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We now mark the 10th year of STL Ocarina. To underscore this time, we thought of Elgar’s Nimrod.

Elgar’s Ninth Variation stands as a testament to the role of support in the realization of a vision.

While struggle is an inherent part of any enterprise, it has a way of chipping away at one’s enthusiasm. Without a vital base of encouragement, the boat gets rocked one time too many and it capsizes. Elgar’s friend and collaborator, A J Jaeger helped to keep him afloat while he established his place in classical music. Their noted conversation on Beethoven’s slow movements resulted in this ninth variation – one of Elgar’s main triumphs.

In parallel, we at STL Ocarina also owe our growth and triumphs to our collaborators.

In the past 10 years, I’ve been personally honored to work with extraordinary people – teachers, composers, performers, graphic designers, and ceramic artists.

Their dedication and talent made all the difference to STL Ocarina, as well as to me. Their presence reflected onto my own work in a kind of symbiosis, nourishing STL Ocarina in vital and lasting ways.

Sadly, some of our contributors are no longer with us, so cannot celebrate this milestone. The presence of absence is deeply felt in this case, and their individual contribution to our company garners my deepest gratitude and respect. Like Elgar’s friend, these people saw us through the good and the bad times, enabling us to create a vessel for our individual craft. This vessel is now primed to face the future.

Surely we still have our challenges; we still face an iceberg or two…But that will not deter us from moving forward with gratitude, diligence, and enthusiasm. The presence of my colleagues gives me the steam to welcome the adventure that still lies ahead of us.

I rejoice in our arrival as much as our next departure. Thank you very much.

Dennis Yeh
Director,
STL Ocarina

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This is the second video of a four part series, celebrating our tenth anniversary.

Laura Sexauer - Ocarina
Devory Newsome (Devory Creative Production) - Videographer

The ocarina tabs of this song are available at:
http://www.stlocarina.com/0019.html

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