Lifelong Friends

Young people meet in neighborhoods, in clubs, at schools. The three of us met in an orchestra.    

It was the American Youth Symphony (AYS), founded by Mehli Mehta, shown here with two young musicians. His son, conductor Zubin Mehta of the Los Angeles and New York Philharmonic Orchestras, called him the Leonard Bernstein of India, and Mr. Mehta (as we knew him) shared Bernstein’s love of music. We benefited from that love and made friends in the process. 

Tony Plog and and I played the trumpet, Jock Ellis the trombone. We were some of the original members of the orchestra, meeting in a San Fernando Valley park and later at UCLA, where Mr. Mehta served on the faculty.   

The three of us loved joking at the back of the orchestra, and Mr. Mehta didn’t seem to mind, as long as we played well. Jock was the center of our jokes, using his trombone to shoot spitwads or cigarette smoke and then, along with us, laughing hilariously.

The wonderful memories lasted until early this year, when the AYS abruptly was shut down by the pandemic and an aging support group.   

Before that, however, we managed to slip in an interview that was posted on the website. It told the story of Tony as a soloist, instructor, and composer; Jock as a jazz, rock ’n’ roll, and recording artist; and me as a writer.  

Three lifelong friends who met in an orchestra.