End of week update on orchestra fire

Lots of good news. More and more people have stepped up to the plate to help, and things are looking up. Thanks to everyone that has helped. We have come up with a good and simple plan, which is basically to create an institutional framework that will make sure...

Fire- the reaction so far

Click here to make a donation to the OES Fire Renewal Fund using PayPal. It has been a very interesting study to see the range of reactions we’ve had from around the country to the recent fire at the OES offices. It’s been depressing, but not surprising, to see how an...

Fire Fund Donation Page

We’ve set up a stopgap page where people can make donations to the Oregon East Symphony Fire Renewal Fund. The page is currently being hosted on my website’s server, as the OES is locked out of our site until at least Wednesday, but if you click the...

Inside the office

    This is the main work area of the office and the meeting space for the board, as it appears without walls or a roof      All that remains of my office. It has been doing double service as a nap room for Michelle’s 4-month-old daughter while I’m away-...

More on the Elgar fiasco

When I read at Jessica Duchen’s blog that “Stephen King argues that poor old Edu should never have been on the £20 note at all and represents ‘a peculiar celebration of mediocrity,’” I thought “That’s it! I’m burning all my King novels.”  Then I read on and...

Cello Rescue

        The Arts and Community editor at the East Oregonian asked me if we could do a story on the recovery of my cello from the fire at the Oregon East Symphony offices. This is what I sent her.  My first thought was that the situation was too serious for anything...

Fire fallout

A very quick update from Pendleton…  The implications for the orchestra are far worse than we initially feared, due to problems with the orchestra’s insurance and liability issues with the buildings owners. Our insurance company and that of the building’s owners may...

Blaze guts city block (East Oregonian)

  Blaze guts Eagles Lodge, adjoining businessesBy SAMANTHA BATES and PHIL WRIGHT of the East Oregonian PENDLETON – Firefighters battled a blaze that destroyed half a block of downtown Thursday afternoon.More than 20 firefighters sprayed water from the ground and...

Fire in orchestra offices

The fire is out at the OES offices, and we now know a bit more.  It apparently started in a popcorn machine at the Eagles Lodge, which is part of the same building. The entire building is gone, including the symphony office and the Pendleton Coffee Bean, which was a...