Circular No 337

Newsletter for past alumni of The Abbey School, Mt. St. Benedict, Trinidad and Tobago, W.I.

Caracas, 19 of April 2008 No. 337
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Dear Friends

Who was the PIANO teacher and other information.
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Monday, January 14, 2008 2:59:32 PM

To: Lindsay John Moffat

Dear John:

It's funny how most of us wanted to get the hell off the Mount, that island, and the Caribbean, on to bigger and better things.

The sooner the better.

Wow, I didn't realise you were at the Mount for so long: 1960 to 1969, that's 9 long years...Certainly much too long!

You probably hold the record...

Now that we are older, there are many of my friends are looking for properties to buy in the Caribbean to live and retire to!

"The Rats"..HMM.

Probably you all walked around with your shirt collars up too! LOL.

Do you remember the smoke filled Form V room, with the old record player, a couch, a couple of tables for playing cards and board games and the curtain for a door?

There was a Form IV room next door, with less accoutrements and, for a while, even a Form III room but that didn't last long.

Attila

MSB 1964-1969
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Lindsay John Moffat <l.john@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:

Dear Atilla

Our swift reply.

As regards your question about Form V, I am not sure what to say for some reason my memory is vague as to what classes we were together in the end.

I did reach Form V before leaving but perhaps my mind was more on wanting to get away and finally leave the Caribbean all together!! That was 1969.

It is strange what the mind chooses to remember.

For instance vividly remembering the piano teacher's scary accent & hairy arms and strange smoking habits as I have recently described, but perhaps because those images were slightly surreal and comical.

Ah the name Professor Katz as Jan has recently recalled - he was actually a decent, gentle, enthusiastic fellow and was pleased that he thought us and took us to see interesting musical experiences though I never developed the ability to read music and gave it up altogether on leaving.

Thank you for reminding me that it was you at the the Queens Hall concert with us.

I thought perhaps that Jan was there too but he has said that he must of left the year before that so we may of been together in Form V after all...

All I mainly remember from Form V is hanging about a lot with Paul Quesnel, Douglas Watson, Derek Phillips, Richard Knox and a few others - we had a gang called The Rats – and limed about in torn up khaki shirts with images and slogans painted on them - possibly getting up to no good and thinking we were the bees knees- The name the Rats seems silly now!

Well I must go but thanks for the stories .

Perhaps the jigsaw pieces will eventually fit together one day..

Best Wishes...

Lindsay John

MSB 1960 - 1969. Too long
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Dear John:

Thank you for forwarding that email you had sent to Jan.

And also thanks for your CV.

You are quite an accomplished artist! Congratulations.

I could foresee that, since even early on at the Mount, you already exhibited artistic talents.

Question: You did attend Form V with Andres Larsen and I, correct?

Yes, you and I were the piano teacher's pet students for a while.

In fact, it was you and I, he took us to see that classical Philharmonic orchestra performance in Queen's Hall in Post-of-Spain that night.

Towards the end, I remember I was so relaxed in that chair that I could not keep my eyes open, and fell asleep. oops...

You also taught me some of the Sound of Music tunes on the piano.

I can still hunt-and-peck through some of them, even though I quit taking piano lessons after about 3 years.

I remember we would race upstairs of the Refectory Hall to practise piano after lunch and after 3:30 pm when classes were over for the day.

My problem was that you and Jan would always beat me to it, and I couldn't get enough practise time on the darned thing, so I became frustrated and eventually quit piano.

I took up guitar instead, since then I could have my own instrument and I could practise whenever and for as long as I wanted and wouldn't have to compete anybody for it.

That didn't go very far either, because, even though I was an OK technical player and could follow somebody playing, I lacked the necessary musical talent.

Now I just listen to music rather than play it.

I think our piano teacher's name was Professor Katz...

Yes, I too remember he was a chain smoker and also that there were some burn stains on the piano keys.

By the way, talking about music, here is a neat website for free music that I really like: www.jango.com

You just type in the name of the artist or band and it will come up with most of their songs.

Then you click on the particular song, and it plays it in full.

All for free.

Cheers,

Attila Gyuris
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Lindsay John Moffat <l.john@hotmail.co.uk> wrote:

Dear Atilla...

This is a recent communication I sent to Jan after reading your shared memories. I thought you may like to read it too because it has some memories of the Piano teacher.

I can not remember his name.

I wish all the best to you for 2008...

Lindsay John
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Dear Jan...

I hope you had good New Year Celebrations and wishing all the best for 2008!

Forgive me but I am not very good at keeping up written communication let alone on-line through e-mail, news letters etc.

I am not even on-line at home yet -this is done at my local library where all the facilities are free-in many ways I am still a Neanderthal among computers!! and still have not learnt to put attachments properly to e-mails yet.

Anyway thanks for sending the collective conversations you have been having with Atilla etc.

I have been reading them recently and am amazed at what you all remember from your experiences at the 'Mount'.

For instance I had completely forgot that I had taught you all those Sound of Music tunes and that you remember that with fondness... I am quite moved by that.

To me you just shone and I was sad when you disappeared.

I also did not realise that Miss Marcus was Polish.

I had always assumed that she was German Jewish and had escaped the war and therefore persecution too by coming to Trinidad with the help or connection of the Dutch Benedictine Monks.

Also that the Piano teacher was Polish too!!

At the time I found him and his accent a bit scary and for me he could just as well of come from Transylvania!!

I think that was because at the time my knowledge of Europe was so poor!

I have since got to know more thank God and like the Polish people much and have even travelled to Poland to work on an intensive International Performance Project.

That was just during the time 'Solidarity' got in.

Anyway, I digress....

Yes the Piano Teacher....

He once took a group us to see an Opera - I think Carmen and also the visiting Philadelphia Philharmonic Orchestra from the USA playing at Queens Hall.

Were you there too?

I remember he also had very hairy fore-arms and smoked like a chimney even while he was playing!

I used to gaze in amazement at him so fully engrossed in his playing without taking the cigarette out of his mouth as it burnt down with the ash getting longer and longer until it would finally drop off near the end of the cigarette and fall onto the piano keys and bounce around while he played on... eventually the ash would disintegrate and fall between the keys to disappear forever.

It was quite comical.

Funny the things you remember.

Must go now but delighted to hear your stories.

Best Wishes...

Lindsay John

PS: Someone had recently attached for me my CV to use in a project application. If you are interested it shows what I have done in the arts since I left the West Indies. X
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Dearest Lindsay,

Thank you very much for your long mail, you surprise me so much!

I understand completely that you don't use Internet frequently but I am glad you follow the conversation that pops up now and then.

I will keep in mind that you cannot reply every time.

Hope you had the same New Year Celebrations and same best wishes for 2008.

And yes, we speak with fondness about you learning me and - and as he wrote me - Attila some useful tricks with the piano so we could get on, on our own and play more often a popular tune.

I still remember them until today, I can still play Do-re-mi, Edelweiss, 67 is the season, Climb every Mountain, Down Town, Spanish Eyes, Quantanamera, Yo soy un hombre sincero.

You taught me all of them. As I read at the end of your CV you were at last the Art teacher for students, well I can vouch for you that you were already the teacher in making back at the Mount.

I remember well you were always busy with art things, one time you had a period where you were making funny drawings of an old fat faced man with freckles and speckles.

I just took a pen to show you I can still draw them!

But you call yourself a Neanderthal behind the computer, ha!

Amazing that you were in Poland at the time of Solidarity.

It was still true communism by then, you had probably strict regulations at the border and restrictions in the country.

The region I live in here in the south of the Netherlands with the main city Breda, was liberated by Polish soldiers of general Maczeck at the end of WWII.

There are a lot of monuments here and there and street names to commemorate that and a Polish War cemetery.

After the war a lot of polish soldiers could not go back to Poland and stayed here in Holland for the rest of their life.

When Poland united with the EC in April 2003, the borders went open so we went for a short holiday on a roundabout trip by car to Poznan, Warschau, Lublin, Krakow and Auschwitz.

Most probably you saw the monument of the mermaid in the town square of Warschau, being the twin sister of the mermaid in Denmark.

Yes indeed, Polish are very nice people, but we could only park our car in a compound with supervision.

I quit piano lessons one day, so I missed the trip to the Queens Hall in Port of Spain. But in my first year I was with the boys choir, and at the end they took us to the Queens Hall to see Hello Dolly and that impressed me very much.

This piano teacher had indeed hairy arms but he was always very kind and polite.

Yes I remember holding his cigarette in his mouth while playing or on the side of the keyboard when he played and sometimes it burned the piano I think.

I am impressed by your CV.

I only knew your skills in drawing and playing piano, but later on you added sculpture, choreography, costume collaborations and dance to it.

Some years ago you send me pictures of carnival costumes you designed.

You started with designing costumes for the Gallery of Modern Art, founded Catalyst for some artist-ferment process and so on, went to Japan to dance with "Butch", and a lot more going on until 1998 when you took to lecturing.

You must have given a big contribution to art in Scotland and Glasgow.

I am not in the art business but I can appreciate it well and try to understand what it means.

Took me a long time to figure out why for example the Mona Lisa or Venus from Botticelli is more special than equal paintings of present day, but I think it is because it was the first time they painted the proportions and perspective correct.

Anyway, that's your department.

Hope to hear from you again when you have time.

Much greetings,

Jan Koenraadt
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Re: Josh Schoemaker's house at the Sugar Mill & Plantation...

Gmail Jan ...

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 5:28:42 PM

It was fun, skylarking the whole week with those neighbour boys and girls.

The songs of Sound of Music made a deep impact at the Abbey School.

I got piano lessons from this Polish teacher, but he gave me only Swan Lake of Tchaikovsky to play or The Blue Danube of Johan Strauss and other classics.

One day Lindsay Moffat came by and showed me how to play Do-re-me and Edelweiss and so, making the accords with your left hand 1-5-8-13 and the tune with your right hand.

And how to make major 1-4-8-13 and minor 1-5-8-11.

From then on I boosted up with my piano playing and next term I quit with the teacher and went on playing the way Lindsay showed me.

Don't know his name.

But now I read the story of Miss Markus in the circulars that she was one of the few Polish refugees who were allowed to immigrate in the country before WWII while another time a whole ship with refuge seeking Jews was sent back to Europe (before 1939).

Now I understand why this Polish piano teacher was in Trinidad.

Greetings,

Jan Koenraadt
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Attila GYURIS ...

Tuesday, January 8, 2008 11:10:25 PM

Yes I remember that the Sound of Music was the movie of the year during 1965-1966. We went to POS to see it one Saturday.

Yes...I took piano lessons from the same polish piano teacher.

I think our Piano teacher was Professor Katz ( not sure if spelled right ) He was Jewish-Polish.

Then, after about 2 1/2 years, I too quit after too much classical stuff and no fun modern music I could relate to...what a shame he didn't realise what we needed to retain us as his students.

I remember you playing the piano after lunch up in the movie hall with the wood parquet floor above the refectory.

I think it was you who influenced me to go ahead and sign up with him for piano lessons.

After a while Lindsay Moffat and I became his pet students.

He would take us both out to Tchaichowsky concerts in POS. I would fall asleep...

Later on I went on to take guitar lessons, as it was a more accessible and popular music instrument at the time, (i.e., the girls dug it)

Attila Gyuris
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That is all for now on Professor Katz.

Ladislao
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Photos:

03UN0029CRO, Clinton Ross, Does anyone has his telephone number?

03UN6237JBE, Joseph Berment

60LK0001LKE, Ladislao Kertesz taking a shower at the swimming pool.

72UN0002AQUALADS, Does anyone know the names??

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