One Former Camper's Memories Become a Legacy: - Reading ...

With the Gift of a Bassoon to RMF, I Honor a Former
Music Teacher, Edward J. Gobrecht, Jr.
by C. Thomas Work
The characteristics of great teachers and great
leaders are equally elusive. Like great leaders,
great teachers are passionate about their calling,
inspire, and invariably bring out the best in those
who choose to follow their lead. An idiosyncrasy or
two often memorialize them. Most folks would say
of both groups, “You know one when you see one.”
And that might be the best we can do to define both
great teachers and great leaders.
Edward J. Gobrecht, Jr. was one of five children
born to a shoemaker and his wife in Hanover,
Pennsylvania, 85 years ago. By the age of five, Ed
had learned the cornet, and by seven was performing
with the Penngrove Band, Redman’s Band in East
Berlin, and Southern York County Band. He
eventually learned to play nearly every instrument
of the concert band and, as a child, occasionally
conducted bands in his father’s place when his father
had conflicting engagements. Confronted with the
choice of an oboe, a bassoon or a French horn to
play in junior high school, Ed picked the one with
the oddest sound and appearance - the bassoon!
Six months later, Ed was playing bassoon with
the York Symphony under Louis Vyner, a graduate
of the Curtis Institute of Music who later led
the Reading
Symphony
Orchestra, from
1961 until 1976.
At 16 years of
age, Ed became
the principal
bassoonist of
the Harrisburg
Symphony.
Because he was
still in public
C. Thomas Work
school, Ed required
his high school
principal’s permission for early dismissal so that he
could perform with Harrisburg’s orchestra!
But Ed credits four summers of music camp with
his decision to devote his life to music performance
and music teaching.
Ed was drafted
into World War
II soon after his
enrollment as a
music student at
Ithaca College
in 1942. Upon
his return to the
College in 1946, he
was drafted again,
this time to the
Curtis Institute
of Music, by his
bassoon teacher, Edward J. Gobrecht, Jr.
Sol Schoenbach.
Dr. Schoenbach fudged Curtis’ rules by having Ed
admitted at the relatively advanced age of 23 years.
The woodwind faculty at Curtis, who also occupied
the Philadelphia Orchestra’s principal woodwind
chairs, were world-renowned in the late 1940s and
consisted of flutist William Kincaid, clarinetist
Robert McGinnes, and oboist Marcel Tabuteau,
in addition to Dr. Schoenbach. Ed received his
performance certificate from Curtis in 1950.
After performing with the orchestras of New
Orleans and Baltimore for nearly 12 years, Ed was
recruited onto the music faculty of Ithaca College
by Dean Craig McHenry in 1962. In comparison
to his two interrupted stays as a student, this tenure
would be a long one. Ed remained on the faculty for
28 years, teaching bassoon and serving as conductor
of the College’s Symphonic Band and, after Walter
Beeler’s retirement, its Concert Band.
While I cannot vouch for his demeanor as a
bassoon teacher, I vividly recall his rehearsals of
the Ithaca College Symphonic Band. Spicing a
smorgasbord of the best teaching methods were
lessons for a lifetime. Two such lessons recurred
frequently and were always heartfelt: First, no
music is worth playing unless it is played musically.
Second, tolerance of mediocrity is a capital offense!
“Gobie’s” students would bear the imprint of his
passion for excellence in music education and
BASSOON, continued on page 8
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