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June 12, 2007
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For the love of it Those who play the tuba are the Maytag repairmen of the local classical scene. We wait by the phone, hoping that someone will call. Yes, the tuba enjoys near universal recognition as part of an orchestra — specifically, as the part that goes “BOOOMPH!” But the sad truth is that everyone’s big brassy buddy is rarely used in classical pieces. The tuba only began to show up in scores after the mid-19th century, which means a big part of classical music has no use for tuba at all. Mozart? Nope. Beethoven? Zilch. Schubert, Schumann, Mendelssohn? Zero, zip, nada. It was only when the orchestra expanded in size during the 19th century that the tuba showed up at all, and then only sparingly. Of the four symphonies by Brahms, only one — Symphony No. 2 in D Major — has a part for tuba. And, like most tuba parts, it’s just to add weight to the bass. Just what I need to do: add weight. But once in a great while the phone rings, or something unexpected shows up in my e-mail inbox. And that’s what happened last month, when I got a note from Cathy McIntyre, longtime oboe player with the Nashua Chamber Orchestra. Cathy is also the orchestra’s “personnel director,” which means she recruits fill-in players as needed. The orchestra was planning to do Edward Elgar’s “Cello Concerto” at its spring concerts, and yes, the score called for a tuba. How did she know of me and my tuba? Turns out one of the orchestra’s regular bassoon players, Nancy Tong, was my piano teacher in junior high. And about 20 years ago, I bought a tuba from her husband, Harry Tong, then owner of the legendary Hampshire Music store on Route 101A in Nashua. Seems Harry has purchased the entire inventory of a closed store in New Jersey at fire sale prices, which included a brand new Yamaha concert tuba that he didn’t figure on. But he knew I’d played the tuba in high school (someone had to!), so he offered it to me with a very steep discount. I said yes, so since then I’ve been in the tuba business, waiting for my phone to ring. And this time, I said yes to Cathy’s request to join the Nashua Chamber Orchestra for their Elgar performance. I wasn’t familiar with the piece, but I figured it couldn’t be that bad, if they were asking me. Turned out I needn’t have worried. The four-movement concerto used the tuba in only in the first and final movements, and then for a total of about only 25 notes. Lucky for me, because I could only make one Tuesday rehearsal prior to the actual performances, which were on Saturday, May 31, at Daniel Webster College in Nashua and Sunday, June 1, in Milford Town Hall. When I sat in with the orchestra, everyone could not have been nicer. It was a pleasure to make music with the group, which has in its ranks people I’ve known around Nashua for years. Also, conductor David Feltner was clear, easy-to-follow, and very encouraging to all of us as we brought the Elgar to life for cello soloist Emmanuel Feldman, whose performance was among the best solo work I’ve heard locally in a long time. As players in a community orchestra, musicians in the Nashua Chamber Orchestra do not get paid. They labor for the love of making music. And I have to say, that spirit permeates all they do — the rehearsing, the performing, and the celebrating afterward. If you haven’t attended their concerts, they’re worth checking out. Next season’s offerings are online at nco-music.org. Coming up sooner, however, is a fundraising chamber music concert on Friday, June 20, at Milford Town Hall that brings back cellist Feldman to perform with NCO concertmistress (head violinist) Beth Welty and local piano virtuoso George Lopez. Works on the program include Mendelssohn’s Piano Trio in C minor, an arrangement by Feldman of Gershwin’s “Three Preludes” for cello and piano, and other works. If you missed the chance to hear Feldman play the Elgar concerto, don’t miss this opportunity to hear him in an intimate chamber music setting. Tickets cost $20 in advance and $25 at the door. The music starts at 8 p.m. For more info, visit nco-music.org or call 673-4100. Jeff Rapsis is a working musician and a member of the board of directors of the Manchester Community Music School, and contributes program notes to the Palace Festival Orchestra and other groups.
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5/22/2008 What's worth the drive
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