Tuesday, September 7, 2004

by Micaela Baranello
Gazette Reporter

On June 4, Swarthmore College Orchestra members were startled to
receive an e-mail from music director Daniel Alfred Wachs.  “This
is not an e-mail that I expected to have to write so soon,” Wachs
began. He has left Swarthmore for the position of Assistant Conductor
of the Minnesota Orchestra.  “My tenure at Swarthmore has been one
of the most rewarding experiences of my musical life,” Wachs wrote to
the orchestra. Wachs had directed the orchestra since 2001. Chorus and
jazz band director John Alston says “I’m going to miss him.  He’s
gentle, generous and funny besides being talented… He’s going to be
famous. He deserves it.”  Orchestra concertmaster Serena Le ’07
says “He was extraordinarily encouraging and very supportive of
everything I was doing… he’s one of the major reasons why I am so
involved with the music department now.”

Alston will lead the orchestra this semester; Wachs will be replaced by
spring semester.  The orchestra will be performing Beethoven’s
monumental Symphony No. 9, with the Swarthmore Chorus joining in for
the choral finale.  Also on the program, scheduled for Saturday,
December 4th, is Beethoven’s rarely performed Triple Concerto, with
soloists Le, violin, Oliver Hsu ’02, cello, and Colin Palmer ’06,
piano. Hsu and Le hatched the idea of playing the Triple Concerto last
year, and proposed it to Wachs, who was eager to conduct the
piece.  Though he unfortunately will not do so, the performance
will go on.

Le describes the soloists’ preparation as an intense experience,
complete with early returns to Swarthmore, back to back three hour
rehearsals and memorization (the piece is frequently played with music
by professionals).  “Memorizing the piece will allow us to really
interact with each other,” Le describes.  “The piece is fun to
play… it’s something the audience will really enjoy.”

This semester the orchestra will consist of about 50 musicians. 
This is small for a symphony orchestra, but Alston sees that as an
advantage, as “it’s easier to hear textures.”  “We’ve lost a lot
of seniors but have some terrific first years, particularly violins,”
he adds.  This transitional semester gives the orchestra an
ambitious, exciting and very challenging program that will surely lead
to a memorable concert.  “John Alston is a phenomenal conductor
and director.  He can definitely teach the orchestra more than a
few things,” says Le.  “It will be fabulous,” Alston concludes.

*****

* After a four hour long operation on Monday morning, President Clinton
is “recovering normally” from his quadruple coronary artery bypass
surgery, according to Dr. Craig Smith. After reporting to the hospital
with chest pain and shortness of breath on Friday, Clinton agreed to
the common procedure at New York-Presbyterian hospital. Without the
intervention a heart attack would have been likely, but now he is
expected to make a full recovery.

* Chinese officials are asking for the military to help civilians
evacuate from areas that are being hit hard by extensive flooding.
Seventy six people are reported dead, fifty two missing, and hundreds
trapped so far in the southwest region, and rains are expected to
continue for at least another day. Flooding is a yearly occurence, and
this summer has seen more than 500 deaths due to rain.

* For the first time in more than a record 264 weeks, Tiger Woods is
not the leading golfer in the world. Vijay Singh beat Woods in the
Deutsche Bank Championship, increasing his tally this year to six wins,
and securing himself the number 1 position. Woods has been the leading
player since August, 1999.

*****

Shaolin Kung Fu
Upper Tarble, 8:00 p.m.

Student Council Meeting
Kohlberg 230, 10:30 p.m.

*****

SPORTS UPDATE

Today:
Field Hockey hosts Notre Dame (MD), 5:00 p.m.

Tomorrow:
Men’s Soccer at Moravian, 5:00 p.m.

*****

QUOTE OF THE DAY

“A life spent making mistakes is not only more honorable but more
useful than a life spent in doing nothing.”
— George Bernard Shaw

*****

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