May 2010 | Vol. 4, No. 4

Winning artists . . .

The pride of our education program is the Young Artist Program, now celebrating its SEVENTH year. In April, Stephanie and Craig Sorgi, the Education Director for CPMF, held auditions for this full-scholarship program. After the auditions, Craig declared “we were very impressed with the high level of skill, preparedness, and seriousness that each of the musicians brought to their audition performances.” The EIGHT winners—an all-time high number of YAP winners—are (alphabetical, in score order):
Teresa Villalobos, flute [home school]
Louis Coy, clarinet [Clark HS]
Eric Bowser, violin [Our Lady of the Hills]
Lauren Logan, violin [Clark HS]
Nathan Dowling, viola [home school]
Julian Tello, Jr., viola [UTSA] pictured above left
Jonathon Willing, cello
[Cliffside Christian Academy]
Sydney ZumMallen, cello [NE School of the Arts]

The Young Artist Program is the keystone of CPMF’s educational mission, offering to serious young musicians in the San Antonio area a tuition-free opportunity to study with, and be mentored by, some of the nation’s top chamber musicians. The program also gives these young artists the chance to share their talents with the community in free concerts around greater San Antonio.

SPONSORSHIPS are needed to underwrite YAP with scholarships at $2000 per young artist. Over the years, CPMF has been blessed with individuals who have chosen to fund an entire scholarship, as well as with small groups of people who have combined their resources to fund a Fellow.
If you are interested in education and can help a young artist experience this fabulous opportunity, please contact Reneé Davis.

Volunteers . . .

Volunteers are every non-profit organization's success story. A non-profit can only succeed on the broad shoulders of its volunteer base. And it's no different with Cactus Pear. If YOU have the time and desire to volunteer this summer we can use your help at the festival.

One of the wonderful "nightcaps" to a CPMF concert are the after-concert receptions that allow our concert-goers the chance to chat about the music and performances with friends or meet the festival artists while indulging in some always tasty offerings at our reception buffets. Those after-concert events could not happen without the help of our volunteers: in setting up, in serving food, refilling beverages and in clean up.

We will need a few extra people in New Braunfels this year to help with set up, break down and reception help.

For opportunities to volunteer and help make it another successful CPMF season, please contact Reneé Davis.

The notes are back!

We couldn't have "favorite son" pianist Jeffrey Sykes back to perform at the festival this year, but he will make his presence known nonetheless with his outstanding program notes. Jeffrey is a wonderful writer and musicologist. After having to forego program notes in 2009 (with our concerted effort to keep costs down due to the economy), the board decided that we would not let that happen again if at all possible. We are pleased to say, Jeffrey's notes are back! Here is a glimpse of his invaluable contribution to our festival: we unveil a portion of the notes on Brahms's Trio in A minor for clarinet, cello, and piano, op. 114 that appear on our first festival program Restless Romantics: An Ambrosia of Anniveraries.
 
In December of 1890, the aging Brahms declared that he was quitting. Fearing that his creative juices were drying up, he sent off his String Quintet in G Major, op. 111, to his publisher with a message, “With this note you can take leave of my music, because it is high time to stop.” He wrote his friend Eusebius Mandyczewski, telling him, “I’ve been tormenting myself for a long time with all kinds of things, a symphony, chamber music and other stuff, and nothing will come of it. Above all I was always used to everything being clear to me. It seems to me that it’s not going the way it used to. I’m just not going to do any more. My whole life I’ve been a hard worker; now for once I’m going to be good
and lazy.” For a while, he stuck to his guns. But then something extraordinary happened: Brahms heard Richard Mühlfeld play the clarinet, and a world of new possibilities opened to him . . . .

You'll have to wait until closer to the festival when we'll post the program notes online or during the festival when these wonderful notes will be found in your program book.

Musical musings

Stephanie's father, John Sant'Ambrogio, has recently published his musical memoir called "The Day I Almost Destroyed the Boston Symphony and Other Stories." John played with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, was Principal Cellist with the Casals Festival Orchestra, and Principal Cellist with the Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra for 37 years until he retired to his non-stop post-orchestral "career" of performances, storytelling and travel.

His book is a veritable who’s who of the music world. The stories tell about the times he spent with Charles Münch, Pablo Casals, Yo Yo Ma, Leonard Slatkin, Itzhak Perlman, Erich Leinsdorf, David Robertson, and dozens of other musicians and conductors. The book is an inspiring and comical look at the classical music world from backstage.

John's book will be available at all CPMF concerts

this summer.

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