How doth the busy bee improve each shining hour

One of the really fun things about being in the arts is working alongside great people who do so much to make a difference in other people’s lives. What I find particularly striking about this is that many of them even use their vacation time to stretch their artistry while continuing to spread the joy of the creative experience. How many accountants do you know who take their vacation time to provide personal financial counseling, or electricians who use their time off to rewire homes, or auto mechanics that enjoy spending downtime doing tune-ups? The majority of us run as far away from work as possible during our time off, but a surprising number of musicians use that time to give back.

I am going to give the majority of my column today to someone who does just that- Linda Allen, the Registrar and Assistant Director of the Department of Music at The Music Settlement. When she finally takes a break each summer, she doesn’t really rest. If anything, she becomes even more involved in the arts and their impact. I think you’ll find her story enlightening and inspiring, and maybe a little daunting too! I invite other members of The Music Settlement staff and faculty to send me info on creative adventures they undertook during their summer break, and I’ll try to include them in future messages. Here’s Linda’s story:

“When Linda Allen, Registrar and Assistant Director of Music at The Music Settlement, is asked what she did on her summer vacation, the answer is always the same. For over 25 years, she has performed in the keyboard/percussion section of the Lakeside Summer Symphony, a professional orchestra whose 80 members come from all over the country to enjoy a month-long working vacation. The orchestra rehearses daily and performs eight concerts over the four weeks (a total of over 40 different musical works). The orchestra is in its 46th season, and for the past 38 years has been conducted by Robert Cronquist, former director of the Harvard East Branch and affiliate of the Broadway School of Music. The majority of the orchestra musicians and their families have been returning to Lakeside for many years and enjoy the opportunity to catch up with the lives of their colleagues.

“This season, in addition to the usual overtures, symphonies, tone poems and concerti, the orchestra collaborated with Point of Departure, a Northeast Ohio ballet troupe, and also mounted a fully staged opera, Donizetti’s Don Pasquale, with Opera Circle. Linda did double duty in the opera, playing percussion in the pit in Acts I and II, then donning a servant’s costume and singing on stage with the opera chorus in Act III. Her other musical activities included a keyboard gig with Black Wire, a group consisting of orchestra string players, rock drummer and lounge singer, doing unique arrangements of well known rock and pop hits ( think “Billie Jean”, “Hanky Panky,” etc.) and playing in a piano trio for the Lakeside orchestra fund raiser - the annual Candlelight Tour of Homes.

“Lakeside, known as the Chautauqua on Lake Erie, is located just north of Sandusky Bay on the Marblehead peninsula. It is a wonderful destination for a family vacation and a perfect spot for a musician’s holiday.
When not rehearsing or performing, Linda admits to eating a lot of Caveman Chocolate ice cream, catching up on some good books, sitting on the dock and taking afternoon naps. Ah, summer!”

Ah, summer indeed! It’s amazing how dedicated our people here at The Music Settlement are, and what a difference we make because of it.