I came across this email exchange with Polly, and thought I'd share it with you all.
Re: Polly-Mom-Sis's "Stallman Project" Report :-) This is a long one!
On Apr 6, 2009, at 7:33 PM, Polly Monson wrote:
Dear Family and Dearest Friends.......This has been one very fabulous project driven by my passion for excellence. Bringing Robert Stallman to San Luis Obispo (and Arroyo Grande) was like a dream job with a superb pay-off. :-) I want to thank all of you for your wonderful, kind, supportive, informative, patient, and generous contributions to help make this a most amazing series of events.
Don, who came Friday to be my "First Mate - Gofer", was SO WONDERFUL! I could never have managed without him :-) ...and I'm so sorry he got locked out of my Park for TWO HOURS after the Recital!!! How was I to know that I was NOT taking the artists back to their motel until AFTER visiting Madonna Inn and seeking a late dinner spot...which turned out to be Denny's in Pismo!!! because our county is NOT Cosmopolitan - we don't serve European hours!! And I had no cell phone with me. Don took and has sent neat photos on Flickr... Don - you were GREAT - Thank you so much for coming to share this with me and for all your help. :-)
Doug and Sherrill, who came to my rescue many times in many ways.....giving advice, helping "brainstorm" the potential good and bad possibilities of hosting an event, counseling me on "cost control" & bookkeeping, enabling me to buy the Event Insurance at a better price, and gifting me with a very special dinner card. You two are so special and so greatly appreciated....THANKS FOR IT ALL.....:-)
Pete & Sue - who were so patient when I first "got the Stallman bug".....and went on and on and on and on.....Thanks for listening, sharing the enthusiasm, and getting such a kick out of hearing about the progress of this undertaking. You are the host and hostess with the mostess....:-)
Liz and Rebecca....You gals are SO WONDERFUL to have as friends. Thanks for all your care, concern, and support. I love you guys.
Marti - You are absolutely FANTASTIC! Not only did you make, buy, and bring tasty treats for our Reception but you made the ULTIMATE Recital Saving contribution......you were the PERFECT page turner! Mark Anderson appreciated having such a super helper (he said he was so grateful to have YOU!)....Bob Stallman and Isabelle Chapuis fell in love with you too and also send their thanks.
Carol Metzler - thanks for all your positive energy and good wishes.
Barbara - Thank you so much for your generous donation to Flute Fun....it helped a lot......I'm so sorry your body had to go and get sick and you couldn't attend the Recital.
Ruth, Carol Johnston, and Bonnie - you "flute fun friends" are a great gift to me. I love our time together and making music together. You have all enriched my life.
So...now the "Report":
Wednesday, April 1. Robert (Bob) Stallman and his long-time friend and performing partner, Isabelle Chapuis who both studied under Jean-Pierre Rampal at the Paris Conservatoire arrived.
Thursday, April 2 We met Thursday morning and I brought them to my home for lunch. Later that evening, I hosted an elegant meet/eat/and greet dinner party in a private room at Lido, a very nice restaurant with an outdoor patio overlooking the Pacific ocean at sunset. The guest list included Andy Harp, the KCBX Afternoon Classics host on whose program I first heard a Robert Stallman CD; Paul Severtson, KCBX Development Director and one of the finest violinist/violists in SLO; Curtis Pendleton, Festival Mozaic Executive Director (who I took a few flute lessons from last year) and her husband, French Canadian, Robert Caron (who also went to the Paris Conservatoire); Alice McGonigal, first flutist in SLO Symphony; Bonnie Richan (Flute Fun.org co-signer) and her husband Steve Aiena, who created our flutefun.org Web-site (for free). (Unfortunately Michael Nowak, the SLO Symphony conductor was unable to attend - (Hollywood and family obligations)
Friday April 3 Recital was superb. I was so pleased that there was a "respectable" number in the audience....we estimated around 76-80. Bob chose a very appealing program titled: "A Celebration of Spring" and played magnificently. Isabelle Chapuis, the darling VERY French flutist was a perfect playing partner for the Mozart Sinfonia Concertante. And the accompanist, Mark Anderson was wonderful. We were treated to a World-Class Recital and the audience gave them a standing ovation.
Saturday, April 4 was the Masterclasses Day and Open Discussion and Mini- Performance. This was inspiring to all who attended. For you non-musicians - Masterclasses is where performers (who have prepared a piece) perform and then the coach gives comments and instructions on how you can improve your performance. Since players are at all different levels - this takes a great deal of skill on the coaches part to instantly evaluate the performance and focus on the most positive approach to helping the performer strive for a higher level. Bob was masterful at this. At the end of this day Bob gave a Private lesson to Shelly (one of our new county resident flute players).
Sunday, April 5 was Flute Choir Day - 12 of us playing together...kind of a flute orchestra....with C flutes, Alto flutes, and Bass flute. REALLY FUN. At the end of this day Bob gave TWO flute lessons (Nancy and Martha).
The revenue from flute participant registrations and ticket sales did not cover all the expenses but the revenue was greater than I expected and I ended up having to pony up less than I expected. It was worth every penny of it! We were able to sell quite a respectable amount of Bob's HUGE library of new publications for flutists, and a goodly number of his CD's. I almost forgot - Don took great care of setting up the sheet music display on Friday night and making the pricing nightmare manageable. That was a HUGE contribution to the success of the sales.
Monday, April 6 - Bob and Isabelle packed up...came to my house one last time...then we drove to Montana de Oro through the beautiful spring green and wild flowers of Los Osos Valley while listening to one of Bob's latest CD's of Schubert arrangements for flute and strings. We drove along the bluffs and admired the vastness of the ocean and beauty of Morro Bay and all the coastal vistas....then lunch and then GOODBYES.....We experienced the joy of beautiful music and feel like family now.....:-)
What a great thing happened these last few months! I'm glad my mother told me "Do something constructive"...... I think I did....:-) ......Thanks to all. :-)
Love,
Aunt-Polly-Mom-Sis
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My reply:
Photos:
https://www.flickr.com/photos/dsleeter_2000/sets/72157616280947125/Mom,
Congratulations and kudos to you! It was a glorious idea you had. You nurtured it into full bloom and everyone involved was so happy to be part of it. Really! We all should be thanking you!
The best part, I think, was the wonderful loving relationships you formed with Bob Stallman and Isabelle and Mark, and this includes the warm friendships you have with all your music loving friends. It is quite true that you did something constructive, but you did it with pure joy and love with so many people. The music and program and venue were all superb. The reception was amazing, too. You are definitely a great impresario.
I only wish I had gotten a good group photo of you all of you together. For those of you who do not know my flickr site, Here are the photos I did get, most of them from the back of the hall.
I'm really glad I could be there with you and for you. You are amazing.
Love,
Don