Saratoga Sampler
Chocolate flows to the tune of $90,000
By Mary Ann Cook
PENULTIMATE PIANIST: Emily Hsu, a senior at Saratoga High School, won second place and $500 in the San Jose Music Study Club's Young Artists Award, and performed in concert with other winners last week at Church of the Valley Fellowship Hall in Santa Clara.
Earlier, Hsu won first place in the Jazz Society Contemporary Piano Competition, playing works from the impressionist period. And she was a winner in the Beethoven Competition sponsored by the Ira Brilliant Center at SJSU. A native of Taipei, Taiwan, she was winning prizes in her age category at the age of 7.
She made her orchestral debut with Maestro Peter Susskind of the South Bay Youth Orchestra, at his invitation, playing the Mendelssohn Capriccio Brilliant. She is a violinist and composer, as well as pianist, and is accompanying the orchestra for The Sound of Music, at present.
Future plans include college with a double major in music and computer science, to fulfill her dream of becoming a music producer. Judges for the Young Artists Award were Daniel Roest, Mary Jane Judge and John Chang.
First place winner of the award was Andrea Urrutia, a flautist who is a senior at SJSU, and third place was won by Anne Kaltcheva, pianist, and a freshman at the College of Notre Dame. Sherman Clay Piano Max of Santa Clara donated a 7-foot concert grand for the winners' concert.
LIFESTYLES: Longtime Saratogans Barbara and Rick Polhemus now live in Willow Glen and are one of six homeowners on the 2001 Willow Glen Lifestyles tour to be held May 6. The tour homes have all been built, rebuilt or redecorated to suit each occupants' lifestyle.
In the case of the Polhemus abode, their new home was built to replace an existing cottage and duplex. They bought the house on the strength of plans they liked so much the only change they brought to it was the addition of a window.
Rick is vice president of sales for Americ Disc Corporation. Both enjoy tennis and golf. After living in Saratoga for 20 years and with their children grown, they decided they wanted to be within easy walking distance of town. Hence the move to Willow Glen.
Barbara has an enviable collection of folk arts and antiques, all of which are accommodated in their new two-story home. The Lifestyles Tour benefits San Jose Day Nursery, a United Way child-care center which fees are based on family income and obligations.
Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 on May 6. For tickets and information, call 408.288.9667. This event's flyer bills it as "real homes, occupied by real people." I realize that many house tours are put in the hands of professional decorators before the main event, but I wasn't aware any fake people were used in those other fundraisers.
FLOWING RIVER: Rivers of Chocolate, the major fundraiser for Social Advocates for Youth, an umbrella organization for at-risk youngsters, set some records recently. Held at the Mountain Winery, the event brought in record numbers--a capacity crowd of 600 that raised $90,000 for the nonprofit agency.
The total raised set a new record: last year's total was $72,000. Some 40 vintners, restaurateurs and chocolatiers offered demos and samples of their wares, including The Plumed Horse, Viaggio's and Chateau La Cuesta, all of Saratoga.
New this year was Alice Medrich, founder of Berkeley's Chocolat, demonstrating making her Chocolate Decadence Cookie. Medrich is a two-time winner of the James Beard Cookbook Award. In the live auction some $9,000 was raised to add to the $15,000 SAY received from the Silicon Valley Charity Ball.
That money will be used to buy a van to transport youngsters from the shelter to classes. The auction bids for the van were treated as pledges, with Phillips Semiconductor starting off the spirited bidding, pledging $5,000 toward the van.
Phillips has been a staunch supporter of SAY through the years. Judee Williams represented Phillps.
SINGFEST: The Fun Times Singers will present With a Song In My Heart: The Music of Richard Rodgers and Friends on April 27 and 28, at 7:30 p.m. at the Campbell Congregational Church, 400 W. Campbell Ave. Tickets at the door are $10, or $5 for seniors and students.
Shirley Garner is the director and local lungs involved are those of Lynda Fox of Saratoga and Sue Heller and Julie Austin of Los Gatos.
DIABETES WORKSHOP: The Southwest YMCA will sponsor a two-day lecture/workshop on May 7 and 9, from 2 to 4:30 p.m. at the Y at 13500 Quito Road. How Sweet It Is. ..Diabetes Made Easy will include discussions of food and nutrition, blood-sugar testing, medications and prevention of diabetes-related complications.
Participants need to preregister and are encouraged to attend both 2 1/2-hour sessions. The program is free. To register, call 408.608.6817.
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