When I found out you were retiring, I cried. I’m going to miss you. When I started coming to orchestra I was scared and unsure of myself. I worried that I was so old and too dumb to learn how to play the violin. What a great gift it was to have you for my first teacher. You are a master at your craft and an outstanding human being. It has been an honor to know you and call you friend.
Thank you for taking your precious time to teach a beginner like me with such patience and cheerfulness. Your positive attitude and gentle kind words made all the difference. I loved listening to all the stories you had to tell. I enjoyed being taught about music theory and history, composers and all the different experiences you had over your long 62 year career.
I especially enjoyed the time when you taught us about the three kinds of conductors . . . the tyrannical conductor: you do what he says because you fear him . . . the doesn’t care much conductor: – so you don’t produce much . . . and the third kind . . . the loving conductor: you perform at your best because you love him. You have been the third kind for me.
When I was young I always wanted to learn to play the violin but my mother told me, “Only rich people play the violin.” So I sang in the choir instead. You made that dream possible for me to fulfill. Now my children are playing in the orchestra at school because of my example.
You will never know how much you have positively affected my life and so many others. Your kind gentle heart, you quick wit and your joyful personality have been a piece of sunshine in my life. I will always be grateful to you and thank God that I had a chance to know you.
May God bless you as you now care for your wife in her declining years. Always remember that you have many, many friends who will always think of you with warm thoughts and grateful hearts.
With my great respect and admiration,
Janene
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