Visit to San Francisco (May 8-17)

Before my annual trip to Japan this summer, I stopped in San Francisco to visit my friends Karl Young and his wife. Visiting San Francisco is always such a special experience for me. I don't know quite how to explain it. For the past twenty years I have continually recognized San Francisco as an ideal location for me to be based. I am attracted to the lifestyle, for one thing, and I also like the weather, which is usually quite mild. Additionally, I have many, many friends and contacts there, and I always feel stimulated by the access to cultural access availability in an urban center like this. Highlights of this trip included hearing a performance of John Adam's orchestral work Absolute Jest performed by the San Francisco Symphony and the St. Lawrence String Quartet, a day trip to Sausalito, and an amazing dinner The Plant Organic Cafe at Pier 3 with my friend from Oberlin David Arendt, and catching up conducter extraordinaire Michael Christie, another friend from Oberlin. Of course, visiting Gaulala, 2.5 hours up the coastal highway with Karl and Sue, was the absolute highlight of the trip!