THE FIRST TIME I CAME TO ROMANIA WAS IN 1980. I WAS INVITED TO VISIT
GEORGE ENESCU\'S HOME IN SINAIA. I WENT THERE NOT KNOWING WHAT TO
EXPECT. EVERYTHING WAS NEW TO ME\-\--A FOREIGN COUNTRY\-\--A NEW
LANGUAGE\-\--STRANGERS\-\--AND COMMUNISM! WHAT A SHOCK IT ALL WAS FOR
ME! WITHOUT KNOWING WHY, I FELT GUARDED IN MY BEHAVIOR. I FELT THE
PRESENCE OF PERSONS UNSEEN. SOMEHOW I REACTED IMMEDIATELY TO THIS
\"CLOSED\" SOCIETY. I BELIEVE THAT I MAY HAVE BEEN ONE OF VERY FEW
AMERICANS IN THIS PLACE, CERTAINLY, TO MY KNOWLEDGE, THE ONLY MUSICIAN.

BUT HERE I WAS IN THE HOME OF GEORGE ENESCU, SOMEONE OF WHOM I HAD HEARD
ONLY REMOTELY. AS I ENTERED THE VARIOUS ROOMS, I WAS VERY MOVED AND WILL
NEVER FORGET THE SOUND OF HIS COMPOSITIONS PLAYING IN THE BACKGROUND. I
CONTINUED MY STROLL, AND OBSERVED EACH OBJECT THAT I SAW; VIOLIN, PIANO,
CLOTHING, PHOTOS. I WAS IN A NEW AND DIFFERENT WORLD, ONE THAT I WAS
IMMEDIATELY DRAWN TO.

THIS COMPOSER AND THIS COUNTRY, ROMANIA, OPENED MY HEART IN A WAY I
COULD NEVER HAVE IMAGINED. MY LIFE WAS CHANGED. I REALIZED I HAD COME
UPON ONE OF THE GREAT 20TH CENTURY MUSICAL GIANTS.

I HAD COME TO ROMANIA AS A SINGER, AND NOW I VOWED TO BECOME HER
CHAMPION!

IN THE US, MY ROMANIAN COLLEAGUES GAVE ME A BOOK OF SONGS WHICH WERE
WRITTEN BY GEORGE ENESCU, \"SEPT CHANSONS DE CLEMENT MAROT\".

AS TIME WENT ON, I LEARNED THE SONGS, COMMISSIONED ORCHESTRATIONS AND
RECORDED THAM. I TITLED MY CD \"FROM ROMANIA WITH LOVE\", AND HAVE
PERFORMED THESE LOVELY SONGS IN MANY PLACES, INCLUDING THE CONTECUZINO
MUSEUM HERE IN BUCHAREST.

FROM THE DISC, LET\'S LISTEN TO:

IN MY ON-GOING RESEARCH OF ENESCU\'S MUSIC, I WAS ABLE TO PROCURE
THROUGH A GERMAN SCHOLAR, THE \"CARMEN SILVA\" COLLECTION, SONGS WRITTEN
BY ENESCU WHEN HE WAS JUST 18 YEARS OLD. IN FACT, I HAD THE GREAT
PLEASURE OF PREMIERING \"CARMEN SILVA\" 3 YEARS AGO IN THIS VERY HALL (
SALA MICA ).

FOR SEVERAL YEARS DURING MY SINGING TOURS HERE, YOUNG MUSICIANS APPEALED
TO ME TO SPONSOR THEM IN AMERICAN CONCERT HALLS. I WAS ABLE TO OBTAIN
VISAS, MONEY AND TOURS FOR THEM, WHEN THIS WOULD HAVE BEEN OTHERWISE
IMPOSSIBLE. I DISCOVERED A HIGH LEVEL OF MUSICIANSHIP WHICH I RESPECT
GREATLY. OUT OF THESE SPONSORSHIPS, MY NON-PROFIT FOUNDATION, PBD (
PROFESSIONAL BI-CULTURAL DEVELOPMENT ) ASSOCIATES, INC., WAS FORMED.

WE WERE APPROACHED BY LORY WALLFISCH, A GREAT FRIEND OF GEORGE ENESCU,
WHO IS FOUNDER OF THE GEORGE ENESCU SOCIETY OF THE UNITED STATES. PBD
ASSOCIATES HAS BEEN ABLE TO HELP FURTHER THIS IMPORTANT WORK. OUR GOOD
FRIEND, PROFESSOR SHERBAN LUPU, REACHED OUT TO US, AND WITH THE HELP OF
PBD AND OTHERS, PRODUCED \"SHERBAN LUPU AND THE PEASANT VIRTUOSOS OF
ROMANIA\". IN ADDITION, WE HAVE PARTNERED WITH \"PRO PATRIMONIO\" WHICH
HAS THE NOBLE PURPOSE OF RESTORING NEEDY ROMANIAN HISTORICAL MANSIONS.

DURING THIS SEASON, PBD WILL SPONSOR A YOUNG AND TALENTED AMERICAN
CONDUCTOR IN A TOUR THROUGH ROMANIA. HE WILL BE THE THIRD AMERICAN
CONDUCTOR WE HAVE BROUGHT HERE.

A YOUNG ROMANIAN LAD WAS BROUGHT TO MY ATTENTION A FEW YEARS AGO.
THROUGH CONTACTS AT JUILLIARD SCHOOL IN NEW YORK, AN AUDITION WITH
WORLD.RENOWNED VIOLIN TEACHER, DOROTHY DE LAY, WAS ARRANGED, AND A VERY
NERVOUS YOUNG MAN ACHIEVED HIS GOAL AND WAS ACCEPTED ON SCHOLARSHIP TO
THE VIOLIN PROGRAM. WE WILL HEAR THE RESULTS OF HIS TRAINING WHEN REMUS
AZOITEI IS FEATURED TONIGHT IN THE FESTIVAL CONCERT.

RECENTLY PBD PRESENTED TO THE GEISLER LIBRARY OF CENTRAL COLLEGE, IOWA,
3 ORIGINAL COMPOSITIONS BY GEORGE ENESCU. WE HAVE ALSO SPONSORED MANY
EVENTS AT THE ROMANIAN CULTURAL CENTER IN NEW YORK CITY, AND I HAVE HAD
THE GREAT PLEASURE OF SINGING FOR ALL OF THE ROMANIAN AMBASSADORS OF THE
LAST 25 YEARS.

NEXT MAY 11, 2006, AT CARNEGIE RECITAL HALL, PBD WILL PRESENT \"THE
THREE YOUNG TENORS\" IN A DEBUT RECITAL. TWO OF THE TENORS ARE ROMANIAN.
THEY ARE FLORIN ORMENISAN AND CORNELIU MUNTEANU ( MONTANO ). CORNELIU
CAME TO OUR ATTENTION WHEN HE WAS ONLY 17, AND IS NOW 21 YEARS OF AGE.

TWO YEARS AGO, PBD UNDERTOOK THE PROJECT OF COMMISSIONING A FULL
TRANSLATION OF ENESCU\'S GREAT OPERA \"OEDIPE\".

AND SPEAKING OF 25 AS MENTIONED ABOVE, 2005 IS MY 25TH YEAR OF
PERFORMING IN ROMANIA, AND WE\'RE PLANNING A WONDERFUL CONCERT TO
CELEBRATE. IN 25 YEARS, THERE ARE A LOT MEMORIES AND ADVENTURES. I HAVE
TOUCHED ON ONLY A FEW TODAY.