56
Arts
Sept. 19 - Oct. 2, 2015
www.SanTanSun.com
Herriman and the Chandler Symphony Orchestra: A perfect pairing BY KENNETH LAFAVE
One day in second grade, Jack Herriman raised his hand. And now when he raises his hand, 80 musicians begin to play. “I was 7 and we had a string class,” Herriman recalled. “The teacher asked, ‘Does anyone want to lead the group?’ I was the only one to put up my hand.” Little Jack was hooked that day in Kansas City, Missouri. The sound of music coming back at him as he moved his arm to a beat pattern was the beginning of a love affair that goes on until this day. “I’m going to keep on doing this,” said Herriman, now 85, after leading a rehearsal of the Chandler Symphony Orchestra. “They want me and there’s a need for me. Like I told them at the start of the season, ‘I’ll do the best I can to keep you guys off the streets.’” Herriman has been music director of the Chandler Symphony Orchestra since its inception, which, depending on how you look at it, was either 1989 or 1993—or 2006. “We started as the orchestra of Mesa Community College in 1989, but a bond issue failed and they dumped the orchestra. So a bunch of us got together and started this group,” Herriman recalled. The former MCC musicians founded the orchestra as the San Marcos Symphony (named after the resort) in 1993. The name was changed to the
Chandler Symphony Orchestra in 2006 thanks, in part, to the support of the Chandler City Council and then-Mayor Boyd Dunn. The Chandler Symphony Orchestra serves some 10,000 patrons annually, giving six free concerts every season at the Chandler Center for the Arts. From the orchestra’s beginnings up to the present day, Herriman has been its defining personality. “Jack is the face and baton of the Chandler Symphony Orchestra,” said Pam Hahn, the orchestra’s president and harpist. “He treats the orchestra members like professional and always expects the best playing and musicianship from them. We all feel honored to play for Jack.” His musical resume is solid gold. After serving in the U.S. Navy, Herriman studied conducting at Northwestern University with Thor Johnson, an icon of 20th century American music education. He co-conducted the Chicago Civic Orchestra and studied with Leonard Bernstein at the prestigious Tanglewood Institute in Massachusetts. He played viola in the Kansas City Philharmonic for 12 years and then became its assistant conductor. When that orchestra amassed a debt of $1.6 million, its music director resigned and Herriman was offered the job. He declined. “I didn’t want to deal with the finances, so I went to Topeka and was music director there,” Herriman said.
Music director Jack Herriman lifts his baton to begin a rehearsal of the Chandler Symphony Orchestra. STSN photo by Tim Sealy
It was a smart move: the Kansas City Philharmonic folded within a year. From Topeka, Herriman made his jump to the East Valley in 1989. Herriman has guest conducted all over the world, including orchestras in London, Hamburg, Honolulu, Mexico City, Seville and Vietnam. “He has a wealth of experience and has played and studied with some of the greats. He’s got a story for everything we play,” said Mike Wallick, CSO percussionist and orchestra manager. The next CSO concert, at 3 p.m. Sunday, Oct. 4, will feature one of the biggest “stories” in all of classical music: Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, with its famous opening motive of “fate knocking at the door.” Admission is free to the
event at Chandler Center for the Arts, 250 N. Arizona Ave., Chandler. For information on it and other CSO concerts, go to www. chandlersymphony.net. Off the podium, Herriman is a smiling senior citizen. But on the podium, conducting with a clear beat and a definite presence, he is transformed. Like all conductors, Herriman seems to have benefitted from the aerobic exercise of waving his arms and moving his body to music over the decades. He and the Chandler Symphony Orchestra show no signs of stopping. Kenneth LaFave is an associate editor with the SanTan Sun News. He can be reached at klafave@timespublications. com.
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