A family tree of Batavia music sprouts during Mendelssohn's Elijah
Marilynn Whitney knew she would have to pay full attention to the three-hour-plus operatic presentation of Felix Mendelssohn's Elijah to grasp the Biblical prophet's story.
Little did she know when attending this oratorio on Palm Sunday at the Washington National Cathedral in Washington, D.C., that she would be sidetracked halfway through the production and instead go on a trip down a Batavia High School music program memory lane.
Whitney, a resident of Arlington, Virginia, and a 1973 graduate of Batavia High School, had to turn into a modern-day version of mystery-solver Nancy Drew to make the connection between what she was watching and the nostalgia of her days in Batavia's band and orchestra with her sister and friends who lived nearby.
It became a Batavia High School music program version of the pop culture parlor game "Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon." Only this time, it would be the "Six Degrees of Batavia High School music students and their directors Paul Peebles and John Williams" from the 1970s.
Let's start this saga by noting Whitney was given a complimentary ticket for the show from her niece Rebecca Nelson, a violinist from New York City hired to perform in the production. Whitney's sister Melissa, a 1975 graduate of Batavia High who is Rebecca's mother, watched the concert from home in Batavia on Hulu.
The ironic twist unfolded when soprano Christine Buras opened the show's second half, and Whitney was so impressed with her performance that she read more about her in the event program.
That's when past conversations with her friend Lisa Jacobson in Sugar Grove, a 1973 graduate of Batavia High, came to mind. Jacobson had mentioned her niece as a prolific vocalist who had studied at the University of Chicago and Indiana University before expanding music studies in London and eventually living there. She also had some of her early training in the chorus of the Washington National Cathedral.
"I looked at the program and saw Christine had studied in those places, and I knew right away this had to be my friend's niece, and here she was on stage with my niece," Whitney said.
Thus, the connection of Batavia influences and so much for Whitney following along with the story of the prophet Elijah.
"I was so excited. I wanted to jump out of my seat. I just couldn't believe it," Whitney said. "Lisa had never mentioned that Christine would be in this production, but I did read Nancy Drew in the past and was able to figure this out."
When considering Rebecca Nelson and Christine Buras had never met and neither ever attended Batavia schools, what had Whitney so amazed? For her, it was like a family tree puzzle that showed these young professionals had their original music roots firmly in Batavia soil.
This was proved to be the case when Whitney approached Buras after the show, confirmed she was the niece of her friend Lisa Jacobson and discovered that Buras' mom, Sonia Jacobson, a 1971 graduate of Batavia High, was also at the concert.
"I was beside myself about this, worrying that Christine would think I was a kook coming up to her after the show," Whitney said. "I just felt that this was amazing that the influence and roots of Batavia High School's music program was part of this event."
The influence comes from the fact that the four former Batavia High graduates were in the music program and lived near each other. In addition, Whitney and Lisa Jacobson were best friends in high school and still are today.
Ironically, in the performance, Buras was right near Nelson on stage, bringing two young professional musicians together with connections to the women who were in band and orchestra at Batavia High School with instructors Peebles and Williams in the 1970s.
"I spent the whole second half of the show wondering how I could get a picture of the girls," Whitney said. "She (Buras) was standing on the stage, and my niece was right there, and I couldn't believe the Batavia connection being right there at that time."
For those keeping score, one mom (Sonia Jacobson) and one aunt (Marilynn Whitney) were at the concert, while one aunt (Lisa Jacobson) and one mom (Melissa Whitney) watched the show on Hulu. The ironic connection created a perfect time for the four ladies to exchange emails and memories about their time in the Batavia music program.
For those who may remember the Batavia orchestra at that time, Marilynn played clarinet, while her sister Melissa played violin and later played professionally in Germany for a time and raised Rebecca in that country for about 12 years. Lisa Jacobson played cello, and her older sister Sonia played bassoon.
"For two people with Batavia family roots to be in this concert, with one now living in London and the other in New York City, that was just so unusual to me," Whitney said. "But here they were, together in Washington, D.C. for this concert."
Whitney added that the two would likely never appear on stage together again because the concert was a one-time, special performance. Various professionals were brought in for rehearsals and the concert.
A podcast to cover it all
If there is one thing most folks would note about former St. Charles Mayor Ray Rogina, it's that he has a lot of knowledge - and opinions - on a wide variety of topics.
Sure, he knows baseball trivia and White Sox history at a Ph.D. level. Still, the longtime St. Charles High School educator also knows his politics, business and a vast array of other topics.
It comes in handy as he joins former assistant state's attorney and Geneva lawyer Pat Crimmins in the "Just A Coupla Guys will Talk Everything" podcasts, the first of which debuts Thursday, April 28.
Podcast interviews will include actor Jim Belushi, formerly of Wheaton; Chicago sportswriter and author Sam Smith of Geneva; former St. Charles resident Wayne Randazzo, the radio voice of the New York Mets; Julie Mann, longtime managing editor for WBBM Newsradio; and others.
The podcasts are free-flowing conversations, as they note, about anything you can imagine. When Rogina and Crimmins talk to a comedian like Jim Belushi, they talk before the interview for several minutes about the comedians they've admired through their lifetimes.
About those Playmakers
Newspaper columnist Sammi King of Batavia cleared up a few comments I made last week about the Playmakers theatrical group that performed in the area in the 1970s, noting that my reference to it as the St. Charles Playmakers wasn't really accurate.
King stated in an email that the group was more of a Fox Valley operation started in the early 1950s and staged its first show in Geneva.
King should know. She had key roles in The Playmakers' staging of "The Sound of Music" and "The King and I."
In a September 2000 column for the Daily Herald, King noted that Jack and Nancy Allen turned the attic of their large home in Batavia into The Playmakers' storage area for props and costumes.
Playmakers performed in the Geneva and St. Charles high school auditoriums before moving productions to the Arcada Theatre in the 1960s and '70s. Sharon Oie of St. Charles was instrumental in forming The Playmakers' chorus.
Also, anytime shows included local residents and well-known city officials or business leaders to raise funds, those shows were most often specifically for Delnor Hospital and not officially a Playmakers' production, King added.
That was the point I was trying to make, so I was glad to hear from King and have her share firsthand knowledge to make it clearer.
It's always good to hear about local theater with local people and, when called upon, local residents giving the stage a whirl to raise money.
Kiwanis bring back spaghetti
Another spaghetti dinner fundraiser that took off two years during the pandemic is back. The Batavia Kiwanis will host its event from 4:30 to 7 p.m. Thursday, April 28, at Pal Joey's in Batavia.
The setup offers dining at Pal Joey's, 2020 Main St., or through timed-to-go tickets that you can order at localconnectllc.com/pastadinner for an available slot set up in 30-minute increments.
Prices for the spaghetti dinner range from $12 to $16, and there are five meal choices this year.
Money raised will help fund the Kiwanis youth programs, including Youth Service Leadership Programs at the eight Batavia public schools.
dheun@sbcglobal.net