1 - The Californian Angle

"I was born in Berkeley California but left Berkeley before I was a year old, because my parents finished Graduate School at the University.  Then I spent my childhood in a town along the pacific coast called Morro Bay, which is on the central coast, half way between San Francisco and Los Angeles.  I lived my entire life in California - I grew up a pure Californian!

And, with my 26 years at the Berkeley Symphony, I've never really left.  I've always kept a home there: I made my home in San Francisco.  It's not so much social ties that keep me there, but I find the geographical beauty of California, particularly Northern California, to be one of the most special places on earth, so I keep going back.

It's the drama of how this huge ocean gets to meet forest and mountains.  The Pacific Ocean is the biggest ocean on earth; the mighty Northern Californian redwoods are the tallest trees on earth.  The combination of the sea and the mountains and the natural beauty is pretty special for me"
 
(Taken from an interview that took place in October 2002)