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Elliott Charnow Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for Elliott Charnow
Castro Valley High School 1968 - 1969
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Castro Valley High School 1968 - 1969
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Castro Valley High School 1968 - 1969
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Castro Valley High School 1968 - 1969
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Castro Valley High School 1967- 1968
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Castro Valley High School 1967- 1968
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Castro Valley High School 1967- 1968
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Castro Valley High School 1967- 1968
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Castro Valley High School 1967- 1968
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Castro Valley High School 1967- 1968
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Alisa Kim
December 31, 2010
Remarks presented at Celebration of Life for Elliott A. Charnow
The year before I started Castro Valley High School, I attended a matinee performance of the high school's production of “The Music Man.� A friend pointed out Elliott Charnow to me and she said he was so nice and really cute.
I entered Castro Valley High School at the age of 13 and was the youngest member of the a cappella choir. That year, we presented “The Sound of Music.� In a stroke of colorblind casting, I was fortunate enough to be cast as the second to the youngest of the Austrian von Trapps. As such, I did not have many lines but I was determined to perform my role of Marta perfectly, all pink and girly, so as not to incur the wrath of either of the directors, and be mustered out of the show, choir and high school. Freshmen can be insecure and I was probably more than most.
Elliott was in the pit, and he was literally our guiding hand once the performance started. In Act II, right before the von Trapps' dramatic escape over the Swiss Alps, we children had a quick costume change into traditional Austrian garb. I and my sisters had to wear these laced-up vests over peasant blouses and dirndl skirts. I was always worried that one night I would misplace a part of a costume in the dark. One eventful performance, I panicked because I was struggling with the lacing. The sophomore playing Luisa shoved me and hissed at me that it was our cue to go onstage for our Austrian farewell concert. I was still trying to lace the vest up with shaking hands, so I was rattled and blushing, not completely costumed, as we made our way in front of the curtain. In that split second, I knew it was bad form to try to lace myself up at that point but I felt horrified that I was not entirely dressed. Soto voce, I emitted an expletive that had never passed my lips in public. I had been hanging around with a lot of upperclasspeople in the show after all. I can't actually recall which one it was. After interviewing two eyewitnesses, I am fairly certain that it was “damnit!� Sophomore Annie Gordon who was playing my sister Brigitta heard it and turned beet red and was choking on her “Doe a deer.� My heart was pounding! I couldn't believe what I had done. I knew that Phyllis Whayne, the vocal director and a force to be reckoned with, would hand me my head after the show. How dare a von Trapp child curse?
I peered into the dark in the pit and realized that my slight indiscrete utterance had been AUDIBLE. Elliott could scarcely keep from falling off of his conductor's stool: he was trying to suppress his laughter. After the performance, members of the orchestra, always so much more irreverent than we singers, were telling me how hilarious it was that I had made Mr. Charnow crack up so much.
Elliott had a great laugh and was very appreciative of humor, even as inadvertent as my stage blunder. And he never let me forget it. In my yearbook at the end of that year, he wrote in his distinctive hand:
Marta
Dear Sweet One,
Next year let's not say any “Boo Boos� in front of the curtain. Have a great summer. Elliott
In subsequent years and other shows, he always provided a steady and supportive hand in the pit. Many years later, when a number of us visited him and Judy, I heard that laugh again when I used the term criminal defense attorneys use to describe people charged with indecent exposure. And I loved to make him laugh.
Alisa J. Kim
December 5, 2010
Toni Maita
December 24, 2010
I knew Elliott at Chabot College in 1981-1983 when he was dept chair of the music department. He was the kindest, coolest, and most engaging man. His door was open to all of his students, all the time. So sad to hear of his passing. I had not seen him in many years.
Toni Maita
December 24, 2010
Link to my song is found below.
Dedicated to my old friend, music educator supreme Elliott Charnow.
I will always treasure your great warmth and generosity of spirit.
Polar opposites we were;
but a great bond we did share.
GEORGE PETER TINGLEY
December 23, 2010
Elliott had a profound effect on my teaching and composing life. I am too sad to write words here but will leave you with a song dedicated to this great man I was lucky to have as a friend and collegue.
http://www.macjams.com/song/65422
Patty Fuller Maddox
December 11, 2010
I was a new transplant to Castro Valley and was TERRIFIED of going to a new high school in my soph year. I met Rhonda DeCruz at the Chabot Swim Club and asked her, in particular, about the music program at CVHS. She said that they had the coolest band teacher EVER! I walked into the band room on my first day at school, and was completely blown away by how much "EC" cared about us! He pushed us musically, he pushed us as individuals, and was always encouraging and uplifting when we had a problem -- his office was always open. The year I graduated he went to Chabot (as did I). I had the honor of having him teach me clarinet, play in a recorder consort with him, go on various band tours, and, most importantly, LEARN from him. What a one-of-a-kind teacher he was. We maintained our friendship over the years after Chabot; they are treasured memories. I will miss him terribly. His family was blessed to have him as a husband, father and grandpa. Judy and kids, thank you for sharing so much of your husband/father with his students. I know he spent much time away from home to be with us. Your sacrifice was most assuredly our gain.
Paul Bradley
December 10, 2010
I love what Grace Neavill wrote: "I wish I could tell Mr. Charnow how much his special brand of cool influenced me." I wish I could as well. 42 years ago I was a freshman playing trombone in the Castro Valley HS stage band in 67-68 with mostly juniors and seniors, under Elliot's direction (including Paul MacFarlane posted here). Elliot ushered me into the world of jazz, thankfully banished my musical innocence, and took us all to Reno to win the Grand Trophy in '68. That's just what happened on the surface... beneath it all, that one year's journey with Elliot propelled me deeper into the heart of Music than any single experience since.
Then that summer my dad got transferred to Wisconsin and I had to leave... one year only with Elliot, but one life forever transformed... I envy you all who had many more years with him! 42 years later and I'm here writing about him...
Forever Grateful, Elliot...
Paul MacFarlane
December 9, 2010
Known back in the day as "EC", he was my concert band, marching band, orchestra, pit orchestra, and jazz band teacher for all four of my high school years.
Always the consummate gentleman, whether suited or turtle-necked, the worst name I ever heard him call anybody was "hamburger." Second worst was "hot dog," though I think some of the kids learned to act up in band just enough (but no more than enough) to bask in the pleasure of earning that appellation. If he ever referred to you as a "cat," that was a compliment already delivered.
Messages about his life have been piling on through email mass mailings and Facebook conversations. One that I recently read touted his love of music, and ventured that his ability to convey that love made him a great teacher. This is, of course, correct.
But I think that he loved teaching and creating communities among young people even more than he loved music. A few years after he taught us in high school, he moved on to our local junior college, where he quickly rose into the administration, but continued to conduct musical groups, particularly youth groups, throughout his career.
And there has not been a teaching week gone by during these last thirty years that I haven't considered his example. Even though I myself have taught almost everything BUT music, I have consistently asked myself "What would Charnow do?" regardless of the subject matter or age level that I was dealing with.
Grace Neavill
December 5, 2010
I was the first person to walk into orchestra class Elliot Charnow’s first day of teaching at CVHS, Fall 1964. A freshman, I was very excited to see who the teacher would be. “Where’s the teacher? I said to the only person in the room . . . a senior, I assumed. “I AM the teacher” he said with gravitas unmatched by his slight frame. He went on to take us to orchestra competitions where we won many awards, and to conduct fantastic musicals, such as those we did ’64-‘68: Guys and Dolls, The Music Man, South Pacific, and The Sound of Music. Elliot knew how to handle immature high school kids like us . . . give us enough slack to keep it fun; look menacingly mean over his glasses and say “Come-onnn!” or “Knock it off” We really felt loved when he’d shout, “Wake up You Hotdogs!” He was funny and made us laugh and work together as a team. Even though he didn’t play violin, he mimed and mined what he wanted out of us with effective drama. YES! Elliot knew how to pull the BEST out of us. He was passionate and we all grew as people and musicians under his expert tutelage. I became familiar with a lot of great composers through Elliot. Not just the standard greats like Bach, Beethoven, Vivaldi, etc.; but newer guys like Paul Hindemuth (Ach Stuch or something ) and Charles Ives (The Unanswered Question) etc. I LOVED playing Samual barber's Adagio for Strings (which was later on the soundtrack one of the more famous Vietnam films) . . . so exquisitely BEAUTIFUL, I cried onto my violin!
I was so happy to see his romance develop with the nery feminine and sparklingly beautiful French Teacher my sister Jan was lucky to have. CV was called “fertile Valley” by some kids and of course I was too innocent to understand the implications (hee- hee), but I did notice at least 3 pairs of in-love (married) teachers who channeled lovely energy into our vibrant school. I remember Elliot trying to suppress smiles when Country Joe perfomed at one of the noontime activities or assemblies I organized as School VP my senior year. {And it's 1-2-3 What r we fighting for?"
Elliot let me do a light show while his Jazz Band performed Donald Pistrup’s (sp?) “Ask Frog” and I superimposed a frog skin from an opaque projector over the oil and food color of the transparent projector. He empowered students. Substituting there years later, I couldn’t even decipher the vibe, but I can say, it didn’t feel as good. Maybe because Elliot had moved on to Chabot College and girls could wear pants and male teachers no longer had to wear ties.Everything was TOO laid back and lacking in order. I walked in the classroom and kids were making out. In College. . . I went on to play in the UCSB orchestra under Ronald Ondreyka and at UCLA and to perform Bluegrass/CW music in Japan, Europe, and all over the SF Bay Area. I have spent most of my career teaching community college English and K-5 Music. I wish I could tell Mr. Charnow how much his special brand of cool influenced me. I will always think of him thankfully and with love and respect;such cool things I learned from him-not just about music, but about life. Both his patience and impatience with my immaturity were instrumental in helping me grow up!
Jonnie Kay aka Grace
Mary Ballin
December 5, 2010
Such sad news about Elliott. I have such fond memories of him at the Hayward-LaHonda Music Camp. Always a positive influence and a fantastic "wicked" sense of humor. My heart felt thoughts and prayers to the family for your loss. I know he will be truly missed by you, his immediate family, and those of us that are part of his extended music family over the many years.
Mary (Wallis) Ballin - Hayward LaHonda Music Camp 1978-1983
Clifford Culwell
December 5, 2010
I am sorry to hear of Mr. Charnow's passing. He was my Conductor at La Honda music camp in '73 and '74 and I also played in his Jazz group at Chabot College in Hayward in '78 and '79, my condolences to his Family and friends. (CVHS '78)
December 5, 2010
Mr. Charnow will be missed by so many of his Castro Valley High School family. He brought so much to everyone who attended CVHS.
Ginger Menges class of 71
Jan Neavill-Hersh
December 4, 2010
While I was not a student of Mr. Charnow, I was a fan and I know how much my sister, Jonnie Kay, respected Elliott as the conductor of the Castro Valley High School Orchestra. I so enjoyed the concerts and the musicals he directed.
Judy was my all time favorite French teacher and is still today, a forever friend and mentor in my heart. I send my love and shared sadness for his passing. I wish I could be there on Sunday but made a prior and important musical commitment. I'll be playing cello at our annual Christmas Music Salon. Hugs and kisses to the family.
Judy, I hope we can get together in the near future.
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