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Piedmont Symphony Has a New Concertmaster
Piedmont Symphony Has a New Concertmaster
By Leonard Shapiro
Teresa Gordon still remembers that day when, as a seven-year old third grader, her class was taken to a room filled with musical instruments. One of the music teachers looked at her hands and told her they were on the smallish side, and playing the violin would be a perfect fit.
Growing up in the Annapolis area, she always did love music, and her mother has often told her she could sing before she started to talk. With a father who played the guitar and also liked to sing, music obviously just came naturally and it’s been a great joy in her.
These days, Teresa, 51, is the new concertmaster for the Warrenton based Piedmont Symphony Orchestra. What’s a concertmaster?
According to the website for the prestigious Berklee School of Music in Boston, it is “simultaneously the most skilled and knowledgeable violinist of the orchestra while also the chief intermediary between the musicians and the conductor.
“The concertmaster is responsible for…playing solo passages in the absence of a guest soloist; understanding the conductor’s ideas and communicating them in technical terms to the rest of the orchestra; leading the orchestra in tuning before rehearsals and performances; and assisting with aspects of the orchestra’s management.” PSO Conductor Glenn Quader said.
Gordon does all of that and so much more, and in addition to playing violin, she’s also a highly accomplished player on the viola.
“We’re thrilled to welcome Teresa as the new PSO concertmaster,” Glenn said. “Having served the last three seasons as our principal viola, she’s already shared in the successes with us on stage. Her professional reputation precedes her, and I’m very excited to work with her.”
Teresa joined the PSO as its principal viola player in 2019 and will play the violin as its new concertmaster. She has an impressive resume ever since graduating from Shenandoah University, including 18 years as the concertmaster for the Loudoun Symphony Orchestra.
Living in the South Riding area, she’s also a long-time teacher, serving as orchestra director at Rock Ridge High School in Ashburn since 2018, and before that seven years teaching music at the Fred Lynn Middle School in Woodbridge.
Teresa also plays with several other orchestras, most notably the Maryland Symphony based in Hagerstown and the Apollo Orchestra based in Bethesda.
Her decision to leave the Loudoun Symphony had a lot to do with her admiration for Glenn Quader, as a person and a conductor.
“I’ve known him for a long time,” she said. “He’s a nice guy, he loves music and he has great energy. He’s also kind of laid back and doesn’t stress you out. The whole organization is friendly, has a family feeling to it. People look out for each other. I really appreciated the opportunity to come aboard.”
The PSO’s first concert of the new season will be Oct. 22 at Highland School in Warrenton, with a Halloween theme and a wide variety of music including pieces from Lord of The Rings, Star Wars and Pirates of the Caribbean.
A few days after attending her first rehearsal with the string section as PSO’s concertmaster in mid-September, Teresa was thrilled with the session.
“It was just a nice opportunity to get things going, very positive, and I really love what I’m doing,” she said.
