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| March 2010 | Issue 16 |
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Mark (Allen McCoy) Your Calendar! |
Meet the Musician A "Straight A" Player The concertmaster walks onto the stage, to the applause of the audience. He or she bows, then turns to face the orchestra. A nod brings a note, an A, from the principal oboist: "Laaaaaaa", and the winds and brass adjust their instruments to match the pitch. Another note: "Laaaaaa", and the strings tune their A strings and then use their ears to tune the rest. With this ritual complete, the audience awaits the appearance of the conductor and the start of another orchestra concert. It's the same the world over and the Loudoun Symphony is no exception. 
So who does the LSO rely upon to ensure its harmony? None other than principal
oboist Craig Hollenbach. Craig started the oboe at the end of third grade. His first
choice of instrument was actually the clarinet, because that would have let him sit next to his then-girlfriend.
Craig's dad, though, thought clarinets were "a dime a dozen," so encouraged Craig to
take up the oboe instead. When he started, Craig didn't realize that playing the oboe was supposed to be hard. He jokes that his parents sent him to the attic to practice, probably to block out the bad noise. Craig remembers many times watching his friends play football in the vacant lot, while he stood by the window practicing his oboe. But he kept at it, doing well in district and regional band competitions and participating in the state orchestra. Craig started playing in the Harrisburg Symphony in 10th grade. He also expanded his musical horizons by participating in marching band starting in junior high school. If you've ever seen or heard a marching band, you know that trying to play an oboe while marching is difficult; it is also futile, since you would never hear an oboe over the drums and brass. Therefore, for six years in marching band, Craig also played drums: snare, tenor, and bass drum, plus cymbals. With all this experience, you would think it inevitable that Craig would major in music. Actually, Craig thought seriously about being an actuarial scientist and really loved architecture. But in the end, music won out. Craig received a full scholarship to major in music education at Lebanon Valley College, in the heart of the Pennsylvania Dutch country. After graduating, Craig taught school for a few years, but found that he loved music more than kids, which he notes is a bad combination for a teacher. Since his new-found Christian faith was very important to him, Craig joined a music group in Fairfax associated with Campus Crusade for Christ. After a few years with them, he completely switched careers and became a computer programmer, and decided to stay in the Northern Virginia area. As happens for many people, music was then put on the back burner in Craig's life, so he could concentrate on his new job and his family. But the itch to play remained. When Craig heard that there was an organizational meeting to start an orchestra in Loudoun County, he immediately signed up and became an original member of the LSO. Craig has been with the orchestra for all of its 19 seasons, thoroughly enjoying the opportunity to interact with fellow musicians. Craig loves the depth and beauty of classical music and how being enveloped in the orchestra's performance makes him feel one with the music. Craig's favorite LSO moment was playing Prokofiev's 6th symphony, which he found to be a very moving musical experience. Craig leads a busy life. In addition to his participation in the LSO, he currently is the committee chair of the Western Loudoun Young Life, a group of staff and volunteers who share their Christian faith with middle and high school students. He keeps in shape with physical exercise, especially running and rowing. Craig's wife, Aledra, is very active in local art, church, and women's groups, so Craig supports her efforts and helps with the entertaining. Lastly, since their children are grown and out of the house, Craig and Aledra are restoring their 1870's home. Back to that tuning routine at the beginning of the concert. Why the oboe? Craig jokes that the oboe was chosen because it's the prettiest sound. More seriously, the oboe is reputed to be the least adjustable instrument in the orchestra, and so it's easier for the rest of the orchestra to tune to the oboe. Craig notes that this tradition guarantees he gets at least one solo a concert! Join Craig and the rest of the LSO musicians as they present the "Masterworks!" concert on 13 March 2010. See if you can't pick out the oboe's melodic lines as it blends with the other instruments to create an unforgettable experience. It's sure to be a great experience, brought into harmony by Craig's "A" performance! In The Rehearsal Hall A tale of surprise by non-musician Don O'Brien I had been invited to a Loudoun Symphony rehearsal late last year, and looked forward to it with great anticipation. After all, for one who loves music, seeing how a conductor crafts a performance from all those talented and highly trained individuals would have to be enriching. Right? Perhaps. My first surprise was that the event was to be held in the band room at Ashburn's Stone Bridge High School. There are certain differences between a high-school band and a symphony orchestra, you will agree, and I wondered how the orchestra's strings, woodwinds, brass and other families would sound in a rectangular room framed with cinder blocks. Well, it could have been a challenge. Not for me, surely, but for the conductor, our own Mark Allen McCoy, as he worked to analyze and react to the intricacies of Dvorak's 9th Symphony being played by the wonderful Loudoun Symphony Orchestra. In a band room. However, it turned out different than I thought. Big time. At first look, you see, the room was smaller than any concert venue, with the performers' instrument cases resting among tables, racks of school flags and uniforms, hats, coats, empty chairs...and an array of other things I didn't take the time to identify. None of these items had anything to do with symphonic music (except the instrument cases, but there was no other more convenient place for our musicians to store them). And there was also the occasional boom-booming of reverberations echoing and rebounding from those rock-hard walls. But twenty minutes later a remarkable thing happened. After "let's do that again," to "yes, I liked that," to "very excellent, we've got it," the room blurred away and reformed as an actual concert hall. The distractions, all of the neatly-stacked and -stored paraphernalia--and the cinder blocks--dematerialized through the magic of Mark's baton and the talented people with him. The cacophony of compromise went from bedlam...to bliss. I learned something that night, in that band room. I learned that the joy of serious, inventive and powerfully beautiful music can rise above the everyday environment to capture your ear, your heart, your mind, and the tapping of your toes. I also knew that, had Mr. Dvorak himself been with me in that band room, he would have smiled just as I did. And applauded, too. The Loudoun Symphony Orchestra is fortunate to have this rehearsal home at Stone Bridge. In many ways, the oblong room seems to bolster the spirit of discovery and development that help define "rehearsal." We appreciate the use of the hall, as the phrase goes, and are better because of it. ---------------*--------------- Previous issues of Loudoun Symphony Notes can be found at: http://www.loudounsym.org/notes_index.htm. Have comments or questions? Contact the editors--Don O'Brien and Vicki Rundquist--at newsletter@loudounsym.org Be instrumental! 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