. . . . ABOUT DAVID . . . . ABOUT DAVIDHello. You have journeyed into cyberspace and found my little corner of it. I am Larry David Alonzo, known by most people as David. If you called me Larry, I would likely not answer. Larry was my father.
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From 1978-1980, I taught orchestra in Mesquite, Texas and played viola in the Richardson (TX) Symphony.
From 1980 to 1988, I taught orchestra in Tyler, Texas and played viola in the East Texas Symphony.
From 1988 to 1990, I taught orchestra in Ardmore, Oklahoma and played viola in the Sherman (TX) Symphony.
From 1993 to 1999, I taught orchestra in the Roswell public schools and I played viola in the Roswell Symphony Orchestra. I also played viola in the Southwest Symphony of Hobbs, New Mexico.
In 1999 I moved back to Kansas City to teach in the Kansas City, Kansas public schools. I have not done much orchestral playing, though I have played viola in a few concerts with the Liberty Symphony.
From 2002 to 2007, the music department of my school district has been involved in a project funded in part by the US Department of Education. The project was originally called ITS Music , but has come to be known as Music: A First Thing. I participated in this project about using technology in music education during its first three years of existence. One of the outcomes of this project is my professional home page. I presented one of the lesson plans that I wrote, Where's the Beef? during 2002 (revised in 2003) to a representative of the US Department of Education. This presentation (as well as projects by Tim Starks and Carrie Davis) resulted in the renewal of the grant for the project. A lesson on blues improvisation that I co-wrote with Marie Cogbill, Bridget Gish, Mary Kerns, and Patricia Transue during the 2003 session, was adapted by Ms. Jean Ney for inclusion in the Kansas Model Curricular Standards for Music published by the Kansas Department of Education.
I am an active member of the American String Teachers Association. In fact, for two years I edited the state newsletter of the American String Teachers Association, ASTA New Mexico News. I am also a member of MENC and KMEA.
I have been a member of NEA and KNEA for many years, but in 2005, I became more active. I am an area leader and am the webmaster of the NEA, Kansas City, Kansas Local web page.
I am also a member of GLSEN, a national organization founded by Kevin Jennings. I am a co-chair of the Kansas City chapter.
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Singers: Ella Fitzgerald, Cleo Laine, k.d. lang, Bette Midler, Harry Connick, Jr., Michael Feinstein, and Barbra Streisand.
In a different category--Renee Fleming, Bryn Terfel.
Violin concerto: Berg, right now with Anne Sophie Mutter playing.
Viola concerto: Walton.
String orchestra piece: Vaughan Williams' Fantasia on a Theme by Thomas Tallis.
Beethoven symphony: No. 7.
Musical: Sweeney Todd (Hurrah Sondheim!)
Song: Send in the Clowns (More cheers for Sondheim.)
Albums by Emmylou Harris, Linda Ronstadt, and Dolly Parton: Trio AND Trio II.
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Well, yes, I do have hobbies. I dabble in calligraphy and do a little bit of cooking. Since I have been "single again," I haven't really cooked that much. Who likes to cook for one?
I have a fairly extensive collection of compact disks. Many classical, many jazz, and some popular music--so it is an eclectic assortment. I also have an iMac computer. I recently bought the the CD of the concert performance of Sondheim's Sweeney Todd by George Hearn, Patti Lupone, and the New York Philharmonic that took place in May of 2000. I bought the soundtrack of the Broadway revival production with Michael Cerveris and Patti Lupone; the production where the actors also played instruments as soon as it came out. And now I have the soundtrack of the movie.
Being a Sweeney Todd freak, I also have the DVDs of the Lansbury/Hearn performance in Los Angeles and the concert version by the San Francisco Symphony with Lupone/Hearn. I look forward to the upcoming movie with Johnny Depp.
One of my newest interests is collecting Fiestaware. I am not sticking to a single color. I have pieces in every color of the rainbow! Finding those pieces in discontinued colors or finding older "original" pieces is lots of fun.
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William Jewell College. This is my alma mater.
Roswell Symphony Orchestra. This is the orchestra that I played viola in for seven years.
Liberty Symphony Orchestra. I was a charter member of this group. I have played in this orchestra again since moving back to Kansas City, though currently I am not playing in it. It is affiliated with William Jewell College.
American String Teachers Association. A professional organization for string educators.
Viola Jokes by Bigler or Viola Jokes by Levin. Yes, I'm a violist, but I also have a sense of humor. And as they say, all viola jokes can be transposed up a fifth or down an octave!
To page me online, my handle on both AOL Instant Messenger and Yahoo Instant Messenger is "Bratsche2".
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I am a member of Broadway Church in Kansas City, MO. The building was originally constructed in the early 1900s as the Swedish Baptist Church and a tradition of Julotta still exists at the church. Christmas hymns are sung very early on Christmas morning and the Christmas story is read in Swedish at this service. Despite my lack of a Swedish origin, I have participated. Luckily I learned to play my viola in many different languages, including Swedish! Broadway is an inner city church which celebrates the diversity of its members.
If you want to talk about the church, please visit the Broadway Brouhaha.
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THE NINETIES
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THE SEVENTIES
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Highlights of the 1950s: I guess you'd say the highlight of this decade is that I was born at the end of 1953. I don't really remember much. But apparently color photography had been invented by this time. I'll let the pictures speak for themselves. THE FIFTIES
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