A Day of Service in Westchester

Jennifer Colville '86 and Dixie welcome Yale alums

COMMUNITY SERVICE

Around the country and in parts of the world, back in May, Yale alumni combed through their communities and neighborhoods and marched through fields and streams.

They filtered through parks and swarmed shorelines and vast open spaces. They appeared at homeless shelters and soup kitchens.

They became service volunteers, many donning Yale blue, Yale caps and Yale sweatshirts, many more sharing stories of Old Campus and Lindsley Chit. Some were current Yale students and Yale parents. Some even were newly admitted Yalies, months away from a New Haven arrival, but already leaping into the service-minded spirit that which is Yale.

In groups by the dozen or for a few going solo, they cleaned up, swept up, built, rebuilt, climbed ladders, painted walls, pounded nails through plywood, served food, poured cement, cut trees, trimmed plants or did whatever a local foreman barked needed to get done.

Karen Strauss '83 with Yogi

It was the annual Yale Day of Service, the weekend that marks a coming-out party for alumni. It was more than an opportunity to flee outdoors after a long winter. It was the weekend that pushes Yale alumni to go beyond writing a charity check and urges them to get their hands and knees dirty on real projects, where success often means a newly built house, a spruced up flower garden, or a freshly scrubbed park. A noticeable difference in hundreds of communities.

In 2013, the Yale Day of Service (May 11), under the auspices of the AYA, included over 280 alumni groups and sites and over 3,500 alumni, students, staff, faculty and family members with activity in 40 states and 20 countries. 

Alumni in Westchester, as they've done in previous years, didn't take a back seat to other Yale groups for that Saturday of service.  Westchester groups, too, gathered, organized and arranged outings to clear up debris and tidy up parkways and gardens.

Susan Kaminsky '86 organized the Yale group

One group, under the guidance of Susan Kaminsky '86, convened for the day at the SPCA of Westchester, the animal shelter in Briarcliff Manor.  The shelter, established in 1883 and operating independently since the 1920's, is awarded no funding from federal, state and local governments and relies substantially on donations, fund-raising and volunteers like the Yale group. (The shelter is not affiliated with the ASPCA of New York.)

Jenn Kassoff '95 does weeding chores

The Yale group spent the Saturday cleaning the grounds, providing office support, tending to and caring for animals, pulling weeds, gathering trash, and raking leaves--a thorough spring cleaning. Whatever needed to be done. However long it took. As long as it made a difference.

Making a difference at SPCA:
(L-R) Sara McLeod '86, Richard 
Bernard (SPCA Volunteer)
and Susan Kaminsky '86

SPCA of Westchester operates several programs, including a rescue program that transports and accepts animals from other shelters out of state, often those that were candidates for euthanasia in another shelter.  It operates a pet-therapy program that permits animals to provide company to those in hospices, nursing homes and hospitals.  It sponsors a humane-education program and operates the Simpson Clinic, which conducts spaying and neutering surgeries.

And it manages a volunteer program to encourage community volunteers, such as the Yale group, to support the organization and get involved--not just for a Saturday in early May, but throughout the year.  It is a "no kill" shelter, which means it doesn't support euthanasia of animals, except in cases of terminal illness.

Kate Kasoff

The shelter also has special enforcement powers, rare for shelters anywhere.  It is permitted to enforce New York State laws related to animal cruelty in Westchester and nearby New York counties without a similar animal-rights organization. 

Shannon Laukhuf acts as the current Executive Director of SPCA. Dorothy Baisley is a specialist dog trainer, and Megan Caulfield is the staff veterinarian.

They already count down the weeks and days until the next spring day in May, 2014, when the Yale Westchester horde returns to make a difference once more.

TW


Yale alumni volunteers across the country performed a variety of chores during the Yale Day of Service, May 11, 2013, including the group of volunteers who spent their Saturday in Briarcliff Manor at the SPCA of Westchester (below).  

A memento for the day (above)
Susan Gardiner and Alexa O'Dell (below) help with filing

Camille Bustillo '95 helps Beatrice Bustillo

David Strauss handles the painting job

Juliet Strauss '17

Jennifer Sheehy '89 works with adoption packets

Meg Byerly MEM '10 with Georgia, Susan Kaminsky '86, Bruce Segall '81

Kate Kasoff with puppies

 (Photos courtesy Susan Kaminsky)

Westchester volunteers at SCPA Westchester included Jennie Blanchard MEM '08, Meg Byerly MEM '10, Jen Kasoff '95, Sara McLeod '86, Alexa O'Dell, Bruce Segall '81, Susan Strauss '83, David Strauss, Juliet Strauss '17, Camille Bustillo '95, Jennifer Colville '86, Susan Kaminsky '86, Jason Mirsky '95, Andrew Richter PhD '79, Jennifer Sheehy '89, Susan Gardiner, and Lina Xing '17. 

Caramoor's "Yale Magic"

YWAA and Caramoor, the music and arts campus in Katonah, hosted a "Magical, Musical Yale Day" Sunday, July 14.  The afternoon featured a pre-concert lecture from Yale Glee Club conductor Jeffrey Douma and a performance by the Orchestra of St. Luke's.  Yale Adjunct Professor Peter Oundjian, a popular, revered figure at Caramoor, was the conductor. 

Merrell Clark '57, '70 MAR, YWAA Chair and event-organizer, provides observations below from  a special, memorable evening, despite heat and threatening weather. The evening "gleamed with Yale magic," he writes.

 _______________________________

Caramoor: Host of a Yale Day of Music

Despite weather warnings and high-90s temperatures, the gathering at Caramoor drew nearly 40 Yale alumni, who enjoyed a remarkable afternoon at this verdant Katonah campus, inherited from the Rosen family for the benefit of music lovers throughout the region. 

The afternoon consisted of a reception, a distinguished preview lecturer, a concert by the Orchestra of St. Luke’s (OSL). It included an internationally acclaimed pianist and an afterglow Q&A chat with the concert’s conductor.

A reception in the partially covered Garden Courtyard kicked off the events of the day. Lynne Clark provided an ample, healthy spread, including strawberries, blueberries, grapes, fig jam and Brie or diced cheeses with crackers and beverages. Iced tea, bottled water and wine were served, and sweet muffins and cookies rounded out the snacks. YWAA board directors BK Munguia '75 and Susan Kaminsky '86 assisted Lynne.

Jeffrey Douma

Director of the Yale Glee Club (and professor of conducting at the Yale School of Music) Jeffrey Douma chatted and mingled with alumni before his illustrated talk on the Beethoven Concerto No. 4, to be performed by Yefim Bronfman, a ranking Israeli-American pianist. The talk included samples of Beethoven’s concerti, played on Douma’s laptop and Bluetooth speakers, showing how key themes and progressions echoed in several of the master’s compositions.

With 15 minutes to spare, the posse of Yalies strolled across campus to the Venetian Theater for the concert and the welcoming applause for the Concertmaster, while instrumentalists toned their instruments.  Right on cue, Peter Oundjian strode to the podium in his white dinner jacket. The audience rose to greet him with raucous applause and cheers. For years, before he became the Music Director and Conductor of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, he had been Artistic Director of Caramoor; hence, he had many old friends and admirers in the audience.

Oundjian, who has an “electric,” magnetic personality and smile, has been unusually popular with audiences from his days at Juilliard and his years as a member of the Tokyo String Quartet (whose final season is in 2013). Even while quite young in his career, Oundjian became adjunct professor of conducting at the Yale School of Music, where he continues to serve today.

Conductor Oundjian:  "Electric, magnetic"

From the stage, he recognized the applause, welcomed the audience, and then acknowledged with appreciation our Yale group, an acknowledgment that drew applause from many in the audience, in addition to our group. The Yale group was clustered together in two complete rows of orchestra center front. Oundjian also pointed to members of the orchestra who had been his students at Yale.

The performance began with a vivacious rendition of Giuseppe Verdi’s Overture to “La forza del destino," representing part of the year-long tribute by Caramoor to the music of Verdi.

Pianist Yefim Bronfman then entered the stage to perform the great Piano Concerto No. 4 in G, Op. 58, of Ludwig van Beethoven. Oundjian would later express appreciation of working with Bronfman over many years. The have appeared in performances together throughout the world. He credited Bronfman as a “classical” Beethoven scholar and performer, who adhered to the music literature as it was written. Bronfman, Oundjian said, avoids extremes of interpretation that become overly dramatic, possibly to underscore the myth of Beethoven’s temper. Bronfman’s performance of the difficult concerto was applauded enthusiastically by the audience and musicians.

Pianist Bronfman played Beethoven's Concerto No. 4

After Intermission, Oundjian’s baton rose over the Orchestra to prepare for Peter Ilyich Tchaikovsky’s popular Symphony No. 5 in E, Op. 64. The work is performed often, and in 2013, performances of the 5^th have cascaded from the Boston Symphony Orchestra on July 6 (at Tanglewood) and July 14 (at Caramoor) to July 19 (at the New York Philharmonic).

Ironically, as Oundjian pointed out in his afterglow talk, Tchaikovsky himself had thought the music was a loss. Possibly depressed at the time, he all but threw it out after his first performances  because of his disappointment. But other orchestras he knew performed the work. As Tchaikovsky listened to it, he acknowledged to himself, “This is a masterpiece.” Performances of it since Tchaikovsky’s death in 1893 have been frequent, with mixed criticism, but generally delightful to audiences, Oundjian said.

The Caramoor audience rose to acknowledge the brilliant performance, and applause extended through many bows and recognition of the artists. When applause subsided, Yale alumni began their pilgrimage out of the crowded theater to the Artists’ Patio outside, near the entrance where musicians enter to dress for performance. 

Clustered around tables and on benches, the group waited patiently, as professor Oundjian acknowledged his fans, friends, and family at the edge of the Artists’ Patio. With his dinner jacket gone, perspiration pouring from his face and T-shirt, he turned to the alumni with a beaming smile that lit the patio.

Caramoor in summer

Oundjian responded to alumni questions happily and with ample humor. When asked how he got to be one of the top conductors in the world, he began at the beginning, expressing appreciation for all of the leaders of the music world with whom he has been fortunate to work, ever since his days as a Juilliard student. Talking about his years with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s and his role as Artistic Director of Caramoor, he expressed his joy in being able to continue as a part of the same assemblages. “These are my people,” he said. “I am one of them, and it is a joy now again to conduct them.”

When asked whether being a leader of peers was difficult, he showed how he learned conducting by using a metaphor he was taught: “To teach a horse to jump, one does not demonstrate or urge the horse mechanically; the horse knows how to jump, so it only needs to be guided and encouraged. It is the same with a symphony. All of the players know what and how to play, so the conductor only needs to guide the overall performance with broad strokes as necessary.”

After an extended period of discussion, the Yale group thanked Oundjian for his presence and inspiration.

The alumni headed to the parking lot with a sense that they had become reconnected because of the day at Caramoor and that something important had happened. By coming as a group, it was possible to enjoy one of the great musical events of a lifetime. Two major Yale musicians, plus musicians in the orchestra, had demonstrated, showed, explained, played, conducted or discussed the great works of great composers and about the process of performing, leaving a rich experience of learning and enjoyment--and a day of meaningful music to remember.

The events gleamed with Yale magic, and they extended for yet another season the 15-year partnership between YWAA and Caramoor.

Merrell Clark

_______________________

A day that "gleamed with Yale magic"

(Members of YWAA who participated include Allegra Broft, Lynne and Merrell Clark*, Jan Colville, Rebecca Fenichel, Patricia Carey Fry and Richard Fry, Carleton and Kate Ingram*, Ronald and Elaine Jensen, Susan Kaminsky*, Megan Kau, Patricia Morrill, Larry and Jane Nussbaum, David and Brenda Oestreich, Jeremiah and Eileen Quinlan, Thomas Reddy and Mary Ellen Scarborough, Bob Shearer and Linda Smith-Shearer, Ed Riegelhaupt, Lily and Dana Sands*, Bruce and Eve Steinberg, Ellen Umansky*, Zidong, Philip and Zikun Yu*. 

* YWAA board directors)

Shakespeare, Biggs and Boscobel

Shakespeare on the Hudson, Aug. 18

The Yale Westchester Alumni Association's Shakespeare at Boscobel series continues Sunday, Aug. 18 with a production of "All's Well That Ends Well" by the Hudson Valley Shakespeare Festival in Garrison, NY.

A YWAA tradition, the event this year includes, as usual, a pre-performance reception and lecture by Yale Associate Professor Murray Biggs.  The lecture starts at 3 pm at the Hastings Center in Garrison.  Afterward, guests are permitted to stroll and tour the historic, scenic grounds of Boscobel, have a picnic along Hudson River, and enjoy the summer sights of the river and the Hudson Highlands.

The performance, directed by Russell Treyz, starts at 7 pm. The Hudson Valley group is known for creative, novel interpretations of Shakespeare Works. The group performed "King Lear" earlier this summer at a YWAA-hosted event at Boscobel. 

Prof. Biggs, who joined the Yale faculty in 1986, teaches English and theatre studies.  During the last school year, he taught undergraduate courses in "Shakespeare Acting" and "Tragedy."  He has directed over 40 productions.

YWAA-sponsored performances at Boscobel the past two years have included "Hamlet," "Love's Labour Lost," and "Comedy of Errors."

Reviewing the Hudson Valley production in the Poughkeepsie Journal, Matt Andrews, the director of Marist College's theater program, called this rendition of "All's Well" "an original, hilarious and touching interpretation with countless comedic styles executed by a superb ensemble."  He added, "(This interpretation) is a surprising joy" and awarded the production an "A-" grade.

Yale Prof. Murray Biggs

Richard Ercole, Jessica Frey in "All's Well That Ends Well" (William Marsh photo)

Yale alumni and guests interested in purchasing tickets to the Aug. 18 performance and the pre-performance lecture/reception should click Tickets or go to the YWAA website: www.yalewestchester.org. Bruce Jennings '71, past president of YWAA, is the event organizer. 

TW

Kobayashi in Concert in Cold Spring

Kobayashi will appear in Cold Spring, July 21

Akiko Kobayashi '07, an acclaimed violinist who favors works from Bach to Prokofiev, will join pianist Eric Siepkes for a free concert along the Hudson Sunday afternoon, July 21 (4 pm), in Cold Spring as part of the summer music series at the Chapel Restoration.

Kobayashi, born in New York, majored in biology and music at Yale and performed with the Yale Symphony Orchestra. After her New Haven days, she received a Master of Music degree from the Manhattan School of Music.  She has appeared as a soloist in orchestras in Tokyo, Jamaica, Yonkers and Jamaica. Last year, she and Siepkes released a new CD of works by Beethoven, Prokofiev, Mozart and Debussy. A previous CD, where she was accompanied by her mother Claudia Kobayashi, includes works by Bach.

A CD Release in 2012

In New York, Kobayashi has appeared in recitals at Weill Hall at Carnegie Hall, Cathedral of St. John the Devine, and Steinway Hall.  She has played at international festivals at Bowdoin, in the Berkshires, and in Bavaria. 

Kobayashi helped establish the Annie Le Memorial Fellowship in honor of the late Yale medical and doctorate student who was murdered in 2009. (A Yale lab technician pleaded guilty to charges and was sentenced).  Kobayashi organized a benefit concert in April, 2010, in Le's honor at St. Peter's Church in New York. The concert and fellowship were also sponsored by the Association of Asian American Yale Alumni. Robert Blocker, Dean of the Yale School of Music, and Ransom Wilson, professor at the school, assisted with the program. Jessica Chang '08, a violist, participated, as well.

At the Le Memorial Concert, 2010

In June, 2013, Kobayashi performed works by Beethoven, Bartok and Schumann in concerts in Great Neck, LI, and Mahway, NJ. She and Siepkes have concerts scheduled in Norwalk, CT, Manhattan and Long Island this fall.

Critics and concert-goers in the past have called her performances "precise and honest-playing with no artificial effects," "wonderful ideas about the music," and "impeccable technique."

Siepkes, who plays piano, harpsichord and organ, is a Pittsburgh native. He studied at the Eastman School of Music and the Mannes College of Music.

The Chapel is located at 45 Market Street in Cold Spring (across from the Metro-North train station).

TW

Salovey Strolls into Woodbridge Hall

Levin slips out, as Salovey (above) slips in
(Yale photo)

Maybe you didn't get the e-mail from Yale's new president Peter Salovey '86 Ph.d.  The baton has passed.

After Yale's 2013 commencement and after receiving a surprising (or was it really a surprise?) honorary degree, retired president Richard Levin '74 Ph.d. slipped out of town and headed to the West Coast where he plans to spend the next few months with family--resting and deciding what's next. Maybe an eventual return to New Haven.

New president Salovey strolled happily and cheerfully into Woodbridge Hall July 1.  A first task at hand was for him to send out an understated, simple e-mail to faculty, staff and alumni announcing that he was eager, ready and excited to start his new job.

There is a Westchester wrinkle to Salovey's presidential appointment, a story that could be told for years to come, especially if his presidency climbs to great heights. Last fall, as provost, Salovey was invited to be the guest speaker at the Yale Westchester Alumni Association fundraising dinner in Mamaroneck.  The dinner was held, as Westchester alumni would eventually find out, on the same day of his interview with the Yale Corporation.

During stretches of the interview earlier in the day, Salovey acknowledged later, he kept peeking at his watch. Part of his mind was focused on providing thorough responses to tough, penetrating interview questions. Part of his mind, too, was staring at the dial of his watch to be mindful of the time.  While Corporation members were assessing him, sizing up his abilities to run a research university known around the world, a little bit of Salovey was worried he might be late to the Westchester dinner.

Presidential duties: Salovey conducts the Yale band (Marsland/Yale photo)

The chips fell correctly and neatly.  Salovey was among the first arrivals at the Westchester dinner, gave a memorable speech referencing one of his favorite topics ("EQ--emotional quotient"), and was announced days later as the new Yale president.

In November, in his first speech just one day after the announcement was made, he recounted the Westchester-dinner story to a large group of Yale alumni at the AYA Assembly. He admitted for the first time publicly how he pressed through the interview with Westchester on his mind. He cited YWAA secretary and dinner organizer Bill Nightingale '53. Nightingale was the Westchester alumnus who had invited Salovey to dinner, who was unaware Salovey was in his interview, but who all along was confident Salovey would come through.

To the AYA audience, in his first bit of oratory as president-designate, Salovey proclaimed in no way would he have let Bill down.

T.Williams

Landesman Departs for Choate

ASC program director Landesman leaves Yale after 12 years

How often did Marcia Landesman provide a soft shoulder for Yale alumni interviewers to cry on?  How often did she applaud interviewers for their efforts and their colorful, detailed and warm write-ups? And how often did she remind interviewers that, yes, she and the Yale admissions committee read every word they wrote in interview summaries?

As everyone who follows the college game knows, over the past decade, the number of undergraduate applications to Yale has soared toward the heavens--progressing toward a magical 30,000 mark. Year after year, Landesman stepped in to soothe and console Yale interviewers all over Westchester who were flabbergasted when stellar applicants with perfect scores and unblemished records were rejected in the early days of spring.

It was part of the job. Landesman handled it with compassion and concern. Leading Yale's Alumni Schools Committee program across the country and spearheading recruiting in the Westchester area, she understood the frustration of sending a rejection letter to local valedictorians, student-council presidents, and volleyball captains. But she rejoiced in finding a gem among the thousands, the one person in 15 who received an acceptance letter, whose credentials screamed that he or she deserved a spot on Old Campus.

Landesman (Yale photo)

At many Bronxville receptions for Westchester students admitted to Yale, she relished in recounting the singular brilliance and the astounding tales of those who had just gotten in and those who proceeded to eclipse their high-school successes once they arrived in New Haven.

Landesman, an Associate Director of Admissions at Yale for the past 12 years, decided to take a different step this summer. She announced that she was leaving Yale this summer to accept a position as co-director of college guidance at Choate Rosemary Hall in Wallingford, Ct.  She steps over to the other side to assist 17- and 18-year-olds in the arduous, agonizing annual admissions race.  She totes to Choate bags of experience, filled with advice and counsel on what it takes to win a coveted acceptance e-mail to Yale (and its peer schools)--the one that sings "Bulldog, Bulldog" to the lucky ones accepted. 

Bowen Posner, who has been in the admissions office the past three years, will succeed Landesman as director of the ASC program.

"Leading the ASC has been an honor and privilege," she wrote in a letter last month to Yale interviewers everywhere. "I will certainly miss you." An army of Yale interviewers in Westchester will miss Landesman, her enthusiasm for all things of and about Yale, and her ability to provide comforting words to the Westchester interviewer who interviews the valedictorian and lacrosse captain with a 2400 SAT score, who didn't get that Yale acceptance e-mail.

T.Williams