JAVS Fall 1999

62

AVS CHAPTERS

Southern California is well known for its beautiful climate and for its wealth of crea tive energy and talent. Both of these were very much in evidence on Sunday afternoon, 12 September, at "Inner Voices," the Southern California Viola Society's annual gala event. At noon, the mild summer weather and the pleasing strains of violists rehearsing blended becomingly in the air, and by two o'clock the Music Quadrangle at Occidental College was alive with a flurry of violists and friends set ting up tables and preparing for the evening's festivities. Bird Studio, a woody recital hall very sympathetic to alto resonance, was pre pared for the smaller ensembles and solo per formances. A low stone wall surrounding the courtyard became the perfect shelf for music, CDs, back issues of ]AVS, newsletters, and name tags. Hannah Skupen and her team filled the tables with food and drinks. Twelve violas warmed the space with a dress rehearsal of Maria Newman's "Four Hymns" in the courtyard by the fountain. Our first concert began at four o'clock and the offerings were rich, beginning with a fragrant bouquet of

old-fashioned melody played by Peter Hatch and pianist Bryan Pezzone (Sitt "Elegy," Vieuxtemps "Romance," Kreisler "Liebesleid," Debussy/Orff "Romance"). The concert con tinued with a riveting performance by Karen Elaine Bakunin ofWadada Leo Smith's power ful "Hetep: Serenity: Tranquility 2." Next Hannah Skupen, Lindy Grishkoff, and Kathy Anders gave us a charming performance of I. D. Jacobsen's "Three Varieties" for three violas. Then John Hayhurst mesmerized us with his journey through Bach's monumental "Chaconne." The afternoon concert concluded in the courtyard with an engaging first performance of Maria Newman's transcendent "Four Hymns" for 12 violas, gracefully conducted by Jeffrey Schindler, with Janet Lakatos as concertmaster shimmering in the stratosphere and Maria energizing the music from the bottom. ("Four Hymns" was written for the Southern Califor nia Society.) The afternoon was picture perfect, and the audience was only mildly annoyed by a helicopter that repeatedly buzzed the last phrases of the "Chaconne" and a relentless

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