G.-\ \ IBA NHWSVolume 15, Number I Viola da Gamba societyfl'aciflca January 2002

Members'newsCatching up with Carol Herman,Ellen Alexander andKathryn Smith DerksenBy Lyle York

At the start of a now year- and good riddance tothe old one - Gambcr Ivews can report recent newsfrom three of our members:

CAROL HERNENA synopsis Of carol Herman's life since her last

turn as Viiols/West workshop organizer in August2001 reads seriocomically. This is altogether fit-ting because Carol has decided to devote herseiffull-time to the stage. "It's one audition qfter an-other, " she says. " Urforiunately, the opportunitiesfor A Woman Of a Certain Age are less than opti-mal . . . but I'm stubborn. "

September 2001

|j:ig:::fikfadcuop±e:cnfealw:°d-a:a¥:cnaciyfei:e.sentation. I don't think either Bea Arthur or JudiDench has to worry, but if ever I get sent out forthose myriad "under fives," as teensy roles are

PACITICA PLAY DAY SCREDULEAll play chys except those at Stanford are held at Zion Lu-

theran Church, 520 I Park Boulevard, Oakland.The church is just west of the Park Boulevzq.d exit off

mghway 13. We meat at 930 a.in. for the coached session.Lunch break is at 12£0; players can go to nearby restaurants orbring lunch from home. Uncoached aflemoon playing goes ontill 400 p.in.

Sheet music, coflbe and tea will be supplied. Please bring amusic stand and any music of your own you'd like to play.Consorts are forlned based on the information you provide onthe enclosed postcard. Please mail lt iD iinmediatcly! OT e-mail your datato John Mark, ]nazk bach8®hotmail.com.Newcomersandrankbe5nnersarewelcome.Ifyou're

coming for the first time, please phone ahead: (510) 531-1471.

DATE COACH

January l2, 2002 Elisabetl] ReedFebruary 9 John Domenl}urg, Stanrord campusMand 9 TBAApril l2-14 Annual North/South viol Meet FresnoMay ll TEA

called, at least 1'11 have an experience I haven't hadbefore.

1'11 submit for next summer's Utah ShakespeareFestival in Cedar City, which is doing its usual mixof plays, Bard and otherwise. Since they're doingC}J"bc/I.me and Harve}r, both of which have older-women roles-and I have my own Inland ValleyTheatre Award for my performance as Veta Louisein Harve}LI'll add to the 1500 others who'll be fill-ing up the mailbox in Utah.

For my role in fJarve};, I experienced a giggleprovoking "Oscar night" with swelling music and afollowspot as we walked down the aisle for our

Continued on Page 3

TINS;".. The VdGS/Pacif iica mailing list, which includes members and f riends in the U.S. and Canada.

VIOLA DA GAMBA SOCIETYffACIFICA

Yes! Iwant tojoinVdGsfl?acifica!

Just fill out the fom below, write a check andmail them both in.

: YOURFIRST ANDLASTNAME

: YounMrmNGADDREssI

'

CITY, STATE ANI) ZIP

: YOURE-MAILADDRESS-YOUR PHONE NUMBER

S Playing Member ($25): You can at-tend monthly consort mectings for free,you gct a free subscription to GambaNews, and you gct a discount on con-sort~hing sessions.Two-Person Membership ($35): Twoplaying members in the same house-hold. You share all the rights and privi-leges of a Playing Member.

Newsletter-Only Membership ($10)

Donations ($10, $25, eso, $100 ormore!) to VdGsffacifica will help usbuy sheet music and rental instruments.

S TOTAL ENCLOSED

Make out checks to PLHas;4'clc7/}ccr. Mail

: themwiththis formto:1, Helen Tyrrell, Treasurer1. VdGS/Pacif ica`` P.O. Box 188'. Orinda, CA 94563

GAMBANEWSPublished nine tines a year by the Pacifica chapter of theViola da Gamba Society. It goes on vacation during themonths of June, July and August.PREsn)ENT Julic Jeffi.ey tijeffrey@lil)rary.berkeley. edu)VlcE-PRESDENT Lyle York oyleyork@carthlink.net)SECRETARy ADnette Higucl]i (annette.bamett@esis. con)TREASURR He[e ii Tyt.re]l aiesuome©acbell.net)

BOARD MrmERs AT LARGECindy Share, Coaching Liaison (cynthia_share@peoplesoft.com)Jobo Ma rk, Rental program coordinator (mark_bach8@hotmail.com)Lee MCRae, VdGSA chapter representative (LmcR@aol. com)Jol]D Dorncnl)urg ¢dmbrg@concentnc.net)Alvin Ropel. (925426J)829)E[len Farwcl] ([BFarwell@earthlink.net)RobinEasterl}ronk(sncoky4176@col.com)

Contributions welcome: send concert listingsand reviews, opinions, workshop experiences, CD reviews,drawings, or photos to Lyle York, Editor,1932 ThousandOaks Boulevard, Berkeley, CA 94707, or via e-mail:lyleyork@earthlink.net. Phone (510) 559-9273.

Classifled ads: Short classified text advertisrments inGambo Iverw5 are free to VdGS/Pacifica members. For nob-members, ads are $5 per issue. Please mail your check toLylc York (address above), made out to VdGS/Pacifica.

Newsletters by e-mail: Ifyou'd like to receiveyour monthly Gcz7pzZ]a Ivei.rs on-line, please e-mail Ly]e Yorkat lyleyork@earthlinlunet. Your reply postcard will take e-mall form as well.

Web Site: Our VdGsffacifica chapter Web site,http:/thome.pacbellmct/hesuome, is maintained and regularlyupdated by Helen Tyrrell. It contains the Viol Players'Calendar, which is often more up to date than the GambaIvlgws calendar - along with a list of local teachers, sourcesfor music, supplies, inexpensive viols, repairs, and travel tips.The VdGSA (national) Web site is www.vdgsa,org.

Rent a viol: Pacifica has trebles, tenors and basses torent. Donations of viols and bows to our rental program areextremely welcome -we'll accqu them in any condition.Rental fees range from $10 to $25 per mcmth. In charge ofrentals is John Mark, at 10 Holyrood Manor, Oakland2 CA9461 I ; (510) 531-1471 ; nark_bach8@homail.com.

The VdGSA, Pacifica's parent organization, also rents vi-ols. For VdGSA members, rates are se50 per year for treblesand tenors, $300 for basses, and $750 for a complete consortof viols. For more infomation. contact Stephen Morris,2615 Tanglewood Road, Decatur, GA 30033-2729; (404)3 25-2709; smmorris@mindapring.com.

The VdGSA has instituted a Rent-Toro`m program. Ifinterested, contact John Mark, address above.

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Continued from Page 1Inland Valley awards. I'm glad I got my Vi-ols/West Oscar to grace my studio !

Tomorrow I'm going to audition in Hollywoodyet again, which always sounds more exciting thanit probably will be. I remember one such auditionfor an original play where the husband had recentlystarted on Viagra, and the wife (the part for which Iwas auditioning) was gettingpretty damn tired, so she hired ahooker to take up the slack (ornon-slack?) and they sat anddiscussed what the husbandliked, what the hooker would orwould not do. . . Then the hookersaid, "Hey-maybe we can havea threesome." For the life of me

And what was my professional performance lastsummer? It was as Ouiser in S/ec/ A41agrzo/i.czs. Irefused to burp on cue, which the director wanted,no doubt because Shirley MacLaine did it in themovie.

Then there was a bit of "business" of poppingopen a Coke can on a certain word, and I am not inthe habit of popping cans. Seeing my ineptitude,

he threatened to throw the busi-

I couldn't think Of asingle person I 'd wantto come see me if I'd

landed the role

I couldn't think of a single person I'd want to comesee me if I'd landed the role. So I crossed myname off the list and went on to the next audition.

That was an unprecedented day: I had threeauditions, eacb a total loser! At the Stella AdlerTheatre on Hollywood Boulevard, an aud forChekhov's 77!ree Sz.s/era, I told the directing pairfrom New York that I lived in Claremont. Therewere /oods exchanged. At that minute I knew Ihadn't a chance.

"Is that in the Valley?""Personally, I've never driven east of pasa-

dena."

I drove on to the next aud., in NOHo, which iswhat a section of North Hollywood inportantlycalls itself. This was a play so disorganized thatthe director hadn't yet made up her mind whetherto cast all white or all African-American.

Just recently I went back to NOHo to auditionfor a musical. I thought `trendy little theater" andit tuned out to be the basement of Faith LutheranChurch Now, Garrison and I really have nothingagainst Lutherans -but - 30 seats in a musty base-ment, after the elegance of 850 seats and full proeverything this past sulrmer - we//.

The piano player melted onto the keyboard atthe sight of five shaps. So we ended up doing mysong in two different keys. I was in the correctone, but I have no idea where she was.

?oesgs;v°eutriecthhae[L4eE:full;°£:hi¥yto work on it, and I went to a su-permarket and bought a six-packofjunk cola and practiced pop-ping, pouring the cola out in myhotel sink. Never missed a popinperformance!

It's called method acting.

December 2001

I can't report that I'm in a show -though it isn'tfor lack oftrying! I passed on a four-night produc-tion at a theater on the second floor of a strip mallin L,A., over an ice cream store, a laundromat, andthe Lava Lounge. Belatedly I realized I might havetried to convince the Lounge to feature electric vi-ols.

About a month ago I auditioned for a featurefilm with Alan Ackin that was shooting in Portland.I did a fine read for the judge role, but the castingdirector told me the director thought maybe itshould be "a man-perhaps of color." Try as Imight, I can't do man of color.

However, I cackled, growled and snarled for arecently colxpleted course in advanced aninationvoiceover. My accomplishments included the fol-lowing character voices: a witch. a petulant South-em twit, a Brit nanny, a little kid, RobonamyModel #104, an insufferable East Coast snob, andRa:sty from Wind in the Willows.

I will audition January 5 for the Utah Shake-speare Festival, hugely happy to have made thefirst cut. In four minutes of audition they need aShakeapeane monologue, a contemporary one, anda bit of song. Put me on fast forward! Keep yourtoes crossed!

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ELLEN ALEXANDERWe are sad to report that Ellen Alexander lost

her daughter Saralinda Rhodes in a car accidentthis past July, and suffered a stroke in late Novem-ber. Ellen is recovering well fi.om the stroke withthe help of a speech therapist and untiring attentionfrom her daughter Elise Stone. Ellen and her hus-band, Robert, are now settled in a pleasant assisted-1iving home in Sonoma. Elise reports that Ellenand Robert won't be able to return to their Oaklandhome.

Ellen was cheered by the cards and calls shehas received from her friends, and by a collectionof CDs gathered from Pacifica members by OliverIberien. She still has trouble with speech and writ-ing, but sends thanks and love to all her friends.

Ellen's address: Sonoma Serenity Home,17575 Carriger Road, Sonoma, CA 95476.(707) 939-1318.

KATmyN SMITH DERKSEN

Kath:ryn Smith Derksen e-mails occasional dis-patches from rural northern Uganda, where sheand her husband, Dan, are serving a three-yearterm with the Mennonite Central Corrrmi[tee in Kit-gum. The committee works with the peace andreconciliation ministry Of the Charch Of Uganda inan area devastated by warfare, poverty, and dis-ease. Excerpted below is a letter to her friends atThanksgiving.

Since Gt"haNows last reported on Kath:ryn inOctober 2000, a baby was borm John Clair, andKathryn gave a recital on the viola da gamba` Shedoesn't go into musical news in her Thanksgivingletter, but the following story is riveting.

Thieves in the Night

G:da;:.nt[::i:tq°u]#w¥eusofinthce°=#:su,°aushsence, there's been a flush of robberies and localviolent incidents. It's believed that individLial sol-diers are often behind robberies, picking out youngmen who know their way around and supplyingthem with a weapon and instructions to force them-selves into houses to steal. We've often been re-minded that we're the only foreigners living in the

district who don't have a fence or a night watch-man. Fencing this large piece of land would be alot of money that might be better spent in otherways, and we really don't want to be responsiblefor a night watchman's life in exchange for ourown. If there were phones, it might make sensebecause a watchman could call for help, but that'snot a possibility yet. There have been small frus-trations with living so "open," but we consider itpart of our witness to live without the protectionthe "rich" of Kitgum enjoy.

We.ve had several things disappear from ourcompound outof vehiclesand out of ourshed, and thenlast month wecaught somethieves red-handed in themiddle of thenight. I foundthem when Iwent out to thelatrine, andonce they real-ized theycouldn't hide,they took myflashlight and

We've often beenreminded that we 'rethe only foreignersliving in the district

who don 't have a f;onceor a night watchman.We really don't want

to be responsible f;or anighi watchman ' s lif e

in exchange forour own.

grabbed myarm, asking for money and pushing me towards thehouse. I pretended not to understand Acholi andwas purposely slow until I got to the door, and thenI quickly slipped in and locked the door before theycould follow me. I thought they weren't armed andhad seemed more confused by my appearance thanaggressive, so after a few minutes we decided Danwould go out to talk to them. One guy did hold hishand behind his back the whole time, but we don'tknow if he actually had a weapon. They talked tohim in fairly good English. One of them kept say-ing to not come close and not to taflc too much, be-cause they had their "gang" close by. Dan askedwho they were, and he replied, "We are wrongguys, you could call us street kids." He said theyhad been sent to get money. Dan indicated theempty pockets of his sleepwear and said, "If you

4

want money, why do you come at night? Go awayand come back tomorrow." He also asked them togive back the flashlight, which they did. Dan saidhe would meet them at 5 :00 the next day, then heshook their hands and they left. After that, we hada restless night, and the next day, as expected, theydidn't come back. We made a police report of theincident, for whatever that's worth.

We've since realized that talking to them mightnot have been the response you all would havewanted us to take, but at the time personalizingourselves to the thieves seemed important. Wedidn't want them walking by here the next time andnot knowing that we had names and faces and oc-cupations. Dan's first reaction had been to grab awooden kitchen utensil to carry with himg but whenI pointed out how ridiculous that looked he readilyagreed and dropped it.

So we would like to say that the incident was avictory for pacifism, but now we're not sure that'sthe valid reason that the encounter ended withoutviolence. Several people have laughed at our na-•i.vets, and say that the only reason the young men

were not aggressive with us is because they be-lieved the old truth that "all white men have guns."And when I view the incident in that light, ofcourse: Man comes out of the house to get back hisflashlight and fearlessly reprimands the thieves,because his wife is standing at the open doorwaywith a gun, right? How else could he have suchaudacity? And I wasn't going to leave the housewith little John Clair sleeping inside, just to provewe didn't have a gun. So now my question is: Canwe porn to the power of pacifism in this situationif the truth is that the thieves backed away becausethey feared we were amed? Probably not, but atleast we felt sincere about the way we reacted.

We realize that Americans are grappling withtheir role in the "war on terrorism" and that thereare many questions floating around out there aboutpacifism and when to apply the almighty Might.One thing I do know is that no matter what the rea-

son was for the thieves leaving without forcingtheir way into our home, they now know who weare. Dan introduced us by name, explained whatwe were doing in Uganda and about our work, andwanly invited them back. much as we do whhnew acquaintances. Is it that little bit of humanitythat can change the course of things? I rememberfrom my work in criminal justice that thieves don'tlike to see pictures of those they are robbing; theydon't like to be reminded of humanfty. It is thesame for terrorists, and then for those who go afterterrorists. No one wants to remember humanness.I have alwaysbelieved thatMight doesnot makeright, and afterthis incident, Ican see it:Only relation-ships canmake right.The relation-ship may startwith a repri-mand and thennot continue,but by wel-

Several people havelaughed at our na:ivet6,and say that the onlyreason the young menwere not aggressive

with us is because theybelieved the old truth

that `all white menhave guns'

coming thepossibility of arelationship, we are somehow bettering a bad situa-tion, and that does seem right. There can be con-flict in relationship, and relationships can end, butif relationship is not offered, then it becomes tooeasy to be inhumane. I could make some referenceto pilgrims and native peoples here, but I've goneon long enough.

Thank you for your prayers. Please pray thatthe phone network will come to Kitgum .... Thingshave otherwise been quiet in the area, so we can of-fer our thanksgiving for that.

Newlineupfor2002MdievalRenaissancewockshopMany new faculty members have been an-

nounced for this year'`s SFEMS Medieval-Renaissance Workshop, to be held July 7-13 atMeadowlands, Dominican University, in SanRafael. The workshop's new directors, Hannekevon Proosdij and Louise Carslake, have armouncedtheir intention to rotate the workshop's faculty eachyear in order to offer new topics. New viol teach-ers will be Wendy Gillespie and Elisabeth Reed.

The amounced faculty for 20d2: Anne Azema,voice; Frances Blaker, recorder; Louise Carslake,recorder and Renaissance flute; Bruce Dickey, cor-netto; Wendy Gillespie, viol and vielle; ShiraKammen, vielle and medieval strings; JenniferLane, voice; Robert Mealy, vielle and Renaissancestrings; Hanneke van Proosdij, organ, hapsichord,and recorder; Elisabeth Reed, viol and cello; DanStillman, early reeds and sackbut; David Tayler,Collegium director and lute; Tom Zajac, sackbut,Renaissance winds, and percussion.

Highlights of class offerings include:

• Collegium (vocal and instrumental) led byDavid Tayler, with sacred works by TomasLuis de Victoria and Claudio Monteverdi.

I A 750th anniversary celebration of the Ccr#/j.-

gas de Sa#c/¢ Marl.a offered by Anne Azemaand Shira Kammen, with a apecial perform-ance on Saturday morning.

• A 400th anniversary celebration of caccini'sfe IV"ove A4lusz.che, offered by Jennifer Lane.

I A Spanish brass project.- A Spanish 16th century keyboard survey class

for harpsichord, organ, and clavichord.I Guaranteed class for ensembles (minimum

four players); must apply before May 7.The directors recommend early applications. If

you aren't on the SFEMS mailing list, contact Han-neke or Louise through SFEMS, P.O. Box 10151,Berkeley, CA 94709, (510) 528-1725, orsfems@sfems.org. Application forms will bemailed in late February.

John Domenburg to coach Febmary 9 at StanfordFebruary 9 is the definite date for Dr. Domen-

burg's Annual Remedial Viol Technique Clinic.Play will start at 9:30 a.in and end at 4:00 p.inFee for the day, for nembers and non-members, is$10.

Reply postcards for this play day will be in Feb-ruary' s Gcrmba Ivews, but if you know you arecoming you can contact John anytime at

jdmbrg@concentric.net. Directions to the musiccenter win be printed in February's Gclmba Ivews,Players gather in Room 102, next to the office, atthe Braun Music Center, Stanford campus.

Parking on campus is free on Saturdays, includ-ing permit zones. Players can buy lunch on cam-pus at the Union Coffee Shop or Mexican restau-rant, both close to the music department.

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Mark your calendarJANIARY 5

HAUSMUSIK CONCERT: `TwelfthNight," a potpourri of medieval, Ren-aissance and traditioml Celtic music formidwinter and the changing of the sea-sons. Kristin Womack, mezzorsoprano;Eileen Hadidian, recorder/flutetharp;Shin Kammen, vielle/violin; NatalieCox, lever hap; Judie Jeffiey, viola dagamba. Tickets: Sl8/15. For info:(510) 527-9029 or franfel@aol.com.8 p.in., St. Alban's Episcopal Clurch,1501 Washington Averme, Albany.

J,OuARy 9MID-PENINSULA RECORDER 0R-CRESTRA regular mecting, for playersof recorder, carly winds or early strings.Bring your instr`ment and music stand.For information: (650) 591-3648.

8 to 10 p.in.. Music Room 2, J.L. Sian-ford Middle School, 480 E. Meadow,Polo Alto.

JAVARY 23, 2002EARLy MuSIC CoLLEGIUM: FrancesFeldon conducts Jacob Obrecht ' s ,WI.ssaCe/asaw P/us. Fee: S12. Please callaliead and reserve your space if you ha-ven't previously registered. For infoand reservations: Frances Feldon, (5 I 0)527-9029 or franfel@aol.com.7:30 to 9:30 p.in., St. Alban's EpiscopalChurch 1501 Washington Averi:ue, Al-bany.

JANUARY 26, 2002

MID-PENINSULA RECORDER 0R-CHESTRA WoRKSE[OI': The Splendorof venice," featuring Venetian musicfrom the Renaissance and Baroque withworks by Ciconia, Giovani Gabrieli,Monteverdi, Vivaldi and composersrepresented in Petrucci ' s Odhecaton.Viols, lutes and singers are encouragedto attend The workshop will be di-rected by Letitia Berlin, Registrationfees: MPRO and SFEMS members, $27by January 19, $32 after; nor-members,$32/$37. hformation: Many Carrigan,420 Crestlake mve, Son Francisco,CA 94132; (415) 664-9050.

9 cLm. to 4 p.in., Union Church Of Cu-pertino. 20900 Steveas Creek Boule-vard, Cupertino.

FEBRUARY 9, 2002

vDGsmAcmcA pLAy DAy AT STAN-FORD: John Domenburg will coach atBraun Music Center, on the Stanfordcampus, from 9:30 a.in. to 4 p.in. Feeis Slo.

FEBRUARy 16, 2002

THE YUKIMI KAMBE VIOL CONSORT:A lecturerdemonstration entitled ``IheMagical Chain of the Viola da Gambain lfistorical and Contemporary Mu-sic." (510) 848-5591. Donation re-

quested2 p.in., Musicsources,1000 The Alameda. Berkeley.

FEBRUARy 16, 2002

THE Yulmil KAMBE VroL CoNsoRT:"Buflct delle Quattro Viole da Gamba -

Music for the Viola da Gamba from Ja-pan and the West." Sl8/$15. (510)848-5591.

8 p.in., Sl. Albaris Episcopal Church,Curtis and Washington streets, A lbany.

FEBRUARY 23, 2002JonN DORI`iENBURG, vloIA DAGAMBA, AND YUKO TANAKA, HARP-slcHORi): Conoen of music by Caixd'Herlevois, Marin Marais, St, Carlombe, and Antoine Forqueray. Tick-ets: $8. For infomation: (650) 725-2787.

8 p.in., Me:rrlorial Church, StarifordUriversity.

GanbaNe:ws is printed by Crazy Copy.1483 Solano Avenue, Albany, CA

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ClassifiedsVloLS MADE by Alemndra Saul. Beautifulcopies of Bertrand, Jaye, and Hoskins mas-terpieces. (510) 558rfe927, (510) 559-9563.

BAss vloL with bow and hard case, $2000.Contact Gwen Rodman, grod3608@ao[.comor (909) 981 -1633.

TREBm vtol, Kelisehek workshop with Met-tal bow, Lined wooden hard case and cafroDlugolecki strings. $2500, Comact CIDdySliare, (925) 939-3551.

TREBLE VloL by Domiric Shann. 1981, afterEnglish models; 38 cm string length. Ccop-ered top, double prrfling, inlaid fretboard andtailpiece, open scull, tiger maple sides andback. Very light construction Baroqueblackwood bow with ivory nut by Ralph Ash-mead; hard case by Early Music Shop (UK),

(UK), extra gut strings by Damien DLugo-Lecki. Asking sO,500 for viol, case and bow.Contact OLiver lberien, (510) 834€062;oliver.iberien@mindspring.com

TREBLE vlo L by Higgins; neck replacementby him; viol in excellent condition. Earlyratchet bow by Nell Hendricks and hard case"arranged" by Herb Myers. $1,500 for viol,

bow, and case. Contact Kris Montague,(650) 969-1668.

SEEKING A Bow: I am looking for a goodtenor bow. Contact Bill I.amr,jblazar@aol.corn; (408) 73 7-8228.

W^r`iT To TRy AI`i ALTo? Pacifica has an altoviol available for short-temi loan, not rental,to any of our experienced membus wantingto try such an unusual instrument. It is tuned

A to a, one step up from a tenor. ContactJohn Mark, (510) 531-1471 ormark_bach8@hotmail.com (408) 73 7-8228.

I-OOKING T0 BUY A SEVEN-STRING G^MBA:My first choice is a historical instrument, butI will also consider a contemporary instru-ment. Whatever I buy, it needs to be a professional quality instrument with which I canfall in love. Comact Barl.ara Bailey-Metrat (480) 350-9827 or JohnRMctz@aoLcom.

BAss v]oL Bow FOR SAI.E: Excellent cond-tion, like new. Snakewood. Sturdy, playswell on a six-string. Made in 2000 by Chris-topher English. S1300. For infomation:Marina Vidor, (413) 5856085, starting1/28/02-

A Mary Elliott

920 Ventura AvenileAlbany, CA 94707