Dear MSO Retirees,

Hope all is well with you and your families.  If you see a bright shimmer of light brightening the sky, it might be from the candles on the cakes of our 5 upcoming birthdays.  First though, belated wishes must be extended to Marty Woltman who celebrated his birthday on March 5.  Some folks may be celebrating St. Patrick’s Day on the 17th, but those in the know will be dancing a jig to honor our own Russ Dagon.   Taki-Ki Kim enjoys March 19th and Rick Metzger will be having a most special 80th birthday on March 26th!  Gary Greenhoe and Larry Sorenson share March 29th.  Congratulations and best wishes to all of you!!

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There is a video on youtube of an MSO performance with Andreas Delfs conducting and Lang Lang as soloist.

(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y68il6APziE&feature=share)

Some of you are playing with the orchestra and might enjoy seeing/hearing it.  The program includes music from Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet.  I can’t ever hear Tybalt’s Death without remembering when Dennis Molchan streaked a dress rehearsal with James dePriest on the podium.  For you younger retirees, streaking is “running naked in a public place so as to shock or amuse others.”  For those of you that were not there-

Dennis (second stand of firsts) had called in sick for this rehearsal and was planning to surprise the orchestra.  He and Jim Hatzi, our librarian and Dennis’ cohort in streak, were behind the cello side screen (there were metal screens on each side of the stage before the first Uihlein remodel and it was always very chilly back there).  They were waiting for the Journal photographer that Dennis had told about the event to arrive.  Rehearsal was nearly over and there was still no photographer, so Dennis decided he had to make his run just as we began the sword fight.  While the violins were furiously bowing away, Dennis began his dash across the front of the stage wearing only a black ski mask and screaming the necessary “STREAK.”  It did stop the rehearsal and cause quite a bit of excitement.  Since I was behind the outside row of violins, I didn’t see more than his ski-mask and shoulders, but I was surprised that so many recognized him!  🙂

There is actually a photo of this event.  Woody was sitting in the middle of the loge taking photos of the orchestra with his camera on a tripod.  He didn’t see Dennis run out, but heard the commotion from the musicians and snapped the shutter.  What he got was a blurry body with a black head and some unusual looks on the musicians’ faces.  We gave a copy of this “milestone” in our history to management and who knows what happened to it.  If Woody can locate the image when we get back to Guilford, I’ll try and print it here for you, not so much for Dennis, but to see so many of our former colleagues.  Ah, the good old days.

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There is also another post on youtube that might be of interest.  Comments from the new Music Director, Kenneth David-Masur, with a bit of Stravinsky’s Firebird.   https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MY8dQjcFDnU

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Linda Siegel and Joe Conti attended the “Students of Vic Firth Reunion” in Las Vegas last summer.

Firth was the principal timpanist of the Boston Symphony Orchestra from 1956 to 2002 and taught at the New England Conservatory. He was the orchestra’s youngest member when music director Charles Munch hired him as a percussionist in 1952.  He founded the Vic Firth Company in 1963.   The company bills itself as the world’s largest manufacturer of drum sticks and mallets and in 2012 they made 12 million sticks!!! (from Wikipedia)

Here are Linda and Joe with Paul Berns (Principal Percussion Indianapolis), George Durkin (Principal Percussion Los Vegas Phil and lots of Vegas work), Marc Parmet (Senior Director, ERP & PMO at Scientific Games Corporation), and Bill Wiley (Percussion and Arranger in Honolulu).

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Norma Zehner and Larry Sorenson attended a performance of the ensemble Steeplechasers at the Whitefish Bay United Methodist Church.  Here they are with Jenny Snyder Kozoroz (Laura and Fred Snyder’s daughter) who performed with the group and MSO violist Helen Reich.

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Best buds John Lounsbery and Bill Barnewitz got together in Santa Rosa, CA.

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Bonnie Peterson had knee replacement surgery and we hear that she is well on her way to a speedy recovery.

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Andy Wagoner and Roger Ruggeri spent the month of January on Sanibel Island and enjoyed Jonathan Biss, Peter Serkin, and the Dover String Quartet at the Island’s wonderful Big Arts Series.

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Sara and Dale Harmelink had a visitor during their three month stay in Florida.  Here is newest grandchild, Crue, with his proud grandparents.

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A note from Steve Basson-

Had a visit East which started with a couple of days in Boston.  Linda Toote was already down South with the Pops, but we spent a couple of days with Mark McEwen.  They are in great shape and Mark treated us to a Boston Symphony evening which included a truly superb performance of the Szymanovski Violin Concerto #1 (much less often done, I think, than #2) by Lisa Batiashvili.  Those guys put 90 players on the stage when called for and it DOES make a difference. And here, not intending to frighten anyone, is my first ever “selfie” …looks not so winning.

Steve later wrote-  Considering how flattering it is, it may be my last.  

Linda Toote was our Principal Flutist after Janet Millard.  Her husband, Mark, won an Oboe position with the Boston Symphony, so they left Milwaukee- and soon afterward had twins!

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And from a Facebook post by David Taggart-

With Spring almost upon us, God willing, here’s a look back at Team Chemo-Sabe’s original appearance, and proof of how we’ve grown, with a look at our 2018 team. You can help us make an impact on the fight against blood cancers again this year, by donating through this link: https://events.lls.org/pages/wi/2019scenicshore150/DTaggart

You may recognize the third member of David and Terry’s original team is Judy Ormond.  David’s individual goal this year is to raise $8,000 and I hope you will consider giving to this important cause.

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Speaking of Judy Ormond, she sent the following regarding the cartoon with the musicians missing at a performance due to bad weather-

I noticed the funny cartoon you posted at the end of February’s update.  I could tell you a real life situation like that with the Cleveland Orchestra oboists.   It was during an east coast tour.  They were scheduled to play two concerts in Washington DC.  After the first one, a friend living in a Virginia suburb of DC gave a party for the Cleveland Orchestra musicians.  Since this friend was an oboist, the oboists all stayed overnight at his house.   The next morning there was about 4 feet of snow.  The group tried everything including hiring a helicopter.  (The helicopter pilot couldn’t see the red blanket we put down at the cul-de-sac so he never made it.) The orchestra was supposed to play Mahler but apparently they changed to a more classical program since they were missing all but one oboist.
One of those things.

You may recall that Judy’s father, Edward Ormond, played viola in the Cleveland Orchestra for thirty-eight years.

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I asked Linda Unkefer, retired MSO Personnel Manager, to give us an update on her recent adventure.  She writes-

“As most of you know by now, last summer the musicians of the MSO gave to me a retirement gift which could not have been more appropriate or appreciated. And as I learned later, Bill Barnewitz had a hand in steering them in the right direction! In February I attended the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show in NYC. It was a thrill of a lifetime. 

We arrived in NY three days early so that we could see the agility show on Saturday. If you are so inclined, I encourage you to get online to watch it; some of the dogs are so fast and exciting! We loved it. On Sunday we did sightseeing which included starting out at St. Patrick’s. Cardinal Dolan said Mass (how lucky can you get?) and the organist pulled out all the stops (that was for you, Les).

On Monday and Tuesday, the preliminaries, as I call them, were held in the daytime at Piers 92/94 with the semis and finals held in the evenings at Madison Square Garden. I can’t tell you how thrilling it was to walk up the ramp and into the Garden. After watching it on TV for years, the colors, sounds and sights were overwhelming. We had fun!

The sporting breed is my favorite and the crowd favorites were the Sussex Spaniel and the dachshund from the hound group. I guess you might say it was a typical NY crowd because they didn’t hide their displeasure when the Terrior won Best in Show. And perhaps you read about the controversy over the dog who was dismissed from the ring during BIS round, because the judge somehow had a connection to him. More booing!

Who knew?!

Nonetheless, the whole experience was a memory for a lifetime, as I told the orchestra, mostly because of their thoughtfulness. I am so glad to have the opportunity to share this story with you dear ones, too!

Linda made a one minute video of her visit, but this version of WordPress doesn’t support video.  I’ll try to send it another way.

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I am sorry for the delay in getting Mike Schmitz’s address to you in a timely manner.  Please contact Mike at  <mjschmitz1@aol.com>

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Another apology must go to Wilanna and Les Kalkhof.  They sent their end of year update the old fashioned USPS way and I left it in Vermont.  Finally retrieved by email, here is their note-

Tasha (now Dr. Kalkhof) headlines again this year.  She is now a Vet In Practice at the Companion Animal Hospital in Kenosha, Wisconsin, and living, happily for us, only a 55 to 75 minute drive (depending on the route) from our house in Whitefish Bay.  We now get to see her much more frequently than we did when she was practicing at the clinic in Lexington, Kentucky.

Eric and Holly are doing well, and still living in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.  Braelyn, age 5 is in kindergarten and learning to read.  Lincoln, age 3, just had a birthday where he received Lincoln Logs from his Kalkhof grandparents and every conceivable kind of toy earth moving equipment from everybody else. We sense a subdivision of log homes will be built in Eden Prairie in the near future.  Both kids are high spirited and keep their parents (and grandparents) on their toes.

Les is enjoying retirement quite a lot.  Photography (both digital and film) occupies much of his free time now.  When the light is good, he takes advantage of it, sometimes driving to distant locations, and sometimes shooting closer to home.  He enjoys his darkrooms, both chemical and digital.  Clicking the shutter, after all is only half of the fun. He is also playing his mother’s viola periodically for mental exercise.  (He never really became fluent in alto clef). Insert viola joke, here.

Wilanna is busy in retirement, serving on the Bay Shore Lutheran Church Council, singing in the choir, and as a soloist, subbing for the church pianist when needed, participating in two book clubs, and spending time daily on the internet doing her part to keep her social circle together and running smoothly.

Les and Wilanna added Rocky Mountain National Park to their “visited parks” collection in September, and on the same trip spent a few very enjoyable days visiting friend and colleague Danis Kelly in Santa Fe.

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That is it for now.  Best wishes to you all for a Happy St. Patrick’s Day, April Fools Day, and Easter.  Will be back near the end of April.  Don’t forget to share your news with us.

Take care,

Andrea

 

 

 

 

Dear MSO Retirees,

Hope you all survived January’s temperature extremes.  Even in Kauai we had our share of cold weather and blustery winds, but this was nothing compared to Wisconsin’s -0 temperatures and heavy snows.   The MSO even canceled several services, so you know it was cold!  And now there is Punxsutawney Phil’s prediction of six more weeks of winter and groundhogs are never, ever wrong.  Right?

Three people will be celebrating birthdays’ this month.  February 6th is Phil Grossman’s day of birth, with Don Haack on the 15th, and Bailey Gartner on February 22nd.  Best wishes to all three for a wonderful day.  It has been a while since we’ve heard news from these friends and I hope they will take a moment to let us know what has been happening in their lives.

The cold weather must have kept you off the internet because I could find very little information about our colleagues, but here is what I can share…

Dennis Najoom’s daughter in a member of the Sapphire Woodwind Quintet which is based in the Chicago area.  Anna also teaches clarinet at the Merit School of Music, Maine South High School, District 64 in Park Ridge, and in Wilmette and Kenilworth, Illinois.

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John Lounsbery and his quintet did a benefit concert for the Occidental Center for the Arts in January.

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Bill Barnewitz posted a 60th birthday celebration photo (December 23) and one taken a few years earlier.  No explanation was given for the golden duck.

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One of the delights of living in Kauai is being able to get the New York Times Crossword puzzle many hours before the mainland.  The Sunday arrives at 2PM on Saturday!  On January 24th I thought our own Steve Basson “made it” to the NY Times daily puzzle.  The clue was “Instrument that opens Stravinsky’s Rite of Spring.”  Aha!  I know this!  So I pencil in B A S S O O…but there is no space for the final leter.  Can it be that Will Shortz knows how beautifully Steve played it every time it was performed?  Alas, it is the Thursday puzzle- the one with the unusual clues, and this week’s “unusualness” is double oo’s in one box.  Damn.  Shortz’s loss.

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I type this while sitting at the Wellington Hotel in New York.  The MSO’s  “home” when we played Carnegie Hall every year, then leaving it for the Central Park Hotel across the Avenue when we started going every two years and then once in a while.  It still has its old world charm, but the bathrooms have been modernized and it is very, very clean.

The Carnegie Deli still exists as an empty store front.  I read that in December they reopened it for a week so that a scene for “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” could be filmed there.  There was a sign-up for folks who wanted to be customers and the prices at the deli were the same as those years when the show takes place- the late 1950’s.  You know they didn’t have trouble getting volunteers for that event.

It always brings a bit of sadness when we walk be the old Patelson’s building.  It was such a remarkable institution, whether you were seeking an interesting work to study or hoping to catch a famous artist in pursuit of the same.  Two years ago the Patelson building was demolished and now there is a fifteen story hotel, the Carnegie Hotel, that occupies it space.

We are here for two days to hear Leon Fleisher’s 90th Birthday Celebration concert and a recital with Leonidas Kavakos and Yuja Wang at Carnegie Hall.  Leon visits Marlboro each summer and Woody has become a “groupy,” helping him with music/transportation/whatever in return for picking Leon’s brain for all things music and piano.  Other guests on the program included Jonathan Biss, Yefim Bronfman, and the Dover String Quartet.  I was surprised to see that the first violinist of the quartet plays a beautiful 1857 Villaume violin on loan to him from Desiree Ruhstrat!  Remember Desiree?  She was our soloist on one of our tours when she was twelve years old with Lukas conducting.  Desiree now teaches at Northwestern and is a member of the Lincoln String Trio.  She wasn’t using this violin because it wasn’t a good match for the trio (her husband is the cellist) and when she learned that Joel Link, the Dover’s first violinist, was looking for a new instrument she offered it to him.  The music business is such a small world- and I am feeling very old.

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Well, just as February is the shortest month, this is probably the shortest newsletter.  I wish you and your loved ones a wonderful Valentine’s Day and hope that you will share your news with us for next month’s mailing.

Best wishes,

Andrea