They were always some of the most successful. You could always tell Don's students. There was something special about them.

This isn't just some flippant idea or fool's errand. We're hoping to get the country to realize that you don't have to be affluent or powerful to make an impact.

He was a humble man and he was a brilliant man. And he shared his talent freely with the community.

I was amazed that we ended up with someone like that in the community. He could have gone anywhere.

This is one of those cases where the community won't realize what they had until it's gone, and now it's gone.

And it still produces, too. The Stockton Symphony is top-notch in my book, and there's some great students coming to the institute. Joe Gilman (the American River College music professor who also teaches at the institute) is one of the most talented pianists I've ever heard. That praise doesn't do him justice,