MARCH, 2013
MPRO - The Middle Years (1968-1987)
Part 2
By Frederic Palmer
Angela OwenÕs years as MPROÕs music director coincided with the
rise of what has come to be known as the historically
informed performance movement. This
movement called for early music to be played on surviving historical
instruments or faithful copies along with tuning systems, pitch standards,
playing techniques and expressive devices appropriate to the period. The movement began in Europe around 1970
and quickly spread to the United States, particularly the San Francisco Bay
Area. This was not surprising since
performances of early music here steadily increased during the 1960s and
Stanford University had instituted a graduate program in early music
performance practice during the latter part of that decade. Early in the 1970s, performers appeared
in the Bay Area who were proponents of this movement
along with craftsmen who began producing instruments according to the standards
of historic prototypes. These included talented amateurs, students and upcoming
professionals. Their growing
numbers led to the formation of organizations, ensembles and educational
programs in the Bay Area devoted to early music and historically informed
performance, including the San Francisco Early Music Society (1975), the Palo
Alto Telemann Society (1977), the SFEMS summer workshops (1978), Philharmonia Baroque (1981), the Center for Computer
Assisted Research in the Humanities (1984) and MusicSources
(1986) as well as three new chapters of the American Recorder Society in or
around the nine Bay Area counties.
These organizations, ensembles and educational programs began to serve
as a support system for local early music activities and led to an increasing
number of professional musicians and instrument makers in the region who were
devoted to historically informed performance. While some of these were local
residents, others came from various parts of the United States and Europe, many
of whom settled here. As a result,
by the mid-1980s the Bay Area had become one of the worldÕs leading early music
centers.
From
the 1970s through the mid-1980s, the relationship between the historically
informed performance movement in the Bay Area and MPRO can best be described as
symbiotic. Since the recorder was
one of the signature instruments of this movement, it not only secured a place
for the recorder in the local early music environment but also sustained an interest
in recorder playing. This benefited
MPRO by insuring a ready pool of recorder players from which members could be
drawn, and the orchestra, in turn, provided those interested in the recorder
the opportunity to play in a large ensemble as well as join smaller groups
attached to MPRO. Many of those who
were members of the orchestra at this time were also involved with other local
early music organizations and educational programs. This increased their interest in early
music and the recorder by broadening their scope of experience, and this experience,
in turn, filtered into MPRO through their playing and understanding of the
music that the orchestra presented at its meetings and concerts. As the number of local professional
musicians who were part of the informed performance movement increased, MPRO
made use of their expertise by engaging them as directors for meetings and
workshops. This not only provided
the members of the orchestra with exceptional instruction but also helped
support the community of early music professionals residing in the Bay Area.
Meanwhile,
the recorder orchestra movement was taking place. When Angela Owen took over as MPROÕs
music director, there were only three recorder orchestras throughout the world,
one of which was MPRO. By the time
she stepped down from this position in 1987, the number had increased to
nine. While there is no evidence
that MPRO had any influence on the growing number of recorder orchestras, it
can be said that MPRO was in the forefront of this movement and that when a
majority of recorder orchestras were being formed during this period MPRO was
already a well-established and successful organization.
As
MPROÕs music director, Angela Owen promoted the formation of small ensembles
from the orchestraÕs membership and encouraged these groups to perform at MPRO
meetings and concerts as well as for local organizations and events. There were two positions on the
orchestraÕs board that assisted her with this endeavor, the Consort Coordinator,
who helped members find an ensemble to join or form a new one with others, and
the Librarian, who maintained the orchestraÕs collection of music that
ensembles could borrow and use to increase their repertoire. Angela also kept information regarding each ensemble on file so
that she could suggest appropriate performing opportunities for any of these
groups. Small ensembles were also
asked to submit articles to the orchestraÕs newsletter in order to introduce
themselves and report on their activities.
Angela believed that playing in a small ensemble maintained and improved
technique, particularly during the summer when the orchestra did not meet. She also believed that the social
component was an essential part of the recorder orchestra experience. Besides periodic MPRO picnics, Angela
arranged for a special meeting each December to which the family and friends of
the membership were invited, refreshments were served, small ensembles
performed and holiday songs were sung.
This gave the orchestraÕs members an opportunity to interact with one
another in a more intimate situation than a rehearsal or concert.
The
importance of Angela OwenÕs role in the history of MPRO cannot be
overstated. Not only did she step
in at a crucial time when the orchestra needed a new director and leadership in
order to survive, but she also brought with her the musical expertise and
organizational skills that made MPRO a sustainable and thriving entity. By the time she retired from her duties
MPRO had become a local institution.
u u u u u u u u u u
ConductorÕs Corner
Dear members of the Mid-Peninsula
Recorder Orchestra,
Listed
below is the music for the orchestra's next three meetings. Please note that there will be sectional
seating for the Gabrieli
Canzon Septimi Toni, with
those in Coro Primo sitting on the right as they face the conductor and those
in Coro Secundo on the left. Please observe this seating arrangement
when you choose your place at the beginning of the meetings on March 20 and
April 10. Please note as well that
bass viola da gamba, dulcien
and sopranino recorder will be needed at all three
meetings, krummhorns on March 27 and great bass and
contrabass recorders on March 20 and April 10.
March 20
Gabrieli: Canzon Septimi Toni
Dufay: Adieu ces bons vins de Lannoys
Bloomer Deussen: Impressions Around G
Corelli: Concerto Op. 6, No. 2
March 27
Bloomer
Deussen: Impressions Around
G
Praetorius: Psallite, unigenito
Corelli: Concerto Op. 6, No. 2
April 10
Gabrieli: Canzon Septimi Toni
Dufay: Adieu ces bons vins de Lannoys
Bloomer Deussen: Impressions Around G
Corelli: Concerto Op. 6, No. 2
I
look forward to seeing you at these upcoming meetings and working on this music
with you.
Sincerely,
Fred Palmer
Diana Gelblum
New MPRO member Diana Gelblum was born and raised in Israel, in a kibbutz from
age 9. She served her 20 months in the military at age 18, and returned to the
kibbutz to serve as a house mother for another year. Afterwards she worked as a
bookkeeper, and met her American-born husband. Their two kids were born in
Israel, but they had Silicon Valley connections and the family moved here when
the kids were 5 and 8. Now, 25 years later, she's gotten an accounting degree
from SJSU, and the kids are grown and married and both are now out of the area,
so Diana has more time to pursue what she enjoys, although she's still working
full time as an accountant.
With
all her classmates in the kibbutz, Diana was introduced to soprano recorder in
4th grade. Apparently she excelled, because she was soon invited to join an
advanced group, and started playing alto. In 7th and 8th grade, she
concentrated on piano. Since then she has played recorder for pleasure at every
opportunity, while also indulging in singing in Hebrew and painting.
The Board: President: Amy Booth; Treasurer: Leslie Pont; Membership: Chris Flake; Publicity: Mary Jeanne Fenn; & Marguerite Dilley; Newsletter Editor: Dick Davies; Music
Sales: Laura Gonsalves; Graphics: Mary Ashley; Webmaster: Dan Chernikoff; Workshop Coordinator: TBD; Consort Coordinator: TBD; Hospitality: Claire Heinzelman; Historian: TBD; Music
Director: Fred Palmer. MPRO website: < http://www.mpro-online.org >