Subject: RE: Correction
Date: Mon, 22 Jul 2002 19:55:15 -0500
From: "Byrkit, David -FWDC.CON" [David.Byrkit@itt.com]
To: "'Chuck Teeter'" ; ALL

Chuck (and all):

I have very fond memories of band and orchestra under Herb and Elmer. We had one of the few high school orchestras around. What a musical broadening experience that was! Remember when Elmer told some girl to tune her "G string"? Richwoods might have that honor today (of having the only orchestra around). Music has taken a hit in Peoria pretty much like everywhere else. My kids got their musical training at Brooklyn Conservatory otherwise the public schools in New York had very little music (LaGuardia-the fame high school-excluded) and Peoria doesn't have much either.

On the high school sports question I thought it was just New York where kids felt they were too sophisticated (or whatever) to get involved with the usual spectator sports. Of course the "jock culture" has taken major hits in the media and movies in recent years. When we got back to Peoria I couldn't get our youngest son to go to basketball or football games here in Peoria. I actually wanted an excuse to go myself. I think I got him to two games and other friends might have gotten him to two more (in a year and a half time frame). He constantly complained about the lack of girl friends, but when I would explain the need to be where the girls are (like high school ball games) he would ignore me.

Herb Stoskopf is retired and I understand that he isn't playing trumpet anymore due to health reasons. I haven't seen him since 1973 when I saw him playing with the Chicago Symphony (as part of the extra trumpets required for "Pines of Rome"). He did marry a PHS student named Judy who was a twirler and a couple of years older than us. Judy was in Chicago that day in 1973 and I think they were trying to reconcile a difficult relationship.

Elmer Szepsey's wife (who taught freshman chorus-I think) has died and I don't know Elmer's situation. I think her name was Marjorie. She played the organ at our Baccalaureate and at our graduation in the Bradley fieldhouse. She played the third movement of Tschaikowsky's Sixth symphony which struck me and stayed with me. In Brooklyn at the "Old First Church" where I was Organist Choirmaster for a number of years I found an old transcription of that movement for organ. By that point it didn't hold the same fascination for me (particularly as an organ transcription). That movement played by a Moscow based orchestra did send a capacity Carniegie Hall crowd to their feet. It made the fourth movement a little anti-climatic. Peoria's symphony played that symphony this past season and made the fourth movement very effective. However; our PSO brass didn't execute the third movement as well as other big orchestras.

David C. Byrkit MCSE + I, MCT

ph. (260) 451-6219/(309) 637-1283
cell (309) 453-4663
e-mail david.byrkit@itt.com