Tribute concert for Helen Wolff at the Gene Byron

Sunday a dozen fellow musicians played in memory of flautist Helen Wolff who is no longer with us, the  pieces ranging from Bach to Ravel the perfect tribute.

After fellow flautist Cuautemoc Trajo introduced the event, violist Djamilia Rovinskaya opened with Bach. A series of quiet pieces followed, solos and duos. Two fluteplayers performed as did the cellist Michael Severens, among others others. Zephyrus, the wind quintet with which Helen played until recently, ended the concert on an upbeat note, playing a lively wind quartet by Mozart.

Over the years, Helen made many friends, seventy of them present. Helen and I were what I would call close acquaintances. We always had something to say to each other. Once she commented on the color of my eyes, another time talked scathingly of a young man who wrote about the orchestra for a local paper. I remember her coming over to chat with me during the intermission of an opera videocast in Leon. There were other times when she told me how she took care of her flute, that she believed in "serial monogamy", and about how she was using a vacation week to perfect her playing..

Helen, thank you for what you added to our lives. We miss you.