Today is Juneteenth. A remarkable milestone for this country. In the spirit of reflection on our collective past it is also time that I write my first monthly report to the Anchorage Concert Chorus board of directors.

In these monthly emails, I will be reflecting on our accomplishments, challenges and generally touching base to provide some reflection for this organization.

This week had another milestone. At the time of starting this note, I have officially been in the position of Managing Director for 4 weeks or 33 days. Those numbers have really been floating around my head this week. As many of you music aficionados know the great artist and composer John Cage wrote the seminal work entitled 4' 33".

For the uninitiated it traditionally is a piece composed largely of silence where the listener and performer alike are challenged to simply observe the landscape of sound around them. 4' 33" endeavors to treat ordinary every day sounds with the same focus and respect as one might a choral work by Handel.

This month has been a challenging one for all of us. Some of us have new additions to our families, some may have lost loved ones. The social order as we know it is being challenged and up heaved. People have been suffering. But where there is turmoil there will soon be resolution in some form. For now we must take respite in the silences we can find.

This week I spoke with Kurt Rieman the recording archivist. *18JUN20 Managing Director's Board Report on google drive