November is a time when we talk about gratitude and thankfulness. This November, I thought I’d talk about the people who brought classical music into my life.
First, there was my mom. We didn’t have much money when I was a kid, but somehow, Mom always managed to scrape up enough cash each week to pay for my piano lessons. Then, there was my piano teacher. “Mrs. K” knew my mom struggled financially and quietly gave her a discounted price so that I could keep taking lessons.
My music teachers at school shared lots of classical music with us. In the early grades, “Mrs. W” taught us to clap our hands to the beat of Rossini’s William Tell Overture - The Lone Ranger part. We’d clap our hands and pretend we were riding horses. In fourth grade, “Mr. H” played Mozart, Beethoven, and Rachmaninoff for us in class. He was taken aback one day when I recited Rachmaninoff’s birth and death dates. I had won a deck of composer cards – like baseball cards – a few months earlier. They included composer “stats” and biographies. I was fascinated and I found myself memorizing their birth and death dates. Mr. H thought it was . . . a little weird. “Mr. C” was my elementary band teacher. He liked to play Grieg’s March of the Trolls and Hall of the Mountain King on the big Califone record player in the band room. I fell in love with that music. Strangely, “Mr. C” would never let me take the record home.
I wonder why.
Around junior high, I discovered our area’s classical music radio station – WCNY in Syracuse, NY. Don Dolloff was my favorite host. I listened to him introduce thousands of pieces through my teenage years and still model some of what I do today on WNED Classical after his example all those years ago.
My college years were filled with professors and peers who exposed me to all sorts of music I didn’t know before. The standout was “Dr. I” my music history professor. Before taking his class, I didn’t know there was music before Bach. “Dr. I” opened the entire Medieval, Renaissance, and Early Baroque worlds to me. I still think of “Dr. I” every time I listen to Millennium of Music.
I could go on and on, but I’ll stop here. Thank you for reading about the people who brought classical music into my life. I’m thankful for all that they did for me. Now I’d like to read about your people. Who brought classical music into your life? Tell me about them at mwimmer@wned.org.