July 18 commission event a success!

The first fund raising event for the Mark Petering Tuba Concerto Commission project was a great success. Five hundred dollars were raised, bringing the total donated so far to $2,500. There are also pledges of $3,000 due in in the coming weeks.

Twenty seven supporters attended the event. Aubrey Foard played 2 movements from a Bach Cello Suite, and he and Mark Petering talked about their collaborative efforts on the Concerto thus far. The talk and performance were followed by questions from the audience, and Mark's DVD recording of his piece Train and Tower, just performed at the Music Festival of the Hamptons. (See http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9E04E6DC163FF931A15754C0A9659C8B63 for a review of the piece.) Train and Tower is the first piece to use a real locomotive as a part of the orchestra!

The next event, on October 5 at 6:00 p.m. at the Sharon Lynne Wilson Center for the Arts, will include two of Mark's pieces: the Train and Tower DVD and his Duo for Two Violins. Also on the program, sponsored in part by the Becker-Ritter Funeral Home, will be The Only Piece Ever Written for Violin and Tuba by PDQ Bach, the Debussy Sonata for Violin, and a Marcello Sonata. Pamela Foard will perform on violin, and Aubrey on tuba. Gina Wood will join Pamela in the Petering Duo, and pianist Kay Kim from Chicago will accompany.

Donations may be sent to The Underwood Foundation and mailed to Pamela Foard, 1820 N. 166th St., Brookfield, WI 53005.