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George Yefchak, Editor
Please submit all material at least one day prior to distribution date.
If you're reading this here, you've found our new web site: www.redwoodsymphony.org.
Ouch!
--Peter Stahl
On Sunday afternoon, November 3, two dozen members of Redwood Symphony traveled to San Francisco for the final performance of the song cycle NakedMan with the San Francisco Gay Men's Chorus. The occasion was the annual "Day of Remembrance" for victims of AIDS. The venue was the huge, Gothic Grace Cathedral atop Nob Hill, with its hundred-foot ceiling and five-second reverberation period. Panels of the AIDS quilt (including a tribute to tennis star Arthur Ashe) festooned the interior of the sold-out cathedral. The crowd was so large, in fact, that orchestra members sitting the transept before going on stage were evicted and had to stand through the first piece (for chorus and organ).
The performance went very well, despite the unfamiliar acoustics, a sound system glitch, seating that prevented some of us from seeing (much less hearing) each other, and the 60° interior temperature that threatened to play havoc with our intonation. The chorus sang with great energy and emotion, and the orchestra, sensing this, responded in kind, resulting in a very moving performance of a highly-charged work. Special thanks to Nancy Geimer (percussion) and Jim Millar (horn), who filled in admirably for the far-off Eileen Herschberg (Washington) and Rachel Harvey (Japan).
Once again, SFGMC Music Director Dr. Stan Hill was effusive in his praise of Redwood Symphony, both during the pre-concert warm-up and in his remarks to the audience during the concert. This was very gratifying. The Chorus is as dedicated, talented and disciplined a group of musicians as we have ever seen; playing with them is an electrifying experience. Stan said he looks forward to many future collaborations with Redwood Symphony.
So do we.
Piano soloist David Korevaar needs a practice piano for Friday and Saturday, December 6th and 7th. He doesn't require a Steinway Concert Grand or a Bösendorfer Imperial, but he does need at least a baby grand with consistent action, reasonably well tuned. He'll probably need to practice about two or three hours, any time on Friday, and after the rehearsal Saturday. He'll be staying at the Mountain View home of Peter Stahl and Janet Sloan. If you have a decent piano you could make available to Mr. Korevaar, please see Peter (oboe) or Janet (cello).
Treasurer Janet Sloan (cello) has all RWS CDs available for purchase at each rehearsal. They make great Christmas presents!
Prices:
Also, if you incur an expense on behalf of RWS, see Janet for a reimbursement.
In case you don't know, Julian Schafer (cellist) is the guy
who sometimes brings jars of honey to rehearsals. His five
beehives produce more honey than his family and close friends can
reasonably consume. So, while he has managed to interest a few
orchestra members in buying some, his honey inventory is at an
all time high. So…
HONEY FOR SALE
E-mail Julian at JSBeekpr@aol.com or let him know in person, and he'll bring some honey on a Wednesday night.
David Stork (timpani) will be reading from his new book, "HAL's Legacy: 2001's computer as dream and reality" (MIT Press) at Kepler's Books in Menlo Park on Friday, November 22 at 7:30 p.m., and giving a lecture on the material at the Tech Museum of Innovation- on Tuesday December 10th at 7:00 p.m.
Check http://matia.stanford.edu/~stork/HALTalks.html for other information concerning the "birth" of the HAL computer from 2001: A Space Odyssey.
This is a Web version of text from the newsletter "Redwood Symphony Notepad" which is distributed to members of the Redwood Symphony at rehearsals. The newsletter and this online version are edited by George Yefchak.
