flag Revolt. A larger Bear Flag Monument was installed by the Native Sons of the Golden West (NSGW) in 1914.[3]
The concept of an Italian Fountain in the Plaza all began with an idea from the late Samuele Sebastiani in 1933. As he was building his new theatre he decided he wanted to install a fountain in the Plaza directly across from his new theatre. The Italian Club would sponsor and donate the fountain as an organization but Samuele would be paying for it. Samuele placed his order to Italy for the fountain and in 1934 the order arrived at the Sonoma Railroad Depot.
In 1951 the Italian Fountain was rededicated to the memory of all the Italian immigrants who came to our Valley to seek and achieve their American Dream.
According to Faye Mellos, president of the Foundation, “we are currently raising funds for the project and sponsorships are still available. She shared that on May 3rd, the Foundation will be hosting a classical concert from 3:00 pm to 5:30 pm. “Our goal with the concert is to bring something unique to the Sonoma Valley while honoring the Italians who built the fountain.” The historic club house located at 574 First St East, Sonoma will be decorated as an Italian garden and a reception including sparkling wine and hors d’oeuvres will precede this not to be missed the concert
The concert is being created just for this event by accomplished violinist Gloria Justen. Gloria states, “From Courts of the Medici to the concert halls of the 21st Century, women have been highly skilled and creative participants in the musical arts. To celebrate the renovation of Sonoma’s fountain and Italian-style garden, this concert program takes listeners on a journey of discovering Italian women composers from the 1600s to the present. Many of these composers were famous during their lives but were left out of the history books, and now scholars are unearthing and sharing their legacy.” The program features Gloria Justen on violin and viola and Krisanthy Desby on cello. Justen will also include one of her own compositions and will share fascinating historical information about each composer.
Ticket are currently available for the concert on May 3rd at 3:00 pm at this website: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/sonoma-valley-womans-club-foundation-italian-garden-concert-tickets-1290202724079
Gloria Justen is a violinist, violist, and composer based in San Francisco. She has released two albums of original music, and her compositions, drawing upon influences from Bach to contemporary electronic music, have been performed by soloists, small ensembles and chamber orchestras in the United States and Europe. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she has performed and toured with the Philadelphia Orchestra, the San Francisco Symphony, the Chamber Orchestra of Philadelphia (Concertmaster from 2005-2011) and the Philip Glass Ensemble, and she has played many works by other contemporary composers. She has also been a recording studio violinist for many pop music stars. Other sound art activities include playing electric violin with electronic music, collaborating with modern dancers and video artists, and recording and composing with environmental sound. A resident of San Francisco since late 2007, she currently works as an independent performer, composer, recording artist, publisher of her own scores, and teacher.
Krisanthy Desby is a founding member of Strobe Ensemble, Principal Cellist of South Asia Symphony, and a Board Member of Old First Concerts. She has performed in orchestras and chamber ensembles in the U.S., Mexico, Europe, and South Africa. She was Associate Principal Cello of both the Napa Valley Symphony and the Santa Cruz Symphony and continues to play with several orchestras throughout the Bay Area. Before coming to San Francisco, she played in the Houston Symphony, as well as the Houston Ballet Orchestra and the Houston Grand Opera, and was a member of the Tucson Symphony. She is a member of the Grand Teton Music Festival and Midsummer Mozart Festival, and has participated in the Mendocino Music Festival, Neuberg Kulturtage in Austria, and The Scotia Festival in Canada. Krisanthy holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Peabody Institute and a Master of Music degree from the Shepherd School at Rice University.
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