Tuesday, November 10, 1998
Philharmonia’s first concert
in memory of UCLA mentor
TRIBUTE: Performance by music department reflects on Cloud’s
life
By Sandy Yang
Daily Bruin Contributor
The UCLA Philharmonia’s first concert of the year will be
dedicated to the memory of David Cloud, UCLA’s recording engineer
and longtime member of the music department. A good friend to many
faculty members, Cloud was also a professional endowed with an
astounding reservoir of musical knowledge.
Tonight’s performance will reflect the joys in Cloud’s life.
Included on the program is Dvorak’s "In Nature’s Realm,"
Beethoven’s "Symphony No. 3 Eroica," "Elegy for David" by visiting
Professor Paul Chihara and "Piano Concerto No. 2 Matisse Jazz" by
Professor Paul Reale.
Professor Jon Robertson, chair of the UCLA Department of Music,
will conduct the performance.
Robertson, a close friend to Cloud for many years, picked these
pieces for the program. For Robertson, the concert will not dwell
on a sense of loss. Rather, the student-comprised Philharmonia will
commemorate Cloud’s memory and his awesome love for music through
the variety of genres performed, from Romance and Baroque to Negro
Spiritual and 20th Century.
"We don’t want this to be sad," Robertson says. "The music,
there’s nothing sad about it. David was such an alive and vibrant
person."
Chihara seconds the sentiment in "Elegy for David," the piece he
wrote especially for Cloud after he passed away in September.
"There’s a sadness in ("Elegy for David") because a good friend
of mine passed away," Chihara says. "(But) I wanted it to be happy,
which seems ironic. I wanted it to be musically joyous, so I put
quotes in it from some of the people I knew he’d like, like Bach,
Debussy … because I knew he’d like us to remember him (as someone
who) loved music. It was a joyous life he wanted to lead.
"I didn’t want the piece to be morbid," Chihara continues. "It
is a piece, I think, that if he were alive, he would enjoy hearing
in his honor."
More than just a good friend, Cloud was also an advisor to
Robertson, Chihara and Reale, who each had the chance to work with
him in different settings.
Reale met Cloud 25 years ago while working in a radio show where
Cloud was the music director. Afterwards, the two would work
together in about 20 radio shows. Cloud’s work in radio would lead
him to UCLA in the late ’70s, when he was recruited to develop a
radio station on campus.
Though the project never materialized because of a lack of
funds, Cloud would stay at UCLA as a technical assistant, recording
engineer and a professor of audio technology.
"He used to come to my rehearsals and gave me musical advice,"
Reale recalls. "After David passed away, I contacted Robertson with
the idea that we would dedicate this concert in his memory."
Chihara also met Cloud at a radio station almost 30 years ago,
and they later reunited with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, where
Chihara was a conductor and Cloud was responsible for recordings of
the concerts.
"David was our consultant and ever-present archivist and musical
mentor," Chihara says. "He seemed to know everything that was
happening in Europe and in the Eastern U.S., and provided valuable
suggestions."
For Robertson, Cloud’s knowledge and skills were a constant
source of awe.
"(David Cloud would) be out in the hall and I would very often
ask him of the ‘balance’ (of sound), and what he would say I would
do," Robertson recalls. "Where you stand in the orchestra,
sometimes the sound goes over your head and you don’t get the
proper balance, so you really have to rely on experts to tell you
… I trusted him."
Although there won’t be a formal, spoken memorial for Cloud,
Robertson feels the tribute will lie in "the sheer act of doing the
memorial."
"He wasn’t just a knowledgeable person," Robertson says. "It was
more than that. It was his personality. It was him. It was his
interest. He was very warm, very kind – a man who would always be
ready to go out of his way for you. (It was) a tremendous
loss."
CONCERT: The UCLA Philharmonia Orchestra will be performing in
memory of David Cloud at 8 p.m. in Schoenberg Hall. General
admission is $7, and tickets are $3 for students and seniors.
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