The live auction takes place Tuesday evening during Conclave and immediately afterwards the silent auction opens. These are entertaining and enjoyable, and more importantly, they offer an opportunity for VdGSA members to give of themselves and help others – by donating items, bidding on items, or both. These auctions provide funding to support our Work-Study program, which is essential to keeping Conclave accessible.
Please think about what you can contribute to the auction. You can participate, whether or not you are coming to Conclave, either by donating items or services or by bidding on them. Or both!
Donations: Past offerings have included home stays, tours, lessons or other services, instruments, bows and accessories, crafts, clothing, jewelry, art, books, CDs, sheet music, themed baskets of goodies, humorous items, a Hawaiian shirt, a fur vest and skirt, music history lectures, copies of a viol-themed Ph.D dissertation, treasures that have a sentimental connection to the VdGSA family and history, and of course, sheet music (Please, only music that includes a part for viol).
Big items, mailed items: Please contact Gary early if you need to mail your items or if you have a big ticket item. You can always bring items with you if you come to Conclave, but you do not have to attend to donate. For services, please email a description. For physical items, email Gary a photo and description, and send your items with a Conclave participant, or ship them directly to the University of Rhode Island. See email correspondence for more details on URI shipping time frame and mailing address.
For further questions or to inform him of a donation, lease contact Gary O'Connor, the Auction Coordinator.
"Ditty Bags"
Donor:
Eric Haas
Estimated Value:
It's a pencil case with about 4 x 8.5" stocked pencils, a red pencil, pen, pencil sharpener, highlighter, needle-nosed pliers, tweezers, sharp scissors, a small LED flashlight, emery boards, Band-aids, and peg compound with room for spare strings, fret gut, etc. -- where you keep your "stuff"
"World's Smallest Viol"
Donor:
Alexander Silbiger
Estimated Value:
$100
The world's smallest viola da gamba (string length c. 2"; from top of scroll to bottom of tail piece c. 3"). Gian Lyman constructed the instrument herself around 1970. It has 6 strings, a bridge and frets, although, because of its small size, it is not audible by human ears. There is some minor damage due to age (probably dryness), which should not be hard to repair. The instrument comes comes with an attractive case (originally holding a small bottle of Hermés perfume).
Built by Gian Lyman (1931-1974). During the 1960s and early 1970s Gian was a noted gamba player and teacher, active in the Eastern US and Canada. Among her pupils were several of the conclave faculty, among them Martha Bishop, Sarah Cunningham, Jane Hershey and Rosamund Morley.
3 Nights in Manhattan
Donor:
Martha McGaughey
Estimated Value:
$500
Two days/three nights in Manhattan, for one or two people. Queen-size bed (it's new and comfortable) and your own bathroom. Dates to be arranged so that they fit with your schedule and ours -- can be a weekend, but doesn't have to be. Hospitality is flexible: I'm happy to cook for you if you like, (or not) and to be around (or not). I'll set up consort playing if you would enjoy that (or not). No need to bring an instrument, probably, and certainly no need to bring a stand or music.
I live in Upper Manhattan. Definitely not Times Square or Soho, but the neighborhood is perfectly safe, and on two subway lines, several bus lines, and Metro North. You'd be near Inwood Hill Park, one of the most beautiful places in Manhattan (Google it!). The apartment is non-smoking, and quiet; shabby but clean. Two cats. Harpsichordist may or may not be in residence.
7 Days in Tucson
Donor:
Suzanne Ferguson and Michael Foote
Estimated Value:
$1,000
Fully-equipped townhouse for one or two persons up to one week between November and March. Two bathrooms, one bedroom and (convertible) den. Included: one or more sessions of viol consorts with local hosts and others from the Tucson viol community. One day of hosted sightseeing in this exceptional touristic region. Adjoining Saguaro National Park East, near birding and hiking areas, Kartchner Caverns, Mt. Lemmon, and many more. Or just veg out and look at the mountains.
Beautiful shimmering dress in rose gold
Donor:
Risa Browder & John Moran
Estimated Value:
Priceless
This stunning, sequined dress originally owned by Kathleen Merfeld, a style icon of the VdGSA. This dress is not only drop-dead gorgeous, it's even comfortable, with a soft silky lining that makes you feel as good as you look. Perfect for any occasion where you want to make a splash, like Conclave Banquet!
Book -- Hertzberg, Katherine Joseph
Donor:
Suzanne Hertzberg
Estimated Value:
$25
Katherine Joseph: Photographing an Era of Social Significance A Roosevelt-era photographer for the International Ladies Garment Workers Union, Katherine Joseph documented the golden age of organized labor and Home Front efforts during World War II with her iconic images of political luminaries and union shop workers alike, and her photos from a 1941 journey to Mexico reveal a nation at the intersection of tradition and modernity.
Book -- Ma Chère Maman – Mon Cher Enfant: The Letters of Lucien and Louise Durosoir, 1914-1919
Donor:
Elizabeth Auld
Estimated Value:
$30
A copy of a book I edited, telling the story of a celebrate French violinist and his widowed mother via their correspondence during World War One, translated into English.
Book of Haikus
Donor:
Thallis Drake
Estimated Value:
Priceless
Thallis Drake hosted the 1979 Conclave at the University of Wisconsin, Milwaukee, served on the Board as corresponding secretary in the 1980's, and often acted as emcee at banquets during that era. A couple of years ago she auctioned off a year of haikus by email, every day for a year. A friend of hers has taken a selection of those haiku and bound them into a book: Life Abruptly Changed: Selected haikus by Thallis Hoyt Drake, composed during the Covid-19 pandemic, 2020-2022.
Commisssioned composition
Donor:
David Loeb
Estimated Value:
$450
A commissioned composition, a classic auction item since 2004. "The winning bidder needs to contact me (the sooner the better) to discuss instrumentation, level(s) of technical difficulty, possible sources or references. Once we have agreed I can produce the desired piece within a matter of weeks."
Hand-copied sheet music
Donor:
Alexander Silbiger
Estimated Value:
$60
Gian Lyman's beautiful manuscript copies in score of the Tombeaux for
Ste. Colombe (3 pp.) and for Lully (3 pp.). Both include the continuo
line; the Lully Tombeaux also includes a stave for a continuo
realization, which has been pencilled in. The both are on thick, large
format music paper (Set. Colombe: 9x12”; Lully: 10.5x13.5”).
The Ste. Colombe tombeaux also includes on a 4th page the end of a
Gigue in D minor for 2 viols & bc. During the 1960s and early 1970s
Gian Lyman (1931-1974) was a noted gamba player and teacher, active in the Eastern US
and Canada. Among her pupils were several of the Conclave faculty,
among them Martha Bishop, Sarah Cunningham, Jane Hershey and Rosamund
Morley.
Hand-dyed yarn
Donor:
Lori and Lynn Tsui
Estimated Value:
$100
3 skeins of Lynn's custom hand-dyed yarn, with the winner getting their choice of yarn weight and color(s). The winner can choose both the weight (thickness) of the 3 skeins, and they can either pick from her already-available colors or they can custom order their own pick. The 3 skeins do not have to be the same, and Lynn is really good at helping to pick complementary colors and she’s happy to answer questions and talk about fiber arts. She has a small custom yarn business called Peninsula Yarn in the San Francisco Bay area.
Handmade ceramic cups
Donor:
Anne Legêne
Estimated Value:
$40, $25
Two ceramic Yunomis made by me. The yunomi is a style of Japanese teacup for daily tea drinking. Without a handle, yunomi are ideal for cradling in your hands to savour the warmth and aroma of your drink.
Yunomi 1 is decorated with Japanese Zogan Yusai (inlay) technique using porcelain and colored slips. Dimensions 3.25" x 2.75"
Yunomi 2: wood fired in anagama kiln. Dimensions 3" x 3.25"
Lindsey's Music Research TV
Donor:
Lindsey Macchiarella
Estimated Value:
Priceless
Lindsey's Music Research TV includes access to 30 videos that are the bulk of the content delivery for the Graduate Music Research and Bibliography online course at the University of Texas at El Paso. Including over 4 and a half hours a footage, these videos cover the following topics:
Introduction to Research and Picking Topics
The Real Library!
OneNote and Research Organization
Keywords: Crafting Effective Searches
Using Academic Books for Research
WorldCat and Interlibrary Loan
Introduction to Citations
Chicago Footnotes
Chicago Bibliography
The Chicago Manual of Style Online
Primary and Secondary Sources
Introduction to Music Dictionaries and Bibliographies
Oxford Music Online
Garland Encyclopedia of World Music Online
Periodicals: Journals and Articles
RILM
JSTOR
Dissertations and Theses ProQuest Dissertations and Theses
ProQuest Historical Newspapers
IMSLP
Discographies and Thematic Catalogs
Scavenger Hunt
Bibliographies
Naxos Video and Music Libraries
Discogs.com
Complete Works Editions; Anthologies; Facsimiles; Catalogs; Opus Numbers
What is a Thesis?
Essay Organization and Style
Writing Music Analysis
IMPORTANT NOTE!
Some of these videos are about using subscription music research databases, which can only be accessed by subscriptions that are typically held by universities, who typically make these databases available to students, faculty, and the general public when on campus.
www.lindseymacchiarella.com
Music Minus One
Donor:
Phillip Serna
Estimated Value:
$60 minimum
I want to donate 7 1-year All-Access Passes for Consorts-Minus-One for the Conclave silent auction - anyone willing to donate $60 or more to the VdGSA would get a full year All-Access-Pass (value at $59.99) for Consorts Minus-One: https://www.phillipwserna.com/consortsminusone
Explore new Consorts-Minus-One including the Browning à5 & the Fantasias & In Nomines à3 & à4 by William Byrd (ca.1540-1623) - celebrating the 400th Anniversary of Byrd's passing July 4th! You can enjoy many of our downloads with the addition of videos (playable at multiple speeds) with our new scrolling score feature as well as the inclusion of sheet music at no additional charge – with more on the way!
- MP3 format (256kbps 44.1kHz)
- Available at A415 & A440
- Available in 2 Tempi (one 15-20% slower) for your comfort
- Click-track count-off
- Includes MP3 with all-parts (for those that prefer doubling)
- Includes MP3s with individual parts missing
- Most also include an additional .ZIP file individual tracks for study
- Purchase one piece at a time or take advantage of an All-Access Pass
Video: https://youtu.be/E6j1IBC5Tq4
Opera tickets for a year
Donor:
American Baroque Opera Company
Estimated Value:
$200
Opera company whose music director is a viol player! This season ticket package for Dallas, Texas based American Baroque Opera includes four (4) tickets for each show of our 23/24 season titled, "Revenge and Fury." This season opens with John Eccles' Semele on November 18, 2023. ABO returns to the beautifully designed Moody Performance Hall for Handel's Giulio Cesare on March 1, 2023. The season closes with the North American Premier of Cavalli's "L'Ormindo." American Baroque Opera has been dazzling audiences with their fresh approach to baroque opera. Come see why we are "opera reimagined!"
Pencils (extra special ones)
Donor:
David & Sarah Poon
Estimated Value:
$50
One dozen of the best pencils you'll ever use! A mixture of special edition Blackwing pencils that we've collected over the year. Delight yourself with a new pencil each month, or make eleven of your closest friends very, very happy.
Performance -- Solo Viol/Voice and Viol
Donor:
Amy Domingues
Estimated Value:
$600
Voice and Viol PERFORMANCE
"Would you like to be serenaded while you do your household chores? Want to impress your friends with live music at a cocktail party or exclusive house concert, or just a private concert for your family and/or your cats? 60 minutes of voice and viol or solo viol repertoire, performed in your home or location of your choosing. Requests honored with adequate advance notice. One hour driving radius of Washington DC only. Date and time to be determined by mutual availability. Must be redeemed by December 31, 2024.
Play with Two of the Original Members of Fretwork
Donor:
Wendy Gillespie & Bill Hunt
Estimated Value:
$200
1/2 hour of playing anything anyone wants with Two Original Members of Fretwork. People might want to plan with friends to make a 5 or 6 part group (including us).
We’ll be happy to do it more than once if the winning bid is matched.
Renaissance-themed coffee delivery service
Donor:
Gary O'Connor
Estimated Value:
$100
Nespresso machine coffee delivered to you up to 4 times a day during Conclave: (a) in a real cup and saucer; (b) by someone wearing an Elizabethan collar/ruff; (c) with your choice of milk; (d) using your choice of form of address -- for example, "Your coffee, M'lady" or "Your coffee, Your Majesty"
Stay with the Sunshine Coast Players!
Donor:
Maureen Drake, David & Sarah Poon and others
Estimated Value:
$2000
After Conclave 2024, join the viol players of the Sunshine Coast in beautiful British Columbia for a week of idyllic wonder.
Stay in your own private suite on an acreage in Roberts Creek. Hike to Langdale Falls, Smugglers Cove, and the famous Skookumchuck Rapids!
Glory in the beautiful sunsets of Davis Bay pier. Taste flights of craft beer or cider from one (or all!) of the Coast's seven breweries and cideries. Visit Vancouver for a day, eat delicious food at favourite gastronomic hotspots, peruse farmers' markets and various artisans along the Coast. Play viols with the Poons and others. Unwind, relax, sink in.
*Winner is responsible for their travel & food. We will provide accommodation and entertainment (as much or as little as you desire).
https://youtu.be/bxpY9nukekM
Viol Book -- Bishop, Exercises
Donor:
Daron Douglas
Estimated Value:
$30
Exercises by Martha Bishop.
The 40 exercises book is for treble viol, 45 pages long (written in treble clef except for four of the exercises which are in soprano
clef). The 24 exercises book has each exercise written in treble,tenor, and bass clef, and is 24 pages long.
Viol Book -- Hoffman's The Viola da Gamba
Donor:
Ted Winokur
Estimated Value:
$50
Softcover. In this comprehensive study, Bettina Hoffmann offers both an introduction to the instrument -- its construction, technique and history -- for the non-specialist, interweaving this information with a wealth of original archival scholarship that experts will relish.
Viol case (hard) for treble
Donor:
Anne Legêne
Estimated Value:
Donated by IKA cases in the Czech Republic.
The dimensions of the case (on the inside, the space for the instrument) are:
Overall length: 32 inches
Body compartment:
Total length 15.5 inches
Widest (at bottom) 8.5 inches
Width (at shoulder): 7.24 inches
Center box: 4.75 x 6 inches
Scroll space length: 10.5 inches
Wine
Donor:
John Nikolatos
Estimated Value:
$25
From REBEC Vineyards in AMHERST, Virginia (which is near Appomatttox). "Steel cold fermented and finished in neutral Pennsylvania white oak. Crisp style, reminiscent of ripped autumn apples with a toasty finish. Great served with lightly cooked shellfish, chicken and vegetables terrines and pasta or baked apples with honey and walnuts."