2011 - celebrating 50 years of playing the cello
2011 - The Prelude to a very special year.
This is the story of my 50 years as a cellist. It will describe the beginnings of my studying in 1961 to my 50th anniversary year, 2011. This year also celebrates the 25th anniversary of Musica-Musicians for all Occasions, a booking agency two friends and I started in 1986, providing musicians for special events. I hope there will be lots of special occasions to mark this exciting year! As the anniversary year unfolds, it will describe my music-making over the years as a professional musician, and what I am still fortunate to be doing. I play in a Symphony, a Viol Consort (Treble Viol), classical chamber ensembles (string quartet, trio) and freelance throughout the area. I have taught private students since I arrived in the US, and for the past 19 years, I have been the cello instructor at a private Waldorf School.
In December 2010, my son Daniel and his wife Elisa, gave me the trip of a lifetime to begin the celebration. Having recently moved to Nairobi, Kenya for Elisa's job, they invited me to spend Christmas with them and then go on to South Africa for a holiday. Dan had never been to South Africa, and for many years I had been wanting to share memories of my birthplace with him.
In 1960 I was living with my father and his second family in Johannesburg, South Africa. It was a momentous year in my life, and circumstances later that year led me to the passion for music which has never left me, and for which I am truly thankful. 50 years later, being in South Africa where it all started, seemed to be the right place to begin the celebrations. I had been in Nairobi for 2 weeks to spend Christmas with the family and the day after a lovely (hot) Christmas Day spent at the Windsor Hotel, we left for South Africa, flying to Johannesburg. Dan and I went around with our driver Frank who was very patient with me as I looked around for all the places I remembered. The countryside around the Balalaika Hotel where my parents would gather to socialize, and I and other children would ride ponies on the grassy lawns has all gone, no more lawn, the hotel has had a modern make-over, just like any city hotel. All the area I had grown up in, which had been the veldt, (unsullied countryside) is now totally built up with posh shops in the Sandton Mall, and high-end office buildings and apartments. I did find my old school, Redhill, no longer on a gravel road, but still with some of the old thatched rondavel buildings. My mother taught the choir there when I was young, that was where I have my earliest memories of singing "And did those feet in Ancient Times", "O what a beautiful morning".
1960 - The Awakening
Scenario - South Africa , October 1960, I was living with my father, stepmother and baby brother in a cottage near the Balalaika Hotel, Sandown, a suburb of Johannesburg. Imagine a lazy warm afternoon on the lawn listening to the radio after lunch. A music selection came on, and I was overcome with the beauty and emotion of the voices and orchestra. I knew then that music had to be part of my life and that I would become a musician. The piece was the aria "Softly, Softly " from the opera "Samson and Delilah" by Camille Saint-Saens. I listened to more and more music, and the more I listened the more it meant to me. I was supposed to become a singer - there were after all, two opera singers in the family, my Mum and first cousin Stuart. My mother did "audition" me on Mozart's "Tell me oh Lady" and said afterwards with a sigh "Oh dear". It didn't occur to her there were other ways of making music, but eventually I was lucky enough to get to play the most wonderful singing instrument, the cello. Soon after that momentous revelation, my mother who had recently remarried, came to South Africa to take me to Wales in order to meet my Welsh family whom I had never met, and to continue on to the USA.
1961 - The Beginning - Cello in Cleveland, Ohio, USA.
In January 1961, after spending Christmas with family in Wales, Mum and I crossed the very rough Atlantic ocean on the Queen Mary. I was quite ill with seasickness, so don't remember much about it. We were in New York for a few days, I was amazed by the skyscrapers and excited about buying a Davy Crockett hat. I'll never forget the bitter cold. Coming from the South African summer to the grip of winter was a jolt.
The cultural differences in my new life were huge. I was totally overwhelmed by America. I still had the sensibility of a Spanish senorita protected from life, and here I was having to learn to adjust to a whole new way of living. Fortunately, I did speak English and everyone loved my English accent. I found everyone to be incredibly friendly, and girls on my street asked me to join them walking to school every day. Ah. School. Cleveland Heights High School. 3000 students. Mixed (co-ed). Change classes every time the bell rang.
The school officials were kind, but had no idea what to do for me and where I would fit in. The American/British/South African/French and Spanish curricula are quite different. I had no transcripts, no formal descriptions of my previous schooling. In any case many of my reports would have been in French or Spanish, and in actual fact had been lost in all the traveling I had recently done. I spoke fluent French and Spanish, but had only basic math, as I had to repeat classes when I was learning a new language. Still, they tried, and set up a schedule for me which included orchestra, as I had mentioned I liked music. I had only a year and a half of piano lessons, so I wondered which instrument I would play. The orchestra director was very kind, slightly baffled, but not put out, rather, he said he needed cellos in the orchestra, gave me a cello, a book, and told me I could practice in his office during class. This was the best gift America has ever given me, as it gave me the opportunity to realize my natural affinity to the string sound and especially to the cello. It was such a revelation. Although I think my mother had realized I was musical, she was very surprised when after 2 months, I had decided that the cello was for me and asked for private lessons. I don’t think it occurred to her that I would be interested in the cello. An orchestral instrument had never been considered. After all, I came from a family of singers and piano playing was a useful skill, but as my singing voice did not measure up to my mother’s standards, I was not going to be trained as a singer. I went to the Cleveland Institute of Music and took weekly lessons with Bonnie______. (last name?)
For me Orchestra class was the best part of school, which was a very good one and had a strong orchestra program. The repertoire for that semester was Beethoven’s First Symphony, Bernstein’s West Side Story, Bloch’s Schlomo, and the Grieg Piano Concerto. What on earth was I doing there? Playing the first note of the Beethoven (C) and the last note (C). Learning the complicated rhythms in West Side story. Trying frantically to follow the music line, even though I couldn’t play the notes. I think I had the ability to know when to play my few notes and leave the other ones alone. I can’t imagine why the conductor allowed me to be in the orchestra, even at the back. Then, even having me go on tour with them in the spring! It was an wonderful experience. All this was so very new and thrilling for me, opening up a whole world of wonderful music and the first time I had ever done anything remotely like that. I was thrilled to be part of the orchestra, loved the sound and amazed by the high school soloists. I had never felt such cameraderie before in a group of like minded people, who even so, put up with my total lack of expertise.
We went by bus to Canada, playing at a few places on the way, staying with local families who had children in orchestra programs, visiting Niagara Falls and on to Ottowa. There was lots of snow which I not seen much of before, and very cold, but unlike England, indoors was heated!
Out of school, I was still adjusting to life in the US, so totally different from my previous worlds, but discovering my fellow classmates and MYF friends from the local church, they were so friendly and welcoming to newcomers, and willing to include me in their activities. I had never had such a fun social life before, and of course not a boyfriend, but after a while I did meet a very nice young man, Hal.
However, by the end of the semester I knew I was serious about the cello and with such a late start, I would not make it in the American system. There was some discussion about this at home and finally my mother made the best decision she would ever make for me. Through her contacts with Harry Robinson the Arts Council of Great Britain in London, I was accepted at Dartington College of Arts in Devon in England and in September, 1961 travelled to England and Dartington for the beginning of the academic year.
1961 - The Second stage - Dartington
The 11th century Dartington Hall was a unique place and perfect for my situation. Too perfect - I had a lot of difficulty in letting go when I had to move to the Guildhall School of Music and Drama in London for my next training. The two years I was at Dartington were blissful. I was on the Foundation course, a specially designed course for young people 16-18 years old, to prepare them for whatever they were planning on doing after the Foundation Course. A bit of background on English education. Mostly, children were educated to 16. Then they took the O level GCE exams, (General Certificate of Education). Those who were academically inclined, stayed on at school for 2 more years to take the A level GCE exams in order to get into university. If you did not stay on for A levels, then you chose a career path and followed that. In my case it was music, and I needed a crash course if I was going to make it in any way. The crunch was, that I had not even taken the O level exams. Fortunately Dartington had its own private school. Started in the 1930s it was founded by the philosophies of Bertrand Russell. It was not the average school, but was exactly what I needed. I went to the school for my O level classes and back at the Hall for my Foundation course classes. Fortunately it wasn’t as difficult as it sounds. I needed to pass 5 GCE subjects in order to apply to music school in London in addition to the cello audition. I chose French, Spanish, English Language, English Literature and Music, and they accepted those choices. No math, physics, science. I had no problem with the French, Spanish, English literature and Music, but failed English language the first time (had some difficulty with précis). Fortunately I was allowed to take it again. I would go down the hill to the school for some classes, but for the English literature class, a teacher came up to the Hall (the College of Arts students were housed in the 11th century Hall buildings) and we studied Twelfth Night in a medieval solar, an upstairs parlour, where in the 11th century the ladies would gather and be able to keep an eye on what was going on downstairs in the Banqueting Hall.
When I started at Dartington, piano was my first instrument, but it soon became apparent that I was doing much better on the cello, although I had only been playing for 6 months before I got there. I worked hard at the piano and enjoyed it, but facility didn’t come easily, and I was too old to catch up on the technique that was needed to be a working pianist. Improvement on the cello seemed to come more easily and in any case, I was besotted. I also absolutely adored my cello teacher Michael Evans, a Welshman from Llanelly who was the cellist in the Dartington String Quartet, and also played for the Academy of St. Martin in the Fields. We had a common bond in that my mother was Welsh. Michael was just right for me, gently guiding me along the path of Feuillard's Daily exercises, studies, the first Bach Suite, and other pieces. I remember Michael saying to me in his soft Welsh voice, "Ah, I see you can do vibrato, that's good, but don't do it any more for a while". I still had to learn how to play in tune when moving around the positions of the cello. Over the years, I have passed that on to countless students telling them not to use vibrato on scales and in certain passages. At first they feel cheated, as for some it was such a milestone learning how to do it. The ones who follow that tip, play in tune, the ones who don't, play out of tune. It's as easy as that.
Gradually I was integrated into a chamber music group and started on the path of Mozart and Haydn quartets. Several of us Foundation course babies were recruited to play in the Devon Youth Orchestra, and it was fun, if challenging - Beethoven’s Coriolanus Overture, I remember well, the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante in which a Dartington friend Christine, played the solo viola part.
During my second year, I inherited a small sum of money from my godmother and was able to buy my own cello. I had been borrowing one from Dartington. Michael put out a request to the local teachers for a 7/8th cello, as being on the short side, a full size was too much long for my back. My cello had been waiting for me for years in an attic of a house in the local area. It was in sad shape I was told. I did not see it before it went up to the famous violin shop, Beare's of London. There my 1740 Bavarian/Italian 7/8th baby was carefully put back together and sent to me in a custom-made hard case. I used it for all my playing from then on until I was in Chapel Hill, when I bought another cello, as I didn't want to expose it to the rigors of outdoor wedding gigs. I still have it, but it is played gently on gentle music, Brahms and Elgar is OK. No Shostakovich. My full-size Korean Stradivarius has been a great workhorse since I bought it - 22 years of orchestral music in the Raleigh Symphony (19 as Principal cello) other orchestras, hundreds of outdoor weddings and other freelance gigs, but my Bavarian baby is my first love.
During the school year and at Summer School, we all were exposed to an unbelievably high level of arts performance. This was my first introduction to classical music, how fortunate was I, who knew nothing at all! World-class musicians, dancers and actors came in droves to perform in the Great Hall, the Dance Studio and the Barn Theatre, thanks to the generosity of Dorothy and Leonard Elmhirst, the founders of Dartington, who had perpetual open house for them. In the 1930s before WW2, the Elmhirsts took in refugees from Europe. The Amadeus String Quartet began their careers at Dartington after escaping the Nazis. A ballet company, also fleeing from the Nazis, was given their own Dance School, and later on went on to become the New York City Ballet. As students we got into the concerts for free - the Amadeus String Quartet, Benjamin Britten and Peter Pears, George Malcolm, Julian Bream, Rabindrinath Tagore, the Dartington String Quartet, just to mention a few. Anyone who was anyone performed at Dartington.
We all mingled at mealtimes in the White Hart Dining room in the Hall. It took me a while to get over my shyness of these lofty wonders, but soon I learnt to chat in the line when waiting for our meals.
During the annual Summer School, it was even more frenetic - at least 3 concerts a day. Students were encouraged to come to Summer School, and were given part-time jobs to offset the cost. It was 2 weeks of non-stop culture of all varieties. Now it's up to 5 weeks. I was fortunate enough to attend two summer schools which helped me get to know the music scene before I went up to London. During one magical week, Paul Tortelier, the French cellist came to play and give masterclasses. I was in the audience with other students when Jacqueline Du Pre first played for him. I'll never forget that day. I probably was the only one who didn't know who she was. She played "Don Quixote" which took our breath away, including Tortelier's. He was so excited by her playing and kept saying she must go to Paris to study with him to learn French music , humming away on Debussy's Pelleas and Melisande. As she didn't speak French at that time, I helped with translating between her and Paul Tortelier.
In keeping with the relaxed atmosphere of Summer School, one day when I was practising my Breval Sonata in C, Jackie came in with her Stradivarius and offered to play a duet with me, her playing the bass line. She was a bubbly girl and was very kind to me, a rank beginner. I was somewhat overawed, but she and I were the same age, and it would be fun!! That sonata remains on my favorites list, just for the pleasure it was playing and being with her. Afterwards, she asked me if I would like to play her cello, and I tried. I had never seen a Stradivarius cello before, let alone played one. I knew it was a very special instrument, just looking at it gave me a thrill. This one was made in 1683 and it was one of the larger ones. On me it looked like a double bass, in comparison to my 7/8 cello. I could barely hold down the C string and certainly could not get a decent sound out of it. Jackie must have been cringing and of course when she played it, the gorgeous tone filled the room. We met up quite often after Dartington, as Jackie, after going to Paris to study with Tortelier, then to Russia to study with Rostropovich, returned to the Guildhall School of Music where I was studying as well, to work with her childhood teacher William Pleeth. Of course by then she had recorded Elgar's Cello Concerto with John Barbirolli conducting, which to this day is considered the best interpretation ever. By that time she was beginning to concertize all over the world.
Another Summer School memory one year, was an embarrassing moment when working as a ticket collector for the nightly concerts. I was still very naive and nervous around all the famous people, but had a job to do, and diligently asked each person for their ticket. One night, a very handsome man came to the door, and I asked him for his ticket. He was taken a little aback, but being a quintessential Englishman, was very polite, and just looked at me for a few seconds. Oh, he was so handsome! I asked him again, and then he bent over and whispered in my ear "I'm Peter Pears, I don't need a ticket". I did know the name, and was mortified, but it didn't last long. I had seen Benjamin Britten around the grounds but not Peter. Of course, I wanted to shrivel away, but he smiled so sweetly at me and walked in. They gave a recital soon after that, and of course I drooled.
I had two wonderful years at Dartington, and naturally was not anxious to leave, but my course was over. For whatever reason, I could not extend the Foundation course. Desperate, I went to the Head of the teaching courses, Mervyn Bruxner. I begged and pleaded to be accepted on one of them. That meant an extra year or two years at Dartington, depending on which course you were on. But Mervin was hard hearted, he knew that I was not ready to commit to teaching, and that all I wanted to do was play, so in spite of my tears which did not move him, he would not accept me. There was nothing else to do except to audition at a music college. Michael suggested I try for the Guildhall School of Music where he had studied, which I did. I had passed all the O levels needed to apply for a place in London. I went to the Guildhall for the audition, and played some unaccompanied Bach, and another piece, (which I have forgotten), with my friend Janet Rowlatt accompanying me on the piano. I was accepted and heartbroken at the thought of leaving Dartington. For the rest of the term, I was not happy, but had no other option. Not happy to go to a renowned music school in London? People would give their eyeteeth to go, but I was bereft. Two years were simply not enough training. I had so much to learn. I wept throughout Summer School, knowing that this was my last time as a Dartington student. The one ray of sunshine was that I was given a grant from Cornwall, the county where my mother and step-father were living. At least this relieved them of the burden of having to support me during the 3 years in London. Cornwall was very good to me, as when it came time for me to go to college in London, I was given a full grant for the entire course which paid all my tuition and gave me a monthly stipend to live on. This was a big relief to Mum and Gordon, as Dartington was very expensive, even though I had been given a partial scholarship. I remember someone from the Cornwall County Council coming to the house to interview me for the grant. I was so fortunate to be given the means to continue my musical education.
After Summer school, I went home, this time to Falmouth in Cornwall. My mother and stepfather Gordon, had moved there from Cleveland some months earlier. They found a lovely Georgian house, and Mum had the idea of running a bed and breakfast. The many rooms were spacious, and overlooked a large garden. We were quite a way from the sea, but from the upstairs rooms there were lovely views down to the river and the sea. I was given the attic on the 3rd floor, which had plenty of room for friends when I came from Dartington in the holidays.
They also brought over Gordon’s car, a blue 1958 Ford I think. When Mum and Gordon came to visit me at Dartington, although I did not have a driver’s license, I would drive my friends with great pride in this huge, gas-guzzling monster around the Dartington estate, as the roads were private property, However, the car was soon sold, as it was much too wide for the narrow Cornish lanes, and Gordon had some very near misses, in spite of not having to worry about whether or not he was driving on the correct side of the road, as the car filled up the whole road, and it cost a fortune in petrol.
Mum and Gordon seemed happy in the house on 23 Fern Lane, Falmouth. They started doing bed and breakfasts, and enjoyed meeting the people who came to stay. Although it must have seemed so different to his former life, Gordon went along with everything and enjoyed himself. He was in his mid-seventies then, and ready for the quiet life. I loved the house, and when I had friends come home with me during the summer holidays, we would sometimes rent a boat and row up the river Fal, stopping somewhere for a picnic. Simple pleasures. There were the movies too on occasion. Then of course there was the practicing that needed to be done. Once we entertained the principal flute player of the Bournemouth Symphony orchestra and his wife, who stayed with us for a couple of days while giving concerts in the area. They were relatives of a fellow student at Dartington. We enjoyed hearing a professional practicing in one of the upstairs bedrooms.
1963-THE THIRD STAGE - The Guildhall School
Year 1
I almost didn't make it. It would take me several months and a threat by my new cello teacher Bernard Richards, to throw me out if I didn’t shape up. The final straw was when I had gone to Dartington for a weekend, and had returned on the night coach for my 9:00am cello lesson. Of course I was absolutely bleary–eyed and played horribly, and it was too much for this kindly, patient gentleman, whom I liked very much. I do regret that I didn’t have the maturity to deal with leaving Dartington in a more positive manner. I had been given so much, and not used the first few months in London to my best advantage. I also realized that I should not have been there at all. I was much too inexperienced a musician to be amongst all those professionals. I had only been playing the cello two and a half years, and all my fellow classmates had been playing since they were quite young. They had gone to camps, workshops, played in youth orchestras and chamber music group. I was ready for the excitement of London, and loved being there, but, apart from having withdrawal pains on leaving Dartington, on the musical side, I really did need a few more preparation years to get me up to standard. Bernard Richards as I mentioned, was a kindly man, and was a good teacher. I wish I had been a better pupil for him. I went through the stage of getting into 3 orchestras at the Guildhall, playing chamber music, plus attending my classes, until he very gently told me that I was there to learn how to play the cello, and that I needed to use the time I was spending on all these activities to do so. I cut down quite a bit, but not enough. It was so thrilling to play in the top-notch First Orchestra. My last concert with them at the end of my time was the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. In Second Orchestra, we were conducted by student conductors, and since we were all students together and knew each other, it was great fun. Some of my friends went on to become well-known conductors and players. The pianist for my graduation recital was a student conductor Christopher Seaman, and another conductor of the Second Orchestra was Yuval Zaliouk from Israel. A character who played in the orchestras was trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins, who spent his whole time driving to gigs all around England, and then dashing back for classes and performances. He became a top notch baroque trumpet player.
Jackie du Pre was still studying with William Pleeth, and all the cello students would attend every recital or appearance she gave. She always had a big grin for us when she left the stage. It was devastating to hear she had contracted multiple sclerosis when she was 27, and I was saddened every time I saw her on TV, teaching, going to the Royal College, getting more and more debilitated. It’s inconceivable to think that that lovely, brilliant, outgoing energetic person would have drawn such a terrible lot in life. All I could do was to remember the wonderful music she had given us through her young years and how fortunate I was to have known her.
In my first year, I shared a flat in Putney with another graduate of Dartington, Lally Meyers, whom I had known slightly, as she was older than I and had already been at the Guildhall for a couple of years. She had also studied with Michael and was a fine cellist. I was quite in awe of her. The basement flat was in a large Georgian house in Spencer Walk owned by a fabulous flute player, William Bennett, whom we called Wib. He was married to a South African cellist, Rhuna, so I felt very comfortable in that environment. It was marvelous hearing Wib play, and a highlight of that year was when he asked me to turn pages for his harpsichordist while they were recording the Bach Flute Sonatas. It was nerve-wracking for me, but at the same time so exhilarating hearing that level of performance and the three artists (there was a cello continuo player as well) working together.
1964 - 65 - Year 2 at the Guildhall
After my first year, Lally had graduated and Wib and Rhuna were needing the basement flat for the au pair they were employing to look after their newborn baby. Rhuna told me about a cellist friend of hers who had a room for a student in her flat. That suited me very well as I wanted to be closer to central London. It was in Courtfield Gardens, near the Gloucester Road tube station and more central than Putney. It was easy to get to the Guildhall and the West End, and I was very happy there. However towards the end of my second year, my landlady, Phyllis Geeson, decided to buy a house in Islington, North London. That area was much more convenient for her as she was a cellist in the Sadler’s Wells Opera Company, which is in Islington. I was loth to leave Courtfield Gardens, as it was so convenient for everything, and it was a good neighbourhood, important to me as I often came home from rehearsals and concerts after 11:00pm. Phyllis suggested a friend who lived not far from us who had a basement room to let to a student. It was well furnished, in the same area and the landlady very friendly, so I took it. However, it turned out to be very damp, and within a few weeks I became quite ill with a chest infection. Fortunately Mum and Gordon had moved into the house in Deal, a small town on the coast near Dover, and I was able to go home to get over it. When I was well enough I didn’t go back to that house, but rang Phyllis and asked her if I could have a room in her new house. She said yes, and I lived there for the rest of my time in London. The house was a Georgian terrace on Noel Road, and in those days, Islington was rather run down, but it was fast becoming fashionable. Phyllis had had the place totally gutted and renovated, and it was light and airy. The basement became the dining/family room with the kitchen beyond it, and patio doors opened onto a small garden which looked on to a canal. I enjoyed watching the canal boats making their way lazily up and down. Many people live on those boats.
Phyllis gave me a reduced rent for my room, as I kept an eye on her 90 year-old mother when Phyllis had to go on tour on occasion with the Sadler’s Wells orchestra. Granny as we all called her, was a dear person, and I was very fond of her. She was quite independent, and managed the several flights of steps down to the kitchen every day to cook her meals and make her coffee, grinding the beans by hand. I always tried to join her for her mid-morning café au lait. It was delicious. Her loving companion was Torty, a black cat, and it was a very sad day when Torty died towards the end of my stay with them.
Year 1
I almost didn't make it. It would take me several months and a threat by my new cello teacher Bernard Richards, to throw me out if I didn’t shape up. The final straw was when I had gone to Dartington for a weekend, and had returned on the night coach for my 9:00am cello lesson. Of course I was absolutely bleary–eyed and played horribly, and it was too much for this kindly, patient gentleman, whom I liked very much. I do regret that I didn’t have the maturity to deal with leaving Dartington in a more positive manner. I had been given so much, and not used the first few months in London to my best advantage. I also realized that I should not have been there at all. I was much too inexperienced a musician to be amongst all those professionals. I had only been playing the cello two and a half years, and all my fellow classmates had been playing since they were quite young. They had gone to camps, workshops, played in youth orchestras and chamber music group. I was ready for the excitement of London, and loved being there, but, apart from having withdrawal pains on leaving Dartington, on the musical side, I really did need a few more preparation years to get me up to standard. Bernard Richards as I mentioned, was a kindly man, and was a good teacher. I wish I had been a better pupil for him. I went through the stage of getting into 3 orchestras at the Guildhall, playing chamber music, plus attending my classes, until he very gently told me that I was there to learn how to play the cello, and that I needed to use the time I was spending on all these activities to do so. I cut down quite a bit, but not enough. It was so thrilling to play in the top-notch First Orchestra. My last concert with them at the end of my time was the Berlioz Symphonie Fantastique. In Second Orchestra, we were conducted by student conductors, and since we were all students together and knew each other, it was great fun. Some of my friends went on to become well-known conductors and players. The pianist for my graduation recital was a student conductor Christopher Seaman, and another conductor of the Second Orchestra was Yuval Zaliouk from Israel. A character who played in the orchestras was trumpeter Crispian Steele-Perkins, who spent his whole time driving to gigs all around England, and then dashing back for classes and performances. He became a top notch baroque trumpet player.
Jackie du Pre was still studying with William Pleeth, and all the cello students would attend every recital or appearance she gave. She always had a big grin for us when she left the stage. It was devastating to hear she had contracted multiple sclerosis when she was 27, and I was saddened every time I saw her on TV, teaching, going to the Royal College, getting more and more debilitated. It’s inconceivable to think that that lovely, brilliant, outgoing energetic person would have drawn such a terrible lot in life. All I could do was to remember the wonderful music she had given us through her young years and how fortunate I was to have known her.
In my first year, I shared a flat in Putney with another graduate of Dartington, Lally Meyers, whom I had known slightly, as she was older than I and had already been at the Guildhall for a couple of years. She had also studied with Michael and was a fine cellist. I was quite in awe of her. The basement flat was in a large Georgian house in Spencer Walk owned by a fabulous flute player, William Bennett, whom we called Wib. He was married to a South African cellist, Rhuna, so I felt very comfortable in that environment. It was marvelous hearing Wib play, and a highlight of that year was when he asked me to turn pages for his harpsichordist while they were recording the Bach Flute Sonatas. It was nerve-wracking for me, but at the same time so exhilarating hearing that level of performance and the three artists (there was a cello continuo player as well) working together.
1964 - 65 - Year 2 at the Guildhall
After my first year, Lally had graduated and Wib and Rhuna were needing the basement flat for the au pair they were employing to look after their newborn baby. Rhuna told me about a cellist friend of hers who had a room for a student in her flat. That suited me very well as I wanted to be closer to central London. It was in Courtfield Gardens, near the Gloucester Road tube station and more central than Putney. It was easy to get to the Guildhall and the West End, and I was very happy there. However towards the end of my second year, my landlady, Phyllis Geeson, decided to buy a house in Islington, North London. That area was much more convenient for her as she was a cellist in the Sadler’s Wells Opera Company, which is in Islington. I was loth to leave Courtfield Gardens, as it was so convenient for everything, and it was a good neighbourhood, important to me as I often came home from rehearsals and concerts after 11:00pm. Phyllis suggested a friend who lived not far from us who had a basement room to let to a student. It was well furnished, in the same area and the landlady very friendly, so I took it. However, it turned out to be very damp, and within a few weeks I became quite ill with a chest infection. Fortunately Mum and Gordon had moved into the house in Deal, a small town on the coast near Dover, and I was able to go home to get over it. When I was well enough I didn’t go back to that house, but rang Phyllis and asked her if I could have a room in her new house. She said yes, and I lived there for the rest of my time in London. The house was a Georgian terrace on Noel Road, and in those days, Islington was rather run down, but it was fast becoming fashionable. Phyllis had had the place totally gutted and renovated, and it was light and airy. The basement became the dining/family room with the kitchen beyond it, and patio doors opened onto a small garden which looked on to a canal. I enjoyed watching the canal boats making their way lazily up and down. Many people live on those boats.
Phyllis gave me a reduced rent for my room, as I kept an eye on her 90 year-old mother when Phyllis had to go on tour on occasion with the Sadler’s Wells orchestra. Granny as we all called her, was a dear person, and I was very fond of her. She was quite independent, and managed the several flights of steps down to the kitchen every day to cook her meals and make her coffee, grinding the beans by hand. I always tried to join her for her mid-morning café au lait. It was delicious. Her loving companion was Torty, a black cat, and it was a very sad day when Torty died towards the end of my stay with them.
1965 - 66 - Year 3 at the Guildhall
My final year at the Guildhall was a bit of a blur, so much going on. Fortunately I had a good place to live and practice in, and was playing some freelance gigs to make some extra money. A highlight was playing Handel's Messiah in the Royal Festival Hall with a Welsh Choir, what could be better! Another highlight was playing a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms which was commissioned for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals Festival at Chichester. Somehow I had been recruited to play in a orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music which had a tradition of performing works by living composers, but don't recall if Leonard Bernstein was at that performance.
One of the best things about being a music student in London was being given the opportunity to go to concerts for free or very low cost. There was an organization called Jeunesse Musicales, which charged 5 pounds for a subscription to a season of operas and ballets at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. I saw Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev dance, went to some (not all) of Wagner's Ring Cycle and many others. My landlady Phyllis, who played in the Sadler's Wells orchestra occasionally gave me a ticket for a special performance. One in particular has stayed with me ever since - La Boheme. I had never seen it or knew the story, and I was overwhelmed. After the performance, I stayed in my seat, sobbing my heart out, until the ushers encouraged me to leave. Fortunately, I could walk home, still sobbing. I cannot bring myself to see that opera again. Hearing the music brings back all the emotions and I'm sobbing again. Wigmore Hall was a main venue for chamber music recitals, and as most often for the recitals, all tickets were sold out, so I would join the queue for returns. On many occasions someone would come up to me in the queue and give me a ticket rather than taking it to the Box Office. Music lovers are good people.
1966 -April Orchestra and Choir trip to Paris and Montreux
An extracurricular activity gave me a very exciting opportunity to go to Europe. Yet another orchestra I played in was the London Academic Orchestra, (mostly music college students) and in April of 1966, together with a choir, we went to Montreux, Switzerland for a festival, stopping in Paris to play the Faure Requiem in the church of St. Severin. It was a magical experience, and is one of my most favourite pieces because of all the wonderful cello writing, and the beautiful arias. Playing it in that church made it heavenly. It was lovely to be in Paris again and I was able to have quick lunch with the Le Bons’, the family I stayed with when I was at school in St. Denis. The day after the performance we traveled by coach to Montreux, via Lyon, Dijon and Fontainbleu where we stopped long enough to see the magnificent chateau. The hotel in Leysin, Switzerland where we stayed, overlooked Lake Geneva, and to this day I can remember the taste of the home-made black cherry jam we were given for breakfast with the fresh bread. I have never been able to find a store-bought jam that matches up to that one.
We had such a lot of fun on that trip. We gave concerts in Vevey and Montreux. A good friend of mine was the pianist in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and one evening after a performance, and some particularly fine wine, he treated us to quite a complicated dance on top of the piano. We had free time after rehearsals, so took a few trips up the mountains. On one, we took the funicular to Glion, then caught a train to Leysin, and another time we went up in the train and funicular to Villars. The weather was marvelous, and people were still skiing. It was nerve-wracking taking the little train up the steep side of the mountain, but I kept telling myself, it had been doing this for years, and the Swiss are so careful. We talked people into letting us go to the top of the mountain in the ski cars, although we were not skiing. The view was spectacular and we had a picnic lunch up there. We were not allowed to ski because of the possibility of broken bones (fingers, wrists especially). Not far from our hotel was the 12th century Chateau of Chillon. The architecture was superb, with huge fireplaces, but it was a chilling place as it was used as a barbaric prison. Hard to imagine in that spectacular location. I took a side trip on my own one day to go to Geneva to visit a relative of a London friend. Christiane was very hospitable and took me to the Palace of the United Nations Organization. We had a lovely lunch overlooking the famous fountain in the lake. Then it was time to take the train back to Montreux for a rehearsal and final concert. The final concert for the competition was held in the Montreux Casino and the choir won.
We set off at 1:00am to return to London, stopping in Rheims for a performance by the choir and brass ensemble in the Cathedral. We continued on to Ostend in Belgium where we took the ferry across the English Channel, arriving home at 8am, pretty exhausted.
My final year at the Guildhall was a bit of a blur, so much going on. Fortunately I had a good place to live and practice in, and was playing some freelance gigs to make some extra money. A highlight was playing Handel's Messiah in the Royal Festival Hall with a Welsh Choir, what could be better! Another highlight was playing a performance of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms which was commissioned for the 1965 Southern Cathedrals Festival at Chichester. Somehow I had been recruited to play in a orchestra at the Royal Academy of Music which had a tradition of performing works by living composers, but don't recall if Leonard Bernstein was at that performance.
One of the best things about being a music student in London was being given the opportunity to go to concerts for free or very low cost. There was an organization called Jeunesse Musicales, which charged 5 pounds for a subscription to a season of operas and ballets at the Royal Opera House at Covent Garden. I saw Margot Fonteyn and Rudolf Nureyev dance, went to some (not all) of Wagner's Ring Cycle and many others. My landlady Phyllis, who played in the Sadler's Wells orchestra occasionally gave me a ticket for a special performance. One in particular has stayed with me ever since - La Boheme. I had never seen it or knew the story, and I was overwhelmed. After the performance, I stayed in my seat, sobbing my heart out, until the ushers encouraged me to leave. Fortunately, I could walk home, still sobbing. I cannot bring myself to see that opera again. Hearing the music brings back all the emotions and I'm sobbing again. Wigmore Hall was a main venue for chamber music recitals, and as most often for the recitals, all tickets were sold out, so I would join the queue for returns. On many occasions someone would come up to me in the queue and give me a ticket rather than taking it to the Box Office. Music lovers are good people.
1966 -April Orchestra and Choir trip to Paris and Montreux
An extracurricular activity gave me a very exciting opportunity to go to Europe. Yet another orchestra I played in was the London Academic Orchestra, (mostly music college students) and in April of 1966, together with a choir, we went to Montreux, Switzerland for a festival, stopping in Paris to play the Faure Requiem in the church of St. Severin. It was a magical experience, and is one of my most favourite pieces because of all the wonderful cello writing, and the beautiful arias. Playing it in that church made it heavenly. It was lovely to be in Paris again and I was able to have quick lunch with the Le Bons’, the family I stayed with when I was at school in St. Denis. The day after the performance we traveled by coach to Montreux, via Lyon, Dijon and Fontainbleu where we stopped long enough to see the magnificent chateau. The hotel in Leysin, Switzerland where we stayed, overlooked Lake Geneva, and to this day I can remember the taste of the home-made black cherry jam we were given for breakfast with the fresh bread. I have never been able to find a store-bought jam that matches up to that one.
We had such a lot of fun on that trip. We gave concerts in Vevey and Montreux. A good friend of mine was the pianist in Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and one evening after a performance, and some particularly fine wine, he treated us to quite a complicated dance on top of the piano. We had free time after rehearsals, so took a few trips up the mountains. On one, we took the funicular to Glion, then caught a train to Leysin, and another time we went up in the train and funicular to Villars. The weather was marvelous, and people were still skiing. It was nerve-wracking taking the little train up the steep side of the mountain, but I kept telling myself, it had been doing this for years, and the Swiss are so careful. We talked people into letting us go to the top of the mountain in the ski cars, although we were not skiing. The view was spectacular and we had a picnic lunch up there. We were not allowed to ski because of the possibility of broken bones (fingers, wrists especially). Not far from our hotel was the 12th century Chateau of Chillon. The architecture was superb, with huge fireplaces, but it was a chilling place as it was used as a barbaric prison. Hard to imagine in that spectacular location. I took a side trip on my own one day to go to Geneva to visit a relative of a London friend. Christiane was very hospitable and took me to the Palace of the United Nations Organization. We had a lovely lunch overlooking the famous fountain in the lake. Then it was time to take the train back to Montreux for a rehearsal and final concert. The final concert for the competition was held in the Montreux Casino and the choir won.
We set off at 1:00am to return to London, stopping in Rheims for a performance by the choir and brass ensemble in the Cathedral. We continued on to Ostend in Belgium where we took the ferry across the English Channel, arriving home at 8am, pretty exhausted.
Soon holidays have to end as everything does, and it was back to London for my final term. My time at the Guildhall after that rocky start was good, but of course I should have done better. I played in too many orchestras, chamber music groups, the jazz orchestra at Morley College, when I should have been doing serious practicing. Bernard Richards kept reminding me that " you have the rest of your life to play in orchestras, but now is the time to learn HOW to play", but I guess he did not want to repeat again his threat of expelling me and I did not heed his advice. Another example of my inexperience which I have regretted all my life. Many things had come to me too easily and I just took them for granted. He was a kind man, and one of his generous gestures was to arrange for me to attend the rehearsals and hear Mstislav Rostropvich perform for the first time the newly-found Concerto in C major for cello by J. Haydn. The music world and especially cellists were mesmerized by Rostropovich (Jackie went to study with him for a time in Russia.) He had recently defected to the West and was in England giving concerts and discussions about his life in Russia. Another extraordinary encounter with him was at the Oxford Bach Festival. I went down from London to hear him play the complete Bach Suites, (from memory of course). It was phenomenal, and after finishing he jumped up and said to the audience (through an interpreter, as at that time he did not speak much English), that if any students would like to play for him, he would be happy to listen! Well, as you can imagine, there were many cellists in the audience, and soon there were several brave souls who played. We all benefited from his insight into playing the cello. What a gift to us all!
With the end of my time at the Guildhall coming up fast, I was thinking about the future. One of my conducting student friends, Yuval Zaliouk, an Israeli, had invited me to his house one evening for dinner, and he, his wife and I were discussing weather. I mentioned I might like to go to Israel to work on a kibbutz. I missed good hot sun! Yuval thought that that might be too much like hard work for me, so why didn’t I try out for the Haifa Symphony Orchestra? They were looking for young players and made it very attractive with a not-too-arduous schedule, and special benefits such as housing subsidies, no taxes, and health benefits. I had absolutely no idea about Israel, except that I wanted to go there, so I took Yuval’s advice and on May 23rd auditioned for the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. I think Yuval must have put in a good word for me, as the next day I was astounded when I was asked to join the orchestra, starting in September 1966. Immediately I went around to sign the contracts and make the necessary arrangements. I had not mentioned any of this to my mother, so she too was astounded when I told her. In writing this, looking back and reviewing some of the most momentous events that have happened to me, they all just fell in to place and were meant to be. Just like Cleveland, Dartington and the Guildhall. That's how it was with this adventure. It was very scary making such a huge life-changing decision, but it was a good choice, and I'm glad made it.
A few days later I went to play in the Dartington orchestra for two concerts of works by Vaughn Williams and Parry. It was wonderful to be there visiting friends and former teachers. This really was my swan song for Dartington, but I had grown up and was learning to let go.
With the end of my time at the Guildhall coming up fast, I was thinking about the future. One of my conducting student friends, Yuval Zaliouk, an Israeli, had invited me to his house one evening for dinner, and he, his wife and I were discussing weather. I mentioned I might like to go to Israel to work on a kibbutz. I missed good hot sun! Yuval thought that that might be too much like hard work for me, so why didn’t I try out for the Haifa Symphony Orchestra? They were looking for young players and made it very attractive with a not-too-arduous schedule, and special benefits such as housing subsidies, no taxes, and health benefits. I had absolutely no idea about Israel, except that I wanted to go there, so I took Yuval’s advice and on May 23rd auditioned for the Haifa Symphony Orchestra. I think Yuval must have put in a good word for me, as the next day I was astounded when I was asked to join the orchestra, starting in September 1966. Immediately I went around to sign the contracts and make the necessary arrangements. I had not mentioned any of this to my mother, so she too was astounded when I told her. In writing this, looking back and reviewing some of the most momentous events that have happened to me, they all just fell in to place and were meant to be. Just like Cleveland, Dartington and the Guildhall. That's how it was with this adventure. It was very scary making such a huge life-changing decision, but it was a good choice, and I'm glad made it.
A few days later I went to play in the Dartington orchestra for two concerts of works by Vaughn Williams and Parry. It was wonderful to be there visiting friends and former teachers. This really was my swan song for Dartington, but I had grown up and was learning to let go.
1966- Graduation, summer travels and a new adventure.
Soon after the Dartington concerts, my days at the Guildhall were over. There were no graduation ceremonies. Our diplomas were sent in the mail. Of course I should have stayed there to get more experience, or gone to a university for further study, but all I wanted to do was play the cello, and I did not want to turn down the offer of a position in the Haifa Symphony Orchestra.
As a graduation present, Mum had given me tickets to fly to Africa to the-then Rhodesia where my oldest brother John, was living in the Zambezi Valley. Now it meant I would fly from Rhodesia to Israel via Johannesburg and Teheran to start my job at the beginning of September.
I didn't have much time to get packed up for Rhodesia and my new life, but eventually, it was all done. BOAC (now British Airways) charged me 25 pounds to take the cello. I went on my favorite aircraft, the VC-10, and was so excited to be back in Africa again. I'll always remember the thrill of standing at the door of the aircraft, and taking the first breath of African air. It was a wonderful summer with the family - John, Betty and the four girls. Just being there together, without the hustle and bustle of city life - out in the bush listening to night sounds, taking turns on the zip line (known as the foefi/foofie slide to the children) picnics in the bush, naps in the afternoon, then tea with farmer neighbors, sometimes with tennis if we went to a farm with a court, was wonderfully relaxing. John was a pilot flying Africans to and from the hospital or clinic, and occasionally we had the benefit of the plane too. A special trip was to the Victoria Falls, with the hair-raising banking aircraft, so we could get great views. Maggie sent me a YouTube video of the Victoria Falls foofie slide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-7h6GldOo&sns=em It definitely was not there when we were!
In August, John took me to catch the train from Salisbury to visit our sister, Elizabeth, whom I had not seen for many years. She was the Burser for a private girls’ school, and shared a house with a friend who had two young daughters. It was a very pleasant visit, Elizabeth gave me a good time. We went out to the Matopos Reserve, and climbed the rock formation where Cecil Rhodes is buried. I could see why he called it God’s country. The vast clear blue sky, and standing on the rocks looking over the veld, gave me such a sense of wonderment at how beautiful the country was. We had a bit of a scary moment in the car, when we got between a white rhino mother and her baby, but she didn’t charge us, and we were able to get out of the way.
All good things come to an end, and all too soon it was time to make my way to Israel and the next adventure. I flew from Bulawayo to Johannesburg in South Africa to catch the weekly El Al flight to Tel Aviv via Teheran.
Soon after the Dartington concerts, my days at the Guildhall were over. There were no graduation ceremonies. Our diplomas were sent in the mail. Of course I should have stayed there to get more experience, or gone to a university for further study, but all I wanted to do was play the cello, and I did not want to turn down the offer of a position in the Haifa Symphony Orchestra.
As a graduation present, Mum had given me tickets to fly to Africa to the-then Rhodesia where my oldest brother John, was living in the Zambezi Valley. Now it meant I would fly from Rhodesia to Israel via Johannesburg and Teheran to start my job at the beginning of September.
I didn't have much time to get packed up for Rhodesia and my new life, but eventually, it was all done. BOAC (now British Airways) charged me 25 pounds to take the cello. I went on my favorite aircraft, the VC-10, and was so excited to be back in Africa again. I'll always remember the thrill of standing at the door of the aircraft, and taking the first breath of African air. It was a wonderful summer with the family - John, Betty and the four girls. Just being there together, without the hustle and bustle of city life - out in the bush listening to night sounds, taking turns on the zip line (known as the foefi/foofie slide to the children) picnics in the bush, naps in the afternoon, then tea with farmer neighbors, sometimes with tennis if we went to a farm with a court, was wonderfully relaxing. John was a pilot flying Africans to and from the hospital or clinic, and occasionally we had the benefit of the plane too. A special trip was to the Victoria Falls, with the hair-raising banking aircraft, so we could get great views. Maggie sent me a YouTube video of the Victoria Falls foofie slide http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0x-7h6GldOo&sns=em It definitely was not there when we were!
In August, John took me to catch the train from Salisbury to visit our sister, Elizabeth, whom I had not seen for many years. She was the Burser for a private girls’ school, and shared a house with a friend who had two young daughters. It was a very pleasant visit, Elizabeth gave me a good time. We went out to the Matopos Reserve, and climbed the rock formation where Cecil Rhodes is buried. I could see why he called it God’s country. The vast clear blue sky, and standing on the rocks looking over the veld, gave me such a sense of wonderment at how beautiful the country was. We had a bit of a scary moment in the car, when we got between a white rhino mother and her baby, but she didn’t charge us, and we were able to get out of the way.
All good things come to an end, and all too soon it was time to make my way to Israel and the next adventure. I flew from Bulawayo to Johannesburg in South Africa to catch the weekly El Al flight to Tel Aviv via Teheran.
making my way to haifa.
I arrived in Johannesburg and caught the flight to Tel Aviv. All went well until we had a stop over in Teheran. Then we were told that the flight had been overbooked, and volunteers were needed to give up their seats. I was approached, and was asked quite vehemently to give up my seat. I refused, as traveling alone, I did not want to be in a unknown city in a country I had never been to before, not knowing a soul. I was very nervous that they might actually carry me off the flight, and very, very glad when we took off. I remember the passengers laughing and crying with joy at arriving in Israel. It was very emotional.
Gradually several young people from other countries arrived and we were warmly welcomed by the Orchestra Manager in the Symphony Hall in downtown Haifa. There was an English flutist, Teresa - a young couple from London with a baby, the husband, David was going to be Principal Viola, a bassoonist from Switzerland, Erich, and me. Already in the orchestra was the percussionist from London, Pamela, the Principal Horn, Janet from Montana. Apart from the Israelis, a number of the players had come from Russia and Europe as well. The Principal cellist was a Russian immigrant.
We were given temporary accommodation for the first few weeks. The orchestra had arrangement accommodation for the new people. I was rooming with Teresa, which was very helpful. She knew more about Israel than I did and it certainly made the adjustment easier. At first, it was difficult for me in a couple of ways, I was not Jewish and we had arrived just around the High Holidays which are the most religious days in the year. Everything had shut down, we were not working, and I knew no-one except Teresa. Although the weather was gorgeous, it was difficult to get down to the beach, as none of the buses were running, we didn’t have a car, and in any case during Shabbat, no cars were allowed to be driven. So it was quite lonely at first, until I met the other orchestra members and made friends. The orchestra was made up of many nationals, there was an English couple, the Newlands. David was fine viola player and the Principal in the orchestra. His wife Mary had their first baby during that season. They had a flat to themselves, and they took housekeeping in a foreign country very seriously, rinsing fruit and vegetables with potassium permanganate crystals. I was most impressed. Another friend I made was a French horn player from Montana, USA, Janet Cardwell. I was the only foreigner in the cello section, and the only woman. I was really ready to get started.
Living and working in Haifa.
Haifa is a beautiful city, and the apartment was on the top of Mount Carmel with gorgeous views of the bay and Mediterranean Sea. I did not speak any Hebrew, but could get around easily with English or French. In fact, the first words my stand partner said to me after meeting me in the orchestra were “don’t try to speak Hebrew with me. I want to practice my English with you.” So that was the end of that in orchestra. I did go to the Ulpan (language school), but because of my schedule, couldn’t continue for long. Many Israelis spoke several languages, so it really wasn’t a problem. Our conductors came from many countries, and most of the time I was able to understand what was being said. “Noch ein mal” a German conductor repeated many times, so I got that one pretty quickly. I was very young and inexperienced. I think at times the orchestra wondered if I should really be playing with them. However, they did give me chance, and I really wanted to be there so I worked hard, and went into Tel Aviv every so often to take lessons from Uzi Wiesel who played with the Israel Philharmonic and the Tel Aviv String Quartet. I really regretted being too obstinate to make myself continue further studying, just because I had been so eager to get this job. The inexperience of youth! Looking back through my life, there have been other similar situations which required decisions, so it was obviously my personality. Youth is wasted on the young.
The orchestra paid a reasonable salary to the foreigners, especially as we had housing benefits and no taxes, so we did not have to supplement our income. At first I felt very odd getting paid for something I enjoyed so much, but realized I had bills to pay, and had to accept it. I was not encouraged to take students, as the Israeli orchestra members(who did not get housing benefits, and had to pay taxes) supplemented their incomes by teaching. Most of them had families to support. I was happy with that, our schedule was not arduous, and there were many opportunities to go sightseeing around the country. It was easy to get around, hitchhiking was a common way, especially for the soldiers on leave, and there was good train and bus transportation. Then there were always the young men who sometimes had cars and were eager to show us around!
As time went on, I got to know other musicians and to play chamber music. I had the privilege of playing for Frank Pelleg, a very fine harpsichordist. He formed a trio of our principal flute player Yael Nathanson, and myself, and we gave several performances of J.S.Bach’s Musical Offering in Haifa and other cities.
I occasionally went to the English church, St. John’s Episcopal Church. The chaplain and his wife Albert and Trina were very hospitable, and I met a few English people there. Also later, I met a very nice English woman Heather, who had married an Armenian, Zora Topalian. They had a baby boy, Mark, in November of 67. There was a British community in Haifa, but I was on the fringe of it. I was younger than most and single, so didn’t have much in common with the married couples or families. Occasionally, the British Consulate would have a gathering and I would be invited.
Of course the beach was a great attraction. What can beat the blue Mediterranean? It was so wonderful to sit down at the beach watching the sun set. I had missed that so much after leaving Palma. When I first arrived in Haifa, we spent quite a lot of time on the beach when we could get down there, and I had my first experience of lifeguards. Somehow I accidentally sliced my right index finger at the tip and they took care of it pretty quickly. They were very attentive. Fortunately, it was my bow hand, and because of the holidays I had a few days to allow it to heal. By the time I had to play in the orchestra, I was able to take the large bandage off in order to hold the bow. After that episode, I became very wary of knives and cutting things, and since then, have used electrical appliances whenever I can.
Our schedule in the orchestra consisted of morning rehearsals ending at 1:00pm and on some days we had an evening rehearsal or a concert. Most of the time, I would go back to the flat with Teresa for lunch, but occasionally, if I was too hungry to wait, there were a number of restaurants near the theatre that quickly became favourites. One served the most marvelous blinzes with cheese or jam, another was in someone’s living room and there was always a queue of people waiting to get in. They served a Hungarian goulash which was so delicious, one forgot the inelegant surroundings. I soon got used to eating hummus with pita when we sometimes went out for a drink after concerts or evening rehearsals. After a hot day, it was so refreshing to sit out in the cool night. Another snack that became a favourite was the felafel. Chickpeas blended with spices and made into a bite-size balls then fried, added to chopped tomatoes and cucumber, with a yoghurty sauce, all wrapped in a pita. I also liked the lamb slices in pita, similar to the Greek gyro.
TRAVELS IN ISRAEL
One of the perks of playing in the orchestra was that we would travel around the country giving children’s concerts, thus seeing many different places. One of my favourites was Acco, a crusader city. *
Teresa and I hitched to Nazareth one day in November and had a very good outing there. We went there several times, a good place to buy Hebron glass. We would buy the beads for necklaces. Later that November, I went by train to Beersheva, then took a bus through the desert to Eilat. I stayed with friends and went on a glass boat to see the coral reefs. The next day I spent on the beach water-skiing, marveling at the colour of the water and looking over at the border to Jordan and Petra which I longed to see but couldn’t. I took the bus back to Tel Aviv for a concert in the Mannes Auditorium.
One day in January of 1967 the orchestra had a concert in Jerusalem and we went there by bus. We stayed with people from Kol Israel, and the next day we walked up Mount Zion, then to the Mandelbaum Gate and saw the Shrine of the Book near the Israel Museum.
*In West Jerusalem on a visit to Mount Scopus and the Hebrew University, it was a joy to see the Chagall windows. The light streaming through the glass has left me with a lifelong impression of their beauty. A great contrast to the Yad Vashem garden**
At the end of January, I took the train to Beersheva, then caught the bus to Masada*. I stayed in the Youth Hostel and met other young people from the US and Germany. We walked around admiring the wonderful view of the Dead Sea. The next I got up early and after breakfast took the Snake Path up to Masada. It took about 1 ½ hours to climb. I spent about 4 hours looking around the ruins and learning about the site. Getting down was easy, it only took about 30 minutes. The next day I caught the bus back to Beersheva, then met an American couple who were touring around, and they gave me a lift to Askelon where we visited the Antiquities Park and then went on to Tel Aviv, returning to Haifa in the evening by train.
I also visited Megiddo with friends, and on another trip visited Caesaria.
Later in May, I went with Mary to Tel Aviv. We walked around Jaffo, and the Shalom Store, then took the bus to Ein Gedi. The Negev desert was very hot, but a very beautiful place. We stayed in the youth hostel and met many other people at supper. The next day we went for a swim in the Dead Sea. It was a most peculiar experience not being able to sink! There were people taking photographs of bathers reading the newspaper in the water.It was not the place to be if you had any sort of cut or lesion on your body. Too painful. After taking a shower to get rid of all the salt we explored around the springs, then walked back to the Youth Hostel. We then caught a bus to Masada , this time climbing a path that only took 45 minutes fortunately, as it was very hot, even early in the morning. A good lunch at “Ein Bobek” rounded off the dya’s activities and then it was back to Haifa via Tel Aviv. The next day I went to Kibbutz Galed and met a friend there who had invited me to stay. Of course I had to work for my keep, 6 ½ hours of washing up the next day. Still the company was good and we had fun. On to Afula and then by bus to Nazareth where I met Janet for breakfast and later walked around the market buying presents for my brother John and his family.
Another visit to Nazareth was in May, for the wedding of friends Mattie and Eric in the Baptist Church.
The next day a group of us foreigners from the orchestra and some friends (including 2 babies) went on a trip to Ashdod and Askelon where we had lunch in the park, then swam. Went to the border at Gaza strip and visited Yad Mordechai, a reconstructed battlefield. From then on we went to Beersheva and stayed in the youth hostel, then drove down the next day to Eilat for some more glorious swimming coral reef viewing and a walk to the Egyptian border. We had planned to camp out, but tremendous thunderstorms during the night forced us into the car to sleep.
The next day we drove to Ein Gedi on the border road, but it was difficult as there was so much flooding from the thunderstorm. We did finally make it to the Dead Sea, and went swimming, but there were a number of people and buses whohad been stranded by the floods. Mary and I stayed behind to look after the babies when the others climbed Masada. I had already climbed it twice!
JUNE 6 -1967 THE SIX DAY WAR.
Living in Israel was not easy for the Israelis, many of whom had come from developed countries and were used to a higher standard of life, or had come from under-developed countries and were very poor. Everything was very expensive, and the country was constantly on the watch for trouble erupting on the borders. Although we went about our business and in fact traveled around quite a bit in May, we knew there was trouble brewing.
The British community were informed that the British Navy had several destroyers waiting to pick us up in Haifa harbour, and that we should go down there immediately and board the waiting ships.
David and Mary decided to return to England, they had baby Jennifer to consider, and they left on the 3rd. I thought about it, then put it off until it was too late. Janet Cardwell moved in with me on June 2nd together with her 2 kittens and on June 5th of 1967, war did break out. I was aware of the potential conflict, but life went on and I really didn’t worry about it too much. By that time, the Israeli air force had attacked Egypt and destroyed their planes. Most of the men in the orchestra were called up, and concerts were cancelled. As the days went on there were calls for volunteers, so I went to a private hospital near the flat and helped with whatever needed doing. I had no medical training but I could wind bandages and do other tasks that would free up the nurses and orderlies so they could do their jobs. It was not a major hospital for the wounded, in fact all I saw was the maternity ward, where my first son would be born.
In the orchestra, the players who were still around, formed small chamber ensembles, and we went around playing for the wounded in the hospitals. A few days into the war, I had a telegram from my mother, saying she had heard Haifa was on fire, and I really should come home. I replied saying that I was fine, Haifa had not been bombed, and the fire was from a factory chimney near the harbour. Flames did come out of the chimney, but that was usual, it burned most of the time. Some newspaper was convinced Haifa was on fire and had made much of it. The only event that happened near Haifa was a fighter that was shot down near Megiddo.
Of course, we were very concerned for our orchestra musicians who were fighting, and fortunately, none were killed. We were so relieved when the Golan Heights were taken from the Syrians. The farmers on the kibbutzim had endured years of being shot at. It was a hard fought battle, and thankfully the Israelis were able to end the suffering of those kibbutzim.
Amazingly after 6 days, the old part of Jerusalem (which was in Jordanian territory) was taken over by the Israelis, and on July 11th, Teresa and I hitched to Jerusalem. We stayed in the Guest House run by the Anglican Cathedral of St. George, and it was a very exciting experience to be there at that time. We had to be very careful of stray bombs going off, but there was no fighting. All the places that were not available to anyone living in Israel before the war, were open now, and I tried to see as many as possible. I am not about to write a travel book on Jerusalem, suffice to say it was a marvel seeing the Via Dolorosa, the Dome of the Rock, the Wailing Wall, Mount of Olives, and some of the underground tombs. I was a little nervous about going alone with just a guide down those dark steps into the tombs, so didn’t visit many. I preferred to be above ground where there were plenty of people. I don't recall where Teresa was, she may have gone somewhere else that day. A visit to a beautiful museum (Rothschild Museum?), the architecture was exquisite, and the gardens full of flowers.
When entering East part of Jerusalem, it was as if I had taken a step back in time. Living in Israel before the war, my life as a young woman was not much more different than when I was living in London. I went around doing my daily errands, going to work on the bus, feeling the same kind of freedom as I had in England. In East Jerusalem, I was very aware of being a young woman on my own. The Arab women were much more discreet in dress and in presence, and I felt quite conspicuous as a young foreign woman. I respected their beliefs and wore long sleeved tops into the Mosque of the Dome of the Rock and the churches (no hot pants!), but there wasn’t the same sense of freedom to wander around alone, so I teamed up with others whenever I could. The visit to Wailing Wall was very special as it was before it had been divided up between the men’s and the women’s areas, now there was free access to any part.
After the war ended and the men returned safely, the orchestra started rehearsing and giving concerts again. We gave a benefit concert for the soldiers and the soloist was Larry Adler who played the harmonica.*
1967 SUMMER
On Aug. 1st I flew to London for my summer holiday (most people went to the Mediterranean for their holiday!). Mum met me at the airport with Phyllis, who drove us back to Noel Rd. I was staying there for a few days to meet up with friends, later Mum went back to Deal. I went to a Prom Concert with friends, Bach’s “St. John’s Passion” and enjoyed going to a pub again which we did after the performance. So English after the Mediterranean lifestyle.
I went up to St. Alban’s where my friend Janet lived. The month before in July, she had married a singer, tenor Rogers Covey-Crump in St. Alban’s Abbey. I was so disappointed not to have been able to attend, but the orchestra was still performing then. They had moved into their first house, tiny but very much a home. Janet has a wonderful sense of colour and is a great seamstress, so all her homes have been beautifully decorated. St. Alban’s is full of history. I have been back there many times, with and without the children, and always have enjoyed exploring the area. My favorite hat was bought in St. Alban’s market.
Janet came down to London while I was there, and we visited the new Post Office Tower * and went to the theatre in the Strand to see “Getting Married” (most appropriate). She stayed over and we went to the Chapel St. market before she returned home. That evening a friend and I went to a concert by the London Academic Orchestra (with which I had gone to Switzerland), and I saw a lot of old friends and colleagues. One lent me a cello for the time I was in England, so I could practice. I had not brought my cello from Israel. I thoroughly enjoyed being back in London seeing everyone, then I went down to Deal to spend some time with Mum and Gordon. I was interviewed by the local newspaper.
RETURN TO ISRAEL 1967
I returned to Israel at the end of August to start the new season and was soon back in the routine of rehearsals and concerts. There were several new members, among them Steve Salemson who played French horn. He was to become my husband in the near future.
It must have been in the air as an English friend of mine Adrienne, got married at Kibbutz Galed at the beginning of September. Her family came out from England and it was a very happy occasion.
Towards the end of September, David Newland’s father and cousin who were visiting Israel, came and took me out for lunch. They stayed in Haifa for a few days and on one day we went to Cesaria and Ein Hod, an artists’ village which was very interesting.* In October I went with Steve to Tiberius, then took the boat across the Kinneret to Ein Gev. It was a beautiful day, perfect for swimming.
In the orchestra, a highlight concert was with the flute player and conductor, Peter-Lukas Graf from Zurich, which was a thrill.
The trio with Frank Pelleg, Yael and me, gave several concerts during this period which were also a highlight for me.
There was a small concert hall near my apartment, and Yael and I together with 2 other string players played a program which included the Mozart A major flute quartet. It was always so enjoyable playing these concerts, as the audience really enjoyed listening to classical music. There were many amateur groups of fine players in the area and occasionally if a cellist was missing, I would be asked if I would join them for an evening's session. I enjoyed doing this whenever I could. They were lovely people, some not speaking English, but that didn't matter. Music is a universal language. And of course there was always a delicious spread of special treats to snack on afterwards!
In December my mother came for a visit, and after a concert in Jerusalem we stayed in the Guest House of St. George’s Cathedral. On Christmas Eve we took a bus to Bethlehem for the services and it was quite moving, but difficult to feel a contemplative experience as the small space was packed with tourists and worshippers. Christmas Day services were in St. George's. Christians in the orchestra were given Christmas Day off, but the rest of the orchestra went back to Haifa and worked that day.
Gradually several young people from other countries arrived and we were warmly welcomed by the Orchestra Manager in the Symphony Hall in downtown Haifa. There was an English flutist, Teresa - a young couple from London with a baby, the husband, David was going to be Principal Viola, a bassoonist from Switzerland, Erich, and me. Already in the orchestra was the percussionist from London, Pamela, the Principal Horn, Janet from Montana. Apart from the Israelis, a number of the players had come from Russia and Europe as well. The Principal cellist was a Russian immigrant.
We were given temporary accommodation for the first few weeks. The orchestra had arrangement accommodation for the new people. I was rooming with Teresa, which was very helpful. She knew more about Israel than I did and it certainly made the adjustment easier. At first, it was difficult for me in a couple of ways, I was not Jewish and we had arrived just around the High Holidays which are the most religious days in the year. Everything had shut down, we were not working, and I knew no-one except Teresa. Although the weather was gorgeous, it was difficult to get down to the beach, as none of the buses were running, we didn’t have a car, and in any case during Shabbat, no cars were allowed to be driven. So it was quite lonely at first, until I met the other orchestra members and made friends. The orchestra was made up of many nationals, there was an English couple, the Newlands. David was fine viola player and the Principal in the orchestra. His wife Mary had their first baby during that season. They had a flat to themselves, and they took housekeeping in a foreign country very seriously, rinsing fruit and vegetables with potassium permanganate crystals. I was most impressed. Another friend I made was a French horn player from Montana, USA, Janet Cardwell. I was the only foreigner in the cello section, and the only woman. I was really ready to get started.
Living and working in Haifa.
Haifa is a beautiful city, and the apartment was on the top of Mount Carmel with gorgeous views of the bay and Mediterranean Sea. I did not speak any Hebrew, but could get around easily with English or French. In fact, the first words my stand partner said to me after meeting me in the orchestra were “don’t try to speak Hebrew with me. I want to practice my English with you.” So that was the end of that in orchestra. I did go to the Ulpan (language school), but because of my schedule, couldn’t continue for long. Many Israelis spoke several languages, so it really wasn’t a problem. Our conductors came from many countries, and most of the time I was able to understand what was being said. “Noch ein mal” a German conductor repeated many times, so I got that one pretty quickly. I was very young and inexperienced. I think at times the orchestra wondered if I should really be playing with them. However, they did give me chance, and I really wanted to be there so I worked hard, and went into Tel Aviv every so often to take lessons from Uzi Wiesel who played with the Israel Philharmonic and the Tel Aviv String Quartet. I really regretted being too obstinate to make myself continue further studying, just because I had been so eager to get this job. The inexperience of youth! Looking back through my life, there have been other similar situations which required decisions, so it was obviously my personality. Youth is wasted on the young.
The orchestra paid a reasonable salary to the foreigners, especially as we had housing benefits and no taxes, so we did not have to supplement our income. At first I felt very odd getting paid for something I enjoyed so much, but realized I had bills to pay, and had to accept it. I was not encouraged to take students, as the Israeli orchestra members(who did not get housing benefits, and had to pay taxes) supplemented their incomes by teaching. Most of them had families to support. I was happy with that, our schedule was not arduous, and there were many opportunities to go sightseeing around the country. It was easy to get around, hitchhiking was a common way, especially for the soldiers on leave, and there was good train and bus transportation. Then there were always the young men who sometimes had cars and were eager to show us around!
As time went on, I got to know other musicians and to play chamber music. I had the privilege of playing for Frank Pelleg, a very fine harpsichordist. He formed a trio of our principal flute player Yael Nathanson, and myself, and we gave several performances of J.S.Bach’s Musical Offering in Haifa and other cities.
I occasionally went to the English church, St. John’s Episcopal Church. The chaplain and his wife Albert and Trina were very hospitable, and I met a few English people there. Also later, I met a very nice English woman Heather, who had married an Armenian, Zora Topalian. They had a baby boy, Mark, in November of 67. There was a British community in Haifa, but I was on the fringe of it. I was younger than most and single, so didn’t have much in common with the married couples or families. Occasionally, the British Consulate would have a gathering and I would be invited.
Of course the beach was a great attraction. What can beat the blue Mediterranean? It was so wonderful to sit down at the beach watching the sun set. I had missed that so much after leaving Palma. When I first arrived in Haifa, we spent quite a lot of time on the beach when we could get down there, and I had my first experience of lifeguards. Somehow I accidentally sliced my right index finger at the tip and they took care of it pretty quickly. They were very attentive. Fortunately, it was my bow hand, and because of the holidays I had a few days to allow it to heal. By the time I had to play in the orchestra, I was able to take the large bandage off in order to hold the bow. After that episode, I became very wary of knives and cutting things, and since then, have used electrical appliances whenever I can.
Our schedule in the orchestra consisted of morning rehearsals ending at 1:00pm and on some days we had an evening rehearsal or a concert. Most of the time, I would go back to the flat with Teresa for lunch, but occasionally, if I was too hungry to wait, there were a number of restaurants near the theatre that quickly became favourites. One served the most marvelous blinzes with cheese or jam, another was in someone’s living room and there was always a queue of people waiting to get in. They served a Hungarian goulash which was so delicious, one forgot the inelegant surroundings. I soon got used to eating hummus with pita when we sometimes went out for a drink after concerts or evening rehearsals. After a hot day, it was so refreshing to sit out in the cool night. Another snack that became a favourite was the felafel. Chickpeas blended with spices and made into a bite-size balls then fried, added to chopped tomatoes and cucumber, with a yoghurty sauce, all wrapped in a pita. I also liked the lamb slices in pita, similar to the Greek gyro.
TRAVELS IN ISRAEL
One of the perks of playing in the orchestra was that we would travel around the country giving children’s concerts, thus seeing many different places. One of my favourites was Acco, a crusader city. *
Teresa and I hitched to Nazareth one day in November and had a very good outing there. We went there several times, a good place to buy Hebron glass. We would buy the beads for necklaces. Later that November, I went by train to Beersheva, then took a bus through the desert to Eilat. I stayed with friends and went on a glass boat to see the coral reefs. The next day I spent on the beach water-skiing, marveling at the colour of the water and looking over at the border to Jordan and Petra which I longed to see but couldn’t. I took the bus back to Tel Aviv for a concert in the Mannes Auditorium.
One day in January of 1967 the orchestra had a concert in Jerusalem and we went there by bus. We stayed with people from Kol Israel, and the next day we walked up Mount Zion, then to the Mandelbaum Gate and saw the Shrine of the Book near the Israel Museum.
*In West Jerusalem on a visit to Mount Scopus and the Hebrew University, it was a joy to see the Chagall windows. The light streaming through the glass has left me with a lifelong impression of their beauty. A great contrast to the Yad Vashem garden**
At the end of January, I took the train to Beersheva, then caught the bus to Masada*. I stayed in the Youth Hostel and met other young people from the US and Germany. We walked around admiring the wonderful view of the Dead Sea. The next I got up early and after breakfast took the Snake Path up to Masada. It took about 1 ½ hours to climb. I spent about 4 hours looking around the ruins and learning about the site. Getting down was easy, it only took about 30 minutes. The next day I caught the bus back to Beersheva, then met an American couple who were touring around, and they gave me a lift to Askelon where we visited the Antiquities Park and then went on to Tel Aviv, returning to Haifa in the evening by train.
I also visited Megiddo with friends, and on another trip visited Caesaria.
Later in May, I went with Mary to Tel Aviv. We walked around Jaffo, and the Shalom Store, then took the bus to Ein Gedi. The Negev desert was very hot, but a very beautiful place. We stayed in the youth hostel and met many other people at supper. The next day we went for a swim in the Dead Sea. It was a most peculiar experience not being able to sink! There were people taking photographs of bathers reading the newspaper in the water.It was not the place to be if you had any sort of cut or lesion on your body. Too painful. After taking a shower to get rid of all the salt we explored around the springs, then walked back to the Youth Hostel. We then caught a bus to Masada , this time climbing a path that only took 45 minutes fortunately, as it was very hot, even early in the morning. A good lunch at “Ein Bobek” rounded off the dya’s activities and then it was back to Haifa via Tel Aviv. The next day I went to Kibbutz Galed and met a friend there who had invited me to stay. Of course I had to work for my keep, 6 ½ hours of washing up the next day. Still the company was good and we had fun. On to Afula and then by bus to Nazareth where I met Janet for breakfast and later walked around the market buying presents for my brother John and his family.
Another visit to Nazareth was in May, for the wedding of friends Mattie and Eric in the Baptist Church.
The next day a group of us foreigners from the orchestra and some friends (including 2 babies) went on a trip to Ashdod and Askelon where we had lunch in the park, then swam. Went to the border at Gaza strip and visited Yad Mordechai, a reconstructed battlefield. From then on we went to Beersheva and stayed in the youth hostel, then drove down the next day to Eilat for some more glorious swimming coral reef viewing and a walk to the Egyptian border. We had planned to camp out, but tremendous thunderstorms during the night forced us into the car to sleep.
The next day we drove to Ein Gedi on the border road, but it was difficult as there was so much flooding from the thunderstorm. We did finally make it to the Dead Sea, and went swimming, but there were a number of people and buses whohad been stranded by the floods. Mary and I stayed behind to look after the babies when the others climbed Masada. I had already climbed it twice!
JUNE 6 -1967 THE SIX DAY WAR.
Living in Israel was not easy for the Israelis, many of whom had come from developed countries and were used to a higher standard of life, or had come from under-developed countries and were very poor. Everything was very expensive, and the country was constantly on the watch for trouble erupting on the borders. Although we went about our business and in fact traveled around quite a bit in May, we knew there was trouble brewing.
The British community were informed that the British Navy had several destroyers waiting to pick us up in Haifa harbour, and that we should go down there immediately and board the waiting ships.
David and Mary decided to return to England, they had baby Jennifer to consider, and they left on the 3rd. I thought about it, then put it off until it was too late. Janet Cardwell moved in with me on June 2nd together with her 2 kittens and on June 5th of 1967, war did break out. I was aware of the potential conflict, but life went on and I really didn’t worry about it too much. By that time, the Israeli air force had attacked Egypt and destroyed their planes. Most of the men in the orchestra were called up, and concerts were cancelled. As the days went on there were calls for volunteers, so I went to a private hospital near the flat and helped with whatever needed doing. I had no medical training but I could wind bandages and do other tasks that would free up the nurses and orderlies so they could do their jobs. It was not a major hospital for the wounded, in fact all I saw was the maternity ward, where my first son would be born.
In the orchestra, the players who were still around, formed small chamber ensembles, and we went around playing for the wounded in the hospitals. A few days into the war, I had a telegram from my mother, saying she had heard Haifa was on fire, and I really should come home. I replied saying that I was fine, Haifa had not been bombed, and the fire was from a factory chimney near the harbour. Flames did come out of the chimney, but that was usual, it burned most of the time. Some newspaper was convinced Haifa was on fire and had made much of it. The only event that happened near Haifa was a fighter that was shot down near Megiddo.
Of course, we were very concerned for our orchestra musicians who were fighting, and fortunately, none were killed. We were so relieved when the Golan Heights were taken from the Syrians. The farmers on the kibbutzim had endured years of being shot at. It was a hard fought battle, and thankfully the Israelis were able to end the suffering of those kibbutzim.
Amazingly after 6 days, the old part of Jerusalem (which was in Jordanian territory) was taken over by the Israelis, and on July 11th, Teresa and I hitched to Jerusalem. We stayed in the Guest House run by the Anglican Cathedral of St. George, and it was a very exciting experience to be there at that time. We had to be very careful of stray bombs going off, but there was no fighting. All the places that were not available to anyone living in Israel before the war, were open now, and I tried to see as many as possible. I am not about to write a travel book on Jerusalem, suffice to say it was a marvel seeing the Via Dolorosa, the Dome of the Rock, the Wailing Wall, Mount of Olives, and some of the underground tombs. I was a little nervous about going alone with just a guide down those dark steps into the tombs, so didn’t visit many. I preferred to be above ground where there were plenty of people. I don't recall where Teresa was, she may have gone somewhere else that day. A visit to a beautiful museum (Rothschild Museum?), the architecture was exquisite, and the gardens full of flowers.
When entering East part of Jerusalem, it was as if I had taken a step back in time. Living in Israel before the war, my life as a young woman was not much more different than when I was living in London. I went around doing my daily errands, going to work on the bus, feeling the same kind of freedom as I had in England. In East Jerusalem, I was very aware of being a young woman on my own. The Arab women were much more discreet in dress and in presence, and I felt quite conspicuous as a young foreign woman. I respected their beliefs and wore long sleeved tops into the Mosque of the Dome of the Rock and the churches (no hot pants!), but there wasn’t the same sense of freedom to wander around alone, so I teamed up with others whenever I could. The visit to Wailing Wall was very special as it was before it had been divided up between the men’s and the women’s areas, now there was free access to any part.
After the war ended and the men returned safely, the orchestra started rehearsing and giving concerts again. We gave a benefit concert for the soldiers and the soloist was Larry Adler who played the harmonica.*
1967 SUMMER
On Aug. 1st I flew to London for my summer holiday (most people went to the Mediterranean for their holiday!). Mum met me at the airport with Phyllis, who drove us back to Noel Rd. I was staying there for a few days to meet up with friends, later Mum went back to Deal. I went to a Prom Concert with friends, Bach’s “St. John’s Passion” and enjoyed going to a pub again which we did after the performance. So English after the Mediterranean lifestyle.
I went up to St. Alban’s where my friend Janet lived. The month before in July, she had married a singer, tenor Rogers Covey-Crump in St. Alban’s Abbey. I was so disappointed not to have been able to attend, but the orchestra was still performing then. They had moved into their first house, tiny but very much a home. Janet has a wonderful sense of colour and is a great seamstress, so all her homes have been beautifully decorated. St. Alban’s is full of history. I have been back there many times, with and without the children, and always have enjoyed exploring the area. My favorite hat was bought in St. Alban’s market.
Janet came down to London while I was there, and we visited the new Post Office Tower * and went to the theatre in the Strand to see “Getting Married” (most appropriate). She stayed over and we went to the Chapel St. market before she returned home. That evening a friend and I went to a concert by the London Academic Orchestra (with which I had gone to Switzerland), and I saw a lot of old friends and colleagues. One lent me a cello for the time I was in England, so I could practice. I had not brought my cello from Israel. I thoroughly enjoyed being back in London seeing everyone, then I went down to Deal to spend some time with Mum and Gordon. I was interviewed by the local newspaper.
RETURN TO ISRAEL 1967
I returned to Israel at the end of August to start the new season and was soon back in the routine of rehearsals and concerts. There were several new members, among them Steve Salemson who played French horn. He was to become my husband in the near future.
It must have been in the air as an English friend of mine Adrienne, got married at Kibbutz Galed at the beginning of September. Her family came out from England and it was a very happy occasion.
Towards the end of September, David Newland’s father and cousin who were visiting Israel, came and took me out for lunch. They stayed in Haifa for a few days and on one day we went to Cesaria and Ein Hod, an artists’ village which was very interesting.* In October I went with Steve to Tiberius, then took the boat across the Kinneret to Ein Gev. It was a beautiful day, perfect for swimming.
In the orchestra, a highlight concert was with the flute player and conductor, Peter-Lukas Graf from Zurich, which was a thrill.
The trio with Frank Pelleg, Yael and me, gave several concerts during this period which were also a highlight for me.
There was a small concert hall near my apartment, and Yael and I together with 2 other string players played a program which included the Mozart A major flute quartet. It was always so enjoyable playing these concerts, as the audience really enjoyed listening to classical music. There were many amateur groups of fine players in the area and occasionally if a cellist was missing, I would be asked if I would join them for an evening's session. I enjoyed doing this whenever I could. They were lovely people, some not speaking English, but that didn't matter. Music is a universal language. And of course there was always a delicious spread of special treats to snack on afterwards!
In December my mother came for a visit, and after a concert in Jerusalem we stayed in the Guest House of St. George’s Cathedral. On Christmas Eve we took a bus to Bethlehem for the services and it was quite moving, but difficult to feel a contemplative experience as the small space was packed with tourists and worshippers. Christmas Day services were in St. George's. Christians in the orchestra were given Christmas Day off, but the rest of the orchestra went back to Haifa and worked that day.
1969 from israel to the usa
1969 Steve and I left the Haifa Orchestra in the summer of 1969. A sad leaving, it had been such a monumental time of my life, both personal and musical, but I understood his wanting to take a different path in his career, and the longing of his family for us to be closer.
At first, we lived with Steve's parents in Glen Cove, Long Island, a very nice area with good beaches and facilities. I joined the Huntington Symphony, which was semi-professional, so at least I was contributing to our income. Rehearsals and concerts were in the evenings, which allowed me to look after the baby during the day. Steve was working in an office position, but a few months later, decided to go back to college to get a degree in Musicology. He was accepted at Queens College, Flushing, a suburb of New York, and as his classes were at night, we decided to move closer to the college. His day job was in the City, so commuting from Glen Cove was not all practical. We found an upstairs "Garden flat" in Flushing, which was near the College and an easy access to the City. I continued with the Huntington Symphony, although the drive on the Long Island Express to and from Huntington eventually got to be more than I could handle, and I left the orchestra. There were many opportunities in the New York area, I became a member of the Musicians Union and played in the Queens Orchestra, freelancing with various groups, playing musicals, Gilbert and Sullivan and other gigs that came along. I also had a few students. While in Flushing our second son was born, so life was pretty busy with a toddler and a newborn. We did get out to Glen Cove whenever we could, appreciating the quiet and peaceful surroundings, and in the summers, the beach.
1973 Steve graduated from Queens University, and was given a Fellowship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We drove down for his interview in the Spring and moved in the summer. Not for nothing is it called the Southern part of Heaven. Victory Village was a group of prefab houses, called UKs, originally intended for the Americans when in England during WW2. The university bought some of the surplus units for graduate student houses. They were single-story homes that were perfect for young families. Each house with two bedrooms, living room, bathroom and kitchen, had a fenced-in garden, which, after the the difficulties of carrying up strollers and toys to the the upstairs flat in Flushing, made my life a lot easier and allowed the children to be free and safe.
Once we got settled in, I started looking around for musical and teaching opportunities. Being a large University, there was a lot of music making and a need for instrumental teaching, privately and in schools. I was able to start up a teaching studio in the house, and taught in the University music department as an adjunct instructor. I also had a part-time position in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System as a Strings Teacher. It suited us well, as I was able to pick up the children after school, before teaching at home later in the day. There was no professional orchestra in Chapel Hill, so I auditioned and joined the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. It was a 55 mile drive on an Interstate, but nothing like the Long Island Expressway.
Almost immediately after arriving in Chapel Hill, I was asked to join a new baroque ensemble, I Musici di Capella della Collina. (The Musicians of Chapel Hill). The name for that came from our first performance. Members of the group were Mary Frances Boyce - violin, our resident musicologist PhD, Eleanor Kinnaird -violin, (who eventually went on to become a lawyer and then a NC State Senator) and I on baroque cello and bass viola da gamba. Beverly was our first harpsichordist, but when she moved with her family to Texas, Jane Harris stepped in. Her PhD was on Elliott Carter, but she still took baroque performance practice very seriously, spending hours on the different tunings of the harpsichord. It was the period during the 70s when the baroque style was just coming into the early music repertoire and the other members were very much into musicology. It was a new facet of performance which I liked very much and was interested to learn from our musicologists as I had not had a lot of baroque performance practice other than with Frank Pelleg in Israel.
We held a series of concerts during the year in the New East building on the UNC campus, which houses the large chamber of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Student Organizations. Started in 1795, over the years they have amassed a good collection of portraits of important people since the inauguration of the organizations. They give a real conducive feeling of the Baroque style to this historic room. The low wooden stage was perfect for the group and the acoustics are excellent. The only problem was that the harpsichord, a Zukerman kit that Mary Fran had assembled herself in the '70s, had to be carried up to the 4th floor. There was no lift! In those days, the husbands' backs were very strong. My little 7/8, 1740 cello was perfect for the group, but was set up for modern playing. It was not possible to keep readjusting the tuning and strings (baroque music uses gut strings, modern - mostly steel or silver/aluminium strings). To use it solely for baroque playing, meant getting a modern instrument that I could use for my regular cello playing. Another option was to learn to play the bass viola da gamba. Many early music groups use that instrument. It can be slighty larger than a cello, but has no endpin to support it. It is held by the lower part of the legs, hence the word, viola da gamba (leg). The university had one to lend me and for a while I taught myself.
Later on, for several years in the summer, the group went to the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin College in Ohio, and studied with the creme de la creme of specialist performers. Florence's local singing teacher, Penny Jenson, taught up there during the summer. I was fortunate enough to study with Catherina Meints, both on baroque cello and viola da gamba. She was excellent and I learnt so much from her, especially in bowing technique. She was a great mentor as well, being a cellist with the Cleveland Symphony, so I knew it was possible to play both instruments without detraction.
At first, we lived with Steve's parents in Glen Cove, Long Island, a very nice area with good beaches and facilities. I joined the Huntington Symphony, which was semi-professional, so at least I was contributing to our income. Rehearsals and concerts were in the evenings, which allowed me to look after the baby during the day. Steve was working in an office position, but a few months later, decided to go back to college to get a degree in Musicology. He was accepted at Queens College, Flushing, a suburb of New York, and as his classes were at night, we decided to move closer to the college. His day job was in the City, so commuting from Glen Cove was not all practical. We found an upstairs "Garden flat" in Flushing, which was near the College and an easy access to the City. I continued with the Huntington Symphony, although the drive on the Long Island Express to and from Huntington eventually got to be more than I could handle, and I left the orchestra. There were many opportunities in the New York area, I became a member of the Musicians Union and played in the Queens Orchestra, freelancing with various groups, playing musicals, Gilbert and Sullivan and other gigs that came along. I also had a few students. While in Flushing our second son was born, so life was pretty busy with a toddler and a newborn. We did get out to Glen Cove whenever we could, appreciating the quiet and peaceful surroundings, and in the summers, the beach.
1973 Steve graduated from Queens University, and was given a Fellowship to the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. We drove down for his interview in the Spring and moved in the summer. Not for nothing is it called the Southern part of Heaven. Victory Village was a group of prefab houses, called UKs, originally intended for the Americans when in England during WW2. The university bought some of the surplus units for graduate student houses. They were single-story homes that were perfect for young families. Each house with two bedrooms, living room, bathroom and kitchen, had a fenced-in garden, which, after the the difficulties of carrying up strollers and toys to the the upstairs flat in Flushing, made my life a lot easier and allowed the children to be free and safe.
Once we got settled in, I started looking around for musical and teaching opportunities. Being a large University, there was a lot of music making and a need for instrumental teaching, privately and in schools. I was able to start up a teaching studio in the house, and taught in the University music department as an adjunct instructor. I also had a part-time position in the Chapel Hill-Carrboro School System as a Strings Teacher. It suited us well, as I was able to pick up the children after school, before teaching at home later in the day. There was no professional orchestra in Chapel Hill, so I auditioned and joined the Greensboro Symphony Orchestra. It was a 55 mile drive on an Interstate, but nothing like the Long Island Expressway.
Almost immediately after arriving in Chapel Hill, I was asked to join a new baroque ensemble, I Musici di Capella della Collina. (The Musicians of Chapel Hill). The name for that came from our first performance. Members of the group were Mary Frances Boyce - violin, our resident musicologist PhD, Eleanor Kinnaird -violin, (who eventually went on to become a lawyer and then a NC State Senator) and I on baroque cello and bass viola da gamba. Beverly was our first harpsichordist, but when she moved with her family to Texas, Jane Harris stepped in. Her PhD was on Elliott Carter, but she still took baroque performance practice very seriously, spending hours on the different tunings of the harpsichord. It was the period during the 70s when the baroque style was just coming into the early music repertoire and the other members were very much into musicology. It was a new facet of performance which I liked very much and was interested to learn from our musicologists as I had not had a lot of baroque performance practice other than with Frank Pelleg in Israel.
We held a series of concerts during the year in the New East building on the UNC campus, which houses the large chamber of the Dialectic and Philanthropic Student Organizations. Started in 1795, over the years they have amassed a good collection of portraits of important people since the inauguration of the organizations. They give a real conducive feeling of the Baroque style to this historic room. The low wooden stage was perfect for the group and the acoustics are excellent. The only problem was that the harpsichord, a Zukerman kit that Mary Fran had assembled herself in the '70s, had to be carried up to the 4th floor. There was no lift! In those days, the husbands' backs were very strong. My little 7/8, 1740 cello was perfect for the group, but was set up for modern playing. It was not possible to keep readjusting the tuning and strings (baroque music uses gut strings, modern - mostly steel or silver/aluminium strings). To use it solely for baroque playing, meant getting a modern instrument that I could use for my regular cello playing. Another option was to learn to play the bass viola da gamba. Many early music groups use that instrument. It can be slighty larger than a cello, but has no endpin to support it. It is held by the lower part of the legs, hence the word, viola da gamba (leg). The university had one to lend me and for a while I taught myself.
Later on, for several years in the summer, the group went to the Baroque Performance Institute at Oberlin College in Ohio, and studied with the creme de la creme of specialist performers. Florence's local singing teacher, Penny Jenson, taught up there during the summer. I was fortunate enough to study with Catherina Meints, both on baroque cello and viola da gamba. She was excellent and I learnt so much from her, especially in bowing technique. She was a great mentor as well, being a cellist with the Cleveland Symphony, so I knew it was possible to play both instruments without detraction.
1978-1983
In Chapel Hill I had my routine of playing and teaching and being a Mom, but in 1978 our lives changed. After seeing a local performance by the American Boychoir who were on tour, my oldest, Jeremy, who sang in our church's children's choir, expressed an interest in going to the school based in Princeton, New Jersey. It is the only non-sectarian boychoir boarding school in the US, at that time for about 55 boys. The audition procedure was quite complicated - after sending a cassette recording of some songs, with his choirmaster accompanying him on the piano, going to the interview, then a week's stay at the school, and a 2 week summer camp, he was accepted into the choir at 9 1/2 years of age and in September, we took him up for the start of the new school year. It was a quite a wrench for him to leave home, but he wanted to go, and after a few weeks of homesickness, decided to stay on, and became one of their star soloists. A performance of the treble solo in A Ceremony of Carols at the Smithsonian was sublime. Their Christmas concerts were always glorious.
In the summer of 1979, with Jeremy wanting to continue at the Boychoir, I decided to move nearer to Princeton, so we would be closer. I rented out the house and found a flat in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. It was pretty little town, similar to Chapel Hill, on the train route to Philadelphia, easy to get to Princeton. The schools were excellent and my second son, Dan, had a good 3rd grade experience there. I met some musicians from Swarthmore College and played in viol groups with them, and picked up a few students.
Eventually, I sold the house in NC and bought a small house in Ewing about 11 miles from Princeton. Dan also wanted to go to the Boychoir, and was accepted, but had to go as a day boy for the first year. It wasn't a chore to drive Dan to and from school, a pretty drive through the NJ countryside. House prices in Princeton were beyond my meagre purse. When Jeremy's voice broke in 1982, that was the end of his career at the Boychoir, and he had to go a regular school. Dan still had a few more years at the Boychoir, and by now was boarding. I had been offered a full-time string teaching job in the Raleigh, NC school system, so that summer we moved to an upstairs apartment in a large old Raleigh house. Conveniently it was next door to an Episcopalian private school and Jeremy was able to win a sports scholarship to attend.
There was a solid music scene in Raleigh, and I was invited to play in the newly-organized Raleigh Symphony. I still played with my friends in Chapel Hill, 35 miles away.
Unfortunately, by the end of the first year, I realized the string teaching job was not working out for me. I had 4 schools to teach daily, which were spread out all over the very wide school district. This meant that I had to leave classes early to get to the next one late. If there were traffic delays it was even worse. String students for the most part are responsible and understanding, but the younger ones needed a teacher to be there before they came into class. On the other end, I was always late for the high school class, and that really bothered me. Many students were preparing for college and needed recommendations for their applications. I never had time to talk to them about their future music plans, which was very frustrating for me and them.
It was time for me to think out my future path and decided this was a good time to go to England. For Jeremy it would broaden his horizons. Dan had the option of staying in the Boychoir or coming with us, and he decided to come with us. I took the huge step of selling the house, as I needed the money for the move, and in the summer of 1983 I went to England to find a place for us to live.
In Chapel Hill I had my routine of playing and teaching and being a Mom, but in 1978 our lives changed. After seeing a local performance by the American Boychoir who were on tour, my oldest, Jeremy, who sang in our church's children's choir, expressed an interest in going to the school based in Princeton, New Jersey. It is the only non-sectarian boychoir boarding school in the US, at that time for about 55 boys. The audition procedure was quite complicated - after sending a cassette recording of some songs, with his choirmaster accompanying him on the piano, going to the interview, then a week's stay at the school, and a 2 week summer camp, he was accepted into the choir at 9 1/2 years of age and in September, we took him up for the start of the new school year. It was a quite a wrench for him to leave home, but he wanted to go, and after a few weeks of homesickness, decided to stay on, and became one of their star soloists. A performance of the treble solo in A Ceremony of Carols at the Smithsonian was sublime. Their Christmas concerts were always glorious.
In the summer of 1979, with Jeremy wanting to continue at the Boychoir, I decided to move nearer to Princeton, so we would be closer. I rented out the house and found a flat in Swarthmore, Pennsylvania. It was pretty little town, similar to Chapel Hill, on the train route to Philadelphia, easy to get to Princeton. The schools were excellent and my second son, Dan, had a good 3rd grade experience there. I met some musicians from Swarthmore College and played in viol groups with them, and picked up a few students.
Eventually, I sold the house in NC and bought a small house in Ewing about 11 miles from Princeton. Dan also wanted to go to the Boychoir, and was accepted, but had to go as a day boy for the first year. It wasn't a chore to drive Dan to and from school, a pretty drive through the NJ countryside. House prices in Princeton were beyond my meagre purse. When Jeremy's voice broke in 1982, that was the end of his career at the Boychoir, and he had to go a regular school. Dan still had a few more years at the Boychoir, and by now was boarding. I had been offered a full-time string teaching job in the Raleigh, NC school system, so that summer we moved to an upstairs apartment in a large old Raleigh house. Conveniently it was next door to an Episcopalian private school and Jeremy was able to win a sports scholarship to attend.
There was a solid music scene in Raleigh, and I was invited to play in the newly-organized Raleigh Symphony. I still played with my friends in Chapel Hill, 35 miles away.
Unfortunately, by the end of the first year, I realized the string teaching job was not working out for me. I had 4 schools to teach daily, which were spread out all over the very wide school district. This meant that I had to leave classes early to get to the next one late. If there were traffic delays it was even worse. String students for the most part are responsible and understanding, but the younger ones needed a teacher to be there before they came into class. On the other end, I was always late for the high school class, and that really bothered me. Many students were preparing for college and needed recommendations for their applications. I never had time to talk to them about their future music plans, which was very frustrating for me and them.
It was time for me to think out my future path and decided this was a good time to go to England. For Jeremy it would broaden his horizons. Dan had the option of staying in the Boychoir or coming with us, and he decided to come with us. I took the huge step of selling the house, as I needed the money for the move, and in the summer of 1983 I went to England to find a place for us to live.
1983-86 Sojourn to england.
1983 I chose Exeter in Devon, a large town with a university, the cathedral and quite a few private schools. I had spent a good part of my childhood in the South West, and of course the 2 two years at Dartington, 30 miles south of Exeter. so it was all very familiar. While looking for a suitable home in Exeter, I had found a temporary situation in Exmouth, a small town along the coast, not far away. A single father with a son needed someone to live in his house while he was away on a project out of the country. There was enough room for my boys as well, and they were all close in age. At the end of the summer, my sons arrived at Heathrow and their adventure started. We stayed in Exmouth for a couple of months, eventually finding a good house for us to to rent in Exeter. The British owners were living in Hong Kong, coming back periodically to Exeter for holidays, renting the house out when away. The boys went to a small private school which suited them, and I started putting my musical life in order. Once again, it was one of those things that were meant to be. I played for a well-known cellist who was auditioning candidates for a cello teaching position (called Periptetic Teaching in England), which included 3 private schools, the Cathedral School and the local community college. I got the position! I was at one school per day, so no frantic driving to get to classes.
There were many playing opportunities as well, some paying, some volunteer, such as the Exeter Symphony Orchestra, The Exeter Chamber Orchestra and freelance gigs. The Devon Youth Orchestra that I had played in all those years ago was still going strong, but now I was helping out with the workshops and section rehearsals. At the University, Alison Crum, a well-known English viol player and teacher came often frequently to coach and have Viol Play Days, which included all the locals from the surrounding area.
The two years while the boys were in England were good ones. During school holiday times we went exploring to Cornwall, London and other places. Their grandparents came over from the US and we went around Devon to Dartington and Dartmoor. I think driving around on the narrow roads made them queasy. Pop loved the clotted cream scones for tea! Grandma worried about his cholestrol. One summer the boys went camping in Israel with Steve, and on one freezing New Year weekend we all went to Paris. I took the boys on a coach tour of Paris to keep warm while Steve met with his college French Horn teacher. Later in the year the boys went on a school trip to France, visiting the sites of Normandy and Brittany.
Jeremy's second year of school had the dreaded O levels. We knew he had not had the preparation for them, which usually started around 11 years, and that meant he would not be able to go to university in England. To go to university in the US, he would need to go back there in order to graduate from high school and apply for university.
1985 The boys returned to the US at the end of the summer. Although Dan seemed to have settled in and was enjoying himself, and would not have the O level difficulties that Jeremy had, it was somewhat of a surprise that chose to return to the US as well. I, in the other hand was loth to return, especially with my very enjoyable job and other musical events. I was very happy to be in England and glad to be closer to my mother who lived in London. It was a difficult decision, but after going through all the possibilities, I decided to stay. Dan was happy to experience life in New Hampshire with Steve, and Jeremy was welcomed back with a scholarship at his old school in Raleigh. A family with a son in the same school who had been friends with him in 1982, offered to host him during the academic year. During the Christmas holidays, I flew into a very cold New Hampshire to be with the family. It was great to be together again, we went skiing, downhill and cross country, neither of which I am at all not coordinated. The hot chocolate afterwards was the best!
My school year was going along well and I was thoroughly enjoying all my musical activities. A highlight was playing Bach's St. John Passion at Exeter University, with my friend Rogers Covey-Crump singing the part of the Evangelist. In the spring of 1986 my brother and sister-in-law came from South Africa for the wedding of their third daughter. Her husband-to-be was English, and they were married in a very traditional English country church. The rain could not dampen the beauty of the scenery and the happiness of the day.
Very soon after John and Betty returned to South Africa, out of the blue I had to have a medical procedure. Although it was not life-threatening, it woke me up to the fact that I was too far away from my family, and if they were not in England, then I would have to return to the US and Chapel Hill, which I did.
There were many playing opportunities as well, some paying, some volunteer, such as the Exeter Symphony Orchestra, The Exeter Chamber Orchestra and freelance gigs. The Devon Youth Orchestra that I had played in all those years ago was still going strong, but now I was helping out with the workshops and section rehearsals. At the University, Alison Crum, a well-known English viol player and teacher came often frequently to coach and have Viol Play Days, which included all the locals from the surrounding area.
The two years while the boys were in England were good ones. During school holiday times we went exploring to Cornwall, London and other places. Their grandparents came over from the US and we went around Devon to Dartington and Dartmoor. I think driving around on the narrow roads made them queasy. Pop loved the clotted cream scones for tea! Grandma worried about his cholestrol. One summer the boys went camping in Israel with Steve, and on one freezing New Year weekend we all went to Paris. I took the boys on a coach tour of Paris to keep warm while Steve met with his college French Horn teacher. Later in the year the boys went on a school trip to France, visiting the sites of Normandy and Brittany.
Jeremy's second year of school had the dreaded O levels. We knew he had not had the preparation for them, which usually started around 11 years, and that meant he would not be able to go to university in England. To go to university in the US, he would need to go back there in order to graduate from high school and apply for university.
1985 The boys returned to the US at the end of the summer. Although Dan seemed to have settled in and was enjoying himself, and would not have the O level difficulties that Jeremy had, it was somewhat of a surprise that chose to return to the US as well. I, in the other hand was loth to return, especially with my very enjoyable job and other musical events. I was very happy to be in England and glad to be closer to my mother who lived in London. It was a difficult decision, but after going through all the possibilities, I decided to stay. Dan was happy to experience life in New Hampshire with Steve, and Jeremy was welcomed back with a scholarship at his old school in Raleigh. A family with a son in the same school who had been friends with him in 1982, offered to host him during the academic year. During the Christmas holidays, I flew into a very cold New Hampshire to be with the family. It was great to be together again, we went skiing, downhill and cross country, neither of which I am at all not coordinated. The hot chocolate afterwards was the best!
My school year was going along well and I was thoroughly enjoying all my musical activities. A highlight was playing Bach's St. John Passion at Exeter University, with my friend Rogers Covey-Crump singing the part of the Evangelist. In the spring of 1986 my brother and sister-in-law came from South Africa for the wedding of their third daughter. Her husband-to-be was English, and they were married in a very traditional English country church. The rain could not dampen the beauty of the scenery and the happiness of the day.
Very soon after John and Betty returned to South Africa, out of the blue I had to have a medical procedure. Although it was not life-threatening, it woke me up to the fact that I was too far away from my family, and if they were not in England, then I would have to return to the US and Chapel Hill, which I did.
Life in Chapel Hill, north carolina
1986 - I have to say I was overwhelmed by the warmth of my friends when I returned to Chapel Hill. They welcomed me with open arms in spite of me having left them and our music group three years earlier. I made up for it somewhat by working very hard on the music business we had started years before. Neither of the other 2 in the group was remotely interested in management, and business had dropped down considerably.
My oldest friend and neighbor near my house in Carrboro, which I had sold to go to Princeton, offered me her empty home. She had a University teaching position in Maine, but was reluctant to rent out the house to the general public. That helped me greatly and was a boon to the boys as, they had grown up in that development and it was home for them, since they were in and out of the house when playing with Judy's son. So we were all together again, which was good for us all. Jeremy had gone back to the Episcopal school, again with a scholarship. During the week he stayed with a family in Raleigh whose son went to the same school. It was safer than driving the 60+ miles daily to Raleigh. He came back for weekends, at least he knew he had a home to come back to. Dan was at the Chapel Hill High School. He had had enough of the cold in New Hampshire!
With us all settled, I had to get back into the musical world, playing with the Raleigh and the Durham Symphonies, freelancing, building up a teaching studio, and working on Musica. It was slow at first, and the boys told me to "get a proper job, Mum". I listened to them and went to classes to get my license to become a Realtor (US) or Estate agent, (England). I was offered an opening in an office of a true Southern gentleman, who with his mother and brother had been in the Real Estate business for years. He knew everyone from years back, and was great to work with.
1992 - Life ticked along, the boys graduated from high school and went off to university. Judy came back from her stint in Maine, and I bought a 3 bedroom townhouse near the school where recently I was given the position of Cello instructor and Director of the String Orchestra. Reluctantly, I gave up the Real Estate business, I enjoyed it very much, and if I had been more money-hungry, I would chosen that path instead of the music path. Chapel Hill is a very upmarket area, and I would have made a lot of money over the years. With Northerners flocking down to warmer weather and getting huge prices for their homes in the North, house prices in Chapel Hill rose as well. I remember the shock we all had when the first million-dollar home was sold! Of course, now the market has priced out of ownership by those who can't afford those prices. More and more of the service population including teachers, professors and medical assistants, are unable to live in the community they work in. So-called "affordable" homes are required to be built by developers, but there are not enough of them. However, house prices are still not as bad as in the UK. I wish I had been able to afford a small flat in England in the 80's. Now in 2016, it's impossible there for a large section of the population to purchase their first home.
I realised I could't give up music, it's my life, so I continued on with playing, teaching and running Musica. I went to England twice a year, as Mum was in a nursing home and getting more forgetful. The nursing home, Abercorn House, was excellent, and they had a guest suite for visiting families on the main floor overlooking the beautiful English garden. for visiting families. It was lovely to bring Mum down to the guest suite for tea, she thought she was going out for a special treat. She loved going around the garden. In 1994 she had a series of small strokes, and finally one too many. I went over and with my brother who came from South Africa, and a few friends who knew her well, had a simple funeral in the local Crematorium with an organist playing her favorite hymns.
The ensuing years rolled along, with the daily routine of school and private teaching, playing in the Raleigh and Durham Symphonies, freelancing and managing Musica, which had became very busy. Peppered in between, mostly in the summers, were visits to family and friends in England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Kenya.
My oldest friend and neighbor near my house in Carrboro, which I had sold to go to Princeton, offered me her empty home. She had a University teaching position in Maine, but was reluctant to rent out the house to the general public. That helped me greatly and was a boon to the boys as, they had grown up in that development and it was home for them, since they were in and out of the house when playing with Judy's son. So we were all together again, which was good for us all. Jeremy had gone back to the Episcopal school, again with a scholarship. During the week he stayed with a family in Raleigh whose son went to the same school. It was safer than driving the 60+ miles daily to Raleigh. He came back for weekends, at least he knew he had a home to come back to. Dan was at the Chapel Hill High School. He had had enough of the cold in New Hampshire!
With us all settled, I had to get back into the musical world, playing with the Raleigh and the Durham Symphonies, freelancing, building up a teaching studio, and working on Musica. It was slow at first, and the boys told me to "get a proper job, Mum". I listened to them and went to classes to get my license to become a Realtor (US) or Estate agent, (England). I was offered an opening in an office of a true Southern gentleman, who with his mother and brother had been in the Real Estate business for years. He knew everyone from years back, and was great to work with.
1992 - Life ticked along, the boys graduated from high school and went off to university. Judy came back from her stint in Maine, and I bought a 3 bedroom townhouse near the school where recently I was given the position of Cello instructor and Director of the String Orchestra. Reluctantly, I gave up the Real Estate business, I enjoyed it very much, and if I had been more money-hungry, I would chosen that path instead of the music path. Chapel Hill is a very upmarket area, and I would have made a lot of money over the years. With Northerners flocking down to warmer weather and getting huge prices for their homes in the North, house prices in Chapel Hill rose as well. I remember the shock we all had when the first million-dollar home was sold! Of course, now the market has priced out of ownership by those who can't afford those prices. More and more of the service population including teachers, professors and medical assistants, are unable to live in the community they work in. So-called "affordable" homes are required to be built by developers, but there are not enough of them. However, house prices are still not as bad as in the UK. I wish I had been able to afford a small flat in England in the 80's. Now in 2016, it's impossible there for a large section of the population to purchase their first home.
I realised I could't give up music, it's my life, so I continued on with playing, teaching and running Musica. I went to England twice a year, as Mum was in a nursing home and getting more forgetful. The nursing home, Abercorn House, was excellent, and they had a guest suite for visiting families on the main floor overlooking the beautiful English garden. for visiting families. It was lovely to bring Mum down to the guest suite for tea, she thought she was going out for a special treat. She loved going around the garden. In 1994 she had a series of small strokes, and finally one too many. I went over and with my brother who came from South Africa, and a few friends who knew her well, had a simple funeral in the local Crematorium with an organist playing her favorite hymns.
The ensuing years rolled along, with the daily routine of school and private teaching, playing in the Raleigh and Durham Symphonies, freelancing and managing Musica, which had became very busy. Peppered in between, mostly in the summers, were visits to family and friends in England, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Italy, Kenya.
2011 - 50th anniversary Year events in north carolina
It was a good year for music making but a sad year saying goodbye to dear friends and colleagues.
January 11 - Durham, North Carolina
Rehearsal with the Durham Symphony for the Tribute to Martin Luther King Concert on January 15th. I had missed the first rehearsal on the 4th, as I was still in Capetown, South Africa with my family. Having not played or practised for a month, and then even with just a section of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, I knew it was going to be a challenge, and it was. Oh my sore fingers and aching arms, but the last movement is so magnificent I never even thought about them, until the next morning. We were joined by the Concert Singers of Cary and four excellent soloists. The other work on the program "Eulogy for a Dream" was composed by Willian H. Curry, our conductor. We had played it the year he was auditioning, and liked it then. The narrator came from a local TV station, and had wonderful diction.
January 14 - Rehearsal with the UNC Viol Consort
This is a group of graduate students, teachers and musicians who play viols at the university during the school year and perform 2 or 3 concerts a year. Led by Professor Brent Wissick, a fine cellist and viol player who performs all over the world, we have a great time. Brent introduces us to works that are not on the average viol players list, and in so doing stretches us to another level. We are now preparing for a concert on March 27th. He has commisioned a piece for cellos and viols "Reflections on a Pavane" by Will Ayton. The Pavane it is based on is "Mille Regretz" by Josquin, perhaps arranged by Susato.
January 15 - Concert Durham Symphony "A tribute to Martin Luther King"
The Armory was packed and the concert was powerful and moving. Review - http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=151
January 24 - Rehearsal of the "Stabat Mater" by Arvo Part.
with the "Triangle Trio" and "Tre Voce". Two of my friends and I formed a trio of violin, viola and cello especially for a concert we were asked to play on April 3rd. It will be at the NC Museum of Art, and is part of a series "Sights and Sounds" put on by the Raleigh Chamber Music Guild and the Museum. We are to perform with three singers, soprano, counter-tenor and tenor. The program is the "Stabat Mater" by Arvo Part, the "Missa Breve" by William Byrd and the second movement of the Trio #2 by Martinu. In December while overnight in London, I had lunch with a good friend, Rogers Covey-Crump, a member of the Hilliard Ensemble, who knew the Stabat Mater piece well. He actually brought the Part's original score to show me. It was thrilling to get some performance tips from someone who knows Part well. In fact I think I understood Rogers to say that since Part had met the Hilliard Ensemble, he has dedicated all his choral works to them. Our first rehearsal went very well and I absolutely adore that piece.
March 1, 2011 Final rehearsal for the Durham Symphony classical concert, with the winners of the Young Artists Competition. All 3 soloists played to get the feel of the Carolina Theatre. It is a lovely old renovated hall, with great atmosphere and an excellent venue for concerts, small shows (Gilbert and Sullivan for instance). The stage is a bit small for a large orchestra, or orchestra and chorus, but we manage to squeeze in somehow. There is a movie theatre adjacent to the concert hall, mostly art films, so it is quite a cultural center.
Curry seemed happy with the Beethoven and the soloists' music, but it would have been better to have had another rehearsal to get the balance between the brass and strings worked out.
March 3rd. The passing of the founder of the Raleigh Symphony
Alan Neilson, the conductor emeritus of the Durham Symphony and founder of the Raleigh Symphony died at 11am this morning. He died peacefully listening to his arrangement of excerpts of "Die Meistersinger" that Irene had brought. She arrived in time to set up the recording. He passed away just before the big trumpet fanfare.
Here is a link to an article in the CVNC http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=946
I am to be in a string quartet playing for the service which is on Tuesday, March 8th. One of the violinists, Tasi, was the concertmaster for many years when I was in the orchestra, and still is, so it will be very special to play with her again. We have been asked to play the Barber Adagio during the service and other pieces during the Prelude and Postlude. Other musicians will be playing during the visitation and after the service at the reception.
March 4
Rehearsal with the Viol consort, no rehearsal next week as it is Spring Break for the university. We warmed up on music for the May 1st concert, then spent the rest of the time on the Will Ayton piece. It is falling into place much more easily. The Webern section is the hardest to put together, especially going from the bow to pizzicato and vice versa. That's not done often on the viola da gamba!
March 5 - Memorial service for Joyce Peck
The memorial service for an old friend and colleague today, Joyce Peck who died in February at age 83. She was a soprano, and with Florence Peacock were our two singers in "I Musici di Capella della Collina".
At the memorial service, Penny and Florence both sang. Florence - "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth" from the Messiah, and Penny the "Echo" Aria from Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Bo Newsome, a fine oboe player, played the oboe obbligato part. A church singer sang a wonderful song " His Eye is on the Sparrow" in somewhat of a gospel style which was very moving. Several friends and relatives spoke about Joyce and it was a very warm and personal sevice. The Handbell Choir played at the beginning and end.
Later that day, I went to Raleigh to rehearse for Alan's funeral. The quartet is Izabela Speiwak, Tasi Matthews, Yang Xi and me. The Barber Adagio was the trickiest to put together. The double stops are difficult to tune, and we spent time on them and phrasing. I had brought some other pieces for the prelude, which we went through, they are pretty straightforward. We have another rehearsal on Monday, and will put the list together then. This is not going to be an easy gig, we are too involved in it, and keep thinking what would Alan have chosen.
March 6
A Classical concert with the Durham Symphony and winners of the Young Artist Competition. The soloists were spectacular each in their own way. The violist had a lovely warm sound and was on top of everything. The alto-saxophone player gave a very exciting reading of his concerto, scale passages undulating up to great heights and depths, allowing us to hear the range of that instrument. The audience went wild! The violinist was exquisite in the Sibelius. Ethereal was a word to describe those shimmeringly high passages. Beautiful phrasing and musicianship, perfect intonation, just gorgeous.
Review http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=1174
March 7
Drive to Raleigh for a rehearsal for the funeral. Tasi had wanted to attend the visitation at the Funeral Parlor, the rest of us did not want to go. I had seen Alan at the hospital and it would be too much with the funeral the next day. So the three of us rehearsed the Martinu Trio until Tasi came. She had met friends and colleagues there and was glad to have gone.
We sorted out the music selections and it was quite late by the time I got on the road back to Chapel Hill.
March 8, Alan's Funeral
The quartet had arranged to meet at the church at noon to warm up before starting the Prelude at 12:30pm. The service was to start at 1pm. I had decided to go to Whole Foods for a late breakfast. My kitchen was a mess, I had had no time in days to clean up with all the running around. It worked out well as I was able to collect my thoughts and have a restful meal.
My fears were confirmed when I got to the church (I was the first, just as the casket was being brought in), and I broke down in tears thinking I could not possibly play where our chairs were. The quartet had been set up in the front of the church, up the steps to the altar area and bang in front of everyone coming in. I had mentioned to Izabela that I preferred to be on the floor, so as not to distract the people when we were playing. The music should float across the room, the congregation should not have to see the macinations of getting ready to play etc. Unfortunately the piano was on the floor, and although it was not going to be used, there was nowhere it could go. In the end, we went to the other side of the altar. There was a little curved area with wooden panelling which would make for good acoustics. It was still up the steps, but the congregation could focus on the casket instead of us. After my meltdown I recovered with the help of some hugs from orchestra friends and we were able to tune and warm up.
The Prelude
Handel - Andante from the Water Music Suite
Chopin - Prelude from op.28 #4 arranged for string quartet
Bach - Air from the Suite in D
Franck - Panis Angelicus
Faure - Pavane
Elgar - Nimrod
During the Service
Barber - Adagio from the string quartet
Hymn with congregation - "Abide with Me"
Postlude
Lovland/Graham -"You raise me up"
There were 2 readings, one was read by Bill Curry the conductor who took over the Durham Symphony after Alan retired from it in 2008. The Gospel and a homily from the pastor, who turned out to be the father of a bride we had played for at her wedding at St. Matthews Church in Hillsborough some 8 years ago. In those days, working at UNC, John also played the bagpipe and I had hired him on a couple of occasions! I had not recognized him through my veil of tears, and was glad when he came up to me. Dear Michael, who, since moving here from New Jersey has played viola for Musica for more than 15 years, was principal viola of the Raleigh Symphony until recently, and still is for the Durham Symphony, gave a remembrance of Alan that was superb. He was close to Alan and had picked up many of Alan's idiosynchratic mannerisms every conductor has, and could mimic perfectly in Alan's voice, an oft-repeated sentance "Know what I mean?" It was such a warm, funny, heartfelt tribute to a friend. I'll never forget it.
There were 6 pallbearers who accompanied the casket to the hearse. It had a beautiful spray of green leaves and white flowers. Alan is to be buried in Roslyn, PA near his parents and brother. Irene and her husband are flying up there next Wednesday for the burial.
Here is Michaels' remembrance as transcribed by John Lambert, a longtime friend and supporter of Alan.
http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=1167
The reception was held downstairs in the church hall. People had brought plates of goodies, and Phyllis and her daughter Meredith were the hostesses at the punch bowl. Phyllis had retired quite late from teaching violin and viola at Meredith College for many, many years. In fact Alan and I had gone to her retirement lunch, and yes, her daughter is named after the college! There were so many people to talk to and reminisce with, I didn't get to sample much of the the delicious food people had brought. Later, several of us sat around a table and enjoyed the companionship. We were all old friends, and had lots of memories playing under Alan. As Irene had arranged for the service to start at 1pm, I was still able to get home in time to teach my afternoon students, and by the time they left, I was glad to relax and go over the day.
Here's a slideshow of photos and condolence book.
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Alan-Neilson&lc=4232&pid=149098664&mid=4584311
March 11- Annual Cello Workshop
Before spending time with my grand-daughter Kate (Friday afternoons are "our" time) I made a quick run in to to the Workshop to listen to my student Jeffrey play for clinician Wendy Bissinger who is here for 2 days. Friday is for masterclasses, Saturday for groups and recital. Jeffrey played the Bourrees from Bach's Suite #3 in C. I was very pleased with his playing, excellent intonation and good articulation which Wendy commented on. I was glad she worked with him on his bow hold, he has been lazy about getting it really comfortable. He has grown so tall she suggested he might benefit from the Tortelier end pin - the bent one. A good idea. I was pleased he did this, as he is extremely shy, but I think since he got a place in the Junior All-State orchestra auditions last week, he is feeling more confident.
March 12 - Cello Workshop
The first event of the day was a teachers' meeting with Wendy and me, and two other teachers, Mary Frances Boyce and Phil Warren. Luckily, two of my students arrived early, and we used them as guinea pigs for vibrato and extension teaching techniques.
After that, Wendy had agreed to coach my cello ensemble on a piece we love to play, the Rondo from Beethoven's 7th Symphony which she had arranged in six parts. Quite a number of my students came to the coaching, and with the addition some of the other teachers' students, we had a great session. I think Wendy was impressed that we were able to get through the whole movement. There are some tricky sections and it is easy to fall apart. The fugue is the most challenging, and the section where the first cellos noodle in triplets and the bass has the bom bombom rhythm, can get a bit rocky. In between them the second and third cellos have a lovely slow melody, so the noodling has be non-intrusive, a very hard way to be. Wendy made suggestions about dynamics which are crucial in this piece. It will be a great exercise for us to work on all the marked dynamic levels.
We had a delicious lunch at a nearby organic market, and an interesting conversation with Wendy, finding out we had a lot in common with travel stories, both having been to Australia. It was interesting comparing the state of the Arts in both countries. She went back to the workshop while I ran home to do some errands. I returned to see my 7 year-old student (Jeffrey's brother) doing well in the beginner class. He really enjoyed himself and has progressed well since starting in September. He is almost at the end of the Suzuki Book 1. Jeffrey does help him, so it's good for both of them.
After the beginner class was the recital, and we started with the "Swan" by Saint-Saens and the Squire "Tarantella" then worked our way down the books ending with everyone playing Twinkle and Variations. Not a long performance, but an enjoyable way to round out the day. I hope Wendy can come back again, she has good ideas and imparts them well to teachers and students alike, all in a very relaxed environment.
A drive to Raleigh after the workshop for a rehearsal of the Martinu. It was a good rehearsal, we got ideas of tempo and worked on sections. I was glad to get home though, it had been a long day and I was tired.
March 13
Our monthly meeting of the Carolina Chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society of America. We meet at the school of one of our players, and play consorts to fit the number of players who come, some from quite a long way. It's a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
This is where I started playing the treble a few years ago. I always swore I would not play the treble as I am not one for high-pitched instruments, but one day, they were desperate, and having several bass players but no treble, I was coerced into trying it out. The strings are the same as the bass, although an octave higher. Reading treble clef was no problem, and lo and behold I fell in love. I have on longterm loan the treble that belongs to our harpsichordist from our Oberlin Performance Institute days, who thought she might play treble but never did take to it.
Looking ahead to Dartington Summer School, I asked to play some Jacobean consort music and Orlando Gibbons' Five part In Nomines, as that is what is on the menu for viols in the first week, coached by the Rose Consort.
March 14
Back to reality with a Martinu rehearsal at my house. Driving back and forth to Raleigh can get very tiring. We also went over the Arvo Part Stabat Mater to familiarize ourselves with it. I have the CD in my car and always feel so relaxed just listening to the sonorities. It's like being in another world. I hope we can give that impression when we perform it.
March 17
Each year around this time Musica is booked for the Internal Medicine Conference at the Friday Center at UNC. This must be at least our 10th year. The doctor in charge of the Conference is a classical music lover, and he always asks for the string trio. His favorite piece is the theme from Schubert's "Trout Quintet" which we make sure we play it within his hearing. This year it must have been a larger than usual group of attendees, as we were in the Atrium rather than the Magnolia Room. We much preferred the Atrium as it gave us the opportunity to play out rather than keeping under the conversation level. There was much more space for people to walk around. They love us, it is such a change from their seminars and they really listen. We play a wide variety of music styles from baroque (of course they love the Vivaldi Seasons and Violin Concertos) Romantic, Debussy, Beatles, fiddle tunes (it was St. Patrick's Day after all!)
March 19
Make-up lessons in the morning for students who have missed due to sickness, mostly colds and flu. There has been so much around, so far I have missed it, but I know I will succumb one of these days. It's impossible to stay out of range of coughs and sneezes.
After lunch the rehearsal for the Durham Symphony concert at the Emily K. Life Center in Durham. We have played there every year since the the center was built by the basketball coach at Duke University in honor of his mother. Naturally there is a huge basketball court which is used as an assembly and concert venue. The center is used for afterschool classes and all sorts of events.
The symphony is to be joined by the Durham Childrens' Chorus and students from Kidznotes, a string program in Durham based on the El Sistema program started in Venezuela for indiginous students. There will be much more about this program in this blog later this year. The orchestra played the first movement of Beethoven's 2nd Symphony, the Coleridge Taylor "Danse Negre" and the Victor Herbert "American Fantasy". We were joined by the children in the "Children's Chorus" from Bizet's Carmen. The Kidznotes students played the Pachelbel Canon with the orchestra, then they joined with the chorus and orchestra for an arrangement of Beethoven's Ode to Joy. It's good to see so many students involved in these groups, it can only lead to good things.
March 20
Well it had to happen, I am sick with a cold. Feeling exhausted, but managed to stay in bed all morning to get some extra sleep. Filled myself full of DayQuil and off I went to rehearse with the singers, and Izabela and Yang Xi at the Museum of Art. We spent a lot of time on the Part which eventually pulled together. I do love the piece.As we have a long passage on our own before the singers come in, Al is going to give a discreet beat at the beginning to keep the strings together. The singers then rehearsed their William Byrd Mass until they realised we had been sitting around waiting for some time for our turn in the auditorium. We rehearsed the Martinu until we were asked to leave as the museum was closing. Hopefully we will have more time to get used to the acoustics at our next rehearsal there.
No more rehearsal until the 28th, so I have time to get over this cold and prepare for the Viol Consort performance at UNC on the 27th.
I staggered through the week resting as much as possible, but having to prepare the 4th and 5th grade cellists for their debut with the school orchestra on April 8th. They normally don't play public concerts until 6th grade, but as this event will be an outdoor affair with parents bringing blankets and picnics, it's a good chance for them to get an idea of playing in a group, and it will be quite large. I have 17 or so cellists playing, so we need plenty of room.
March 25, 2011, my eldest grand-daughter's 7th birthday.
Before the birthday festivities, I went to UNC for the last viol rehearsal before the concert. We touched up on spots on a Will Ayton piece. Feeling more confident about my solo passages.
My daughter-in-law treated Kate, her nanny, a school friend and me to a pedicure, a real treat for me as I don't recall ever having had one! After that, Kate and I had our Friday time together after dropping off her school friend. We went shopping for a birthday present, as I can't keep up with what she wants/needs. To round off the day we had a family birthday party at her house. It was a lovely time.
March 26th
The UNC Viol group, A noon rehearsal with everyone. 10 cellos, 10 violas da gamba. We were able to get through the pieces a couple of times before the composer arrived from Rhode Island. We were quite nervous at the the thought of playing for him, but he was very happy with what he heard, and very complimentary when I met him after the rehearsal.
March 27th. It felt a little odd having the whole day before playing a concert. Usually Sunday concerts for me are in the afternoon. However, I got good rest, warmed up and then left very early for the concert in order to get a parking space near the auditorium. It was the college basketball NCAA tournament "Elite Eight" round and UNC were playing, so there was no knowing how things would be on campus. I found a perfect spot and went off to Starbucks, the only place in town that did not have TVs showing the game.
Warm up and tuning was at 6:45pm. I was amazed when I saw the program. Brent must have been working on it for months. Except for the 16th century Josquin viol piece "Mille Regretz", everything was contemporary and the 4 composers were all attending! According to Brent's program the 5th composer, Josquin, had sent a text saying he was not able to attend.
Three of the composers had the same last name, Anderson and are not related at all. The first piece on the concert was by Stephen Anderson, Associate professor at UNC. "Quest" composed in 2009, was a duet for violin and cello with Leah Peroutka and Brent. Great playing and ensemble.
The second composer, UNC Professor Allen Anderson wrote a suite in 1999 "Collected Letters" for solo cello which Brent played magnificiently. The movements were Rash Proposal, Affections, Apologia, Communique, Post(de)scriptions.
The Viol Consort and Cello Choir followed with the Josquin pavane "Mille Regretz" arranged by Susato, then the commissioned piece by Will Ayton " Reflections on a Pavan" composed in 2010. It was exciting and a bit nerve-wracking to be performing the world premiere in front of the composer. However, everyone did their best and I thought we gave a fine performance. The sonorities of the cellos and the silvery viols meshed well. Except for the Webern section, too minimilist and choppy for my ears, the piece had interesting takes on the Mille Regretz Pavane, with a lovely dancing section in 7/8 time. I really enjoyed learning and performing it.
After the intermission, the Cello Choir played a short arrangement of the spiritual "Steal Away". There is nothing like the sound of a cello choir, just too beautiful.
Brent concluded the concert with a fine performance of "Spirit Songs" by the third Anderson composer, TJ. Now retired to Chapel Hill after a career at Tufts University in Boston, he composed this piece for YoYo Ma in 1993. The movements are Call and Response, Gospels, Serenades 1 and II, Vamp 1, Serenades III and IV, Vamp II, Shouts.
There was a good gathering on stage afterwards, with people chatting, obviously having enjoyed themselves.
March 28,
No rest for the wicked. Trio rehearsal on the Martinu. At least I didn't have to drive to Raleigh. After a rather rocky start, broken string for one, we had a good rehearsal and the movement seems to be falling into place.
April 1
Izabela and Xi Yang came over to Carol Woods to rehearse the Martinu. This retirement community has a marvellous assembly hall with great acoustics and they are very generous in allowing musicians from the community to use it. They have a very busy concert schedule with a Summer Music Festival, a Winter Concert Series and myriads of teachers' student recital, mine included! It is the only hall around that will accommodate 18 or so cellists.
It gave us a good opportunity to get the feel of a larger hall and we had a good rehearsal - several people wandered in to listen and asked us when we were performing it. I had hoped we could play it there at my students' recital in May, but unfortunately as it turned out, Izabela was quite ill on the day.
April 1
Final rehearsal for the Durham Symphony classical concert, with the winners of the Young Artists Competition. All 3 soloists played to get the feel of the Carolina Theatre. It is a lovely old renovated hall, with great atmosphere and an excellent venue for concerts, small shows (Gilbert and Sullivan for instance). The stage is a bit small for a large orchestra, or orchestra and chorus, but we manage to squeeze in somehow. There is a movie theatre adjacent to the concert hall, mostly art films, so it is quite a cultural center.
Curry seemed happy with the Beethoven and the soloists' music, but it would have been better to have had another rehearsal to get the balance between the brass and strings worked out.
April 2
Dress rehearsal at the Museum with the singers as well. The hall had good acoustics and felt comfortable. I was glad we had been able to play at Carol Woods. I was excited to play the Arvo Part, I love the Stabat Mater, and my friend Rogers Covey Crump had given me some last minute tips on performing it. It is a taxing work for singers having to sustain the long notes and keep up the pitch. We spent quite a long time working on the ensemble and all in all it went well, but us string players felt we could have had more time going through the Martinu. The Museum closed at 5pm and we had to be out.
April 3rd
Concert day! We warmed up on stage with the singers and then the Martinu and felt good. The auditorium was full. Each piece on the program was paired with a tryptic from the museum. We didn't get to hear much of the William Byrd Mass for the three singers as we were in a room behind the stage, but by the audience's clapping response, it had gone well. Then it was our turn with the Martinu and it went like a dream, just flew by, like a good ride on a safe roller coaster. I felt so happy that it went so well and the audience loved it. The Stabat Mater had its moments, but may have been too much for the singers after singing the 25 minute Byrd Mass. It lost its flow momentarily in the middle and intonation was not always impeccable. However, it was well received by the audience, and we all were given many compliments at the reception that followed.
April 5
Rehearsals start for the Durham Symphony Pops Concerts. The Program is Arensky -Overture from Egyptian Nights, Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 1st mvt., Strauss Blude Danube Waltz, Shostakovich-Festive Overture, Vaughan Williams English Folk Songs 1st movement, Coleridge Taylor Danse Negre, Herbert American Fantasy, Lloyd Webber Evita
April 8
The Emerson Waldorf All-School Orchestra and Band Spring concert on the Southern Village green. A big undertaking, starting with all levels together playing an arrangement of Wagner's Die Meistersinger. The middle school orchestra played an arrangement of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and the Purcell Chacony. The High School orchestra is still very small, but they did play the Telemann Viola concerto with Matt (the violin/viola teacher) playing a movement and two students playing the other 2 movements. The HS Jazz band was fun to listen to.
Certainly the music department has come a long way since Jason became the music/choral director.
April 10
One of Musica's favorite gigs, the annual Duke Reunion Brunch in Duke Gardens. The gardens are in spectacular bloom and the music of 10 strings wafts over the gardens courtesy of the Duke sound sytem experts. Duke alums wander around drinking mimosas and enjoying the upmarket box lunches (we get them them too, but the mimosas have to wait until we are finished playing!) Wisteria covers the Pergola at the top of the gardens, beds of tulips going down to the Fishpond which has had a revamp, and where we sit close to. Sadly a tree that used to give us shade was taken down to provide room for a patio. Better for us to play but we missed the tree. Fortunately it wasn't too hot this year. We play for 3 hours with a break in the middle. The program is varied, something for everyone - light classics, Rhosymedre is an annual favorite, Handel's Entrance of the Queen of Sheba, Vivaldi Summer, Stamitz orchestra Quartet, pop - Beatles, Joplin rags, Moon River, La Vie en Rose, and we always end with Orange Blossom Special
Later that afternoon, after popping in to Kate's delayed 7th birthday party, I went on to the monthly meeting of the Carolina Chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society of America. We played from Book 4 of the Jacobean Consort music, Orlando Gibbons, Five part in Nomines and Coperario Fantasias in 4 parts. All good practice for Dartington!
April 11
Group cello rehearsal of the Beethoven Rondo.
April 15
Rehearsal for the UNC Consort of Viols concert on May 1st. Last time we will all be together before the dress rehearsal, as people will be away for Easter.
April 16
A wedding ceremony at the Carolina Inn. The bride had luck on her side, North Carolina was hit by a huge number of tornados that ripped throught Raleigh and south eastern parts of the state, killing many people and huge amounts of damage. Trailer parks and neighborhoods were decimated. In Chapel Hill we had a tremendous downpour, I thought it would come my bathroom skylight, but fortunately didn't. It blew over after about 20 minutes so I was able to make to the Carolina Inn. Although the ceremony was moved inside, the bride got her wish of having her wedding photos taken outside, and it turned out to be a gorgeous evening.
April 17
The Durham Symphony Pops concert in Hillsborough went ahead, and it was a beautiful day. I love to play outdoors, there's nothing like it on a good day. The house of our conductor who lives in Raleigh was in the neighborhood that sustained so much damage and he went rushing back after the concert to see if his house was still standing. It was.
April 19 & 20
Rehearsals for the Easter program at Muir's Chapel, Greensboro. We were a string quartet - Suzanne, Laura, Kitty and me, and Suzanne drives us the 50 miles each way, so we have good conversations and catch up time. The work is a contemporary Christian cantata "Who do you say I am?" by Larson and we ended with the Halleluia Chorus. The Choir Director, Chuck , did an excellent job of training the choir and putting it all together. We have played there on many occasions. Chuck's wife Susan was the choir director of St. Matthews Church in Hillsborough before they married. We have also played there many times over the years. It's a tiny Episcopal church over 175 years old, built when the British were there.
April 22
UNC Viols rehearsal
April 23
The Durham Symphony Pops concert at the Central Park Pavillion in Durham. A very stormy morning, but cleared up by 3pm. Enthusiastic and large crowd.
April 24
Easter Service at Muir's Chapel in Greensboro. The church was packed and the music was very well received.
April 25
Cello group rehearsal. The Rondo is coming on well.
April 28
Rehearsal in Duke Chapel for the Womens' Voice choir concert. Directed by Allen Friedman we are playing the Stabat Mater by Pergolesi and the "Cradle of Fire". We are a small string orchestra with harpsichord and harp. The Cradle of Fire has lush instrumentation and the movement has a beautiful duet for the two cellos.
April 29
Final UNC Viol rehearsal before the concert.
May 1
Performance at 4pm by the Womens' Voices choir and orchestra in Duke Chapel. Went very well and large audience.
http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=3782
Rush on over to UNC for the Viol Consort and Baroque Orchestra Concert at 7:30pm.
Brent was really into pieces that reflected Susanna. Here's the text.
Susannah solicited one day by two old men desiring her beauty
Was sad at this attempt on her chastity. She said:
"If by this you enjoy my body,I am lost; but if I struggle
You will put me to death. But I prefer to perish innocent,
Rather than offend the Lord".
Many composers wrote pieces about her. Tonight's composers featuring Susannah are Didier Lupi Second (16th c.), Orlandi di Lasso (16th c), Francesco Rognoni (16th c), John Dowland (16th c.).
The group was made up of treble, tenor and bass viols, lute and soprano. A lovely concert.
That was the last concert of the University year, so we are off until late August.
May 7
Now starts the wedding and graduation season.
Wedding #1 with a string quartet in my favorite location - Fearrington Inn, 8 miles south of Chapel Hill.
The wife of the owner, Jenny Fitch, created beautiful English gardens and it is the place for a picture perfect wedding.
We have played there for over 30 years and watched the house and gardens grow more beautiful each season.
http://www.fearrington.com/house/?gclid=CLvvtqzwz6kCFZJb7Aod8jc38Q
Wedding #2 at the Governors' Club a few miles south of Chapel Hill, was with a string trio. In a beautiful location also, it was a Southern outdoor ceremony overlooking a lake. The lead violinist said it was especially moving when two swans floated past the couple.
http://www.governorsclub.com/clubhouse.php
May 8
Graduation Day at the UNC. I only prove music for the individual school graduations which are smaller, not for the huge event early in the day. This year I provided two Brass Quintets for the Schools of Journalism and Dentistry.
I had a wedding featuring the violin and guitar duo for the ceremony and jazz piano for the reception, held at the Doris Duke Center, part of the Duke University Gardens, another exqusite location where we play often.
May 9
Final group rehearsal for the students' cello recital.
May 13
Started rehearsals for the Early Music concert with Mary Fran, violin playing the Handel Sonata op1 #11, I the Bach Gamba sonata #1, with Simon Zaleski, harpsichord. Simon is a whiz on the harpsichord and agreed to play a Suite by William Croft in the concert.
In the evening was my students' end-of-year cello recital at Carol Woods. The Assembly Hall there is excellent, especially for cellos. Beautiful wooden floors and great acoustics. The Intermediate/Advanced group played the Beethoven Rondo which went extremely well. Everyone had really made an effort to be together and we made it through the fugue without a spill! The beginning ensemble and solos went well and everyone seemed happy with their contribution. The audience was not only parents, siblings and friends, but residents from the retirement community so we had a good crowd.
May 14
The graduation of Duke University's Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS). This unique program allows adults to pursue a degree in any subject they wish, while still having a "day job". Therefore there are fascinating topics described in the program. We were a string quartet and free to choose whatever music for the Prelude we wanted, so we had fun.
May 20
Rehearsal for the Early Music concert
May 21
Wedding in a lovely private home in Chapel Hill. One of the older homes close to the university, with beautifully landscaped grounds and established bushes and trees. We were on a lawn which overlooked the stone-laid patio where the ceremony was held, and continued playing there when the wedding party and guests came up the steps to the reception. It was a perfect afternoon and early evening, not too hot. The best North Carolina can have.
May 22
Rescheduled Durham Symphony Pops concert (the first time it was cancelled because of the tornadoes). Last one of the season, it was terribly hot and no shade for the cello/bass side of the orchestra. We were really sweating. It had been a while since we had played together, and strange not to have a rehearsal or warm-up, but soon it all came together and it was a good performance.
May 26 - The 5th grade strings - violin, viola and cello, gave a short concert at school. After each group played a few pieces, they joined together to play in an ensemble - Chorus from Judas Maccabeus, the Brahms' Waltz and Turkey in the Straw. This is the last year they have separate classes, next year they play together in a string ensemble with the 7th and 8th graders. They really have not had enough technique classes to manage the orchestra parts. For some of them, practice is not a priority, and so we start seeing a divide between the ones who are progressing well and the ones who are progress at a slower pace. Quite often we get new students who come in to 5th grade with no strings experience at all, and then it is so hard for them to catch up. Over the years I have noticed that many of the Asian students who are here for only a couple of years make a big effort to catch up by taking private lessons, sometimes twice a week. They seem to value musical eduation very much, along with their regular education.
May 27 - Rehearsal of the Bach Gamba Sonata with Simon. The trick is to find the right tempo that works for both of us. Once the movements get going, and we are together, everything ticks along nicely. It's the together part that is tricky on the fast movements. We both like to play them fast, but it takes quite a bit doing, especially for me.
May 28 - Today is one of those days that exemplify the joy of doing what we do. We played late afternoon/early evening for a retired Duke doctor who had spent months planning an elegant garden party. He has an exquisite garden, not overly large, backing up to to a green of the Chapel Hill Country Club. The weather was perfect, not too hot. The poor man had been in agonies the day before as there had been a huge thunderstorm and part of the golf course (not near him, fortunately) had flooded. In fact I had trouble getting Kate home that day, as the road to her house, not far from the Doctor's, was flooded in sections. Fortunately the sun came out and dried up all the rain. The garden looked gorgeous. We were set up on the veranda in the shade, overlooking the garden and played baroque, classical and light classical for a couple of hours. It was a perfect setting, and the guests seemed to be enjoying it very much. Afterwards we were invited to partake of the food (delicious heavy hors d'oevres from a superb caterer) and I spent a pleasant half-hour with an English friend, a retired doctor, and a good pianist. She had been to Dartington the summer before, so we chatted about my forthcoming trip. A lovely ending to a perfect afternoon!
May 29. I played in one of two weddings we had, as they overlapped. Mine was an orthodox Jewish wedding in a Durham synagogue. All the family had gathered together to prepare the wedding, the groom had designed and decorated the marriage contract (ketubah) with cutouts of birds on a blue background bordering the beautifully done calligraphy of the contract. I love the way the two families and wedding party gather together under the huppah to support the bride and groom. The service however, was quite short, the cantor did not make the 7 blessings overlong. It was a very happy service, not formal at all in spite of being orthodox. Our trio was well received and I was glad to be a part of such a meaningful event in that couple's life.
The other wedding was totally different, a Southern outdoor ceremony overlooking a lake at a hotel in Cary. Another beautiful venue.
May 30. After the group class with my students to rehearse "Home on the Range" I had the first rehearsal of the Vivaldi concerto for 2 cellos with Dorothy. We set the tempos and had a good run-through.
June 1 - Rehearsal for the Early music concert. Borrowed a neighbour's nippy Toyota truck to move Mary Fran's harpsichord, a Zukerman kit that she had assembled herself in the '70s. It has done good service since then. This move was comparatively easy, all on one level. Simon had recruited some friends, and all went well. The church had good acoustics and was lovely to play in.
June 3rd. Concert day. The harpsichord was tuned and we rehearsed in the morning, enjoying the acoustics and the setting. The concert was at 7:30pm and we had a good crowd. The program was Bach's Gamba Sonata in G for Treble viol and harpsichord, William Croft's Suite #3 in c minor for solo harpsichord, Handel's Sonata in F op.1 #12 for violin, harpsichord and cello continuo. The concert ended with the Viol Consort (treble, 2 tenors and bass) playing pieces by
The concert went very well for the most part. Simon made the little harpsichord sound sound so spright and clear and his playing was brilliant. The Sarabande was gorgeous, very reminicent of Purcell's Dido. Exquisite. Fran's playing of the Handel Sonata was just lovely. She had worked with Eduard Melkus during the 70's on style and ornamentation, and they were beautifully executed. The Viol Consort (me, Belinda, Simon and Tim) really jelled and the tuning was spot on. The pieces were perfect for the evening. The Bach did not go as well as I hoped. I did not have the performing experience on the viol that I do on the cello. It is a complicated piece and there were some problems with the height of the stool which I didn't realise until too late. What worked well for consort music, did not do so for the Bach with the many fast string crossings, the bow got caught in my skirt once, which was disconcerting. However, there were some lovely sections and a joy to play, especially with Simon's excellent partnering skills. I hope to have another opportunity to perform it and give it justice.
June 4 - No rest for the wicked, or for the freelance musician, thankfully (not necessarily one and the same!) Our string quartet played a wedding and cocktail hour in the most beautiful farming countryside outside Durham. Acres of green pasture fields and rolling hills. The venue was the bride's parents' horse farm. From the patio shaded from the very hot sun by giant palms, we could look down the pastures and see the thoroughbred horses grazing, occasionally have a set-to with each other. What can be more lovely than playing sweet music outdoors on a perfect evening? It's my favourite time of day and we play in so many beautiful locations.
June 5 - An annual event, playing for the Junior Choir of the Chapel of the Cross conducted by Van Quinn, the organist and choirmaster, who has been there for 30 years or so. Listening to the sacred concert is the highlight of my spring. It brings back the days of my boys singing in the American Boychoir in Princeton. One can never get tired of those sweet sounds of young voices. My string trio only plays one piece to accompany the choir, this year it was Rameau's Praise Ye the Lord.
June 7 - In the afternoon at school, the 4th grade gave their first strings concert. The 7 cellos did really well in their solo and ensemble pieces, and enjoyed themselves hugely. They then joined up with the violins and violas in a string ensemble and did a good job of staying together and watching the conductors) me and Matt Chicurel, the violin/viola teacher). It was a good crop of cellos this year, and I hope they will keep up the momentum as they continue through the grades.
Later that evening a rehearsal with colleague Dorothy Wright to go through the Vivaldi Concerto for 2 cellos. We worked out tempos and bowings and felt good about it.
June 11 - Final rehearsal on the Vivaldi, working on style and tempos. Such fun to play "duelling cellos".
June 12 - Concert day for the Vivaldi and Brandenburg #2. This took place at the New Hope Presbyterian Church. Ostensibly, since there were no prior rehearsals, we (the Pittsboro Bach Society orchestra) have one at 3pm with the "formal" concert at 4pm. However, that doesn't always pan out, as the audience start drifting in early and some of them hear the program twice! Fortunately the run-through of the Vivaldi went well - we stopped a couple of times to sort out tempos and edition problems (the keyboard edition didn't have all the repeats in the slow movement, for example). In the Brandenburg, the trumpet part was played by French hornist (Tim Dyess) at a lower pitch and sounded great. The actual concert went like a dream, the violin and French horn soloists in the Bach were very fine. It was so enjoyable to play those pieces, and the audience seemed to have had an enjoyable afternoon.Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Final rehearsal for the Durham Symphony classical concert, with the winners of the Young Artists Competition. All 3 soloists played to get the feel of the Carolina Theatre. It is a lovely old renovated hall, with great atmosphere and an excellent venue for concerts, small shows (Gilbert and Sullivan for instance). The stage is a bit small for a large orchestra, or orchestra and chorus, but we manage to squeeze in somehow. There is a movie theatre adjacent to the concert hall, mostly art films, so it is quite a cultural center.
Curry seemed happy with the Beethoven and the soloists' music, but it would have been better to have had another rehearsal to get the balance between the brass and strings worked out.
January 11 - Durham, North Carolina
Rehearsal with the Durham Symphony for the Tribute to Martin Luther King Concert on January 15th. I had missed the first rehearsal on the 4th, as I was still in Capetown, South Africa with my family. Having not played or practised for a month, and then even with just a section of Beethoven's Ninth Symphony, I knew it was going to be a challenge, and it was. Oh my sore fingers and aching arms, but the last movement is so magnificent I never even thought about them, until the next morning. We were joined by the Concert Singers of Cary and four excellent soloists. The other work on the program "Eulogy for a Dream" was composed by Willian H. Curry, our conductor. We had played it the year he was auditioning, and liked it then. The narrator came from a local TV station, and had wonderful diction.
January 14 - Rehearsal with the UNC Viol Consort
This is a group of graduate students, teachers and musicians who play viols at the university during the school year and perform 2 or 3 concerts a year. Led by Professor Brent Wissick, a fine cellist and viol player who performs all over the world, we have a great time. Brent introduces us to works that are not on the average viol players list, and in so doing stretches us to another level. We are now preparing for a concert on March 27th. He has commisioned a piece for cellos and viols "Reflections on a Pavane" by Will Ayton. The Pavane it is based on is "Mille Regretz" by Josquin, perhaps arranged by Susato.
January 15 - Concert Durham Symphony "A tribute to Martin Luther King"
The Armory was packed and the concert was powerful and moving. Review - http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=151
January 24 - Rehearsal of the "Stabat Mater" by Arvo Part.
with the "Triangle Trio" and "Tre Voce". Two of my friends and I formed a trio of violin, viola and cello especially for a concert we were asked to play on April 3rd. It will be at the NC Museum of Art, and is part of a series "Sights and Sounds" put on by the Raleigh Chamber Music Guild and the Museum. We are to perform with three singers, soprano, counter-tenor and tenor. The program is the "Stabat Mater" by Arvo Part, the "Missa Breve" by William Byrd and the second movement of the Trio #2 by Martinu. In December while overnight in London, I had lunch with a good friend, Rogers Covey-Crump, a member of the Hilliard Ensemble, who knew the Stabat Mater piece well. He actually brought the Part's original score to show me. It was thrilling to get some performance tips from someone who knows Part well. In fact I think I understood Rogers to say that since Part had met the Hilliard Ensemble, he has dedicated all his choral works to them. Our first rehearsal went very well and I absolutely adore that piece.
March 1, 2011 Final rehearsal for the Durham Symphony classical concert, with the winners of the Young Artists Competition. All 3 soloists played to get the feel of the Carolina Theatre. It is a lovely old renovated hall, with great atmosphere and an excellent venue for concerts, small shows (Gilbert and Sullivan for instance). The stage is a bit small for a large orchestra, or orchestra and chorus, but we manage to squeeze in somehow. There is a movie theatre adjacent to the concert hall, mostly art films, so it is quite a cultural center.
Curry seemed happy with the Beethoven and the soloists' music, but it would have been better to have had another rehearsal to get the balance between the brass and strings worked out.
March 3rd. The passing of the founder of the Raleigh Symphony
Alan Neilson, the conductor emeritus of the Durham Symphony and founder of the Raleigh Symphony died at 11am this morning. He died peacefully listening to his arrangement of excerpts of "Die Meistersinger" that Irene had brought. She arrived in time to set up the recording. He passed away just before the big trumpet fanfare.
Here is a link to an article in the CVNC http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=946
I am to be in a string quartet playing for the service which is on Tuesday, March 8th. One of the violinists, Tasi, was the concertmaster for many years when I was in the orchestra, and still is, so it will be very special to play with her again. We have been asked to play the Barber Adagio during the service and other pieces during the Prelude and Postlude. Other musicians will be playing during the visitation and after the service at the reception.
March 4
Rehearsal with the Viol consort, no rehearsal next week as it is Spring Break for the university. We warmed up on music for the May 1st concert, then spent the rest of the time on the Will Ayton piece. It is falling into place much more easily. The Webern section is the hardest to put together, especially going from the bow to pizzicato and vice versa. That's not done often on the viola da gamba!
March 5 - Memorial service for Joyce Peck
The memorial service for an old friend and colleague today, Joyce Peck who died in February at age 83. She was a soprano, and with Florence Peacock were our two singers in "I Musici di Capella della Collina".
At the memorial service, Penny and Florence both sang. Florence - "I Know that My Redeemer Liveth" from the Messiah, and Penny the "Echo" Aria from Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Bo Newsome, a fine oboe player, played the oboe obbligato part. A church singer sang a wonderful song " His Eye is on the Sparrow" in somewhat of a gospel style which was very moving. Several friends and relatives spoke about Joyce and it was a very warm and personal sevice. The Handbell Choir played at the beginning and end.
Later that day, I went to Raleigh to rehearse for Alan's funeral. The quartet is Izabela Speiwak, Tasi Matthews, Yang Xi and me. The Barber Adagio was the trickiest to put together. The double stops are difficult to tune, and we spent time on them and phrasing. I had brought some other pieces for the prelude, which we went through, they are pretty straightforward. We have another rehearsal on Monday, and will put the list together then. This is not going to be an easy gig, we are too involved in it, and keep thinking what would Alan have chosen.
March 6
A Classical concert with the Durham Symphony and winners of the Young Artist Competition. The soloists were spectacular each in their own way. The violist had a lovely warm sound and was on top of everything. The alto-saxophone player gave a very exciting reading of his concerto, scale passages undulating up to great heights and depths, allowing us to hear the range of that instrument. The audience went wild! The violinist was exquisite in the Sibelius. Ethereal was a word to describe those shimmeringly high passages. Beautiful phrasing and musicianship, perfect intonation, just gorgeous.
Review http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=1174
March 7
Drive to Raleigh for a rehearsal for the funeral. Tasi had wanted to attend the visitation at the Funeral Parlor, the rest of us did not want to go. I had seen Alan at the hospital and it would be too much with the funeral the next day. So the three of us rehearsed the Martinu Trio until Tasi came. She had met friends and colleagues there and was glad to have gone.
We sorted out the music selections and it was quite late by the time I got on the road back to Chapel Hill.
March 8, Alan's Funeral
The quartet had arranged to meet at the church at noon to warm up before starting the Prelude at 12:30pm. The service was to start at 1pm. I had decided to go to Whole Foods for a late breakfast. My kitchen was a mess, I had had no time in days to clean up with all the running around. It worked out well as I was able to collect my thoughts and have a restful meal.
My fears were confirmed when I got to the church (I was the first, just as the casket was being brought in), and I broke down in tears thinking I could not possibly play where our chairs were. The quartet had been set up in the front of the church, up the steps to the altar area and bang in front of everyone coming in. I had mentioned to Izabela that I preferred to be on the floor, so as not to distract the people when we were playing. The music should float across the room, the congregation should not have to see the macinations of getting ready to play etc. Unfortunately the piano was on the floor, and although it was not going to be used, there was nowhere it could go. In the end, we went to the other side of the altar. There was a little curved area with wooden panelling which would make for good acoustics. It was still up the steps, but the congregation could focus on the casket instead of us. After my meltdown I recovered with the help of some hugs from orchestra friends and we were able to tune and warm up.
The Prelude
Handel - Andante from the Water Music Suite
Chopin - Prelude from op.28 #4 arranged for string quartet
Bach - Air from the Suite in D
Franck - Panis Angelicus
Faure - Pavane
Elgar - Nimrod
During the Service
Barber - Adagio from the string quartet
Hymn with congregation - "Abide with Me"
Postlude
Lovland/Graham -"You raise me up"
There were 2 readings, one was read by Bill Curry the conductor who took over the Durham Symphony after Alan retired from it in 2008. The Gospel and a homily from the pastor, who turned out to be the father of a bride we had played for at her wedding at St. Matthews Church in Hillsborough some 8 years ago. In those days, working at UNC, John also played the bagpipe and I had hired him on a couple of occasions! I had not recognized him through my veil of tears, and was glad when he came up to me. Dear Michael, who, since moving here from New Jersey has played viola for Musica for more than 15 years, was principal viola of the Raleigh Symphony until recently, and still is for the Durham Symphony, gave a remembrance of Alan that was superb. He was close to Alan and had picked up many of Alan's idiosynchratic mannerisms every conductor has, and could mimic perfectly in Alan's voice, an oft-repeated sentance "Know what I mean?" It was such a warm, funny, heartfelt tribute to a friend. I'll never forget it.
There were 6 pallbearers who accompanied the casket to the hearse. It had a beautiful spray of green leaves and white flowers. Alan is to be buried in Roslyn, PA near his parents and brother. Irene and her husband are flying up there next Wednesday for the burial.
Here is Michaels' remembrance as transcribed by John Lambert, a longtime friend and supporter of Alan.
http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=1167
The reception was held downstairs in the church hall. People had brought plates of goodies, and Phyllis and her daughter Meredith were the hostesses at the punch bowl. Phyllis had retired quite late from teaching violin and viola at Meredith College for many, many years. In fact Alan and I had gone to her retirement lunch, and yes, her daughter is named after the college! There were so many people to talk to and reminisce with, I didn't get to sample much of the the delicious food people had brought. Later, several of us sat around a table and enjoyed the companionship. We were all old friends, and had lots of memories playing under Alan. As Irene had arranged for the service to start at 1pm, I was still able to get home in time to teach my afternoon students, and by the time they left, I was glad to relax and go over the day.
Here's a slideshow of photos and condolence book.
http://obits.dignitymemorial.com/dignity-memorial/obituary.aspx?n=Alan-Neilson&lc=4232&pid=149098664&mid=4584311
March 11- Annual Cello Workshop
Before spending time with my grand-daughter Kate (Friday afternoons are "our" time) I made a quick run in to to the Workshop to listen to my student Jeffrey play for clinician Wendy Bissinger who is here for 2 days. Friday is for masterclasses, Saturday for groups and recital. Jeffrey played the Bourrees from Bach's Suite #3 in C. I was very pleased with his playing, excellent intonation and good articulation which Wendy commented on. I was glad she worked with him on his bow hold, he has been lazy about getting it really comfortable. He has grown so tall she suggested he might benefit from the Tortelier end pin - the bent one. A good idea. I was pleased he did this, as he is extremely shy, but I think since he got a place in the Junior All-State orchestra auditions last week, he is feeling more confident.
March 12 - Cello Workshop
The first event of the day was a teachers' meeting with Wendy and me, and two other teachers, Mary Frances Boyce and Phil Warren. Luckily, two of my students arrived early, and we used them as guinea pigs for vibrato and extension teaching techniques.
After that, Wendy had agreed to coach my cello ensemble on a piece we love to play, the Rondo from Beethoven's 7th Symphony which she had arranged in six parts. Quite a number of my students came to the coaching, and with the addition some of the other teachers' students, we had a great session. I think Wendy was impressed that we were able to get through the whole movement. There are some tricky sections and it is easy to fall apart. The fugue is the most challenging, and the section where the first cellos noodle in triplets and the bass has the bom bombom rhythm, can get a bit rocky. In between them the second and third cellos have a lovely slow melody, so the noodling has be non-intrusive, a very hard way to be. Wendy made suggestions about dynamics which are crucial in this piece. It will be a great exercise for us to work on all the marked dynamic levels.
We had a delicious lunch at a nearby organic market, and an interesting conversation with Wendy, finding out we had a lot in common with travel stories, both having been to Australia. It was interesting comparing the state of the Arts in both countries. She went back to the workshop while I ran home to do some errands. I returned to see my 7 year-old student (Jeffrey's brother) doing well in the beginner class. He really enjoyed himself and has progressed well since starting in September. He is almost at the end of the Suzuki Book 1. Jeffrey does help him, so it's good for both of them.
After the beginner class was the recital, and we started with the "Swan" by Saint-Saens and the Squire "Tarantella" then worked our way down the books ending with everyone playing Twinkle and Variations. Not a long performance, but an enjoyable way to round out the day. I hope Wendy can come back again, she has good ideas and imparts them well to teachers and students alike, all in a very relaxed environment.
A drive to Raleigh after the workshop for a rehearsal of the Martinu. It was a good rehearsal, we got ideas of tempo and worked on sections. I was glad to get home though, it had been a long day and I was tired.
March 13
Our monthly meeting of the Carolina Chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society of America. We meet at the school of one of our players, and play consorts to fit the number of players who come, some from quite a long way. It's a lovely way to spend a Sunday afternoon.
This is where I started playing the treble a few years ago. I always swore I would not play the treble as I am not one for high-pitched instruments, but one day, they were desperate, and having several bass players but no treble, I was coerced into trying it out. The strings are the same as the bass, although an octave higher. Reading treble clef was no problem, and lo and behold I fell in love. I have on longterm loan the treble that belongs to our harpsichordist from our Oberlin Performance Institute days, who thought she might play treble but never did take to it.
Looking ahead to Dartington Summer School, I asked to play some Jacobean consort music and Orlando Gibbons' Five part In Nomines, as that is what is on the menu for viols in the first week, coached by the Rose Consort.
March 14
Back to reality with a Martinu rehearsal at my house. Driving back and forth to Raleigh can get very tiring. We also went over the Arvo Part Stabat Mater to familiarize ourselves with it. I have the CD in my car and always feel so relaxed just listening to the sonorities. It's like being in another world. I hope we can give that impression when we perform it.
March 17
Each year around this time Musica is booked for the Internal Medicine Conference at the Friday Center at UNC. This must be at least our 10th year. The doctor in charge of the Conference is a classical music lover, and he always asks for the string trio. His favorite piece is the theme from Schubert's "Trout Quintet" which we make sure we play it within his hearing. This year it must have been a larger than usual group of attendees, as we were in the Atrium rather than the Magnolia Room. We much preferred the Atrium as it gave us the opportunity to play out rather than keeping under the conversation level. There was much more space for people to walk around. They love us, it is such a change from their seminars and they really listen. We play a wide variety of music styles from baroque (of course they love the Vivaldi Seasons and Violin Concertos) Romantic, Debussy, Beatles, fiddle tunes (it was St. Patrick's Day after all!)
March 19
Make-up lessons in the morning for students who have missed due to sickness, mostly colds and flu. There has been so much around, so far I have missed it, but I know I will succumb one of these days. It's impossible to stay out of range of coughs and sneezes.
After lunch the rehearsal for the Durham Symphony concert at the Emily K. Life Center in Durham. We have played there every year since the the center was built by the basketball coach at Duke University in honor of his mother. Naturally there is a huge basketball court which is used as an assembly and concert venue. The center is used for afterschool classes and all sorts of events.
The symphony is to be joined by the Durham Childrens' Chorus and students from Kidznotes, a string program in Durham based on the El Sistema program started in Venezuela for indiginous students. There will be much more about this program in this blog later this year. The orchestra played the first movement of Beethoven's 2nd Symphony, the Coleridge Taylor "Danse Negre" and the Victor Herbert "American Fantasy". We were joined by the children in the "Children's Chorus" from Bizet's Carmen. The Kidznotes students played the Pachelbel Canon with the orchestra, then they joined with the chorus and orchestra for an arrangement of Beethoven's Ode to Joy. It's good to see so many students involved in these groups, it can only lead to good things.
March 20
Well it had to happen, I am sick with a cold. Feeling exhausted, but managed to stay in bed all morning to get some extra sleep. Filled myself full of DayQuil and off I went to rehearse with the singers, and Izabela and Yang Xi at the Museum of Art. We spent a lot of time on the Part which eventually pulled together. I do love the piece.As we have a long passage on our own before the singers come in, Al is going to give a discreet beat at the beginning to keep the strings together. The singers then rehearsed their William Byrd Mass until they realised we had been sitting around waiting for some time for our turn in the auditorium. We rehearsed the Martinu until we were asked to leave as the museum was closing. Hopefully we will have more time to get used to the acoustics at our next rehearsal there.
No more rehearsal until the 28th, so I have time to get over this cold and prepare for the Viol Consort performance at UNC on the 27th.
I staggered through the week resting as much as possible, but having to prepare the 4th and 5th grade cellists for their debut with the school orchestra on April 8th. They normally don't play public concerts until 6th grade, but as this event will be an outdoor affair with parents bringing blankets and picnics, it's a good chance for them to get an idea of playing in a group, and it will be quite large. I have 17 or so cellists playing, so we need plenty of room.
March 25, 2011, my eldest grand-daughter's 7th birthday.
Before the birthday festivities, I went to UNC for the last viol rehearsal before the concert. We touched up on spots on a Will Ayton piece. Feeling more confident about my solo passages.
My daughter-in-law treated Kate, her nanny, a school friend and me to a pedicure, a real treat for me as I don't recall ever having had one! After that, Kate and I had our Friday time together after dropping off her school friend. We went shopping for a birthday present, as I can't keep up with what she wants/needs. To round off the day we had a family birthday party at her house. It was a lovely time.
March 26th
The UNC Viol group, A noon rehearsal with everyone. 10 cellos, 10 violas da gamba. We were able to get through the pieces a couple of times before the composer arrived from Rhode Island. We were quite nervous at the the thought of playing for him, but he was very happy with what he heard, and very complimentary when I met him after the rehearsal.
March 27th. It felt a little odd having the whole day before playing a concert. Usually Sunday concerts for me are in the afternoon. However, I got good rest, warmed up and then left very early for the concert in order to get a parking space near the auditorium. It was the college basketball NCAA tournament "Elite Eight" round and UNC were playing, so there was no knowing how things would be on campus. I found a perfect spot and went off to Starbucks, the only place in town that did not have TVs showing the game.
Warm up and tuning was at 6:45pm. I was amazed when I saw the program. Brent must have been working on it for months. Except for the 16th century Josquin viol piece "Mille Regretz", everything was contemporary and the 4 composers were all attending! According to Brent's program the 5th composer, Josquin, had sent a text saying he was not able to attend.
Three of the composers had the same last name, Anderson and are not related at all. The first piece on the concert was by Stephen Anderson, Associate professor at UNC. "Quest" composed in 2009, was a duet for violin and cello with Leah Peroutka and Brent. Great playing and ensemble.
The second composer, UNC Professor Allen Anderson wrote a suite in 1999 "Collected Letters" for solo cello which Brent played magnificiently. The movements were Rash Proposal, Affections, Apologia, Communique, Post(de)scriptions.
The Viol Consort and Cello Choir followed with the Josquin pavane "Mille Regretz" arranged by Susato, then the commissioned piece by Will Ayton " Reflections on a Pavan" composed in 2010. It was exciting and a bit nerve-wracking to be performing the world premiere in front of the composer. However, everyone did their best and I thought we gave a fine performance. The sonorities of the cellos and the silvery viols meshed well. Except for the Webern section, too minimilist and choppy for my ears, the piece had interesting takes on the Mille Regretz Pavane, with a lovely dancing section in 7/8 time. I really enjoyed learning and performing it.
After the intermission, the Cello Choir played a short arrangement of the spiritual "Steal Away". There is nothing like the sound of a cello choir, just too beautiful.
Brent concluded the concert with a fine performance of "Spirit Songs" by the third Anderson composer, TJ. Now retired to Chapel Hill after a career at Tufts University in Boston, he composed this piece for YoYo Ma in 1993. The movements are Call and Response, Gospels, Serenades 1 and II, Vamp 1, Serenades III and IV, Vamp II, Shouts.
There was a good gathering on stage afterwards, with people chatting, obviously having enjoyed themselves.
March 28,
No rest for the wicked. Trio rehearsal on the Martinu. At least I didn't have to drive to Raleigh. After a rather rocky start, broken string for one, we had a good rehearsal and the movement seems to be falling into place.
April 1
Izabela and Xi Yang came over to Carol Woods to rehearse the Martinu. This retirement community has a marvellous assembly hall with great acoustics and they are very generous in allowing musicians from the community to use it. They have a very busy concert schedule with a Summer Music Festival, a Winter Concert Series and myriads of teachers' student recital, mine included! It is the only hall around that will accommodate 18 or so cellists.
It gave us a good opportunity to get the feel of a larger hall and we had a good rehearsal - several people wandered in to listen and asked us when we were performing it. I had hoped we could play it there at my students' recital in May, but unfortunately as it turned out, Izabela was quite ill on the day.
April 1
Final rehearsal for the Durham Symphony classical concert, with the winners of the Young Artists Competition. All 3 soloists played to get the feel of the Carolina Theatre. It is a lovely old renovated hall, with great atmosphere and an excellent venue for concerts, small shows (Gilbert and Sullivan for instance). The stage is a bit small for a large orchestra, or orchestra and chorus, but we manage to squeeze in somehow. There is a movie theatre adjacent to the concert hall, mostly art films, so it is quite a cultural center.
Curry seemed happy with the Beethoven and the soloists' music, but it would have been better to have had another rehearsal to get the balance between the brass and strings worked out.
April 2
Dress rehearsal at the Museum with the singers as well. The hall had good acoustics and felt comfortable. I was glad we had been able to play at Carol Woods. I was excited to play the Arvo Part, I love the Stabat Mater, and my friend Rogers Covey Crump had given me some last minute tips on performing it. It is a taxing work for singers having to sustain the long notes and keep up the pitch. We spent quite a long time working on the ensemble and all in all it went well, but us string players felt we could have had more time going through the Martinu. The Museum closed at 5pm and we had to be out.
April 3rd
Concert day! We warmed up on stage with the singers and then the Martinu and felt good. The auditorium was full. Each piece on the program was paired with a tryptic from the museum. We didn't get to hear much of the William Byrd Mass for the three singers as we were in a room behind the stage, but by the audience's clapping response, it had gone well. Then it was our turn with the Martinu and it went like a dream, just flew by, like a good ride on a safe roller coaster. I felt so happy that it went so well and the audience loved it. The Stabat Mater had its moments, but may have been too much for the singers after singing the 25 minute Byrd Mass. It lost its flow momentarily in the middle and intonation was not always impeccable. However, it was well received by the audience, and we all were given many compliments at the reception that followed.
April 5
Rehearsals start for the Durham Symphony Pops Concerts. The Program is Arensky -Overture from Egyptian Nights, Mozart Eine Kleine Nachtmusik 1st mvt., Strauss Blude Danube Waltz, Shostakovich-Festive Overture, Vaughan Williams English Folk Songs 1st movement, Coleridge Taylor Danse Negre, Herbert American Fantasy, Lloyd Webber Evita
April 8
The Emerson Waldorf All-School Orchestra and Band Spring concert on the Southern Village green. A big undertaking, starting with all levels together playing an arrangement of Wagner's Die Meistersinger. The middle school orchestra played an arrangement of Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony and the Purcell Chacony. The High School orchestra is still very small, but they did play the Telemann Viola concerto with Matt (the violin/viola teacher) playing a movement and two students playing the other 2 movements. The HS Jazz band was fun to listen to.
Certainly the music department has come a long way since Jason became the music/choral director.
April 10
One of Musica's favorite gigs, the annual Duke Reunion Brunch in Duke Gardens. The gardens are in spectacular bloom and the music of 10 strings wafts over the gardens courtesy of the Duke sound sytem experts. Duke alums wander around drinking mimosas and enjoying the upmarket box lunches (we get them them too, but the mimosas have to wait until we are finished playing!) Wisteria covers the Pergola at the top of the gardens, beds of tulips going down to the Fishpond which has had a revamp, and where we sit close to. Sadly a tree that used to give us shade was taken down to provide room for a patio. Better for us to play but we missed the tree. Fortunately it wasn't too hot this year. We play for 3 hours with a break in the middle. The program is varied, something for everyone - light classics, Rhosymedre is an annual favorite, Handel's Entrance of the Queen of Sheba, Vivaldi Summer, Stamitz orchestra Quartet, pop - Beatles, Joplin rags, Moon River, La Vie en Rose, and we always end with Orange Blossom Special
Later that afternoon, after popping in to Kate's delayed 7th birthday party, I went on to the monthly meeting of the Carolina Chapter of the Viola da Gamba Society of America. We played from Book 4 of the Jacobean Consort music, Orlando Gibbons, Five part in Nomines and Coperario Fantasias in 4 parts. All good practice for Dartington!
April 11
Group cello rehearsal of the Beethoven Rondo.
April 15
Rehearsal for the UNC Consort of Viols concert on May 1st. Last time we will all be together before the dress rehearsal, as people will be away for Easter.
April 16
A wedding ceremony at the Carolina Inn. The bride had luck on her side, North Carolina was hit by a huge number of tornados that ripped throught Raleigh and south eastern parts of the state, killing many people and huge amounts of damage. Trailer parks and neighborhoods were decimated. In Chapel Hill we had a tremendous downpour, I thought it would come my bathroom skylight, but fortunately didn't. It blew over after about 20 minutes so I was able to make to the Carolina Inn. Although the ceremony was moved inside, the bride got her wish of having her wedding photos taken outside, and it turned out to be a gorgeous evening.
April 17
The Durham Symphony Pops concert in Hillsborough went ahead, and it was a beautiful day. I love to play outdoors, there's nothing like it on a good day. The house of our conductor who lives in Raleigh was in the neighborhood that sustained so much damage and he went rushing back after the concert to see if his house was still standing. It was.
April 19 & 20
Rehearsals for the Easter program at Muir's Chapel, Greensboro. We were a string quartet - Suzanne, Laura, Kitty and me, and Suzanne drives us the 50 miles each way, so we have good conversations and catch up time. The work is a contemporary Christian cantata "Who do you say I am?" by Larson and we ended with the Halleluia Chorus. The Choir Director, Chuck , did an excellent job of training the choir and putting it all together. We have played there on many occasions. Chuck's wife Susan was the choir director of St. Matthews Church in Hillsborough before they married. We have also played there many times over the years. It's a tiny Episcopal church over 175 years old, built when the British were there.
April 22
UNC Viols rehearsal
April 23
The Durham Symphony Pops concert at the Central Park Pavillion in Durham. A very stormy morning, but cleared up by 3pm. Enthusiastic and large crowd.
April 24
Easter Service at Muir's Chapel in Greensboro. The church was packed and the music was very well received.
April 25
Cello group rehearsal. The Rondo is coming on well.
April 28
Rehearsal in Duke Chapel for the Womens' Voice choir concert. Directed by Allen Friedman we are playing the Stabat Mater by Pergolesi and the "Cradle of Fire". We are a small string orchestra with harpsichord and harp. The Cradle of Fire has lush instrumentation and the movement has a beautiful duet for the two cellos.
April 29
Final UNC Viol rehearsal before the concert.
May 1
Performance at 4pm by the Womens' Voices choir and orchestra in Duke Chapel. Went very well and large audience.
http://cvnc.org/article.cfm?articleId=3782
Rush on over to UNC for the Viol Consort and Baroque Orchestra Concert at 7:30pm.
Brent was really into pieces that reflected Susanna. Here's the text.
Susannah solicited one day by two old men desiring her beauty
Was sad at this attempt on her chastity. She said:
"If by this you enjoy my body,I am lost; but if I struggle
You will put me to death. But I prefer to perish innocent,
Rather than offend the Lord".
Many composers wrote pieces about her. Tonight's composers featuring Susannah are Didier Lupi Second (16th c.), Orlandi di Lasso (16th c), Francesco Rognoni (16th c), John Dowland (16th c.).
The group was made up of treble, tenor and bass viols, lute and soprano. A lovely concert.
That was the last concert of the University year, so we are off until late August.
May 7
Now starts the wedding and graduation season.
Wedding #1 with a string quartet in my favorite location - Fearrington Inn, 8 miles south of Chapel Hill.
The wife of the owner, Jenny Fitch, created beautiful English gardens and it is the place for a picture perfect wedding.
We have played there for over 30 years and watched the house and gardens grow more beautiful each season.
http://www.fearrington.com/house/?gclid=CLvvtqzwz6kCFZJb7Aod8jc38Q
Wedding #2 at the Governors' Club a few miles south of Chapel Hill, was with a string trio. In a beautiful location also, it was a Southern outdoor ceremony overlooking a lake. The lead violinist said it was especially moving when two swans floated past the couple.
http://www.governorsclub.com/clubhouse.php
May 8
Graduation Day at the UNC. I only prove music for the individual school graduations which are smaller, not for the huge event early in the day. This year I provided two Brass Quintets for the Schools of Journalism and Dentistry.
I had a wedding featuring the violin and guitar duo for the ceremony and jazz piano for the reception, held at the Doris Duke Center, part of the Duke University Gardens, another exqusite location where we play often.
May 9
Final group rehearsal for the students' cello recital.
May 13
Started rehearsals for the Early Music concert with Mary Fran, violin playing the Handel Sonata op1 #11, I the Bach Gamba sonata #1, with Simon Zaleski, harpsichord. Simon is a whiz on the harpsichord and agreed to play a Suite by William Croft in the concert.
In the evening was my students' end-of-year cello recital at Carol Woods. The Assembly Hall there is excellent, especially for cellos. Beautiful wooden floors and great acoustics. The Intermediate/Advanced group played the Beethoven Rondo which went extremely well. Everyone had really made an effort to be together and we made it through the fugue without a spill! The beginning ensemble and solos went well and everyone seemed happy with their contribution. The audience was not only parents, siblings and friends, but residents from the retirement community so we had a good crowd.
May 14
The graduation of Duke University's Master of Arts in Liberal Studies (MALS). This unique program allows adults to pursue a degree in any subject they wish, while still having a "day job". Therefore there are fascinating topics described in the program. We were a string quartet and free to choose whatever music for the Prelude we wanted, so we had fun.
May 20
Rehearsal for the Early Music concert
May 21
Wedding in a lovely private home in Chapel Hill. One of the older homes close to the university, with beautifully landscaped grounds and established bushes and trees. We were on a lawn which overlooked the stone-laid patio where the ceremony was held, and continued playing there when the wedding party and guests came up the steps to the reception. It was a perfect afternoon and early evening, not too hot. The best North Carolina can have.
May 22
Rescheduled Durham Symphony Pops concert (the first time it was cancelled because of the tornadoes). Last one of the season, it was terribly hot and no shade for the cello/bass side of the orchestra. We were really sweating. It had been a while since we had played together, and strange not to have a rehearsal or warm-up, but soon it all came together and it was a good performance.
May 26 - The 5th grade strings - violin, viola and cello, gave a short concert at school. After each group played a few pieces, they joined together to play in an ensemble - Chorus from Judas Maccabeus, the Brahms' Waltz and Turkey in the Straw. This is the last year they have separate classes, next year they play together in a string ensemble with the 7th and 8th graders. They really have not had enough technique classes to manage the orchestra parts. For some of them, practice is not a priority, and so we start seeing a divide between the ones who are progressing well and the ones who are progress at a slower pace. Quite often we get new students who come in to 5th grade with no strings experience at all, and then it is so hard for them to catch up. Over the years I have noticed that many of the Asian students who are here for only a couple of years make a big effort to catch up by taking private lessons, sometimes twice a week. They seem to value musical eduation very much, along with their regular education.
May 27 - Rehearsal of the Bach Gamba Sonata with Simon. The trick is to find the right tempo that works for both of us. Once the movements get going, and we are together, everything ticks along nicely. It's the together part that is tricky on the fast movements. We both like to play them fast, but it takes quite a bit doing, especially for me.
May 28 - Today is one of those days that exemplify the joy of doing what we do. We played late afternoon/early evening for a retired Duke doctor who had spent months planning an elegant garden party. He has an exquisite garden, not overly large, backing up to to a green of the Chapel Hill Country Club. The weather was perfect, not too hot. The poor man had been in agonies the day before as there had been a huge thunderstorm and part of the golf course (not near him, fortunately) had flooded. In fact I had trouble getting Kate home that day, as the road to her house, not far from the Doctor's, was flooded in sections. Fortunately the sun came out and dried up all the rain. The garden looked gorgeous. We were set up on the veranda in the shade, overlooking the garden and played baroque, classical and light classical for a couple of hours. It was a perfect setting, and the guests seemed to be enjoying it very much. Afterwards we were invited to partake of the food (delicious heavy hors d'oevres from a superb caterer) and I spent a pleasant half-hour with an English friend, a retired doctor, and a good pianist. She had been to Dartington the summer before, so we chatted about my forthcoming trip. A lovely ending to a perfect afternoon!
May 29. I played in one of two weddings we had, as they overlapped. Mine was an orthodox Jewish wedding in a Durham synagogue. All the family had gathered together to prepare the wedding, the groom had designed and decorated the marriage contract (ketubah) with cutouts of birds on a blue background bordering the beautifully done calligraphy of the contract. I love the way the two families and wedding party gather together under the huppah to support the bride and groom. The service however, was quite short, the cantor did not make the 7 blessings overlong. It was a very happy service, not formal at all in spite of being orthodox. Our trio was well received and I was glad to be a part of such a meaningful event in that couple's life.
The other wedding was totally different, a Southern outdoor ceremony overlooking a lake at a hotel in Cary. Another beautiful venue.
May 30. After the group class with my students to rehearse "Home on the Range" I had the first rehearsal of the Vivaldi concerto for 2 cellos with Dorothy. We set the tempos and had a good run-through.
June 1 - Rehearsal for the Early music concert. Borrowed a neighbour's nippy Toyota truck to move Mary Fran's harpsichord, a Zukerman kit that she had assembled herself in the '70s. It has done good service since then. This move was comparatively easy, all on one level. Simon had recruited some friends, and all went well. The church had good acoustics and was lovely to play in.
June 3rd. Concert day. The harpsichord was tuned and we rehearsed in the morning, enjoying the acoustics and the setting. The concert was at 7:30pm and we had a good crowd. The program was Bach's Gamba Sonata in G for Treble viol and harpsichord, William Croft's Suite #3 in c minor for solo harpsichord, Handel's Sonata in F op.1 #12 for violin, harpsichord and cello continuo. The concert ended with the Viol Consort (treble, 2 tenors and bass) playing pieces by
The concert went very well for the most part. Simon made the little harpsichord sound sound so spright and clear and his playing was brilliant. The Sarabande was gorgeous, very reminicent of Purcell's Dido. Exquisite. Fran's playing of the Handel Sonata was just lovely. She had worked with Eduard Melkus during the 70's on style and ornamentation, and they were beautifully executed. The Viol Consort (me, Belinda, Simon and Tim) really jelled and the tuning was spot on. The pieces were perfect for the evening. The Bach did not go as well as I hoped. I did not have the performing experience on the viol that I do on the cello. It is a complicated piece and there were some problems with the height of the stool which I didn't realise until too late. What worked well for consort music, did not do so for the Bach with the many fast string crossings, the bow got caught in my skirt once, which was disconcerting. However, there were some lovely sections and a joy to play, especially with Simon's excellent partnering skills. I hope to have another opportunity to perform it and give it justice.
June 4 - No rest for the wicked, or for the freelance musician, thankfully (not necessarily one and the same!) Our string quartet played a wedding and cocktail hour in the most beautiful farming countryside outside Durham. Acres of green pasture fields and rolling hills. The venue was the bride's parents' horse farm. From the patio shaded from the very hot sun by giant palms, we could look down the pastures and see the thoroughbred horses grazing, occasionally have a set-to with each other. What can be more lovely than playing sweet music outdoors on a perfect evening? It's my favourite time of day and we play in so many beautiful locations.
June 5 - An annual event, playing for the Junior Choir of the Chapel of the Cross conducted by Van Quinn, the organist and choirmaster, who has been there for 30 years or so. Listening to the sacred concert is the highlight of my spring. It brings back the days of my boys singing in the American Boychoir in Princeton. One can never get tired of those sweet sounds of young voices. My string trio only plays one piece to accompany the choir, this year it was Rameau's Praise Ye the Lord.
June 7 - In the afternoon at school, the 4th grade gave their first strings concert. The 7 cellos did really well in their solo and ensemble pieces, and enjoyed themselves hugely. They then joined up with the violins and violas in a string ensemble and did a good job of staying together and watching the conductors) me and Matt Chicurel, the violin/viola teacher). It was a good crop of cellos this year, and I hope they will keep up the momentum as they continue through the grades.
Later that evening a rehearsal with colleague Dorothy Wright to go through the Vivaldi Concerto for 2 cellos. We worked out tempos and bowings and felt good about it.
June 11 - Final rehearsal on the Vivaldi, working on style and tempos. Such fun to play "duelling cellos".
June 12 - Concert day for the Vivaldi and Brandenburg #2. This took place at the New Hope Presbyterian Church. Ostensibly, since there were no prior rehearsals, we (the Pittsboro Bach Society orchestra) have one at 3pm with the "formal" concert at 4pm. However, that doesn't always pan out, as the audience start drifting in early and some of them hear the program twice! Fortunately the run-through of the Vivaldi went well - we stopped a couple of times to sort out tempos and edition problems (the keyboard edition didn't have all the repeats in the slow movement, for example). In the Brandenburg, the trumpet part was played by French hornist (Tim Dyess) at a lower pitch and sounded great. The actual concert went like a dream, the violin and French horn soloists in the Bach were very fine. It was so enjoyable to play those pieces, and the audience seemed to have had an enjoyable afternoon.Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Final rehearsal for the Durham Symphony classical concert, with the winners of the Young Artists Competition. All 3 soloists played to get the feel of the Carolina Theatre. It is a lovely old renovated hall, with great atmosphere and an excellent venue for concerts, small shows (Gilbert and Sullivan for instance). The stage is a bit small for a large orchestra, or orchestra and chorus, but we manage to squeeze in somehow. There is a movie theatre adjacent to the concert hall, mostly art films, so it is quite a cultural center.
Curry seemed happy with the Beethoven and the soloists' music, but it would have been better to have had another rehearsal to get the balance between the brass and strings worked out.
Celebrating Dartington at Summer School
July Week 1 - Viols and Cello.
The Dartington celebration began on Saturday, July 30 with the first week of Summer School. This was Early Music week with the Rose Consort of Viols in residence. My friend Valerie Hind had joined me and was sharing my old room in the East Wing courtyard. The original large room that I had shared with drama student Vivienne, had been renovated and divided up into two smaller bedrooms, but I still got my window overlooking the courtyard, although now it was part of the en suite bathroom! Apart from that, the building was much the same, although the common room where we used to hang out beside the fireplace on wintery evenings, is now a popular quiet haven for computer users catching up on emails. One of the few areas that had WiFi.
Courtyard residents had all meals in the White Hart dining all, a high-ceilinged room with an enormous medieval fireplace. So many memories of my student life there. Now it’s for grownups, who linger over coffee and a brandy or glass of wine from the White Hart pub next door. The food was excellent, 3 hot meals a day – lots of fresh fruit and local vegetables, and the homemade desserts were to die for, especially my favourite – summer fruits pavlova. There was always pouring cream as well of course, being Devon, and sometimes clotted cream. I managed to stay away from it mostly, but did give in every so often.
Being viol week, the tutors were members of the Rose Consort. I knew Alison Crum of course and Valerie knew most of the players. One player, Sonia, had come over to Chapel Hill some years ago on a work project and had played with us. She is a fine player and we had some good sessions together.
The daily schedule for me consisted of a viol session in the morning. The sessions began with everyone gathering in one of the rooms which used to be part of the Elmhirst home. As students, we were never allowed in that part of the hall except for special concerts or events, so it was a strange feeling to go anywhere we wanted in those rooms. The other part of the house behind the Great Hall is still off limits. It is used by the Dartington Hall Trustees. We were given a tour around that part of the house. It was fascinating to see Dorothy’s and Leonard’s studies where they had meetings and did all their correspondence with secretaries.
The viol tutors would divvy us all up into different size consorts - 4/5/6 part and we would choose music accordingly. Most of the players were very experienced, and the tutors liked to move people around so we wouldn’t be in cliques. We mostly had a different tutor at each session and it was interesting to see the different styles of coaching. Valerie and I managed to be in the same group on several occasions. It was fun to play with her after all these years.
Next in the morning was a Piano Trio session with an excellent pianist, Colin who had been an accompanist at the Purcell School in London. Rick, the violinist in the trio,was a member of the Duke Quartet, an excellent young group in residence for the week. We played through trios by Mendelssohn (the d minor), the Schubert Eb and Bb, and Brahms. On Tuesday when Rick had to perform the evening concert with his quartet, (which was excellent, see below) Colin and I played through the Brahms e minor sonata, and the first movement of the Elgar concert. It was such a joy to play and I was especially glad to hear Colin’s suggestions about the Elgar. When Colin was at the Royal College of Music, he was able to study the original score of the Elgar which had been given to the college after Elgar’s death.
After lunch was my 2nd viol session, similar to the morning session. The time between tea and the first concert was open for ad hoc gatherings, lessons or special programs. Concerts were at 5:15, 7:45 and 10pm. I won't go into depth about each concert as there were so many, if you go on to the performers website or You Tube you will get a flavor of them.
Saturday’s concert was by the Dufay Collective, www.dufay.com, a fun performance by a group of amazing recorder players, archlute, flute, recorder, shawm, bagpipes, dulcian, hurdy gurdy. This was an excellent start to the week.
The Rose Consort’s performance was on Sunday evening and was exquisite. www.roseconsort.co.uk. The program was all Purcell Fantazias. However, not on the Rose’s concert program, but added by some power that be, was an incongruous piece by Harrison Birtwhistle, right in the middle of the program. It thoroughly spoilt the mood of that marvellous atmosphere of the shimmering sound of the viols in the 11th century hall where Purcell has been played for centuries.
Monday’s concert was by Emma Kirkby, soprano and Nicholas Clapton, counter-tenor, accompanied by lute, harpsichord,organ and string quartet. This was the first time I had heard Emma Kirkby sing live and it was exquisite. One just floated away into another realm of beauty.The two voices blended perfectly throughout. The first half of the program featured shorter pieces by Purcell, Henry Lawes, Tarquinio Merula, Mikolaj Zielenski, Barbara Strozzi and Monteverdi. The second half was just one work - Pergolesi's Stabat Mater arranged by JS Bach.
Tuesday’s concert was by the Duke Quartet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Quartet. The second violin, Rick, was in my piano trio and good fun to play with. The quartet has been together about 20 years and plays mostly contemporary music. For their concert, they played the Bartok String Quartet #4, the Shostakovich String Quartet #8 and the Faure Piano Quintet with pianist William Howard. After the excitement of the Bartok and Shostakovich, which they played so well, the Faure didn't sit well, although it was well-executed by the quartet and the pianist. The concert would have been fine without it.
Wednesday was a day of 3 concerts.
The first was a brilliant harpsichord concert by Colin Booth, www.colinbooth.co.uk/cb.htm.
The second was by Arcangelo, a vocal ensemble with accompaniments with lute, viol, lirone and keyboards. http://www.arcangelo.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=62
It is a vibrant new group and the first piece, Vanitas Vanitatum by Carissimi was hilarious, even without the program notes
The third, a late night concert was a mostly baroque concert featuring the baroque oboe played by Gail Hennessy, a transplanted American freelancing in London. She makes a glorious sound on the oboe, and with accompaniments by a violin,cello and harpsichord, it was a lovely way to end the day.
Thursday brought us a Baroque dance with a Baroque Orchestra. The orchestra was stunning, amazing intonation from the gut- strung instruments. The dancing was interesting, but didn't make a whole lot of sense without the costumes, it was just modern day people enjoying themselves with the music, which were excerpts from Rameau's Platee, his first attempt at comic opera. It was written for the wedding celebrations of the son of Louis XV and the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain and was well received at Versailles A few months later Rameau was appointed Composer of the King's Chamber Music.
The evening concert was Early Brass and friends, with singers Emma Kirkby, Anna Sanstrom and Paul Bentley. It was quite a large group with violin, Cornetto, lots of trombones, Dulcian, Chitarone, Lute, organ, Flautini and Trumpets. Entitled "Music for Christian IV, King of Denmark" by Heinrich Schutz and Mattias Weckman. Again, amazing intonation from the band supporting the ethereal singing of the vocalists.
Friday's concert was the big one for Valerie, as she was singing in Handel's oratorio "Israel in Egypt". It was a powerful performance and the director Jonathan Cohen did a superlative job of pulling the different factions together. The Baroque Orchestra again was spot on, and I was riveted throughout.
We celebrated with drinks in the White Hart pub, I particularly enjoyed the noise of people chatting away and the atmosphere, strangely enough, or maybe not so strange. Pubs are one of the things I miss most in the US, the hotel bars just don't have it, and street bars in this university town are mostly student-oriented. It had been a wonderful week, more than I hoped. I did enjoy sharing it with Valerie whose first visit it was to the Summer School, and since I couldn't bear to leave after only one week, I signed up for the 3rd week for cello playing.
Saturday morning, was busy with packing, saying goodbyes and loading up the car. Before we left for the station where Valerie was going to drop me off, we went around some of the garden spots she had not seen. It was so hard to leave!
During the week between the Dartington weeks 1 and 3, I went up to London to stay with my friend Louise and to see "As you like it" at the Globe Theatre. It's always a thrill to see the theatre by the river, one can almost feel the atmosphere around it and along the river, imagining life in Shakespeare's time. After my short London "fix" I took the train to Hereford meandering through the Cotswolds ("Oh to be in England now that Spring is here" blissful) to visit my friend Janet in Presteigne, on the border of England and Wales, a glorious area of green hills and pastures. Janet and I had been students together for a year at Dartington, and have kept up our friendship since then. In the intervening years Janet had kept up with another fellow student, Joanna, an excellent oboist who was living in Ludlow, not far from her. Then one of those events that were meant to be, happened. Janet phoned her to tell her I was visiting, and immediately Joanna put off her plans to leave for London (she teaches there during the week), and invited us for lunch, which turned into an all-afternoon event. Joanna and I were on the Foundation course starting the same year, 1961. I had just arrived from the US and a friend of my mother had looked after me for a few days in London before putting me on the train to Totnes, the station for Dartington. In those days, carriages were reserved for students going to boarding schools, so it was a good way to meet people if one was new and that's how I met Joanna. 50 years later we met again by chance and had a lovely reunion, the three of us. Janet has been marvellous at keeping scrapbooks and photos, and found several of us as students, which I had copied earlier to show to people at Dartington for my second week. We made some extras for Joanna, some of which she had never seen, so she was thrilled with them. We chatted and chatted, then took a break to look around Ludlow for a little while, returning for tea at Joanna's before going back to Presteigne. What a great unexpected reunion it turned out to be!
The following morning was spent packing up and driving to Leomister to catch the train to Totnes, changing at Bristol Temple Meads, arriving there just after 5pm. As before on the train with Joanna, I met several other participants also going to Dartington. Four of us shared a taxi to the Hall and we were on our way.
Dartington Week 3 - Cello and Chamber Music!
This week, for reasons of economy, and also because the Courtyard was fully booked up, I stayed in Higher Close. It too had many memories, as in my second year, when newly built in 1962, my class was the first to live there. I liked the design of the rooms, being higher up and at an angle looking out onto the fields and trees. Sadly the buildings have not worn well in 50 years, being made of concrete. Meals were taken in the Higher Close dining room and although the food was the same as in the White Hart dining room, the atmosphere was distinctly student, no waitresses bringing us coffee to linger over.
This week was for me and the cello. Rhiannon had left the cello for me which was very helpful, as by now I was used to it. It was easy to play and slightly smaller than mine and had a very warm sound, especially in the lower register.
I did not know anyone this week, except a few people I had met in the first week, but everyone was very friendly.
My first session was the String Orchestra conducted by Leo Hussein. We started of with the cello section numbering 23, but after a couple of days some people dropped out, however it remained a very large section in proportion to the upper strings. The program was the Purcell Chacony, Holst’s St Paul’s Suite, and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis. Later on in the week, a contemporary piece by the new Artistic Director, John Woolrich, was added for a 9-piece chamber ensemble of which I was chosen to be one of the 2 cellists needed.
Although not a great fan of contemporary music (as noted in week 1) this piece “Ulysses’ Awakening” was loosely based on a Monteverdi opera aria and it was very soft and gentle for the group. However the solo viola part was quite dramatic, and was admirable played by an brilliant Hungarian violist.
My second session was the Cello Ensemble taken by Adrian Bradbury, a very relaxed youngish man. He divided the time up with a cello ensemble and then individual performances with pianist if needed, for critiquing. I played the first movement of the Brahms’ e minor sonata - he suggested for more a Brahmsian sound, I should concentrate on keeping the bow closer to the bridge. Certainly different from the lighter baroque bowing. He included all the class in his suggestions, even getting us to sing our parts in the Bach Air which we later performed outside in the Courtyard. The level of the students was very varied, some very much beginners, others playing Britten and George Crumb. Adrian was good with everyone, and we all supported each other whichever the level.
After lunch there were masterclasses by the well-known cellist Rohan de Saram. 50 years ago, I heard him play the Schumann cello concerto in Plymouth while I was Dartington. He concentrates mostly on contemporary music, so I am not overly enthusiastic about him, but I admire his playing which, at around 75 years or so of age, is still phenomenal. He has enormous hands but his intonation at the top of the cello is immaculate. Originally from Sri Lanka he lives in London. With his Indian background he has developed an amazing drumming technique as well and showed it off in a concert later in the week. However his masterclass technique was not as interesting. I went to the first one, and he spent a very long time with a not very advanced player going over and over a minute technical challenge. When I got asked to play in the Tango band for the Ball at the end of the week, and which conflicted with Rohan’s class, I had no hesitation in switching. Later on, I had to miss a couple of Tango rehearsals as there was a further conflict with the "Ulysses Awakening" rehearsal.
After tea was the ad hoc Chamber Pot session. This was for string players wanting to play larger works. I managed to play the original Brandenburg 3, and the Elgar serenade, but didn’t have time for more.
August 6- 12 Concerts for this week were -
Saturday – the Benyoune String Quartet
Sunday – Schubert’s die Winterreise with Catherine Edwards, a remarkably fine accompanist. The tenor was
They performed it without an interval, just a short pause in the middle. A fine performance, beautifully executed by both. Full of pathos.
Monday – The Callino Quartet
Tuesday - Cellist Rohan de Saram, 10pm Concert - Arbolito del Querer. Flora de la Musica, Popular Argentina
Wednesday - Dartington Festival Orchestra, a professional group formed especially to accompany the soloists and choirs each week. Sian Edwards Conductor, Emiko Magyar, Viola soloist.
10pm Concert - Cello Ensemble - Adrian Bradbury, Director, Edward Farmer - Conductor
Thursday – The Dartington Summer School String Orchestra. It was such a thrill to play in the Great Hall, and the concert was very well received. The ensemble piece went very well, I wasn’t particularly nervous, but needed a lot of concentration on the time changes, and although slow, all the parts were quite exposed. The cello sounded good in my low notes, which was most of the time. Counting was crucial, but all went well. The soloist was phenomenal.
Friday – The two quartets in residence, the Callino and Benyounes performed the Mendelssohn Octet. I have never heard such a beautiful sound from two quartets together, the ensemble was perfection. The Scherzo and Presto were played very fast and they shimmered. So perfect. The second half was the Mozart Requiem sung by the Summer School Choir with the Dartington Festival Orchestra. I would have loved to have played the Requiem, but the orchestra was put together months before.
The late night event playing in the Tango Ball was a complete mind-change from the earlier events. It was such fun to be part of the Tango orchestra ending the week on a definite high. Carlos from Barcelona and his wife Laura from Argentina really know the idiom and made it easy to follow and play.
The Dartington celebration began on Saturday, July 30 with the first week of Summer School. This was Early Music week with the Rose Consort of Viols in residence. My friend Valerie Hind had joined me and was sharing my old room in the East Wing courtyard. The original large room that I had shared with drama student Vivienne, had been renovated and divided up into two smaller bedrooms, but I still got my window overlooking the courtyard, although now it was part of the en suite bathroom! Apart from that, the building was much the same, although the common room where we used to hang out beside the fireplace on wintery evenings, is now a popular quiet haven for computer users catching up on emails. One of the few areas that had WiFi.
Courtyard residents had all meals in the White Hart dining all, a high-ceilinged room with an enormous medieval fireplace. So many memories of my student life there. Now it’s for grownups, who linger over coffee and a brandy or glass of wine from the White Hart pub next door. The food was excellent, 3 hot meals a day – lots of fresh fruit and local vegetables, and the homemade desserts were to die for, especially my favourite – summer fruits pavlova. There was always pouring cream as well of course, being Devon, and sometimes clotted cream. I managed to stay away from it mostly, but did give in every so often.
Being viol week, the tutors were members of the Rose Consort. I knew Alison Crum of course and Valerie knew most of the players. One player, Sonia, had come over to Chapel Hill some years ago on a work project and had played with us. She is a fine player and we had some good sessions together.
The daily schedule for me consisted of a viol session in the morning. The sessions began with everyone gathering in one of the rooms which used to be part of the Elmhirst home. As students, we were never allowed in that part of the hall except for special concerts or events, so it was a strange feeling to go anywhere we wanted in those rooms. The other part of the house behind the Great Hall is still off limits. It is used by the Dartington Hall Trustees. We were given a tour around that part of the house. It was fascinating to see Dorothy’s and Leonard’s studies where they had meetings and did all their correspondence with secretaries.
The viol tutors would divvy us all up into different size consorts - 4/5/6 part and we would choose music accordingly. Most of the players were very experienced, and the tutors liked to move people around so we wouldn’t be in cliques. We mostly had a different tutor at each session and it was interesting to see the different styles of coaching. Valerie and I managed to be in the same group on several occasions. It was fun to play with her after all these years.
Next in the morning was a Piano Trio session with an excellent pianist, Colin who had been an accompanist at the Purcell School in London. Rick, the violinist in the trio,was a member of the Duke Quartet, an excellent young group in residence for the week. We played through trios by Mendelssohn (the d minor), the Schubert Eb and Bb, and Brahms. On Tuesday when Rick had to perform the evening concert with his quartet, (which was excellent, see below) Colin and I played through the Brahms e minor sonata, and the first movement of the Elgar concert. It was such a joy to play and I was especially glad to hear Colin’s suggestions about the Elgar. When Colin was at the Royal College of Music, he was able to study the original score of the Elgar which had been given to the college after Elgar’s death.
After lunch was my 2nd viol session, similar to the morning session. The time between tea and the first concert was open for ad hoc gatherings, lessons or special programs. Concerts were at 5:15, 7:45 and 10pm. I won't go into depth about each concert as there were so many, if you go on to the performers website or You Tube you will get a flavor of them.
Saturday’s concert was by the Dufay Collective, www.dufay.com, a fun performance by a group of amazing recorder players, archlute, flute, recorder, shawm, bagpipes, dulcian, hurdy gurdy. This was an excellent start to the week.
The Rose Consort’s performance was on Sunday evening and was exquisite. www.roseconsort.co.uk. The program was all Purcell Fantazias. However, not on the Rose’s concert program, but added by some power that be, was an incongruous piece by Harrison Birtwhistle, right in the middle of the program. It thoroughly spoilt the mood of that marvellous atmosphere of the shimmering sound of the viols in the 11th century hall where Purcell has been played for centuries.
Monday’s concert was by Emma Kirkby, soprano and Nicholas Clapton, counter-tenor, accompanied by lute, harpsichord,organ and string quartet. This was the first time I had heard Emma Kirkby sing live and it was exquisite. One just floated away into another realm of beauty.The two voices blended perfectly throughout. The first half of the program featured shorter pieces by Purcell, Henry Lawes, Tarquinio Merula, Mikolaj Zielenski, Barbara Strozzi and Monteverdi. The second half was just one work - Pergolesi's Stabat Mater arranged by JS Bach.
Tuesday’s concert was by the Duke Quartet
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Duke_Quartet. The second violin, Rick, was in my piano trio and good fun to play with. The quartet has been together about 20 years and plays mostly contemporary music. For their concert, they played the Bartok String Quartet #4, the Shostakovich String Quartet #8 and the Faure Piano Quintet with pianist William Howard. After the excitement of the Bartok and Shostakovich, which they played so well, the Faure didn't sit well, although it was well-executed by the quartet and the pianist. The concert would have been fine without it.
Wednesday was a day of 3 concerts.
The first was a brilliant harpsichord concert by Colin Booth, www.colinbooth.co.uk/cb.htm.
The second was by Arcangelo, a vocal ensemble with accompaniments with lute, viol, lirone and keyboards. http://www.arcangelo.org.uk/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=48&Itemid=62
It is a vibrant new group and the first piece, Vanitas Vanitatum by Carissimi was hilarious, even without the program notes
The third, a late night concert was a mostly baroque concert featuring the baroque oboe played by Gail Hennessy, a transplanted American freelancing in London. She makes a glorious sound on the oboe, and with accompaniments by a violin,cello and harpsichord, it was a lovely way to end the day.
Thursday brought us a Baroque dance with a Baroque Orchestra. The orchestra was stunning, amazing intonation from the gut- strung instruments. The dancing was interesting, but didn't make a whole lot of sense without the costumes, it was just modern day people enjoying themselves with the music, which were excerpts from Rameau's Platee, his first attempt at comic opera. It was written for the wedding celebrations of the son of Louis XV and the Infanta Maria Theresa of Spain and was well received at Versailles A few months later Rameau was appointed Composer of the King's Chamber Music.
The evening concert was Early Brass and friends, with singers Emma Kirkby, Anna Sanstrom and Paul Bentley. It was quite a large group with violin, Cornetto, lots of trombones, Dulcian, Chitarone, Lute, organ, Flautini and Trumpets. Entitled "Music for Christian IV, King of Denmark" by Heinrich Schutz and Mattias Weckman. Again, amazing intonation from the band supporting the ethereal singing of the vocalists.
Friday's concert was the big one for Valerie, as she was singing in Handel's oratorio "Israel in Egypt". It was a powerful performance and the director Jonathan Cohen did a superlative job of pulling the different factions together. The Baroque Orchestra again was spot on, and I was riveted throughout.
We celebrated with drinks in the White Hart pub, I particularly enjoyed the noise of people chatting away and the atmosphere, strangely enough, or maybe not so strange. Pubs are one of the things I miss most in the US, the hotel bars just don't have it, and street bars in this university town are mostly student-oriented. It had been a wonderful week, more than I hoped. I did enjoy sharing it with Valerie whose first visit it was to the Summer School, and since I couldn't bear to leave after only one week, I signed up for the 3rd week for cello playing.
Saturday morning, was busy with packing, saying goodbyes and loading up the car. Before we left for the station where Valerie was going to drop me off, we went around some of the garden spots she had not seen. It was so hard to leave!
During the week between the Dartington weeks 1 and 3, I went up to London to stay with my friend Louise and to see "As you like it" at the Globe Theatre. It's always a thrill to see the theatre by the river, one can almost feel the atmosphere around it and along the river, imagining life in Shakespeare's time. After my short London "fix" I took the train to Hereford meandering through the Cotswolds ("Oh to be in England now that Spring is here" blissful) to visit my friend Janet in Presteigne, on the border of England and Wales, a glorious area of green hills and pastures. Janet and I had been students together for a year at Dartington, and have kept up our friendship since then. In the intervening years Janet had kept up with another fellow student, Joanna, an excellent oboist who was living in Ludlow, not far from her. Then one of those events that were meant to be, happened. Janet phoned her to tell her I was visiting, and immediately Joanna put off her plans to leave for London (she teaches there during the week), and invited us for lunch, which turned into an all-afternoon event. Joanna and I were on the Foundation course starting the same year, 1961. I had just arrived from the US and a friend of my mother had looked after me for a few days in London before putting me on the train to Totnes, the station for Dartington. In those days, carriages were reserved for students going to boarding schools, so it was a good way to meet people if one was new and that's how I met Joanna. 50 years later we met again by chance and had a lovely reunion, the three of us. Janet has been marvellous at keeping scrapbooks and photos, and found several of us as students, which I had copied earlier to show to people at Dartington for my second week. We made some extras for Joanna, some of which she had never seen, so she was thrilled with them. We chatted and chatted, then took a break to look around Ludlow for a little while, returning for tea at Joanna's before going back to Presteigne. What a great unexpected reunion it turned out to be!
The following morning was spent packing up and driving to Leomister to catch the train to Totnes, changing at Bristol Temple Meads, arriving there just after 5pm. As before on the train with Joanna, I met several other participants also going to Dartington. Four of us shared a taxi to the Hall and we were on our way.
Dartington Week 3 - Cello and Chamber Music!
This week, for reasons of economy, and also because the Courtyard was fully booked up, I stayed in Higher Close. It too had many memories, as in my second year, when newly built in 1962, my class was the first to live there. I liked the design of the rooms, being higher up and at an angle looking out onto the fields and trees. Sadly the buildings have not worn well in 50 years, being made of concrete. Meals were taken in the Higher Close dining room and although the food was the same as in the White Hart dining room, the atmosphere was distinctly student, no waitresses bringing us coffee to linger over.
This week was for me and the cello. Rhiannon had left the cello for me which was very helpful, as by now I was used to it. It was easy to play and slightly smaller than mine and had a very warm sound, especially in the lower register.
I did not know anyone this week, except a few people I had met in the first week, but everyone was very friendly.
My first session was the String Orchestra conducted by Leo Hussein. We started of with the cello section numbering 23, but after a couple of days some people dropped out, however it remained a very large section in proportion to the upper strings. The program was the Purcell Chacony, Holst’s St Paul’s Suite, and Vaughan Williams’ Fantasia on a theme of Thomas Tallis. Later on in the week, a contemporary piece by the new Artistic Director, John Woolrich, was added for a 9-piece chamber ensemble of which I was chosen to be one of the 2 cellists needed.
Although not a great fan of contemporary music (as noted in week 1) this piece “Ulysses’ Awakening” was loosely based on a Monteverdi opera aria and it was very soft and gentle for the group. However the solo viola part was quite dramatic, and was admirable played by an brilliant Hungarian violist.
My second session was the Cello Ensemble taken by Adrian Bradbury, a very relaxed youngish man. He divided the time up with a cello ensemble and then individual performances with pianist if needed, for critiquing. I played the first movement of the Brahms’ e minor sonata - he suggested for more a Brahmsian sound, I should concentrate on keeping the bow closer to the bridge. Certainly different from the lighter baroque bowing. He included all the class in his suggestions, even getting us to sing our parts in the Bach Air which we later performed outside in the Courtyard. The level of the students was very varied, some very much beginners, others playing Britten and George Crumb. Adrian was good with everyone, and we all supported each other whichever the level.
After lunch there were masterclasses by the well-known cellist Rohan de Saram. 50 years ago, I heard him play the Schumann cello concerto in Plymouth while I was Dartington. He concentrates mostly on contemporary music, so I am not overly enthusiastic about him, but I admire his playing which, at around 75 years or so of age, is still phenomenal. He has enormous hands but his intonation at the top of the cello is immaculate. Originally from Sri Lanka he lives in London. With his Indian background he has developed an amazing drumming technique as well and showed it off in a concert later in the week. However his masterclass technique was not as interesting. I went to the first one, and he spent a very long time with a not very advanced player going over and over a minute technical challenge. When I got asked to play in the Tango band for the Ball at the end of the week, and which conflicted with Rohan’s class, I had no hesitation in switching. Later on, I had to miss a couple of Tango rehearsals as there was a further conflict with the "Ulysses Awakening" rehearsal.
After tea was the ad hoc Chamber Pot session. This was for string players wanting to play larger works. I managed to play the original Brandenburg 3, and the Elgar serenade, but didn’t have time for more.
August 6- 12 Concerts for this week were -
Saturday – the Benyoune String Quartet
Sunday – Schubert’s die Winterreise with Catherine Edwards, a remarkably fine accompanist. The tenor was
They performed it without an interval, just a short pause in the middle. A fine performance, beautifully executed by both. Full of pathos.
Monday – The Callino Quartet
Tuesday - Cellist Rohan de Saram, 10pm Concert - Arbolito del Querer. Flora de la Musica, Popular Argentina
Wednesday - Dartington Festival Orchestra, a professional group formed especially to accompany the soloists and choirs each week. Sian Edwards Conductor, Emiko Magyar, Viola soloist.
10pm Concert - Cello Ensemble - Adrian Bradbury, Director, Edward Farmer - Conductor
Thursday – The Dartington Summer School String Orchestra. It was such a thrill to play in the Great Hall, and the concert was very well received. The ensemble piece went very well, I wasn’t particularly nervous, but needed a lot of concentration on the time changes, and although slow, all the parts were quite exposed. The cello sounded good in my low notes, which was most of the time. Counting was crucial, but all went well. The soloist was phenomenal.
Friday – The two quartets in residence, the Callino and Benyounes performed the Mendelssohn Octet. I have never heard such a beautiful sound from two quartets together, the ensemble was perfection. The Scherzo and Presto were played very fast and they shimmered. So perfect. The second half was the Mozart Requiem sung by the Summer School Choir with the Dartington Festival Orchestra. I would have loved to have played the Requiem, but the orchestra was put together months before.
The late night event playing in the Tango Ball was a complete mind-change from the earlier events. It was such fun to be part of the Tango orchestra ending the week on a definite high. Carlos from Barcelona and his wife Laura from Argentina really know the idiom and made it easy to follow and play.