By Diana Brement,
JTNews Columnist
Why North Bend?
That was the foremost question in my mind when I heard renowned concert violists Emanuel and Lenore Vardi had moved to Seattle’s far east side.
There is a story, of course, with two parts.
In 1992 Manny, as he’s called, injured his hand in a fall and “knocked himself out of playing completely,” explains Lenore. When it became evident that he’d never perform again, the Vardis decided there was “no point remaining in New York,” turning their desire to see the country into a search for a new home.
Manny taught for two years in Illinois, then they spent time visiting family and friends around the country. Sedona held them for a while, but Lenore says “I’m not a desert person;” then Dallas, which “wasn’t for us.”
A good friend in Port Townsend raved about the Seattle area.
“After one particularly brutally hot day in Dallas, I said to Manny, “˜Want to move to Washington?'” said Lenore.
Port Townsend proved to be too far away from things, so while looking at houses in Issaquah their realtor showed them a listing in North Bend.
“When we saw [the view of] Mt. Si,” says Lenore, they knew they’d found a home, close to mountains with easy access to Bellevue and Seattle.
Part two of the story is that Manny, who turned 94 in April, and Lenore are also painters. He started painting at age 4 and used the G.I. Bill to study in Italy after World War II. He is best known for his semi-abstract paintings of musicians. She started painting more recently, inspired by her husband.
“She became quite a good painter,” observes Manny, while Lenore adds, “[he]…never let me feel I was lesser.”
The Vardis met as student and teacher, then toured as the Vardi Duo. Lenore mostly teaches now, performing occasionally on violin, having returned to the smaller instrument, finding the larger one “hard on my body.”
They’ve also been busy here setting up relationships with galleries.
“At this point we’re so new,” says Manny, “nobody knows we’re here.”
Manny was born in what is now Israel, when it was still under Ottoman control. His parents had fled there from Russia, and met and married in Jerusalem. Manny’s father was a violinist and his mother was a pianist. In fact, growing up in Vilna, she often accompanied the violin prodigy Jascha Heifetz (she was a few years older than him). The family emigrated to the States when Manny was 4.
Creative people who pursue two arts have always fascinated me. Manny confirms that in the past there “was more prejudice,” against this. “You were either a master of one discipline or…none,” but having been painting since he was so young, he’s always believed strongly artistic people “can express themselves in any way. It’s a matter of learning.”
“I think it’s unusual to be married and have two people” with the same artistic interests, Lenore adds. The couple encourages each other, she says, and don’t compete. They both enjoy combining exhibits of their art with musical performances and they’ve done this once or twice since moving here.
The Vardis are associated with two galleries, Revolution in Issaquah and The Laurel Tree in Duvall, where you can see their paintings and hear Lenore play and answer questions during the Duvall art walk, Friday evening, Oct. 23. (Call 425-788-2590 for more information.)
The Edmonds Center for the Arts will display the Vardis’ work in conjunction with the opening of the Cascade Symphony Orchestra’s season, and one of their paintings has been selected to be on the cover of the orchestra’s program for the season as well.
They’ve been busy updating their web sites so even more information — and some wonderful music—can be found at: www.vardiart.com; www.vardiartgifts.com (for prints, CDs and notecards); and www.lenorevardi.com (for instruction).
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University of Washington law school student Ben Golden has been appointed by Governor Chris Gregoire to be the student representative on the university’s board of regents.
“I am one of 10 voting members on the board,” Ben explained. “Major decisions come through us for approval,” including real estate and housing issues as well as faculty appointments (as a student, Ben is not eligible to vote on those).
Ben, 23, grew up in Bellevue and had his Bar Mitzvah at Temple B’nai Torah, and attended the UW as an undergraduate. He is greatly enamored of overseas travel. After sophomore year he went to Israel on a Birthright trip and backpacked through Europe before studying in Greece. As a senior, he spent time working on farms in Nicaragua through American Jewish World Service, and between graduation and starting law school he traveled and worked abroad for 15 months in places like Taiwan and South Africa.
He takes his regent duties very seriously.
“I like the public service aspect of it,” he says. “The university’s done a lot for me,” adding that “this job is a lot of fun, believe it or not…I’m learning a ton.”
After graduation, “if I could do anything, it would be in international development policy,” Ben says.
In the short run he hopes to work with emerging and startup companies as an attorney.