Sunday, September 29, 2013

Glenn Reeves - former principal violist of the Oregon Symphony for 50 years passes

The Oregonian reported today the passing of Glenn Reeves, who was the principal violist of the Oregon Symphony for 50 years. He died on September 17th, at the age of 99. I interviewed Reeves about 10 years ago at his home in Tacoma and have the interview on a mini-cassette tape. I haven't listened to the interview in a while, but I recall that he said that he played for every music director of the Oregon Symphony (formerly the Portland Symphony) from Carl Denton through James DePreist. He explained that he didn't play for Carl Denton when Denton was at the helm of the orchestra, but he did play for Denton when Denton led high school orchestras, because after Denton was forced from his position at the orchestra, he taught music at Lincoln High School and led orchestra concerts that involved the area's students. Reeves told me that he auditioned  for the Portland Symphony when he was just 17 years old, and that the audition took place in Hoogstraten's hotel room. So, I'm going to have to listen to that tape again in the near future.


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