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8 www.DesertMessenger.com February 6, 2019 Camel Express Transit update By Jackie Deal Now I know what perfection sounds like! Sam Rotman's Scholarship concert was a breath of fresh air in country/western laden Quartzsite. He makes classical pieces come alive. I'm not fit to critique his play- ing, I can only tell you what I heard and how he moved me. He has an engaging smile, relaxed, enjoying himself and yes, he seemed to enjoy the enthusiastic Quartzsite audience. He begin by telling us he "only plays the compositions of dead men. They're all de-compos- ing." He waited and slowly we all caught on and the laughter roared. We enjoyed the music more because he explained before each piece what the composer was trying to portray. Debussy's Undine, the Little French Mermaid is an example. I could see the little mermaid dabbling her toes in the water, then skipping over the surface and finally the waters rose up and played with her. Sam (he was too informal to call Mr. Rot- man) claimed you should feel the water splashing on your face or else "it will be my sweat." I must admit I felt neither but it was so much more delightful than wondering what on earth this piece is all about. Beethoven is his love and his play- ing showed it. The famous compos- er who went deaf in his 20s contin- ued to write the music "he heard in his head not with his ears." As Sam said, "Beethoven wrote music no- body ever heard."(Think about it.) Although Beethoven's 8th Sym- phony, commonly known as the Pathetique, may have been written before complete deafness, it seemed to me I could feel the frustration of this great composer. It seemed time after time, the music tried to run away from his plight, finally ending in crashing chords as though vol- ume could solve the problem. Sam prefaced his Rachmaninoff composition by explaining that Rachmaninoff had unusually large hands and while Sam can stretch his fingers to encompass 11 keys, Rach- maninoff could reach 18 keys. Sam said he used almost all 88 keys in this composition. In his total recital, Sam says he played 40,000 notes; he has memorized 1,100 pieces of music. Both during and after his concert, Sam told a bit about himself. He started piano lessons at age 8 and at age 12 he entered a city-wide talent competition. He came in second to an accordionist. At age 13, he en- tered again, and once again came in second to another accordionist. He claims that today whenever he sees an accordion in a pawn shop, he buys it and then smashes it! He told us that his family was Jewish and his parents escaped Ro- mania just before Hitler killed the rest of his family. He was raised and educated Jewish but while at Julliard, friends challenged him to read the New Testament. In 1971 he accepted Jesus as his Savior and since then he says, "Jesus has never missed one of my concerts." In order to be accepted at Julliard he had 15 minutes to play and out of 2,000 he was one of the 18 chosen. He received his bachelors and master's degree at Julliard and practiced 10 hours a day in addition to all his class- es. He decided he wanted to under- stand composing so he took a course in Composition. After five agonizing weeks he met the instructor in the hall. The instructor shook his finger under Sam's nose and said, "You will be great at playing dead man's music, but as a composer you are a failure. Drop my class or I'm giving you an F!" Sam seems to immerse himself in his music as he plays, both feet, hands, head and body. But not with extravagant gestures meant to im- press, just natural feeling. I heard waterfalls splashing, rain drops glistening and great armies march- ing. At times I forgot to breathe. Come back again, Sam Rotman, the Quartzsite audience loved you! After thoughts... Sam Rotman (928) 927-6382 AMERICAN CUSTOM TIRE INC. Auto - Light Truck - Commercial - AG - Earthmover New, Used and Retread Est. in 1972 Road Service Interstate Batteries Lube, Oil and Filter Blue Building Across from McDonalds on West Main St. ✶ Motorhome Specialists ✶ 23 Hour Commercial Service Due to the Government shutdown, Quartzsite transit out-of-town services were scaled back. Now that the government is back open, Transit Direc- tor Janet Collier stated, "All routes now open. EXCEPT there is a change to services to Blythe, California, which will be now be Wednesdays only." The Town of Quartzsite operates this curb to curb Dial-A-Ride and flex- ible fixed route service throughout Quartzsite and to Yuma, Parker, Lake Havasu City, Ehrenberg, AZ and Blythe, CA. Camel Express can be used for work, medical appointments, school, meetings, senior services, events and much more. Vehicles are wheelchair accessible for up to four wheel- chairs. Service is available Monday through Friday and is open to all pas- sengers! For more details contact Quartzsite Town Hall, 465 N. Plymouth Ave. Quartzsite. Phone 928-927-4333 ext. 3.