Blog post courtesy of Michael Hope, CPO Assistant Principal Bassoon
The other day Matthew Heller (CPO Double Bassist) and I played a short concert for the residents at Silvera For Seniors, Confederation Park. Matt and I often play at seniors’ homes as part of the CPO’s Outreach and Education Program, and we always have fun sharing live music with the attentive and appreciative audiences that we find in places like this.
On this occasion, there was one audience member in particular who we were rather surprised to run into: Peter Heyblom, retired Principal Oboist of the CPO! Peter played in the CPO throughout the 1960s and 1970s, and has since been one of the Orchestra’s greatest fans. Peter has always been revered for his beautiful playing and his dedication to the orchestra. Six months ago he moved into Silvera For Seniors, Confederation Park.
It was a thrill to have Peter in the audience. And knowing that he has a discerning musical ear, we made sure we were even more on our toes than we normally are. It was an additional thrill to have Peter tell us afterwards how much it meant to him to have us come and play for him and his friends (who, by the way, were quite impressed to learn of Peter’s esteemed background as a member of the CPO! We made sure to point it out to the audience).
Encounters like these remind me of one thing which is so important: We are so lucky to be musicians because we’re always part of a family and fraternity of music makers and music lovers.