Harrigan

On March 29, 2006, JOHN T. HARRIGAN, beloved husband of the late Helen Crist Harrigan, devoted father of Michael Harrigan, James Harrigan and Elaine Babcock, dear brother of Daniel Harrigan. Also survived by nine grandchildren A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, April 8th 11 A.M. at Vantage House. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Vantage House Resident's Assistance Fund, 5400 Vantage Point Rd., Columbia, MD 21044.

At 14, Taylor Knapp of Ellicott City is still a couple of years away from getting his driver's license. But when he's competing in the Soap Box Derby, he's allowed to get behind the wheel. And better yet, he's encouraged to go as fast as he can. Of course, the car has no engine, but that's a detail. "I just enjoy the speed," said Taylor, who was tossing a football with fellow racers Oliver Schaller, 10, and Sean Harrigan, 11, while their dads put the finishing touches on the cars last week.

The odds weren't the only thing stacked against them. There was the church sexton who inadvertently locked them out of a concert. There was the huge asbestos curtain that came crashing down five minutes before performance time, wiping out the conductor's podium and cello stands. And there were the audiences outnumbered by the players onstage. But none of these things kept the musical forces behind the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra from sticking to their task, despite a lack of financial resources and the fact that new orchestras have about the same chances for lasting success as new restaurants.

On March 29, 2006, JOHN T. HARRIGAN, beloved husband of the late Helen Crist Harrigan, devoted father of Michael Harrigan, James Harrigan and Elaine Babcock, dear brother of Daniel Harrigan. Also survived by nine grandchildren A Memorial Service will be held Saturday, April 8th 11 A.M. at Vantage House. In lieu of flowers donations may be made to the Vantage House Resident's Assistance Fund, 5400 Vantage Point Rd., Columbia, MD 21044.

The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra opened its 20th anniversary season Wednesday night with a typically colorful program and typically colorful performances. Never mind that the actual kickoff was delayed by a persistent technical glitch with a short video of photos from the ensemble's archives, intended as a nostalgic salute. Once that little show finally got rolling, it turned out to be mostly images of founding music director Anne Harrigan over the years. Of course, this is in many ways Harrigan's year, just as it is very much Harrigan's orchestra.

Michael Harrigan's smile grows a little wider every time he watches his 9-year-old son, Ryan, race in a soap box derby.It's not necessarily the winning that pleases the elder Harrigan -- although the Columbia resident is the first to admit that seeing Ryan collect eight trophies in just 11 races is "great."Rather, Michael Harrigan gets a such kick out of watching his son compete because the father was once a race car driver himself."I'm excited for him," concedes Michael Harrigan, a 43-year-old branch chief and photographer for U.S. Department of Defense who raced with the Sports Car Club of America about 20 years ago. "You feel a bit of nostalgia."

The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra wrapped itself in the comforting mantle of Mozart for its season-opening concert on Wednesday. The program was chosen many months ago, but proved doubly welcome; music director Anne Harrigan told the full house at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium that she and her colleagues needed to drink in the beauty of Mozart now more than ever. That beauty flowed quite steadily all evening. Mozart's capacity for ingratiating melody and brilliant thematic development never fails to amaze.

When Bernard Harrigan walked into Jordan High School in Los Angeles last spring, the computers in his classroom were 10 years old and, essentially, useless. Internet access was not possible. The mice were broken. The chips were pre-Pentium. A few months later, Harrigan started Computers For School, a nonprofit that finds donated computers, repairs them, delivers them and sets them up at schools with few options to get them, yet need them. The 30-year-old computer teacher said that after his volunteer staff finishes refurbishing the computers, all teachers and students need to do is turn them on - which sometimes isn't possible when donations arrive.

Anne Harrigan, founding music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, will step down from the podium in 2004. She will conduct the ensemble's 20th anniversary season (2002-2003) as scheduled, and continue as music director the following season, when candidates for the job will guest-conduct most of the concerts. "I've been thinking about doing this for a couple of years," Harrigan said from her home in Grand Rapids, Mich. "My daughter is going into kindergarten in the fall, and I decided it's time to devote more time and energy to my family.

Two years ago Anne Harrigan, conductor of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, heard and loved a very jazzy piece called "Snap!" played by the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra. She met the composer, Michael Daugherty, that night through a friend, composer John Harbison.The next day the three visited the National Aquarium. Outside, they talked about Daugherty writing a piece for Harrigan's orchestra. Harbison suggested applying for a grant. The first try failed but the second one hit pay dirt.Recognized as a developing musical talent, Daugherty wrote what he called "a postmodern flamenco dance" called "Flamingo."

THE PRESIDENT of the nation's largest public pension fund was ousted from its board last week - and that could have ramifications for anyone invested in stocks. An aggressive advocate of corporate governance reforms, union leader Sean Harrigan led CalPERS - the California Public Employees Retirement System - to the front lines of the post-Enron campaign to clean up corporate boardrooms and wrest more corporate control away from management to shareholders. In that, CalPERS has more than a bully pulpit.

The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra, a significant player in the local music scene for more than 20 years, started a new chapter Wednesday night with Markand Thakar's first appearance as music director. He's only the second person to occupy the podium of this ensemble, founded and conducted by Anne Harrigan, and comes with solid credentials. He's co-director of the graduate conducting program at the Peabody Conservatory and music director of the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra. There's nothing like an all-Beethoven program to test any conductor's mettle.

When Anne Harrigan announced last year that she would step down as founding music director of the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra after the 2003-2004 season, the pressure was on. The organization owes its very existence and a lot of its personality to Harrigan, who devoted two decades to guiding it into a very respectable slot on the local cultural scene. In many ways, she couldn't help but be a tough act to follow. But follow it someone will. Perhaps Markand Thakar, the first of four finalists for music director who will be heard this season with the BCO. As part of this public auditioning process, the candidates are meeting orchestra supporters in informal luncheons and giving pre-concert talks.

When Bernard Harrigan walked into Jordan High School in Los Angeles last spring, the computers in his classroom were 10 years old and, essentially, useless. Internet access was not possible. The mice were broken. The chips were pre-Pentium. A few months later, Harrigan started Computers For School, a nonprofit that finds donated computers, repairs them, delivers them and sets them up at schools with few options to get them, yet need them. The 30-year-old computer teacher said that after his volunteer staff finishes refurbishing the computers, all teachers and students need to do is turn them on - which sometimes isn't possible when donations arrive.

Anne Harrigan is nothing if not upbeat. That ebullient part of her personality, as well as her affinity for tuneful music, were clearly reflected in her season-closing "director's choice" program Wednesday night with the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra. The first half of the concert at Goucher College's Kraushaar Auditorium mixed folksy sounds of the British Isles and the rich romanticism of pre-atonal Anton Webern; the second half was devoted to Mozart's essentially sunny, invigorating Symphony No. 39. Harrigan approached everything with characteristic concern for the singing line and a naturally flowing pace.

The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra opened its 20th anniversary season Wednesday night with a typically colorful program and typically colorful performances. Never mind that the actual kickoff was delayed by a persistent technical glitch with a short video of photos from the ensemble's archives, intended as a nostalgic salute. Once that little show finally got rolling, it turned out to be mostly images of founding music director Anne Harrigan over the years. Of course, this is in many ways Harrigan's year, just as it is very much Harrigan's orchestra.

The Baltimore Chamber Orchestra wrapped up its 18th season with the kind of program that its fans have come to expect - a creative mix of the familiar and the offbeat. Never mind the marketing tag stuck onto that program - "Twentieth Century Romantics," which applied to only two of the four composers represented. There still was a unifying aspect to Wednesday's concert at Goucher College: consistently expressive music-making. Of particular note was the performance of a work by a 19th century romantic, Max Bruch.

The odds weren't the only thing stacked against them. There was the church sexton who inadvertently locked them out of a concert. There was the huge asbestos curtain that came crashing down five minutes before performance time, wiping out the conductor's podium and cello stands. And there were the audiences outnumbered by the players onstage. But none of these things kept the musical forces behind the Baltimore Chamber Orchestra from sticking to their task, despite a lack of financial resources and the fact that new orchestras have about the same chances for lasting success as new restaurants.