Following up on our recent theme of "Getting to know you" , herewith find another biographical sharing by one of the newer members of MPRO. Thank you so much, Fidele. Your story reveals how lucky we are to have you on board!
I've always wanted to play in an orchestra. The problem was, I didn't play an orchestral instrument. Then I heard about MPRO. And I became a fan and an audience member every chance I had. At the time I was raising two children and didn't have time to add any activities to my busy schedule. The idea of being a part of a recorder orchestra was very exciting to me, but I knew it had to wait.
My dad was an avid recorder player, and he was eager to pass his enthusiasm for the instrument along to members of his family. However, of his six children, I was the only one to take to the recorder. I don't even remember when I started to play, probably when I was a young teenager. My dad was a demanding teacher, but playing alto duets with him was always such a joyful experience for me.
The music my parents listened to, the music I grew up hearing, was almost exclusively Baroque, mostly J.S. Bach. A favorite family activity was to gather around the piano and play a Bach piece, usually Sheep May Safely Graze, sometimes one of the Brandenburg movements, Dad and I on alto recorder, Mom on tenor recorder, a sister on piano and a brother on string bass.
As a young adult, I took a recorder class at West Valley College, where I met many of the people I still play with in the South Bay. For years I played with the Tunitarians, the recorder players at the Los Gatos Unitarian Fellowship, and occasionally I'd play with other small groups.
When my daughter was in elementary school, I became the recorder teacher for her class. At the time I still had not learned to play a C recorder, and the children were, for economic reasons, learning the soprano. But it worked out: if a child needed to know how to play a particular note, I would simply point to another child eager and willing to demonstrate.
When the end of the Tunitarians coincided with the departure of my youngest child for college, I realized it was time to join the orchestra.
CONDUCTOR'S CORNER
Dear members of the Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra,
Listed below is the music for the orchestra’s next two meetings. Please note that the meeting on Tuesday, November 30, is the dress rehearsal for the orchestra’s two performances in December and will take place at Grace Lutheran Church, 3149 Waverley Street in Palo Alto at 7:30 P.M. On Friday, December 3, the orchestra will be performing in a Winter Gala concert presented by the California State University, East Bay Department of Music at All Saints Catholic Church, 22824 2nd Street in Hayward at 7:30 P.M. The orchestra's holiday concert will take place at Grace Lutheran Church on Saturday, December 4, at 2:00 P.M. All those planning on taking part in either performance are expected to attend the dress rehearsal on November 30. As in the past, small ensembles are encouraged to appear in the holiday concert on December 4. Those groups that intend to perform at the holiday concert are asked to send me the following information by November 17: the title(s) of the music to be performed, the name(s) of the composer(s), the name of the ensemble (if any) and the names of the ensemble's members. Regarding the upcoming meetings, please note that great bass and contrabass recorders, krummhorns, dulcien and viola da gamba will be needed on November 17 as well as November 30,
November 17 | MPRO Rehearsal Haydn: Feld-Parthie Bassano: Quem vidistis pastores? Bach: Chorus and Chorale Shmulowitz: A Brivele der Mam'n Legrenzi: Sonata "La Buscha" |
Tuesday, Nov 30 | MPRO Dress Rehearsal Grace Lutheran Church, 7:30 PM Hark! The Herald Angels Sing; Silent Night; O Come, All Ye Faithful Bach: Chorus and Chorale Legrenzi: Sonata "La Buscha" Telemann: Adagio largo Bassano: Quem vidistis pastores? Go hert, hurt with adversite Be pes! Ye make me spille my ale! Haydn: Feld-Parthie Shmulowitz: A Brivele der Mam'n |
I look forward to seeing you at the upcoming dress rehearsal and concerts.
Saturday, January 29, 2011, the Mid Peninsula Recorder Orchestra Winter Workshop presents Music of Nations; Renaissance to Modern, directed by Clea Galhano. The workshop will be held from 9:30 A.M. to 4:30 P.M. at the Holy Trinity Episcopal Church, 330 Ravenswood Avenue, Menlo Park. Details and a registration form will be included in the December UpBeat.
On Friday, December 3, the Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra will be performing portions of Bach's Christmas Oratorio with the CSU East Bay Singers, directed by Dr. Buddy James, at All Saints Catholic Church, 22824 2nd Street in Hayward, California at 7:30 P.M. For further information regarding this performance, including ticket reservations, please contact the California State University, East Bay Department of Music at 510-885-3167.
On Saturday, December 4, the Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra will present a concert at Grace Lutheran Church, 3149 Waverley Street in Palo Alto at 2:00 P.M. The program will feature the Sonata "La Buscha" by Legrenzi, the Adagio largo from the Oboe Concerto in C minor by Telemann with Nicholas Vigil, oboe soloist, selections from a divertimento by Haydn, two 15th-century English songs, an antiphonal motet by Giovanni Bassano and portions of Bach's Christmas Oratorio. Joining the Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra will be the CSU East Bay Singers, directed by Dr. Buddy James. The location of this concert is wheelchair accessible. The Mid-Peninsula Recorder Orchestra is an affiliate of the San Francisco Early Music Society. For further information please call Frederic Palmer at 650-591-3648.
He often broke into song because he couldn't find the key.
After C and G split the fifth, C was sadly diminished and G was beside herself, so of course she was strangely augmented.