The Intimidator

A quintet in honor of the storied career of a music educator with few equals. He called his conducting baton "the Intimidator" as its metal ferrule gave it an imposing look.  He wielded it with grace, precision, and artistry, not unlike a lightsaber. He was and is an inspiration to his students and colleagues. His sense of humor is so unique: "What did the circus music sound like that Dmitri Shostakovich was writing by candlelight while shivering on the landing below his apartment, waiting for the black ZiL limousine with the KGB men to take him away because Stalin walked out of his opera at the intermission?"