CARAVAGGIO,
Adoration of the Shepherds, 1609
Who
gave the wild donkey his freedom and untied the rope from his proud neck? Is the
wild ox willing to serve you or spend a night beside your manger? (Job)
O magnum mysterium - ut animalia viderent dominum.
Dear Family and Friends,
There is a new music in our lives. After more than 40 years of singing, we are once again refreshed
by an inspiration and attention to detail which produce excellence. We had
intended to send Christmas greetings from England. Instead we are at home,
enjoying the musical gifts of the Advent season under St John’s new Music
Director, Garth MacPhee (from Nova Scotia), and looking forward to the 12 days
of Christmas, culminating with lessons and carols on Epiphany. Di has even resumed singing lessons, after a
10 year hiatus.
Earlier in the year, we celebrated our 99th anniversary
with many of you. Sharing the party on Easter Saturday were, from the UK, Sarah
and Marcus, Marcus’ parents, Rita and Malcolm, his brother Nick, and from
Eastern Canada, the MacDonald sisters, Barbara and Diana. Together we went to
Long Beach, giving the visitors a taste of the true West Coast.
For our brief summer holiday we celebrated Canada Day in Ottawa,
then drove to the Maritimes. We heard Sarah’s choir on tour in Halifax and the
picturesque village of Mahone Bay, before leaving for Bar Harbour and the
Berkshires, where we visited Simon at Tanglewood. We had more opportunity to
reconnect with some of you when fall colours graced Ottawa, Whitby, Hudson and
Winnipeg. Mixing business with pleasure
is a definite advantage of retirement.
Diana has indeed retired as GVYO Manager. She remains on the board
in an advisory capacity and helps in the office - pulling out cold turkey would
probably have been unbearable.
As for her final term as manager: while
nothing could outdo the millennial Mahler for sheer immensity, the orchestra’s
15th year brought its own rewards.
The highlights were Bridget MacRae’s heartbreakingly beautiful
performance of the Elgar Cello Concerto, and the tour to the Queen Charlotte
Islands. The orchestra traveled nearly 3000 km by bus, ferry, and foot, to
remote communities, some who had never heard live symphonic music before. In Di’s words: “Fifty excellent young
musicians, our wonderful director, János Sándor, adroit administration,
including brother Ted and his wife Bernie, all made for super traveling
companions. The Charlottes wove their mystic spell around us. Villagers packed
into the school gyms, roared their appreciation for Beethoven’s Egmont and Stravinsky’s Firebird and fed us moosemeat chili,
smoked salmon, black cod, mussels and other delicacies. Haida Elders welcomed us; children danced
for us, and sang and drummed; artists introduced us to their craft. On a
crystal-clear day we took float planes to the ancestral site of Ko’ona
(Skedans) on the east coast of Moresby
Island, its atmosphere pregnant with 10,000 years of history. Unforgettable.”
Retirement has given Di a chance to learn more of Bob’s work. This fall she wrote a brief article for AMA on “The Claire Project”. (You may have seen news about the Project – it has had broad coverage, although one planned TV documentary has been scrapped because of the CBC strike.) For 3 years AMA has assisted UVIC researchers working with brain-activated software, initially in response to the need of a very bright 17 year-old who has severe muscle control problems. The system, known as CyberLink, was originally developed to allow US Air Force pilots to perform hands-free operations. It has been modified to allow the researchers to monitor brainwave activity, and separate out muscle signals and other random background “noise”. If it is successful in “coherent detection of periodic signals”, and this now seems promising, it will open the door for persons with severe motor disabilities to communicate electronically.
Guaranteeing a busy retirement, Di has accepted the invitation to
serve as a Warden at St. John’s, a 4-year commitment.
Bob’s firm is developing new tools for Government Online as well
as its signature product, GX, (Government
eXcellence). James’ film on FAS is out. We hope to have a link to it soon on the
web page. And he is free as a bird. Simon comes home from Winnipeg for 36 hours
to share Christmas with us, and to play for Christmas Eve services. Jeremy
lives at home and exercises his regenerating spirit on us all.
Bob continues with his writing;
this year he has discovered something of the story illuminated by works
of art. You might want to visit his work-in-progress on the website.
In these particularly dark days of December, we wish you the light promised by the Incarnation.
Bob
and Di