My Blog

Well, I spent the last two days stuffing 600 envelopes with the Tulsa Symphony Orchestra Brochure, pledge cards and solicitation letters. We did a mailing last Friday and yesterday got 2 pledge cards back with sizeable contributions…not bad!!! I am enjoying my internship and visiting with everyone in the office. We’re working hard to hunt down addresses of possible donors and working on marketing campaigns. The Educational programs are on the front burner as well. Its work but not too stressful.

Tomorrow I leave at 6am to fly up to Rochester. Then Mom and I will drive to Cleveland for the evening and spend Friday morning with my Grandmother. We will then return Friday evening hopefully in time for the pre-graduation reception. The official hooding is Saturday morning and then the Eastman Graduation on Sunday morning. Following Sunday’s graduation, I will drive up to Potsdam in time for the faculty BBQ Sunday evening. Then I will spend Monday and Tuesday looking for a place to live, I just hope I can find something in those 2 days.

Then Tuesday evening we will head back to Rochester, perhaps stop at a winery on the way. Mom and I fly out Wednesday afternoon so we will have the morning to hang out in Rochester a bit.

Hope to see some of you around this weekend!!!

I came back to Oklahoma for a while before my crazy summer starts. Just last weekend I played the Brahms Requiem with Tulsa Oratorio Chorus and musicians of the former Tulsa Philharmonic and the new Tulsa Symphony Orchestra. I’m hopeful that the Tulsa Symphony will be prosperous in the next year and grow into a leading organization in this state. However it is very sad that Tulsa has gone since 2002 without a full time professional orchestra. Many of the musicians have stayed here in hopes for a new orchestra and now it may be here. However, several are beginning to move on. The principal clarinetist and 2nd flutist will be leaving to take academic positions, the principal flutist and 2nd cellist will be leaving to freelance in the DC area and others already left a few years ago and/or have retrained to work in other fields.

It is really sad that a community that was once a huge supporter of the arts, has forgotten what its like to have outstanding quality organizations. There is another little what i call "pick up" orchestra here but the quality is embarassing and it is run by people with no artistic vision beyond their own egos.

After playing with these musicians all weekend, I see the quality that Tulsa has given up. These people have degrees from all of the major conservatories in this country and are fine musicians who could hold positions in any orchestra in the country. However, many have been here 15 or more years, and are now trying to get their audition chops back so they can earn a living. I would not be playing my clarinet - who knows what I would be doing, if those musicians had not been here and the orchestra hadn’t been such a wonderful organization.

But I guess all things change. It saddens me to see so many old friends leaving Tulsa because there is no full time orchestra anymore. It is really hitting the musical community hard, the quality of music in the schools is dropping because there aren’t any private teachers around to teach students. Therefore the school programs are on the decline, what is happening to the arts?

Ok - enough soapbox - I guess when you are gone from a place for 10 years, you figure it will be just as you left it. Unfortunately that isn’t the case here. I’m off to hear my dad’s school orchestra and jazz band concert.