Quarter Notes

It’s hard to believe Tanglewood is here! It was great to see many of you at the Recognition Event held a few months ago in May! 

The recognition event got a bit of a facelift this year and felt more like a small gala! The set up of round tables mixed with cocktail tables made for easy mingling, and the program and presentations were broken up by taking breaks for dinner and dessert. I think we’ve landed on a new tradition! Chad Smith, President and Chief Executive Officer, joined us early on in the evening to give some remarks. It was the first time I myself had met him in person, and it was wonderful to hear a bit about his background as a student at NEC, and how he used to sneak into the hall to see concerts – he shared that he would put on his tux and pretend to be a waiter! It was also perfect timing that the new concertmaster was announced earlier that day. Coming from the LA Philharmonic, Chad knows Nathan very well, and had many wonderful insights to share regarding him as a musician and person. It is certainly an exciting time for the orchestra. It’s incredible to think that he is only the 4th concertmaster in the last 104 years. 

Another highlight of the evening was the archives presentation by Bridget Carr, the BSO’s Director of Archives and Digital Collections. I think we all found her presentation so fascinating, and she even brought a few items out of the archives for us to look at. One of them was a silk “Signature” quilt that was owned by the Koussevitsky’s and hung in Seranak for many years. It is covered with the signatures, poems, and notations of dozens of accomplished people across the arts. One of which is Rachmaninoff himself! They have all been beautifully embroidered over.

Another tidbit that Bridget shared was regarding strange things that have come through the archives. In 2019, the personal papers and manuscripts documenting Doriot Dwyer’s life and career were donated to the BSO. As many of you might know, Doriot was the principal flutist for the BSO from 1952 until 1990, and quite a force! She was also only the second woman to win a principal chair with a major American orchestra. Included in the large collection was a sugar packet with the face of Susan B. Anthony on it. Doriot was a descendent of the famous suffragette, and it is believed that she may have gotten the sugar packet during a visit to the Susan B. Anthony Historic site in Rochester, NY. I loved hearing this, as Doriot was actually my flute teacher when I studied at Boston University!

Following Bridget’s presentation, I announced this year’s Hessie Sargent Award winner, none other than Sybil Williams! For those of us who have gotten to know and work with Sybil, this came as no surprise. She’s such a dedicated volunteer, and always willing to lend a helping hand. Congratulations, Sybil!          

The social engagement committee has continued to meet regularly, and this spring held a few successful events. Pat Stanton led some historical instrument tours at the Hall in March, and both were well attended and highly informative. We also held a volunteer tour at the Hall, which we hope to offer regularly and encourage new volunteers to attend. In April, an informal meet up was held at the Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum. We’d love to plan that for the future and time it with the nasturtium display earlier in the season! The committee is hoping to plan a summer event for the under-40 volunteer group and have sent a survey to see what might be of interest. As always, we welcome ideas for future events!

Thank you for all you do, and I hope to see many of you around Boston this summer, and out at Tanglewood!

Written by Melissa Riesgo