Music has always been an important part of my life. My mother was a pianist who forwent a career as a concert pianist for a brief career as wife, homemaker and mother. My Uncle Robbie was a gifted musician.

When I moved to Washington, D.C. in 1977, I began attending the Kennedy Center. Most years I had a season subscription for either the NSO or the ballet season. In 1989, I added the Emerson String Quartet's annual concert series at the Smithsonian to my agenda, which I usually attend with my friend Martha Mednick.

The year 2002  marked the Emerson's 25th anniversary and my 13th with them. The season started on January 26 at the Baird Auditorium. The program included Joseph Haydn's Quartet in G Minor, Op. 74 No 3 (1793); Bela Bartok's Quartet No. 5 (1934); and Felix Mendlessohn's Quartet in F minor, Op. 80 (1847).