Canada’s beloved woodwind repairman, Frank Marcus, had a bg health scare recently. Thank goodness he is recovering yet his many devoted clients felt that it was high time send our words of appreciation and some financial love too to bridge the gap while he recuperates. OF COURSE he is back at the bench within days of surgery, but we want that to be a matter of choice and not necessity.
Michael Hope of the Calgary Symphony spearheaded our tribute fundraiser and please click on it to read about Frank and to read some of the tributes of gratitude and admiration. We have a big sheaf of letters and notes that will be made into a book for Frank, and if you add anything here, or want to send letters to me or Michael Hope or Dawn Edge… bassoonists and oboists rely enormously on our repair people, and Frank is such a profoundly wise, experienced and gifted repairman to so many of us and has been for many many years. Repairmen and women work in solitude, bent over tool-strewn benches, machines and tools, surrounded by lathes and other massive machines making their workshops look like a division of NASA, ruining their eyesight in pursuit of fine-tuning and repairing our instruments so that we can head back out on stage and communicate with many more people… it is a truly essential link. This is our opportunity to shine some of that light back on our dear Frank. Please feel free to share too, thank you. And here is the link to fundraiser.
And here is what Frank said when we finally summoned the courage to tell him that we had done this:
“I have been humbled, but nothing like this.
One never sees such wonderful words when they are alive and you have no idea how all of you make me fight for my life every day. The words are so strong with such meaning. It is hard to have a bad day when I read your words. I just don’t know how to thank all of you.
People never think of love in this way and this is real love.
Mitch Clarke beat me out in the TSO auditions for second bassoon. This was the best thing that could happen to me. He is so gifted anyway, I didn’t have a chance and he gave me the chance of my life. I can now buy pads and some more cutters to finish my projects.
The weight on my heart is gone and energy is in its place. All of you have given so much energy to go on with life and look at my family and my family of friends with admiration and love. Thank you all so much for giving me my life back. I know my family thanks you as well. I have started to do light work and get my hands working.
-Frank “
