Nurturing culture on the prairie
Third annual festival brings sounds of classical music to Oklahoma
Third annual festival brings classical music to Oklahoma

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By Ron Jackson
Published: July 24, 2008

QUARTZ MOUNTAIN STATE PARK — Like many folks here in southwest Oklahoma, Riley "Nub” Smith grew up loving dirt roads, country fried steaks and music with a twang.

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His music collection consisted of works by George Strait, Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks.

Now, at 64, Smith has made room on the CD shelf for Mozart, Beethoven and Bach, but not because of the Internet or anything he's seen on public television. This recent addition to his musical taste has a local flavor.

Last year, he attended the nearby Quartz Mountain Music Festival at the Robert M. Kerr Performing Arts Center for the first time. He found the melodies of world-class, classical musicians so overwhelming that he has long been sitting on tickets for this year's festival concerts, set for Friday and Saturday.

Both performances for the Third Annual Quartz Mountain Music Festival begin at 8 p.m.

Nub, as neighbors call him, will be sitting front and center each night.

"I didn't know what to expect, really,” said Smith, who owns an Altus insurance company. "I just went over there, and when the music began, it just blew me away. ... To hear 41 violins playing at one time was amazing. ...”

‘It is a magical place'
Festival founder David Palmer would love to find hundreds of other classical converts this weekend on Oklahoma's western prairie. Palmer, founder of Chamber Music Amarillo in 1999, was in search of a new festival location four years ago when he drove into Quartz Mountain State Park. By his side sat his father, Michael Palmer — a noted American conductor and the director of orchestral studies at the Georgia State University School of Music in Atlanta.

The father and son were mesmerized as they navigated slowly through the winding roads of the granite mountain. Then they caught their first glimpse of the lodge and performing arts center anchored against the mountain, with Lake Altus-Lugert glistening in the background.

"I knew immediately we had found something special,” David Palmer recalled. "The Kiowa Indians were right. It is a magical place.”

Farmers and ranchers still dominate the region, and scratching out a living has generally taken priority over artistic endeavors. Culture came via television and radio.

Palmer is gambling that he can turn the tide. Two years ago, the festival opened to a crowd of 350 people. Last year, attendance dipped to 250, but organizers have since cast a broader net, hoping to interest folks from farther away.

"If we can just get them in the door, I believe the music will win them over,” Palmer said. His confidence is embedded in a lineup of heavy hitters in the classical music industry, none of whom are more highly regarded worldwide than guitarist Pepe Romero.

Bringing music to new places
Romero first performed professionally with his father at age 7. He has since performed for Pope John Paul II at the Vatican, Prince Charles, and King Juan Carlos I and Queen Sophia of Spain.

These days he embraces the idea of playing in southwestern Oklahoma for the first time.

"That's what our family has done for more than 50 years,” Romero said from his home in Del Mar, Calif. "We've taken our music to many countries where it has never been heard. I find that classical music is very accessible because it is a beautiful thing.”

Word-of-mouth could be the festival's best chance to survive.

"I think it's vital that this festival is a success because we are so remote,” said Gloria Rustmann, who owns a ballet studio in Altus. "We need the arts, but I'm afraid our biggest problem might be publicity. I wonder how many people really know about the festival.”


 


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This is sort of related. I used to work the Morgan Horse Show. It was a collection of people who make 8 to 10 figures without the decimal point. It amazed me how they would set up the horse stalls. Each stall had carpet, satellite tv, couches, and the ever present classical music playing for the horse and owner to take in. One day I was in a line to get a cinnamon roll from a roach coach. A lady with a fur coat was waiting for her roll and coffee. She gets her coffee and asks for cream. They roach coach operator handed her a canister of Coffee Mate. She said, "whell, you would think that at a high class event such as the morgan horse show, you would at least have fresh cream for the coffee, sir." She turned and whifted away in disgust. I got to the window of the coach and the guy said, "B". I'll let you spell the rest of that word.
burt, edmond - Jul 24, 2008 at 10:40 pm
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