Monday, February 26, 2024

Monday Feb. 26,2024

 Old age is sort of like early adolescence in reverse. You pass mileposts of diminishing physical abilities. One may have accumulated knowledge but some of that seems to vanish permanently or cannot be recalled on demand. 

Activities that one relished are abandoned as weakness makes them untenable. So one relies on activities such as writing diary blogs to pass on to friends and kinfolks to read and ponder and relate to depending on their stage of life understanding. There is a slight sadness from realizing that there is no respite from a process that will continue until it ends abruptly or one just fades away as the legendary Cheshire Cat.

Yesterday, daughter Cathy visited us for her almost weekly Sunday. She brings a bright smile that lightens Lib's and my spirit. She is a skilled negotiator, had this talent from early childhood and sold us the idea that we should move here from Roanoke where she could keep an eye on us. SO GLAD SHE DID! Lib and I feel comfortable that she and her elder sister will do what is feasible when either Lib or I pass on.

I think about her situation, though. Jeff and Cathy only had one son, who just graduated from college and had moved 2 hours away. When she reaches our age who will take care of her? Children have the best of intentions but often cannot fulfill filial obligations. These duties often fall on females to accomplish. Time moves inexorably on with its opportunities or takes away. A new reality creeps into lives and we are swept along with the current. In my old age I feel fortunate to have had an unbelievable set of coincidences that allowed me to have a joyful and fulfilling life. My only wish is the disappointment that once again humanity has allowed its leaders to  war against their brother man. History and their own military annals show that once a world war gets going no one can truly project its course except death, misery, and degradation. We don't live in poverty and ignorance. The world's knowledge is available at our fingertips. We should be able to equitably share the benefits of this largess, yet we insist on the barbarism of war. Why?

Well enough of this ranting of an old man. Blessings to whoever may benefit.


Wednesday, January 24, 2024

BEGINNING 2024

 Here it is the middle of January and last year I only had one entry though it was an eventful year with the death of my younger brother John in March. We attended family reunions at Bridgewater and a funeral of a cousin on Lib's side. Also, attended a class reunion of Lib's at Harrisonburg. Our daughter Lisa and husband Mark treated us to a weekend with them at Wintergreen in October and we had a bevy of Thanksgiving, Christmas, birthday, and anniversary (Lib and I) in late December and early January 2024 celebrations.

Now, some early comments for 2024: The Ukrainian/Russia war continues unabated into its second year and soldiers and civilians are dying needlessly to satisfy Putin's insatiable desire for empire building. Last Fall a Palestinian terrorist group attacked an Israeli celebration and killed over 1200  and took 200+ hostages. The Israeli army retaliated and 20,000 Gaza and environs Palestinians have perished in the bombing raids. Smaller proxy conflagrations continue over the Middle East and Asia.

As of this entry, the United States economy is bouncing back, yet many are not noticing that grocery and gasoline prices are dropping, that inflation is lowering, (my bank is offering 5% CD's for only 8 months out, and housing prices are beginning to descend. 

We have a severe "gun" problem in our country.In comparison with most other civilized nations we have a pandemic of gun deaths, way more than normal. I don't deny your right to self defense, but there have to be safeguards. The fences around car driving could be a start; (1) You have to have a license. (2)First time owners must pass a safety test and knowledge of the gun they intend to own. (3) The serial number of the gun, the license, and the address of the owner should all be registered with the State and be carried at all times on the person who owns the weapon. Persons who sell guns whether in a business or privately must use the same protocols that are observed for car sales. Miniaturization and technology make this all easily possible. Since smart phones and the nigh 100% of facial recognition systems, we scarcely 

This is the year AI came into a more common availability. May 2024 be the year humanity begins to return to normalcy rather than the frenetic and suspicious mode so many have allowed themselves to entertain. 

I will stop here.





 

Monday, June 12, 2023

How I Became a violinist

 1. It helps to have the dominant parent be a violin player or enthusiast.

2. In India at Umalla in the early 1940's I would listen to my Dad play his violin after supper in out living room after his work day was done. Sometimes I would fetch a coat hanger and pretend to play along.

3 When I was six years old and at Landour/Mussoorie India, my father bought my first violin from a shop in the local bazaar, cut a bridge for it, tuned it and gave it to me saying, "See if you can pluck Twinkle Star on it. (I had chicken pox). Sat up on the edge of the bunk bed and worked about an hour trying to pluck out the tune. Finally, made a recognizable facsimile and he was impressed that I would stick to it that long at that age. He bought a bow. We returned to Umalla and shortly moved to Anklesvar. Dad began teaching me short rote tunes and then slipped over to written tunes that he created on staff paper he drew. Before we left India I was playing Kalliwoda and the first Pleyel duets under his guidance. In our mission were two teens;Dick Bollinger, and Margaret Brooks who were studying violin and playing quite well. Dad took me to a concert of the Bombay symphony whose concert master was Mela Mehta, father of famous conductor Zubin Mehta. Mehla was on the Gripsholm boat with us as we returned to America in the July crossing of 1945. My father had several conversations with him.

3. In America in Salem, Virginia my father arranged for me to have lessons with a Mrs. Spruhan, wife of the Roanoke College football coach. I think I began moving up to third position Kayser etudes. I was required to practice 45 minutes a day after school and before I walked over to my uncle Cline's farm to milk our cow. My uncle Joe, a doctor, bought a fine hand cranked victrola (record player of 78 rpm vinyl records) one album was "Rusty in Orchestraville) and the other was Michael Rabin's Paganini Concerto in D major. Was mightily impressed with the flying staccatto and left hand pizzicato this young Jewish violinist could do. Dad and I may have advanced to the second album of Pleyel duets. I was beginning to be unimpressed with my progress and my sound. A larger 3/4 size factory made cheap violin was not much motivation. 

4. We returned to India, I was eleven years old, it was 1948. Our school years were out of synch. In March of 1949 our family were on vacation again in Landour and I began school at Woodstock school, a famous missionary school in the Himalayan foothills. The school had an orchestra and a jazz band. My violin teacher was a Goanese violinist, Mr Denarona. I began weekly lessons in the Kreutzer etudes. Think I moved up to a full sized violin, perhaps my father' s.  I played in the second violin section and we played weekly for assembly. We rehearsed at least once each week after school. Judy Schiller a senior was our concert master. She was quite accomplished and I remembered her rendition of Jalousie by Gade to this day . Even though he was a thousand miles away,  my Dad must have gleaned I was losing interest in violin and connived with the school authorities to have me take lessons from Judie. She was an inspiration . Think she improved my vibrato and taught me the wrist flip that makes for a very smooth turnaround for legato  bowing. I started lessons with her probably my 2nd year at the school. The third year Dick Bollinger returned to teach at Woodstock and direct the instrumental music program. I was instructed to call him Mr. Bollinger, not Dick. After all he was about 10 years older.

In mid semester we moved back to Salem as my father's heart was failing fast. We lived at the Kinzie home place and shortly my father placed me with the concert master of the newly formed  Roanoke Symphony. Here is where the plot takes a great positive turn....

Carl Jaspan a French Canadian was a passionate violinist who knew how to inspire and teach. He quickly showed me that with his approach I could really grow. Once I was convinced of that my enthusiasm really grew. Next he invited me to play in the Symphony! A school mate, Douglas Vaughan, a much better player than I sat ahead of me in the 2nd violin sectio. There were at least 3 teen agers. I was first cowed by the complexity of the music, but after Carl showed me how to use a metronome I was able to keep up . The music took up residence in my head and became an obsession. I played the first concert which was on the stage of Jefferson High School in Roanoke. If memory serves, the music included the New World Symphony and the  Carmen Suite. Our conductor was Gibson Morrisey. The first cellist was Clyde MacDonald,  Roger Taylor was a violist, and a  Mr Griffey was a violinist. These four were hired to be section heads with regular jobs as string teachers in the city schools.They were also supposed to form a string quartet, but were unable to agree.

5. Then the downward curve. We moved to Mathias, WV. where my father became the pastor of a circuit of 3 Church of the Brethren congregations. I was in the 11th grade and our class of 1955 had not many more than a dozen students! I was surely the oddball. My father arranged for lessons with Prof Edgar Anderson at Madison College. We made weekly trips there for lessons, while he shopped for groceries. I also with him and later with my brother John a trumpet player played in the Bridgewater College pit orchestra performed the Christmas portion of Handel's " Messiah". Dr. Anderson was not the passionate teacher Carl was. He remarked once "That my former teacher probably romanticized violin playing too much" To an maturing adolescent this wasn't very encouraging. At least twice I was invited to return to play in the symphony which I did. I was provided a hotel room and a small check. I got there by bus and thumbing for rides.

In my senior year it was discovered that my grades didn't allow me to attend Bridgewater, but that Shenandoah College and Conservatory were eager to add an experienced violinist to their Conservatory section, give me a $200 scholarship and help me find nearby part time work. I became a student there, and worked at Lottie Thomas's House and Home bakery within walking distance of the campus. I played in their orchestra and sang in the Conservatory choir. After a few months I discovered the Dayton Church of the Brethren up the street from the bakery.

While at the bakery I met my future wife to be who also worked after school there. I think it was she who encouraged me to visit Dayton CoB   on Sundays. I began attending there, joined the choir and except for a very few occasions just lived in the dorms, ate meals at Lottie's and only interacted with classmates between classes. One afternoon maybe on a choir day at the Brethren church I asked Lib Flory  to walk her home from choir as I didn't have a car. She answered that her brother in law who lived next house down on the road drove her home. He was a good tenor in the choir. She went home and told her mother who advised her  to walk back to the bakery with enough money to buy a dozen donuts and " tell Bill Kinzie he can walk you home". That was in the Fall of 1955. We continued to see each other and married after Christmas the next year in 1956. I remember doing a lot of painting floors of the college and other sort of janitorial work. I also was offered a part time janitorial work at the new Turner Ashby HS. I became more active in the youth groups with Lib in the Church of the Brethren. The second year at Shenandoah was a tough one, especially the second year theory class!

6. I graduated in 1960 from Bridgewater College, taught two years of 6th grade classes and decided to go for a Master's degree at JMU. I was accepted and received my degree in 1963. Taught a year or so in Lynchburg where I reconnected with Roger Taylor from Roanoke who was now teaching in Lynchburg. He suggested I rejoin the Symphony which I did. This was another coincidence that continued my journey! 

7. In the Fall of 1964 a string teaching position providentially  opened in the Roanoke City schools. I was made aware of it and applied. I was accepted and began teaching at Patrick Henry HS in November 1964. Our daughter, Lisa was born on January 2, 1965. Because I had also directed a Presbyterian church choir while working on my advanced degree I was also able to parlay that into a part time position at Covenant Presbyterian in Roanoke.

8. My classes were good. We added Cathy to  our family and life was progressing.. I joined NEA, MENC, and ASTA. Became known among string teachers of Virginia, became part of the faculty of Virginia Music Camp and also a few summers at the Roanoke Youth Symphony camp. Around 1970's I also played in the summer institute for aspiring conductors at Orkney Springs, Va. sponsored by the American Symphony Orchestra League and the State of Virginia. I did this for about ten summers. Their master conductor/teacher was Dr. Richard Lert, Brahms was his godfather. He was in his 80's when I learned to know him. I learned much about conducting second hand, and developed a keen interest in quartet music.

9. Gibson Morrisey died and Dr. Jack Moelencamp became our next conductor. After several years we hired Dr. Victoria Bond one of the pioneer women conductors. She stayed with us about ten years and the symphony thrived. Computers became available to the average person and a new superintendent of school s decreed that our city schools must integrate computer instruction into the curriculum. String instruction took a hit and we hung on by the thinnest string. Victoria left us and the search committee next hired a charismatic  conductor, Dr. David Wiley. 

10. Around this time in the 1990's I encountered another opportunity to perform.A pianist from Hollins College invited me to play a gig at the Greenbrier Resort Hotel. Though not fully prepared I accepted and enjoyed the experience. A little later he invited me again and I was more comfortable. It occurred to me that I was repeating the orchestral repertoire and it was stressful and wasn't paying for the effort. I made the decision to drop the symphony. Gigs at the Greenbrier increased and then my Hollins pianist stopped going. I had to find a reliable accompanist.... and a new musical collaborator appeared on the scene. She was Camille Carothers.

Camille was a very fine, recently divorced pianist who had arrived in the Roanoke area as she had an older sister who lived here. She made a living by playing at a local eatery and maybe teaching some piano. We both attended First Baptist and someone suggested I ask her if she was interested. I asked and she was. Thus began  a decade long collaboration where she parlayed her skills into being one of the Greenbrier's main pianists. During this time I also had a string quartet that played for Greenbrier weddings and weddings at the Homestead and the Roanoke area. After I retired from teaching in the city schools, I began to feel the first debilitating effects of age, a tingling in my feet as if they were going sleep. I had introduced  Camille to Jim Glazebrook, the concertmaster of the Roanoke Symphony and conductor of the Virginia Tech symphony and Roanoke Youth Symphony. She asked him whether he would like to play a gig with her at the Greenbrier and he did. Long story short they married and she had a built in violinist. When he couldn't she would call me until it was impossible for me to physically stand and do the gig.

11. Our family moved to Richmond area and Midlothian. I fortunately was able to have two hip replacements and through previous connections joined the Richmond Philharmonic, a large and competent  community symphony. Not long after, I was invited to fill in at a local string quartet largely from the symphony which morphed into a regular meeting where I played 2nd violin. I was in violin heaven. Then our cellist had a stroke and later died. I thought our quartet was over, then at a music store I was complaining about not having cellist and the owner introduced me to a lady who was a clarinetist, Sheryl Smith,  switching over to cello who was looking for a quartet. Isn't that luck or Providence!? Then our 1st violinist had a debilitating accident and for several years I was the first violinist. Then our 2nd violinist dropped out and Andy Certner   became our 1 st violinist. He had an enormous collection of  quartet and other string configurations and I enjoyed another five years of music making. Then Covid came and for a year and a half we pretty much stopped quarteting,

12. CODA: In the Fall of 2022 my eyesight began to worsen due to glaucoma. One Thursday after a delightful session I told the group that I could no longer be their 2nd violinist because of my failing eyesight and other health considerations affecting Lib and I. I wanted to add this to my blog to show other aspiring violinists the steps that allowed me to make a delightful living as violin teacher, orchestra violinist, hotel violinist, and quartet musician. I can't vouch for the absolute accuracy of dates (they are relatively close). The sequence and people in the narrative are much more accurate. 



 






















P


Saturday, November 12, 2022

THOUGHTS ON THE RECENT ELECTION

 Its been a week since the midterms and these are my thoughts. I am not quite the average American if you've perused other offerings here. When Trump was elected there were 3 candidates: Trump, Clinton (a woman and knew politics ) and an Independent. Clinton was not liked by many and the conventional wisdom was that a vote for the Independent would take away from Trump. Trump had held no office but projected himself as a successful business and TV personality. Knowing that Christian Evangelicals were a huge possible voting block he astutely wooed them and they came around even though Trump was known for many transgressions.

Trump was elected President and shortly experienced a deserved bad press. He had a bad reputation with women, then he fired several very capable men in his inner circle, scandals from his multitude of business dealings emerged, but as he was President they were side lined. Next he made nice with Putin and the North Korean dictator, choosing to believe Putin over our own heads of intelligence. Over and over he was excused for behaviors and actions that another in the same position would not be tolerated. America experienced the Covid pandemic and he misjudged its severity and  a million died because of his malfeasance. He divided the country and encouraged the worst elements to emerge. The worship of sheer power was the excuse to keep him in power. American education and science were denigrated. The ideals of a great country because of its veneration of justice and compassion for the poor were often replaced by their opposite. 

There was always the hope that most American citizens would somehow see that we were slowly encouraging a style of fascist governance. It all exploded when Biden was elected President. Trump had primed a segment of the Republicans with the notion that if he lost then the election was stolen. That notion was promoted before the election and then prosecuted through the courts where it was destroyed even by Republican judges. There followed the attempted coup at the Capitol on January 6, a day of infamy when armed and angry people entered the halls of Congress determined to force a reversal. 

As hearings and findings demonstrated how deeply the American ideal had been compromised the ship of State began to right itself.  Usually the party in power suffers significantly in the interims. A red tide was anticipated. Then Russia invaded Ukraine and America weighed its finest values and behaviors and recognized that a great error had been encouraged and condoned. They saw true bravery and responded with military and moral help against a brutal invasion.

Politics is often ugly as its practitioners jockey for power. However, there are basic guardrails that if breached may cause real damage for the perpetrators. Because Americans are aficionados of sports and sportsmanship, there are rules of the game. It appears that the voters have stemmed the red tide and the values practiced and espoused by those in the recent past. May the  vision of our best selves carry the day and may those who have been so egregiously agreed to be misled be returned to the wisdom that guided them in their daily endeavors into a manageable future. 



MORE OCTOBER PICTURES

The afternoon we drove up to Blue Ridge Prkwy I took these pics with my IPhone 13. The top one is of the scenery around us and the blue sky. Lib is in the car if you expand the picture.



In late October we made a quick dash up to the Blue Ridge Parkway about an hour and a half from our Richmond area home. The leaves were beautiful, but the prettiest ones weren't easily accessible to our somewhat handicapped condition. These are looking down into the Waynesboro region. My sister, Mary, and her husband Malcolm Inge we learned later were up there around the same time and we may have crossed paths!

The last picture is a little mountain to the left of the scenery at this picture. 


 

Friday, November 11, 2022

October events

 October 6 was a happy day for our families. It was the day our great grandson was born. His name is Louis William White and will be called Loui. We have seen pictures of him,  but still haven't seen him in person. We look forward to that time.

I also stopped playing with our string quartet as my eyesight is fading from glaucoma  and Lib is in need of physical therapy. At the end of the month Lib and I both severed our participation in the Branderbells. We are slowing down  as age intervenes in what we can physically handle. We are still able to take care of ourselves and most of the small needs and repairs in our home. 




Top photo is Louis William White, middle picture he is held by his mother, Michele, and the last pic is him being held by his father, Dan White.


Saturday, June 4, 2022

CLASS REUNION/BIRTHDAY PARTY

                   FRIDAY JUNE 3, 2022



What a full and exciting day this was! Lib and I had two very significant events to attend and they were 100 miles apart.  

The first was her high school reunion with the class of 1957. The first class of the newly consolidated Turner Ashby HS in Rockingham County, Virginia. They had been meeting every 5 years for some time at the Traditions Restaurant near Harrisonburg. 

  Lib and I are beginning to feel the effects of advanced age so decided to attend this one. We were to meet there around 12 pm and have lunch and leave around 3 pm to return home and attend a birthday party for Andy Certner (violinist/violist) a musical friend in our area at 6:30.

   The weather was uncharacteristically clear and cool and the drive up I-64 and over Afton Mountain was pleasant and uneventful. I-81 was also less crowded and frenetic. We made it in plenty of time. 

We enjoyed reconnecting with about 25 or so classmates (estimate) and their husbands and wives. We missed seeing some that lived in the area and enjoyed some who had come a distance. Lib especially was glad to see Emily Kiser, a  friend who had journeyed from near Orlando, Fla. for the occasion. There was mentioned a new interval for the reunion of each year, the first Friday in June. 

   We left around 3 pm which would give us 40 minutes extra to drive back to Richmond, freshen up and drive the 35 minutes to our birthday celebration for a musical friend, who just happens to live a few blocks from our West Richmond Church of the Brethren.

   Near Staunton, Va. there was a crash on I-81 and we were delayed 25 minutes. On I-64 near Charlottesville, we saw the aftermath of a westbound crash involving a 16-wheeler. We arrived home at 5:50 and really scurried to prepare for our next party.

   After purchasing more gasoline we were on the road again and made it to our party by 6:40. 

It was a gala event for our quartet’s 1st violinist’s 70 birthday at their home! I estimated about 20+ were there for this very happy gathering. As most of us were musicians we had much in common to share about life experiences. Linda had prepared a sumptuous and tasty variety of light foods and desserts! The party was held outside on their sumptuous desk. What a wonderful way to end one of our most active days!