Asilomar 2012

Saturday evening, Dr. Kip Cranna, Director of Musical Administration for the San Francisco Opera, held us enthralled as he explored with us (showing marvelous video clips) the way in which composers translate literary works into operas. Video examples compared print, film, and operatic versions of works like Johann Goethe’s “Faust,” Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ “Les Liaisons Dangerousness,” and Tennessee Williams’ “A Streetcar Named Desire.” We were also delighted to learn about how the present generation of opera composers finds material and inspiration for producing new works. Opera is certainly not a closed canon.

Clifford (Kip) Cranna - From the Page to the Stage: Transforming Literature into Opera
San Francisco Opera’s longtime Director of Artistic Administration

Now in his 33rd year with San Francisco Opera, Dr. Cranna earned his Ph.D. in musicology at Stanford University, and teaches at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music. He writes and lectures frequently on opera and is a regular moderator for the San Francisco Opera Guild’s “Insight” panel discussions. He has managed the commissioning of many new operas by composers such as Philip Glass, John Adams, and André Previn. For many years he was Program Editor and Lecturer for the Carmel Bach Festival. In 2008 he was awarded the San Francisco Opera Medal, the company’s highest honor.

 

On Sunday evening Dr. Tom Buckholtz, a man of varied experience in industry and government, opened a dialogue with us about ways to begin thinking “outside the box” as we approach the many problems of our modern society. He shared examples from his own past of ways in which small changes in thinking brought about significant insights for later use.

Thomas J. Buckholtz - From Great Potential to Not-So-Great Effects - What is society missing? What we can do about it?

Dr. Thomas J. Buckholtz has made contributions to innovations in business, government, and technology and for society and the environment. Instances include three information technologies, three information-technology marketplace business practices, a United States nationwide movement to improvement governmental service to the public, a national grassroots politics program, a Rotary worldwide service program, and the preserving of 4 miles of southern California coastline. He has served as an executive leading a $1 billion business unit, corporate officer and advisor for startups, co-CIO (chief information officer) for the United States federal government’s Executive Branch, program leader catalyzing innovation throughout Pacific Gas and Electric Company, and business advisor and innovation consultant. Tom authored books including "Information Proficiency" and "Create Crucial Insight." He earned a B.S. in mathematics from the California Institute of Technology (and was a member of Tau Beta Pi) and a Ph.D. in physics from the University of California, Berkeley.

 

On Monday morning we found ourselves in the company of Ranger Roxanne Jacobus, who shared with us her enthusiasm and extensive knowledge of Julia Morgan. As many times as we go on her tour, we always feel richly rewarded for the time spent visiting Ms. Morgan’s elegant creations and reminiscing about the lives of YWCA girls almost a hundred years ago.

Ranger Roxann has spent many years researching the works of Julia Morgan, especially as they pertain to Asilomar. Asilomar is the largest collection of Miss Morgan’s architecture in one location. Ranger Roxann knows Asilomar and leads a fascinating and enlightening tour that is a delight to everyone, and especially to those of us who have shared it with her many times in the past.

2012 photos by Jud Goodrich

 

More information about the Mark Twain Project Robert H. Hirst, Ph.D. is the General Editor and Official Curator of the Mark Twain Project and Papers, housed at the University of California, Berkeley. He is also the editor of Who Is Mark Twain? (HarperStudio), a collection of 24 wickedly funny, thought provoking essays and stories by Twain, none of which have ever been published before -- and all of which are steeped in contemporary relevance and humor. As 2010 marked the 100th anniversary of Twain's death, Who Is Mark Twain? kicked off a year of celebrations for one of America's most beloved literary icons. As the consummate Twain expert, Hirst is the perfect speaker who can truly bring Twain to life. Since 1996, he has taught one course a year in the Berkeley English Department, where he is an adjunct professor, without salary (his favorite job title). He has been working on the edition of Mark Twain for forty-four years, but contrary to recent reports, this long commitment has not caused him to begin to resemble his author at least not to anyone but a very near-sighted person. Hirst also claims never to have been in the least bored with his chosen subject: If you’re bored with Mark Twain, you either have no sense of humor, or you haven’t been paying attention. The Mark Twain Project is a vast archive of the Twain's personal manuscripts, letters, and documents which came to the Berkeley library in 1949. The Project set out in 1980 to produce a comprehensive scholarly edition of all Mark Twain's writings estimated at 75 or 80 large volumes which was to include Mark Twain's 50 notebooks, more than 11,000 letters, eight file-feet of autobiography, hundreds of unpublished literary manuscripts, as well as critical, fully annotated editions of his 12 large books, thousands of magazine articles and stories, not to mention his uncollected newspaper journalism. Twenty-seven volumes of The Mark Twain Papers and Works of Mark Twain have been published by the University of California Press, which has also published nine volumes in The Mark Twain Library, a popular readers' edition derived from the Papers and Works. Hirst began his relationship with the Mark Twain Papers in 1967. He collaborated with Edgar M. Branch on several volumes of Mark Twain's Early Tales & Sketches. Since 1980 Hirst has been General Editor of the Mark Twain Project, so-called because it embraced two ongoing editions: the Mark Twain Papers in Berkeley and Works of Mark Twain (begun at Iowa City). Under his leadership, more than 20 volumes have since appeared, with many more still in the pipeline. The most recent volume of Papers and Works has been described as "an unmatched and probably unsurpassable pinnacle of editorial achievement... arguably the single greatest product of modern American editorial scholarship."

In all, it was an uplifting experience to hear the presentations, and especially to renew old acquaintances and spend time with our good friends. We hope to see you all there next year. Contact Cal Wood, Asilomar Chair, 925-447-8666, , Asilomar Chair