Zachary gets a new trumpet

In 1951, just as I turned 10, my parents built a house at 721 Devonshire Road in Dayton, Ohio that would be in the family for the next 53 years. I transfered schools from Lincoln to Belmont Elementary around Thanksgiving of that year. I remember the kids in the general music class there were playing tonettes (a recorder like instrument). Miss Viola Benz, the music teacher, sent me to the cloak room with Pamela Peerce to bring me up to speed on reading music. In a flash everything clicked -- I was finally ready to 'read' music and started from that time forward to devour everything I could in music. About that time, too, a kid (Dick Braden) came to our 5th grade class and played a trumpet solo. I was hooked! The sound he produced, to my ears then, was glorious -- and I wanted to learn how to make that kind of magic. With very little urging, my parents bought me an old cornet for $15 from a veteran musician who had played in circus bands for part of his life. I was thrilled and began to take private lessons in sixth grade from Carl Forbriger, the orchestra and chorus teacher at Belmont Elementary. It has been my pleasure to visit Mr. Forbriger in Dayton in recent years -- but more about that at another time. After about four months Mr. Forbriger recommended that I take lessons from Paul Blagg, the principal trumpet in the Dayton Philharmonic. I remember the first thing Mr. Blagg recommended was a new trumpet -- an Olds Embassador -- which my good friend and trumpet cohort, Gary Spahr, had just been given by his parents. Then in one of the initial lessons, Mr. Blagg told me that to be a successful trumpet player, I needed to have a really fine embouchure. Not knowing what that was, I ran upstairs from his studio at Roetter's Music Store in downtown Dayton, and asked Mr. Roetter how much it would cost to buy a really fine embouchure. The whole place cracked up! Well I made very fast progress...went to Interlochen Music Camp in my freshman and sophomore summers in HS and had graduated to a very expensive ($320.00 in 1956) Olds Mendez trumpet when I entered high school. (Rafael Mendez had been one of my early idols, and I had the pleasure to hear and meet him when I was very young.)

[Zachary gets Hal's trumpet for his 9th birthday]

But, for now, fast forward half a century to September, 2006. I'm sitting at home in Las Vegas. Phone rings. It's my eight year old grandson, Zachary, in Jacksonville, Florida. "Guess what papa!?" he says excitedly. "I'm going to play trumpet in my school band!" I said something like "Great for you kiddo...you'll have a lot of fun!" "It was all my decision, papa," he said. He then got a rental trumpet to start out with, and I thought then how that old Olds Mendez would be a perfect birthday gift for him in October (2006). It took sometime to find that horn that hadn't been played in 35 years. But under one of the beds...there it was all tarnished and in desparate need of a major dose of TLC. I took it to Kessler's Music in Las Vegas and had it thoroughly refurbished, bought a new case for it...and off Betsy and I went to Jacksonville for the October birthday festivities. Needless to say, Zachary was thrilled to have a shiney 'good as new' trumpet to show off to his buddies in band. And now, some weeks later, he's saying things to his dad like "maybe I'll be a trumpet player when I grow up!" Well, Zachary, whatever you become just be sure to work hard and have fun with it....and make sure you have a really fine embouchure-- not to mention a stiff upper lip!

[Zach and his band buddies]

Relive the Fourth

If you missed the Las Vegas Philharmonic’s Fourth of July concert, you still have three opportunities to catch it on television in Las Vegas.
There will be three local rebroadcasts over Cox Channel 96:
1pm July 7 (Friday)
7pm July 9 (Sunday)
8pm July 11 (Tuesday)
Tune in and see how we did!

Memorial Day 2006

Betsy and I have always been proud of our family. But today, on Memorial Day, we are most proud of younger son Chris & his wife Sherrill who have served their country well -- both rising to the rank of Lieutenants Commander in the United States Navy.

Chris has been a Naval Aviator for 13 years and now pilots the new Boeing C-40 jetliner world wide. His squadron has had many assignments, including missions to New Orleans for rescue operations following hurricane Katrina.

Sherrill, a medical doctor, served eight years in the Navy before leaving last year to enter private practice. One of Sherrill's tours of duty was aboard the hospital ship Mercy which spent two months in the Indian Ocean to provide relief for the tsunami and earthquake victims in Indonesia and surrounding area.

They and their two children, Zachary David (8) and Megan Elizabeth (5), are planning to relocate in late July from Coronado, CA to Jacksonville, FL were Chris will continue to fly the C-40 and were Sherrill will continue her medical practice. The photo above shows Sherrill treating a little boy and his mother in Indonesia following the devastation of the earthquake of 2004.
_________________________________________
"An individual has not started living until he can rise above the
narrow confines of individualistic concerns to the broader concerns
of all humanity."

-- Martin Luther King, Jr.

Concert Review

Philharmonic tackles daunting work
By JULIA OSBORNE REVIEW JOURNAL

In 1999, Harold Weller, the Las Vegas Philharmonic's musical director, swallowed hard and decided that the orchestra would tackle Gustav Mahler's powerful "Symphony No. 2 in C minor," also known as the "Resurrection."
The Philharmonic's performance of the sweeping work -- which encompasses life, death and rebirth with drama, vigor and a vast range of emotion -- this past weekend was far more impressive than that previous offering.
The number of performers was stunning. The approximately 110 musicians were joined by about 80 vocalists onstage and another 60 or so singing from performance balconies.
Vocalists included members of the Las Vegas Master Singers, the University of Nevada, Las Vegas Concert Singers, and the Southern Nevada Musical Arts Society, as well as soprano Sarah Hibbard and mezzo soprano Juline Barol-Gilmore. (Weller conducted the combined group.)
Equally spectacular was the quality of the performance. This is not a Sunday-walk-in-the-park piece composed for a harpsichord and a few strings; instead, in style typical of its time, it requires dozens of musicians along with the vocalists.
The piece demands expression of tenderness and fright, nihilism and hope, desperation and an ultimate optimism.
It also provides a workout for everyone involved. The orchestra hit the ground running as drama and passion burst forth from the stage from the first notes. Weller had to take a breather to mop his brow after the immense, emotion-laden first movement. He stepped away from his music stand for several moments before taking a deep breath and launching into the rest of the piece.
Weller was able to breathe a bit easier as he conducted the second movement, written to be lighter and more reflective. Kudos to the violin players who took their instruments, nestled them in their laps and plucked away as if this were typical for classical musicians.
The musicians tucked away the third movement, symbolic of fear of the unknown and the search of life's meaning, with a triumph before a well-deserved intermission.
During the break, the vocalists filed onto stage, then Weller accompanied Hibbard and Gilmore as they returned. Both singers had relatively short but meaty solos. All the vocalists brought enough well-modulated sentiment to their work that the feelings were generally able to transcend the original German lyrics.
A minor complaint involves the division of the performance. Here, intermission was set between the third and fourth movement, yet Mahler believed the movements should flow into each other without pause.
And some audience members applauded at the conclusion of each movement. Wrong, certainly, but what was one to do at the conclusion of that third movement, when the orchestra and the conductor were going to leave the stage for 20 minutes? No typical audience would let the great work to that point go unrecognized. Perhaps this was a bona fide exception to the quiet-between-movements rule.

From the Review Journal

May 09, 2006
Copyright
© Las Vegas Review-Journal

Concert Review

Philharmonic proves Mozart's versatility
By JULIA OSBORNE REVIEW-JOURNAL

Normally, a ringing cell phone during a concert would bring glares and more.
But at the Las Vegas Philharmonic's Saturday tribute to Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, the tone (which came between selections and was quickly silenced), happened to mimic a portion of one of the orchestra's upcoming numbers. So musical director and conductor Harold Weller simply turned, smiled and nodded.
It was, in fact, just one more tribute to the 250th anniversary of the birth of Mozart, whose more than 600 works were mostly light and bright, lending themselves well to a variety of instruments -- including cell phones.
The evening's highlight was "Concerto for Flute and Harp in C major, K. 299," featuring Kim DeLibero on harp and Richard Soule on flute. DeLibero coaxed each subtle note from her harp, while Soule provided his own effective work during the straightforward, smooth piece.
Both had individual moments to shine, then worked well with the orchestra, which was trimmed essentially to strings for this piece. There was no competition between soloists and the other musicians; Weller kept all in hand for a successful point/counterpoint and effortless blends.
The orchestra brought special luster to the oh-so-familiar "Serenade for Strings in G major (Eine Kleine Nachtmusick), K. 525."
The evening's program also included the powerful "Symphony No. 39 in E-flat major, K. 543" and "Der Schauspieldirektor (The Impressario) Overture, K. 486," which was upbeat and offered with just the right note of grandeur.
Comprehensive and easy-to-understand program notes by associate conductor and educational coordinator Richard McGee added much to the evening's enjoyment.

REVIEW
What: Las Vegas Philharmonic
When: Feb. 25
Where: Artemus Ham Hall, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Grade: A

From the Review Journal

Brunch buddies

A New Year’s Day celebration at Lake Las Vegas with friends Gary Karr, Harmon Lewis, and their American Eskimo pups – Shinju and Shasta.

Cheers!

With Rick and Jeri Crawford wearing party hats!

Happy 2006

With John & Anita Meyer at Lake Las Vegas.

Should auld acquaintance...

Phoenix singer and friend Beth Nicastro and Hal. Beth was soloist at the innaugural performance of the Las Vegas Philharmonic (7/4/98).

Happy New Year!

Hal and Betsy ringing in the New Year.

Happy Anniversary

39th wedding anniversary dinner with Dick & Joan McGee.

Concert Review

Philharmonic, choruses offer treat for the holidays
By BARBARA HALL
REVIEW-JOURNAL

A perfect blend of the traditional and innovative marked the Las Vegas Philharmonic's annual "A Holiday Celebration" on Sunday.

The Philharmonic, under the baton of music director Harold Weller, began the evening with "O Tannenbaum," which led into a spectacular Christmas light display. The orchestra then expressed the tenderness and joy of the holiday season with John Rutter's "Magnificat Anima Mea."

The Las Vegas Master Singers, under the direction of Jocelyn Kaye Jensen, brought a special beauty to this holiday celebration. Singing with tenderness and passion, they gave depth to Rutter's "Angel's Carol" as well as "For Unto Us a Child Is Born" and "Hallelujah" from Handel's "Messiah."

The center piece of the second part of the program was "The Polar Express" featuring baritone Tod Fitzpatrick and the University Children's Chorale under the direction of Jeff Kriske, Liz Goodman and Barbara Buer. Fitzpatrick's rich, deep tones were the perfect counter balance for the children's exceptionally poised, young voices.

The Philharmonic's associate conductor, Richard McGee, took the baton for several pieces after intermission, including a rousing version of the "Trepak Dance" from "The Nutcracker."

But the highlight of the second part of the program was the touching and heartfelt "A Gaelic Blessing."

What: Las Vegas Philharmonic's "A Holiday Celebration"
When: Dec. 10-11
Where: Artemus Ham Hall, University of Nevada, Las Vegas
Grade: A