In Sunday’s (7/1) Sacramento Bee (California), Edward Ortiz writes, “When Stockton Symphony conductor Peter Jaffe first encountered the musicians of the Auburn Symphony in March, he said, he felt a certain electricity in the air. It was tinged with deep sadness. Jaffe was working as a last-minute replacement for longtime Auburn Symphony conductor Michael Goodwin, who had died Feb. 7 in an automobile accident. … In his mind it was the spirit of a cohesive and extremely motivated musical community—something a conductor is always pleased to find. Finding that spirit was one of the reasons Jaffe accepted the Auburn Symphony board’s offer to become the orchestra’s new conductor. … When Jaffe conducts the first concert, Sept. 8—an annual free concert at the Auburn Park Preserve—he will take over an orchestra that operates on a $200,000 budget with approximately 60 mostly volunteer musicians who perform seven concerts a year, including a concert at the Mondavi Center in Davis. As the new leader in Auburn, Jaffe said, he plans to carry on most of the musical legacy left by Goodwin. ‘I really like getting involved with a community and reinvigorating what a symphony is—that is very much part of my heart and my mission, and the more places and communities I can do that in the better,’ he said.”
Posted July 2, 2012
