"It's a great night in Montana..."

...thus greeted the Helena hotel employee as he answered each phone call, our first taste of Montana hospitality on our recent trip to big sky country. The trip was a blur....11 hours by car, there and back, for a single performance at the lovely Myrna Loy Theater, named for Helena's most luminous claim to fame. The building was formerly a county jail, with the bars to prove it! The enlightened arts community, led by the brilliant Ed Noonen (director of the theater), have built a lovely tribute to Ms. Loy, a gathering place for live music, theater, and dance that is a great community treasure.



Our performance was the result of Ed's desire to present new musical work, composed and performed by NW artists. He connected Team 3A with Professor Charles Nichols of the U of Montana, resulting in "Mechanics of Machines", a quintet in five movements for violin, cello, piano, clarinet, and flute. Charles' ingenious use of computer processing extended the sonic range of the instruments into supernatural worlds, to eery and beautiful effect.

The program also included David Schiff's Scenes from Adolescence, Tibetan Tunes by Chen Yi, and Datura by Ye Xiaogang. This was mostly the same program we'd played since May, and marked the end of our spring/summer programs. No wonder spoons on noses were in order following the concert.....

Our sincere thanks to Professor Nichols, Ed Noonen, and especially to Nathalie Lehr, who filled in brilliantly on the extremely difficult clarinet part. We owe you big time Nathalie!!!

Now, on to the Ghost Opera.....