Seneca Park Zoo

I find zoos in general both fascinating and depressing. I grew up visiting the National Zoo with my parents, but don't have much memory of it (other than my little brother coming to the realization that "I not a baboon," my mother's pet name for him till then), and the recent allegations of mismanagement there are extremely unsettling.  In all the years I lived in the New York City tri-state area, I only visited the Central Park Zoo once, and I never made it to the Bronx Zoo.  But I've been to the Seneca Park Zoo three times already, and we have become members.

My first exposure to Rochester's zoo was in June at their annual Zoobilation party.  It thunderstormed most of the evening, but the zookeepers made sure the animals were outside, for our enjoyment.  Because of the rain, we were able to get quite close to the lions. They took refuge on their side of the double-decker bus while we watched from inside (safe and dry) only several feet away.  They clearly knew we were there, though!

The second time I visited was for the summer Rochester Garden Club Flower show, and I was enthralled by the elephants, and how they responded to their trainers:  http://youtu.be/Yev5TJTGpzg.  The polar bear was unhappy with the heat, but most of the other animals seemed to be coping.  The monkeys watched us watching them and I couldn't help anthropomorphizing and wondering if they were bored, or happy or angry at their captivity.  I could have stood and watched them and the incredibly beautiful wolves for hours.

The zoo is not a place you normally think to visit in winter, but I was curious to see the polar bears in weather more hospitable to them.  The zoo was rather desolate.  There were very few visitors, and many of the animals were inside or elsewhere (they ship the alligators to Florida for the winter), which added to my sense of gloom at these animals being locked up in small enclosures.  I know that zoos have an educational benefit, and that some of these animals have a longer life than they might statistically in the wild, where they would be part of a larger food chain, or in danger of being hunted.  But it's still sad to watch the wolves just circling in their tiny pen, or to see the elephants ambling in their limited space (although I was intrigued as I watched one elephant meticulously mold snowball after snowball with its trunk and then eat them!).  The baboons were also out in the snow, searching for buried food.

You can only see one polar bear at a time, although the zoo has a male and a female.  Apparently, the female might be pregnant, and it stresses her out too much to be in close proximity to the male (in the wild, the female would leave the male to build her den (his role is over) and she would remain protective of her cubs - yes, polar bears are known to be occasionally cannibalistic in the wild). The zoo's polar bears seem quite old - they are both almost 25 (the average 'in the wild' lifespan is estimated at 15-18 years, but in captivity, they can live into their 30s), and the one I saw definitely had a wattle!  It lolled in the snow, licking its paws, occasionally lifting its head in the direction of the scent of a passerby.  http://youtu.be/SHiagbuaa0c

Without a fence it would have been so tempting
to reach out and pet the wolves!

Rochester's zoo is obviously space-constrained, sitting as it does on a narrow piece of property between Seneca Park (and the Genesee River) and a residential neighborhood.  But it would be nice if there were a petting zoo for young children.  It would also be interesting if the zoo had 'nanny cams' in strategic 'out-of-sight' locations, so that if animals weren't in view at the moment, you might be able to watch them behind the scenes, on your smart-phone or tablet (or on a display in the canteen).

Although I am conflicted about confining animals in zoos, I guess that if they had the kind of space I imagine they would like, to have a fuller life behind bars (again with the anthropomorphizing), then they would rarely be visible to visitors, which would defeat the purpose. And if they spark an interest in the upcoming generation to save the environment for these wonderful creatures, then these emissaries will have made the sacrifice for the greater good of their species.

Rochester Museum & Science Center

Until now, the only reason I’d been to the Rochester Museum & Science Center was for the holiday bazaar arts & crafts sale.  I decided it was time to visit the museum for its own sake, and pay attention to the exhibits, rather than being on a shopping mission.  I met my friend Gwen there at 10:30, expecting to cruise through the museum in time for an early lunch.  You know what they say about best-laid plans…  This combination natural history and science museum has quite a lot to take in, from the obligatory dioramas of current and historical animals to the interactive exhibits that are mostly geared to kids, but which we also enjoyed.  

The first one we encountered was an introduction to robotics, and we spent nearly 15 minutes there trying to master the machine (I gave up easily, but Gwen persisted, and finally succeeded in grasping a pyramid – forget about the goal of stacking the objects!).  I also convinced her to have a go at the climbing wall, which was much harder than it looked…

There were lots of school groups in the museum – the perfect place to kill time on the last day before Christmas break.  They were all different ages, and they all seemed to be enjoying the experience (or just being out of class?).  We pretty much had the exhibit on Rochester’s Underground Railroad to ourselves, as well as the vast collection of Indian artifacts.  We played with the hands-on (and in one case, legs-on) exhibits demonstrating the generation of electricity, and tried to figure out one light-based exhibit that made absolutely no sense to us – we must have been too old to understand the instructions!  

I got some weight-bearing exercise on one of the pulleys, and climbed through some sort of maze in the Adventure-Zone that I thought at one point I might need to be rescued from.

Since it was already 1:00 and we were hungry, we didn’t have time to take in the Strasenburgh Planetarium as well, so I’ll have to go back at some point over the holidays, because I’ve always wanted to see some of the movies they show there, and both of the current advertised films sound interesting: Grand Canyon and Coral Reef (although frustratingly, the latter movie has no scheduled shows???).

(But how can this be, if the earth is no more than 10,000 years old?!?!?!)

Mammogram Mill

When I lived in New Jersey, a radiology appointment at my medical center (whether for an x-ray of a possibly broken bone or a mammogram) was always kept, +/- 5 minutes, and I never had to wait for results, or return for a re-scan.  So it came as a shock to me last year when I went to the Elizabeth Wende Breast Care (EWBC) center for my annual mammogram that dozens of women seem to have an appointment for the exact same time, and when you check in, you are given two options:  spend about 90 minutes, assuming you wait for your results in case you need a re-scan; or leave (after spending about an hour just for the exam) at your own peril, because if you have to be called back for a re-scan, they threaten you with a 3+ hour wait!  Most people just stay.  In fact, women actually plan ‘mammogram parties’; they deliberately schedule their exams at the same time so they can hang out (in ill-fitting hospital gowns) for a couple of hours together.  The waiting game is such big business at the center that you can also book a massage or peruse a selection of jewelry for sale.

Last year, I also chose to wait and I’m glad I did.  When they called my name, it was from the ‘wrong’ door (not the one where you’re given the all-clear). I needed a follow-up digital scan because they had ‘seen’ something.  I foolishly asked what the second scan would cost, and that generated an additional 45-minute wait because of course there is no single answer to that question – it depends on who your insurance company is and what the negotiated rate is and whether you’ve met your deductible and whether the insurance company even covers a second scan.  An administrator delivered this news to me, along with an off-hand but frightening comment that the radiologists wouldn’t have recommended another scan if they hadn’t seen something “bad.”  Back into the sea of gowns I went for another half hour, between waiting for the second scan and then the results, that felt like longer, as I contemplated my fate.  It turned out that there wasn’t anything wrong, which came as a relief when they called me to the ‘right’ door. 

So this year, I went armed with a stack of magazines to catch up on.  I did not do as they recommend and stop caffeine two weeks before my appointment.  The reason for their recommendation relates to comfort during the exam, rather than anything medical or the clarity of the scan.  Seriously, endure two weeks without coffee/tea/chocolate/Coke, but with headaches and irritability?  It didn’t seem like a rational tradeoff for a bit less discomfort for a couple of minutes (and let’s face it, no way would stopping caffeine make it actually comfortable!).  There were about 20 women in the lounge (it’s hard to call it just a ‘waiting room’ when there’s a fireplace, an enormous fish tank, and a flat-screen TV) but this year I hardly made a dent in my reading.  I endured only a brief wait for the scan itself, and I was summoned to the ‘right’ door less than an hour after I initially checked in.

Apparently, how long you wait is really a crapshoot.  My friend Linda related that she had recently spent about 3 hours at the center (no re-scanning involved), and that it was difficult for her even to find a seat when she arrived. I’m guessing that EWBC overbooks, just as the airlines and hotels do, assuming some people will cancel or forget.  But in their case, if everyone shows up, there’s no need to bump or reimburse anyone for the delay.  And maybe they even get more massage bookings that way. 

Gallery Dances at NU MVMNT - "Waiting Scales" Part II

When you think of 'dance' in Rochester, the Rochester City Ballet and Garth Fagan Dance come immediately to mind.  Or Nazareth College, with its wide offering of dance programs throughout the year.  Little did I know there's an entire subculture of dance performing in small spaces under the radar, one that you probably only know about if you know one of the dancers or choreographers or the owner of the space.  This weekend, the Rochester Dance Project presented Gallery Dances at  NU MVMNT, which functions as an art gallery as well as a dance/pilates/yoga studio.  But don't look for the performance on either website - it seemed to be word of mouth/Facebook only!

Dancers Kathy Diehl, Kaitley Wozer, and Lauren Kush
with Nadine Sherman on cello

Colleen had originally scheduled a different dance to perform in the Gallery Dances, but decided the floor there was too hard, so substituted our collaborative “Waiting Scales” instead.  Even though the snow was ceaseless and the roads icy, there was a standing room crowd at the gallery/studio (mostly 'friends of,' I suspect).  Eastman student Nadine Sherman, who could easily have been mistaken for a dancer, performed two pieces beautifully on cello.

I recognized one of the dancers, the graceful Kathy Diehl, from the Bill Evans Dance performance at the Fringe Festival.   She is also the founder of the Rochester Dance Project, and choreographed and performed in three of the seven pieces on the program.  One, titled “Unravel,” took me by surprise when the music started – it was familiar, but I couldn’t quite place it.  Only when the vocals began did I realize it was Pergolesi’s Stabat Mater, a piece that my choral group, Concentus, performed last spring!  Here’s just a snippet:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vVKo6CzYnqI&feature=youtu.be

Colleen Culley

I was so proud as I watched Colleen perform “Waiting Scales.”  She had turned it into a cohesive dance, not just a sum of various movements, and she didn’t seem as nervous as she was in Brockport.  She hit all the musical phrasings we had rehearsed, but without seeming to mark the time, and she progressed through the “waiting” emotions as effortlessly as she progressed through the Laban scales. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3tY6L4Ou6fk&feature=youtu.be

It was too bad that the performance space was a bit dark – the illumination was meant for paintings, not people.  And I was sorry that the snow prevented Colleen’s parents from attending, because I know they would have enjoyed seeing this iteration.  Who knows, maybe someday there will be a third...

Garth Fagan Dance

It’s always a joy to watch Garth Fagan Dance (GFD), and this year I had the treat of introducing two of my neighbors, Molly and Kathy, and their young daughters, and Molly’s mom, to the Company.  They were all aware of the musical The Lion King, but it wasn’t on their radar that the choreographer, Garth Fagan, lives and works right here in Rochester.  And they’d never seen the Company dance.

The first time I saw GFD, at Nazareth College two years ago, I attended a matinee, and I found the performance by the Garth Fagan Dance School Ensemble especially moving.  It’s so important to get our city’s youth engaged in the arts, not just for their own sake, but as a potential alternative to other more destructive activities.  Last year, in addition to attending the opening night performance and a matinee (and journeying to Brooklyn for the premiere of Fagan’s “Lighthouse/Lighting Rod,” with incredible live music by Wynton Marsalis), I also had the opportunity to watch a daytime performance for several classes of lower school children (part of GFD’s community outreach program).

This 43^rd “season” (and they call it their “Home Season” because oddly, GFD only performs one week a year in its hometown – it considers itself to be more of a traveling company, even though national and worldwide bookings have been scarcer in recent years) offered two new works, “No Evidence of Failure,” by Garth Fagan, and “Gin,” by his protégée, Norwood (P.J.) Pennewell.  We went to the Sunday matinee, which also included two older dances, and a piece choreographed by Bill Ferguson for an ensemble of 20+ members of the Dance School.  It was so inspiring to watch the kids perform, and to see them executing some of Garth’s signature moves so well at such young ages (particularly a very young boy who had some wonderful solos that elicited cheers).  The small but enthusiastic audience roared at their curtain call, and the applause volume just escalated from there, with hoots and screams for the soloists in the two new dances – responses you normally associate with rock stars or sports teams. 

The first piece on the program was “Discipline is Freedom,” one of my favorites. I love the music, and the feeling of watching a warmup that evolves into an ensemble dance.  It introduces all of the signature moves of the Fagan Technique – the fluidity alternating with very controlled angular movement, the athleticism, the deer-like leaps, the arms that fly so fast they become a blur.  And it is particularly suited to the matinee performances, whose audiences include children (and adults) who may be unfamiliar with the Company. “No Evidence of Failure,” a duet for the incredible Natalie Rogers and Vitolio Jeune, was lovely and romantic.  “Gin” alternated ensemble with solos, and while Pennewell’s choreography draws on Fagan’s vocabulary, he definitely infuses it with his own accent.

My companions and I thoroughly enjoyed the afternoon (and one of the young girls found herself moved to dance during intermission – who knows, maybe she’ll take classes at some point?), and we got to chat a bit with Garth and P.J. and others from the Company on our way out.  The girls were impressed and excited that they could get so ‘up close and personal’ with the people they’d just seen perform, and it’s a wonderful gift that the dancers give the audience, when they could be relaxing backstage or on their way home instead.

If you missed seeing Garth Fagan Dance this past week, unless they open their doors again for the Fringe Festival, you probably won’t get the chance to see them perform until this time next year. And I think that’s a shame, for both them and Rochester.

Tiny Dance at Brockport – “Waiting Scales”

My friend Colleen, who is getting her MFA at SUNY Brockport, graciously offered to let me collaborate with her on developing a dance (since when I first met her, I told her about an idea for a ballet, which we still might pursue someday…).  “Waiting Scales” started with a piece of music by Debussy:  “Feux d’artifice,” from Préludes Book II.  To me, some music, such as this composition, just itches to be danced to (although not by me!).  Colleen was open to having a ‘plot,’ rather than choreographing something purely abstract, and a small sculpture, called “Watching and Waiting” (by Patrick Farrow), provided the inspiration:  expressing through dance the different emotions one experiences – anticipation, worry, anger – while waiting for someone who is late.  In choreographing this piece for her Tiny Dance project, she drew on her training in Laban Movement Analysis to explore different Laban scales and match them to the development of the scene.

Although she has credited me as co-choreographer, I really felt more like a co-writer/director – suggesting various broad gestures, a few props, some of the transitions.  My contribution to the actual dance part was limited to suggestions like, ‘can you do a twirly thing here?’ and ‘how about leaning, like in the West Side Story dance at the gym?’  But it was great fun meeting with her to flesh out the piece, and to watch it evolve from concept to reality.  It is only 3’20” but it feels like forever when you are trying to figure out how to move through the space, and especially how to marry the movement to the music and the mood, and to convey the emotion without being too literal or devolving into a pantomime instead of dance.  It was exciting to watch her perform it for real, for people other than me, and to get feedback for improving it (as if it would ever be performed again!).

Hers was one of 11 pieces presented by NDEO Brockport at their 4^th Annual Tiny Dance Concert at A Different Path Gallery in Brockport.  Each dance was limited to a 6’x6’ space in the gallery, and the audience sat or stood right at the edge of the taped outlines.  There was a mix of ballet and modern dance, and it was clear how much effort and talent went into creating and performing these tiny (in space AND time) dances.  The finale was a strange but extremely creative piece called “Glassy Ladies,” set to Bob Seger’s “Night Moves,” in which three attractive young women forcefully mashed small hand-held windows onto their faces, alternately distorting their noses, cheeks, chins, eyes.  When they sang the final refrain of the piece along with Seger, they sounded like the monster in Young Frankenstein, which complemented the grotesque faces we were seeing through the windows.

One of the things that struck me is how difficult it must be to study dance.  If you are studying acting, there are libraries full of plays to perform – you don’t need to create your own script each time you perform.  Similarly, if you are studying an instrument, you don’t need to compose a new sonata or symphony for each concert.  But with dance, although there are sets of ballet moves or other movement building blocks (e.g., the Laban scales), there isn’t a trove of choreographed dances just waiting to be performed.  So each of these student performances involves not just performing, or interpreting, but also creating.  Talk about grace under pressure!

Geva Theater's "A Christmas Carol"

Does anyone ever actually read Dickens’ novella A Christmas Carol (I know I haven’t…), or do we mostly know the story from various TV and theatre adaptations?  I had never seen a live production before seeing Geva’s; my first introduction to the story, and still my all-time favorite TV version, is Mister Magoo’s Christmas Carol (with all those wonderful Broadway-feeling songs, and Tiny Tim’s “razzleberry dressing”). 

Guy Paul holding Megan Mueller

Geva’s show, of course, doesn’t omit the characters of Scrooge’s sister or nephew in order to fit into a one-hour time slot, so it’s a much fuller and truer adaptation.  This is the fourth year of Geva’s third version of the show, and this one includes material written by director Mark Cuddy to help “fill in the blanks” from the novella’s dialogue.  Greg Coffin’s music and lyrics fit the atmosphere perfectly, and were wonderfully sung by the cast, which consisted of seven equity actors supplemented by an ensemble of local non-equity adults (four from All Your Questions Answered) and children (it is always so heartwarming to watch talented kids on stage!).  Scrooge is played by the talented Guy Paul (whom I recognized from seeing him on Broadway in 1776, Tenderloin, The King and I, and Twelve Angry Men).

The children in the audience ate up the special effects, including the Ghost of Christmas Past, who is suspended over the stage during her entire performance, and one particularly cool moment that I won’t give away, but I would love to know what material Scrooge’s door is made from!  And it was great to see children in the audience, and to hear their excited reactions.  At the prologue talk, Mark explained that A Christmas Carol is “often the first time someone sees live performance theatre” and the theatre “want to put its best foot forward.”  It’s a fast-paced production, enhanced by video projection to help set the moods of different scenes.  In keeping with the story’s subtitle, “a Ghost Story of Christmas,” and especially to play to the children in the audience, Mark gives us some nice scary moments, both on and off-stage. 

It was a delightful performance, and I can see why it’s an annual favorite, just like The Nutcracker ballet. It runs through December 28, so there’s still time to catch the show and get in the holiday spirit!

http://www.gevatheatre.org/shows/a-christmas-carol/

Geva Theatre Hornet’s Nest: Gidion’s Knot

First, what’s the “Hornet’s Nest”?  According to Geva, it’s a “series of script-in-hand readings with professional actors and directors … with plays investigating the most difficult and controversial questions of today…. Since its inception in 2007, the Hornets’ Nest series of readings has become nationally recognized and lauded as one of the most innovative theatrical initiatives in the country.”  What a great concept!

My friend Linda and I attended the first Hornet’s Nest play of the season:  Gidion’s Knot, by Johnna Adams, directed by Amanda Friou.  According to Geva’s website, the play “takes place during a deceptively simple parent teacher conference, when a single mother questions her son’s fifth grade teacher about her child’s suspension.”  The show explores the issue of “who is responsible for children in our society,” “the roles of teachers and the education system in the social development of children,” and how “we accommodate freedom of speech for children.” What isn’t clear at the outset of the play is a) why the child was suspended just days ago, or b) that in the meantime he has committed suicide.

The play was extremely well-attended, and was wonderfully read by Brigitt Markusfeld (the mother) and Melissa Rain Anderson (the teacher) – the emotion they felt and conveyed was practically performance-ready.  The script was suspenseful and disturbing, relentless and exhausting, but with just enough humorous moments to periodically relieve the tension.  The title is a play on the legendary Gordian Knot, which actually figures as a not-so-subtle metaphor in the play.  Just as the teacher had not asked her students to decide how to solve the knotty problem in their school project (one of which is ‘displayed’ on a wall), Ms. Adams has decided not to solve the central question of who’s to blame for Gidion’s behavior. Gidion, at least, has made a decision: his outside-the box solution to his problems is to kill himself.  In the pie chart of blame, there are plenty of slices vying for their share – the teacher, the mother, the education system in general, society, and maybe even the child himself.

Post-performance, the audience was invited to shout out issues the play evoked, and then Skip Greer, Geva’s Director of Education, moderated a discussion with three people from the education community (a school psychologist, a fifth grade teacher, and a retired teacher).  It felt a little bit like a book club meeting, without most of us having to prepare.  It was certainly thought-provoking, but it didn’t shed any light on how to solve or prevent similar problems in the real world, and I left feeling a little more troubled (because bullying and violence and inappropriate behavior seem to have become more prevalent in schools) and a lot more powerless to help effect any positive change.

Several of the educators on stage and in the audience questioned the premise of a child being suspended with no warning or interim psychological intervention, and it seemed as if the playwright took significant dramatic license in order to make her point.  However, in the New York Times the following day (12/3/13) there was a lengthy article about the large percentage of school suspensions in Broward County, Florida, and perhaps Ms. Adams’ premise isn’t actually too far from the reality of the ‘zero tolerance’ policies in place in many school districts.

Although I wouldn’t want to see this play again, even in a professional production (once was enough!), Ms. Adams definitely has an ear for dialogue, and I hope she writes something suitable for a larger audience that we can someday see during Geva’s regular season.

Thanksgiving with Indians

Thanksgiving is my favorite holiday. Partly because it has no religious or political connection, as virtually all the other federal holidays do (and really, do we need two holidays devoted to war?  Couldn’t we honor all veterans, dead and alive, on Memorial Day, and switch the early November holiday to be, say, the Tuesday after the first Monday?).  But mostly because it is a time for family and food, and doesn’t involve the pressure of presents. 

Until I married, I returned home for every Thanksgiving, and it was somewhat traumatic the first time I accompanied Charlie to Rochester for the holiday.  In my parents’ house, preparation began the night before, after our traditional meal at House of Fortune (so there would be no dishes to wash), when my mother enlisted us to ‘pluck the bread’ for stuffing.  She would then rise around 4:30am to put the turkey in the oven for a mid-afternoon meal (which always seemed silly, since you still have to eat lunch..).  At Charlie’s house, there was a distinct lack of preparation.  Even on the morning of Thanksgiving, I kept asking when they were going to start cooking things other than the onion casserole.  Little did I know that their family tradition was to order almost the entire meal from the country club!  Seemed a little like cheating to me…

This year, in addition to Charlie’s family, we were joined by two RIT graduate students from India.  My friend Luci, who works at the U of R (and who took in three students from that school), hooked us up to ‘adopt’ students, who aren’t able to go home over the short break, for dinner. Charlie picked up Manish and Narendra around 4:30, and his sister and her dog arrived shortly afterward.  His nephew Yair and his family were a bit late, and unfortunately, because Charlie had talked me out of stuffing the bird (we didn’t want to give our guests food poisoning…), it was ready way too early.  So Manish and Narendra got a good look at what Thanksgiving has always been like in my family – a bit unpredictable, with lots of bustling around in the kitchen (although luckily no cursing this year!).

I was worried that our cuisine would be too bland for their palates, especially when said that they try to cook their own food at school when possible, and that they weren’t impressed with any of the Rochester’s Indian restaurants they’ve been to so far.  I was also worried that our dog would misbehave and bite one of them, since they weren’t that comfortable around a large dog, and our dog can be a little twitchy.  However, neither fear was realized;  Todd didn’t eat either of our guests, and they seemed to enjoy our food (or they’re really good actors!). They also graciously put up with all of our questions about their backgrounds and families and goals and cultural differences and how they liked the snow.  Both are in graduate school – Narendra is studying electrical engineering, and Manish computer science.  When I asked if he could fix the healthcare.gov website, Manish laughed and said probably, but that the government wouldn’t hire him because he’s not a citizen. Narendra was great with little Fiona, taking her on his lap and letting her play with his iphone. 

After we’d all eaten more than we thought we could, and discussing the problems of the world, it was time for Charlie to take our guests home.  It felt good to be sharing our home and holiday with Manish and Narendra, and who knows, maybe this is the start of a new Rochester tradition for us!

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra – Part II – The Concert

(The Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, in Punta Gorda, Florida, is conducted by Rochester native Raffaele Ponti)

For the first time ever, I attended a pre-concert talk (note to self – must do this more often).  It was extremely well attended – the hall must have been at least 1/3 full. Maestro Raffaele Ponti first explained that since the orchestra only presents 5 concerts per year, and the Board has dispensed with the purely pops concert, he will incorporate pops pieces into the regular programs, so that each concert will have “something fun, something traditional, and something different.”  He will mix the classics and pops with new works, to introduce the audience to what he hopes will become “new favorites.”  He explained his expectations: for the orchestra – to become one of the finest in the region; for the audience – to be part of the journey, and to be open to expanding their listening repertoire. 

Ponti has also repositioned the cellists in front of the winds, facing toward the audience, to enhance the projection of their sound.  The violists are now all to the conductor’s right, with their soundboards facing away from the audience, even though he admitted that the violas are the least projecting instrument. As my niece Alison explained to me, orchestral position is a dilemma and involves compromises.  Apparently, until the advent of recording microphones, it was more common to seat the 1^st and 2^nd violins on opposite sides, and position the lower-range strings in between.

Nanette and her friend Susan in their
sparkly Phantom of the Orchestra scarves

The excitement of the audience was palpable as they filled the auditorium for the concert.  At least 20% of the audience were wearing “Phantom of the Orchestra” scarves – men as well as women.  For an annual $35 donation, supporters can proudly display their enthusiasm for ‘their’ orchestra, as one might wear a team baseball cap or jersey to a game (yes, again with a sports analogy!).  Regional symphonies are like minor league baseball teams, and not just because their players are perhaps less skilled than the major leagues.  Just as minor league teams are much more connected to their fans personally, regional orchestras are much more connected to their communities personally. Because the community is smaller, there’s a greater chance that the audience will have a personal connection to the musicians, in addition to the performer/audience relationship.  There’s also a greater chance that the audience members will know each other, and that attending a concert becomes a social experience in addition to a listening one.  I was impressed that my friend Nanette, whom I was visiting, knew and spoke to at least 3 dozen people before the concert.  I was disheartened that at this sold-out performance only about a dozen of the 850 audience members were under the age of 50 (there were many more people with walkers – I know it’s Florida, but still…).  Orchestras everywhere must be struggling with how to make classical music relevant to the next generation, in order to survive.  Perhaps Ponti’s “Symphony Kids” program will prove successful, and be replicated in other communities.

The performance began with The Star-Spangled Banner (why?!?), and then the familiar Capriccio Italien by Tchaikovsky (there were some tuning and timing issues, but perhaps the musicians were still settling in to Ponti’s conducting style, or perhaps they were exhausted from two consecutive days of lengthy rehearsals).  Pianist Jeffrey Biegel joined the orchestra to perform Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, and the orchestra’s lush sound complemented Biegel’s virtuosity perfectly (I am not familiar enough with this piece to have identified the additional measures that were peppered throughout).  The final work, Giuseppe Martucci’s Symphony No 1 in d minor, was Ponti’s contribution to the “something new” category, and both Nanette and I agreed that it was innocuous, except for the delightfully syncopated and dissonant third movement.

Both Biegel and Ponti received standing ovations, and both were deserved.  Ponti’s passion will definitely enhance the audience’s sense of ‘team spirit,’ and everyone seemed quite pleased with the selection of their new maestro.

Charlotte Symphony Orchestra – Part I – it’s a small world?

Raffaele, Nanette, and me

On a recent visit to my friend Nanette, in Florida, I had the pleasure of being her guest not just at the opening night performance of the Charlotte Symphony Orchestra, but also at a donor party two nights before, where I met their new conductor, Raffaele Ponti, and the guest artist – the incredibly talented pianist, Jeffrey Biegel.  So what is the connection to Rochester?  Ponti is currently the conductor of three orchestras – the Charlotte Symphony, the Paducah Symphony (Kentucky), and … the Genesee Symphony.  He was born in Rochester, and lives in Fairport. He played the trumpet at age 17 with the RPO, and has also guest conducted the RPO.

It’s funny that, while I consider Jeff Tyzik to be Rochester's pops conductor, other communities must feel the same way, since he also serves as principal pops conductor of the Oregon, Florida, Seattle, Detroit, and Dallas symphony orchestras!  It is a tribute to Rochester that both conductors choose to live here, instead of in their other orchestral cities. I can’t help but think about their carbon footprint, though, and the fact that in order to conduct a regional orchestra full-time requires conducting multiple regional orchestras, not necessarily in close proximity.

Ponti has initiated a very exciting program in Charlotte County called “Symphony Kids.”  His plan is to visit every 3^rd grade class in the county and introduce the students to two pieces – Beethoven’s Symphony No. 5 and Stravinsky’s Firebird Suite – through art.  Each class will create drawings or paintings inspired by listening to these pieces, and the artwork will be displayed at a culminating concert of the works in the spring, which the students (and, one hopes, their parents) will attend.  His goal is to introduce classical music to kids in an enjoyable format, in the hopes of making them the audience of the future.

He has also created an “instrument petting zoo,” where students can get hands-on experience with different instruments and the sounds they make.  And his “Musical Chairs” program will invite young musicians to sit with the orchestra side by side during rehearsals, to see and hear how the instrument should sound when played professionally.

When the previous conductor retired, the Charlotte Symphony conducted a search that involved prospects guest conducting the orchestra, and the audience actually voting for their favorite!  The vote was as binding as voting on shareholder resolutions;  still, it reflects on the view that the Charlotte Symphony belongs to the community.  They recognize that their viability depends on the support not just of a privileged few, but the entire audience – current and future. 

Jeffrey Biegel at the donor party

We were also treated to a short performance by pianist Jeffrey Biegel, the guest artist for the weekend's concert. He explained that he was deaf until age 3, when a doctor determined that he was hearing impaired, not developmentally disabled, as his parents feared.  His first introduction to sound was through the vibration of music in his parents’ speakers, and his love of and talent for music displayed itself in early childhood.  He also explained that the concert would include the original, unedited version of Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue, with about 50 measures of additional piano solo that had been selectively deleted by the publisher.

Ponti’s debut as conductor of the orchestra was keenly anticipated, and at the party, it was announced that the Sunday concert had sold out its 850-seat hall!  

To be continued…

George Eastman House - Holiday Gingerbread Houses

What better to do on a cold winter’s day (well, late fall, but it certainly looked and felt like winter, with temperatures in the teens and snow dusting the ground) than to head to the George Eastman House to see the annual exhibit of wreaths, trees, and gingerbread houses?  All of the items are donated and available for purchase via silent auction, as a fundraiser for the House.  Unfortunately, we were too early for the decorated trees – we hadn’t realized that each category has a slightly different schedule.  No matter, because we won a decorated tree last year (its theme was The Nightmare Before Christmas, which is one of my favorite animated films, with an incredible Danny Elfman score).  So we weren’t in need of anything this year (although many things can be rationalized in the name of helping a good cause!). 

my favorite - with cones of music

Charlie's favorite - made by
Conesus Lake Garden Club

The creativity is astounding, and there were a number of wreaths Charlie, his sister, Kathryn, and I admired (not always the same ones…).  Most were created and donated by local garden clubs or garden stores.  I should have bought the one I can still picture from last year – it was created from ribbons of old film – even though we had no sensible place then to hang one, and that hasn’t changed.  Still, one could always find a place in a pinch?

one that both Kathryn & I admired

Last year, there was more diversity in the gingerbread house offerings in terms of their artistic merit.  There was even a whole room devoted to the most intricate and artistic houses.  Then again, there were more houses that looked like a child’s first attempt, and which probably ended up back in the same family.  This year, there were very few that were worthy of a bidding war, but also very few that might just get a pity bid…  I still wonder how many years a gingerbread house lasts (obviously it doesn’t matter if the materials get stale, but do they mold?  Or is there too much sugar for that?  Do the colors fade?  Would someone accidentally knock a turret off, or would our dog devour it if he could get to it?).  I would make one myself, but I don’t think I have the patience even to create one from a kit, and I certainly would worry about ‘inventory shrinkage’ (and the corresponding waist expansion).  So I’ll just have to settle for an annual trip to the George Eastman House to get my gingerbread house fix.  And who knows, maybe some year a wreath will find its way home with us.

Lollypop Farm

A rainy day is perhaps not the best day to visit Lollypop Farm with a young child, since most of the animals in the petting area like to get wet about as much as people do, so they’re all under cover and off-limits.  But off we went with Charlie’s nephew Yair, his sig ot, Sheila, and their daughter, Fiona.  First up were the cages of adoptable dogs – Charlie and I spotted two we wouldn’t mind having, but our current dog Todd would. We also peeked at the bunnies (what a silly pet – the actress I roomed with in New York while I was at b-school had a pet rabbit, and not only was it totally unaffectionate, it pooped everywhere when it got loose!) and the birds.  

Many of the animals at Lollypop seem to have been abandoned by owners who could or would no longer care from them.  There was a 137-pound mastiff that overflowed his bed, and you can just imagine some family getting him as an adorable puppy and then being horrified as he grew unmanageably large and strong.  Some of the smaller dogs would definitely find new homes, but I worried for the mastiff and a few of the pit bull mixes.  Lollypop’s policy is to “euthanize as few animals as (they) can,” but they don’t advertise what percent of the 11,000 animals they take in per year are killed.  Given the sign at the desk at the beginning of November, the outlook is not so good…

Lollypop has an odd assortment of farm animals, including cows, horses, chickens, and pigs. I fell in love with the emus, but who on earth keeps an emu for a pet?  Or more precisely, who buys one as a pet and then doesn’t keep and care for it?  The goats and sheep in the petting area are probably also adoptable, but you’d have to live on a lot of land, and in a town that doesn’t prevent residents from owning farm animals.  The animals were roped off and shy, but we still managed to get a bit of petting in.

We recognized many of the names on the big board of donors, including Charlie’s Uncle Fred, who was a big supporter of Lollypop Farms when he was alive.  And our former dog-sitter (former, sadly, because Todd bit her cat Bill in the face, and although Bill is fine, Todd is now canis non grata) had sponsored a few of the dog cages.

When it’s time to get a replacement for Todd, we’ll definitely come here, although Charlie discovered that rather than owning, we can always volunteer to come here and walk their dogs. Tempting, very tempting!

RPO - Barber, Copland, etc. & Disney Fantasia

When I was a teenager, I had the usual love of rock & roll and disdain for classical music.  My parents dragged me to the occasional concert at the Kennedy Center, but mostly took my older brother, Peter, who had a much better appreciation of the music than I did.  My love of classical music developed almost too late to thank my parents for their thwarted early attempts to educate me musically. 

It always amazes me when I hear a piece on the radio that has been ‘covered’ by a popular musician.  I can’t listen to Prokofiev’s Lieutenant Kijé Suite without singing Sting’s “I Hope the Russians Love Their Children Too” (which, to me, came first!), or  Rachmaninoff’s Second Symphony without singing Eric Carmen’s “Never Gonna Fall in Love Again” (ditto).  My first exposure to Mozart’s Symphony No. 41 was actually in the Womble’s song, “Minuetto Allegretto”!

I now really enjoy going to classical music concerts in general, and the RPO in particular.  They are a wonderful orchestra (as Pops conductor Jeff Tyzik graciously reminds us at performances) and they deserve a creative, committed, collaborative conductor.  In the meantime, Rochester is going to benefit from a series of guest conductors (and who knows, maybe one will stick?).  Larry Rachleff, of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, recently conducted an enjoyable concert of 20^th century music, including Copland’s Appalachian Spring (again, my first exposure was through song – Peter asked me to sing  “Simple Gifts” at his wedding back in 1980).  It was incredible to watch him conduct the entire program from memory, and to hear Juliana Athayde, ordinarily the Concertmaster, solo on the violin, which alternately sang and wept.

This past weekend’s performance of Disney’s Fantasia Live in Concert was nothing short of astounding. It must have been a revolutionary concept in 1940 to set an animated film to classical music, but it is also revolutionary to “reverse engineer” it, as Tyzik explained, and perform the music in time with the movie.  Today’s technology makes that possible, and he demonstrated the screen he was watching as he conducted, which displayed the film as well as the measure numbers and beats per measure, and the earpiece he was wearing that clicked the tempo as well.  Not much conducting latitude in this concert!  I found myself visually torn: watching the film on the giant screen, watching the measures on the conductor’s screen, and watching Tyzik anticipating changes in tempo and translating them to his baton.  It was fascinating.

At one point, Tyzik asked the audience, “are you having fun?” The audience applauded loudly, of course, and he then admitted what a challenge it was to marry the musical performance to the screen and to constrain his own conducting instincts – he joked that it was, indeed, “rocket science.”  There were lots of children in the audience, and they must have been delighted at the multi-media presentation.  What a great way to get the next generation engaged and interested in classical music!  If there’d been a concert like this when I was a child (impossible, of course, before the age of computers), perhaps I would not have been so recalcitrant.  Then again,…