Passings

The local arts community lost BU choir Eileen Hower this past week. She was well-known both on campus and from her work at Central School District. (The family has set up a memorial fund for music education in her name. Contributions can be made to the Eileen Hower Memorial Fund for Music Education. Please make check payable to Bloomsburg University Foundation, Eileen Hower Memorial Fund, 400 E. Second St., Bloomsburg, PA 17815.)

And, nationally, classic jazzer Dave Brubeck died. Brubeck has a personal significance — going through college, his album Take Five was the soundtrack to weekends. My roommate Raj (I worked on campus and stayed in the dorms four years) would keep the disc on fairly constant rotation, particularly Sundays. It's funny how music creates space. Take Five represented to me a kind of old-fashioned cool and casual elegance and it created a space that worked for both reflection and getting things done.  I've since found that saxophonist Paul Desmond's Take Ten is as least as good. — EGF.