The finished product presented at Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall on Sunday, June 22nd was a great success.  Mark Lutton and Cassie White gave their concert to an enthusiastic group who came in at 2 PM that Sunday to enjoy the performance.  It was absolutely perfect and Cassie's Master Flute Teacher (Allison Chapman-Hale of Brattleboro, VT) was there and gave it all two thumbs up.  In addition, David Berlin, the composer of Cassie's solo piece, was in the audience with his wife and daughter.  They came from Pittsburgh to celebrate their 25th wedding anniversary and this concert, with a featured piece composed by Mr. Berlin, made their weekend memorable.
       The Weill Recital Hall is a magnificent venue with the entire stage bathed in a yellow-gold light.  The acoustics were perfect and both Mrs. White (who designed and made Cassie's wardrobe) and I were just ecstatic.  I thought my heart was going to jump right out of my chest and I am certain that our parents (who were great music lovers) were looking down that day on a grand child of theirs performing in this great venue. After the concert the performers met the audience out in the reception hall where there were CD's available for sale.  Many sold including one young man who bought two.  Later on we moved across the street to the Salisbury Hotel where we had rooms and a suite to meet friends and family, some of whom had travelled a good distance.  One of our nieces, who is in the catering business from CT, came down and catered that affair and we again enjoyed the feeling of the great success.
       Also to be mentioned is Shane Kovchi from Claremont who first attended the concert at South Church in Newport.  He volunteered to be a page-turner for Mark Lutton and also did the shows in Brattleboro, VT and Boston, MA, both of which were also done so professionally.  Shane is a young man who is entering his last year in HS at Steven's High and will be finishing that year in Taiwan.
       Finally, Don Chamberlain, a family friend from Sunapee, also went with us as we made the journey down to New York.  His wife Joyce passed away 2+ years ago and they both were and he is close to our family.  Since they had no grand children of their own they were close to ours and also very close to Cassie.  After Joyce passed away, Don gave Cassie a particularly treasured Hummel figurine as a memento from Joyce.  Cassie now treasures that piece herself and put it on a chair nearby on the stage at Weill Recital Hall in Joyce's memory.  It was a touching moment.

Note:  This article appeared in the Intertown Record of N. Sutton, NH on Tuesday, July 15, 2008.  We are thankful to them for letting us repeat that article here.

Another view of this marvelous facility.  It is almost bathed in gold.