fallen colleagues

Being a freelance musician anywhere in the country involves one universal common denominator: driving.  When I lived in the D.C./Baltimore area my “gig range” was from Roanoake, Virginia in the south to Lehigh, Pennsylvania in the north.  I once even did a gig in Kingsport, Tennessee.  Every current or former freelancer I know has a close-call story that involves driving long distances late at night.  I was a passenger in a sports car that almost hit a herd of migrating deer as they crossed I-81 up the Shenandoah Valley sometime between 11:00 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.  It was only luck that we hadn’t come along a few seconds later: there would have been no time to react – we might have been killed.

This morning brought a sobering reminder of the hazards of the late-night travels of the freelance musician.  A car with three members of the Eugene Symphony were returning to Portland from an evening rehearsal late Sunday night when they were hit by a car (driven by a 26 year old female drunk driver with a previous DUII conviction) travelling on the wrong side of the freeway.  Two of the three musicians were killed nearly instantaneously:  Kjersten Oquist, aged 36, Principal violist, and Angela Svendsen, aged 31, Principal second violinist.  The third, Principal oboist Kelly Gronli, was injured, most likely saved only by being in the back seat.  All were wearing their seatbelts.  Here is a link to the story in the Oregonian.

The news came to the hall as we were in the midst of rehearsing for our upcoming classical subscription concerts.  It was devastating, as these musicians are and were well-known to almost all of us, both as frequent substitutes with the OSO, and as valued members in the other major ensembles around the Portland area.

Kjersten played a lot with the symphony, less after she won her position in Eugene.  She was very intelligent, thoughtful, witty, and was a highly-regarded violist. She also served as librarian of the OBT orchestra and of the Young Artists at the Schnitz concerts – everything was ready well in advance and with impeccable skill, and always with a charming smile, too.

Angela was a shining light in any violin section she played with.  A fashionista and wonderful violinist, she made a major impression on tour to Baker City last year as being perfectly coiffed and raring to go for those 8:30 a.m. bus rides for the local school concerts – I don’t ever remember seeing her in a bad mood and without a ready smile, even during those grueling Nutcracker runs at holiday time with the Oregon Ballet Theater Orchestra.

Kelly has always been the go-to oboist if we have a last-minute sickness in the section, and her brilliant playing (including sight-reading Daphnis last season!) and wry wit are always appreciated – I’m glad that she’s doing ok.

Never does the community of musicians feel so much like a family as in times like this.  We all know each other – for good or for ill, and as in a family the old grudges fade away when crisis mode sets in.  My heart goes out to the families and friends of those who were killed, and to the extended family of their fellow musicians.  The Eugene Symphony musicians and staff must be absolutely devastated, and I’m sure that I speak for all of my colleagues in the Oregon Symphony when I say that our thoughts and prayers are with every one of them this week.  They, too, have concerts this coming weekend, and these upcoming rehearsals will surely be some of the most difficult they will ever play.

Next time you attend a performance by one of the other ensembles in town, say a special thank you in your heart for those hard working musicians.  They travel long distances after most of us are safe in our beds, and they do it both for the love of their craft and the enjoyment of the audiences, and often for less than adequate pay.  No one in music works harder than the freelance musicians.  Don’t forget them.