Loudoun Symphony Notes

Cathy’s flute career began early; in fifth grade, as her classmates clowned around at a concert, Cathy sat mesmerized, listening to the music and in particular the flute. She knew then that this was what she wanted to do with her life. She started private lessons in high school and majored in flute at Western Washington University. Her studies there were not without excitement. As she woke up on the Sunday morning of her senior recital, she heard an explosion; Mount St. Helens had erupted. Luckily for Cathy, the wind blew the ash away from her school and she was able to have her recital as planned. Her whole last quarter was somewhat odd; it started on April Fool’s Day and ended with commencement on Friday the 13^th!

WWU was also where she first met David, a German language major. No sparks initially flew as they were just friends, but when David moved to Virginia after graduation, Cathy realized she really missed him. A five-year long-distance relationship led to Cathy moving to Virginia and then marrying David. Shortly after that Cathy saw an advertisement for a new musical group forming. She went to the first meeting for the fledgling Loudoun Symphony in November 1990, but surgery on a torn rotator cuff kept her out of the group until after the first concert. The rest, as they say, is history.

Cathy has several fond memories of her time with the LSO. She and David note that the group treated them like family after a 1996 car accident, donating money and hiring a housekeeper for them while they recuperated. Musically, Cathy remembers the terrific flute part in Scherazade, by Rimsky-Korsakov. Another outstanding moment was a Gala Concert in the 1990s at which Willard Scott narrated the Copland Lincoln Portrait and PDQ Bach’s knock-off, the Bach Portrait. Willard also led the orchestra in the Stars and Stripes march and was generally a terrific guest star. There was also a time when former conductor Jed Gaylin asked her to play something just "one eyebrow higher"; Cathy cracked up the group by playing the segment with one eyebrow raised!

David decided to keep his wife company once she joined the LSO, so volunteered to help with stage set up and lighting. David jokes that "chairs are in his blood", since he also helps set up chairs at his church. David is also a regular blood donor, so we are hoping that as the chairs in his blood spread, so will his wonderful volunteer spirit! David prefers to remain "behind the scenes", but you’ll occasionally spot him out on stage, setting up a stand for a guest star, for example. David’s memorable moments usually revolve around things going wrong with the production; one concert was held at a school that had just opened and the lights kept going on and off, only occasionally in time to the music.

So at the next concert, we hope Cathy’s flute playing keeps you mesmerized, but in the breaks, you are able to appreciate David’s contribution to the production as well. As this series continues, we hope to continue to introduce you to the musicians and people "behind the scenes" who bring you every concert. We welcome your comments and suggestions, which can be sent to newsletter@loudounsymphony.org. (Vicki Rundquist)

• 1917...the Boston Symphony Orchestra was the first American orchestra to make a recording.
• Tchaikovsky thought Brahms "giftless". Neither were.
• Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart composed his first symphony when he was eight.
• Sergei Rachmaninov was hypnotized (after having lost his confidence as a composer); he then wrote his most famous work, the Second Piano Concerto.
• Quiz time: what planets are not included in Gustav Holst's "The Planets"? Right! Pluto had not been discovered yet (and now we're told it isn't a planet, after all). But this is a trick question: Earth isn't there either.
• Richard Wagner's second wife was Franz Liszt's daughter.
• Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-93) originally planned to be a lawyer. Hector Berlioz (1803-69) wanted to be a doctor. He learned to play the flute. Good news.
• Bedrich Smetana (1824-84) was in a string quartet at the age of five. He played the piano in public when he was six.
• Beethoven introduced trombones to the symphony orchestra. Listen for them, especially, in his Pastorale Symphony.