Hey David,
Thanks for checking in about this, particularly since I was wanting to share something of last Sunday's celebration of Norman Neblett with the list anyway.
We held forth in the prestigious Colburn School's Thayer Hall. Many different people spoke, both from texts they had prepared in advance and extemporaneously, some reading contributions sent in by those who were not able to be there personally, but took the time to thoughtfully make their appreciation of Norm known. Those who spoke included Richard Davenport and Rick Baldassin (the guys who really made this special event happen); Kayoko Forrest and David Kreisberg (former fellow salespeople at the legendary David Abell piano store); Ryan Robinson (Sound Engineer from Warner Bros.); Kathy Smith and David Vanderlip; Ed Hilbert, Laroy Edwards, Pamella Consoli, Ed Whitting, Norm's children Carol and Brad, and his grandson, Stefan, and me. People who sent in texts to be read included Jims Coleman, Sr. & Jr., Steve Kim (Samick), Ben McKlveen, Chris Robinson, Mark Hullibarger, Jack Brand (of Wurzen felt), Paolo Fazioli, and Lloyd Meyer. Interspersed amongst the many live spoken-word segments were video clips of Norm himself (from an interview shot only weeks before his death, by Richard, Rick and me), and daughter Carol (formerly of the Metropolitan Opera), singing "Summertime," ably accompanied by Richard's wife, Jeanne, on the beautiful Kawai concert grand, so well maintained by Colburn's Head Piano Technician, Kevin Stock (who graciously made the facility available to us). Ed Whitting also treated us to his pianism. Neema Pazargad and I documented the proceedings with two video cameras. Among those in attendance were the chapter presidents of the L. A., Pomona Valley, Orange County and South Bay chapters of PTG in Southern California.
People do not normally sit riveted for three hours plus, listening to people talk, but the intensely positive focus of the afternoon created an atmosphere of group meditation. I don't recall anyone so much as getting out of their seat until someone had to leave to catch a flight, two and a half hours into it (and at that point, we were already an hour beyond our planned ending time). It was a fitting tribute to one of the true giants of our field, and speaking for myself, if not others in attendance, it was a good start towards comprehending Norm's particular greatness and absorbing our loss of him.
As I mentioned in my closing remarks on Sunday, the experience Richard, Rick and I had videotaping hours of interview with Norm has already served as a template for others. We plan to write up what we've learned from the process and make it available, as an encouragement to others to honor as many of our deserving senior members as possible with this kind of video tribute.
Thanks,
Alan Eder
P. S. I should soon be getting a copy of a power point segment put together by Rick Baldassin of what we may call "The Gospel According to Norm." I will forward it to the list ASAP.
-----Original Message-----
From: David Andersen <david at davidandersenpianos.com>
To: pianotech <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Mon, Aug 22, 2011 6:57 am
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Norman Neblett Celebration
Mr. Eder, et.al.----How was the memorial? My concert grand was being recorded on at the Arnold Schoenberg house yesterday, and I was on stand-by until 6PM. So, so sorry to miss it, but Norman would have understood...can you give us a thumbnail sketch of the event, Alan?
DA
On Aug 18, 2011, at 4:08 PM, Alan Eder wrote:
Norman H. Neblett
October 23, 1921 – July 3, 2011
A Celebration of His Life
Sunday, August 21, 2011
2:00 PM – 4:00 PM
The Colburn School – Thayer Hall
200 South Grand Avenue
Los Angeles, CA 90012
Please join us in remembering Norman for
his enormous impact on piano technology and
our lives.
hg
The family wishes donations to be made to the
PTG Foundation in Norman's name.
hg
The Colburn School is located on the east side of Grand Avenue, one block south of 1st Street, diagonally across the street from the Walt Disney Concert Hall. The main entrance to the school is located at 200 South Grand Avenue between 2nd and 3rd Streets.
Parking for the Colburn School: There are several local parking structures that are available for a reasonable fee. We recommend the public parking at Walt Disney Concert Hall.
www.laphil.com/visit/visit-parking.cfm
www.colburnschool.edu/page.cfm?p=1380
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