Dennis AsKew and the Four P's

[wrobotuba]

Living and working in China, the opportunity to have direct contact with a fellow member of our organization is, to say the VERY least, rare. This past week, Dennis AsKew and the Market Street Brass Quintet have been in Beijing and it has been an absolute joy to have he and his fine group here.

When broaching the subject of making a public posting, I wouldn’t say I was encouraged to do so. Ever the gentleman, Dennis’ modesty would never allow me to write any of the following with his outright blessing. However, I fee that it is important that people who may not know him personally should get some insight into the man who IS the leader of our organization. For those who MAY have the opportunity to hear him perform or study with him, this could serve as an introduction or a re-affirmation.

So, for those of you who have never had the pleasure or opportunity to meet/talk/hang out with Dr. AsKew, I’d like to share some opinions/thought about him in the four capacities in which we spoke:

1)The Person
Dennis and I had made first contact a year ago. Due to scheduling conflicts and my much needed break from the grind here, we weren’t able to physically meet when he was here in China last year. Come hell or high water, we were BOTH certain we would make it happen this time around. After a lengthy volley of email tag, we were finally able to get an initial meeting set up in Beijing.
It is real a treat to meet someone in our profession who is so down-to-earth and just so personable!
I don’t think we broached the subject of “tubasâ€

[dwaskew]

well, I've trying for a couple of days now to find the time and words to respond to Micky's over the top review........
As he said, Micky and I had never met before last week, but we were determined to do so. On a day that was packed for him (orchestra rehearsal, teaching, studio work, etc.) he found the time to come to the Central Conservatory to make sure we had a face to face meeting. He was the perfect host--he moved things around in his schedule, he took a couple of us out to dinner (amazing food) and allowed me to find out quite a bit about the life of a western orchestral musician in an Asian symphony. A true gentleman, indeed. IF you are travelling to Beijing, drop him an email ahead of time, and I'm sure he'll do everything possible to hook up with you.

Dennis "humbled by the experience" AsKew