Record

Today I chose to do other things than listen to news and follow the election shenanigans.

I intended to get out my records and play some opera or classics, as there would be no commercials and no news.

The station of classical music beat me to it, and the announcer was talking about Jester Hairston, a composer and actor who also conducted.

In 1957 I was a part of the College of the Pacific music camp and we could buy the red vinyl long play record of the concert. I thought the price was fair at $1.50.

Under Jester Hairston’s conducting, we sang acapella Live a Humble, Amen, and Don’t be Weary Traveler.

His name is on both sides of the record as guest conductor.

The assembled band from all the high schools played a Wagner piece and had Dr. Kurt Herbert Adler as their guest conductor.

This is pretty rare company for a seventeen year old singing with 1,499 other voices.

I did not really appreciate how lucky we were to have these men as our conductors until I heard Mr. Hairston conduct a spiritual Hold On today on the San Francisco classic radio station, KDFC.

Now I am going to listen to this very old but good record once again, and avoid any modern day anxieties.