Feb. 15, 2005

District Dispatch

By Jane Lingo

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A Elects Officers
The Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2A elected officers to serve for the coming year at its Jan. 19 meeting. Vince Micone, a new member of the commission, was elected chair. Dorothy Miller, who served as chair for the past two years, was elected vice chair. Richard Lehrman was chosen secretary, and Anne Savage, also a new commissioner, will serve as treasurer. The other two members of the six-member commission are Richard Price, immediate past vice chair, and James Lewis, a new commissioner. Commissioners are elected for two-year terms, and the ANC chooses officers to serve yearly.

City Administrator Robert Bobb to Meet on Transportation Issues
In response to residents’ concerns about issues of transportation and traffic voiced at the Jan. 31 meeting of the Foggy Bottom Association, City Administrator Robert Bobb said he would attend a special meeting of the association to discuss these concerns. The issues revolve around plans announced for K Street, including changed lanes and special provisions for busses, as well as dissatisfaction with the plans for the Kennedy Center’s proposed plaza and changed traffic patterns. Proposals regarding the Whitehurst Freeway also are of particular interest to Foggy Bottom/West End citizens.

GW Artists Figure in World Premiere of Democracy, An American Comedy
Robert Baker, GW coordinator of vocal studies, and members of The George Washington University Chamber Choir both played important roles in the world premiere of Democracy, An American Comedy, presented by the Washington National Opera in the University’s Lisner Auditorium Jan. 28 and 30. Music for Democracy was composed by Scott Wheeler, based on Romulus Linney’s 1968 play of the same name, first presented as a reading.

Baker sang a principal role in the opera, that of Baron Jacobi, the Bulgarian minister. The Chamber Choir, prepared by Matthew W. Mehaffey, director of choral activities, was the chorus for the opera, appearing as guests at the White House, as members of society at a Mount Vernon picnic, as members of a Trinity Church congregation, and, the women members, as the Daughters of Progress, an early activist group.

Muriel Von Villas, director of vocal theater workshop, worked closely with the young artists appearing in the performance.

Baker has sung in more that 250 performances with the Washington National Opera and recently made debuts with the Metropolitan Opera as well as at the Spoleto Festival. He has also sung many roles with the Washington Concert Opera.

The opera, presented in association with GW, was performed by members of the Washington National Opera’s Domingo-Cafritz Young Artist Program and the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, as well as members of the University’s chamber choir. The performances marked the debut of the Youth Orchestra of the Americas, a multicultural orchestra of young musicians from all parts of the Western Hemisphere.

Democracy received favorable reviews in The Washington Post, The Baltimore Sun, and The New York Times. It also was reviewed in Europe.

Send feedback to: bygeorge@gwu.edu