My first season with the Oregon Symphony was 1962-1963. I was so excited when I was told that I was accepted into the Portland Symphony (now Oregon Symphony), I danced and jumped up and down. I can still see myself. Its was like winning the Powerball. I was only 17 years old. What is equally amazing is that 45 years later I retired from a career that very few people can ever experience. I was bass trombonist my first year in the Oregon Symphony and was principal trombonist my third year. I also traveled with the New York Metropolitan Opera National company for 84 weeks as principal trombonist and was bass trombonist of the Portland Opera for 18 years. I played in the Peter Britt Orchestra for two seasons and also in the Anchorage, AK. music festival. I was a scholarship winner to Tanglewood in Lenox, Mass. and the National Music Camp in Interlochen, Michigan. I was privileged to perform with Leopold Stowkowski and Erik Leinsdorf. None of this would have been possible without my early training with the Portland, Youth Philharmonic under the leadership of maestro Jacob Avshalomov.

I have met many famous people and have played the world's greatest music. The Oregon Symphony music directors and conductors have been magnificent and have each brought many special talents to the orchestra. I remember special concerts featuring Jack Benny, Danny Kaye, Isaac Stern, Leonard Rose, and many others.

During my time in the Oregon Symphony I developed a hobby of making batons for some of the conductors who visited our orchestra. Most recently, I made batons for Itzhak Perlman, James DePreist, Carlos Kalmar, Riccardo Mutti, Murry Sidlin, Hannu Lintu, Karel Mark Chichon,

Andre Watts, and many others.

Since establishing the Alan Pierce Piano Service in 1976, I have tuned pianos for the Oregon Symphony, Andre Watts, Lawrence Leighton Smith, James DePreist, Murry Sidlin, Norman Leyden as well as for many churches, schools and prominent piano teachers. Most recently I tuned the piano in the home of world famous Janet Guggenheim. One of my most special memories was an all expense paid trip to Scottsdale, Arizona to tune the piano of a prominent surgeon. While in Arizona, I had the chance to spend time with the late James DePreist who had a home in the area. For two summers, I also served as piano technician for the Sunriver Music Festival I am currently the president of the Reno chapter of the Piano Technicians Guild.

Most recently I got to meet Geoge Curran, bass trombonist of the New York Philharmonic. My wife and I traveled two times to hear him perform my Romanza and Scherzo for bass trombone and piano. What a thrill to hear a world famous trombonist perform my music. I am very honored that George Curran recorded my music on his latest CD. (Vital Signs)

Song List: Ain't Gonna Get No Supper Here Tonight Altamont Angelina Baker (aka Angeline the Baker) Antelope Gap Arkansas Traveler Avalon Quickstep And The Cat Came Back Barlow Knife (John Salyer) Barlow Knife (Song) Banjo Tramp Been To The East, Been To The West Big Eyed Rabbit Big John McNeil Big Scioto Bill Cheatam Billy In The Low Ground Black Eyed Suzianna (aka Susiana) Black Cat in a Briar Patch Black Hills Waltz Black Jack GroveBlackbird Says to the CrowBoatman Bob Tailed Mule Booth Shot Lincoln Bowl-a-Rama Breaking Up Christmas Briar Picker Brown Broken Down Gambler Buck Mountain Buffalo Gals (KY version in G) Buffalo Gals (Common version in G) Buffalo Gals (in A) Buckin' Dun ull at the Wagon Camp Chase Camp Meeting on the 4th of July Candy Girl Chase the Squirrel Chattanooga Cincinnati Hornpipe Cherokee Shuffle (in A) Cherokee Shuffle (in D) Chinese Breakdown Climbing the Golden Stairs Chinquapin Hunting (in A) Chinquapin Hunting (in D � Stamper) Coast Is Clear Cluck Old Hen Colored Aristocracy Cookhouse Joe Crow Little Rooster Crook Brothers Breakdown Crow Creek Cuffy Cuckoo's Nest in D Cuckoo's Nest in A (aka Richmond) Dance All Night with a Bottle in My Hand Devil Eat the Groundhog Dinah Doctor, Doctor Dogs in the Dishes Double File Dry And Dusty Drunken Hiccups Ducks on the Mill Pond Dubuque Duck River Ducks in the pond Duke of Kent's Waltz Mr. Fishar's Hornpipe (aka Fisher's Hornpipe) Durang's Hornpipe Dusty Miller Ebenezer

The Children's Album is dedicated to Tchaikovsky's favorite nephew, Vladimir Davydov. On 12/24 December 1878, Tchaikovsky wrote to Lev Davydov: "Tell Bobik that the music has been printed with pictures, that the music was composed by Uncle Petya, and that on it is written Dedicated to Volodya Davydov. The silly little fellow will not understand what dedicated means... Even so, Bobik is an inimitably delightful figure when he's playing, and he might look at the notes, and think that a whole symphony is dedicated to him?.

In a letter of 30 April/12 May 1878 to Nadezhda von Meck, the composer wrote: "A while ago I thought that it would not be a bad idea to make a small contribution to the stock of children's musical literature, which is very modest. I want to create a series of little individual pieces just for children, and with an attractive title, like Schumann`s.

Some months before this letter was written, while staying in Florence on 14/26 February, Tchaikovsky told Pyotr Jurgenson that he wanted "to write a number of easy pieces, like Kinderst�ck?. Evidently, the idea of creating a collection of pieces for young people had not been abandoned by the composer, and after his return to Kamenka in April he decided to begin composition. In the aforementioned letter to Nadezhda von Meck, he informed her: "Tomorrow I shall start working on my collection of miniatures for children".

On 1/13 May the composer wrote to Anatoly Tchaikovsky: "I'm working well and have done rather a lot". On 4/16 May the sketches for all 24 pieces were ready. Shortly afterwards, Tchaikovsky accepted an invitation from Nadezhda von Meck to stay at her Brailov estate until the end of May/beginning of June, before spending a few days in Moscow; from there he went to spend five days with his friend Nikolay Kondratyev at Nizy, and in mid/late June he called at Kiev, before returning to Verbovka. In the days following his arrival, he began to put the finishing touches to all the pieces written in April and May. The fair copy of the Children's Album was begun, it seems, on 13/25 July.

By 20 July/1 August the copying out was completed, and on 21 July/2 August the composer told Nadezhda von Meck that he was working on the Liturgy of Saint John Chrysostom.

On 29 July/10 August the manuscript of the Children's Album, along with a number of other compositions, was sent to Pyotr Jurgenson in Moscow. In October, after the proofs had been corrected, the album was published.



P.S.- Other than a modest suggestion for an interpretation, this arrangements remain absolute faithful to the original composition.

The first version is in the original key of g minor, the second is transposed to ?a minor?, the third one is intended for a little lap harp and transposed to d minor. It sounds better in the original key of g minor. I used a lot the d minor version and performed it with my little harp very often, always experiencing a very deep musical feedback.

A little nuance was added to the arrangements, thus obliged by its minimal use on the original manuscripts.

I included the original long and expressive leggato bows and left out the staccatos for the left hand between the bars 17 and 20. I felt somehow awkward when applying this technic on the harp myself.

May be the staccatos suites you best, and you should try it.

The score was written on Finale.

The sound file was produced with samplers from Garritan,

intended as an audio support for the presentation of the score.

A reproduction of Tchaikovsky`s original manuscript is added to the file as a reference to the original sources of this composition, it is an extra bonus intentionally didactic and obviously not included in the price of the arrangement itself.

Thank you very much for taking your time to read this text and to listen to the file.

I hope you enjoy the music.