Kenneth Be   Sun, 9 Jan 2000 01:08:09 EST
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    My name is Kenneth Be.  The "e" in my last name has an accent over it to 
make the pronunciation like "Bay".  I am 40, married,  with two girls Olivia 
(10) and Ariana (6), living in Cleveland, but originally come from near
NYC.  

For the past 12 years I have been a conservator for the painting collection 
at the Cleveland Museum of Art.  I preserve and restore mostly paintings from 
the 15th to the 19th centuries.  Many of the artworks coincide with the 
periods we as lute players are interested in.  Currently, I am cleaning a 
masterpiece (1634) painted by Frans Hals.

Restoring and interpreting works of art has some surprising similarities and 
also differences with reconstructing the performances of lute repertoire.  
You really don't do too much damage by playing something the wrong way, but 
you can do some pretty serious and irreversible damage if you're not careful 
with a work of art!!  We could start a new thread on this alone!

I started the lute in 1974 while in 10th grade.  In 1976 I got to study 
briefly with Nigel North.  Now I have about 9 different kinds of lutes and 
also a citole, renaissance guitar, baroque guitar, vihuela and cittern. The 
instruments have a nasty habit of multiplying!

Like many I started as a classical guitar player (in 6th grade) and fell for 
the lute repertoire early on (Julian Bream LP's and Frederick Noad 
anthologies).  I played the lute all the way through college (Yale) in the 
collegium and continued during my graduate schools (State Univ. of New York 
at Albany and then New York Univ.) But the real fun for me started when I got 
to eventually take lessons with Pat O'Brien and Paul O'Dette, and especially 
when I get to LSA summer seminars.

Now, with my limited time, I concentrate on what I love most:  early 16th C. 
Venetian and mid-17th C. French music.

This list is a wonderful outlet and pastime for me.  I have learned so very 
much from all the contributors and really enjoy all the varieties and 
differences of opinion.