Love Pacifica, Hate Name Errors

I have been a huge fan of the Pacifica Quartet ever since I arrived on campus. I don't think I missed even one of their performances when I was a freshman. Had I continued on my path of being a violin major, one of the violinists would have probably been my professor, which is an interesting point for me to daydream about. Needless to say, I'm very excited for them for winning a Grammy. They are such an amazing reflection on our university and I'm tremendously proud of them.

The Daily Illini ran a story about their win. It was a decent story with interesting quotes. The only problem is they made an error with one of the performers' name. The quartet's violist is Masumi PER Rostad, not just Masumi Rostad. I guess it's a good sign that my editing skills are improving because I'm noticing small inaccuracies like that. It's not a very big mistake when you look at it, but it's vital to not screw up someone's name.

That reminds me of when I was concertmistress of my high school orchestra (for 3 years straight ;)). I would get my name published in the program under a seperate subheading than everyone else, which was a great honor for me.

I don't think they spelled my name right once in my four years at Mother McAuley. It didn't bother me too much, but the more I think about it now, the more pathetic it seems. I even had a favorite misspelling, from which my current blog nickname is derived. They spelled it "Kimbereley", and I liked the ring to it so I changed the spelling so it would look sexier. And my name wasn't the only one misspelled. Some of the name misspellings were blatantly obvious.

I'm beginning to wonder how parents sitting in the audiences and reading those programs could ever send their daughters to McAuley, let alone choose to pay the exorbitant tuition. Whoever it was who proofread the names obviously didn't take it seriously enough. Since no one cared enough to make sure that the programs were presentable to the public, it almost devalued whatever we were doing onstage.

For my final concert, I was asked to perform a special solo with orchestral accompaniment. It was a standard reward given to the best seniors over the years, and I was so proud to be one of them. It was my big moment. My glimmering good-bye. And what appeared in the program?

Meditation from Thais
Written by Jules Massanet
Performed by Kimbereley Scarabello

I think it's a small statement of neglect when someone publishes material that gets the person's name wrong. It's not fun to see your name spelled wrong in print. But more importantly, it gives off the impression that you, as the writer and editor, didn't find their input to be valuable enough that they deserved their name to be spelled right.