the marvelous music of cleveland orchestra. now to a man whose curiosity defined his life and lead to an extraordinary career -- robert "believe it or not" ripply traveled the globe seeking out strange people and strange places -- robert "believe it or not" ripley. the result still influences reality tv today. the author of the book "the curious man" spoke to us about what he found. >> this is robert l. ripley starting another believe it or not expedition in search of the strange, curious, and unbelievable. >> i think his interest in the strangeness of the world started with his childhood. he was born relatively poor in northern california. he was kind of strange-looking kid, pretty shy. i think that sense of being a little bit of an outcast and an oddball developed in in this curiosity about other oddballs and other strange people and eventually other strange places. this is a big story about an important american figure and it has never been told, and that was shocking to me, that no one had ever really fully told this guy's

string orchestra repertoire is pretty small. i used to be boxed into small repertoire. i kept constantly looking for new repertoire and commissioning new arrangements. if you look at the first of the program you have very early, young vibrant mendelson; fabulous opener and then you have this fabulous concerto written for us in the orchestra. is our gift. msk(music) >> and then you have strauss, extraordinary piece. the most challenging of all. string orchestra work. 23 solo instrument, no violin section, now viola section; everybody is responsible for their part in this piece. the challenge is something that i felt not only that we could do , absolutely could do, but i wanted to show off. i can't tell you how aware i am of the audience. not only what i hear but their vibes, so strong. i have been doing this for a long time. i kind of make them feel what i want them to feel. there is nobody in that audience or anywhere that is not going kn song by the fourth note. and that is our encore on tour. by the way. i am proud to play it, we are from san francisco. we are going t

string orchestra repertoire is pretty small. i used to be boxed into small repertoire.

keys, if any, and they were hard to play in tune with themselves or with anyone else in a small orchestra, and consequently, they had a reputation for being whistle-like and not real sonorous or real colorful. this is the most simplistic of what we call transverse flutes, and it just has the six finger holes and one key for the pinky. the natural scale on the baroque flute is basically the position of the six fingers and the six holes so that if you lift up your fingers in order, you get what we call a major scale. [plays major scale] so when you were playing in pieces that required notes that weren't in that particular scale, you had to like make adjustments by rolling in to make it flatter or close more holes down, and it was a very awkward thing. so if you tried to play a chromatic scale, it would get like this. [plays chromatic scale] so that's when they developed adding more keys to the flute. this flute is pretty much what was developed around mozart's time-- about four or five keys. [plays] (greer) mozart hated the sound of the flute, but realized that it was so popular that it sho

yes, we partnered with those - >> which orchestras were these? >> for the youth assessment we were out in all neighborhoods i can show you is a breakdown of who helped. i think in our breakdown i will publicly have to come back to you. we partnered with organizations to help us frame the conversation so we can reach families who are normally don't come to government meetings >> okay. so the decisions you made in district 5 don't necessarily reflect that. so i'm concerned about that. i know we'll have more delayed discussions as this hearing goes on. >> that concludes my presentation. >> we're done here? i have a few questions. thanks for your presentation. i know that over the years it's been a challenge to come here as the director to hold folks accountable. i have a certain about working with the kids in the community the frustrations of many organizations that don't work with the folk but receive money to work with the organizations. the orchestras that have the capacity to do a lot of oversight and accounting they have a infrastructure and i'

the hip hop orchestra started at university of maryland recently on a dare. it's turned into a lot more, though. take a listen. >> the media says black dudes are rude and violent. why not they show us in school playing a violin okay. >> reporter: seriously, who raps with a viola. university of maryland senior daiched porter, that's who and it's catching on. -- david porter, that's who, and it's catching on. >> someone mentioned a hip hop orchestra. >> reporter: sophomore marcus came up with the idea of the hip hop orchestra. >> man, i -- [indiscernible] >> reporter: moody arranges the music. >> a friend told me to stop making symphonies and make beats. it was just a joke but turned into something real. >> one thing i don't like is taking final exams. >> marcus' idea was, let's just have a rap about stuff we don't line and put the accompaniment with it. >> reporter: what is the day-to- day grind about for a college student? >> the lyrics is about not liking aggressive cops or bad teachers or research papers or parking tickets which is very -- something that's

items from the landfill and start making instruments for the kids, and they were able to create an orchestra of kids playing instruments made with all recycled materials. >> recycled. it's trash. >> let me remind you how absolutely beautiful the music is. >> sounds like you are listening to the new york philharmonic. >> the original video was the trailer to a foreign documentary they have been working on. a kick starter project to try and help finish the filming of this documentary. the kick starter goal is to raise $175,000. they are very chess, and there is very little time left if they don't get to their goal, they won't get any of the money, they really need everyone's support. people have until may 15th. donate between $1 and $10,000. you will get a dvd, a t-shirt, a signed photograph, depending on how much you donate. one of the people behind the project, she is the former wife of steve nash, the nba star player and joining us via skype right this minute. welcome to the show, alejandra. >> thank you for having me. >> why was it such a big deal to work on this documentary? >> it was tim

this is the vegetable orchestra of vienna playing a concert in madrid. they are using real vegetables as instruments. the orchestra bangs on huge pumpkins and whistles into carrots to play jazz, class calculate, and electronic music. >> that looked like a pepper. >> and then you can have dinner. >> next at 5:00 ap, east bay police discover a sophisticated credit card skimmer used at local gas stations. >> i love baseball, where else can you get this, some fans at a major league baseball game are calling the first pitch "the biggest >> live from the kgo-tv broadcast center this is abc7 news. >> this is a friday morning at 5:00 a.m., we thank you for joining us. >> got the weekend ahead, how is the weather going to be? we will check with mike nicco. >> good morning, everyone. we will start with live doppler 7 hd. no need to worry about grabbing an umbrella or having patience on the road as far as the weather. we dry. that is good news. we will talk about what is going on as far as this afternoon looking down to downtown san jose you can see a beautiful sky

how does a symphony orchestra play in sync and harmony?he answer is obvious: the group consists of humans who have the capacity to read music, listen to each other, and follow their leader. but what about a group with no leader or sheet music? like a jazz jam session? itstill perform in sync, each performer working off the cues of the others, synchronized via spoken or unspoken communication. what about schools of fish or flocks of birds? how do they know when to turn left, turn right, move higher or lower, perfectly in sync, each adjusting its movements instinctively, somehow highly sensitive to what its neighbors are doing? while the orchestra and marching band work in a premeditated, planned, even calculated order, the flock of birds and school of fish, they move in unison by a phenomenon called "spontaneous biological order." in their collective movement, we see a system of individuals who somehow have managed to synchronize their changes in motion. and through mathematics, we can make sense of this group dynamic using the language of

regarding 50 four hundred dollars spent on a middle school fare for fay spain, balloons, and the school orchestra. said the money was used for supplies and motivational activities. $2,400 was spent on food for pta meeting, where fried chicken, potato salad, biscay skype -- biscuits, cookies, and soda were served. the expense included dinner, dancing, and entertainment ba local group. auditors noted documentation did not show what the activity was or support the number of people who showed up. $500 was spent on a mother- daughter makeover day. auditors noted makeover day does not fit the requirements of a parental involvement activity to improve student academic achievement. >> swift, decisive action nodaway. this cannot go on any longer. >> auditors noted hundreds of thousas of dollars of personnel costs that were not substantiated. state officials challenge some of the findings in reserve, and on the audit until those issues are resolved. collins, wbal-tv 11 news. thehe search is on for gunman after triple shooting in baltimore. according to investigators, the threat the three victims were waiti

take part in musical activities. 170 musicians took part, including members of the choir, a local orchestrand professional singers. the singers performed japanese nursery songs and a special arranged version of beethoven's 9th symphony. event planners say the singers' experience will give them more confidence to overcome challenges. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay th us. captioning sponsored by macneil/lehrer productions >> brown: president obama declared the u.s. is at crossroads in the war on terror and called for new guidelines and accountability in the pursuit of terrorists. good evening, i'm jeffrey brown. >> woodruff: and i'm judy woodruff. on the "newshour" tonight, we excerpt the president's foreign policy address and get reaction to his proposals about the use of drones, the guantanamo bay prison and more. >> brown: then, we turn to an attack authorities in britain have called terrorism, the brutal murder of a soldier in london. >> woodruff: hari sreenivasan reports on the road to recovery in oklahoma, as the town of moore bu

take part in musical activities. 170 musicians took part, including members of the choir, a local orchestrand professional singers. the singers performed japanese nursery songs and a special arranged version of beethoven's 9th symphony. event planners say the singers' experience will give them more confidence to overcome challenges. and that's all for this edition of "newsline." i'm catherine kobayashi in tokyo. do stay with us. >> "california's gold" is produced in association with kcet los angeles, and is seen statewide on california public television. this series is endorsed by: [music] >> is it possible to drive a car and still have a clean environment? to refine a cleaner gasoline? to build a bridge from oil to renewable energy? could business go further and be a force for good? can 100,000 people in 100 countries come together to build a new brand of progress? we think so. bp is proud to bring you "california's gold." beyond petroleum, bp.

the first woman to head a major merican orchestra. it is made by the generosity by making the arts center such a magnificent venue. when it was mentioned i am from baltimore and rented san francisco and when she spoke about the super bowl. i thought i should share with you what it was like to be there with the whole family dressed in purple and my family was in red for the game. everyone was thrilled for the ravens. i thank him for giving us the ravens. everyone was thrilled and happy for baltimore when the ravens won. only one thing would have made me happier but you couldn't have both all season. i was rooting if are the ravens all season to go to the super bowl, and i was rooting if san francisco to go to the super bowl, little i did i know they would both end up there. this has so many fond memories. outside looks different but the inside looks very much the same honoring the tradition as a symbol of baltimore and our commitment to the arts. because this is filled with so many fond memories for me and my family, it's a true honor

the this is the vegetable orchestra of vienna playing a concert in madrid this week.getable as actual struchlts orchestra bang on pump condition and whistle and care ought and jazz classical and electronic. >> i don't know if they are going to carnegie hall any time soon. spencer is back. the musical instrument wrought the after a period of time. >> true. organic instrument. for southook at the time la looking at flying saucer shape clouds across the sky. mainly blue sky this afternoon. mainly cheer sky tonight as we look at live doppler 7 hd. we expect a few more includes to form during the over tonight hours. state wide tomorrow. sunny mild down south. we'll have some break of sun and few clouds up north over in the sierra. look like shower activity will develop but in the bay area we didn't expect showers tomorrow despite presence of early morning clouds. mainly sunny afternoo afternoon. breezy cool with high probably not breaking the 70 degree mark by much in our inland location tomorrow but it's warmer on saturday and sunday monday as inland high climb back up to

mark izu is also known for greatest modality implementation and orchestra anden ensembles and theatres and also the chinese traditional multi-read instrument and he's the only symphonic show composer in the world. mark premiered mermaid orchestral work in the symphony as well. he wrote in 2005 the man chill a project. he was the emmy award winner in 2009 for 52, a documentary about the vietnamese experience. mark iz odyssey and continued. mr. izu's cd threading time, -- it was release nd tokyo. it released the tokyo. included academy award and new score for silent masterpiece dragon painter. his theatre performed at the kennedy center, lincoln center and sundance festival and 2 in indy awards at the competition and an afcap award. he's the founding faculty member of stanford university of the arts. at this moment i would like to ask mark to make a couple of words. it's an honor to honor you as a district one resident and supervisor for the district. mark izu. >> thank you, i really appreciate your kind words. i have something for supervisor . kim. i go this is the most important jazz i

mark izu is also known for greatest modality implementation and orchestra anden ensembles and theatres and also the chinese traditional multi-read instrument and he's the only symphonic show composer in the world. mark premiered mermaid orchestral work in the symphony as well. he wrote in 2005 the man chill a prt.

mark izu is also known for greatest modality implementation and orchestra anden

. >>> and other memorial day observances, people gathered across the park and orchestras played patriotic songs and the color guard closed it with a wreathe to be laid at veterans memorial plaza. >>> we are live at the coliseum where the battle of the bay is back and under this long weekend, they talk about a heated rivalry. he has details for you in just a couple of minutes and what police are doing, they are doing a door to door search for the suspects. stay tuned for more. are. >>> crews in washington state began to clean up the river when a bridge collapsed last week. two cars plunged into the water and three people were hurt. washington's governor announced a temporary span will be installed in about three weeks and the ntsb is investigating the collapse. >>> the transportation commission is deciding whether or not to open the new span of the bay bridge on labor day weekend. the scheduled opening could be delayed because of problems with bolts. 32 seismic safety rods have cracked prompting concerns. >>> they are looking being for whoever attacked a homeless man, about 5:00 a.m. a man

i mean, if their dead people can play football and conduct orchestras, imagine what their live ones can do. and, folks, a recent news story proved that china's quest for influence knows no bounds. >> china has launched a middle east peace proposal during visits from the leaders of israel and the palestinian authority in a sign of beijing's desire for a larger role in the middle east, chinese leader hi jin ping launched a power-point peace proposal call for an independent palestinian state, alongside israel. >> stephen: chinaments in on middle east peacemaking, and it could work. they are experts at getting longtime enemies to exist side by side. just look at beef and broccoli. ( laughter ) and that is why tonight, i am issuing a wag of my finger at china. listen up, comrades! brokering peace in the middle east is america's job. ( cheers and applause ) yeah. so, i don't know what your plans are, but, please, don't take over our role as middle east peacemaker. i mean, we love putting our politics and our international reputation right into the middle of thousands of years of mistrust and

classical music and orchestras. and wonderful things happen and these are our resources. i want to ask if they will continue and increase the cultural equity grants and the san francisco art commission is reviewing these things. and the benefit of doing this, it's a small amount of money. it ties in with the daniel webster concept of keeping the parents happy of the tech boom who will find this a culturally vivid and challenging and beautiful hill. where they can see international opera and classical music. because this stuff does happen here really high-quality arts. thank you. >> good evening, i am lance burton. i will read this, i am happy that you have chosen to share your budget plans. this is a community that needs more than just jobs, we are advancing the momentum towards careers. the industrial age has passed. the waterfront that sustained our community in the 40s and 50s is gone. construction is merely a hopeful opportunity. in this building we are preparing competent and reliable and productive citizens to run their own businesses and skills and launch their cre