{"id":7725,"date":"2012-07-02T13:24:12","date_gmt":"2012-07-02T20:24:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/?p=7725"},"modified":"2012-07-02T13:38:41","modified_gmt":"2012-07-02T20:38:41","slug":"my-hero","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2012\/07\/02\/my-hero\/","title":{"rendered":"my hero"},"content":{"rendered":"

I have more than one hero in my life – some are heroes of the personal order, some professional. And some are both. Perhaps nearest to my heart is a man who began his upward trajectory in his career after being discovered playing with a band in Atlantic City in 1942 by none other than the great Glen Miller, who said “For a Yale man you don’t play bad tenor [sax]”. That Yale man was (and is) Norman Leyden. Norm is 94 years old this year (and will turn 95 in October), and still practices the clarinet pretty much every day. Last night, he did a show in Eugene with Pink Martini, and pretty much stole the show after being received with an incredibly warm standing ovation by the crowd. If there is a warmer or more generous soul in the music business, I don’t know of one. If there is a more thoroughly professional and disciplined musician, I don’t know of one. Norman just lives his life the way all of us want to, but few of us are able to accomplish. Bravo, Norman!<\/p>\n

\"\"
Norman Leyden and Charles Noble, July 1, 2012 in Eugene, Ore. Photo: Jo\u00ebl Belgique.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I have more than one hero in my life – some are heroes of the personal order, some professional. And some are both. Perhaps nearest to my heart is a man who began his upward trajectory in his career after being discovered playing with a band in Atlantic City in 1942 by none other than […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":303,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[148,3091,299,135,138],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7725","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-appreciations","category-clarinet","category-conducting","category-soloists-recitals","category-summer-festivals"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/pa8kC-20B","jetpack_sharing_enabled":false,"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":13505,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2014\/07\/23\/rip-norman-leyden-1917-2014\/","url_meta":{"origin":7725,"position":0},"title":"RIP: Norman Leyden (1917-2014)","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 23, 2014","format":false,"excerpt":"It was with great sadness that I learned today of the death of the Oregon Symphony's Laureate Assistant Conductor Norman Leyden at the age of 96. Norman initiated the Oregon Symphony's pops series in 1970, and led it successfully for the next 34 years. Many credit Norman with keeping the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "News"","block_context":{"text":"News","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/news\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Norman Leyden | Photo: John Rudoff.","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/07\/14700429-mmmain-500x489.jpeg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":12553,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2013\/03\/24\/calendar-update-svoboda-classical-up-close\/","url_meta":{"origin":7725,"position":1},"title":"calendar update: svoboda & classical up close","author":"Charles Noble","date":"March 24, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I've added a few new listings to the event calendar that you should definitely check out. World premiere of Tomas Svoboda's Clarinet Concerto with the Eugene Symphony - this may be the last premiere of a new work by the dean of Oregon's living composers. Eugene Symphony principal clarinet Michael\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "chamber music"","block_context":{"text":"chamber music","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/chamber-music\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"","width":0,"height":0},"classes":[]},{"id":14106,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2016\/05\/25\/post-season-thoughts\/","url_meta":{"origin":7725,"position":2},"title":"post-season thoughts","author":"Charles Noble","date":"May 25, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"I was musing over this past weekend's performances of Mahler's Third, and there were quite a few remarkable things\/moments that came up - so I thought I'd share them here. In no particular order: James Shields (principal clarinet) has the most amazing clarinet sound I've ever heard. Martha Long's (principal\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Oregon Symphony | Photo: \u00a9 Charles Noble","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/IMG_0290-e1464230460632.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/IMG_0290-e1464230460632.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/IMG_0290-e1464230460632.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/11\/IMG_0290-e1464230460632.jpg?resize=700%2C400 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":13927,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2015\/10\/07\/aalto-library-concert-photos\/","url_meta":{"origin":7725,"position":3},"title":"aalto library concert photos","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 7, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"This past weekend, I played six performances of Magnus Lindberg's craggy and forbidding (and insectile) Clarinet Quintet with my colleagues of Third Angle New Music (with the magnificent Louis DeMartino on clarinet) at Alvar Aalto's magnificent library at Mount Angel Abbey. The reviews were glowing, and equally glowing are the\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "architecture"","block_context":{"text":"architecture","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/architecture\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Photo & Video Sharing by SmugMug","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tomemerson.com\/Performance-Photography\/Third-Angle-Frozen-Music-at-Mt\/i-KdCL7B4\/0\/M\/IMG_0029-M.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tomemerson.com\/Performance-Photography\/Third-Angle-Frozen-Music-at-Mt\/i-KdCL7B4\/0\/M\/IMG_0029-M.jpg?resize=350%2C200 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.tomemerson.com\/Performance-Photography\/Third-Angle-Frozen-Music-at-Mt\/i-KdCL7B4\/0\/M\/IMG_0029-M.jpg?resize=525%2C300 1.5x"},"classes":[]},{"id":19153,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2020\/07\/22\/this-friday-feldman\/","url_meta":{"origin":7725,"position":4},"title":"this friday: feldman","author":"Charles Noble","date":"July 22, 2020","format":false,"excerpt":"This week's Portland Social Distance Ensemble production. From our press release this week: \"This week the Portland Social Distance Ensemble presents Morton Feldman\u2019s masterpiece, \u201cClarinet and String Quartet\u201d, in a cross-continental chamber music concert performed live by clarinetist James Shields and violinist Emily Cole (CA), joined by violist Ron Blessinger\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "45th Parallel Universe"","block_context":{"text":"45th Parallel Universe","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/45th-parallel-universe\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/feldman-quintet.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/feldman-quintet.png?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/feldman-quintet.png?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/feldman-quintet.png?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/07\/feldman-quintet.png?resize=1050%2C600&ssl=1 3x"},"classes":[]},{"id":496,"url":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/2007\/10\/17\/a-living-legend-reaches-90\/","url_meta":{"origin":7725,"position":5},"title":"a living legend reaches 90","author":"Charles Noble","date":"October 17, 2007","format":false,"excerpt":"Wow. I am stunned - and I'm ashamed that I'm stunned. I went to the Norman Leyden 90th birthday concert at the Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall this evening (which was presented by the Oregon Symphony). I don't know what I was expecting, but I got a master class in what\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "the orchestra world"","block_context":{"text":"the orchestra world","link":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/category\/music\/the-orchestra-world\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-content\/uploads\/2007\/10\/leyden.jpg?resize=350%2C200","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7725","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/303"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=7725"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7725\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=7725"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=7725"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.nobleviola.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=7725"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}