Indianapolis Family Events

Memory is a funny thing.

I've been known to get up, walk to someone's office, and forget why I just got up and walked to someone's office.  More times than I care to admit, I send emails and forget to include the promised attachment. I know I've said this phrase more times than not: "Didn't I tell you that already?"

Luckily, my long-term memory is better. I can still rattle off the books of the Old Testament in seconds (taught to me as a young kid in Sunday school). I memorize lyrics quickly, and they stick with me forever. And speaking of music, my first and most poignant musical memory occurred here: 7310 17th Ave. NW Seattle, WA 98117.  My childhood home. I've never forgotten the address.

[Present occupant: Please forgive me while I blog about your house for a bit. By the way, the picture of it on Google Earth looks nothing like what I remember. What did you do?]

This week, I reach back into that good/bad memory bank of mine and recall the address where I heard Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 in B Flat Minor for the first time (on vinyl for you young kids - here's a picture just in case).



My mother kept a pretty impressive record collection of classical music.  All the masters were in our library--Beethoven, Brahms, Tchaikovsky--and these records rounded out the Crawford family's diverse musical tastes (Scott Joplin and the Kingston Trio for Dad, Elton John for brother Judd and Really Rosie featuring Carole King for me). I would come home from school and open the door with my Latchkey, invade my mother's closet in search of that fancy pale pink dress with the pleated skirt, select Tchaikovsky's first piano concerto, carefully place the needle on the record in the right spot, turn up the volume on our huge 1970s cabinet turntable (this sucker was a piece of furniture!), and dance around the room in my own little world...at least until my older brother replaced my beloved Tchaikovsky with Pink Floyd.

My memory is clear as crystal: As soon as I would hear the horns blasting those first four notes, shivers ran down my spine. I'd strike a pose once the orchestra answered. Then, that gorgeous melody by the strings put me into my dance routine of gliding and twirling until that pleated skirt was a perfect parallel to the ground. And of course, I would stop occasionally and play air piano.



I didn't need a TV to be entertained. I didn't need video games (although I tried begging mom and dad for an Atari, to no avail). I don't remember ever feeling lonely. I had music. I had Tchaikovsky.

It wasn't until I reached Music Appreciation class in college when I realized there was more to the concerto. You mean there's more to the piece than just the first movement? Fantastic. But the first movement is my first classical music memory.

If you come to the concert this weekend, look for me in the first mezzanine. I'm the one who will visually respond to the first four notes and then the melody.  It will go something like this: twitch, grin, sit back, smile, wipe a tear, close my eyes, and remember that pale pink dress.

Congratulations Betty!!

Betty Perry, ISO staff member and music director of the Metropolitan Youth Orchestra, is a finalist for the Inspire 2010: Power of Mentoring Awards to be presented by College Mentors for Kids, Inc. on February 24^th at 11:30am at the Indiana Roof Ballroom. She was nominated by Donna Proctor at Marian University.

This "Mentor of Excellence" award is presented annually to individuals who have dedicated themselves to mentoring and inspiring excellence. 

About MYO: The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra is a youth and family development program that uses string music instruction to reach inner city youth in a unique after-school setting.  The MYO model offers positive use of free time; sequential, structured learning activities; a process of learning to set personal goals and strinve for personal best; exposure to positive, caring adult role models; and healthy peer interaction.  As a result, the high school strudents who participate and stay engaged in MYO have significantly higher graduation rates than their peers and matriculate to college.  The program serves students in grades k-12.

While the program has been around since 1995, MYO has been a program of the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra since July 2008.  ISO Director of Education Carol Baker manages the program and Betty Perry is Music Director.  There are 17 part-time teachers who support the program as well as a significant partnership with Butler Community Arts School.

Betty, we are proud of the work you have accomplished!  Congratulations again!

We also thank the following extraordinary sponsors for making the MYO program a reality!

The Nina Mason Pulliam Charitable Trust
Shaw-Burckhardt-Brenner Foundation
Sheila Fortune Foundation
The Glick Fund, a fund of the Central Indiana Community Foundation
Back Home Again Foundation
Indianapolis Chapter of the Links, Inc.
The Indianapolis Foundation, a CICF affiliate
Rotary Foundation of Indianapolis
Christel DeHaan Family Foundation
The Arts Council of Indianapolis
Indiana Arts Commission
National Endowment of the Arts
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act 2009 
 

Every year, the Vienna Philharmonic, one of the world’s most acclaimed orchestras, performs a series of New Year’s Concerts on December 30, 31, and January 1.  These concerts have become beloved around the world through the annual broadcast of the New Year’s Day performance.  These programs feature almost exclusively Austrian music, and in particular, music of the Johann Strauss family:  waltzes, polkas, overtures, and the like.

I’m thrilled that this year, for the first time in a number of years, the ISO will be doing an entire New Year’s Eve performance inspired by this wonderful tradition, and I have the privilege of conducting it.  This is music that is very close to my heart – it has an elegance, charm, and nobility matched by little else in the repertoire.  I’ve done individual pieces from this concert on many other occasions in the past, but this will be my first time doing an entire concert of Viennese repertoire, so I’m really looking forward to it.

The video productions of the VPO concerts frequently feature dance performances with the musical ones, and so I’m delighted that in that spirit, Indy’s own Dance Kaleidoscope will be joining us on stage for several numbers.  I saw their choreography the other day, and DK Artistic Director David Hochoy has done a great job of capturing the special qualities of this music.  Also in the tradition of the VPO concerts, we will have a wonderful guest soprano, Jacqueline Brecheen, to sing several arias from Viennese operettas.

I’ll leave you with a video from the 1987 VPO performance, with Herbert von Karajan conducting the famous “On the Beautiful Blue Danube” waltzes, also featuring dancers from the Vienna State Opera Ballet.

See you (New Year’s Eve) at the Symphony!
 

I couldn't choose just one thing to write about this week. 

Win Joshua Bell's New CD!

Joshua Bell, world renowned violinist, Hoosier native and our guest artist for this weekend, has just been named the 2010 "Instrumentalist of the Year" by Musical America.  The Indianapolis Star's Jay Harvey recently blogged about his upcoming appearance with the ISO.  

We also have a free copy of Josh’s new CD, At Home with Friends, ready to give away.  Just post your favorite Joshua Bell moment, concert, performance or experience in this blog, and we'll select a winner on Friday at noon!

Congratulations Gabriela

Congratulations to ISO composer-in-residence, Gabriela Lena Frank, for winning a 2009 Latin Grammy Award in the category of "Best Classical Contemporary Composition" for her piece, Inca Dances! 

Give the Gift of Yuletide

The Indianapolis Symphony is proud to partner with the Children’s Bureau, an organization that sponsors families in need each year during the holidays.  As part of the gift packages for these families, you can donate $10 Duke Energy Yuletide Celebration tickets.  Click here to learn more.

Florence Henderson Performs with the ISO Nov. 20-22

It’s commonly known that Florence Henderson is a native Hoosier (and one of our favorite TV moms).  However, did you know:

Florence can be found as part of the “Global Indiana” exhibit at the Indiana State Museum?  See her picture here among other famous Hoosiers.

Florence’s voice can be heard each year at the famed Indianapolis Motor Speedway 500 race:  here’s a clip of her performance of “God Bless America” in 2005.

The town of Dale, Indiana (population: 1,500) is Florence’s hometown.  Did you know?  Abraham Lincoln grew up on a farm nearby.

Lucina is a pianist of great accomplishment. At 91 years young, she still teaches several students, performs various two-piano concerts and recitals, and remains very active in the musical community in Indianapolis. She attends many of the ISO’s Coffee Classical performances.
 

Lucina shares her love of music in the community by being generous as well. The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra was the recipient of that generosity this summer, as Lucina purchased a new Steinway Concert Grand Piano and donated it to the Orchestra in memory of her parents, Mr. and Mrs. William H. Ball.
 

A generous spirit, the love of music and an association with the Indianapolis Symphony are a part of Lucina’s family history. Lucina’s parents and her late husband, Sam Moxley, served on the ISO’s Board of Directors. When Lucina’s father passed away, her mother gifted two concert Steinway pianos in 1982 as a tribute to him. In 2009, Lucina paid tribute back to her parents by purchasing our Steinway in memory of them.
 

Lucina didn’t just offer to purchase the piano though. She provided us valuable expertise in choosing it! Lucina, pianist Jonathan Biss and ISO President and CEO Simon Crookall traveled to the Steinway studio in New York City this summer to select the piano which would be perfectly suited for the Hilbert Circle Theatre and our orchestra.  Lucina and Jonathan played six of them, and ultimately settled on the beautiful instrument which is now a part of the ISO collection.  Gabriela Montero will play Gershwin’s Rhapsody in Blue on our new Concert Grand this weekend during Opening Night Gala.


Lucina proudly owns and plays her two concert Hamburg Steinways, which she considers her greatest treasures.  Thank you Lucina—your gift of a new Steinway Concert Grand Piano is now one of our greatest treasures too.

 

• Building of knowledge
• Different pieces/shapes (blocks) representing the MYO community
• Teamwork - we all have important roles
• Setting of goals

• Like the blocks, I am connected to my family and my orchestra
• I focus my attention on my goals and stand straight
• I am prepared and ready
• Parts of me are strong and other parts weak
• I am strong

The Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra turns over its stage to other musical ensembles in August and early September during Marsh Symphony on the Prairie. During this period, our Symphony musicians take a much-needed, well-deserved break away from their year-round schedule.

So, we’re sometimes asked… where are the ISO musicians during this time and what are they up to?  Here's a sample!

“[Our vacation plans are] certainly not exotic -- we plan to stay in Indy, work on cleaning up/organizing our home 3/4's of the time, exploring Indy and environs the other 1/4.   Plans include State Fair (seriously...), Baden Springs, and some new restaurants in Indy and Bloomington.  This may not be exciting to you, but it's very exciting to us!”

-Bev and Sylvia Scott

Beverly Scott, Assistant Principal Viola

Sylvia Scott, frequent ISO pianist

“Our family went to St. Joseph, Michigan, for a week. We also are going to Chicago for the weekend. But we have mostly stayed at home this summer.”

-Ruth Boerner, viola

“I will be composing during the break.”  www.jimbeckelmusic.com

-Jim Beckel

Principal Trombone & Composer*

*Don’t miss Jim’s world premiere piece In the Mind’s Eye: Images for Horns and Orchestra in concerts on May 14 and 15, 2009.

“My husband, John, and I will be taking our children to college at the end of August. First to return to school will be Katherine, just back from an archaeological dig in Athens where she found an ancient cooking pot.  She will be a senior at Washington University in St. Louis. Then Amy and David head east.  Amy is just completing a summer at a biological research center in Maine, and will return to Swarthmore College to continue working on her bachelor's degree in biochemistry.  David, proud of his Indiana roots, is making a Yale corn-hole set to take to school.  He has high hopes of learning to play the carillon at Yale, which happily has a silent practice keyboard as well as the one which activates the giant bells in Harkness Tower.  I am occupied practicing viola and piano, teaching viola lessons, and sewing on buttons!”

-Terry Langdon, viola

“I'll be traveling to New York City to attend the National Flute Association’s annual convention with my husband, George Evans. (My teacher, William Bennett, will be performing at the convention-- he's also traveling from London to Indianapolis in November for a masterclass and recital Nov 4 & 5.) While we’re in NYC, we’re attending a concert at the Mostly Mozart Festival at Lincoln Center. Other than that long weekend, I'll be at home working on my book, “Flute for Dummies,” which will be coming out in December of this year.”

-Karen Evans Moratz

Principal Flute

“My husband’s brother used to play professional basketball in the NBA....for the Portland Trailblazers.  He runs a youth basketball camp in Portland, and my husband and I will be going out to work at it.  Norm will coach, and I'll run the concession stand.  (Whoopee!!!)  It will give us a nice chance to visit with family.  We'll earn a small salary....enough to cover our airfare.....so we plan to go out a week early and drive over to the Pacific coast.  I'm a photographer, and I plan to come home with some great pictures of the Oregon coast.”

-Christal Steele

Assistant Concertmaster

“I will be heading out to the Northwest to visit family in Spokane, Washington, and in north Idaho (Hayden and Post Falls). My sister and I plan to bike the section of the Hiawatha Trail that crosses the Idaho panhandle. We also are going to spend a few days at Hayden Lake, ID.”

-Nancy Agres, viola

“I’ve spent time racing on such races as the Port Huron to Mackinac Race onboard a 50-foot raceboat called Goblin. We finished 3rd in our section and 13th in our division.  I also raced a regatta in Harbor Springs Michigan on Goblin.   I will be on a boat 47-foot sailboat called Big Country for the Tri-State Regatta which is a three-day, three-state regatta over Labor Day weekend.  We race from Chicago to St. Joseph, Michigan, then from St. Joseph to Michigan City, Indiana, then race back to Chicago. Happy Sailing!”

-Rick Graef

Assistant Principal Horn

Thirteen-year-old Hannah Carroll began piano lessons at age eight and has been studying under Irina Gorin for the past four years. Hannah has been a finalist and winner of many piano competitions including The World Piano Competition in Cincinnati, Ohio, which earned her the invitation to play at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall for two consecutive years. In 2009, Hannah won first place in the Muncie Symphony Orchestra and the New World Youth Orchestra’s Young Artist Competition (junior divisions) and came in second in the 2009 Michael Ben and Illene Komisarow Maurer Young Musicians Contest, which earned her the chance to play with the Indianapolis Symphony Orchestra this weekend at Conner Prairie.

I watched Hannah rehearse the Grieg Piano Concerto today and had the chance to speak to her afterward. There’s never enough room in our program books to include everything about a guest artist. So I took a little time to get to know Hannah, the remarkably talented pianist and delightful young woman from Westfield, Indiana. 

Your first orchestra appearance was with the New World Youth Orchestra. What was that like? It was neat! I enjoyed myself up there. All the musicians were young and the sound was so different as opposed to playing with an accompanist.

Tell me a little bit about your family.

I have an older sister named Abigail, who enjoys playing piano and clarinet. Abigail also sings and has a beautiful voice. My younger brother Jacob plays trumpet and was in a band once. We are home-schooled.  My favorite subjects are English and Literature and my least favorite subject is Math.

What’s your favorite piece to play?

The Grieg Concerto I am playing with the ISO this weekend.

What’s your least favorite piece to play?

A Bach Fugue is very difficult. I like listening to Bach but playing it is hard.

What’s your favorite piece you have yet to play?

Franz Liszt’s “La Campanella.”

What’s your favorite piece to listen to?

Tchaikovsky’s First Piano Concerto.

What’s your dream job?

Concert pianist

If you didn’t work in music, what would you like to do?

I’d be drawing or ballet. 

Outside of classical music, what other music to you listen to?

Hymns or the music from Charlie Brown.

What is your most prized possession? 

My hands.

What is your most prized possession that you don’t have but would like to have?

A Steinway.

What piano do you have at home? 

K Kawai.

What books do you enjoy? I don’t like old books very much. I do like Jane Austen.

Name your favorite book and movie. 

Pride and Prejudice.

Where do you want to go to college? IU, Julliard or Curtis.

What other instrument would you like to play other than piano? Cello (or I would sing).

What else do you enjoy doing while at home?

I like cake decorating. My mom makes the cake and icing; I then decorate it. I decorated my own cake for my birthday. It was decorated in flowers.

Do you have a nickname?

Hannah Banana from Indiana

The Metropolitan Youth Orchestra’s reputation as a vibrant, valued and recognized community resource is growing and we should all feel proud!!! Reflecting on the events and happenings of this month, I am humbled by the incredible work of our MYO students and families! So much has occurred over the last 4 weeks and I believe it warrants some attention and applause! Congratulations!!

Just to recap…
 

Did you see the write up and picture in the Indy Star THIS Sunday? MYO was well presented by several students, MYO alums and teachers at a major ISO fundraiser called On Stage! designed to raise funds for the ISO’s education and outreach programs.  
 

This month we saw the launching of the Indianapolis Arts Council’s postcard campaign for the arts promoting a safer city, a stronger economy and a vibrant community. I think we are all aware of the transformative power of the arts on our young people and the MYO program has been featured as a model program. To learn more about how you can help promote funding for the arts, visit - www.whattheartsmean.org.

Also, as proud as we are - our very own Betty Perry was honored by the Coalition for 100 Black Women as a “2009 Breakthrough Award” winner on June 6 at a special ceremony held at the Madame Walker Theatre! Way to go Ms. Perry!

If that wasn’t enough, you’ve likely heard about the concert at the Hilbert Circle Theatre with Grammy Award Winner and Playhouse Disney regular Dan Zanes and Friends. Dan Zanes was so taken with MYO that he’s making a donation in honor of MYO!! (Next time you see Ms. Perry, just call her the “Dancing Conductor” as Zanes likes to call her!!)

MYO is being recognized by many for its work with youth in our community and this program would not be successful today without the excellent, cooperative work of our parents, teachers and leader Ms. Perry! 

WAY TO GO!!!