Episode 40: Music at Kohl Mansion

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A transcript, lightly edited for clarity and length, follows.

Show Guests: Patricia Kristof Moy,Executive Director,Music at Kohl Mansion

Voices of the Community Introduction: Welcome to voices of the community which explores critical issues facing Northern California communities. We introduce you to the voices of community thought leaders and change makers who are working on solutions that face our fellow individual community members neighborhoods cities and our region. This is George Koster your host. 

Series Introduction: This episode is part of our series exploring COVID-19’s impact on nonprofits and small businesses in San Francisco. Back in April 2020 when we decided to create this ongoing series on Covid-19’s impact first on nonprofits and then on small businesses in the San Francisco Bay. We like you had no idea how long the pandemic would go on and what the health and economic impact would be on our community. Going into 2021 the pandemic is now killing more people, shutting down more nonprofits and small businesses, along with wiping out the lively hoods of families, neighborhoods and communities.

We will continue to shine a spotlight on the nonprofits, and small businesses that make up the fabric of our community along with the founders and staff who are struggling to deal with the impact of the COVID 19 pandemic on their operations, services and sustainability until we can all get to the other side of the pandemic. Along the way, we will also share with you all the amazing solutions that our nonprofits, small businesses, foundations, and government leaders are working on to help us all get to the other side of the pandemic and come together to rebuild our communities with more economic, social and environmental equality

Show Guest Patricia: One of the things we've learned is that the normal way of doing business not working anymore. The normal way of conducting, an arts program has completely changed. And are we equipped? Do we have the tools? Do we have the skills? Do we have the technology? Do we have the knowledge? Do we have the funding? It's been a very big learning curve for all of us, our colleagues in the arts, not just our organization. And it's been a very interesting journey. 

Episode Intro - Show Host George: In this episode, our featured voice is Patricia Kristof Moy, the Executive Director of Music at Kohl Mansion. Performing arts organizations generate a big percentage of their annual revenue through earned income in the form of ticket sales of live performances. Music at the Kohl Mansion is another legacy presenter of arts and culture that has lost 80% of its funding because of the one-two punch of the Covid-19 pandemic and economic collapse of our performing arts sector. Patricia tells us how she and her team are transforming their intimate in-person chamber music performances on to a global virtual stage

Show Host George: I'm joined remotely via zoom by Patricia Kristof Moy, the Executive Director of Music at Kohl Mansion. And thanks for being here, Patricia

Show Guest Rose: Thank you, George

George: Patricia, could you please provide the audience, just kind of a quick overview if you will, of music at Kohl mansion and, some of your key programs.

Patricia: Sure. So, Music at Kohl mansion is a series of chamber music concerts. We're located in Burlingame, California, just south of San Francisco in a beautiful mansion that was formerly a private home. And then it became a convent and then it became a private school and it still is today. Mercy High School and 38 years ago, a concert series was started in that space because.

The great hall of the mansion. It has cathedral ceilings, extraordinary acoustics, and it was originally built for music that the family that built the home, wanted to have concerts in the house. And so, they did, and it was so clear that it needed to continue to be a house of music. So, we present chamber music, concerts of music series from October through May of each year normally live. And as a presenting organization, we're not an orchestra or a chamber ensemble or a performing company we're presenting company. So, we bring international touring, chamber ensembles from all over the world. Many of them very well known in the chamber music world.

And some of them not known to the Bay Area and we are delighted to introduce them. So, our main concert series is our chamber music series and our hall, which has these beautiful acoustics holds about 230 people. So, it's an ideal space for chamber music as it was intended to be heard when it first began to be written by, composers like Haydn.

And was performed in salons in small settings. So, we have a very intimate space, and our audiences are up close and personal to the musicians on stage. So that's during a normal season. In addition to that, our mission is very strongly to educate and teach and reach out to the community.

So we have a very active outreach program and music in schools program, where we send musicians from our main stage series out to the schools to community centers, libraries, senior centers and we also hire local musicians to perform for school children and seniors as well. So again, that's in a normal year.

George: George: I was also interested to read, about some of your other programs. So, Patricia, could you tell the audience a little bit about the Violins of Hope, Spirit of Resistance? I feel like that's very apropos for where we are these days.

Patricia: It is.  So, the violence of hope project was a project that we planned and executed last year in 2020. Just before the lockdown began just before the pandemic began, we had been planning it for three years. The goal of the project was multifold. We heard about these extraordinary Violins of Hope. They are a collection of now probably about 90 string instruments that were once played in concentration camp orchestras during world war II. We learned quite a bit about the fact that there were orchestras and music was very much a part of what was going on in those camps. Not because the prisoners were so lucky and happy, but because the Nazis who were imprisoning them wanted to have culture wanted to show the world that there was music in the camps and that they were treating prisoners well. These orchestras became sort of the way that people who could play instruments, who were in these prison camps could survive.

 These orchestras where in many, many of the camps, in fact.  Fast forward to today, this collection of instruments, which was  once played in the camps was restored refurbished collected from people all over the world by a father and son violin maker named Amnon and Avshalom Weinstein in Israel.

And over the past 25 years, they have lovingly restored these incredible instruments. And they have now been put back into playing condition sometimes better than they were originally. And they've been touring the world. We heard about this in about 2014 when those violins were touring to Cleveland and began to plan the possibility that we could bring them to the Bay area.

We were then fortunate enough to be able to secure an incredible commissioning grant from the Hewlett foundation that enabled us to commission composer, Jake Heggie, who is very well known to the area audiences and international audiences as a composer of opera and song. We commissioned Jake Heggie and his librettist Gene Scheer to compose a song cycle for the Violins of Hope.

And so that began this journey of bringing the Violins to the Bay area in January of 2020. So, we really got there, just under the wire. Lots of years of planning, the Violins came to the Bay area and through our collaborative programs with 42 arts organizations and cultural organizations and institutions of faith, civic organizations, we had 42 partner organizations.

We were able to present over 80 programs in eight Bay area counties, featuring the Violins of Hope, including three major exhibitions. Major exhibition in the civic center, in the veterans building, which is very appropriate for this particular theme. And we were able to present concerts throughout the Bay area.

Not only with Jake Huggies, fabulously beautiful piece called Intonations Songs from the Violins of Hope, but also with artists and musicians, from all different parts of the Bay area. We had a concert called, Along the Trade Route. And Along the Trade Route Concerts were presented in 11 different venues in the Bay area and they were free.

So, the Violins, which represented hope and represented survival and represented resistance and resilience and protest became really a symbol. And now, as we look at our current time, where hope is really what we've been hanging onto, it becomes very, very relevant. We did a lot of education programming in schools and with students and families around the Violins of Hope. And about 30,000 people came to hear and see the instruments.

George: Patricia was that recorded. So, people who are watching or listening to this can go find it on YouTube or on your website?

Patricia: Well, fortunately the world premiere of Jake Heggie's work Intonations, which was held at Kohl Mansion in January of 2020 was recorded on commercial label. And that recording will be released in January. So exactly a year from the premiere on Pentatone Records. So, it will be available for purchase. And it's a beautiful recording, which features violinist, Daniel Hope. Interestingly enough very appropriately named and beautiful mezzo soprano Sasha Cooke, and a wonderful string, quartet of musicians from the San Francisco Opera Orchestra.

Also featured on that recording in addition to the 40-minute song cycle is a beautiful piece by Schubert, a beautiful quartet by Mendelssohn. So, I recommend it all played on the Violins of Hope on these beautiful instruments themselves.

George: Thank you very much for sharing that story. That's a really great I'm going to segue back to where we are today in the midst of a pandemic and economic meltdown and so much of what concerts are all about especially Music at Kohl Mansion is an intimate 200 person plus concert. How has COVID-19 impacted your operations and what have you and your team done to proverbially pivot to deal with it?

Patricia:  Pivot is the word de jour, isn't it?

George: Truly?

Patricia: Well of course we were impacted our, Violins of Hope project, which was supposed to be eight weeks, ended up being seven weeks. We lost 10 of the final programs of the project. The last concert we held at Kohl Mansion was on February 16th. It was part of Violins of Hope project. And we, of course they had to cancel March, April and May concerts. Ordinarily were dark in summer. So, after canceling our last three months of season, we had the good fortune of being able to do some planning.

And so, we have the summer during which we ordinarily don't form to figure out what we could do, to learn from what other people were doing to observe, to pay attention, to listen. And most importantly, especially because we had chopped off a third of our season, we felt very strongly that we needed to communicate with our public, our audiences and people who support us and people who depend on us.

So, our community is very loyal and very strong. And so, some of the first things that we became very aware of is that connection, communication and collaboration were the things that we really needed to focus on. And so, we reached out a great deal via telephone, email newsletters, mail, every way we could to our constituents. We created several surveys over the summertime and in the spring and summer to try and ascertain what people's interests and needs were when they might be ready to come back. Of course we didn't know back in April and May that it would be a very long time, but the good thing is that we've stayed in touch with our community of course.

Ordinarily our season was scheduled to open in October. We put it off and put it off as long as we could thinking that perhaps we'd have live concerts. When it became evident that we would not, we began to envision what a virtual season would look like. And I'm very proud to say that we've been very, very fortunate to have been able to shift our season which was supposed to be entirely live, same artists, same programs slightly shortened programs to entirely online.

 George: So how can folks support Music, at Kohl Mansion, since everything is at this point, virtual. So, can they buy a season ticket? buy a ticket to one of the virtual concerts?

Patricia: Yes. So, as you can imagine, virtual concerts are, financially, not as, successful as a live concert because people aren't able to obviously pay for tickets in the way that they do when they come to live concerts. So, our ticket prices, which ordinarily a couple could come to a concert for a hundred dollars, $50, a ticket or $48 a ticket. And now of course the market will bear a much smaller entrance fee for a virtual concert. So, for $20, a whole family can watch, or a whole household can watch one of our concerts.

So, while that's wonderful in terms of we're able to provide programming and audiences can come for a very reasonable price it's an 80% ticket loss for us. So, we are obviously working hard to figure out how to survive that way and I'll talk about that a little bit with you, but yes, people can subscribe now and purchase the rest of the season.

They can go online to Music at Kohl dot org buy tickets and get anyone, two, three, four, or five of the upcoming monthly concerts. Our next one is January 24 and 28. With the Alexander string quartet. So, superstars of the San Francisco chamber music scene and the Bay Area chamber music scene and great great friends of Music at Kohl.

And one of the benefits of the virtual concert world now is that we're able to present our concert twice and for our audiences, it's an opportunity to see them twice or if they can't make Sunday, they can come on Thursday. At Music at Kohl dot or you will, be able to take a look at what we're doing and how we are bringing these concerts to you.  We have been very, very fortunate in that we are able to sustain the current virtual season through the generous donations of our very, very loyal audiences, but also because with the virtual concert hall, the world is open to us and we've been incredibly pleased and thrilled to see the number of people that have joined us, from all over, not only the Bay Area, but the country and even abroad.

People, we would ordinarily never be able to see in our concert hall. So that has added to our ability to bring new ticket buyers, which is exciting. And we hope we'll be able to continue to serve them post pandemic in virtual ways as well. One of the things we've learned is that the normal way of doing businesses not working anymore. The normal way of conducting an arts program has completely changed. And are we equipped? Do we have the tools? Do we have the skills? Do we have the technology? Do we have the knowledge? Do we have the funding? It's been a very big learning curve for all of us, our colleagues in the arts, not just our organization.

And it's been a very interesting journey. And in terms of support as a nonprofit organization, we're governed by a board of directors and a wonderful group of skilled volunteers who support us. But we have new needs. And so, anybody out there who is interested in helping us figure out. How will you navigate the virtual world with the arts, how you get better at it?

People with the connections to technology, with the knowledge of how this new medium can become stronger and better, we welcome that. We would love to find those people and have them join us. So, we're interested in reaching out to the community to strengthen our resources in that sense.

George: Thank you. So, over the years that you've worked at Music at Kohl Mansion, would you please share with the audience, perhaps one of your favorite moments of working there and what the community and its impact on youth and families in the San Francisco Peninsula?

Patricia: Oh my God. So many favorite moments, but of course, you alluded to one of them, which is the Violins of Hope was, certainly the highlight, for me. The fact that we were able to take a subject, which is serious and sometimes very dark, the suffering of oppressed and persecuted people that we were able to find hope the project is called violins of hope.

And that is what the Weinstein’s, the restorers named these violins, because it's not about going back and crying about what happened in the past. It's about how music brings hope to the world. And we know that right now we need it more than ever. So favorite moments have certainly included, just the heartwarming moments, including all the tears that were brought to our audiences, the people who came up to us at the Violins of Hope Exhibition and at the Concerts to share their personal stories, their family stories, their histories.

Two people came to us with actual instruments, from the holocaust that were played by their relatives. So, there were moments of incredible gratification and also joy.  Bringing those stories to students in high schools and middle schools where kids were able to touch and play and look at and see, and actually understand some of the stories of these instruments.

From an era so far long ago for them and that they were able to understand what it was like.  We talk a lot about bullying and hate and issues of persecution and isolation and othering, and so on right now these days, and it's a big subject in schools. So, having those violins really open up some of those stories for the kids.

And then there's always the joy of bringing our music to senior citizen homes and watching the faces of the residents when our young musicians begin to play. We have a young chamber musicians advanced program at Music at Kohl Mansion, which is an advanced training program for future professional musicians. They're aged 14 through 18. And they just bring smiles to everybody, but especially to these wonderful seniors and the senior house we visit.

George: Thank you. Great stories. So out of the pandemic and economic proverbial meltdown, what are some of the positive things that you could see coming out of the crisis to support performing arts and engagement with our youth and families?

Patricia: I think there's a lot. I think that we are really learning some skills that are going to be very, very helpful. I think that virtual programming is certainly here to stay. I'm sure I'm not the only one who still do that or who feels that way. It's very clear that we've touched a chord that resonates with people and that there is a certain level of connectedness intimacy and just warmth that happens in spite of the fact that we're coming through this, you know, two-dimensional screen.

And in spite of the fact that we can't touch each other and see the musicians up close and hear them breathing in the way that they do in the Kohl Mansion, Great Hall, this virtual world brings some very interesting options and opportunities. For one thing, we are now global. We can touch people around the world. For another, as I said, we can watch multiple times. We can bring our concerts to institutionalized folks who will not be able to come to the mansion. We can make sure that they are viewed by people who no longer drive no longer, go out no longer can be out after dark.

So, there are some wonderful aspects there. And then providing content. that can be shared with schools and with school kids and with families. One of the wonderful things that I heard as feedback from our audiences to our virtual concerts is that whereas they would never bring their five- and eight-year-old to an evening concert of chamber music where they'd have to sit quietly and not be able to breath.

They've been watching our virtual concerts with their families and the kids have had a chance to love them and to listen and be able to talk about it and to be able to react and respond without being worried about being shushed. So that's been a wonderful thing too.

George: Well, thank you, Patricia, for sharing the work of Music at Kohl Manson today, and we'll make sure that viewers have your contact information website and social media so they can follow Music at Kohl Mansion productions and hopefully get engaged and support your mission. So please stay safe out there and healthy as we work our way through this very strange new normal

Patricia: Thank you so much, George. It's such a pleasure to speak with you today.

Episode Outro - Show Host George: That’s it for this episode of voices of the community. You have been listening to the voice of Patricia Kristof Moy, the Executive Director of Music at Kohl Mansion. To find out more about Music at Kohl Mansion and to support their virtual music concerts and season go-to music at kohl dot org To purchase the Violins of Hope at Kohl Mansion album that was released on January 21st, 2021 to coincide with the upcoming International Holocaust Remembrance Day and 76th Commemoration of the Liberation of Auschwitz-Birkenau please go to pentatone music dot com and search for violins of hope to buy and download the album

As we continue to shine a spotlight on small businesses and nonprofits through this series, we have also been sharing with you the economic impact of our arts and culture organizations on both a national and local level. For more information about the economic impact of Covid 19 on our arts sector as well as the economic impact of the arts and culture sector on our economy please listen to our interview with Intersections for the Arts in Episode 35 where we provided more details on the economics of arts and culture.        

Series Outro: We hope that you enjoy the insights, points of view, and personal stories from the voices of change-makers and their nonprofits and small businesses featured in this series. To find out more and get engaged with the nonprofits, small businesses and staff members, featured in this series please go to my web site george koster dot com and click on Voices of the Community to find links to the extended versions of these interviews and to listen to the entire series. After listening to these stories we hope that you will consider making a donation and volunteering to provide a hand up to your fellow community members.

Series Credits: I want to thank my associate producer Eric Estrada, and Kasey Nance at Citron Studios, along with the wonderful crew at the San Francisco Public Press and KSFP.

Voices of the Community is a member of Intersection for the Arts which allows us to offer you a tax deduction for your contributions. Please go to George Koster dot com and click on the donate link to make a donation to help us provide future shows just like this one. While you are on our web site you can enjoy our archived past shows which feature community voices working on solutions to critical issues facing Northern California communities, and sign up for our newsletter to find out about our future shows as well as shows and events from the organizations that our included in our episodes

Take us along on your next Covid walk by subscribing to Voices of the Community on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Google Podcasts or where ever you get your podcasts. You can follow us on twitter @georgekoster and we’d love to hear from you with feedback and show ideas, so send us an email to george@georgekoster.com. I'm George Koster in San Francisco and thank you for listening.

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