Dear member or friend of the New Directions Cello Association,

I am writing to pass on some sad news which you may have already heard. A colleague and incredible new directions cellist Tom Cora passed away last month in France where he lived with his wife and son. The cause was melanoma. Tom was a mainstay of the New York new music scene for many years.

The NDCA would like to dedicate this year's New Directions Cello Festival (June 19- 21 at the Univ. of Conn.) to Tom's memory. If you have any photos of Tom or special information (like a discography) which we might want to include in the program book, please let us know. Also if you have any knowledge of how to reach his family that would be great. He has a brother, Henry Corra in New York. Could someone in NYC try to find his phone number for us?

There is no time which is good for news such as this when it concerns a young person, but it is particularly difficult for our community coming just one year after the loss of Boris Rayskin. The first time I met Boris was when Tom Cora came to play at the first new directions event which was called The Night of the Living Cello at the old Knoitting Factory in June od '94. Ironically (now in hindsight) Tom showed up with Boris and said "Well I was going to play solo, but I just met this great Russian cellist the other day and we started jamming and here we are!"

Please pass on word of this to others you know who may be interested. If you know anyone who might like to come to the festival please encourage them to contact us. We will have a great Cellobration led by: Eugene Friesen with Howard Levy, The Hank Roberts Trio, The Aaron Minsky Trio, Akua Dixon with Linda Aziza Miller, Jami Sieber, and PICO jazz trio with cellist Max Dyer.

Cellistically & Improvisationally Yours,

Chris White
New Directions Cello Assoc.& Festival (NDCA & F)
501 Linn St.
Ithaca, NY 14850
(607)277-5372
ndca@clarityconnect.com

The NDCA & F are on the internet at:
http://www.clarityconnect.com/webpages/ndca/cello.html