November 2024

The SVA’s “News and Notes” newsletter is a quarterly publication that reviews the previous quarter’s accomplishments and provides a preview of activities to come. Comments and suggestions are welcome at SVACommunications@slso.org. Photo: Laura Dwyer 

Dear SVA Members, 

Fall is here. The 145th season has begun! Changes and excitement are in the air.  We have been busy welcoming back our musicians, helping with education concerts, hosting shuttles, greeting patrons, and enjoying our talented orchestra. The SLSO is preparing for the move back to the Jack C. Taylor Music Center next September. There is a lot to do, and we are grateful for your continuing support of the SLSO and SVA. We need all of you to make this year a success! 

In this issue we are bidding farewell to our dear SLSO volunteer leader, Laura Dwyer. After supporting the SVA for 10 years, she has become a friend and has forever left her mark, helping us build an even stronger volunteer organization to serve the SLSO. 

At our September 26 membership meeting, we presented a tribute book to Laura highlighting many memorable moments of her time with the SVA. Thanks to Martha Duchild, Janice Seele, and Patty and Jeff Kaplan for your contributions in writing Laura’s story, creating the book and slides, and presenting it to Laura. 

I am not saying goodbye to Laura, only see you later. She is joining the SVA as a volunteer, and hopefully we will see her performing on stage at Powell Hall from time to time. Please read her note to the SVA below. 

We hope to see all of you this fall and winter helping with our many volunteer opportunities and at concerts at Stifel, The Touhill, and The Sheldon. The SLSO has a terrific musical season for us and something for everyone. Please bring your friends, neighbors, and family and help us celebrate this 145^th season! 

With warmest regards, 

Debbie 

Thank you SVA members for your impressive support of the Music for All Campaign. The SVA members have collectively donated over $400,000.  50+ SVA members have contributed. Your generosity is allowing the SVA to make two named gifts to the SLSO–a tree lined pedestrian walkway between the handicapped parking spaces and the new East entrance, and the kitchenette in the musicians’ lounge. 

Our goal is to have 100% participation from SVA members for this once-in-a-generation renovation and expansion of our historic home. All SVA members who contribute will be listed on the SVA Donor Plaque. 

Please consider donating to this important project. Gifts of all sizes are welcome, and all project donors will be recognized. 

I hope all members of the SVA will be part of the SVA’s gift. If you would like to support this project with any amount, please donate online or contact  

Kristin Lamprecht, 314-286-4131 
Richard Kranes-Rutz, 314-286-4480 
Jaclyn Stewart-Strothmann, 314-286-4190 
Elaine Wichmer, 314-286-4457 

To stay up to date on the renovation and expansion progress, visit https://slso.org/support-us/powell-hall/ 

Many thanks for your generous support and love of the SLSO!  

Welcome to Andrea Biske, our new SLSO Manager of Volunteer Programs!  We are excited to have her on board. Andrea joined us on October 22^nd and lives in Columbia, Illinois.  Being local, she will have the opportunity to work closely with us on a variety of SVA and SLSO events. 

Andrea most recently held the role of Director of Development for Gibault Catholic High School in Waterloo, IL. She also led volunteers and volunteer efforts in various capacities in recent years. Andrea holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and began her career as a field engineer. 

Please welcome Andrea to the SLSO family and to the SVA.  Her email is andreab@slso.org. 

My Dearest SVA,

As you all know, it has come time for me to step away from my role as your Director. I have searched in my heart for months trying to find a way to convey to you all what you have meant to me over these nearly 10 years, but words just fall so very short no matter how hard I try.  

As you can imagine, beginnings and endings have been foremost on my mind for quite some time. One of my most respected music teachers taught me that a musician must take the greatest of care with the beginning, middle, and ending of each and every note.  Each moment has potential beauty and expression. The beginning of the note must carry with it the expressive path you plan to travel. The middle must carry that path with forward motion. The ending must embrace both where you have been and where the next phrase will travel. No note ending is truly an end. Even the final note of any piece travels onward, remaining in our memories and hearts.  

Beginning 

When I first came to the SLSO, I was in a unique position to understand this wonderful group of volunteers. Chris had just won his position with the SLSO, and I had followed along. I had spent my career as a professional flutist and teacher at the University level. I had just left a job as the Executive Director of a Community Music School, where I developed many new programs. Suddenly, I was in a job where no one knew anything about my background and experience. I remember distinctly being spoken to condescendingly by a young colleague who knew nothing about my background. This person saw only someone with a part-time job.  

I knew how you felt as volunteers! I remember watching a retired Molecular Biology Researcher guiding the buses for education concerts. Two retired investment bankers guiding a fundraiser. A retired Washington University Researcher, a retired Engineer, and a retired Cantor leading Powell Hall tours. Two champions of activism and volunteerism in the community loading PTM boards into cars. A Neurosurgeon introducing YO students at a fundraiser. These are just a few examples of who you are.  

Because of my own experience, I knew to ask who you had been — because I knew that was who you still were. You had so much to offer!  

One of my favorites quotes is from Georgia O’Keefe:  ”Nobody sees a flower – really – it is so small – we haven’t time – and to see takes time, like to have a friend takes time”.  I took the time to see you and loved you immediately.  

Middle 

I had the great pleasure of discovering you!  I listened to you, I worked alongside you, and I followed your lead. Together we accomplished so much!  

I wanted the staff and musicians to know you as I did. To let you share your many talents. and share you did! You gave with passion, joy, and expertise. You became a part of the fabric of every facet of the SLSO. I was still playing and teaching, but you became my purpose and mission. More than that, you became my family. In fact, my mother once noted that she had never seen me love anything else as much as I loved music! It was never just a job for me, but a labor of love filled with meaning. I loved every moment–even the tough ones.   For me, this was never just a job. You became my friends, my family, my source of inspiration and motivation. I quickly grew to love you deeply and profoundly.  

End 

And now, I must leave you. But I take with me all that I learned from you. You taught me the meaning of service and of community, of integrity and of the path to a meaningful life. A huge part of my heart will always be with the SVA, and I will strive to live out the lessons I learned from you as I move forward. You are so very dear to me.   

As my mother was preparing to leave her home and head to an independent living space, she asked me how I had been able to move so many times as Chris changed orchestral positions. I told her that for me, it came down to learning to love something else. We must both do that now.  

I will continue to perform around the country. I will focus my time on teaching young musicians to manage stress and performance anxiety at The Curtis Institute of Music. I will finally have the time to do masterclasses around the country on this same subject.  
 
You will stay in my heart and mind like the final note of a powerful piece of music. The meaning and emotion are a part of me, though our time together is ending.  

The great philosopher, Ram Dass once wrote: “We are all just walking each other home”. 

Thank you for walking with me. You changed my life, and I will love you forever.  

Laura

The new Hospitality Team is looking for members! 

Calling all bakers and assemblers who want to support our musicians, singers, and staff in a particularly tasty way! 

Upon the musicians’ and chorus members’ return from COVID restrictions, the SVA began recognizing and celebrating our Symphony members by delivering packages of delicious, home-baked cookies at a few key moments during the year. (Note the message printed ON THE COOKIE!)  Needless to say, they have been much appreciated, so much so that we have created a Hospitality Team and are looking for committee members.   

Prior to each planned delivery, committee members will be asked if they can bake cookies to add to the treat bags and/or help with packaging and, if they are able, they’ll start revving up their ovens. 

Each treat bag delivery is for roughly 100 people and the goal is for each treat bag to contain four different cookies.  So, the more bakers we have, the fewer cookies we will need from each baker. Cookies must be nut-free and easy to pack with other baked goods without crumbling or crushing into the other cookies. Then, during an energetic, laughter-filled packaging get-together, cookies are placed in clear treat bags and tied with a grosgrain ribbon, with a note to the group receiving the treats.  

So, get out your favorite cookie recipes to share with the musicians and staff that we all love. Or, if you aren’t much of a baker, consider joining the fun of a packaging morning.   

Contact Janice Seele at seelestl@aol.com or Marjie Smith at smithmrs@sbcglobal.net if interested in joining the Hospitality Team. 

We’re excited to present another stellar line-up of guests for our Cocktails and Conversation series for 2024/25.  For those of you who may be new to the SVA, “C and C” is a one-hour interactive zoom meeting held three times during the year in which we feature SLSO musicians and staff.  It’s a great way to get to know these outstanding people “up close and personal!” 

We hope that many of you met Thomas Jöstlein, SLSO Associate Principal French Horn, at our October 21st opening meeting and perhaps tried his favorite beverage, Vanilla Oat Latte! 

Please mark your calendars now for the next two remaining Cocktails and Conversation:  

Please join us for these spirited conversations. You won’t be sorry!  

Marilyn Humiston Co-Lead 
Phyllis Traub  Co-Lead 

The New and Prospective Committee is very pleased to introduce our newest SVA members: 

We would also like to kindly remind Chairs and Vice Chairs to reach out to new volunteers when you receive a new member message from N&P. We realize you might not have an upcoming event, task, or news to share at that time. If you would please still send a message to acknowledge and welcome the new volunteer to the SVA, it would really help with our onboarding process. Please let us know if you have any questions.  

As always, if you have any ideas on how to recruit new SVA members or know someone who might be interested in joining, please contact us at SVANewandProspective@slso.org. We would love to hear from you!  

Elizabeth Hahn, Chair 
Connie Wepfer, Vice-Chair 

In July, we helped collate Donor Benefit Packets and stuff envelopes in preparation for mailing. This has become an annual project and it’s a great time to meet other volunteers and show how efficient we are.  (Photo from last season) 

For information about future opportunities, contact P&C chair Sue Propper at SVAOneandDone@SLSO.org. 

The Meetings and Events Committee arranges general Membership Meetings three times annually, typically March, June, and September or September/October. During these meetings, Symphony Volunteer Association (SVA) business is conducted and updates are given, all while we enjoy brunch, lunch, or dinner in a comfortable setting with a speaker and a short program by SLSO musicians. 

SVA met September 26, 2024, at Meadowbrook Country Club for the fall membership dinner meeting. Our hosts for the meeting were Phyllis and Gary Traub. Committee members on hand were Kathy Norwood, Chair; Don Riechman, Meg Riechman, Marilyn Humiston, and Phyllis Traub as greeters; Linda Seibert, Mark Mittleman, and Teri Steinberg as registrars; and Terri Ciccolella and Penny Bari as table decorators.  

Marie-Hélène Bernard, President and CEO of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, opened the program by thanking the SVA for all the wonderful work that is done to support the Symphony. She highlighted both the progress on the newly named Jack C. Taylor Music Center at Powell Hall and the Music for All Campaign that is progressing well. She closed with her personal thanks and tribute to Laura Dwyer, who is soon leaving her job as Associate Director of Volunteer Activities. 

The musical program followed with SLSO flutists Jennifer Nitchman, Ann Choomack, and Associate Principal Andrea Kaplan, joined by Laura Dwyer, delighting us with the beautiful and entertaining Jour d’été à la montagne (movements I, II, and IV) by Eugène Bozza. This marvelous program was a tribute to Laura for her years of guiding the SVA to the amazing organization we know today, as well as Laura’s final musical tribute to the SVA.  

Following a delicious dinner, SVA President, Debbie Dillon highlighted opportunities to donate to the Jack C. Taylor Center at Powell Hall. Donations from SVA members have achieved the level to sponsor two named gifts with a third possible gift if donations to the fund at any level are given by additional (or all) SVA members. Debbie highlighted the newest members and reported 6,622 volunteer hours since September of 2023. 

The evening closed with a slide show tribute to Laura Dwyer, written by Martha Duchild and narrated by Patty Kaplan, giving a heartfelt thanks to Laura on behalf of the entire SVA for her support and friendship over the many years she’s guided us into maybe the best volunteer association for a major symphony in the country. Laura thanked the SVA (photo) in an eloquent farewell. 

Upcoming events to add to your calendar include Winter Brunch on Saturday, March 15, 2025, followed by the Spring Luncheon on Friday, June 6, 2025. More information to come. 

Kathy Norwood, Chair 
Mark Mittleman, Vice-Chair 

As you may already know, our big 100th SVA Anniversary is coming up in 2025. Nancy Malvin, with assistance from others, has been working on an SVA History Project. The first step was to conduct a series of interviews with past SVA Presidents and other longtime members. It is now time for those interviews to be transcribed and we need help to listen to the recordings and type the dialogue. The work will be done from your home with your computer and Nancy will provide a computer-generated transcript to be used as a starting point. 
 
If you’re interested, and able to type, please contact Nancy at the address below for details of the project. Hopefully your fingers are nimble, and you are ready to help with this assignment. Nancy will be available to help you get started and answer any questions. Her email address is SVAHistory@slso.org.

Kathryn Snodgrass continues to send sympathy and well-wishing cards in response to requests. Anyone in the SVA membership is encouraged to contact Kathryn at SVAEngagement@slso.org, requesting written recognition of a fellow volunteer’s needs or celebrations. 

Kathryn Snodgrass, Team Lead 

And we are OFF! The 145th season of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra is underway, bringing with it numerous opportunities to volunteer for Education and Community concerts. Whether you’re a retired educator or simply have an affinity for children, these events need plenty of dedicated SVA members to create a memorable experience for the students. You can choose to participate on one or both days and specify your preferred role on the Signup Genius provided by Steve Seele, Harry Moppins, and Christine Henry. If you haven’t yet signed up to participate in their committees, please reach out to them to be included.  

NOTE: SVA members working with children must complete the background check required by the SLSO, along with training (available on video) on supporting neurodivergent students. The background check is secure, easy to complete online, and delivers results within hours. 

Suzanne Seibel 
VP Education and Community Programs 

The 2024/25 Coffee Concert Committee served its first cup of coffee and donuts at the SLSO concert on Friday, October 4, at the Touhill. With the second Coffee Concert on Friday, October 25, we now have two coffee concerts under our belts for the season. Nineteen SVA members served hundreds of cups of coffee and tea, along with donuts, to grateful SLSO patrons and public school students attending the concert. 
 
Our volunteers included several new SVA Members who worked a Coffee Concert for the very first time. All members of the team did a wonderful job!   

We took the opportunity to collect patron comments, which have been forwarded to the SLSO Hospitality Manager for consideration. 

The entire Coffee Committee Concert Schedule has been published with volunteers assigned for each concert through the 2024/25 season. However, additions to the team are always welcome in case of unexpected changes to our volunteers’ schedule availability.  Upcoming Coffee Concerts are: 

If you would like to join the Coffee Concert Team, please contact Dave directly as shown below: 

Dave Propper, Team Lead
Team email: SVACoffeeConcerts@slso.org
Mobile phone: 314-225-5167
Home phone: 314-395-1349
Home email: wb2pmp@gmail.com

The ETM Reimagining Workgroup Reconvenes!  This September, the SLSO Education Team, Sarah Ruddy and Jessica Ingraham, shared a summary proposal that was based on the past year’s discussions, brainstorming and activities for “reimagining” an ETM program structure. 

The Workgroup participants were asked to give feedback, and their responses were brought to the table for discussion at the meeting on October 3, 2024. As we move forward, the intent of this Workgroup has been, and continues to be, the development of: 

1) a broader Inclusion of schools whose students have a variety of backgrounds economically, academically, and culturally. The population will continue to be from middle and high schools. 

2) a Diversity of opportunities for student responses to music, shared by the SLSO, which will allow for creative responses through visual arts, language arts, and digital media. 

At this time, it is suggested that the new program begin as a pilot program that would include:  

Ongoing plans for discussion include 1) a structure for teacher training who participate in the program and 2) defining SVA’s involvement in supporting and implementing various parts of the redefined program. Our next meeting is in November. 

Paula Hertel  
Vice-Chair, former ETM program 

The PTM group has been working behind the scenes (for example, confirming volunteers) to prepare for the upcoming season. The first official meeting was The PTM Orientation Meeting on November 8th. 

Mike Darcy, Chair
Sue Darcy, Vice-Chair

Although on a hiatus of sorts, the committee is starting to return to action. Recently, SVA member and former cellist with the San Diego Symphony, Douglas Dirks spent the time to assess the condition of eleven child-sized violins, one viola, and two cellos. The instruments were formerly used by Instrument Playground to give students an opportunity to try a string instrument. Doug provided a detailed spreadsheet to the SLSO’s Education Department specifying flaws and repair needs so the instruments can be restored and returned to service. 

Watch your email for announcements of activities for the Fall season. For more information about Instrument Playground, contact us at SVAInstrumentPlayground@slso.org.

Harry Moppins, Chair
Christine Henry, Vice-Chair

The SLSO Youth Orchestra will have their first concert of the 2024/25 season on Saturday, November 16, at the Touhill. This will be their first concert under the direction of new Assistant Conductor Samuel Hollister. Samuel has already made his debut with the SLSO and is proving to be not only a knowledgeable conductor, but a delightful person when speaking with patrons.  

On the YO program is the music of Valerie Coleman, Tchaikovsky, and Brahms. Close your eyes and be amazed by the extraordinary talent of these young musicians—it’s easy to imagine you’re listening to a seasoned orchestra! 

On October 22 and 23, committee members and SLSO Education Department staff hosted two days of field trips to the Touhill for metro area schools and homeschool students. Over the two-day period, a total of forty SVA members provided support to teachers and bus drivers, making the students feel welcome at the Touhill. This is such an important experience for these young minds as it is sometimes their first exposure to classical music.   

If you have never participated in these Education Concerts you are encouraged to do so at the next series in the spring. This is your opportunity to light a flame in a future SLSO patron, perhaps even a future SVA member. 

For information about Education Hosts, please contact Team Lead Steve Seele (SVAEduAmbassadors@slso.org). 

Year to date has been quiet in terms of advocacy. Most of our time has been spent organizing the committee and getting data to use for the February advocacy day in Jefferson City. Laverne and I plan to have a get-together in January for our committee members to meet and prepare for our lobbying in Jeff City. 

Paul Kravitz  
314-749-8943 

The season has started out with shuttles running to both Stifel and Touhill, for opening week, coffee concerts, and all classical concerts.   

Along with our dedicated returning Ambassador committee volunteers, we have had several new shuttle hosts and valet greeters. We are also putting together training for new and current members to go over procedures that are now in effect. 

Our new Front of House liaison is Zachary Johnson.  He has been instrumental in working with our leadership team in coordinating patron lists and Jed Shuttle operations.      

Our goal, as Ambassadors, is to always welcome and provide the best experience that we can deliver for our patrons. The Shuttles, in particular, is a service that has proven valuable, and many have come to rely on it in the past year and this current season. We continually welcome additional volunteers as we often need someone to fill in for a late cancellation or for an open slot.  

We are looking forward to a continued great year and know that we can depend on the Ambassadors to deliver the quality experience for our patrons as we navigate one more year on the road. 

For more information, contact Ambassadors at SVAAmbassador@SLSO.org.

Sharongay Pearline, Chair
Donald Pearline, Vice-Chair

Ginnie Fister, age 92, of Richmond Heights, MO, passed away peacefully at home on Wednesday Aug. 28. Virginia was born June 12, 1932, in Jefferson City, MO, one of four children born to Elsie and Edward Pecher. She married the love of her life, Richard Fister on August 21, 1954, in Jefferson City, and they shared 68 wonderful years together. Richard died Sept. 11, 2022. 

Virginia is survived by her children Richard, Jr. (Mimi), Jeffrey (Laura), Julia (Bob) and Amalia (Paul); her sister-in-law Agnes Cecelia Hughes and her daughter-in-law Laurie Clithero (Michael). Grandchildren include Matthew, Daniel, Virginia (Bertrand), James (Lisa), Gregory, Sif, Theresa, Luke (Jeffrey); Jack and Ted (Patrick); and Tara and Ryan (Amalia). Great-grandchildren include Alexander, Aristotle, Daphne (Matthew); Eleonore, Victoire, Raphael (Virginia); and Penelope and Virginia (James). 

Virginia was always ready with a smile and encouragement. Like all of us, she suffered loss, but even in her last days she was most concerned with how others felt. She was able to welcome visits from a parade of friends and family, including her new great-granddaughter, also named Virginia. 

Virginia was a high school homecoming queen from Jefferson City. She was swept off her feet by Richard Fister, whom she met at St. Louis University. After their marriage, Virginia taught elementary school before staying home to raise their five children. 

When the children were older, Virginia volunteered and assumed leadership positions with several non-profit institutions. These included The Women’s Association of the Saint Louis Symphony (now the SVA, of which she was president from 1983 to 1985), Birthright Counseling and the Women’s Council of the School of Arts & Sciences at St. Louis University. 

Virginia and Richard were parishioners of Immacolata Church in Richmond Heights for 40 years. They had the kind of quiet, unassuming faith that instilled their children with a sense of justice and kindness for all.

Mary Bickel

Mary died of complications from an extended illness in the Alzheimer spectrum of diseases. She was preceded in death by her father, Frank Bickel, her brother, John R. Bickel, and her beloved mother, Martha Block Bickel, and aunt, Inga Maria Hoenny.

She is survived by her spouse, James Terry Gates, sister-in-law Susan Curtin Bickel, niece Kathleen Blanchard, nephew John R. Bickel, Jr., stepdaughter Wendy Gates Troxel, and stepson James Lee Gates, as well as twelve of their children and grandchildren.

Mary was born in Little Rock, Arkansas, and moved to Maplewood, Missouri as a pre-schooler, where her mother raised her in the home of her grandmother. She attended Immaculate Conception Elementary School and Nerinx Hall, from which she graduated in 1961. She earned a bachelor’s degree at Webster College in 1965, where she studied piano with Sr. Kathleen Tighe and Sr. Alice Eugene Tighe. She taught music at Visitation Academy for two years and began graduate work at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, where she studied with Frank Glazer. She received her master’s degree in piano literature from that institution in 1969. She earned a doctoral degree in education from The University of Rochester in 1994.

After 35 years of K-12 music teaching in the East Irondequoit, New York, school district, a Rochester suburb, she and her spouse moved in 2001 to Richmond Heights, Missouri, to care for her mother and co-found The Hoenny Center, which studied how children teach each other and lobbied for state programs to begin teacher development prior to college entrance.

Mary loved playing the piano, meeting with teachers, eating out, traveling, and attending concerts of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. She volunteered for several years in the SLSO’s Picture the Music and Express the Music programs. With her spouse, she traveled extensively in Europe as well as most U.S. states and Canadian provinces.

Your General Board consists of the Executive Committee; Committee Chairs and Vice Chairs, who fall under one of the three VPs; and Team Leads, whose groups take on recurring tasks within certain committees. 

All these leaders are available, via their “official” SLSO emails, to welcome you into their committees/teams, answer questions, and generally provide resources to enrich your SVA experience. All Execs, Chairs, and Team Leads have SLSO emails, as listed below. Vice Chairs do not have SLSO an email address but are listed below for completeness.

Exec Committee

Membership Committees

Education Committees

Philanthropy & Stewardship Committees

Team Leads