CHAMBER MUSIC PLUS ON HIATUS

posted to Cue Sheet by James Reel

Chamber Music Plus has just announced that it will cancel this season and regroup; the situation is being called a sabbatical. Here's the letter that has just been released by pianist Sanda Schuldmann, Chamber Music Plus's executive director ...

After eight great seasons of wonderful Sunday afternoons at the Berger, Harry and I have arrived at a very difficult decision. We will not present the 2011-12 season, Rhythms of LIFE at the Berger. This decision is not any easy one for us, but it is essential for our well-being, and ultimately in how best we may serve you our loyal and caring audience in future years.

Harry and I have presented forty consecutive seasons of Chamber Music PLUS, thirty-two in Connecticut, eight in Arizona, and six of these seasons we shuttled back and forth between Connecticut and Arizona doing concurrent series in both states. One must possess ‘a fire in the belly’ to live up to high standards, ours and yours, and we simply are in need of a break, a hiatus, to reconsider our futures, and to re-invigorate ourselves for that future.

Though we pre-sold more advanced subscriptions than ever before for the 2011-12 season, (thank-you for your vote of confidence), the economic realities of state, regional and foundation funding is nearing zero, and this makes it near impossible to maintain the level of excellence you have become accustomed to. We are confronted with worrying more about raising enough monies to pay for the productions, and to pay us a minimum wage, than in making the best art possible. We ask you for your understanding that we need a sabbatical year every four decades!

We ended last season on as high a note as one might imagine: André Watts, Michael York, in a world premiere from Harry. We wish to remain at that high level, and so we need a bit of breathing room to look at the options available to do so that make sense for all concerned.

For those of you who have been with us since our Arizona inception, you’ve witnessed over 30 new works and such international luminaries as Lynn Redgrave, Lou Gossett, Jr., André Watts, Jasmine Guy, Elke Sommer – the list is long and prestigious. Harry now has the opportunity to bring many of these works first witnessed at the Berger to audiences throughout the country, opportunities that come about once in a lifetime. So we ask your permission to allow us to take the coming year to restructure and reconsider new approaches and opportunities for what we can do here in Tucson and nationally.

We fully intend to keep you abreast of our adventures and to provide you with information on all future local performances. We hope you will take pride in knowing that you helped us get to where we are and will cheer us on in the future.

Your tickets will be fully refunded to you and checks will start going out within the next week. This will take some time so please bear with us.

We thank our Board of Directors who back this decision 100%, our dedicated volunteers, and above all YOU our beloved audience, whom we hope we will see in the years to come.

Sanda Schuldmann

Executive Director

Chamber Music Plus

GIFFORDS' INTERVIEW: WHAT WAS, WASN'T SAID

posted to Political Buzz by Michael Chihak

ABC News issued a press release this morning saying it will air an exclusive report in November in which U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly “share their remarkable story.”

The ABC report, featuring Diane Sawyer, will coincide with release of Giffords' and Kelly's co-authored book, "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope."

The Associated Press picked up the press release, saying ABC had secured the first interview with Giffords since she was shot through the head last Jan. 8 in Tucson.

Not true, TucsonSentinel.com reported a short time later, quoting Giffords' congressional staff spokesman Mark Kimble.

AZPM's Robert Rappaport spoke with Kimble this afternoon, and Kimble confirmed what he had said earlier: Giffords has not made a decision to appear on camera, but she will speak with Sawyer off camera. Kimble confirmed an on-camera appearance for Kelly.

GIFFORDS INTERVIEW ON ABC? HOLD ON A MINUTE

posted to Political Buzz by Michael Chihak

Reports that U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords will give her first media interview since the Jan. 8 shooting were premature at best, flat wrong at worst.

TucsonSentinel.com quotes Giffords' spokesman Mark Kimble as saying, "Congresswoman Giffords has not decided if she's going to conduct an on-camera interview." Kimble further said that ABC-TV News anchor Diane Sawyer will interview Giffords' husband Mark Kelly on camera, and "sit down and talk with Mark and Gabby" off camera.

ABC reported in a press release picked up this morning by The Associated Press that Giffords and Kelly will st for an interview on the eve of their book's publication, scheduled for Nov. 15. The book, "Gabby: A Story of Courage and Hope," is co-authored by Jeffrey Zaslow of the Wall Street Journal.

GIFFORDS' FIRST INTERVIEW WILL BE WITH DIANE SAWYER, ABC

posted to Political Buzz by Andrea Kelly

The Associated Press reports U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords' first public interview since she was shot Jan. 8 will be on ABC News as part of a prime-time special with Diane Sawyer.

The interview is scheduled to air Nov. 14, the night before Giffords and her husband Mark Kelly publish a book.

AUSPICIOUS LANGUAGE? NOT FROM AUDACIOUS HOST

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Michael Chihak

Sharp-eared viewers of Friday's Arizona Week likely heard me use the wrong word -- twice -- in an interview. The word: auspicious, defined as "showing or suggesting that future success is likely."

Wrong word, wrong usage, wrong placement in the interview. Just plain wrong.

Here's the context: I was speaking with Rana Singh Sodhi, brother of a man murdered in Mesa four days after 9/11 in a hate crime when he was mistaken for being Muslim because he wore the turban of the Sikh religion. I was asking Mr. Sodhi about his wearing of the turban:

"In your religion, you wear the turban and the beard as part of your religious symbolism. But it makes you auspicious, shall we say, and people may not understand that. How do you deal with that ... ?" See it at the 3:48 mark of the program.

Again, at the 6:01 mark, I said: " ... someone suggested to you that you not wear it (the turban) because you would be less auspicious ... "

Early in the video editing process -- and too late to redo the interview -- I spotted the wrong usage and couldn't believe my years! I had used the wrong word, twice. How could that happen? I knew and know the meaning of "auspicious."

The word I meant to use is "audacious," meaning "daring, bold, marked by originality." Its usage in the context would have been more appropriate. Wish I had used it.

On reflection, the most appropriate word in the context would have been "conspicuous," meaning "obvious to the eye or mind ... attracting attention."

Apologies to one and all, especially those of you offended when someone brutalizes the language. I'm usually in your camp, yet I find myself meekly casting my linguistic eyes downward.

REMEMBRANCES OF 9/11 AND MOVING AHEAD

posted to AZ Week Notebook by Michael Chihak

Contemporary generations of Americans will remember Sept. 11, 2001 in the same way our oldest living generation recalls Dec. 6, 1941.

9/11, another "day that will live in infamy," is still fresh in mind and heart. Several Arizonans whose lives were intertwined with the events of that day and their aftermath, talked with us about how life has changed for them, about tolerance and about the uncertainty in our world.

Rana Singh Sodhi, a Mesa restaurateur whose brother Balbir was murdered at his Mesa gasoline station four days after 9/11 when he was mistaken for being Muslim, says he lives the memory of his brother by working to educate others about different religions and people.

And Singh Sodhi says he doesn't want to live in fear because his Sikh religion requires that he wear a turban and a beard. The United States affords religious freedom, and that is why he is here.

"I take off my turban for a little while -- I'm safe? No," Sodhi says. "The other side: There are hate crime victims who do not have a turban. But their skin color: How do you change your skin color?"

Also on the program will be John Kavanagh, an elected member of the Arizona House of Representatives who is a retired New York-New Jersey Port Authority police detective. Port Authority officers involved in the rescue efforts at the World Trade Center were his colleagues, and he knew many who died.

Maqsood Ahmad, chair of the Board of Trustees of the Islamic Center of Tucson, and Samuel Cohon, senior rabbi at Tucson's Temple Emanu-El, appear together, discussing their efforts to unite the community and maintain peace in the days after 9/11.

Watch at 8:30 p.m. MST PBS-HD-6 or online at azweek.com.