Martha M. -- Music from a Progressive Heart

My Letter to the Tulsa World

2009-02-09T19:05:00.004-06:00

Tulsa World
P.O. Box 1770
Tulsa, OK 74102-1770

Re: Include the Arts in National Economic Recovery Efforts

Dear Tulsa World:

As Congress considers the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, the arts and culture sector must be included. The arts are essential to the health and vitality of our communities. They enhance community development; spur urban renewal; attract new businesses; draw tourism dollars; and create an environment that attracts skilled, educated workers and builds a robust 21st century workforce.

Nonprofit arts organizations such as the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra, Tulsa Ballet, Tulsa Opera, and Theatre Tulsa, to name but a few, are proud members of the business community—employing people locally, purchasing goods and services within the community, and involved in the marketing and promotion of their cities. In fact, there are more full-time jobs supported by the nonprofit arts than are in accounting, public safety officers, even lawyers and just slightly fewer than elementary school teachers.

According to Americans for the Arts, a $50 million investment to the National Endowment for the Arts will provide critical funding to save 14,422 jobs from being lost in the U.S. economy. This is based on the ability of the NEA to leverage $7 in additional support through local, state and private donations, for every $1 in NEA subsidies.

There are approximately 100,000 nonprofit arts organizations, which spend $63.1 billion annually. Without an economic stimulus for the nonprofit arts industry, experts expect about 10% of these organizations (ranging from large arts institutions like museums and orchestras to small community-based organizations in suburban, urban and rural areas) to shut their doors in 2009 - a loss of 260,000 jobs.

In a report released in mid-January, the National Governor's Association stated, "Arts and culture are important to state economies. Arts and culture-related industries, also known as "creative industries," provide direct economic benefits to states and communities: They create jobs, attract investments, generate tax revenues, and stimulate local economies through tourism and consumer purchases." A recent arts economic impact study in Tulsa showed that every person attending an arts performance generates 27.47 for our economy. If we conservatively estimate last night's performance of Cinderella at 2,100 attendees, than last night's performance alone brought $57,687 into Tulsa's economy.

Then-NEA Chairman Dana Gioia issued the following statement prior to his departure, "Arts organizations have been hit enormously hard by the current recession. They've seen their support drop from corporations, foundations, and municipalities. This infusion of funds will help sustain them, their staffs, and the artists they employ. We are hopeful that Congress and the new administration will support this important investment."

Sincerely,

Martha Mattes

President Obama Gets the Mad Treatment

2009-01-28T10:34:00.004-06:00

This is for anyone who (like me) ever had a teacher confiscate a copy of Mad Magazine back in grade school or junior high. I suspect many a teacher confiscating copies of Mad Magazine in the classroom is bursting out in laugther.

You know you've made it when Mad Magazine spoofs you on their cover!

Welcome, Mr. President, Michelle, Malia and Sasha-At Long Last!

2009-01-24T21:25:00.005-06:00

At long last. Barack Obama is President of the United States. Intelligence, common sense and decency have returned to the White House. We have every reason to believe the Obama administration will work for all Americans-not just "my base," as W told his oil cronies at a fundraiser.

There is every reason to believe the Obama administration will be far friendlier to the arts than the previous administration. It is notable that the Obama campaign had a detailed position paper on the arts, while the McCain campaign had none. I am heartened by many of my fellow musicians and artists who are speaking out now about the need to promote the arts in our country, and the creative energy being expended to determine the best course of action for helping arts groups facing hard times-and educating our country as to why the arts are important (e.g., the economic impact of the arts).

In the meantime, the reality of the new Obama administration is finally beginning to sink in. These past few days I have been alternating between giddiness and pinching myself to make certain this is real. My friends and colleagues have had the same reaction. Perhaps this is a reaction to going from the ridiculous to the sublime, the experience of feeling beaten down by eight years of the Worst President Ever (not to mention his policies favoring the privileged class), of having a President I whose candidacy I supported from the day he announced his bid, my personal pride in having a President from my home city of Chicago, the rapture of our fellow world citizens at Obama's presidency-to the promise of a person of color being our Commander In Chief.

I won't go into the myraid of issues to be addressed-that would require several more blog posts! Suffice it to say that I agree 100% with conductor Bill Eddins' assessment of the Bush administration in his January 20, 2009 post to Sticks and Drones that "(i)t has been a horrible 8 years for this country for a lot of reasons."

Finally, for all the yammering of the "Christian" Right about "Traditional Family Values" (which usually means subordination of women to men and/or denying the right of same-sex couples to marital rights and responsibilities), the new First Family exhibits true family values. In the coverage of the inaugural balls I was touched by the very obvious love displayed between Barack and Michelle Obama-and by Joe and Jill Biden. Throughout the campaign I have observed how Barack reacts to Michelle when she's speaking-how he looks at her, listens to her and obviously respects her opinions and considerable intelligence. January 20, 2009 also displayed, for the world to see, the great love Barack and Michelle have for their daughters. How refreshing that we have a First Family that doesn't need to talk about Family Values, because they live those values every day.

Welcome to the White House, Barack, Michelle, Malia, Sasha and Marian (our new First Grandmother). We're thrilled you're there. Thank you for stepping up to serve our country when we need you the most.

2008 in Review and Reflection

2009-01-01T23:27:00.003-06:00

My friend Lee decided to do this this year, so I'm following Lee's suggestion. This is a good way to reflect the year that's passed, and I encourage others to do likewise.

1. What did you do in 2008 that you'd never done before?

Other than having had oral surgery to extract wisdom teeth about 25 years ago, I had never had surgery. I had three surgeries in 2008. The first surgery was a D & C to get a sample of uterine lining after my OB/GYN became alarmed at a thickening in the lining. Fortunately, no cancer was found. The second was to remove my gall bladder. I'd been having increasingly severe gall bladder attacks over the past several years, and the gastroenterologist advised me the gall bladder had to go. The third surgery, and the only one requiring an inpatient stay, was a hysterectomy. These surgeries helped me get over my fear of surgery. I felt very well cared for at St. John, and really appreciated the nuns who came to offer a prayer. I also came to appreciate how wonderful Fr. Joseph is with pastoral care-the Sacrament of Unction was so very comforting, as well as the communion Fr. Joseph brought prior to my hysterectomy. I was very much cheered by the Trinity parishioners who visited in the hospital, called and sent cards-and the Flower Ministry, which brought flowers from the High Altar after one Sunday service.

2. Did you keep your new year's resolutions and will you make more for next year?

I have not made resolutions for the past several years, because they always get broken. But I have resolved for 2009 to get less cluttered-to get all the old clothing, shoes, books, and other such stuff that are taking up space out of the house. I've already taken a couple of loads of clothing to a nearby collection box for the Margaret Hudson Program (a program for pregnant and parenting teens in Tulsa).

3. Did anyone close to you give birth?

No.

4. Did anyone close to you die?

No.

5. What trips did you take?

Due to my health challenges and multiple surgeries, I didn't take any real trips this year. I did make a couple of overnight trips to Oklahoma City for ballet performances.

6. What would you like to have in 2009 that you lacked in 2008?

I'd like to have a healthy relationship with a special man who loves and respects me for who I am, and who is able and willing to make a commitment.

I'd like to have an actual vacation and get away from Tulsa for at least a week.

I'd like to have the air conditioning in my car back.

I'd like to be living in a house closer to downtown.

7. What dates from 2008 will remain etched upon your memory, and why?

I'm not good at remembering dates, but there will be several events etched in my memory.

The historic 2008 election. Obviously, I will never forget where I was when MSNBC projected Barack Obama the winner of the presidential election. I will also never forget the watch party at the moment when MSNBC projected Obama to be the presumptive Democratic nominee.

The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra's performance of Mahler Symphony #5 (first time ever for that work in Tulsa), and the 20-minute ovation following the performance.

8. What was your biggest achievement of the year?

Writing a successful Major Grant Support application for funding from the Oklahoma Arts Council.

9. Best books you read in 2008?

The Audacity of Hope

10. Song lyric that most reflects 2008?

I've been wracking my minibrain, thinking I couldn't come up with any. But, for some reason, Paul Simon's 1975 hit, 50 Ways to Leave Your Lover, comes to mind. While the song references ending a romantic relationship, I see the parallells to ending what was (with the exception of Barack Obama's election) a very bad year, and ending the eight-year Bush/Cheney Reign of Terror.

The problem is all inside your head
She said to me
The answer is easy if you
Take it logically
I’d like to help you in your struggle
To be free
There must be fifty ways
To leave your lover

She said it’s really not my habit
To intrude
Furthermore, I hope my meaning
Won’t be lost or misconstrued
But I’ll repeat myself
At the risk of being crude
There must be fifty ways
To leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover

CHORUS:
You just slip out the back, Jack
Make a new plan, Stan
You don’t need to be coy, Roy
Just get yourself free
Hop on the bus, Gus
You don’t need to discuss much
Just drop off the key, Lee
And get yourself free

She said it grieves me so
To see you in such pain
I wish there was something I could do
To make you smile again
I said I appreciate that
And would you please explain
About the fifty ways

She said why don’t we both
Just sleep on it tonight
And I believe in the morning
You’ll begin to see the light
And then she kissed me
And I realized she probably was right
There must be fifty ways
To leave your lover
Fifty ways to leave your lover

CHORUS

Happy Christmastide

2008-12-29T20:06:00.003-06:00

The Feast of the Nativity of our Lord has come and gone. It's still Christmas, and will be, until January 6, which is the Feast of the Epiphany.

It's been a quiet break period in Casa Mattes. The Tulsa Symphony Orchestra office is closed until January 5, so I've got quiet time at home for the next week.

I really haven't done much of anything-just lounging around home, and having a lot of cuddle time with my cat. Phoebe is very happy! I've been spending a lot of time on Facebook, and fighting boredom.

I have seen one move, Doubt, which I recommend highly. Strong performances by two well-established actors, Meryl Streep and Philip Seymour Hoffman, as well as Amy Adams and Viola Davis, who display their considerable dramatic skills. See my mini-review on Facebook. Anyone reading this post will get to help me decide which movie to take in at the end of this post. Keep reading!

Yesterday I took in the Ansel Adams exhibit at Gilcrease Museum. The photography (all black and white) was nothing short of incredible. The exhibit included a lot of information about Adams' formative years in San Francisco, his musical background (at one point he was pursuing a career as a concert pianist), his friendship with Georgia O'Keefe, and his involvement with the Sierra Club (Adams was an environmentalist long before it was fashionable to be one). If any Tulsan is reading this and hasn't yet seen the exhibit, get yourself over to Gilcrease pronto. The exhibit closes January 4.

Tomorrow a group of us from the Trinity Choir are going to sing for Mary Matthews at St. Simeon's. Mary is convelsecing following a hip replacement after she broke her hip on November 30. I hope we get a good turnout. I know it's very hard for Mary not only to be in the health care center, but to be away from her beloved Trinity choir at this time.

Now, as promised: Here are some movies I'm considering for next Friday. Post a comment as to which one you think I should see next weekend:

*Milk
*Valkyrie
*Slumdog Millionaire
*A Christmas Tale (at Circle Cinema, Tulsa's indie house)

An Ice Day at Home and Facebook

2008-12-15T21:02:00.006-06:00

Thanks to sleet overnight, the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra office was closed today. So, I sat home in my bathrobe today, doing not much of anything. I don't apologize-with three Nutcracker performances and two church services to play over the weekend I felt I deserved a day of "down time."

Things don't look any better, weather-wise, tomorrow. Tulsa Public Schools, and most of the surrounding districts, including Broken Arrow, have already called classes for tomorrow. I just took a look at the radar on NewsOn6, and as of 9:10 pm the radar is showing light snow tracking north of Tulsa. We'll see what transpires overnight . . .

The conversation with Mother did not go well last night. I never had to tell Mother I would rather not come up for Christmas, given the circumstances. Once I told her what the cost of the cheapest air fare was, she realized she couldn't afford it, either. She didn't take it at all well. She alternated between crying and yelling at me. She's completely oblivious to the fact that her behavior only serves to drive people away. She said she'd just sit at home and mope on Christmas Day, then told me I should try to get together with friends on Christmas (while she makes absolutely no effort to try and get together with friends of her own, of course). Need I say that this is all my fault-if I wasn't such a spendthrift good-for-nothing who blows my paycheck at Whole Foods and eating out "all the time" (her words) I would be absolutely flush with money.

There's no reasoning with Mother.

John suggested Mother take a look at her local Consumer Credit Counseling and see folks who are in danger of losing their homes, of having their cars repossessed. Perhaps Mother can visit Iron Gate Ministry and meet some of the guests-many employed, many families-who have absolutely nothing.

Well, I took the Facebook plunge today. We'll see what comes of it. Think I'll find new friends? Here's my Facebook profile.

Back to Keith Olbermann now!

Christmas, Nutcracker, and a Meddling Mother

2008-12-14T12:46:00.008-06:00

The post-Thanksgiving period has been quite busy, with Nutcracker performances coming out the ear. As a Tulsa Symphony Orchestra musician, I'm in the pit, along with my colleagues, for Tulsa Ballet's annual production. This year we did three performances at Rose State College's Performing Arts Center in Midwest City (a suburb of Oklahoma City), and (by the end of this year's run), eight performances in Tulsa. This morning I also played two services at Carbondale Assembly of God, the church of my longtime stand partner, Raymond. I'm more than a little disappointed that I'm not playing the annual Messiah for Boston Avenue Church. I used to play that job every year when Rod (our then principal bassoonist and member of that church) hired the orchestra. Since Rod's departure Steve (our second trumpet) has taken over hiring the orchestra, and he rarely calls me. I can always hope for a last minute cancellation in the violins and that Steve will give me a call. The money sure wouldn't hurt.

Speaking of money-we all know money is tight for everyone these days. I'm no exception. I count myself lucky that I am employed, that I still have health insurance, and while I have to watch my money, I'm still able to pay the bills, keep my lights on and eat. True, my car needs some work, which I have been putting off for some time now. If I didn't have to give up the first opera of this season-and its income-due to my surgery, and if I hadn't had my medical expenses of the past six months or so, the car probably would have been taken care of. So, while things are far from perfect, I think I'm doing okay.

My mother doesn't think so.

Prior to Thanksgiving I made the mistake of mentioning that my car needed work (in response to her question about whether or not I would be coming for Christmas). On Thanksgiving Day (one week later) she asked me if I had my car repaired. When I replied that I hadn't yet, but I would get to it, she started hectoring me about how irresponsible I was, what a spendthrift, and (her favorite refrain when she needs to put me down) how I was "just like my father." (In my mother's eyes, my father is the epitome of "good for nothing.")

Long story short-Mother is talking about helping me purchase a plane ticket to visit her over Christmas. She also insists "we need to talk" about my finances. As much as I would like to get away and spend some time in Chicago (especially in light of the fact that our next President is from Chicago), I am leaning strongly against going. My personal finances are none of my mother's business, and I do not want to be put in a situation where she starts asking nosy questions about how I choose to live my life. I see this as a blatant attempt to control me. She has never learned that she cannot control me, and that she has to butt out of her daughter's personal finances.

On the other hand, I could make matters worst by staying away. But at this point I've had it with her meddling. After one conversation I was so frustrated I did a Google search on divorcing one's parents. Believe me, at times like this I would welcome the option to divorce my mother so I don't have to put up with her controlling games any longer.

Okay. End of rant. Have to talk to Mother again tonight. Sigh. I'm not going to change her, so it's probably better for both of us if I just remain in Tulsa for the Christmas period.

Caroline Kennedy for NEA Chair

2008-11-24T19:36:00.009-06:00

Cross posted in my Daily Kos diary. Please log into Daily Kos and recommend my diary!

Ever since Caroline Kennedy endorsed Barack Obama's presidential candidacy in January 2008, the chattering classes have been speculating about possible roles in an Obama administration: Secretary of Education? UN Ambassador? Vice President?

Notwithstanding her book, Profiles in Courage For Our Time (a sequel to her father's book), the annual Profiles in Courage Award, and hosting the annual Kennedy Center Honors, Caroline Kennedy has been famously publicity-shy. It seems to me she might be equally averse to a high-level cabinet post. So-how about appointing her to head a government agency providing funding to something near and dear to her heart?

I would like to make a modest proposal: Appoint Caroline Kennedy as the next Chairwoman and CEO of the National Endowment for the Arts.

While Ms. Kennedy is not, herself an artist (which is not a requirement for this post), she has a well-documented commitment to the arts. She is Honorary Chairwoman of American Ballet Theatre, and worked for five years for the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, giving her a hands-on perspective of the workings of arts institutions.

Since the NEA is a governmental institution, political savvy is also a must. After call, Congress holds the purse strings, as we have seen through repeated attempts to cut, or even zero out, NEA funding. Caroline Kennedy has gained first-hand knowledge of the workings of Congress not only through her work with the Obama campaign, but through her internship with her uncle, Sen. Edward Kennedy (D-MA).

Caroline Kennedy has the knowledge of the arts and the political savvy necessary to oversee the NEA. Most important, she has the proverbial "fire in the belly" to help the NEA fulfill its mission "to enrich our Nation and its diverse cultural heritage by supporting works of artistic excellence, advancing learning in the arts, and strengthening the arts in communities throughout the country."

The Kennedy family seeks to make a difference in our country, and Caroline Kennedy is no exception. She can make a big difference by promoting excellence in the arts in our country by chairing the National Endowment for the Arts.

Sunday Evening at Home

2008-11-23T18:38:00.006-06:00

Well, here I am on a Sunday evening. "60 Minutes" is broadcasting a story about Rex, a teenage musical savant, and my cat, Phoebe, is sitting on one of the arms of the chair supervising my blogging. (Actually, she just curled up on my feet.)

It's been fairly quiet weekend, which is fine by me. Friday night was busy-dinner at Keo, then a concert at Trinity presented by the University of Tulsa Chorale, Cappella Chamber Singers and Symphony Orchestra. Keo is a trendy Pan-Asian restaurant in Tulsa's Brookside district. The dinner at Keo was pricey but wonderful-I had the chef''s special, halibut with a red pepper sauce, jasmine rice and stir-fried vegetables, and started out with steamed shrimp dumplings. The fly in the ointment was the indifferent service.

The TU concert was excellent. The TU School of Music has come a long way in the past 5-10 years or so, and this concert proved it. The Cappella Chamber singers presented an fine program of a capella works to start the program, and Rick Wagner led the TU Symphony Orchestra in the "Preghiera" movement of Tchaikovsky's Mozartiana Suite (sometimes referred to as Suite No. 4). The evening ended with an outstanding student performance of the Mozart Requiem, which I consider one of the most beautiful compositions of all time.

Kim Childs has more than adroitly led the choral music program at TU in the three short years he's been at TU. The students sang with clarity, confidence and conviction. Best of all, they had an incredible blend and pure sound-at no point did vibrato distort the pitch, and I never heard any one voice overpowering the ensemble. Trinity was jam-packed with TU students, faculty and community members. I was particularly glad to see a good number of Trinity parishioners in attendance.

Casey and Philippe are taking "a holiday" (as they say in the UK) in England, so Karen was on the organ bench, and David did the choral conducting. Karen did an excellent job with the service-one of the best, if not the best, subs we've had.

And I couldn't help but smile during the Prayers of the People when we prayed for "Barack, our president-elect." I can't wait until the "elect" part is taken off!

The Magical Music of Disney & Inaugural Gigs

2008-11-17T21:55:00.008-06:00

Saturday night was my first post-surgery subscription concert. It was a pops concert-The Magical Music of Disney. Basically, this was a concert of medleys from Disney movies (my favorite was the medley from Mary Poppins, as it brought back fond childhood memories). James Bagwell, music director of Light Opera Oklahoma was on the podium. This concert also involved coordination with slides of scenes from the films (some of which were conceptual drawings from the films' development), and Jimmy did a great job staying on top of the visuals. What I liked most was the number of children in the audience-there were kids sitting in the front row! Get 'em while they're young, and hopefully, they will become symphony lovers for life.

One of my fellow choristers at Trinity made the point of telling me how much she enjoyed the concert the next morning at church.

I recently received an e-mail message from the Secretary-Treasurer of Local 94, AFM. She's part of a trio that played for one of the inaugural balls for President Bill Clinton's second inauguration in 1997. She thought that since I had been an active volunteer with the campaign, I might know of a contact for one of the inaugural balls-Tammy's trio is looking for a gig. I had to tell her I had no earthly idea who to contact, but gave her the name of a local coordinator who's involved in Eco Fest (formerly Reggae Fest), so perhaps Amie knows something that I don't. Saturday night after the concert I related to Local 94 President (and Tulsa Symphony Principal Horn) Bruce the e-mail exchange. Bruce then put in a plug for his brass quintet. I'm flattered that people think I have these inside connections, but I have no earthly idea who is organizing all the inaugural balls in January!

I just wish I could be there for that historic occasion . . .

Secretary of the Arts Petition

2008-11-15T18:12:00.000-06:00

In a recent interview, Quincy Jones said that he'd "beg for a Secretary of the Arts" next time he speakswith President-Elect Obama.[ http://www.wnyc.org/shows/soundcheck/episodes/2008/11/14/segments/115299 ]

A petition to create a cabinet-level Secretary of the Arts has been posted. I hope you'll join me and sign too. And please-spread the word.

Secretary of the Arts Petition

Yes We Did!!!

2008-11-10T21:56:00.006-06:00

Well, after almost two years of silence, this historic election is probably a good time to resume posting (I hope).

It's been almost a week since November 4. It's finally hitting home to me that Barack Obama will be our next President. This is the first time I've supported a candidate since the day he announced (actually, before he announced, since I signed one of the petitions urging him to run back in 2006). Since he announced in February 2007 I have been involved as a volunteer for the campaign-organizing, cajoling, sending money (I was part of the $25/month club), making phone calls, even spending a day in Joplin, Missouri to GOTV (Get Out The Vote).

Because of my involvement, and that of so many other grassroots people, we will probably always remember where we were when we learned Barack Obama had been elected 44th President of the United States.

On Election Day I was on pins and needles. The polls said that Obama was going to win, but the polls have been wrong before. I wasn't trusting anything. When 5 o'clock hit I joined two of my symphony colleagues in Marc's office for a celebratory straight Knob Creek. (Marc and Tim were more trusting of the polls than I was.) Before I headed upstairs to the Jazz Hall of Fame for the watch party, I spent some time on my computer checking the MSBNC, Daily Kos and Huffington Post websites for updates & live blogging. I headed upstairs about 7:30pm & immediately came upon a jam-packed house. I spotted a few friends, but could say little more than "hi" to them because of the joyful pandemonium. (Most people were clearly expecting a victory.) The media was out in force-KOTV Channel 6 (CBS) had a camera crew interviewing Amie, one of the local coordinators. I was stopped by a photographer from the Tulsa World wanting to get my name-he had taken my picture. (It didn't get into the paper.) CNN.com's live stream was projected onto one wall.

Pennsylvania was called not too long after my arrival, and within half an hour of Pennsylvania, Ohio. I think we all knew Obama was headed for victory.

I found a quieter place in the Jazz Hall of Fame's listening room, where another television had been set up. The TV was mostly set to MSNBC (my favorite), with occasional forays to CNN and KJRH (Tulsa's NBC affiliate). I won't go into the all-too-depressing local/state results now, save for the election of Karen Keith to the Tulsa County Commission and the easy re-election of Rep. Jeannie McDaniel & Sen. Tom Adelson.

I found Jeannie, who had done a lot of work in the early stages of the campaign, there with her husband. We sat together watching the returns come in with the rest of the room. Shortly before 10pm CST I remember saying to Jeannie, "Well, the polls will be closing any minute now on the west coast. California has 55 electoral votes right there." (MSNBC had Obama at about 204 electoral votes, I believe.) I remember checking my cell phone for the time-it said 9:59pm. Next thing I know MSNBC was playing that "Projection" music, and flashing Obama's image on the screen with the words "44th President of the United States."

The cheers that went up were simply unbelievable. There was one woman in the anteroom with me who had her arms lifted up, presumably praising God. Plenty of folks were wiping tears from their eyes. I wandered over to the main hall, and joined in the cheers of O-BAM-A! O-BAM-A! YES WE DID! After I was hoarse from the cheering I retreated outdoors and called my mother. Although she was very happy, she was more relieved that McCain/Palin had not been elected (she was absolutely petrified that they would steal the election).

Mother and I agreed the Chicago skyline was particularly beautiful on television, and were very moved by the hundreds of thousands of supporters in Grant Park. We were both very proud that a fellow Chicagoan would now be President of the United States.

I decided to head home, and listened to McCain's acceptance speech on NPR on my way home. I remember thinking, "Why couldn't he have been this gracious during the campaign? He must have received terrible advice from his handlers." I got home, turned on my television, and within a few moments savored the victory speech of President-elect Obama, with my cat in my lap. I will never forget the tear-streaked faces of Oprah Winfrey & the Rev. Jesse Jackson. It occurred to me that Rev. Jackson was likely hoping Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. was watching his dream unfold from heaven. There were the images of the jubilant crowd, entranced by the eloquent words of our next President. There was the Chicago skyline, more beautiful than ever, as if the buildings themselves were embracing our country and its new leadership. There was Lake Michigan, reflecting the pure joy of the hour. There was Field Museum, lit up in all its glory, seeing history itself in the making.

Finally, there were the Obama families-the incredible future First Lady, Michelle, the beautiful Obama daughters Malia and Sasha, and the wonderful Biden family: the Vice President-elect's attractive wife, Jill, his children and grandchildren, and his mother. How moving it was when Vice President-elect Biden brought his mother to the edge of the stage to introduce her to the crowd.

Who would have thought this "skinny guy from the South Side with a funny name" (as President-elect Obama himself said in 2004) would win such a convincing victory in 2008? Who would have thought he would best the "inevitable" Hillary Clinton, and then the seasoned veteran John McCain? The "experts" were saying "this isn't Obama's time. He needs to wait. It's Hillary's turn." Many of my acquaintances couldn't understand why I, a feminist, was supporting this "inexperienced" upstart and not falling in line behind Hillary Clinton. Well-it was just something I felt in my heart was the right thing to do. It was never an anti-Clinton thing for me-it was pro-Obama. Indeed, if Barack Obama had decided not to run, I would probably have been supporting Hillary Clinton.

Well, this was a long time in coming. A lot of grassroots people worked very hard-even in the face of the establishment who said this wasn't Obama's time. But it was Obama's time-no, it was our country's time for change.

PS: Musicians and artists overwhelmingly supported the Obama/Biden ticket. Here's why: http://www.barackobama.com/pdf/issues/additional/Obama_FactSheet_Arts.pdf

A sign of the times???

2006-12-12T10:29:00.001-06:00

Draft Obama!

2006-12-11T12:57:00.000-06:00

Another petition may be found at The Petition Site

This is my personality. Hmm . . . . .

2006-11-28T11:41:00.001-06:00

My Personality


Neuroticism	64
Extraversion	20
Openness To Experience	49
Agreeableness	36
Conscientiousness	46

Test Yourself Compare Yourself View Full Report
Find your soulmate / pysch twin

Ugg Boots, MySpace Quizzes and MySpace Surveys by Pulseware Survey Software

What a week . . . .

2006-11-17T18:06:00.000-06:00

Another fast post . . . this has been a hellish week. Both Sheri and Marc were gone this week, which left me to do the bulk of the phone answering. This morning, five minutes before I was slated to go into a meeting, Don (who was chairing the meeting) handed me a pile of materials to be copied off for the meeting. Then, while I'm at the copier frantically trying to pull it all together, Sharon informs me someone has just walked in for season tickets. Of course, she couldn't help him because she was busy with a repairman who had just shown up. So guess who had to take time away from the copier and get this person's information?

I hope we'll reach a point where we can hire additional office personnel to cover phones, etc. I'm not getting any grantwriting done because of all the distractions.

Last weekend's ballet generally went well -- we performed Copland's Rodeo and Oklahoma!, a ballet derived from the choreography of Agnes deMille for the original Broadway stage production and danced to a suite derived from the original Rodgers & Hammerstein musical. The audience loved it -- especially the rendition of Oklahoma! (our state song) at the conclusion of the ballet. In Oklahoma our state song always brings an audience to its feet!

Hopefully next week will be less hectic. Maybe I can even get that one grant completed -- I'm constantly getting pulled away to do other stuff. I hope there will be fewer distractions next week.

A morning rant . . .

2006-11-15T09:50:00.000-06:00

I took one look at my Daily Show
Calendar today, where Iraq is described as "Shitstorm.” I am reminded of yesterday's mass kidnapping in Baghdad yesterday, where as many as 150 persons may still be detained -- no one knows for sure.

The car bombings continue. We've lost more than 2,800 American lives, and Iraqi deaths are in the hundreds of thousands (conservatively).

And the Republicans are still sticking to their "stay the course" mantra, if Rep. Duncan Hunter's (R-CA) comments to Chris Matthews in last night's Hardball episode are any indication.

I'm reminded of the definition of insanity: Doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different results.

Here Endeth the Morning Rant.

Template changing blues

2006-11-14T19:15:00.000-06:00

I decided to change the look of my blog. I decided that I wanted a more subtle appearance, and a page that didn’t take up so much of the screen. I still wanted to keep my links, however.

It took my almost an hour to adapt a template that I liked to my blog, and keep my links. I found the template similar to that Drew McManus uses in his Adaptistration blog. I never realized changing my blog’s appearance would be so complicated. Ugh.

So, my comments on last weekend’s ballet, church stuff and the stupidity of the San Antonio Symphony Board will have to wait. Sorry, but it 7:07 p.m. Tulsa time, and I’ve got a hungry little black cat at home to feed.

I'll eventually post my picture. When I get a Round Tuit.

America Won on November 7

2006-11-10T17:23:00.000-06:00

Today the office closed early due to tonight’s ballet performance. I wish I had known about the early office closing before today – I arrived decked out in my concert blacks and with violin in tow. I considered staying anyway (actually, I am staying to tend to some matters, including this blog post), but I’m tired and want to catch a catnap to be fresh for tonight. Also, grab some sushi on my way home. Phoebe, my funny little black cat, will doubtless be pleased she gets some lap time!

I’ve also just e-mailed vestry members a list of my concerns about the direction of worship at Trinity. To make a long story short, I am concerned about the move away from a high church liturgy, and apparent efforts to move away from our Anglican heritage to some generic Protestant muddle. Of course, the Episcopal Church is not Protestant – but that’s another blog post.

So … I’ll just comment briefly on the November 7 midterm elections. To grossly oversimplify my thoughts: The People of America won. I have renewed faith in our democracy now that the Republicans no longer have a stranglehold in Washington. I was very happy to see Gov. Rod Blagojevich was re-elected in my home state of Illinois. Melissa Bean managed to prove that she was better than the smears of her opponent, David McSweeney (why did he have to be from Barrington Hills, anyway?) and win re-election. I wasn’t always happy with her votes (particularly in support of CAFTA and that dreadful bankruptcy package for the mega banks), but as a whole she’s been good for District 8. I was also happy to see Todd Stroger elected as President of the Cook County Board. I hope he’ll be able to prove his worth to the skeptics and emerge in his own right.

I’m sorry that Tammy Duckworth wasn’t able to prevail in District 6. She’s a remarkable woman and would have been an asset to the House of Representatives. She came very close to capturing the seat held by Henry Hyde – but, as they say, no cigar. I can only hope she pulls a Melissa Bean in the 6th. Melissa first ran in 2002, and came the closest anyone ever had to unseating Philip Crane. Well, she spent the next two years building her war chest and walking the district, getting to know citizens. All while Phil Crane was on one lobbyist-funded junket after another. Here’s hoping Tammy will do the same.

Here in Oklahoma, it was more bittersweet. We didn’t take back the State House, and came to a tie in the State Senate. Good news is we elected Jeri Askins as Lieutenant Governor, so she’ll be the tie-breaker. No suspense whatsoever in the Governor’s race – Brad Henry was re-elected in a rout of Ernest MisTook. I haven’t always agreed with Gov. Henry, but he’s been a very competent governor (to say the least). Drew Edmondson won re-election as Attorney General handily, much to the dismay of the corporate poultry processors who think Oklahoma is a toilet for their chickens. I was thrilled to see Lloyd Fields unseat the anti-worker Brenda Reneau. In addition, Kim Holland was elected Insurance Commissioner in her own right. Despite the smearing of her opponent in ads and robo-calls, Kim maintained the high road through out – and won handily.

I hope to see our Congress take the following steps in their first 100 days:

Raise the minimum wage to $7.25 an hour.
Repeal legislation that inhibits the ability of workers to unionize and collectively bargain.
Start inquiries into the Bush administration’s lies to start the Iraq war, and their abuses of power. If criminal activity is noted, start impeachment proceedings. After all, if President Clinton was impeached for a blow job, President Bush should be impeached for lies and abuses of constitutions powers.
Repeal the Patriot Act, National Security Act, and the other onerous Bush provisions rubber-stamped by the previous congress.
Review the “No Child Left Behind” act. Consider whether certain provisions are realistic. Reconsider the onerous testing requirements. Fully fund the mandates, so no state is unable to comply with requirements.
Start real, meaningful health care reform so every American has access to quality, affordable health care.

Have a great weekend!

Coming together

2006-11-06T16:36:00.000-06:00

Tulsa Symphony creates near-perfect fit on opening night

JAMES D. WATTS JR. World Scene Writer 11/6/2006 View in Print (PDF) Format

A bit of history happened Friday night at the Tulsa Performing Arts Center: The Tulsa Symphony performed its very first concert.

"The keystone of the arts in our city is being re-established in Tulsa tonight," said KOTV personality Glenda Silvey as the evening began.

More than four years have passed since the city's first fully professional orchestra, the Tulsa Philharmonic, dissolved into a stagnant puddle of bad debts and disastrous management after 54 years of operations.

It was 11 months ago, almost to the day, when Dr. Frank Letcher first proposed the idea of an entirely new and different orchestra to be called the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra -- a fully professional ensemble that would employ its musicians throughout the organization, not just as performers on the stage.

It is a tribute to the musicians' commitment to Tulsa that this concept was put into action so quickly, because so many former Philharmonic musicians continued to live and work in Tulsa after that orchestra's collapse in 2002.

In fact, Friday's concert was hardly the orchestra's debut. That came in February, when it accompanied Tulsa Ballet's production of "The Sleeping Beauty." The Tulsa Symphony has also performed with the Tulsa Oratorio Chorus, and many of its musicians were part of the orchestras used by Tulsa Opera and Light Opera Oklahoma this year.

Even so, Friday's concert, titled "Get to Know TSO," was the real benchmark for the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra -- the first performance it could truly call its own, its attempt to make good on the idea, as Silvey put it in her opening remarks, "that an orchestra is not a luxury but a necessity."

So -- how did they do?

Three words: pretty darn good.

It wasn't a perfect evening, to be sure. Jose-Luis Novo, the guest conductor for this concert, set a tempo for Mascagni's "Intermezzo" from "Cavalleria Rusticana" that struck us as too slow. Some soft high notes from the trumpets during the "Some where" segment of Bernstein's Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" -- tough sounds to produce, we grant it -- were a little wobbly. And one over-eager fiddler hit one note too many at the end of the first movement of the Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven.

Yet, these moments were aberrations (or, in the case of the Mascagni, differences of taste). What made the evening special, on a musical rather than a his torical level, was that the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra lived up to its name on the most basic level.

The word "symphony" comes from a pair of Greek words that mean, respectively, "sound" and "together." That is what the Tulsa Symphony did -- for all the many people and instruments that make up the ensemble, the sound they made was one of complete togetherness, remarkable clarity and unwavering purpose.

That was evident from the first few moments of Shostakovich's "Festive Overture." Interestingly, the city's other orchestra, the Signature Symphony at Tulsa Community College, performed this same work the evening before.

Maybe the best way to describe the difference is this. Imagine a puzzle arranged so that all the pieces are in the proper place, just not fitted together. That would be the Signa ture Symphony's Thursday night performance. Imagine that same puzzle with all the pieces connected, and you have the Tulsa Symphony.

That might also be why Novo chose a slower-than-usual tempo for the Mascagni -- to show off that unity and cohesiveness, to stretch things out so that the orchestra could not simply coast along on the music's beautifully sad melodies.

The Symphonic Dances from "West Side Story" gave a number of the musicians a chance to show off a little -- in particular, principal violist Jeffery Cowen, principal flute John Rush, timpanist Gerald Scholl, percussionist Steven Craft and principal French horn J. Bruce Schultz.

And the Symphony No. 5 by Beethoven got an unusually joyous reading from the Tulsa Symphony. The sound of "fate knocking at the door," as Beethoven described the famous di-di-di-dah motif that runs throughout the piece was played here less as something to fear as a challenge to be met -- and overcome.

That, in a real sense, is what this "Get to Know the TSO" concert was all about. It has met the challenge of creating a new musical entity for the city of Tulsa, of taking its first steps on what it hopes to be a long and fruitful artistic journey.

The challenge now is to make certain that those present at the start of this journey -- the 1,000-plus season subscribers, the organizations that have contributed to getting the TSO to this point, the orchestra's musicians and staff -- will keep moving forward once the feel-good glow of this "opening night" has passed, to make certain that the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra "sounds together" for a long time to come.

James D. Watts Jr. (918) 581-8478

Let the music begin!

2006-11-02T11:05:00.000-06:00

The big night’s tomorrow – the official debut of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra!

This has been a productive week on a number of fronts. Our conductor for the week, José-Luis Novo, is clearly a gifted conductor. He conducts with a great deal of musicality, and makes efficient use of rehearsal time. It also helps matters immensely that he has been a professional orchestra musician, too. So many conductors don’t know how they come across to the musicians seated in front of them!

We’ve also seen success on the fundraising front. The Charles and Lynn Schusterman Foundation has announced a $100,000 challenge grant for the orchestra. This grant is predicated on not only our raising the money, but also broadening our base of support. One of the problems of the Tulsa Philharmonic was the over-dependence on a small group of wealthy contributors. When the contributors starting dying off, the orchestra was left in the lurch. The Schusterman family is providing a terrific incentive to expand our contributing sources. Bravo to the Schustermans!

We also received a significant contribution from another local family foundation that had been one of the Tulsa Philharmonic’s most loyal supporters. I cannot divulge the name of the foundation or the amount at this time, but they will be made public soon.

Both of these contributions will further legitimize the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra in the minds of skittish contributors, who are afraid of being burned they way they were with the abrupt shutdown of the Tulsa Philharmonic in 2002.

Therefore, it’s small wonder that our founder, Dr. Frank Letcher, was pleased to the point of giddiness at last night’s rehearsal. I spoke with him at intermission, and he raved about the sound of the orchestra. He’s incredibly excited about tomorrow night’s performance. He’s not the only one – I’ve spoken with a number of patrons who tell me they can’t wait to hear a real professional orchestra on the stage of Chapman Music Hall at the Performing Arts Center! (Incidentally, the PAC staff is excited, too.)

Dr. Letcher is certainly entitled to his giddiness. To be honest, I’m glad he’s so thrilled – it is indicative of his commitment to the orchestra. He’s seeing the fruits of his labors and determination. We have a full-time professional orchestra in Tulsa – an orchestra of artistic integrity, being received with enthusiasm by Tulsa’s arts lovers.

This is the result we've been seeking since 2002.

68 years ago today . . .

2006-10-31T09:47:00.000-06:00

Orson Welles' radio brodcast, War of the Worlds, terrified our nation. Realizing they'd been fooled, Americans shook their radios furiously to punish the little men inside.

Nous sommes desoles que notre president soit un idiot. Nous n'avons pas vote pour lui

2006-10-30T12:28:00.000-06:00

We are sorry that Our President is an idiot. We did not vote for him.

Choir, symphony, recipes and The Worst President Ever

2006-10-26T18:10:00.000-05:00

Sheri's back in the office -- hooray! She made it in yesterday afternoon. I told her that she needed to take care of herself, but she replied she was going stir-crazy at home. But it's good to have her cheerful demeanor and positive attitude back. Not that my other colleagues are exactly dour and negative. Just missed having Sheri around!

This choir cookbook has grabbed ahold of my imagination (if one's immagination can be grabbed). I've become downright obsessive/compulsive about gathering recipes to contribute. I may ask Casey if I can issue a choir challenge, because I know Mother's going have a few things to say about the many recipes that will bear my name in the cookbook! Hopefully someone in the choir has access to recipes from Tulsa's past, like Pennington's Black Bottom Pie, Nelson's Chicken Fried Steak and/or Fried Fish, and the Bean Chowder served in cafeterias in Tulsa Public Schools.

At the weekly Trinity choir post-rehearsal Happy Hour at Kilkenny's, someone else suggested gathering recipes from local celebrities. We've got more than a few of them at Trinity -- our current mayor, two former mayors, a former state senator, former chair of the local Democratic Party, and the former chief of the Cherokee Nation.

Things are gearing up for the Debut Concert of the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. It's hard to believe that a week from tomorrow we'll be making our public debut. Every day we get calls asking about tickets. I took a call today from a local allergist who wanted to make a donation. I really like calls like that. :-)

Not long now until the elections. Hopefully we'll throw the Republican bums out in both the House and the Senate. My mother lives in Dennis Haster's district in Illinois, and would love to see his sorry ass booted out. Make my mother happy and donate to the campaign of John Laesch.

I also cam across this website today -- great fun for Bush haters like me! Worst T-Shirts and Gifts. Come to think of it, my mother just might like one of these for Christmas!<

In search of recipes …

2006-10-24T18:07:00.000-05:00

Brad, one of my fellow choristers at Trinity (and a former neighbor) pitched the idea of a choir cookbook to help raise money for our upcoming tour of England in August 2007. Casey has been asking for recipes, so I have been gathering recipes from my sources – the family German potato salad, some of Grandma’s recipes, recipes from other relatives, some recipes Mother has shared with me, et al. I’m still collecting recipes – and even have some contributions from posters to the Anglican/Episcopal discussion board on BeliefNet.

On Sunday night, I asked Mother for a few recipes – including the recipe for the Texas Eggs she made every Epiphany for the choir brunch she hosted at our house. (This was her way of thanking the St. Mark's choristers for their hard work over Advent and Christmas.) Mother seemed a bit surprised, since this recipe includes a can of cream of mushroom soup.

I told her to send it anyway. The eggs were good (we never had any leftovers) and there’s a good story attached to them, as well. I asked Mother for several other recipes that I remember throughout the years.

But not the Bloody Mary punchbowl that was part of the Epiphany brunch. There was no recipe for that – Mother just poured vodka, tomato juice & added her spices. Everyone liked it, including the rector – there was never any left over.

And the rector presided over the punch bowl! That was an inside joke at St. Marks for years.

Yes, the Trinity Choir is definitely going to England in August! Casey has been working with a tour company that specializes in these trips. We’ll spend a week at Ely Cathedral, singing Evensong and a Sunday morning Eucharist. We are also slated to sing Evensong or Eucharist at York Minster, Lincoln Cathedral and Canterbury Cathedral. We’ll be spending a couple of days in London, as well – and we’ll be there during the Proms at Royal Albert Hall!

Mother will definitely be joining us on the trip. Deep down I knew she was going to come along by hook or crook, but I didn’t breathe easy until she informed me she had sent in her deposit check. Mother was concerned about her ears and the long flight. Her doctor told her about a treatment that can help Mother handle the pressurized cabin on the flight, and Mother’s cousin gave her some hints on how to handle the long trans-Atlantic flight.

Mary Matthews, the widow of Trinity’s former organist/choirmaster Dr. Thomas Matthews (the much-beloved OCM, not Mr. Please Do Not Consider Me To Be Your Friend) informed me that her daughter, Sarah, will also be joining us. Mary’s positively thrilled – and so am I. Sarah’s a lot of fun to be with – and she’s a good singer, too (to put it mildly). We’ll have a good group on tour!

Last night I had a good conversation with my sister. Matthew, her son (and my godson) is being a typical six year old boy – hard to get him to bed on school night! Already he knows every trick in the book to delay bedtime. John (Ruth’s husband) then has to deal with getting a sleepy, cranky kid to school the next morning, since Ruth has to leave early for work. Fortunately, Matthew is really enjoying school.

Back to the cookbook – I welcome your recipes! Now, if anyone has any cucumber sandwich recipes out there, they would be most appropriate for a cookbook put out by an Episcopal church choir!

Quickie for today (no raunchy jokes, please)

2006-10-18T18:54:00.000-05:00

Just a quickie post to keep in the posting loop.

Had an interesting conversation with Marc, our principal bass & librarian. He asked about listing string players alphabetically in the program. I told him I was all in favor. I'm frankly not a fan of the outdated hierarchy system in the string section, and I much prefer the revolving string section so musicians aren't stimagtized by years on the last desk. About 20 years ago in the former Philharmonic our music director at the time pondered switching to revolving string section seating. Boy, did he get blasted by some musicians! (Mainly long-time players who happened to occupy some of the higher positions.) Some string players get very territorial when it comes to their seating, to say the least.

My thoughts? If revolving string section seating is good enough for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, then it's good enough for the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra.

Oh, check out Stacey's Panic Room from fellow Bush-hating Episcopalian Stacey. This is such a funny, smart, blog!

Hi, Stacey!

Back to the Blogger Dashboard!

2006-10-17T17:57:00.000-05:00

Well, it's been over a week since I posted last. Been a busy week, in between running back and forth to Fayetteville to play with the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra and recuperating from a cold. (This blasted cough just doesn't seem to want to go away.) I missed both the 11 a.m. Eucharist and Evensong last Sunday due to illness. As much as I love Evensong, and given the fact that I'll have to miss several Evensongs this year due to performance commitments, the latter was especially painful.

On October 8 I attended St. Paul's, which I customarily attend while in Fayetteville. I was entertained by the bumper stickers I saw in the parking lot before the service-so much so that I decided to write them down:

What would Scooby do?
What if the Hokey-Pokey is really what it's all about?
I Miss Bill
BUllSHit
Remember In November
Greenpeace
Another family for peace
(Peace sign)
Keep Fayetteville Funky

I'm not sure what the last one was all about, but if I remember correctly, I think it had to do with a local initiative to encourage artists to remain in and relocate to Fayetteville.

At the Eucharist I paid attention to their rector, Rev. Lowell Grisham, who was celebrant. I have long admired Fr. Grisham for his liturgical skills (I always enjoy the broad-high church liturgy of St. Paul's), his excellent preaching skills (lectionary-based, and applicable to contemporary life), his ability to speak prophetically (an unabashed progressive, he's not afraid to speak out on controversial issues), and his sense of humor. Plus, I know he is much beloved by St. Paul's parishioners. Anyhow, given my dissatisfaction with my own rector, I thought I'd pay attention to why Fr. Grisham appears to be so successful at St. Paul's. I noticed in the processional how he made eye contact with parishioners, but not so much as to be disruptive. Very subtle, but I could see how parishioners were made to feel that they were "home." When conducting the liturgy, Fr. Grisham was truly praying, as opposed to rattling off words by rote from the BCP. When Fr. Grisham gave the announcements, the word that came to mind was "engaging." (In all fairness, I think of "engaging" every time Fr. Joseph gives the announcements at Trinity.) And at the conclusion of the service, Fr. Grisham warmly and sincerely greeted me. Maybe someday Trinity will have a rector with the above attribute-one can always hope!

One brief word for a commercial: While at St. Paul's I purchased a bag of Bishop's Blend coffee for the office. Bishop's Blend is Certified Fair Trade, organic, shade-grown coffee from Central America and Indonesia, plus they received the Better Business Bureau Award in 2004. Not only all that, but every purchase helps support Episcopal Relief and Development, a wonderful organization that provides emergency assistance worldwide.

On Sunday I got good news-my mother has decided to join us on the Trinity choir tour to England next August! She had been concerned about the long flight to England, as well as walking (due to her arthritis). Evidently she's been assured her concerns are all manageable, so she sent in her deposit check to Casey. I'm thrilled she'll be going. I know this is something she's wanted to do her whole life, and I'd hate for her to miss out.

Well, it's now about 6:20 pm Tulsa time as I write this. I need to get home to do the laundry - one of my favorite chores - NOT!

Slow day at the office…

2006-10-04T14:01:00.000-05:00

Well, I’m sitting here at my computer trying to motivate myself, which seems hard today. I’m hearing the beautiful strains of the orchestral suite from Richard Strauss’ Der Rosenkavalier being broadcast on KWTU as I type this. The music playing right now is from the very last scene of the opera (the final trio/encounter between Octavian, Sophie and The Marschallin.)

For those of you unfamiliar with this opera, I encourage you to find a recording of the opera. It’s one of the most beautiful ever written (and one of the most enjoyable to play). I don’t have a particular recommendation as to which recording – perhaps someone will chime in with a recommendation in the comments section.

Or, you might want to contact one of the staff members at Tulsa Opera to give you a recommendation.

On the office front, I’m having a frustrating time trying to field an orchestra for a local church’s Christmas concert. Just about every church in town is scheduling stuff – on top of The Nutcracker and other holiday entertainment. This church’s music director contacted me at least one month after the other big churches in town had already committed musicians for their concerts. Then, last week, he informed me he was no longer employed at his church. So, I contacted the musicians I had already hired to let them know the gig had fallen through (in hopes they might be able to pick up some other work). Then on Monday, I got another call from the music director saying he’d managed to work things out and was back at the church.

So, I’m trying to get caught up by about 1-2 months now…

I spoke with my sister in Maryland last night. Her son (my nephew and godson) has just started kindergarten. Ruth told me that Matthew already has homework. At least Ruth is working with Matthew on his homework, which is probably the teacher’s rationale, come to think of it (parents being involved in their children’s education). I’m happy to hear that Matthew likes school and is making new friends. Ruth is happy that Matthew now has more contact with children his own age, since the children in his neighborhood are mostly older kids. Matthew’s already had two “girlfriends” – sheesh!

Ruth was quite upset at the Amish school shooting in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania. She has traveled to that area to purchase organic meat and dairy products from Amish farmers, and is very fond of the Amish. Now we hear of the goons (that’s what they are, folks) from Westboro Baptist “Church” in Topeka, KS planning to show up with their vile hate signs and create further grief for the people who’ve already been through so much. As my ex-boyfriend would say, “There’s sickness everywhere.”

I just wonder if the Fred Phelps goons ever really read their Bible. God doesn’t hate anybody – God loves everyone. Even the Fred Phelps gang.

I think I’m going to have to change the title of this blog!

2006-10-03T10:24:00.000-05:00

Well, it’s been over a year since I posted. Things have changed dramatically. Concerning the title of this blog, there’s been some good news. A new full-time professional orchestra – the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra (http://www.tulsasymphony.org/) – has been organized. We’ve planned a season of six concerts, we’re partnering with other Tulsa arts organizations, we’re raising money, and we’re gearing up to do a massive mailing announcing our premier season. In short – we have a real orchestra in Tulsa! At last!

Best news – I’m working full time for TSO! I’ve been at my new job for about six weeks now. I was approached about doing grantwriting back in March or so. At the time, I put this off, since the upcoming months were a crucial time for grantwriting at my then-employer. Well, things started getting difficult with my supervisor at the Housing Authority. I concluded my supervisor may have been laying the groundwork to push me out. She was setting me up for failure by an excessive workload, no assistance, failing to respond to requests for information, deadlines continually being moved up, nitpicking work to death, and increasingly hostile (to the point of being downright nasty) e-mails – one message going so far as to threaten a write-up. I knew I wasn’t incompetent – as a matter of fact, my previous supervisor had given me consistently favorable performance appraisals. Nevertheless, I also saw the writing on the wall – Robin wanted to get rid of me and put in someone of her own choosing. There was an opportunity for me to move on – Dr. Frank Letcher, the retired neurosurgeon who founded TSO had expressed interest in bringing me on board. Therefore, I decided to “get while the getting was good,” as they say.

More on my ex-boss later – in another post! Suffice it to say that things got even more interesting after I left…

What’s it like working for a symphony orchestra in its infancy? Pretty interesting! There are the inevitable bumps in the road that go along with any start-ups, but the successes are outweighing the negatives. As of today, we’ve accompanied Tulsa Ballet Theater in a highly successful run of Carmina Burana (to the Carl Orff secular oratorio, choreographed by TBT’s own Ma Cong) and Serenade (George Balanchine’s first American ballet, to the wonderful and sadly under-performed Tchaikovsky Serenade for Strings). Jim Watts’ review in the Tulsa World included kudos for the orchestra. Our conductor, Carmen DeLeone (music director for the Cincinnati Ballet) gave high praise for the orchestra. Nevertheless, the heartfelt cheers from the audience as we took our bows after each performance said it best – as well as the comments from parishioners following the Saturday night performance.

Tickets are going very fast, too. We’ve sold in excess of 700 tickets – and this was before any formal marketing campaign got underway! At times, our phone lines have been overloaded with people wanting to buy tickets. Numerous times, after I’ve answered the phone “Tulsa Symphony Orchestra” I’ve heard responses along the lines of “It’s so good to hear that!”
Tulsans are hungry for a professional symphony orchestra. To use an old cliché, the stars are in alignment. It won’t be easy – those things that are of high quality and are truly worth having never come easily – but it will happen. It is happening. And we will not be stopped.

As far as other matters – I’ve been doing some traveling lately! In late August, I went on an Alaska Inner Passage cruise with my mother, and spent two days post-cruise in Seattle. More on the cruise later -- I hope to post pictures as well. And there’s more travel to come! Next summer the Trinity Choir is slated to do a 12-day tour to England. We’ll be singing Evensong and Eucharist at a number of cathedrals, including Ely, Lincoln and York (I think). I’ve never been to England before, so to say I’m looking forward to this trip would be the understatement of the century!

Well, I’m going to have to make a personal discipline of making regular entries to my blog. I’ve lately seen the blog, AKMA’s Random Thoughts, http://akma.disseminary.org/ of Rev. A. K. M. Adam, professor of New Testament at Seabury-Western Theological Seminary and an assisting priest at the wonderful St. Luke’s Parish in Evanston, IL (http://www.stlukesevanston.org/) I’ve also been enjoying the morning meditations on the Daily Office lectionary posted by Rev. Lowell Grisham, the outstanding rector of St. Paul’s, Fayetteville, AR. Fr. Grisham’s meditations can be found at http://www.stpaulsfay.org/id132.html.

I commend both blogs to you – spiritual sustenance offered by two of the best priests (IMHO) in the Episcopal Church today!

Now, I’ve got to think of a new title for my own blog…

I Can’t Believe It’s Been Thirty Years!

2005-08-15T17:09:00.000-05:00

A few weeks ago I attended my 30-year high school class reunion (Barrington High School, Class of 1975). It was a wonderful experience on so many levels – being back in Chicago, reliving my high school memories, having a wonderful cruise on Chicago’s First Lady, http://www.cruisechicago.com, (owned by one of my classmates and his wife). Over the years I have come to appreciate how privileged I was to grow up in Barrington, and to attend Barrington High School. After the reunion, I have come to realize what incredible people were in my class. I spent the evening with folks who were friendly, outgoing and happy to be with others in our hometown. My classmates have an even better sense of humor than I remember from my high school days. We laughed ourselves silly at stories from our teenage years – the son of the Barrington Middle School science teacher who had one helluva marijuana plot growing under fluorescent lights in the basement, the super-straight laced A-student who got plastered beyond belief at Munich’s Hoffbrau Haus during a spring-break German Club trip, Driver’s Ed antics (the head football coach was one of our Driver’s Ed instructors).

My graduating class was a friendly, inclusive group. Our class’ friendliness was exemplified by some of the people who came to the reunion: Linda and Claudia, who both joined us senior year; Kim, who’s been living in Switzerland for the past 20 years (at least) and made the journey stateside; and Jean-Marie, the foreign exchange student from France, who likewise traveled several thousand miles to participate.

Ruben Navarrette, a columnist with the Washington Post Writer’s Group, publishes thoughtful columns, even if I sometimes disagree with him. Last week he published an especially thoughtful reflection on his 20-year reunion, "Reunions reveal what’s most important" http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/op-ed/navarrette/20050731-9999-lz1e31navar.html . His basic conclusion is that at the 20-year mark one’s children tend to be first and foremost in one’s thoughts.

Well, a few basic observations on hitting the 30-year mark.

We realize we’re getting older. (Gulp!) We’re not so much concerned about changes in physical appearances, although some of us are getting gray, some of the guys have gone bald (at least on top), and some of us have gained weight (yours truly is Exhibit A in that last category). We are noticing how our physical abilities are changing – we can’t stay up and party all night, we can’t run as fast as we used to run. We’re noticing how people react to us – the teens and twenty-somethings (young enough to be our children) who were in the Loop for Lollapalooza that same evening looking at us and wondering what all these “old folks” were doing. Or the kids who were on the train who struck up a conversation with me (yes, they had been to Lollapalooza). When I told them I had been to my 30-year high school class reunion they stared at me in amazement. It’s a bit mind-boggling to realize that these kids were probably born a few years after I graduated from college!

We’re older – and wiser. By now we’ve all suffered loss in our lives, in some form or another. A number of my classmates have lost a parent. At least one of my classmates has lost both of her parents. Almost all of us have been through the breakup of a romantic relationship – many of us have been through a divorce. Some of the divorces have been pretty nasty, too – I heard of one ex-cheerleader whose divorce had been pending for several years. A number of us have survived job losses. Sadly, a few have become estranged from brothers and sisters. And we’ve lost some of our classmates to death. At the 10-year mark, the classmates who had been lost to death had their lives cut short due to accidents. We’re now losing classmates due to natural causes – Diana died of cancer a couple of years ago, David had a massive coronary a few months ago.

In short, we realize we’re mortal. We’re not going to live forever.

So we relived the glory days at Barrington High School. We spoke about the teachers who inspired us the most, and there were many. We chuckled about the obsessive-compulsive school superintendent who would harass couples holding hands in the hallways, and laughed out loud when it was revealed that he resigned a few years later upon discovery of his affair with a married school board member. We shared what we remembered of some of our town’s landmarks – the lovely 100+ year old houses on Lake Street and Hough Street, the old train station, Barrington United Methodist Church (sadly lost to fire a few years back), Langendorf Park, the old Jewel Tea building, Marie’s Bakery, Dee’s on Main Street (still the best Italian beef I’ve ever had) – and of course, the venerable Catlow Theatre.

I realize I’m not the only one thinking back to my “Wonder Years” in Barrington, Illinois. For the past several years there’s been a part of me that’s been longing for a simpler time. It turns out many of my classmates are thinking the same way. I suppose it’s part and parcel of facing – and surviving – the difficulties each of us has encountered over the past 30 years.

In his column, Ruben Navarrette counsels today’s high school graduates that one’s most enduring legacy is one’s children. I would tell today’s graduates that, no matter what curve balls life throws them, they will survive. And they will be strengthened by their trials and tribulations. And in the difficult times, the memories they have of their hometowns and classmates will give them comfort. They will realize how everything has helped shape them into who they are today.

Hold onto the memories, young people. They will sustain you for years to come. And when you get an invitation to a class reunion, I urge you to attend.

You’ll be glad you did.

Getting the word out . . . .

2004-11-16T15:33:00.000-06:00

OK, this is quick. I'll be out of the office for the next couple of days and I have to be out the door at 5:00 p.m. to take my cat for her annual shots.

I've been doing more thinking/exploring about marketing my music service, A Touch of Class. I'm becoming more and more convinced I need to develop a website to get the word "out there." Fortunately, Local #94 of the American Federation of Musicians (my union!) has the capacity to link websites of musical groups on its website, http://www.promusicok.org/ (click on AFM Entertainment at the top of the page, scroll down, click on "Chamber," then you'll see A Touch of Class listed). Question is how I can get a website set up for almost no money. Yahoo was suggested to me, so I checked the Yahoo website . . . certainly very reasonable, but my head is spinning at all the options available! Really, I just need a website where I can discuss my services, my qualifications and a clickable link to send e-mail. I'd like the website to show up on the major search engines, and ideally I'd like an online form where someone who's interested in a group can point & click to answer some basic questions, submit the form & I can get right back to them with a bid.

I also need to get a mailing out after the first of the year to start lining up wedding jobs . . . I'm at a loss as to how to design a flyer. Something that will grab the attention of church organists so I can be recommended to couples considering the addition of strings to their wedding music (no, I am not seeking to displace organists) and those couples getting married at non-church venues.

Any ideas, anyone?

On an unrelated note, I saw this article & it really spoke to me about the horrible events of 11/2/04:

Challenge to 'Anybody But Bush' types
Let's build a coalition based on change, not fear
by Byron Williams
http://www.workingforchange.com/article.cfm?itemid=18094

TGIF!

2004-11-12T18:27:00.000-06:00

Not a whole lot to report today . . . other than TGIF!

I'm glad I'll be able to sleep in tomorrow morning . . . first day in a long time that I've done that. I just hope I don't get too carried away with the vegging out, 'cause I've got a lot of housecleaning to do before my mother gets here!

I'm starting to collect names of wedding venues, bridal consultants, etc, for marketing purposes. After the first of the year I plan to start sending information out about A Touch of Class (my wedding music service) in hopes of getting more work. I'll probably do that after I contact organist/choirmasters of Episcopal churches in northeast Oklahoma, and other non-Episcopal churches that might be good targets. Thank goodness Casey will be willing to help with this.

Last weekend I played a concert with the Bartlesville Choral Society -- had a great time sitting with Nan Buhlinger, the former Executive Director of the OK Mozart Festival. She's a warm, friendly woman with a terrific sense of humor. Turns out she's a member of St. Luke's in Bartlesville -- we had quite a conversation about the untimely death of Fr. Michael Athey. The folks at St. Luke's are just devastated by the news (Michael was curate there just after he was ordained). Anyhow, I mentioned to Nan that I would be available for the January concert of the Bartlesville Symphony Orchestra -- Dale Clevenger (principal horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra) will be conducting that concert. Hopefully I'll get that gig . . .hopefully I'll get a gig with Wichita Grand Opera. Lisa's been good about helping with connections in Wichita (I couldn't do the Don Giovanni production they wanted people for last month).

Ah, the joys of driving for dollars! I have almost 75K miles on my 4-year-old car, thanks to all the trips to Arkansas and elsewhere to play symphonic music!

A bouquet of skunk cabbage (as Ann Landers would say) to the Board & management of the former Tulsa Phiharmonic, who ran the orchestra into the ground two years ago. And to the donors of Tulsa who let the orchestra die, and who refuse to put forth the money to start a new professional orchestra.

Good Things at Trinity!

2004-09-30T13:15:00.000-05:00

Well, it’s great to see some positive things going on, for a change! (At Trinity, anyway.)

Things have definitely changed for the better in the last 1½ months or so since Casey Cantwell officially became OCM at Trinity. Things had already gotten much better since June when Tappe left, but now that Casey’s officially in the position I’m seeing an energy and optimism in the choir that I haven’t seen before. Case in point: A couple of weeks ago at our first Evensong we seemed to breeze right through the psalm (sung in Anglican chant, of course). Before we had always seemed so intimidated, so afraid we were going to make some fatal mistake. But at our last Evensong we probably sang the psalm better than we’ve sung it before. The choir is singing with more confidence and conviction these days. Casey makes efficient use of rehearsal time, and so on Sunday mornings we have been thoroughly rehearsed in that morning’s anthem(s).

We’re having fun, too! Just the fact that Eric Gibson is with us again has brought back a lot of joy. We’re not afraid to laugh & enjoy ourselves. Casey has indicated he’d like to see more informal choir get-togethers to foster the sense of community that we need. We’re getting to know one another again, which is good. Hopefully Casey will continue his New Year Day open house – he’s a wonderful cook. Another way he continues the Tom Matthews tradition – like Casey, Tom was a fantastic cook.

Most of all, it’s great to see folks returning to the choir who’ve been away. Before last night several folks had returned – and Rosie Halpin was back last night! Hooray! She was all smiles and clearly glad to be back. When folks return that’s always a morale boost.

We’ve got our scores for the Vivaldi Gloria, which we’ll be singing Christmas Eve. Plus, we’re doing Randall Thompson’s Alleluia – on All Saints Sunday, I believe. Peter Gehres, one of our high school Trinity choir members, and two girls in the St. Cecilia choir, are visiting Sunday School. classes and teaching the children about the music in our liturgy. Since we use the Catechesis of the Good Shepherd, this fits in perfectly. Outside of the music department, we’ve started handing out loaves of bread to newcomers at Trinity. Connie Cronley has joined the staff as parish development coordinator, and she’s already making a huge difference – I was overjoyed to get an e-newsletter the other day!

Things are definitely looking up at Trinity!

http://www.trinitytulsa.org/

It’s time I wrote something, huh . . .

2004-09-29T18:48:00.000-05:00

Well, things have been busy at work – both day job, and in my musical world! It does not appear things will let up any time soon.

I played a concert in Fayetteville with the North Arkansas Symphony Orchestra on September 17 – this was a pops concert with Glen Campbell. Although I was never exactly a huge fan of Glen’s, it was nice to accompany him on many of the songs that were popular in my youth. He’s still in good voice, and he seems to be doing better since he’s gone into recovery for his drug dependency. His daughter, Debby, also sang a few numbers – she’s quite talented. Of course, I always enjoy my time in Fayetteville – beautiful scenery, lovely downtown area, and Fayetteville is a nice, progressive enclave with its mix of academicians (from the University of Arkansas) and artists (who come to Northwest Arkansas for the inspiration of the beautiful Ozarks).

Unfortunately, this is all I can write today. Have to get to choir practice – guess I just need to write a little bit today.

I am concerned about the elections – I hope the people of this country wake up before the Idiot Prince gets elected to a second term. I really don’t know that democracy in America will survive another four years of Dumbya. And I hope those people who are thinking of voting for Nader, or sitting out this election, because Kerry isn’t good enough for them think long and hard about whether they want to sit back & do nothing while Bush gets re-elected.

I’m doing a lot of praying . . . .

BTW, here’s a fun link: http://www.seeyageorge.com/ -- this cheers me up!

I need some answers . . . and some resolution.

2004-09-10T18:40:00.000-05:00

OK . . . this is what has been hurting me for almost a year now.

Let me start by stating Stephen Tappe has no concern for the emotional well being of others. He is utterly without ethics or morals or any bedrock sense of decency. Folks at St. John's Cathedral in Denver need to be aware of this, before he hurts them, too. He is arrogant and unbelievably self-absorbed. The only time he cares for others is if they can boost his ego, or if he can use them to advance to a higher position or to satisfy his selfish desires. He makes a big pretense of being a Christian, of caring for other human beings, etc. He can certainly put on a good act. But, when he's asked to deliver the goods, he won't do it. And he will hurt other people in a calculating and deliberate manner to avoid putting himself on the line.

Believe it or not, I was once on good terms with this guy. About 1½ years ago I sent him an e-mail, expressing my disappointment with his reaction to the folding of the Tulsa Philharmonic. He responded to me, verbally, that "We need to talk." I thought better of it, told him to ignore what I had said, but he kept insisting for several months that we talk. He would not let the matter rest. Finally, at his insistence, not mine, I agreed to talk. He did all the talking. He spoke about his "ministry" (he didn't mention his ministry is highly selective and that he only ministers to those person he deems worthy), "can't we be friends," yada yada yada. He certainly put on a big act. He needs to be in theatre, not church work.

Well, we had another disagreement. I will admit I pushed the envelope, finally sending him a message stating "You say we're friends" and then I got a nasty, hateful e-mail from Stephen saying "Please do not consider me to be your friend." I was in tears the rest of the day. He later "apologized" (well, he thought it was an apology, but it was probably only because the rector told him to), but he never retracted that statement. In fact, he stated in his "apology" that he wasn't required to be friends with parishioners, wasn't in his job description, blah blah blah. Well, he made it very clear he was friends with other choir members-including running off with someone else's wife (not to mention the mother of two teenage boys)! My pain and resentment only grew over the ensuing months. No matter how hard I prayed, Stephen's heart was not softened, nor did I get any answers as to why he treated me the way he did. His last Sunday I caught up with him, and, choking back tears, said sarcastically: "Sorry you had to put up with me." In a very nasty and hateful tone of voice, he responded: "Apology accepted. I suppose I had something to do with this. Oh well. These things happen."

That memory still hurts terribly, that I didn't "measure up" as a human being in this person's eyes. I'm frankly relieved he's gone to another position, and I hope if he ever pulls a stunt like that in his new position, someone fires his ass. I shudder to think what horrible things he was saying about me to other staff and clergy.

The experience I had with the Stephen Tappe has both spiritually and emotionally damaged me. I've been praying and working hard to overcome this, but it still haunts me. I am hurt and bewildered as to what I did to deserve this, especially since this person refused to show any kind of remorse or acknowledge that he was directly responsible for the fallout, much less take responsibility for his actions.

As much as I try to let this go, I just can't. I've lost sleep over this. I will only get peace when I get answers as to what happened. I'm totally bewildered and still raw with hurt. I can't understand how someone so cruel, much less someone who has robbed two teenage boys of their mother, can remain in church work and be held up as a model of Christian behavior everyone should emulate.

In the meantime, I pray . . . it hasn't done any good so far. I hope it will, eventually. I'm at my wit's end.

Fall -- and the start of a new season

2004-09-08T18:23:00.000-05:00

Well, fall is upon us! Tulsa Public Schools started yesterday . . . and the weather is lovely and fall-like.

Things are kicking back into gear at Trinity. Casey's already making a huge difference -- the atmosphere in choir rehearsals is quite relaxed, and it seems people are actually having fun. I'm starting to see folks drift back who had probably been alienated by Stephen Tappe. I even saw Bonnie Duncan in church Sunday, who I strongly suspect had been run off by Tappe. Wonder if she'll be coming back to the choir? I'd love to have her back -- not to mention that we could use another soprano! I'm sure Bonnie's heard the news about Casey, and knows Casey's reputation at both Trinity and Boston Avenue -- so she undoubtedly knows that Casey isn't into alienating or running of choristers. I know Casey would love to have her back.

Everyone -- everyone -- I've spoken to is thrilled that Casey got the nod. Bruce Schultz (the Philharmonic's principal hornist) even commented to me that Trinity did the right thing in choosing Casey: "Casey's truly a good person."

I agree. Casey has remarkable musical talents (both organ and choral conducting), spiritual/liturgical gifts, and the people skills needed to relate to the diverse constituency that is Trinity Parish. Casey's lately been treating us to organ improvisations for the postlude, which brings back fond memories of Tom Matthews letting loose on the organ.

Suffice it to say, I look forward to choir practice these days!

Let the Deception Begin!

2004-08-30T18:05:00.000-05:00

OK, the Repubs are at it, shamelessly exploiting the 9/11 tragedy at their national convention in New York. Of course, Chief DINO (Democrat In Name Only) Zell Miller is featured prominently at the convention. In the meantime, Former Senator Pineapple is sniping at Senator Kerry because Kerry exercised his First Amendment Right to Free Speech over 30 years ago and criticized U.S. involvement in Viet Name, and the Idiot In Chief (who got a cushy National Guard assignment that guaranteed he wouldn’t see one day of combat, thanks to Daddy’s intervention, and then went AWOL from that) stands by and does nothing while the Swift Boat Liars continue their smear campaign. And the corporate-owned media keeps hammering away at that (just like they hammered Gore for “sighing” and his supposed “misleading comments” during the 2000 campaign, and the way they stuck it to Clinton throughout all 8 years of his candidacy), doesn’t do a damned thing about investigating Dumbya’s one-year absence from the Guard, his outright lies during his term in office, yada yada yada.

Meanwhile, American jobs keep getting shipped overseas, the deficit continues to skyrocket, the rich keep getting richer and the poor keep getting poorer, and young men & women keep dying in Iraq because the Shrub had to have his war. And the media is more concerned with lies told about Kerry and making the Idiot Prince look good than they are about what’s really affecting everyday Americans.

Objective reporting? HA!

Musings Upon Return From Vacation . . .

2004-08-27T19:17:00.000-05:00

Well, I’ve been back since Sunday night. It’s been a busy week at the office since my return. I tried to write in my blog earlier today, but then my computer (or the website, or my Internet connection) froze up on me, so I lost everything. Dadgummit!

Monday and Tuesday were very frustrating days. I left the office on August 13, confident the grant that I had been working on – the one where I spent a whole morning trying to balance the budget – would have made it through the approvals bureaucracy & be on its merry way to Washington. Wrong! I get back, and it still hasn’t left Tulsa. I am informed that after all the hair pulling, the damn budget still wasn’t right. Then one of the senior management persons decided that she wanted to make some last-minute changes. How frustrating … after all the hard work I spent over a several-week period, pushing to get things done so the grant would be done and on its way to Washington by the time I got back – then to find out upon my return that things still weren’t done the way I had hoped they would be.

Tuesday I arrived to discover a letter of intent for another grant (that I had been working on for some time) sitting on my desk – that included revisions that my boss had requested – with a rather bitchy comment to the effect that my work was substandard. I felt like walking out and never returning. Really, why bother if nothing I do is good enough? So I basically cried the whole morning. A colleague told me that this was really “constructive criticism,” and likened it to when a sports coach yells at a player who has potential and who’s trying to “motivate” the player. Well, I’m not an athlete; I don’t get motivated when I’m reamed out (it only makes me give up and figure “why bother?”), and when musicians get reamed out by conductors, they only get pissed off – and sometimes they get back at the conductor through sabotage. Suffice to say, getting yelled it will not get results from me.

Fortunately, the rest of the week has been much calmer. And the Letter of Intent that my boss reamed me out over was praised at a meeting today by a someone from the U.S. Department of Justice who’s working with us on this grant.

Wednesday night there was some wonderful news. Casey Cantwell, who has been Interim Organist/Choirmaster since Tappe’s departure in June, has been offered the position on a permanent basis. The “Interim” has been removed from Casey’s job title. Hooray! This was exactly what I hoped would happen. Shortly after Tappe announced his departure, I approached our Senior Warden and told him that I thought Casey had proven himself more than capable of handling this position during Tappe’s frequent absences. A search committee was formed, they wrote a job description, came up with a list of qualifications, and prepared an ad for publication in national church music journals – then they reported to the Rector that the person meeting all of the qualifications was none other than Casey. The Rector questioned the search committee to ascertain that they were as certain about this as possible, and then concurred with their decision. A recommendation was made to the Vestry, which approved. Fr. McKee made the announcement Wednesday night – and the cheers and applause were positively deafening! Everyone I’ve spoken to couldn’t be happier about Casey’s new status. He’s earned it.

Besides Casey’s unquestioned musical skills, he has the people skills that Tappe so obviously lacked. He’s built excellent working relationships with choristers, parents, clergy, lay staff and parishioners. I’d be shocked if anyone at Trinity didn’t like Casey. I’m hoping he’ll be on the organ bench for many years to come.

Sticking it to the poor

2004-08-13T09:42:00.000-05:00

For the life of me, I can't understand what's so Christian about increasing money for war and making sure the wealthy have their tax cuts, tax loopholes, etc. while services to the poor keep getting cut!

Yesterday the Tulsa Housing Authority Board of Commissioners made the difficult decision to close our waiting list for Section 8 housing assistance. Section 8 is a housing assistance program where recipients can use vouchers to pay a portion of the rent to any landlord who will accept the vouchers. Right now demand is so tight that we have a waiting list of 2-5 years. The U.S. Department of Housing & Urban Development has been cutting funding to local housing agencies, which means we have to make the choice between number of vouchers available and amount of rent we will subsidize. Our board decided that we don't want to cut benefits to current recipients if we can at all help it. So, they voted to stop accepting new applications. Nobody wants to see someone in need denied assistance -- and we have lots of people in need, right now, who aren't getting assistance. And we may not be out of the woods yet. We have been able to stave off cuts thus far by dipping into reserve funds. But that won't be an option next year. Unless Congress votes to put more money into HUD, we may have to start cutting vouchers to current recipients next year. As our Executive Director puts it so eloquently, who do we cut? The single mother of 3 children who's managing to hold down a full time job & go to Tulsa Community College at night so she can qualify for a job that pays more than minimum wage and get off public assistance? The disabled vet who can't work because of war injuries who's receiving assistance after having been homeless? The elderly gentleman who's pension was gutted by corporate malfeasance & who has no family to help him? The teen mother who got kicked out of the house when her parents learned she was pregnant, and who's struggling to get a GED and raise her baby?

The trouble is, the folks in Washington see our residents as numbers -- or, worse yet, they subscribe to the Welfare Queen myth. Those of us working here see real people, with real needs. Most of these Real People want to get off public assistance -- but they are thwarted every step of the way by wealthy Republican politicians who are more concerned about protecting tax loopholes & tax cuts that benefit the wealthy, plus the huge contracts for their corporate buddies who are funding their campaigns, than they are about good, honest, hard-working individuals trying to make ends meet.

Then, last night, I heard on the news that Morton Health Services has suspended operations due to political infighting on the board. (They just fired the clinic's director Monday night -- after this guy got the clinic back in the black.) Now we have a bunch of uninsured persons in North and East Tulsa, as well as Nowata, who have nowhere to go for health care. What is it about that Board that's more concerned about their political turf issues than it is about maintaining services for the folks who need them?

Tell me, what's so Christian about sticking it to the poor?

Thoughts on my hometown . . .

2004-08-11T10:41:00.000-05:00

I never cease to wonder at how my thoughts go back to my hometown of Barrington. I've spent more than half my life in Tulsa now, yet I still yearn for my hometown. I guess part of it is the never-ceasing yearning for a quieter, simpler time. Part of it is missing some of the things that make Barrington what it is: the lovely tree-lined streets, the quiet, safe neighborhoods, the wonderful school system (Barrington High School is as good, and probably better than, the private schools around here), the beautiful century-old (and older-some dating back to the Civil War era) houses on Hough, Lake and Cook Streets, as well as Lincoln Avenue (when I was a fifth grader at what was then the brand-new Hough Street School we made up ghost stories that took place in a scary house on Lake Street), the historic St. Paul's United Church of Christ on Main Street (just across from North Avenue), the train station and the square area at the intersection of Main, Cook, Park and the Union Pacific crossing -- and the still goofy Musical Gates. (Still goofy after 35+ years!) Barrington residents/expatriates know what I'm talking about!

Of course, the aforementioned Catlow Theatre, St. Mark's -- and, as I promised, here's the Octagon House: http://www.dalejtravis.com/barn/illinois/htm/il01601.htm, located at 223 West Main Street. According to documentation on file at the National Register of Historic Places' website, the Octagon House was built by "Mr. Brown" about 1860. Mr. Brown stated he built the house in an octagon shape because "everyone else's is square." One thing I just learned about the Octagon House is that despite its shape, all the house's rooms are traditional square or rectangular-shaped rooms. Closets and other built-in storage units are used to make the rooms traditionally-shaped. Interesting. I used to pass this house every day walking to Barrington High School, but I never knew any of this until recently.

When I reminisce about my hometown, I always remind myself that if I were to move back to the Chicago area (which I hope to do someday), I might not be so appreciative of Barrington. It's an hour's train ride into Chicago, for starters, and if I were to drive into the city I'd have to put up with the traffic jams on the Northwest Tollway & Kennedy Expressway -- not to mention the hassle of trying to find a place to park, and then paying and arm and a leg to park! Evanston is so much more convenient -- not to mention much more progressive. With my unabashed liberal Democratic views, I'd be something of a fish out of water in Barrington. Although, Barrington isn't quite as white-bread conservative Republican as it was back in the 1960's-1970's: there were a group of Barrington High School Students protesting the Iraq War at the intersection of Main & Hough when the Idiot In Chief started the bombing, and Barrington High School now has a student chapter of Amnesty International. Not to mention the students elected a Latina as their Homecoming Queen last year. I'm so proud of today's Barrington Broncos!

I guess another reason I'm proud of my hometown is they've been smart enough to preserve the beautiful old homes and buildings in the business district. When tear-downs reared their ugly heads in places like Arlington Heights and Hinsdale, Barrington's village leaders put their heads together to prevent that from ruining the town's character. They enacted historic district zoning with strict mandates regarding demolition, remodeling, etc. -- all intended to preserve the unique character of these neighborhoods. For homes outside the historic district, Barrington has village ordinances to ensure the size of the house is proportional to lot size, that homes don't block the sunlight or otherwise infringe upon the rights of neighboring homeowners, etc. So, I'm pleased that the Barrington residents of today appreciate the uniqueness of their town, and will do whatever they can to preserve Barrington's charm. Barrington is a far cry from Palatine, or Arlington Heights, or even Park Ridge. I, for one, hope it stays that way.

I guess what brought on this morning's nostalgia is hearing from an old high school buddy of mine, Kent. Kent played in the orchestra with me, and was always very kind & understanding. He and his wife are now ministers in the United Church of Christ in Michigan -- but the e-mail said they're getting ready to take on a new pastorate in Minnesota. I confess I'm feeling a tinge of guilt at not having made more of an effort to keep in contact -- I'll have to write him. I'll invite him to take a look at my blog -- I wonder what his memories are like. I also owe Mike an e-mail. Mike was the person who I got into my one and only fight with back in our junior high days. He's now an emergency room physician outside Kenosha, Wisconsin, and he also does medical missions in developing countries. Interesting how we're now friends!

Well, I gotta get some work done . . . maybe I'll do a search on the Blogspot website, just to see if any other Barrington residents or expatriates are remembering our hometown!

Some Political Links!

2004-08-10T11:21:00.000-05:00

OK, I didn't realize that Lee's link had been discarded . . . so, crossing my fingers, here's his link -- along with some other political links:

http://homepage.mac.com/krousen/Bush%20site/index.html -- Build a Better Bush!

http://tomcoburnforsenate.com/ -- the wacko Republican running for Oklahoma's open senate seat. (Why does Oklahoma always get the bible-thumping loonies?)

http://www.bradcarson.com/ -- Brad Carson's website. He's the Democrat running. He's sane, and he stood up to Idiot Inhofe in his attempts to help the folks in Picher and Cardin who've been poisoned by Tar Creek for the past 20+ years.

http://www.dougdodd4congress.com/ -- Doug Dodd, Democrat for Congress (Oklahoma's First District). The Dodds are a wonderful family, and Doug is a big-time supporter of education, having been president of the Tulsa Board of Education. His wife, Elaine, is a retired schoolteacher, past president of the Tulsa Classroom Teacher's Association, and current chair of the Tulsa County Democratic Party. I look forward to Doug kicking John Sullivan's sorry ass out of congress!

http://www.demookie.com/forum/forum.asp?FORUM_ID=184 -- Democrats of Oklahoma forum. I have a lot of fun here! Yes, I'm a Yellow Dog Democrat. If you need a definition of Yellow Dog Democrat, let me know & I'll gladly explain.

Happy websurfing!

Hopefully this link will work:

2004-08-10T10:59:00.001-05:00

I was attempting to post Barack Obama's website, but Lee's website kept coming up, even after numerous edits. Guess Blogspot just will not cooperate today.

So, let's try this link: http://www.obamaforillinois.com/index.asp?Type=NONE&SEC={8683FB66-C0DB-4FAB-85C7-2FBCF770436E}}

Meet the next Senator from Illinois, and see why he's creating such excitement in the Land of Lincoln. My mother tells me Obama credits the late, great Paul Simon for mentoring him.

Pretty good mentor to have, to say the least!

Trying to Post! (Hope my links work this time)

2004-08-10T10:56:00.000-05:00

OK, it took some effort to find my blog this morning. I had previously created a blog that kept coming up -- hadn't posted to it in over a year. So, I've deleted that blog & hopefully my new bookmark will take me directly to this site!

The websites du jour: http://www.thecatlow.com This was on the old blog -- the historic Catlow Theatre in my beloved hometown of Barrington. Please take a look at this site -- the history, and take time to look at the pictures. This theatre was designed in the 1920's by Betts & Holcomb of Chicago, and is built to depict a medieval English hall. The theatre started out as a vaudeville house -- there's still a small orchestra pit & real stage, and there was a pipe organ in there when we first moved to Barrington in 1967. The organ is long gone (alas), but the casing is still there. The Catlow Theatre is still open and showing pictures for a discounted price. They sell sandwiches from the next-door deli, Baloney's (and they are mighty fine sandwiches, too -- one of my mother's former students runs the deli with her husband). And you can pick up a beer to wash down your sandwich -- so, it's truly Dinner and a Movie in Barrington. Add in the cheaper tickets and the historic setting -- and you will never want to see a movie at the suburban multiplex again. The Catlow is currently showing Fahrenheit 9/11 -- I'm thrilled! Of course, they never did shy away from controversy when I was growing up -- I remember when the showed Midnight Cowboy (which was rated "X" when it first came out -- some townsfolk were, shall we say, concerned about an X-rated movie showing in our hometown). By the time All the President's Men came to town people didn't blink an eyelash. (For the uninitiated, Barrington is -- or at least, was -- a very Republican community.)

OK, enough on the wonderful Catlow theatre! I'm definitely going to have to find some more hometown sites . . . probably the Octagon House on Main Street, Barrington High School (of course). Does anyone know any Barrington High School alumni who can give me ideas on showing off the hometown?

http://www2.obamaforillinois.com/splash.php -- the next Senator from Illinois! I heard this guy speak at the Democratic National Convention, and to say he's fantastic is the understatement of the millennium!

http://www.melissabean.com/ -- A businesswoman from my hometown is fixin' to retire (sorry, had to use an Oklahoma term here!) the sorry-ass Phil Crane. I'm thrilled she's from Barrington! And she's on the board of the Barrington Children's Choir (my mother was accompanist for them before she retired) and the Lines School PTO (where my mother taught for many years).

OK, I gotta get back to work right now. Maybe I'll get into the hardcore ranting later on . . . before I go, if you haven't seen Fahrenheit 9/11, it's a must-see. My mother took her Republican cousin & a very Republican friend -- suffice it to say, their eyes were opened about the Bush family connections to the Saudi Arabian royal family.

Confidential to Slu -- thanks for your comments! I took a look at your blog, and we're in total agreement about the terrorist threats! Keep the comments coming! Any Barrington residents reading this . . . please ring in!

OK, I'm New at This!

2004-08-09T18:55:00.000-05:00

OK, I'm new to blogging . . . this is my first post! You can call this random thoughts of a displaced Tulsa symphonic musician. Don't really know what to rwrite right now . . . but I'll post a few neat websites:

http://http://www.beliefnet.com/boards/discussion_list.asp?boardID=3752 -- my cyberparish, so to speak. I've met some wonderful people here, and will invite them to comment. I hope things pick up soon in Common Round! (Hi, Lee, Kim & Slu!)

http://www.trinitytulsa.org -- my bricks & mortar parish

http://www.stlukesevanston.org -- St. Luke's-Evanston, IL. A wonderful parish where I became an unabshed liberal Anglo-Catholic. I was there when Rt. Rev. Tom Ray was rector -- he later became Bishop of Northern Michigan (now retired.) BTW, Richard Webster got a very raw deal, IMHO. And the widow of one Richard's most esteeemed predecessors agrees with me.

http://http://st-markschurch.org/ -- St. Mark's-Barrington Hills, IL. This was where I grew up. My mother was organist/choirmaster here from 1966-1986 (I THINK those are the correct dates). Mother & I were confirmed on the same day here (she was raised Lutheran) in March 1969.

Well, I need to get home & get some housecleaning done. Pretty pedistrian stuff for my first blog . . . I'll probably do some venting before too long. Still feeling the sting of the Please do not consider yourself to be my friend e-mail message sent by the now-former organist/choirmaster of my parish. I'm still tempted to contact the dean of the cathedral he went to to warn others not to get hurt the way I was.

Well . . . gotta run & invite others to view this blog & contribute their comments! I'll probably add some more fun websites as time goes on . . . Lee sent me something hilarious today! (Thanks, Lee!)