Monostatos' Orchestra

In his early years with the Saltzburg Northland Orchestra, Christof Rand had been searching for another orchestra to join. The Salzburg, as one of its Music Directors said," is the kind of place you'll find musicians on the way up or on the way down." Christof, who had started there when he was fairly young, had no intention of fulfilling both criteria.

However, there did not seem to be any orchestra worthy of his gifts that would offer him a spot. He traveled to New York, to LA, to Boston, and to Chicago, to no avail. So he decided to see what effect he could have by staying at place in the Salzburg. He began to dream of auditioning for a higher spot, perhaps even a different one. He began to wonder whom he could use as mentors. Fortunately, those early experiences with some key players had been forgotten, and they had moved on; one to another orchestra, another to retirement.

Would it be possible, he wondered, to create for himself the kind of place where his dreams could come true? Where he could travel outside of the Northland? Where he could perhaps premiere one of his compositions?

It was certainly something to think about.

Purpose of this blog...

My novel, Piper to the Alternative, (P2A) is sitting while I complete a prequel. I am doing some fine-tuning and initiating topics for short stories that may be spun off from it (P2A) where there is not time in the novel to digress. So, perhaps you will bear with me as I jot things down and mull them over here.

What is P2A about? The title came to me so long ago it seems it was in a dream -- in the late 70's, before there was a vital alternative movement in lifestyles and health. It seemed somehow connected to a mandate I felt I had received when I (returned to) playing the flute after a long bout of turning my back on God and defying that God even existed. The mandate was "to play the alternative to hopelessness and despair." That seemed a gigantic task. And one I didn't understand. Neither did I understand the need to write a novel. In fact, at one point I took my earliest draft and notes and tossed them all into a dumpster. I left them overnight and decided that if I retrieved them (if they were still there) I would need to commit to completing the book.

Well, that doesn't describe P2A either. If you were to take the opera "Die Zauberflote", place it in the 20th century, have the characters relate to each other in detailed and personal ways, not in a mystical Egyptian temple, but in a medium-sized town in the Midwest (ultimately), one would end up with P2A.

So, should my posts seem confusing, please peek at their counterparts in the opera and then, with luck, these vignettes will make sense.