Grace Church in New York Organ Festival

Dutch organist and conductor Charles de Wolff died on November 23, 2011 in Zwolle, the Netherlands, following complications from a fall in his home in Vierhouten. He was born on June 19, 1932 in Onstwedde near Stadskanaal in the Dutch province Groningen, where his father was a minister of the Dutch Reformed church.

De Wolff studied piano, organ, and music theory at the Utrecht Conservatory. When his organ teacher George Stam ‘moved’ to the Amsterdam Conservatory, de Wolff followed his teacher to the Dutch capital, later continuing his studies with Anthon van der Horst. Van der Horst—whose students had also included Piet Kee, Albert de Klerk, and Bernard Bartelink—was perhaps the most influential Dutch organist of the twentieth century and also an important composer and conductor, especially known for his annual performances of Bach’s St. Matthew Passion with the Dutch Bach Society.

After completing his studies in Amsterdam in 1954 with the Prix d’Excellence (the highest distinction possible), de Wolff continued his studies, on van der Horst’s suggestion, with Jeanne Demessieux in Paris. From her, de Wolff learned to ‘only accept one’s very best’, as he said in an interview in 2008. Demessieux inspired de Wolff to go hear Olivier Messiaen at the Ste-Trinité on Sundays. Along with Bach, the music of Messiaen became a constant in de Wolff’s career. In 1965, he won the Dutch Gaudeamus competition for contemporary music with a performance of Messiaen’s Livre d’orgue. 

That same year van der Horst died, leaving ‘his’ Bach Society in the hands of de Wolff, who had already gained significant experience as a conductor following studies with Franco Ferrara and Albert Wolf. A year later, de Wolff was appointed music director of the Noordelijk Filharmonisch Orkest, based in the city of Groningen in the north of the Netherlands. De Wolff would stay with the orchestra for a quarter century. In Groningen, he also led the choral society Toonkunstkoor Bekker (1961–1989).

A difference of opinion about artistic matters between the Bach Society and its conductor in 1983 led to de Wolff’s leaving and the vast majority of the semi-professional choir following him. De Wolff and his choir continued their annual St. Matthew Passion performances—as well as their regular performances of Bach’s other major choral works—elsewhere as ‘Holland Bach Choir’, while the Bach Society started a new, smaller choir and an orchestra with period instruments. De Wolff stayed with ‘his’ Bach Choir until 1998, returning briefly a few years later.

As an organist, de Wolff was strongly associated with the Schnitger organ (1721) at Zwolle. One of the first of the large Dutch city organs to be restored with historic awareness (Flentrop 1954), the organ was regarded very highly by organists at home and abroad, especially in the 1950s and ’60s. The instrument was very dear to de Wolff, not only for the music of Bach, but also for Reger, Messiaen, and other contemporary organ music, much of which he premiered in Zwolle. A minor stroke forced him to give up organ playing in 2005.

Although a thoroughly passionate and in many ways single-minded musician—who could easily practice for eight hours a day and study orchestral scores in the evening—he was also a down-to-earth person, who enjoyed playing bridge with friends, driving large classic cars, and was never able to give up smoking. Seemingly secular on the outside, he always kept a connection with the Reformed Church and in later years played for weekly services, assisted by his son Franco, a geriatrist.      

After a simple ceremony, de Wolff was buried in Enschede on November 28, 2011.

—Dr. Jan-Piet Knijff, FAGO

Arlyn F. Fuerst died December 26, 2011 in Fitchburg, Wisconsin at age 69 from CLL (chronic lymphocytic leukemia), with which he lived since 2001. Born on May 25, 1942 in Holdrege, Nebraska, he received a Bachelor of Music degree in church music at Wartburg College in 1963 and Master of Music degree in church music and organ from the University of Michigan in 1964. In 1971 he received a Lutheran World Federation scholarship and was granted a leave of absence from his position at Trinity Lutheran Church for further studies at the Musikhochschule in Lübeck, Germany and the University of Iowa. His teachers included Warren Schmidt, Robert Glasgow, Uwe Röhl, Kurt Thomas, and Gerhard Krapf. 

Fuerst was minister of music at Trinity Lutheran Church (ELCA) in Madison, Wisconsin, from 1964 to 2006. He organized and directed an annual Renaissance Festival for Advent and Christmas on the First Sunday of Advent for 25 years from 1977–2001. The Trinity Choir toured Europe under his leadership in 1979, 1986, and 1996. He represented the city of Madison together with musicians from Trinity at the Madison Fair in Freiburg, Germany in 1994. He taught as a presenter from 1974–88 for the University of Wisconsin Music Extension Series, and from 1979 to 1988 as a presenter for the UW Series on Church Music on the Statewide Communication Network. Arlyn F. Fuerst is survived by his wife, Carolyn Fuerst née Wulff, three sons, nine grandchildren, and a brother and a sister. 

Gerre Hancock, one of America’s most highly acclaimed concert organists and choral directors, passed away peacefully on January 21, surrounded by his family, in Austin, Texas. The cause was coronary artery disease. A gifted artist, teacher, and composer, he was considered by many to be a giant figure in twentieth to twenty-first century American sacred music. He was known not only for his artistry, but also for his energy, optimism, and love of the people he taught and for whom he performed.  

At the time of his death, Dr. Hancock was Professor of Organ and Sacred Music at the University of Texas at Austin, where he taught along with his wife of fifty years, Dr. Judith Hancock. Prior to this appointment in 2004, he held the position of Organist and Master of the Choristers at St. Thomas Church Fifth Avenue in New York City, where for over thirty years he set a new standard for church music in America. Previous to his time at St. Thomas, he held positions as organist and choirmaster of Christ Church Cathedral in Cincinnati, where he also served on the artist faculty of the College-Conservatory of Music, University of Cincinnati, and as assistant organist at St. Bartholomew’s Church, New York City.  

A native of Lubbock, Texas, Gerre Hancock began to hone his legendary skills as a child, taking piano and organ lessons in Lubbock and playing in a local church. He went on to study at the University of Texas at Austin, where he received his Bachelor of Music degree, and from there to Union Theological Seminary in New York for his Master of Sacred Music degree, from which he received the Unitas Distinguished Alumnus Award. A recipient of a Rotary Foundation Fellowship, he continued his study in Paris, during which time he was a finalist at the Munich International Music Competitions. His organ study was with E. William Doty, Robert Baker, Jean Langlais, Nadia Boulanger, and Marie-Claire Alain.

A Fellow of the American Guild of Organists, Dr. Hancock was a member of its national council, and was a founder and past president of the Association of Anglican Musicians. As a noted teacher, he served on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the Institute of Sacred Music of Yale University, and the Eastman School of Music.  

Dr. Hancock was appointed a Fellow of the Royal School of Church Music in 1981 and of the Royal College of Organists in 1995. He received honorary Doctor of Music degrees from Nashotah House Seminary, the University of the South at Sewanee, Tennessee, and from Westminster Choir College in Princeton New Jersey. In 2004 he was awarded the Doctor of Divinity degree (Honoris causa) from the General Theological Seminary in New York, and was presented with the Medal of the Cross of St. Augustine by the Archbishop of Canterbury in a ceremony at Lambeth Palace, London. He is listed in Who’s Who in America. His biography appears in The New Grove Dictionary of Music and Musicians, second edition, and the New York City Chapter of the American Guild of Organists named him International Performer of the Year in 2010. 

Gerre Hancock’s consummate skill was clearly apparent in his concert appearances. Possessing a masterly interpretive style, he was an artist of taste, warmth, perception, and style—and a master of virtuosity in his improvisations. Considered for decades to be the finest organ improviser in America, he was heard in recital in countless cities throughout the United States, Europe, South Africa, Japan, and Great Britain. He also performed on occasion with his wife, Judith, including a recital at Westminster Abbey.

Compositions for organ and chorus by Dr. Hancock are published by Oxford University Press, as is his textbook Improvising: How to Master the Art, which is used by musicians throughout the country. He recorded for Decca/Argo, Gothic Records, Koch International, Priory Records and Pro Organo, both as conductor of the St. Thomas Choir and as a soloist. In addition, the American Guild of Organists produced a DVD about him, volume IV of The Master Series.

Gerre Hancock is survived by his wife, Dr. Judith Hancock of Austin, Texas, his daughters Deborah Hancock of Brooklyn, New York and Lisa Hancock of New York City, as well as his brother, the Reverend James Hancock, of Savannah, Texas. A memorial service took place February 4 at St. Thomas Church, New York City. The family requests that in lieu of flowers, donations may be sent to the University of Texas at Austin Organ Department with an emphasis on Sacred Music.

—Karen McFarlane

Alice Yost Jordan died January 15 at the age of 95 at the Bright Kavanagh House. Born in Davenport, Iowa, December 31, 1916, she moved with her family to Des Moines, where she attended Hubbell, Callanan, and Roosevelt public schools, and graduated from Drake University. She pursued graduate studies at Drake, Columbia University, and Union Theological Seminary. Drake honored her during their centennial year as “One in a Hundred.”

In 1986, Grand View University conferred the honorary degree, Doctor of Letters, upon her, and in 2006 Drake bestowed the honorary degree Doctor of Fine Arts. Mrs. Jordan was listed in the first edition of Who’s Who in American Women, and in Women in American Music. She was inducted into the Iowa Women’s Hall of Fame in 2002.

As a composer, she was best known for more than 250 published choral and organ works; one of her best-known arrangements, “America the Beautiful,” was sung many times by the Iowa All-state Chorus. Sherrill Milnes of Metropolitan Opera fame, and Jon Spong, his accompanist, chose her “Take Joy Home,” as a closing work on many of their worldwide concerts, including a White House concert. Over 40 of her works had been commissioned by churches, universities, and other organizations across the United States.

Alice Jordan served on the boards of the Des Moines Symphony Association, the Des Moines Women’s Club, and the Drake Alumnae Association, and was president of the Des Moines Civic Music Association when it had 4,200 members. Memberships also included ASCAP, Kappa Alpha Theta, PEO, and Mu Phi Epsilon, which honored her with the Orah Ashley Lamke Distinguished Alumni Award at its triennial national convention. For many years she was a member of the Des Moines Club. A long-time member of First United Methodist Church, she was also an elder in the Presbyterian Church.

Alice Jordan was preceded in death by her parents, her brother Lawrence, and her husband, Dr. Frank B. Jordan, an accomplished organist and a longtime Professor of Music and Dean of Drake University’s College of Fine Arts.

—Robert Speed

Dutch harpsichordist, organist, and conductor Gustav Leonhardt, a pioneer in period instrument performance and Baroque performance research, died January 16 at his home in Amsterdam. He was 83. Born in the Netherlands on May 30, 1928, Leonhardt began studying piano at age 6, and the cello when he was 10. His parents and his brother and sister were avid chamber music players, and when he was a teenager his parents bought a harpsichord for Baroque music performances; he made it his specialty. In 1949 he enrolled at the Schola Cantorum, in Basel, Switzerland, to study organ and harpsichord with Eduard Müller, moving the following year to Vienna to study conducting and musicology, where he made his debut as a harpsichordist in 1950, performing Bach’s Art of the Fugue. He also met Nikolaus Harnoncourt and began playing with his group. 

Among his first recordings were collaborations with the countertenor Alfred Deller on music by Bach, Purcell, Matthew Locke, John Jenkins and Elizabethans. As a keyboard soloist and founder and director of the Leonhardt Consort, Leonhardt made hundreds of recordings in the 1950s and ’60s that helped establish historical performance practice. He founded the Leonhardt Consort in 1955, for performance of Baroque repertoire, first concentrating on then little-known composers like Biber and Scheidt, and later including works by Rameau, Lully, Campra, and other Baroque composers. The group collaborated with Harnoncourt’s Concentus Musicus Wien to record, beginning in 1971, all of Bach’s church cantatas for the Telefunken (later Teldec) Das Alte Werk series. The recordings took nearly two decades to complete, and were released in boxed sets that included full scores of the cantatas. Leonhardt also recorded Bach’s keyboard music, sometimes revisiting works—he recorded the Goldberg Variations in 1952, 1965, and 1979.

Leonhardt taught harpsichord at conservatories in Vienna and Amsterdam, and also taught at Harvard in 1969 and 1970. His students included Richard Egarr, Philippe Herreweghe, Christopher Hogwood, Ton Koopman, Bob van Asperen, Alan Curtis, Pierre Hantaï, Francesco Cera, Andreas Staier, and Skip Sempé. He was also the founding music director of the New York Collegium. In Amsterdam, Gustav Leonhardt was appointed organist of the Waasle Kerk and later the Nieuwe Kerk (New Church), both of which have historic instruments. He continued to teach, and he edited the Fantasies and Toccatas of Jan Pieterszoon Sweelinck for the complete edition of Sweelinck’s works, published in 1968. That year he also portrayed Bach in Jean-Marie Straub’s film Chronicle of Anna Magdalena Bach, a non-speaking role that required him to perform, in period costume and wig, in locations where Bach worked. He gave his last public performance on December 12, 2011 at the Théâtre des Bouffes du Nord in Paris.

Gustav Leonhardt is survived by his wife, Marie Leonhardt, a noted Baroque violinist and concertmaster of the Leonhardt Consort, three daughters, and a sister, the fortepianist Trudelies Leonhardt.

Kay Arthur McAbee died January 8, after a month-long illness. He was born in Joliet, Illinois on November 17, 1930, and had been a resident of Albuquerque since 1986. He started his professional career as staff organist for the W. W. Kimball Company in 1952. After completing his musical education at the Chicago Musical College and the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago, he went on to become a featured soloist in at least five national conventions for the American Theatre Organ Society (ATOS), and was inducted into their Hall of Fame in 1985. He was a pioneer in the theatre organ world and well remembered for the series of concerts he performed at the Rialto Theater in Joliet, Illinois and the Aurora Paramount in Aurora, Illinois, and more recently at the Phil Maloof Roxy Organ at the Albuquerque Ramada Classic, Fred Hermes residence organ in Racine, Wisconsin, and concert series for the St. Louis Theater Organ Society. 

McAbee taught up to fifty students per week in Joliet for years at the World of Music. He was member of the American Guild of Organists for 50 years, choirmaster and organist at St. Peter’s United Church of Christ in Frankfort, Illinois for 23 years, and most recently organist for Covenant United Methodist Church.

—Larry Chace

Latin-American Conference of Organists and Organ Builders

The fifth annual Conference of the Brazilian Association of Organists and Organ Builders coincided with the third annual Latin-American Conference of Organists and Organ Builders in Porto Alegre, Brazil, from September 6-10, 1995. The amount of activity in the organ world in Argentina, Brazil, and Uruguay has grown considerably in recent years: the Association now has a membership of approximately 150 from around South America. The conference was extremely well planned and administered, and presented a cosiderable amount of information about instruments, both historical and modern, from around the continent. Excellent recitals and lectures were given, and the entire meeting was marked by a great sense of conviviality. About 25 people attended, many having travelled great distances. Most of the meetings were conducted in Portuguese, but those from Argentina and Uruguay were able to communicate easily in Spanish, since the two languages are very similar. Since several of the organ builders are immigrants from Germany, or are of German heritage, some German was spoken as well.

The President of the Associação Brasileira de Organistas is a very talented woman by the name of Any Raquel Carvalho, who was actually raised in the USA and studied in Georgia, so she is fluent in English and is well acquainted with the activities of the AGO. (Any Carvalho, Avenida Plínio Brasil Milano 2195/201, Porto Alegre, RS 90520, Brazil. 011-55-51-341-4349. E-mail: [email protected]) The Brazilian conference was patterned after an AGO convention. The secretary, and the person who founded the Associação in 1992, is Elisa Freixo, who lives in Mariana, in the Brazilian state of Minas Gerais, where she presides over the fascinating Schnitger organ.  Josinei Godinho, a fine organist from São Paulo, is the treasurer, and Yolanda Serena is the secretary.  (For information: Associação Brasileira de Organistas, Caixa Postal 5, Mariana, MG 35420-000, Brazil.)

The conference was held at the Igreja São José (Church of St. Joseph) in Porto Alegre, which has a 1936 Rieger organ from Germany. António Darci von Frühauf, a native Brazilian, has been the organist there for over 30 years; Renato Koch helps keep the organ running. Recitals during the conference, scheduled each day at noon and 7:30 p.m., were given by Enrique G. Rimoldi, Buenos Aires; Dorotea Kerr, São Paulo; Osvaldo Guzman, blind organist from Buenos Aires; Elisa Freixo, Mariana, Brazil; James Welch, California; and Josinei and Josinéia Godinho, two sisters from São Paulo who gave a 4-hand recital. In addition, a chamber group from Porto Alegre by the name of Stúdio de Música Antiqua gave an excellent concert of medieval music on copies of period instruments.

Because the Igreja São José is also part of a local college, the church nave is equipped with closed-circuit TV monitors. All of the recitals were broadcast over these monitors, affording those in attendance an excellent view and a very informative experience. This was particularly valuable in a country where few have been exposed to pipe organ music. Before my recital at the conference in Porto Alegre (a city of approximately 3 million inhabitants), a local television station came to the organ loft and conducted a live interview with me, probably because I was the token foreigner who could speak Portuguese.

Lectures at the conference included the following: Mysticism in Liturgical Organ Music, Renato Koch, Canoas, Brazil; The Colonial Organ of the Cathedral of Buenos Aires, Enrique Rimoldi, Buenos Aires; Basic Organ Maintenance, Manfred Worlitschek, originally from Germany but now living in Santa Maria, Brazil; The Importance of Counterpoint for the Liturgical Organist, Any Raquel Carvalho, Porto Alegre; Structure and Organization of the Preludes and Fugues of J. S. Bach, Dorotea Kerr, São Paulo; Preparation for the Evangelical Service, Josinéia Godinho, São Paulo; Mexican Organ Music, James Welch, California; Music in the Catholic Church after Vatican II, Júlio Amstalden, Piracicaba, Brazil; The Restoration of the Organ of Maldonado, Uruguay, Sergio Silvestri, Montevideo, Uruguay; Preparation for the Catholic Liturgy, Renato Koch, Canoas, Brazil; The Use of Polyphony and the Organ in Iberian Monasteries in the 13th Century, W. D. Jordan, Australia (read by Any Raquel Carvalho); Lutheran Liturgy, Carlos Dreher, Porto Alegre.

Each evening following the final concert, the entire group had dinner at a different restaurant (including Middle-Eastern, German, and gaúcho churrasco barbecue), starting at the typically late hour of 9:30 or 10 p.m.

One of the fascinating side-trips was to the Centro Educacional La Salle in nearby Canoas, where Irmão Renato Koch, a member of the La Salle Brotherhood, is a professor, as well as a skilled musician, painter, woodworker, and restorer of antique art pieces and musical instruments. There are four noteworthy instruments in the chapel of this Catholic school. The first is an 1865 Merklin organ from Paris, bought originally by Bishop Dom Laranjeiras for the cathedral of Porto Alegre. Although it is dismantled at this time, Koch is in the process of restoring it. This one-manual organ with pedal pulldown has a 56-note keyboard, 25-note pedalboard, and 6 registers: Bourdon 16, Montre 8, Salicional 8, Bourdon 8, Flûte 4, and Trompette 8.

The second organ is the Opus 2 of the Bohn Company of Novo Hamburgo, Brazil, which until recently was the largest and oldest manufacturer of organs and harmoniums in Brazil (the Bohn Company now builds only electronic instruments). This 2-manual tubular-pneumatic organ from 1939 is in fair condition, and is very typical of many other Bohn organs found around Brazil.

The third is a one-manual portativ organ, built in 1977 by Siegfried Schürle of São Bento do Sul in the neighboring state of Santa Catarina, which was colonized by Germans in the 19th and early 20th centuries. Many towns in Santa Catarina still abound in typical German architecture; blond-haired and blue-eyed people are seen everywhere, many still speaking German. This organ of 5 registers (Bourdon 8, Flauta 4, Prestant 2, Larigot 11/3, Regal 8) has the unusual feature of a harmonium-style pedal winding system. I tried the organ, which sounded lovely in the large chapel, but I have to admit that keeping the wind pressure steady while playing was tricky, far more so than playing a reed organ.

The fourth is a small lap organ, built in 1980 by Renato Koch, for the Conjunto da Câmara (Chamber Group) of Porto Alegre, which performs medieval music. The woodworking on this organ is particularly fine.

At the conference round-tables, organists and organ builders had literature available about their work. I enjoyed meeting Sergio Silvestri Budelli from Montevideo, a very enthusiastic organ builder and restorer of organs and pianos. Markus Ziel, a young organ builder from the very Germanic town of Blumenau, Brazil, was born in Germany, but came to Brazil with his family as a child. Ziel also does fine work in hardwoods. Because of the severe tropical climate, organ builders in Brazil have an entirely different set of challenges to work with, not the least of which is termites, and Ziel discussed some of the processes used to treat woods for organ building in Brazil.

One of the biggest projects for the Associação is to catalog the instruments, compositions, and literature concerning the organ in South America, so that researchers can find out what is even available. I am still discovering important sources of information on Brazilian organs, and one of the most important found on this trip is a doctoral dissertation about the historical organs in Minas Gerais, Brazil. Written by Padre Marcello Martiniano Ferreira in 1985 and presented at the Instituto Pontifício de Música Sacra in Rome, it is entitled Arp Schnitger: Dois Órgãos Congêneres de 1701, published in Niterói, state of Rio de Janeiro, in 1991. This lengthy dissertation documents fully the history, specifications, scaling, and use of these landmark instruments.

As part of my lecture on Mexican organ music, I stressed the importance of publishing music and articles about the organ. Many South American compositions exist only in manuscript form or in photocopies which languish around the continent. I displayed a copy of the book Voces del Arte (the immense catalog of organs in Mexico, with beautiful photography) and copies of Mexican organ music recently published, urging the South Americans to find publishers for their works so they could find their ways into libraries around the world, not to mention Internet coverage.

Next year's conference will probably be held in Montevideo and/or Buenos Aires. There is also the possibility of an excursion-type conference, in which those attending will travel together on a comfortable bus through Southern Brazil, Uruguay, and Argentina, visiting instruments and hearing concerts. With ground transportation, hotel accommodations, and some meals in a package, this would be an ideal arrangement for those not as familiar with travel in South America.

I also received invitations to perform on two other organ recital series in São Paulo. The first was the Festival Internacional São Bento de Órgão, which alternates at three different churches in São Paulo: Mosteiro São Bento (Monastery of St. Benedict), Nossa Senhora de Fátima, and Nossa Senhora do Carmo. My recital was held at the monastery. (The organ loft at the monastery is accessible only through the cloister, so only men may perform there. Women on this festival perform at the other two locations.) The concerts are open to the public and are very well attended--often there is standing room only. The monastery has a 1954 German Walcker organ (Opus 3219), with 4 manuals, 78 stops, and about 7,000 pipes. It is one of the best-maintained organs in Brazil, cared for by José Carlos Rigatto of São Paulo. Performers on the series this year came from Argentina, Brazil, France, Germany, Israel, Italy, Japan, Spain, and the USA--truly an international festival. The organizer of this festival, which is funded in part by the Banco de Boston, is José Luís de Aquino, Rua do Manifesto 1435, São Paulo, SP 04209-001, Brazil. Phone/Fax: 011-55-11-914-8846.

The other series is sponsored by the Associação Paulista de Organistas (the Association of Organists of São Paulo). Concerts this year are taking place in the Cathedral da Sé, the Catedral Evangélica, and Igreja Imaculada Conceição, all in downtown São Paulo. My recital (of Mexican music) was held in the Catedral Evangélica, a large, reverberant Presbyterian church with a 1911 Austin organ of 3 manuals, which came some years ago from a church in North Carolina.  This organ is maintained by Warwick Kerr. For information, contact the Associação Paulista de Organistas at: Rua Carlos Sampaio 133, São Paulo, SP 01333-021, Brazil; Nelly Martins, President, 011-55-11-282-5651, or Dorotea Kerr, 011-55-11-210-5830.

One of the more unusual experiences on this trip was that of being on the same plane from Miami to São Paulo with Ozzy Osbourne, the heavy metal rock singer, on his way to a monster rock festival in São Paulo the same weekend I was to play in São Paulo. I introduced myself at the baggage claim as a fellow musician, and we wished each other well in our respective concerts.

Brazil is an enormous country, larger than the continental US, with endless possibilities for the adventurous traveller. A tip: anyone arriving in Brazil from abroad can, for approximately $440, buy a Brazil Airpass from Varig Airlines, which is good for five flights anywhere in the country. This Airpass has enabled me on occasion to travel from Rio and São Paulo to the Amazon jungle, to Salvador de Bahia, to Iguaçu Falls, to Recife, and to Minas Gerais. Brazilians are exceptionally hospitable, and I have enjoyed every one of my trips to South America. Please feel free to contact me for any information. (James Welch, 409 Central Ave., Menlo Park, CA 94025; Phone/Fax: 415/321-4422.)