A4
THE ASTORIAN • THuRSdAy, JuNE 16, 2022
OPINION
editor@dailyastorian.com
KARI BORGEN
Publisher
DERRICK DePLEDGE
Editor
Founded in 1873
SHANNON ARLINT
Circulation Manager
JOHN D. BRUIJN
Production Manager
WRITER’S NOTEBOOK
Intimate music a balm for this troubled moment
motion filled the auditorium of
the Liberty Theatre last Satur-
day evening as the Russian cel-
list Sergey Antonov approached the
microphone.
“We stand with Ukraine,” were his
first words. Applause filled the room.
Antonov and his principal musicians
are American citizens, but they remain
linked to Russia and Ukraine through
family and friendships.
This is the festival
season. The Crab, Sea-
food & Wine Festival
recently reappeared as
an in-person event. Soon
will be the Astoria Scan-
dinavian Midsummer
STEVE
Festival. Then will come
FORRESTER
the Astoria Regatta.
The Third Dimen-
sion Festival is an entirely new iteration
of the Astoria Music Festival, which ran
for a decade. That festival was many
things. It produced fully staged operas,
orchestral and choral works as well as
chamber music and silent films. The
new festival is about the most intimate
form of performance – chamber music,
which features duets, trios and larger
groups of stringed instruments.
The music festival is the youngest of
our region’s celebrations. It is unique in
other ways. Since its inception, the fes-
tival has drawn a bevy of young musi-
cians who were seen around town with
their violin, cello and horn cases. It
also attracted Metropolitan Opera stars
Ruth Ann Swenson and Angela Meade.
The festival’s founders included a Port-
land State University graduate, Kather-
ine Matschiner. Other founders were the
Portland State voice teacher Ruth Dob-
son and conductor Keith Clark, who
stayed with the festival to the end.
Like other live entertainment in the
past few years, this new iteration of the
E
THE MuSICIANSHIP OF THE THIRd dIMENSION
FESTIVAL IS THE EQuIVALENT OF WHAT yOu
WILL FINd IN ANy BIG CITy MuSIC VENuE.
The Hermitage Piano Trio released a photo earlier this year showing their solidarity with
Ukraine.
music festival faces mortal challenges.
Jennifer Crockett, the Liberty Theatre’s
executive director, notes that because
of COVID, “Audiences are not feeling
confident.” Also, the festival’s sales bro-
chure hit customers just after Russian
forces invaded Ukraine.
The musicianship of the Third
Dimension Festival is the equivalent of
what you will find in any big city music
venue. The cellist Antonov, with whom
Astorians have a long history, was a
medalist in one of Russia’s major com-
petitions. His main colleagues are pia-
nist Ilya Kazantsev and violinist Misha
Keylin. Another familiar face will be
Portland pianist Cary Lewis.
Every arts organization in America
has been rocked by COVID, and many
have felt the spillover of Russian Presi-
dent Vladimir Putin’s unprovoked attack
on Ukraine. Two Russians — oper-
atic diva Anna Netrebko and conduc-
tor Valery Gergiev — saw their Amer-
ican careers vanish overnight. Neither
Netrebko or Gergiev would denounce
Putin or his war.
By contrast, Antonov and his Russian
American colleagues have spoken out
plainly in opposition to the war.
Crockett has become the queen of
theatrical resilience — shepherding the
Liberty through two years fraught with
financial duress. “The pandemic has
taught us to be not too cozy with a deci-
sion, because you often have to step
away from planned performances,” she
said. “You have to move ahead nonemo-
tionally and find new avenues.”
The other star attraction of the music
festival is the Liberty and its marvel-
ous resonance. String players and sing-
ers particularly love the hall’s acous-
tics. For the relatively small audience,
opening night did not disappoint. It was
an all-Brahms program. The startling
new addition was the deep, rich voice
of mezzo-soprano Renee Rapier from
Philadelphia.
More performances will follow over
the next two weeks. Give it a try. You
will not be disappointed.
Steve Forrester, the former editor and
publisher of The Astorian, is the presi-
dent and CEO of EO Media Group.
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Legendary
nappa High School baseball coach Jeff
Miller is one of the most legendary
high school baseball coaches in Oregon his-
tory, and that is public knowledge. It is no
coincidence that Knappa baseball has been
as successful as it is, and we all know that
as long as Coach Miller is around, Knappa
baseball will give any team a run for their
money.
What most people don’t know is that
outside of baseball, Coach Miller is a fan-
tastic teacher, coach and friend. Coach
Miller is not only Knappa’s head baseball
coach, but he is the government, history
and global studies teacher, along with being
the senior class adviser.
Coach Miller’s approach is the exact
same on the field as it is in the classroom,
he expects all of his students and players to
give 100%, and in return he gives the exact
same amount of effort back. Coach Miller is
always there for you, whether it be school,
baseball or life. He is always willing to
drop whatever he is doing to help you out,
and that is a rare quality in a person.
I am writing this to recognize Coach
Miller outside of just baseball. Getting the
opportunity to be one of Coach Miller’s stu-
dents and players was an honor, and I wish
that everybody could get the same experi-
ence that I was lucky to have.
TANNER JACKSON
Astoria
K
Mindful
A
s we all know, drunken and reckless
driving is, and most likely always will
be, an issue in the world.
But as a community, we should be
more mindful of the people around us. In
our county alone, I am constantly seeing
ambulances racing to go help a person in
need due to a car accident. Whether it was
caused by intoxication, a true freak acci-
dent, or purely because someone wasn’t
being smart on the road.
Being behind the wheel is such a huge
responsibility to have. Think about how
many vehicles you pass on a typical drive
to just about any destination — I’m sure
you couldn’t even count! However, those
aren’t just vehicles (as we know), those are
all people! People who are living lives just
like you. People who have families, and
occupations to attend to. All of these peo-
ples’ lives are in your hands, along with
your own.
In Oregon, there are around 450 fatal
car accidents a year. That’s not including
the many different injuries, either! I person-
ally know many people who have gotten in
car accidents, due to another driver being
intoxicated, and vice versa. It’s extremely
dangerous, and selfish! As a community, we
should always have each other’s best inter-
LETTERS WELCOME
Letters should be exclusive to The
Astorian. Letters should be fewer
than 250 words and must include the
writer’s name, address and phone
number. You will be contacted to
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subject to editing for space, gram-
mar and factual accuracy. Only two
letters per writer are allowed each
month. Letters written in response
est, and try our best to be safe on the road!
AVERY BURKS
Astoria
Finding community
F
or some, the pandemic brought loss,
pain and suffering. For others, it
brought relief, clarity and peace. For me, it
brought community.
I came to Astoria last July — part of my
Airbnb monthly stay journey across the
Western states. From Arizona, through Cal-
to other letter writers should address
the issue at hand and should refer to
the headline and date the letter was
published. Discourse should be civil.
Send via email to editor@dailyasto-
rian.com, online at bit.ly/astorianlet-
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in Astoria or mail to Letters to the
Editor, P.O. Box 210, Astoria, OR.,
97103.
ifornia, and eventually to a small town at
the mouth of the Columbia River.
Now a year later, I am back. For a bit
longer. And I now realize what has drawn
me in. The welcoming energy of this com-
munity is contagious. Maybe I view things
through rosy lenses, but I don’t know that
I’m alone in these sentiments.
When I think about recent events in our
country — Buffalo, New York; Uvalde,
Texas, and, sadly, a list too long for this
piece — I always think about the role of a
community. I wonder what drove people to
commit those dark acts of hate. How have
so many people slipped through the cracks
of society?
I think as a society, we have lost com-
munity through technology, massive urban
sprawl, political divisiveness and the
absence of that collective spirit.
But as an individual, I have found com-
munity right here in Astoria. I have found
it at the Astoria Co+op, the gym, the yoga
studio, the various local family-owned
businesses.
Thirty-two hundred miles from my
home — but I feel right at home. Thank
you, Astoria. Protect what you have here,
because it is a fading aspect of society, if
you ask me.
NICHOLAS MORTELLARO
Astoria
Utilize it
D
o not blame President Joe Biden for
Russian President Vladimir Putin’s bad
gas.
Also, to quote poet laureate Luis Rodri-
guez: “Voting is power. Utilize it. Don’t
squander it.”
BOB WESTERBERG
Astoria