<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>In a message dated 7/18/01 6:25:40 PM Central Daylight Time,
<BR>wardprobst@cst.net (Dale Probst) writes:
<BR>
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"><BLOCKQUOTE TYPE=CITE style="BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px">Dear Mr. Bremmer,</FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">
<BR>
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">Since I was the Institute Director in Arlington last year, I can say that
<BR>you were not invited to teach in order to give the students someone to
<BR>laugh at or ridicule. You were invited to teach a subject you are
<BR>passionate about in any manner you chose within the guidelines set for
<BR>_all_ instructors. During the time I served on the Institute Committee we
<BR>presented classes on alternative tunings every year and a Temperament
<BR>Festival in Providence. My partner and I tune alternative temperaments
<BR>often and have even lectured at recitals on their use. </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0">
<BR></FONT><FONT COLOR="#0000ff" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"> I am sorry you were unable to attend but I do wish to set the record
<BR>straight as to the reason you were invited. It is not my habit to subject
<BR>fellow members to ridicule. </FONT><FONT COLOR="#000000" SIZE=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" FACE="Arial" LANG="0"></BLOCKQUOTE>
<BR>
<BR>I appreciate reading your opinion and don't accuse you personally of
<BR>subjecting anyone to ridicule. I do remember a few things about Providence
<BR>however that weren't as smooth going as you would like to make them seem.
<BR>The organizer of that event commented several times to me about the Institute
<BR>Committee saying that the HT Festival was "too stressful" and that it was not
<BR>to be repeated.
<BR>
<BR>I personally took ridicule and abuse of the kind that no PTG Member should
<BR>ever be subjected to from none other than Wally Brooks and it was not the
<BR>first time, either. I could and have already cited many incidents which
<BR>either involved me personally or others who share my interests. There's no
<BR>point in repeating them all again.
<BR>
<BR>Yes, I could have managed to present the basic ideas behind the EBVT in a 45
<BR>minute, introductory presentation. That was not the issue with me. It was
<BR>the arrogance, the turned up nose, the no response, "no comment" attitude of
<BR>the self important feeling manufacturer's rep whom I had approached about
<BR>using the EBVT for a public performance that got me. And that was not the
<BR>first time for that kind of treatment either. It had nothing to do with the
<BR>Institute Committee.
<BR>
<BR>It was having also been offered a local opportunity by someone who was
<BR>genuinely interested in what I do to make music that easily made the decision
<BR>for me. Why should I go to the Convention and have that kind of bitterness
<BR>and animosity directed at me when I can hear applause for what I have done
<BR>instead? And please don't tell me it's my attitude and the *way* I confront
<BR>people about things. I'm not about to change the way I do business. I have
<BR>something to offer. If you want what I have to offer, then take it.
<BR>Otherwise, I'll find other opportunities.
<BR>
<BR>Chicago is right in my area but there will probably be other opportunities
<BR>right in my own community at the same time. I'll certainly follow the path
<BR>of least resistance, not feel that I must kowtow to the people who are
<BR>running PTG. The 1999 Institute Director saw fit to tell me personally that
<BR>he didn't want me at the Convention, so I wouldn't be surprised if the
<BR>general attitude were still the same.
<BR>
<BR>As I see it, you need to make some changes in the way you plan some of these
<BR>classes or events. Just reading what Ed Foote had to say tells me that you
<BR>subjected him to conditions other presenters did not have to endure. Tuning
<BR>innovations should not be presented on pianos for which there was not
<BR>sufficient time
<BR>allowed to actually get the tuning done.
<BR>
<BR>Unless the Institute Committee is willing to provide the proper time and
<BR>space to get the piano well prepared for a demonstration, it is not worth
<BR>doing. If the answer is "there is not enough space or time", then it means
<BR>that the Institute is satisfied with mediocrity and half done work as an
<BR>example to which PTG Members should aspire.
<BR>
<BR>I'll never be a party to that.
<BR>
<BR>Bill Bremmer RPT
<BR>Madison, Wisconsin</FONT></HTML>