The Vallejo Symphony Orchestra has been a great showcase for the conducting talents of Marc Taddei since he took over as music director last year. With Feb. 12’s “Vallejo Symphony Presents” concert, the organization will showcase the talent of Taddei’s younger brother.

Michel Taddei will be a guest performer on two pieces by the Mare Island String Quartet, a group of freelance musicians who also perform in other local groups. Cellist Joan Hadieshi and violinist Christine Meals are members of the Vallejo Symphony Orchestra, and they are rounded out by violinist Tyler Lewis and violist Aaron Westman. Taddei will join them on bass.

Taddei grew up in Ridgewood, N.J., which he said had an excellent music program in its schools. He also took a lot of early inspiration from his brother.

“He had begun playing, and it just seemed like something that would be fun to do,” the younger Taddei said. “Living 25 miles outside of New York City, there were so many possibilities and resources.”

Both Taddeis began studying at the Juilliard School’s pre-college program while still in high school, but they went on different paths afterwards. Marc studied music in school, while Michel worked toward a degree in history at Columbia University and then went to the University of California, Berkeley for grad school.

“By the time I came out to study at Berkeley, my brother had already gone to New Zealand (to become a conductor),” Michel said.

However, Michel still managed to carve out an impressive career as a professional musician. He is a double bass instructor for the Golden Gate Philharmonic, a youth orchestra in San Francisco. He also had played for the Lyon Opera in France, New York City Opera Company and was a founding member of the Left Coast Ensemble. He has also recorded film scores at George Lucas’ Skywalker Ranch and toured with Yo-Yo Ma and his Silk Road Ensemble throughout Central Asia.

“I keep it pretty varied,” Taddei said.

Taddei is happy to be a musician and has especially enjoyed touring the world and meeting people.

“There’s the possibility of creating community,” he said. “Even when I went to those places in other countries, I usually found that there’s only one or two degrees of separation between me and new musicians.”

“There’s that great community that transcends boundaries,” he added.

In particular, Taddei enjoys the closeness of playing in chamber ensembles.

“The beauty of chamber music as opposed to going to symphony concerts is the intimacy and immediacy of the experience and the ability to have a closer contact with the performers,” he said. “It’s not exactly like we’re playing in your living room, but it’s kind of like the next best thing.”

With that in mind, it should come as no surprise that Taddei was asked to join the Mare Island String Quartet as the double bassist for two of its pieces. The first piece— without Taddei— is Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s four-movement “String Quartet No. 17,” commonly known as “The Hunt.” Taddei will join the quartet for a performance of Scott Joplin’s ragtime medley “Original Rags.” Joplin was an African-American ragtime pianist who is best known for tunes like “The Entertainer,” “Maple Leaf Rag” and other songs that exemplify popular music of the early 20th century.

“Having the addition of the bass gives it that bass line,” Taddei said. “They’re always crowd pleasers, so that’s great fun. It’s nice to have something a little American on the program.”

The evening will conclude with a performance of Antonin Dvorak’s “String Quartet No. 2,” which Taddei described as “one of the few pieces in the traditional chamber music repertoire that we have as double bassists that’s written just for us.”

“It’s very romantic, very virtuosic in its demand on the players,” he said. “The addition of a double bassist adds an element that sounds kind of orchestral. Doubling that lower octave with the cello gives it weight and presence to the group that is more than what you have by adding an additional player.”

Taddei said that audiences can expect “a beautiful, varied evening of chamber music.”

Mare Island String Quartet will be performing, at 3 p.m., Sunday, Feb. 12 at the First Presbyterian Church in Vallejo, located at 1350 Amador St. Tickets are $10 for students and $20 with adults. For more information, call 643-4441 or visit vallejosymphony.org.