Welcome Midland Symphony Orchestra musicians! The Musician's Corner page will list information regarding performances, rehearsals and general information. Please check back often for updates.

AUDITION PACKETS
Please check the website regularly before your audition for updates to the packet contents.

MSO Openings:
Assoc. Concertmaster (updated 7/20/09)
Principal Bass
Second Flute
Principal Percussion (updated 9/01/09)
Section Percussion

Audition packets for sub list only*:
Sub list Violin (updated 7/20/09)
Sub list Viola
Sub list Cello
Sub list Bass
*Musicians auditioning for the sub list are not guaranteed to perform with the orchestra during the 2009-10 season

REHEARSALS
Download the 2008-2009 MSO Rehearsal Schedule.

GUIDELINES
Download the 2008-2009 MSO Musician's Guidelines.
Contains information regarding auditions, rehearsals and performances.

ACTING CONCERTMASTER
- TAKESHI ABO

Born in Nara, Japan, Takeshi Abo started playing the violin at the age of five. He earned a bachelor’s degree at Kyoto City University of Arts in Japan, and continued his study at Michigan State University in 1995. He earned both masters and doctoral degrees at MSU.

Dr. Abo is Concertmaster of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra and Alma Symphony Orchestra. He has also played as Concertmaster with the Lansing, Midland and other symphony orchestras throughout Michigan.

An active violinist, Abo has given recitals and concerto performances in Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Dr. Abo has been on the faculty at Interlochen Arts Camp and Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp.

He is currently on the faculty at Central Michigan University, Alma College and Albion College. His primary teachers include Robert Dan, Joseph Fuchs and Misako Kameda. Dr. Abo joined the MSO in 1995.

• Earliest musical memory: In one of the student recitals, I was performing by memory, and I forgot to take a repeat in the music. Of course, the staff accompanist took the repeat, and we fell apart. I turned around to her, and made it look like she made a mistake. I was very little back then.

• How old were you when you began to play the violin? I was five years old. I remember my neighbors were playing the piano, and I told my parents that I wanted to play the piano as well. They didn’t find me a piano teacher but instead enrolled me in a violin lesson program because they found a really good deal (we paid $5 a month, and the music school paid for the rest).

• What is the best thing about being a musician? After a concert, when people come up to me and tell me how much they enjoyed listening to the performance. Being a musician is an extremely rewarding profession when people feel something inside of them when we perform.

•What is your role as concertmaster? Set the bowings for the violin sections, or sometimes for the entire string section to bring out the best musical quality from the strings. Show the string section my musical interpretations along with the conductor’s interpretation to unify the musical interpretation as a section. Lead the violin section with confidence so the section players can feel comfortable and confident. Concertmaster is the face of the orchestra next to the conductor. I always try to do my best so the orchestra members don’t get embarrassed having me as Concertmaster.

• Most inspiring composers: This question comes up often, and this is one of the most difficult questions to answer because every composer has his/her own taste and character in the composition.

Any piece that is well written is always inspiring and challenging for me. For instance, it is challenging to bring out the finesse and charm in Mozart. Many compositions are inspiring because I always find something new that I did not see before in the music whenever I go back to play the same piece after a few years. To me, this is especially true for the works by Bach, Mozart, Beethoven and Brahms.

• What do you like to do outside of work? I enjoy playing with my dog, video games and inventing new recipes.

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ACTING ASSOCIATE CONCERTMASTER - KAREL ABO

Karel Abo recently finished her bachelor’s in music performance at Michigan State University. She is a freelance violinist and plays with various orchestras throughout the state.

She frequently appears as a guest artist at faculty recitals and concerts at universities and colleges. She is a member of the Battle Creek Symphony Orchestra and plays with Alma Symphony and Lansing Symphony and others around the state.

Karel has been on the faculty at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp. Her primary teachers have been Robert Dan and Andrew Jennings. She began playing with the MSO in either 1999 or 2000, and became a member in 2001 or 2002.

• Earliest musical memory: I believe my earliest memory was when I was about three years old. I was visiting my older sister at Interlochen Arts camp and my parents took me to the practice rooms in the basement of one of the buildings and I remember watching a young violinist practice. My parents said it was all day, but I just remember being fascinated.

• How old were you when you began playing the violin? I was about three, a few months after the Interlochen thing, I drove my parents crazy until they let me play. They had so many conditions though, I had to start school before I could play, so in order to start school I had to be able to write the alphabet, count to 100, and quit drinking from a bottle. (I was rather late with the bottle.)

• Who was your most important musical influence? I’m not sure who was the most, but all of my teachers have been important. Especially my first teacher, Ms. Byrd, and my college teacher, Robert Dan. Artists who are the most important influence would have to be Heifetz, Kogan, Milstein, and Kreisler.

• What is the best thing about being a musician? The best thing is that I am never bored. Music is always challenging, there is always more you can do, more pieces to study, and new ways to approach things. I am always surprised at how much more I can see in a piece the second or third time (or more) I play it. Plus there is no such thing as a perfect performance; I can always find things I want to improve.

• Most inspiring composers: Bach, Beethoven, Brahms, Ravel, Debussy

• What is in your CD player right now? John Denver and the Muppets Christmas CD, Tchaikovsky and Brahms Violin Concertos performed by Nathan Milstein.

• What do you like to do outside of work? I enjoy spending time with Takeshi and our dog Azuki. We take walks or watch Japanese cartoons and play video games. I enjoy cooking and also gardening.

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CHRIS PEELER, percussion

Chris Peeler, percussion, has been a member of the MSO since 1999. He has also played locally with the Midland Community Orchestra, the Midland Concert Band, the Chemical City Band, the Music Society, and the Resonators Percussion Ensemble. Originally from Findlay, Ohio, Chris began “playing” the drums at age five when his father’s rock and roll band needed a way to distract him during rehearsals. Pounding out rhythm became an obsession and he began formally studying drums with Bill Smith at Findlay College, then later with Mike Malloy, percussion instructor at the University of Findlay. Chris graduated from Bowling Green State University in 1981 majoring in Music Education, and studied percussion under Wendell Jones. Performing in numerous groups and settings while at Bowling Green, one of his greatest pleasures was playing drums with his dad’s dance band in and around the Toledo area.

After college Chris visited the East Coast and, falling in love with Boston, promptly moved there. Connecting with a group of wonderfully talented friends, his band “Loose Ties” became regulars on the local club scene. Chris also kept busy working as a free-lance percussionist performing with local orchestras, choral groups, and music theater productions. In 1995, Chris and his family relocated to Midland, the hometown of his wife, Nancy. Their two daughters have also developed an interest in the Arts. Emma, a senior at Midland High, plays bass clarinet in band and orchestra; Zoe, an eighth grader at Northeast, is studying piano and drums. Both girls also play handbells at First United Methodist Church. Chris and Nancy support their daughter’s music interests as Board members for the Midland High Music Parents Association, and are participants with The Music Parents of Northeast (TMPONE). “Midland is much like the town I grew up in, great schools, a vibrant Arts community, and so fortunate to have a wonderful facility like the MCFTA.”

By day, Chris is a licensed social worker and Supports Coordinator at Community Mental Health for Central Michigan, helping people with disabilities to connect to whatever services or supports they may need to live independently in their community. As a member of the Give Me Shelter (GMS Arts Education) operating committee, he particularly enjoys assisting individuals to participate in art and music classes. Chris’ other interests include ballroom dancing, woodworking, gardening, and travel.

Some of his favorite performances with the MSO include the semi-staged operas as well as a few 20th century pieces. One of the great things about playing percussion is the opportunity to play so many different instruments. Yet, if he could find the time, Chris would love to learn to play the bass. Chris hasn’t quite made the transition to the digital age of the MP3, having a modest CD collection with a larger tape and record album collection. He enjoys going to the local library to peruse their extensive collection looking for gems by familiar artists and more often checking out unfamiliar music finds. Lately he has been listening to a Danish group, The Hives, and a Japanese harpist, Naoko Yoshino. Chris loves a broad range of music and musical styles, and he looks forward to many more exciting years performing with the MSO.

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ROLAND WALLACE, double bass

Roland Wallace is a retired Chemist & Human Resources Specialist from the Dow Chemical Company. He attended Elizabeth City State University on a music scholarship and holds a Bachelor's Degree in chemistry from Norfolk State University. Roland continues to teach privately and perform as a local musician. He has served as member of the Industry Corporate Advisory Board for the NAACP-ACT-SO (National Academic, Cultural, Technological and Scientific Olympics of the Mind) program and also serves as a mentor/director of the Saginaw ACT-SO Youth Jazz Ensemble. Roland is married to a retired Midland Public School teacher and has a son, who's a college graduate and licensed airplane pilot and percussionist.

• Earliest musical memory: Singing in my elementary school choir when I was 8 years old.

• How old were you when you began playing your instrument? I was 12 years old.

• Who was your most important musical influence? My first string teacher and middle school orchestra conductor, Mrs. Jerlene Harding. She has had the greatest motivation and impact on me as musician and person.

• What is the best thing about being a musician? The enjoyment of performing music with others who enjoy a similar experience no matter what genre of musical style.

• Are there musicians in your family? Mom (gospel singer), brother, tuba.

• Most inspiring composers: Bach, Mahler and Duke Ellington.

• Do you perform in other groups? Yes, quite a few including: Midland Community Orchestra, Molly’s Bistro House Band and Blast From the Past Big Band.

• What is in your CD player right now? Edgar Meyer, Bach: Unaccompanied Cello Suites Performed on Double Bass

• Most memorable moments with the orchestra so far? Performing with so many great MSO special guest performing artists like: Dave Brubeck, Edgar Meyer, Gary Karr and Itzhak Perlman.

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CATHY WHITE, principal cello

I am a native of Midland. I began studying the cello at age 11 in the Midland Public Schools’ summer program and played in the Northeast Middle School, Midland High School and Music Society orchestras. I joined the Midland Symphony my senior year in high school and continued playing in the symphony while studying at the university of Michigan School of Music. I graduated with a Bachelor of music Degree in Cello Performance from the University of Michigan. My teachers included Oliver Edel, founding member of the Manhattan String Quartet and Samuel Mayes, former principal cellist of the Boston and Philadelphia Orchestras. After college, I moved to Troy, Michigan and became a member of the Toledo Symphony, the Troy Community Orchestra, the Bloomfield Hills Orchestra, and many other area orchestras and chamber groups. Upon moving back to Midland in 1985, I played with the Traverse City Symphony and rejoined the Midland Symphony.

• Earliest musical memory: My earliest musical memory is of my father playing our new grand piano. My father had three favorite pieces he would play at bedtime, Chopin’s Etude “Tristesse,” Beethoven’s “Moonlight Sonata” and Mozart’s A major Sonata “Alla Turca.” I loved listening to the music come through my walls and I think that is why I still love these composers. My mother was ultimately the one who stated me on the cello. She had gone to a Midland Symphony League tea and heard a quartet with cellist Lois Palen. She fell in love with the instrument and passed that love onto me.

• At the MSO: This will be my 28th season with the MSO. The MSO has always been a big part of my life. Having watched Dave Brubeck celebrate the opening of the Center for the Arts and then celebrating with him again in 2002 was truly exceptional. I enjoy all the talented people and I’ve been in a unique situation of having been able to play with all the teachers that influenced my early musical life. In 1976, I traveled with the MSO on their European tour and in 2003 I was honored to receive the Midland Musician of the Year Award.

• What would you be if not a musician? I honestly don’t know what I would be doing if I weren’t teaching and playing the cello. In addition to teaching privately, I play throughout the community in various church groups, music society, and different chamber groups. I have also presented numerous outreach programs for students throughout Midland and the surrounding communities. When I’m not teaching or playing, I help my husband, Dr. Daniel R. White, in his veterinary clinic and lend support to my sons David and Jeffrey.

• What is the best thing about being a musician? The best thing about being a musician is of course not only playing great music and meeting great artists, but forming a bond with the people you play with.  Musicians are such a diverse group.  It doesn’t matter what career path someone ultimately chooses, involving yourself in various musical outlets is so fun and rewarding.  I’ve enjoyed playing with symphony professionals, doctors, lawyers, and even U.S. embassy personnel.  It’s just amazing who you will meet.

• What is in your CD player right now? A big challenge right now is learning how to operate my new CD recorder. I always have a current symphony piece ready to check out and at least one quartet recording. Right now I’m enjoying Joshua Bell’s “Gershwin Fantasy” and Yo-Yo Ma’s “Songs of joy and Peace.”

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