Baytown Symphony Orchestra Musician Member Profiles for December 3^rd “Christmas Celebration”

Ever wonder, ”who are those people on the stage?” Or perhaps, ”I can see they play an instrument and very well too, but other that , this is sort of  impersonal!”  The orchestra’s first conductor and founder, now BSO Board Member and  Public Relations  Chair, David Corder, is trying to fill in the spaces. During this 44^th “Elegante” Season he has selected three to four players for a picture and profile to be available to the public through the news media and on the BSO website. This is the second of four such personal profiles for this season, each being  released around the time of a scheduled performance. The BSO’s next scheduled event is a ”Christmas Celebration” on Saturday, December 3^rd at 7:30 PM in Lee college’s Performing Arts Center(PAC); featuring combined choirs from Baytown and Houston and an evening of seasonal and light classical favorites with a finale of an audience sing-a-long of Handel’s famous “Hallelujah Chorus” from his oratorio The Messiah.

The orchestra, conducted by Dennis Eichler, will have about sixty members and the chorus, prepared by John Weinel, will number approximately one-hundred and twenty-five voices. Four of the instrumentalists in the orchestra have been selected for this picture/profile release. They are pictured, left to right, violinist- Reuben Chance, Oboe and English horn specialist-- Erin Allison, piccolo and flute specialist-Yvonne Kendall and principal percussionist-Carole Casey.

Reuben is a music teacher and versatile musician performing on both the trombone, as in the opening concert of the season in October, and violin, in the Christmas concert for December.  After graduating in music and education from Angelo State College, he taught band for several years and switched to orchestra and string teaching in these  last four years. Reuben may get such versatility from his father, who is also a band and orchestra director. He says that, “on Sunday afternoons, he would set me on their bed in my car seat and I would watch him practice conducting and listen to the recorded music being performed.” Mr. Chance feels “the best thing about being a musician is getting to work on the music of the master composers and perform musical repertory from so many different time periods.” He is a self-confessed “soundtrack junkie;” listening to classics, jazz, concert band, marching band and even Drum Corps recordings. He says, “I like it all.” He joined the BSO in 2009.

Erin Allison’s primary instruments are oboe and English horn. She has studied music education, music composition and instrumental mastery of her woodwind specialties. Erin holds degrees in music composition from Metropolitan State College of Denver University, New Mexico and continues course work for a Master’s of Music in composition Mrs. Allison joined the BSO in 2010. She has two wonderful and talented children, Declan, age two and Macklen, age four.  Aaron, Erin’s husband, is head Band Director at Channelview High School. Speaking of all in the family-one of Erin’s earliest musical memories is singing along with her sisters while her mother played the piano. Erin says , ”she loves to perform music from the late Romantic and early twentieth century.” “In our era, when we are so uncomfortable with silence, the magic of a cesura  (pause in music) or a breath between two phrases, can be louder than any orchestra with every member playing!” “If we but listen, our hearts can be filled with anguish, joy, bravery passion, loyalty and anger that the music portrays.”  Resphigi’s Pines of Rome, is the most recent masterpiece on Erin’s car CD player. The BSO will perform this in their May concert.

Yvonne Kendall joined the orchestra in 2010. Yvonne has a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Early Music from Stanford University. A college professor in the Houston area, she lists writing as her avocation. She is a single person and some of her pastimes include reading, origami and baking. Yvonne feels that “expressing what goes well beyond words; working with others toward something that does not harm” is the best thing about being a musician. Yvonne’s earliest memory about music  is “listening to my dad sing in the car.” She says that,” currently on her pod is Canadian pop singer Gregory Hoskins, Sly and the Family Stone, 18^th century Spanish musician Jose  Pla and Unan Mas, an Indonesian gamelan.  She loves the time with the BSO, especially performing Dvorak, Shostakovich, Mendelssohn and any 20^th century American composers works.

Carol Casey, principle percussionist, joined the BSO in 1988. The principle percussionist assigns the different percussionists to the parts that they will play in a given piece. She is a full time teacher in Baytown and holds a Bachelor of Arts Degree in English and Music and a Master of Arts in Curriculum and instruction in Elementary Education. Carol has” little free time,” she says, “she teaches elementary school, then goes to Lee and Sterling High School to teach the melodic section of the drum line(mallet instruments) before she comes to BSO practice at Lee College.” Carol likes to play music with “lots of percussion parts.” Carol remembers “standing in between the bars at Stallworth stadium watching the Robert E. Lee Band march and play off the field. At the age of four or five, I could feel the drums vibrate in my chest and knew that I wanted to play the drums.” “Through music I get to meet so many wonderful people,” Carol added.

For information about the entire program or purchasing tickets by a credit or debit card by contacting the orchestra’s web site at www.baytownsymphony.org.

By telephone call 281-751-6366. General admission seats are priced at $ 10 for adults, and $ 7 for students and seniors (age 65+). Bring invoice for a ticket exchange to the PAC Box Office that will be open one hour and a half before curtain time. Purchase tickets at Box Office. One may request tickets to be mailed for a nominal fee of $ 1.00.

As a courtesy to the musicians and audience children should be at least seven years of age to attend the program.

 Baytown Symphony Orchestra, Inc.
 Post Office Box 2217
 Baytown, Texas 77522-2217
 

Last Updated on Friday, 09 December 2011