Quarter Notes

The Hessie Sargent Spirit of Volunteering Award is presented each year at our BSAV Boston Recognition event to a Boston volunteer who is chosen by peers as one who truly embodies that spirit.

This year, our very deserving volunteer recipient is Judith "Judy" Albee. Judy has been volunteering since 2000 in a wide range of roles, including hosting and mailings, decorating the Hall for the holidays, assisting at our community chamber concerts, as well as one-off volunteer opportunities such as open houses, etc. She has also served as a project lead for the Hosts, and committees such as the Hessie Sargent Award Committee.

Judy has also volunteered at other art organizations, as she says, to “pay back” for the joy they give her in life, such as the Museum of Fine Arts Boston, the Boston Classical Orchestra, presently known as the Bach, Beethoven & Brahms Society, and the Boston Flower Show.

She says that she is not a musician, though her mother tried to teach her the piano. She developed a love of music and an appreciation for the hard work of great musicians. She loves the music she hears in Symphony Hall, though she says she does not have a favorite composer or concert. However, she especially appreciates the wide range of music, including modern and contemporary music that she might never have heard on her own.

Hosting as a volunteer at the entrance doors (formerly known as Greeting) was her first assignment, and it enabled her to meet so many nice and interesting concertgoers. The assignment in the past included staffing a membership table and kiosk to answer all sorts of questions before the concert and during intermission. She really enjoyed meeting so many people from all over the country and world with a love of music.

Judy has championed the Boston Symphony while serving as a Host, and everywhere she travels as well. And she is quite a traveler! This year she has journeyed to Egypt. While she was in Greece this May, she unfortunately had to miss the Recognition Event presenting her with the honor. And in the fall, she is off to Italy, so we all should congratulate her when she returns later in the 2023-24 season.

She says that volunteering has introduced her to many wonderful concertgoers, but it is the friendships she has made with fellow volunteers she treasures the most.

Congratulations Judy!