sightings

Aspen has the peculiarity of attracting both the rich and famous of the music world and other disciplines. The other night, as I was waiting in line for my tickets to hear the Takacs in Harris Hall (directly next to the Music Tent), I popped my head in the Tent to hear John McCain speaking. He was answering a question on teaching creation and evolution. Very interesting, I thought. A little later while I was waiting for the recital to start, the other event was getting out. I was talking to my girlfriend, remarking that Madeleine Albright had been at the Aspen Institute the day before to speak. Then, about 3 seconds later who should I see but Madeleine Albright! It was kind of weird. I tought she would have left town, but I guess hearing McCain was a big enough deal for her to stay. Next week (I’m told) Alan Greenspan, Bill Clinton, and Sandra Day-O’Connor are speaking at the institute. Should be an interesting discussion :-). I’m not planning on attending, though.

I’ve also seen several of the world’s more famous musicians. Conductor Michael Stern (St. Louis Symphony) keeps showing up at our AACA sessions to observe. David Halen, concertmaster of the St. Louis, sat in for us when we played Rimsky-Korsakov’s Sheherazade, and did an AMAZING job on the solos. I keep on seeing Sarah Chang at concerts, and I saw Gil Shaham and his wife Adele Anthony right before the concert last night. That was somewhat humorous. He’s dressed in shorts and a polo. Very casual. His little 1-or 2-year old daughter was putting a rock in her mouth, and he was assuring his wife that he had washed it off before giving it to her. Ah, the lives of the rich and famous...