GRSMA: What do you remember most about your training at Civic?

 

JENNA ANDERSON BUCHNER (COC violinist/2012-14)

Civic Orchestra had an intensive and extensive rehearsal schedule. I am used to now having four to five rehearsals for a concert. At Civic, we would have closer to fifteen to twenty rehearsals, and sometimes even more. This allowed me to memorize almost everything we played and learn all the other parts in the orchestra as well. 

 

HAIJIN CHOI (COC violinist/2001-02)

I remember that Daniel Barenboim was so charismatic while conducting almost minimally, yet conveying his intention so powerfully. We were all so eager to learn from every rehearsal and concert.

 

KATHLEEN GOMEZ (COC oboe & English horn/1980-81)

For me, it really was mind-blowing to perform on the same stage as the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I mostly played English horn, and that was what the conductor called me. English!

 

ERICH PETERSON (COC horn Associate Member/1990-91; COC horn Full Member/1991-93)

There are a few things that stand out in my memory, but I think the most vivid recollection was walking from backstage to onstage at Orchestra Hall for the first time. To walk out on that stage and stand/sit/play where so many of my musical mentors worked on a daily basis was so inspiring, but almost overwhelming, as a young musician.

 

PATTY KATES (COC violinist/1987-89)

What I remember most about playing in Civic was learning very difficult music very quickly. Actually, I was still in high school, and trying to play "Daphnis and Chloe" and "La Mer" was a stretch for me. I had never seen music like that before, and it was pretty mind-blowing at the time. Anyone could be called out at any time for sticking out or making a mistake, so it was always very important to be as well prepared as possible and stay focused.

 

GRSMA: Is there a memorable moment that you wish to share?

 

CHRISTINA FONG (COC violinist/1987-89)

I had the privilege of playing in the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, one of my greatest learning experiences, especially under the guidance of then CSO Assistant Concertmaster Francis Akos. Years later, while searching for a new bow, I visited Seman Violins in Skokie, IL. After trying many bows, I finally settled on one I felt deeply connected to. When I shared my choice with Peter Seman, he revealed that the bow had belonged to Francis Akos and was being sold as part of his estate. Peter then asked if I’d like to try Akos’ violin. Of course, I could never afford his Guadagnini—an instrument that, much like its owner, embodied strength, character, class, and beauty. Back in my Civic days, I didn’t know much about Akos beyond his incredible musicianship, his generosity as a mentor, and his saint-like patience. It wasn’t until after I purchased his bow that I learned he was a Holocaust survivor. I encourage everyone to take the time to hear his story in his own words, archived in the United States Holocaust Memorial Museum’s oral history collection: Francis Akos' Oral History (https://collections.ushmm.org/search/catalog/irn504524). In many ways, Akos’ influence on Civic lives on—not just musically but in a very tangible way.

 

GRSMA: Thank you for sharing that remarkable story with us, Christina. What did a typical week look like for the Civic schedule?

 

PATTY: In the 1980s, I remember that we rehearsed four days a week in the summer, Monday through Thursday, from 5:00 pm to 8:00 pm. It was grueling! We had a concert about every two to three weeks.

 

JENNA: Typically, rehearsals were in the evenings, leaving my day free to practice, rehearse with my string quartet, and enjoy Chicago and all of the free things Chicago has to offer. We would rehearse for a few weeks before each concert and have sectionals with members of the CSO.

 

KATHLEEN: For me, I was working at the music publishing firm Carl Fisher and lived in Oak Park, so I stayed downtown often for Civic rehearsals.

 

ERICH: To be completely honest, I don’t remember what our rehearsal schedule was exactly. I remember taking the train down from Evanston, but not which days/times, except I remember clearly the Saturday morning sectionals with CSO Principal Horn Dale Clevenger in the Recital Hall at Regenstein.  Playing through all the major repertoire under his coaching with an outstanding horn section was thrilling and inspiring. It made up, many times over, for having to get up so early on a Saturday morning to be fully warmed up and ready to go for those sessions.

 

GRSMA: What conductors or mentors did you work with?

 

HAIJIN: As I mentioned earlier, Daniel Barenboim was very impressive. Conductor David Robertson gave us a fresh look at the music of Mahler. Sometimes the CSO violin principals gave us masterclasses on orchestral excerpts, to help us prepare for auditions. 

 

PATTY: Actually, Christina Fong and I were Civic violinists at the same time! Our conductors were Gordon Peters, Michael Morgan, Kenneth Jean, and guest conductor Sir Georg Solti. The violin mentors who would work with us in sectionals included CSO musicians Charles Pikler, Francis Akos, Cho-Liang Lin, and Samuel Magad.  

 

ERICH: Cliff Colnot, William Eddins, Margaret Hillis, Kenneth Jean, Michael Morgan were all more regular conductors for us.  Special guest highlights for me were Daniel Barenboim, Pierre Boulez, and David Loebel.

 

JENNA: When I was there, our principal conductor was Cliff Colnot, who taught us to be very exact in our preparation and to respond to emails quickly (I wish that I had retained the latter part of that lesson...). Guest conductors were numerous and too many to remember, but a few that stand out are Jaap Van Zweden, Carlos Miguel Prieto, and Riccardo Muti. We had sectionals with CSO musicians Robert Chen, Blair Milton, Stephanie Jeong, Baird Dodge, and David Taylor.  

 

KATHLEEN: Part of being in Civic was that you received scholarship money for private lessons. I studied with CSO Principal Oboist Ray Still and CSO English hornist Grover Schiltz. Also, I recall that we had Claudio Abbado as a guest for a rehearsal. It was wonderful to work with such an esteemed conductor.

 

GRSMA: Earlier, Christina shared a memorable moment with us. Is there one that you wish to share, too?

 

ERICH: Two, actually. Playing 1st Wagner Tuba on Bruckner's 7th Symphony with Daniel Barenboim. I remember locking eyes with him as he checked if we were ready for the beginning of the slow movement. I was terrified that I wouldn’t be able to sustain the whole phrase at the slower tempo that he wanted! Also, rehearsing the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra with Pierre Boulez.  He would run the rehearsals entirely from memory, completely without aid of the score. He had complete command of every note in every part, every measure number and every detail of the entire piece. I’d never worked with someone with such a mind before. I was blown away!

 

KATHLEEN: Well, I have a few that I will never forget. I performed twice with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Once was on a subscription concert, and the other time was on a children's concert, with the CSO's Second Oboist playing Principal and me on second oboe. Another memory was when CSO Principal Horn Dale Clevenger asked to speak to me. He was also the conductor of the Aurora Symphony Orchestra and asked if I could perform Tchaikovsky's "Romeo and Juliet" with them. I was awe-struck, nonetheless!

 

HAIJIN: Mine was not as positive as Kathy's. Our conductor, Cliff Colnot, told me that I would never get a tenured position in an orchestra because I didn’t have my violin ready to play on time. Look who has tenure now! Maybe this was more of a motivating moment than a memorable one for me?

 

PATTY: Two very special moments for me were when Wendy Warner played the Shostakovich Cello Concerto and when Rachel Barton served as concertmaster and performed the violin solos of Ravel's "Mother Goose" Suite. 

 

JENNA: We worked closely with cellist Yo-Yo Ma, which was an amazing experience. One year he played "Don Quixote" with us, with Carlos Miguel Prieto conducting. It was such a fun experience. Another year, Yo-Yo had the idea of the ensemble working on and performing Beethoven's Sixth Symphony entirely without a conductor. We all received scores and studied the piece extensively. By performance time, the ensemble had such a deep knowledge of the piece, and most of the musicians did not need their music. The idea was to encourage the ensemble to play more like chamber music, and to listen to and react to our colleagues and their musical ideas. I have never experienced anything quite like that performance since, but the lessons stay with me. I still think of orchestral playing more like chamber music, and try to connect with my colleagues more than focusing on my own part.  

 

GRSMA: Thank you for sharing your stories with us for this article, dear colleagues. Part One of this series was about the training at Miami's New World Symphony. https://www.grsmusiciansassociation.com/where-we-trained-new-world-symphony

Be sure to watch for our next article in our series "Where We Trained," which will focus on summer festivals.