4-Letter Words Weekend . . .

October 18

. . . and those words would be “Elsa” and “CLSO” on a beautiful mid-October weekend in Minnesota . . .

Summer makes me drowsy. Autumn makes me sing. Winter’s pretty lousy, but I hate Spring. ~ Dorothy Parker.

October, the extravagant sister, has ordered an immense amount of the most gorgeous forest tapestry for her grand reception. ~ Oliver Wendell Holmes.

October 16

[Elsa Lee’s “Missing U at Carlos Creek Winery” photo by the Supervisor . . . ]

[She created some new fans this weekend which is great because she’ll be at the winery pretty much every other Saturday for the rest of the year . . . ]

There’s nothing remarkable about it. All one has to do is hit the right keys at the right time and the instrument plays itself. ~ Johann Sebastian Bach

I’m an interpreter of stories. When I perform it’s like sitting down at my piano and telling fairy tales. ~ Nat King Cole

When I had nothing else, I had my mother and the piano. And you know what? They were all I needed. ~ Alicia Keys

Life is like a piano. What you get out of it depends on how you play it. ~ Tom Lehrer

[Suffering fans in the 50-degree weather . . . ]

There are eighty-eight keys on a piano and within that, an entire universe. ~ James Rhodes

[Still suffering . . . ]

I often think in music. I live my daydreams in music. I see my life in terms of music. ~ Albert Einstein 

Music gives a soul to the universe, wings to the mind, flight to the imagination and life to everything. ~ Plato

I believe in using the entire piano as a single instrument capable of expressing every possible musical idea. ~ Oscar Peterson

The piano’s world encompasses glass-nerved virtuosi and stomping barrel-housers in fedoras; it is a world of pasture and storm, of perfumed smoke, of liquid mathematics. ~ Kenneth Miller

Without a piano I don’t know how to stand, don’t know what to do with my hands. ~ Norah Jones

When you play, never mind who listens to you. ~ Robert Schumann

The best players are on the bench. ~ Anonymous Unknown

[The flames on the left were at the request of her audience . . . ]

As for the piano, the faster her fingers flew over it, the more he marveled. She struck the keys with aplomb and ran from one end of the keyboard to the other without a stop. ~ Gustave Flaubert, Madame Bovary

A woman sings at the piano, and the poet is carried back to his childhood. ~ DH Lawrence

October 17

And we were back at the winery the very next day for . . .

No technology comes close to the effect of a live symphony orchestra. ~ John de Lancie

[An affair to remember . . . ]

[With fine linens and things . . . ]

I am sure my music has a taste of codfish in it. ~ Edvard Grieg

The sound of the orchestra is one of the most magnificent musical sounds that has ever existed. ~ Chick Corea

[OK, it’s also a fundraiser – this year needing new chairs for the orchestra and a projector for the high school’s Performing Arts Center . . . ]

[With such as these auction items . . . ]

[Where large stringed instruments go to die?]

[Maestro Brad Lambrecht and the Central Lakes Symphony Orchestra . . . ]

A man who wants to lead the orchestra must turn his back on the crowd. ~ Max Lucado

How could you have a soccer team if all were goalkeepers? How would it be an orchestra if all were French horns? ~ Desmond Tutu

[CLSO board member Jim in the foreground; Echo Press Editor “you can call me Al” in the background . . . ]

Say, “CLSO” . . .

Orchestras are like people. They’re the sonic embodiment of their community. ~ Simon Rattle

When I was growing up, there were no women in orchestras. Auditioners thought they could tell the difference between a woman playing and a man. Some intelligent person devised a simple solution: Drop a curtain between the auditioners and the people trying out. And, lo and behold, women began to get jobs in symphony orchestras. ~ Ruth Bader Ginsburg

[All energetically engaged in the Alexandria entertainment scene . . . ]

[Jim and the Maestro cutting it up during intermission . . . ]

The role of an orchestra in the 21st century isn’t just playing, it’s about developing future audiences and performers. ~ Leonard Slatkin

Sometimes there is a 36-piece orchestra going off in my stomach. ~ Willie Nelson

One time I introduced my orchestra as the Shampoo Music Makers instead of the Champagne Music Makers. ~ Lawrence Welk

With an orchestra you are building citizens, better citizens for the community. ~ Gustavo Dudamel

[One-half of the noted Donahue family of violinists . . . ]

[“Slide,” noted CLSO trombonist, also known to have shared a locker room with members of the Fat Boys Walking Club . . . ]

[Appears to have been a crash landing . . . ]

It’s like a whole orchestra, the piano for me. ~ Dave Brubeck

I can’t stand going out to one more dinner with some Mrs. So-and-So who might leave a million dollars to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra when she dies. ~ Daniel Barenboim (Editor’s note: Please advise Mrs. So-and-So I’m available for dinner on behalf of the CLSO.)

Up Next: Bunch o’ stuff coming up . . .

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