Evolution of a Career
After successfully flunking out of my freshman year in the engineering
program at the University of Toronto, and then repeating that
feat the following year by flunking out of my freshman year in
music, also at the U of T, things began to improve. I finally
graduated with a B/A in music from the university and immediately
fled to the U.S with $60.00 in my pocket and my trombone. I was
then drafted into the U.S. Army. But that wasn't so bad. My life
as a professional musician had begun, - that as a trombonist with
the U.S. 7th Army Symphony Orchestra in Germany, playing over
130 concerts through-out Europe. Little did I know it then, but
my European experiences, performances as well as sight -seeing,
(castles, cathedrals, different ways of life, etc.) introduced
me to a love of history, and coupled with my musical background,
led to my Ph.D. in musicology. My luck had turned, and for over
25 years, as a professor of music at California State Univeristy
at Long Beach, I taught, did my research, and prospered.
My primary research was 17th-century German keyboard music, for
which I received a number of grants to continue my research in
the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek in Munich. There I expanded
my research, and published the results, - numerous volumes of keyboard music from the 17th-century,
and some related articles. During my various sojurns in Germany,
I was coincidentally also introduced to the wonderful world of
beer, which would play a role later in my life. However, before
that was to happen, I spent another ten years researching the
cultural life in southern California, in particular documenting
the impact of the exile community from Nazi Germany on this sudden
cultural growth. The result of this research is the Oral
History of the Arts Archive, housed in the special collections
section of the library of California State University, Long Beach.
My hobbies have not been as diverse as my professional pursuits,
probably because I have always enjoyed what I was doing. However,
clam- digging in the cold waters of Pismo Beach, plucking abolone
off the rocks in Cambria, both to keep body and soul together
during my early days of teaching and poverty, and now catching
tuna and marlin in the warm waters of East Cape, Baja California
Sur (Mexico) may fall into the category of hobbies. Being at times
practical, for many years I built harpsichords and clavichords
for my personal use, and since approximately 1963, I have continually
concentrated on learning and attempting to master the German language.
With an early retirement, about ten years ago, I formed Pa's Bier,
Inc., a privately held corporation that imports Austrian beers.
Edelweiss, a Weizenbier was my first venture into the new world
of business, - not overly profitiable yet, but like my other careers,
also fun. Recently Zipfer, a pilsner- style lager was added. True
to my scholarly tradition, I have written numerous
small articles regarding beer, - some in an academic vein,
and some just for fun. I have also given a few presentations to
beer-loving audiences, tastings with my normal caustic, but fun-loving
comments.
As we say, it keeps me off the streets!
And from the opening comments:
Not all is lost when a path slips away!