I have been inspired by the great generosity, compassion and social activism of Robin Williams.  On September 12 I will embark on a project that is very close to my heart. I will be performing a program of solo flute music at a fundraiser for the Natasha House, an establishment providing aid to the homeless in Yorktown, VA.

This will be the first of many trips that I’ll be making to such facilities throughout the Tidewater area of Virginia, performing and teaching.

This is my “being Robin” in my own small way.

There are many sites on Facebook that celebrate the life and work of Robin. However, “Tributes4RobinWilliams ~ Be Robin!” and WhatDreamsMayCome.org, both the creative work of Kimberly Carr, go further to inspire his fans to actively carry on his legacy of loving concern.  I am deeply indebted to Kimberly’s influence, which has helped steer me in this very fulfilling direction.

I attended the Juilliard School in New York, as did Robin. I was very lucky in that our years there overlapped. I can’t say that we were close friends, but I have very vivid and fond memories of him from that time. For one thing, we were in a drama class together.  Pity the poor teacher!

It would be an immense understatement to say that Robin’s ability to improvise in every style of the dramatic repertoire, including Shakespearian iambic pentameter, was absolutely side-splittingly hilarious. Needless to say, the teacher lost control of the class every meeting! 

As Christopher Reeve, Robin’s roommate in those years, wrote – “I’d never seen so much energy contained in one person. He was like an untied balloon that had been inflated and immediately released. I watched in awe as he virtually bounced off the walls of the classrooms and hallways…There was never a moment when he wasn’t doing voices, imitating teachers, and making our faces ache from laughing at his antics.”

I hope you enjoy my rendering of the theme song of “Mork and Mindy.”