A Delightfully Good Time
If you know me well, you know that before I was a computer person, I was a musician. Starting in my freshman year at Francis C. Hammond High School, Alexandria, VA, I learned to play the double bass. Mr. Gerald Brobst, my first teacher, did the heavy lifting, getting a tall, gangly kid to learn to hold a bass and get “sounds”, not yet music, out of an ancient clunker.
Bass Man
It took a couple of months before I could read and play real music. Sensing my interest and my skill, Mr. Brobst suggested that I contact a member of the National Symphony Orchestra, in Washington D.C. to inquire about private lessons. That is how Mr. Edward Skidmore became my bass teacher, my mentor, and later, my friend.
Looking back, high school in the late ’60s was a blur. But one thing stood out, my skill with a double bass. In just four short years, Mr. Skidmore was able to get me ready for a college audition to the University of Michigan, his alma mater. I was accepted in the summer of 1972 and started at the UofM School of Music in Ann Arbor, MI that fall under Professor Lawrence P. Hurst.
One of my more memorable performances was in The Bass Octet, Interlochen Music Camp, summer of 1973.
Bass Octet
Four years later, under the tutelage of Prof. Hurst, the results were on display at my recital on September 25, 1975.
Recital
And so, on the 50th anniversary of my senior recital, I offer this tribute (phone friendly version) to those who helped me along the way - Mr. Brobst, Mr. Skidmore, and Prof. Hurst. With special thanks to my Mother, who put up with it all; my Father, a former photographer in the US Navy, who took the recital pictures; Mark Hastings, my accompanist; and my classmate Mark Mathias, who loaned me his instrument for my recital.
Enjoy!