MASTERWORK RECOGNITION: Lee Actor's orchestral composition "Prelude to a Tragedy" was one of seven winning works selected for inclusion in Volume Five of the prestigious Masterworks of the New Era series of CDs, published by ERM Media. The screening selection was very competitive, what with more than 600 scores submitted. The work will be recorded by the Kiev Philharmonic in October, with Robert Ian Winstin conducting.
"Prelude to a Tragedy" was premièred by the Palo Alto Philharmonic in April 2004. Upcoming performances of some of Actor's other works include "Redwood Fanfare" on Oct. 23 by the Palo Alto Philharmonic. That performance will be at 8 p.m. at Cubberley Theater in Palo Alto with Thomas Shoebotham conducting.
Actor's Symphony No. 1 will be performed by the Saratoga Symphony on Jan. 23, Jason Klein conducting. The Masterworks CD is scheduled to be released in January.
Actor is composer-in-residence of the Palo Alto Philharmonic and lives in Monte Sereno.
MS CHAMPION: At this year's Dinner of Champions, an annual fundraising dinner for multiple sclerosis, Los Gatan Linda Pfeiffer won the MS Achievement Award. The award was presented to Pfeiffer for her vision, her volunteerism and perseverance, despite the obstacles imposed by MS.
Pfeiffer says she happily accepted the top team award on behalf of her team, since she works hard for it. (Her team has been the top fundraiser for the past three years.) But this latest honor "really surprised me and humbled me." Another Dinner of Champions honoree is Jen-Hsun Huang, CEO of NVIDIA Corp.
Proceeds from the dinner go to research and fund programs to try to end the devastating effects of MS.
TOP UNICYCLIST: Beau Hoover, 12, won a gold medal in cross country unicycle racing in an international competition held in Japan this summer. He won in the category of children up to age 14.
Beau's whole family—father Nathan Hoover and his mother, professional storyteller Megumi (aka Grace Fleming)—are avid unicyclists. They've cycled and competed all over the world. Nathan participates in every-other-year international marathons. You may have seen the threesome tooling around town. Next year Beau and his father will take their single wheels to the Swiss Alps for a 600-mile unicycle trek.
YELLOW ROLLS: The very Rolls Royce that was the subject of the 1965 movie The Yellow Rolls Royce won the Lucius Beebe Memorial Award for the Most Elegant Car at the Concourse d'Elegance in Pebble Beach this summer. The car rests on its laurels in Saratoga; its owner is Neal Kirkham.
Kirkham bought the '31 Phantom II Rolls in 1988 and he's "taken apart every nut and bolt in that car" to restore it to its former grandeur. He did all the work but the upholstery.
Built for Belgian mega-millionaire Peter Koch deGooreynd, the vehicle was lodged in a Rolls showroom in London when MGM bought it. Distinctive elements include two cocktail cabinets, two jump seats hidden in cabinets in the back, a side cabinet holding a lady's vanity case with comb, mirror, miniature card deck, and miniature domino set.
In one scene in the movie Omar Shariff crawls into the car's trunk. "He must be small," observes Kirkham, pointing out how compact the space is. The movie tells six separate stories about various owners of the vintage vehicle. In each one, the endings find the actors in compromising positions in the back seat.
Kirkham quips that he's doing the casting for a sequel.
PLEIN AIR COMPETITION: This is the weekend you'll see local Monet and Pisarro wannabes in action all around Los Gatos as they vie in the first annual Plein Air Art Fest. The 32 artists in the competition were first juried before being qualified to paint.
The artists have two days to complete, frame and submit up to three paintings to the silent auction. High school students will also compete, and their works will be framed gratis by Los Gatos Framing Shop. The Los Gatos Arts Commission and the Los Gatos Arts Association have joined forces to sponsor this pleinairathon, which is patterned on a similar Carmel event.
Results of the painting flurry will be on view and for sale Oct. 2 at Testarossa Winery. Silent bidding starts at 4 p.m. Paintings that receive eight bids or more will be entered in the live auction. Prize money totals $5,000; students compete for special recognition awards.
ST. LUKE'S EVENTS: St. Luke's will hold a Blessing of the Animals service on Oct. 2 at 10 a.m. Pets and their owners are invited to this special blessing service for animals. A short prayer service and blessing in the church will be followed by refreshments for all—including pets—in the courtyard.
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By Mary Ann Cook