1) Last Thursday, as part of the Young People’s Concert, two members of the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, Tony Morales (violin) and David Ramos (viola), performed Handel’s Passacaglia to an auditorium of absolutely mesmerized teenagers. Their playing was amazing, but just as incredible was the total attention they received from their peers. I believe they were rewarded with five ovations. Imagine if you were a teen, and you saw and heard somebody your own age take the stage and play music that was out of this world. I think your own view of the world would shift just a little. (Not to mention if you were the parents of one of those musicians, as SLSO violinist Manuel Ramos and SLSO cellist Cathy Lehr are the parents of David – who were on the stage beaming ecstatically in the midst of the orchestra.)
2) Oboist Phil Ross had a heavy load last week. With both Barbara Orland and Pete Bowman off for a program that featured a lot of oboe, especially in the Lutoslawski and Ravel, Phil was picking up the principal duties for all of it. I saw him at the beginning of the week and he looked anxious. But by Friday, he looked like he had it all under control. More to the theme, while I was chatting with Phil in the foyer, percussionist Tom Stubbs came up and said, “You sound terrific out there,” which was some support that was awfully nice to hear.
