By KAREN LEIGH Palisadian-Post Contributor Don’t tell Emily Morgan and her fellow musicians to “go back to the orchestra pit.” Because when Harvard University’s Gilbert and Sullivan Players perform the opera legends, great masterworks, well, there is no pit. “We play in front of the stage,” says Morgan, 19, a violinist who served as orchestra manager for a recent production of “Princess Ida,” and it’s like we’re in a supporting role. Really, shows need music!” And she’s happy to provide. A lifelong Palisadian, Morgan has been playing her instrument since second grade. Now a junior mathematics major at Harvard University, she is one of its more versatile students’numbers whiz, classical and operatic violinist, and co-chair of “Vericon,” the Harvard-Radcliffe Science-Fiction Association’s annual convention. “It’s a fun place to be,” she says of the school’s Boston campus. “The people at Harvard are really interesting…everyone’s just very excited about what they’re doing.” Morgan included. At age seven, when she accidentally discovered the violin during a weekly music class at Palisades Elementary School, it was love at first note. Today, “I like listening to different instruments, but I have more appreciation for the violin because I’ve been playing for so long!” During high school at Harvard-Westlake, she joined the orchestra for drama department musicals such as “Gypsy” and “Into the Woods” and pulled double duty as a singer in the school’s bel canto choir. Still, “I was more attached to violin.” That passion followed Morgan to Harvard, where she became involved with two top on-campus music groups. With the Mozart Society Orchestra, she and 30 other students perform traditional classical concerts. “It’s intricate, it’s complex.” And it’s a commitment’two practices per week, four recitals per year, not counting Morgan’s freshman-year duties as the group’s art director. Her other gig, The Gilbert and Sullivan Orchestra, provides accompaniment for operas mounted by the renowned Harvard-Radcliffe Gilbert and Sullivan Players. Favorites thus far include “Gondoliers,” “Iolanthe,” and the venerable “Pirates of Penzance.” “I like the fact that this is a stable orchestra. We’re established, and we play all the time,” Morgan says. “The composers aren’t bad, either. The music we play is light-hearted and playful…. I like it!” When she’s not strumming, the multitalented collegian can be found on, yes, treasure hunts. A member of Harvard’s Science-Fiction Association'”an umbrella organization for people involved with anything sci-fi, such as books and games”‘she assists in creating its popular Puzzle-Hunt. “Basically, we send students on a treasure hunt. Except instead of finding clues, they’re solving word and logic puzzles to reach the ultimate goal.” She also co-chairs the annual on-campus Vericon convention, at which attendees browse sci-fi wares, watch foreign animation, and attend author panels. This year, Morgan wrangled famed scribe George R.R. Martin as the event’s guest of honor. To keep afloat, Vericon relies on club dues. And it’s become a community event, with several Harvard Square businesses making donations. “Simply a great social experience,” Morgan adds. “And yeah, I do read my fair share of sci-fi novels!” When she’s not studying, that is. “Always interested in computer science,” Morgan was a founding member of Harvard-Westlake’s prize-winning Robotics team, which designed and constructed simple robots. At Harvard, the mathematics major has thrived in courses such as topology (“kinda like geometry”) and advanced logic and problem solving. “I’m planning on attending graduate school,” Morgan says. “I’m interested in studying the overlap between math and comp-sci.” Between classes, the humble, friendly student decompresses with an unlikely collegiate activity’bridge. “It’s fun,” she protests. “I love, love gaming.” Supporting these myriad interests are mother Ginny, an archaeologist, father Greg, who works for a charitable foundation, and younger brother Peter, a junior at New Roads School. It was Ginny, in fact, who bought Emily her first violin, “a really cheap one I got way back in elementary school, which is safely stored for posterity in the family’s Via de la Paz-area home. “I have a better one now,” her daughter jokes. It’s a good thing, too, because tunes will always be important to this mathematician. “My favorite thing about music is it’s beautiful to hear,” Emily says quietly. “It’s exciting to make beautiful music.” (Editor’s note: The author, Karen Leigh, formerly known as Karen Wilson, is a former Palisadian-Post intern who offers her editorial expertise on her school vacations.)

Cornelia Funke created the fantasy world of “Dragon Rider” for Seven Arrows students last Friday, bringing with her a menagerie of characters as she read from her book at the morning assembly. Perched on a stool in the courtyard, she morphed into the wise female rat, affecting a high-pitched raspy voice to warn the brave young dragon Firedrake that his home is soon to be destroyed by humans. The silver dragon responded with curiosity and innocence, and the grumpy brownie shot back with a sarcastic tone. Like the author, Funke’s characters are animated and perceptive. They know that “humans never have everything they want” and that big animals don’t always listen to smaller animals, which can cause problems. These messages reach audiences young and old. A German native who has been compared to J.K. Rowling, Funke breathed fire into her adventurous narrative, which follows Firedrake as he embarks on a journey to the Rim of Heaven. Among the characters who accompany the young dragon is an orphaned boy called Ben, named for Funke’s son, who is a fifth grader at Seven Arrows. Funke chose to read from “Dragon Rider,” published in 2004, because she and Ben agreed that it did not require any prior explanation. Full of delicious details, the novel invites readers to explore a magical world where curious and witty characters fiddle with their whiskers, wrinkle their sharp noses and pick pieces of moss out from between their teeth, all while discussing the power of human nature. “It was my dog that inspired me first,” Funke said in response to a student’s question about the origin of the book. “He looked like a dragon.” Another student wanted to know if writing is hard for her. “Writing books for me is the easiest thing on earth,” she said, adding that if she’s not writing, she gets “grumpy.” Funke started her craft when she was 28, and said that as a young child, she was not necessarily encouraged to be a writer. “In Germany, teachers are not very good at that,” she said. “When I was in fifth grade, [a teacher] said that I wrote rather unusual things and not what I was asked to write. I always wrote too long.” She became a social worker and worked with underprivileged children, which she calls “one of the most important experiences.” However, she realized that the gift she had for writing and painting “just wanted to get through,” so she began working as an illustrator for children’s books. Funke was disappointed with the way some children’s stories were told, and admits, “I was often really bored. Authors often underestimate children; they’re frightened to tell the truth about anything serious.” She also thought some authors used language that was too simple, when “children are [actually] very open to sound and language.” As a child, Funke had read and been inspired by “The Neverending Story” and “The Chronicles of Narnia.” One of her favorite books is T.H. White’s “The Once and Future King.” She’s read the “Harry Potter” books to her own children, and believes that reading to kids in general is important for their growth. Now, Funke creates most of the illustrations that accompany her own novels, but tries to focus more on the scenery and setting of the world she describes, as opposed to the actual characters, which she prefers to leave to children’s imaginations. One student wanted to know if she has a plan before sitting down to write a novel, and she admitted, “I didn’t when I started, and then you end up in the jungle in the middle [of the book].” Now, she plans for half a year, organizing her chapters, before she writes the first sentence. “Sometimes my characters decide to go somewhere different and then I have to change it [the plan],” she said. “Sometimes I get stuck. It’s like you’re in a labyrinth and you have to find your way out. I believe the story has one way out.” A helpful technique she uses is reading the story out loud. She also completes about four or five rewrites before the novel is finished. “Do you like your book?” asked one student after Funke finished reading from “Dragon Rider.” “If I didn’t like it, I wouldn’t give it to my publisher,” said Funke, who has written more than 40 books and is published in 28 different languages. She writes in German, and corrects the English translation to make sure it’s as close to the original as it can be. Having her work translated into a foreign language’especially one like Chinese, which she doesn’t understand’makes her a little nervous. “Sometimes the book arrives and it’s slightly thicker or thinner.” Funke surprised the Seven Arrows audience when she said it usually takes her six to eight weeks to write a book, but she clarified that a major novel like “Dragon Rider,” requires a year or two. Her personal favorites are the two completed books in her trilogy, “Inkheart” and “Inkspell,” in which she has created a land of a book within a book and certain readers have the power to bring characters out of books and send them back. “I think my writing is best in those,” said Funke, who is currently working on the third book. Two of her novels have been made into movies in Europe, and a third, “Inkheart,” was recently adapted into a screenplay by New York playwright David Lindsay-Abaire (“Kimberly Akimbo”), and begins filming this summer. The film is being produced by Mark Ordesky, who did “Lord of the Rings.” “I’ll be on the set with my kids,” said Funke, who also has a daughter, Anna, who attends The Archer School for Girls. Her reading and talk at Seven Arrows concluded a week-long Literary Festival at the school. Funke spoke during the weekly Kuyam ceremony (Kuyam is a Native American word for meeting), which brings together students, administrators, teachers, parents and other family members. Last week’s ritual included a special musical presentation on Sweden’s St. Lucia (“festival of lights”) celebration and music from the school’s parent band, which includes music teacher Todd Washington. The students sang along to the Seven Arrows anthem as well as “Lean on Me” and U2’s “Pride.”

When Maria Kostelas was 11 and talking with friends about what they wanted to be when they grew up, she remembers saying, “I want to play my flute and help people.” Looking back at the pieces of her life that have led to renown for her CD’s and workshops, the puzzle of her life is starting to make sense. Growing up in the San Fernando Valley, Kostelas was given the choice of an instrument to play by her father Andy Kostelas, a L.A. Philharmonic and studio musician who played the flute, saxophone and clarinet. She chose flute. She attended high school in Chatsworth before attending Cal State Northridge on scholarship. Not only did she continue to work on her music, but also earned a degree in social work. While a student, she had an opportunity to work in a master class with Jean Pierre Rampal. When she was 19, the World Gift Store in Dana Point was going out of business and Kostelas saw a very small hand-carved South American flute. She thought it might be fun to buy, and at the price of 49 cents she couldn’t go wrong. The flute had a beautiful sound and it started her collection of more than 100 indigenous flutes. After graduation, she worked with families and children in trouble through a nonprofit organization and at night she pursued the flute. During that time, she played in a master class with James Galloway. Kostelas attended a workshop with R. Carlos Nakai, who is famous for his Native American flute recordings. “I had a fantasy that I’d be backstage and he’d let me play his flutes.” Her fantasy came true when it happened exactly as she imagined. It pointed her in the direction of playing flutes of the world. The silver flute is in the key of C. That is not true of the flutes in her collection. They are all tuned in a different key depending on the length and width of the flute and the finger hole placement. One of her favorite flutes was carved by Hawk Little John, a Cherokee medicine man. The flute has a very deep, healing sound. After collecting indigenous flutes and learning to play them, Kostelas began to offer lectures on them. She developed her talks into workshops, where the participants could play the flutes. “I felt it was important to give access to music and letting people know they could make music without having to put all the hours of practice in that I did.” Through the Los Angeles Philharmonic, she taught flute workshops for parents and children. Maria was selected as a California artist-in-residence from 2000-2003. She was invited to private events and was asked to be one of the four musicians who played at the L.A. Convention Center for the Holiday Gift Show. Her location at the show was perfectly situated because the sounds of the flute echoed down the hallways, and people would seek her out trying to find out what the sound was and where it was coming from. One woman was opening a spa and thought the sounds were meditative and asked her to play. It was there she met Olivia Newton-John and became involved with Newton-John’s Foundation, the Children’s Health Environmental Coalition. At private parties, she started composing songs for guests on the spot. This led to “Honored Guest Musical Solo,” where Kostelas will “paint” a musical portrait of the guest or a couple and then record it. She says it’s intuitive, that the guest recognizes him or herself in the composition. Most of the songs are three to five minutes long. “It’s a way to offer a blessing of honoring a person,” she said. “The custom actually goes back to the Native Americans who honored animals and persons by playing for them.” Her CD’s are also used as healing tools. Her cousin, Janet, was injured in a car accident sustaining such severe injuries that she was declared dead. Janet fought her way back to life, but remained in a coma. The nurses played Kostelas’ music to her. During that time her cousin appeared to Kostelas in her dreams and pointed her in a direction with her flute that included healing. Her cousin eventually regained consciousness. “It’s beyond performance,” Kostelas recalled. “It’s turning in and assessing what people need on an emotional, spiritual and physical level. It’s putting myself in that place to offer that service.” Five months before Hurricane Katrina struck Louisana, Kostelas was to perform in a concert at the Woman’s Hospital in Baton Rouge that Barbara Harris, the editorial managing director of “Shape” magazine, had organized. After the hurricane, the program was still going forward, but Kostelas wanted to make sure the nurses who spent all their time caring for others were taken care of as well. She asked Dina Aish, a fourth grade teacher at Palisades Elementary, if her students could make CD covers and write letters to the nurses in the hospital. The children were thrilled to oblige. Even more thrilling for Kostelas was the nurses’ response. Many started crying when they read the letters and chose a CD cover to go with the CD’s of healing that Kostelas had recorded and donated. “The nurses had been so busy after the storm,” she said, “they hadn’t had time emotionally to deal with the tragedy.” Starting December 19 for three weeks, Kostelas is doing a vision quest concert, “Say Goodbye to the Old, Say Hello to the New,” on the Internet with well-known doctor Susan Lark, who specializes in women’s health issues. It’s another area of healing that she would like to bring through her music and flutes. “Vision quest music are concerts of illumination where people can see answers,” she said. “It opens their hearts and empowers them to do it themselves.” Vision quest concerts last about an hour, and an individual participating doesn’t have to be a guru or even know how to meditate. Kostelas helps people prepare mentally by giving them a list of questions to think about before the concert. As she uses her different flutes for different songs, she helps guide individuals to utilize their own powers. “I believe every individual has soul gifts,” she said. “Through vision quest concerts people can access these gifts.” She will be holding a vision quest concert on January 5 at the Aldersgate Retreat Center on Haverford. Contact: 393-1211.