Where has the Summer gone? I hope that all of you have had a wonderful break.The first meeting of the 2017–2018 Season will be conducted by Russ Wilson who has promised several more of his wonderful arrangements for us to enjoy. Some good news—I am happy to report that several people stood up and volunteered to help with putting on the OCRS Recorder Workshop this year. It will be on Saturday, February 17th, and I want to thank Gloria Martin, Lee Waggener, Bill Waggener, and Gwen Rodman for making this happen. As listed in the Workshop section of the newsletter, we will have 2 highly skilled (but not well known in Southern California) players, performers, and teachers: Anne Timberlake from St. Louis, and Miyo Aoki from Seattle. Several of us have had the pleasure of studying under them at workshops over the last several years and I am sure that you will both enjoy and learn much from both of them.

The schedule of conductors is shaping up well and we will have some old favorites back again as well as a new face, Adam Bregman, from the DMA program at USC studying under Adam and Rotem Gilbert. It is amazing how much Adam and Rotem have changed the depth, breadth, enthusiasm for Early Music here in Southern California (as well as Nationally/Internationally) for the benefit of all of us fans.

I just got back from a whitewater rafting trip with our grandchildren on the Green River in Colorado/Utah and one of the guides made a comment as we headed in kayaks down a particularly difficult section that I was reminded of when I read the latest blog posting from Anne Timberlake-“always follow a positive direction”

See you the 8th,

—Win Aldrich