Construction begins in the neighborhood.

articles / Community

Notes from the Fires: Christopher Still (Part 2)

John Rabe

Community On Demand Notes from the Fires

Finally, some progress for one of the people we’re following in Notes from the Fires.

00:00

Finally, some progress for one of the people we’re following in Notes from the Fires. Host John Rabe met LA Phil trumpeter Christopher Still and his wife Amanda at the site of their burned home in Altadena.

Amanda McIntosh and Christopher Still on the site of their home in Altadena after the ruins were cleared. Chris is holding the architectural plans for their new home.

John Rabe

Construction begins in the neighborhood.

John Rabe

They finally have architectural plans for the new house! So, to the sounds of Stravinsky, backhoes, and jackhammers, we hear about the new place. Amanda is of course glad to be making progress, but she says she feels a bit like she’s betraying the old house. Chris says they’ve entered a phase - rebuilding - where lots of fire victims are deciding to try to start fresh somewhere else.

NFTF Christopher Still - Piano

Ryan Johnson and JJ Padilla, part of the team cleaning contaminated debris in Altadena, carry the only remaining part of Amanda McIntosh and Christopher Still’s piano into the couple’s garage, which unaccountably did not burn down. Credit: John Rabe

At the end of this piece, we hear Yo-Yo Ma and Kathryn Stott performing "Goin' Home," based on Dvorak's New World Symphony.

Community On Demand Notes from the Fires

Written by:

John Rabe

Published on 04.29.2025

MORE LIKE THIS

Notes from the Fires: Patt Morrison

On this episode of Notes from the Fires: Patt Morrison, the veteran LA Times columnist, author, radio host, river lover, and local historian.

05/19/2025

Notes from the Fires: Sasha Schoettler

Today, when losing your house means losing your dad … again.

04/22/2025

Notes from the Fires: Jeffrey Kahane (Part 2)

Today on Notes from the Fires, meditations on displacement, exile, trauma, history, and music, in the second part of John Rabe’s interview with maestro Jeffrey Kahane - among other things the longtime leader of the LA Chamber Orchestra.

04/14/2025

Notes from the Fires: Jeffrey Kahane

Notes from the Fires host John Rabe had a long conversation recently with maestro Jeffrey Kahane, the pianist and former conductor of the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra.

04/07/2025

Notes from the Fires: Tesserae

Perhaps no musicians we’ve heard from in Notes from the Fires so far have lost so much … yet retained so much optimism. Alex Opsahl and Ian Pritchard, founders of the Baroque ensemble Tesserae, were in Europe with their two young boys on January 7.

03/31/2025

Notes from the Fires: Christopher Still

This episode of Notes from the Fires introduces us to Christopher Still, second trumpet for the LA Phil. Still lived in Altadena with his wife Amanda, their two young sons, and their two dogs, Luna and Karl Von Hoobie-Doobie. They got out of the house 15-20 minutes after he saw fire in Eaton Canyon.

03/25/2025