Hi Everyone! Happy Valentines Day!
Although we are still dealing with the Covid 19 pandemic and it’s associated trials, there has been some good news recently that gives me hope that we will soon be together again playing the music that we love.
In addition to the vaccine that is now being distributed, the Governors proclamation on January 11, 2021 stated that “Live entertainment is no longer prohibited but must follow the Healthy Washington-Roadmap to Recovery Guidelines” published by the Washington Dept of Health also on January 11, 2021.
According to these guidelines, Washington State has been divided into different regions with Lewis County being part of the West Region which also includes Pacific, Grays Harbor and Thurston Counties. Currently all regions in the State are listed as Phase I, which means in a nutshell that:
- All indoor & social gatherings are prohibited, but outdoor gatherings can have two households with up to ten people from outside your household together. Social distance precautions apply.
- Personal and professional services not able to be done remotely can have up to 25% capacity. This is good news for our music educators and students that are not able to do remote learning.
- Outdoor entertainment will be permitted under the new Phase I guidelines, but this is not practical for us as a group in the month of February, for obvious reasons.
Each region’s phase will be determined by the DOH on a weekly basis with the results posted on the Washington DOH Risk Assessment Dashboard on Fridays, and depending on how things are going DOH can move a region to a new phase (either forward or backward) effective the following Monday.
So even though things seem to be moving along at a glacial pace right now, I believe better things are on the horizon for us as a group. I’ll admit that I’ve been slacking off on instrument practice, but now is the time to dust off that fiddle, guitar, mandolin, ukulele or flute-a-phone and start practicing. FiddleCamp isn’t that far away!
In the meantime here is another playlist, movie and book pick for the month of February. It’s a whimsical mix of nearly every conceivable musical genre with a central theme of ‘Romance’, for Valentine’s Day:
- ‘Dancing Cheek to Cheek’ Frank Sinatra
- ‘Chances Are’ Johnny Mathis
- ‘Sway’ Dean Martin
- ‘Girl From Ipanema’ Gabriela Anders
- ‘Don’t You Know’ Della Reese
- ‘Dream Lover’ Bobby Darin
- ‘The Lovers Waltz’ Jay Ungar & Molly Mason
- ‘Mr Sandman’ The Chordettes
- ‘Lady Be Good’ Ranger & The ReArrangers
- ‘Save The Last Dance For Me’ The Drifters
- “Once Around The Moon’ Peggy Lee
- ‘Penny For Your Thoughts’ Lissa Schneckenburger
- ‘That’s Amore’ Dean Martin
- ‘Vassourinhas’ Yo-Yo Ma, Odair Assad, Jamey Hadad
- ‘Brokenhearted Melody’ Sara Vaughn
- ‘Walking After Midnight’ Patsy Cline
- ‘Suite #1 for Unaccompanied Cello’ (Prelude) J.S. Bach/Yo-Yo Ma
- ‘You Send Me’ Sam Cooke
- ‘What A Wonderful World’ Louis Armstrong
- ‘Dolor Y Gusto’ Ruthie Dornfeld
- ‘Ou es-Tu Mon Amour’ (Where Are You My Love) Django Reinhardt
- ‘Arc En Ciel’ Bruce Daigrepont
- ‘Love Potion #9’ The Clovers
- ‘Maid With The Flaxen Hair’ Claude Debussey
- ‘Unforgettable’ Nat King Cole
- ‘What a Difference a Day Makes’ Dinah Washington
- ‘Bagatelle in Am’ (Fur Elise) by Beethoven
- ‘Tennessee Waltz’ Patty Page
- ‘Mein Shtele Belz’ Traditional Yiddish Waltz
- ‘Jolie Blonde’ Zachary Richard
- ‘Beyond The Sea’ Bobby Darin
- ‘Venus’ Frankie Avalon
- ‘Morning Mood’ from ‘Anitra’s Dance’(Pier Gynt Suite #1, Op 46)
- ‘Scheherezade’ violin solo from ‘The Arabian Nights’ by Rimsky-Korsakov
For a Valentines Movie, my personal favorite is ‘Casablanca’ with Humphrey Bogart, Ingrid Bergman and an all-star cast battling for love and glory in 1942 Morocco.
If you prefer something lighter, try ‘Shall We Dance’ (1997), which although Japanese with English subtitles is a highly enjoyable tale of a businessman who breaks free from his well ordered life to try his hand at ballroom dancing.
For you readers, try ‘The Light On the Island’ by Helene Glidden. It’s a wonderful true story of a young girl growing up on Patos Island in the San Juans along with her parents and twelve siblings while her father served as the lighthouse keeper from 1905 to 1913. At just over 200 pages its an easy and enjoyable tale from a bygone era.
In the meantime be well and keep practicing!