Player Biographies: Amy Shevitz, Violin
I began playing the violin when I was ten years old. In
my school, you had to pass a course in "song flute" - which was a plastic
recorder that sounded quite awful - before you could study a "real" instrument.
I was sure that I wanted to play the flute, but when the high school students
came to demonstrate our choices, I loved the sound of the violin.
My first teacher was a sad old man whose years in public education had worn him down considerably. He was prone to such pedagogical devices as sighing deeply when you finished the exercise and announcing, "Well, it could have been worse." But I liked playing, especially when we did all-city orchestra. In eighth grade, the sad old man left abruptly on sick leave and was replaced by a retired teacher - a perky World War I veteran - who just loved teaching. He was infinitely encouraging, gave us interesting and fun music, and took our junior high school orchestra around town to play for civic groups. He probably saved a lot of kids from hating music! The next year, the new permanent "string man" (this was in a town where high school band reigned supreme because of its connection with football) was also enthusiastic and got us involved in regional and state level music activities. When I was a senior, I got to play in the All-Ohio Youth Symphony (first violin, 18th stand!) which performed for a week at the Ohio State Fair. In my junior and senior years, there were only four string players in my high school - but fortunately, we constituted a string quartet! We enjoyed playing and enjoyed each other (hi, Maggie, Jeff, and Cheryl!) and had some intense experiences.
In tenth grade, I started studying privately with Genevieve Greene at Marietta College. I liked her a lot and made a lot of progress in learning concertos. That year I also took up the viola and joined the viola section of the Marietta College-Civic Symphonette. It had a silly name, but was a wonderful group with people of all ages. (At one point, I dated my stand partner . . . hi, Norm!) We did classical orchestral concerts, accompanied a local chorus in an annual "Messiah," and put on a well-attended "pops" benefit concert.
In college, I studied violin during my freshman year with Giovina Sessions and played viola for one year in the Smith-Amherst Orchestra. Despite an enjoyable stint in a Brecht-Weill musical, I sort of lost my oomph and concentrated on my academic work, though I still took piano lessons at Smith from Monica Jakuc. After I graduated and moved to Pennsylvania, though, I found another group that was fun and gratifying to play in (viola), the Dickinson College-Community Orchestra led by Fred Petty. We did a lot of interesting stuff in the three years I was there, including participating in a Bicentennial music workshop in 1976 with Aaron Copland.
Unfortunately, when I moved to Boston in 1979 with a new baby, I lost my grip on music again. (It was a rather intimidating music scene there, even at the amateur level!) I soon began ballet dancing again - something I'd also done a lot of in high school - which was my primary artistic expression for the next twenty years. When injuries made that difficult, I realized that much of what I loved about dancing was the music. Through sheer happenstance, I met Joel Lish and the Palisades Symphony and joined as a violinist in 2001. (I've been able to start dancing again, but that's another story.)
What I love about the Pali Symphony is that it is a real community orchestra. There are a few professional players and we do take on a few reinforcements for concerts. But very few - the heavy lifting is really done by amateurs. There are a lot of orchestras in the Los Angeles area that "let" amateurs play along with (or in back of) professionals, and there is something to be learned from that experience. But for an intense learning experience, and the sheer thrill of making it through a symphony you were convinced - even to the last minute - that you couldn't play, the Pali model is the best. Despite some comings and goings (including losing our beloved concertmaster, Joe Miller, in a terrible bicycle-car accident in 2007), we are a real community. I was thrilled last year when my husband, Dan Shevitz, learned to play timpani and joined the Pali Symphony's percussion section!
I encourage anyone who's interested to contact Maestro Lish and join us. A lot of us are back in the game after years - or decades! - off and everyone is very encouraging. I look forward to Tuesday nights with my friends and good music!
Amy Shevitz and Sandra Zaninovich warm up before a concert