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West Valley cellist invited to Michigan for national semifinal competition

By Dermot Cole
Staff Writer
Published January 22, 2008

By Dermot Cole

His friends in Fairbanks are applauding Roberto Arundale for qualifying to compete this week as one of the national semifinalists in the Sphinx Competition in Michigan.

Arundale, the son of Wendy and Bob Arundale, is a junior at West Valley High School and the principal cellist of the Fairbanks Youth Symphony.

The Sphinx Competition is open to all young Black and Latino string players in the United States. Arundale, a Salvadoran-American, studies under Minna Rose Chung and has been selected for the Alaska All-State Honors Orchestra for the past three years.

He is one of nine musicians in the junior division of the competition, with finals this week in Ann Arbor and Detroit.

The top three finalists in the junior division are to receive cash prizes.

Arundale began learning the cello at age 5 with lessons from Peggy Swartz. His orchestra teacher at West Valley is Michelle Jeglum and for the past two summers he has studied with Melissa Kraut at the Meadowmount School of Music in New York.

RUMMAGE SALE: The Ryan Middle School PTSA, sponsor of the Feb. 2 rummage sale at the school, suggests that anyone wanting information on renting table space at the event should contact PTSA secretary Amy Gould at rgould@gci.net or 388-6696.

OLD TIMER: American Heritage magazine reports that a North Slope whaling crew found a harpoon that dated between 1885 and 1895 buried deep in the neck of a whale they butchered last year.

John Bockstoce, a whaling historian, identified the object as “part of an exploding lance made on the southeast coast of Massachusetts in the late 1800s.”

The lance probably struck the whale when it was a calf, more than 100 years ago, the magazine said.

OPEN HOUSE: The UAF Tanana Valley Campus invites prospective and current students to an open house today from 4:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. at the campus center downtown at 604 Barnette St., the old state courthouse.

Students can meet faculty, talk with advisors and register for classes that begin Thursday. Rick Caulfield of TVC advises that “there will be food and a wealth of information about classes and careers.”

For more information, call 455-2800.

OLD SCHOOL: It was on this date in 1934 that classes began in the new school building, now the venerable structure on Cushman Street known as City Hall.

“The rooms are comfortably warm,” the school superintendent told the News-Miner. “Steam had to be turned down to avoid excessive heat. Everything is proceeding satisfactorily.”

There were 16 teachers and more than 300 students.

School had been held in Eagles Hall, American Legion Hall, Moose Hall, Masonic Temple and Presbyterian Church since the former school was destroyed by fire in December 1932.

On that same day, one of the lead stories in the News-Miner was headlined, “Alaska Getting Warmer, Scientist Says.”

Professor Robert Griggs of George Washington University was quoted as saying that Alaska’s forests were progressing onto what had been treeless tundra “at the rate of a mile per century.

RELAY FOR LIFE: More than 90 people attended the kick-off planning meeting for the 2008 American Cancer Society Relay for Life. So far, 22 teams and 120 participants are registered for the May 30 event.

Don and Patti Benjamin are the co-chairs for the relay. Last year, the KaBelly Buttons and Vickie’s Team each raised more than $20,000. For more information go to www.fairbanksrelay.com or call 378-3933.

IN CONCERT: Irish musician Seamus Kennedy is coming to Fairbanks for a free concert for kids Feb. 16 in honor of the late Sister Felicitas Farrell, who was one of his biggest fans. For details, call the Monroe Foundation at 456-7970.

He will also put on evening performances for families at the Eagles Hall Feb. 16 at 6 p.m. and Feb. 17 at 7 p.m. Admission to those shows is $20.

For more information on the evening shows, contact Tom Malone at 455-6769 or Bill Chrisman at 590-0338.

DENALI: Summer bus and campground reservations for Denali National Park are available at www.reservedenali.com.

MOVING: The state extended the deadline for comments on a statewide transportation plan until Feb. 1. Two ideas in the plan with major implications for this area are to pursue local funding for projects and consider higher vehicle registration fees and various taxes to support a state transportation fund.

Dermot Cole can be reached at cole@newsminer.com or 459-7530.