New Horizons Hal France’s life in music, PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE PAID OMAHA NE PERMIT NO. 389
A publication of the Eastern Nebraska Office on Aging
May 2023 | Vol. 48 | No. 5
arts, education still evolving
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By Leo Adam Biga maha music man Hal France has enjoyed a long romance with the city’s opera, symphony, musical theater and broader arts-culture communities. It may surprise some that as late as age 19, athletics, not music, captured his heart. He studied piano as a child, but by high school chose football and basketball over music. He even worked construction to improve his physical strength. This, despite growing up in “a very musical family” back East. Both parents performed. His father played various instruments. His mother sang. If not for “an epiphany” that turned him back towards music, he might not have pursued a conducting career, much less come to Nebraska. Once settled here, he’s taken his career in new directions and found a new life partner in Nebraska Commission on Indian Affairs executive director Judi gaiashkibos, whose family he now calls his own. The New Jersey native is an ardent proponent of the talent found in Nebraska. “It’s been a very nurturing envi-
“I’ve had some satisfying experiences being more of a builder than a performer of things,” he said. “That’s probably one of the ways my evolution will continue.” His UNO association goes back years before his current duties, to adjunct instructor in its School of Music. Indeed, his relationship with Omaha dates to 1985, when he began guest conducting for Opera Omaha and other opera companies. “It was great to be able to go back home to make my debut with the New York City Opera. I was there a number of seasons. That was an exciting time.”
ronment for some pretty exceptional talent,” France said, referring to Nebraskans who’ve gone on to fame in music, theater, dance, film, television. If you know his name, it’s likely from his decade (1995-2005) as Opera Omaha artistic director or four years (2008-2012) as Kaneko’s founding executive director. Since 2019 he’s been an instructor of
JIM SCHOLZ PHOTO
musical theater at the University of Nebraska at Omaha, where he’s coordinator of the UNO Summer Musical Theatre Academy launched last year. When not building UNO’s musical theater program from scratch, he still conducts, including Opera Omaha’s staging of Sweeney Todd in 2022 and a run of Showboats for opera companies from coast to coast.
CONVERSION None of it may have happened if France did not get interested in the anti-Vietnam War movement, which led him back to music, first as a fledgling folkie performing protest songs, then as a classical pianist. The real aha moment came when, he recalled, “A piano teacher told me, ‘You are musical. Not everyone is. You have something to offer.’ It wasn’t intended to tell me there was --France continued on page 8.
Older Americans Month Bowlers in their 90s
have stamina to spare
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By Ron Petersen
--See more on page 2 & 16.
ike most other bowlers, Gus Boukal aims to keep his ball out of the gutter. But the 95-year-old also must worry about keeping his balance and sustaining stamina while bowling every week. “I used to bowl twice a week for nearly 30 years but then I got too old,” Boukal said. “Bowling keeps you in shape and its good exercise. You also make a lot of friends and it’s a lot of fun.” Gus Boukal is one of the six 90-year-old bowlers who bowl in the “Wins and Losses” bowling league held at Omaha’s Mockingbird Lanes, 4870 S. 96th Street. The Tuesday and Thursday league features bowlers who are 90 and over, 32 bowlers who are 80 and older along with an additional 40 bowlers in their 70s.
“It’s a great league and it keeps me busy,” 90-year-old Jean Jenkins said. For the past 34 weeks, the bowling center’s 32 lanes was used by teams of hand clapping, palm whacking, overjoyed older adults who had a great season. “Bowling here has been great for exercise and it’s a fun thing to do,” 92-year-old Duane Siedschlag said. “A lot of these people have been bowling here forever.” Ben Letak, a 91-year-old retired postal clerk, enjoys the atmosphere and the rush he gets from picking up a spare or the occasional strike. “It’s great energy and you get to meet a lot of great people,” Letak said. The other two bowlers in their 90s include Sterling Chase and Don Gyhra. --Bowling continued on page 9.