This month, we’re shining the spotlight on a longtime cornerstone of the Peninsula Symphony Orchestra of Northern California—a clarinetist, saxophonist, composer, conductor, and dedicated board member whose involvement with PSO spans nearly four decades. What began as a single substitute performance grew into 39 years and counting of music-making, mentorship, composition, and leadership within the organization. We caught up with Ron to talk about his unconventional path from math major to composer and aerospace engineer and what makes the Peninsula Symphony community so special.

How did your musical journey begin, and what led you to pursue being a composer, conductor, and clarinetist?

My mom started me on piano (and accordion – but I was too small to carry it!) when I was 5. Then we did not have a piano available for several years, so I would play by ear when I visited my grandparents in L.A. I started on clarinet at 10, and on saxophone at 11, and played in bands and “dance bands” throughout junior high and high school. At UCSB, my major was math, but I had a music minor, and managed to take clarinet lessons from Mitchell Lurie and Jim Kanter. I spent 4 years in Army Bands, which perform a wide variety of musical activities. I then returned to UCSB to pursue a teaching credential, but ended up with a PhD in composition, and I was hired to conduct the UCSB Wind and Jazz Ensembles for several years. I taught other courses as well. 

Why did you decide to join the Peninsula Symphony as a musician?

When I moved to the Bay Area (as a software engineer--long story) I played in a couple of local community orchestras. I met some woodwind players from PSO, and they invited me to sub for a concert. That sub position turned into 39 years and counting playing clarinet and saxophone, and composing new music for the Peninsula Symphony. My composition “career” was encouraged by my participation as woodwind coach for the Peninsula Youth Orchestra (Mitchell Sardou Klein conducted both ensembles). They took one of my pieces to Japan on their first summer tour in 1999, and I ended up writing pieces for their tours (and usually going along!!) for 20 years!

You have served as a board member for Peninsula Symphony Orchestra since 2015. What motivated you to join the board?

John Givens recruited me for the board. He was principal bassoonist in PSO for almost 60 years. He’s retired, but still teaching bassoon, in his 90s. I’ve also become close friends with PSO Executive Director Chelsea Chambers, and we work well together. So a lot of the joy I get from my board activity is working closely with her to make PSO a better, more successful organization. My interest in the board is mostly focused on the quality of our product – great and interesting concerts and musical experiences. I participate a lot in outreach activities as well. I let the financial stuff be dealt with by others, for the most part.

What benefits do you think come with being in a community orchestra?

There is a wide variety of community orchestras in the bay area, but the PSO is the cream of the crop – the musical experience is wonderful, we play amazing repertoire with world-class soloists, we have a first-rate professional conductor, we have large audiences, and we have the freedom to experiment some! Clearly, playing in a community orchestra gives musicians the opportunity to play their instruments without the need to depend on playing music for a living (though many PSO musicians are professionals – teachers, professors, etc.). Also, we rehearse once a week, and we present about 6 sets of concerts a year. So our days and evenings are mostly free, unlike people who play in the SF Symphony or opera orchestra, or such.

What advice would you give to musicians who are thinking of joining an orchestra board?

Learn all you can about how the orchestra is run! It’s a complicated matter! Listen! Ask questions! Participate! Don’t let yourself be “steamrolled”! Your job as a board member is to try to ensure the best possible future for your orchestra. Also, as an aside, the PSO board consists of a mixture of orchestra musicians, and non-orchestra people, some musicians and some music lovers. We have also recruited some specialized skills, like HR experience and financial experience. I think that balance is important.

Do you have a hidden talent or hobby?

I spent a career (30 years) working as an aerospace engineer – not the career I expected, but one that worked out well for me. My dissertation was a hybrid – some composition, but also an arcane, 800-page dissertation involving research into a 15th-century Antiphoner [a book of Gregorian Chant] from a medieval Hungarian monastery. I’m now retired, and I’m concentrating on playing, writing, and arranging all kinds of music! (Find Ron's music at www.Entepress.com.)

Also, I’m into trains. I recently published a book about the L.A. General Shops of the Southern Pacific, using photos that my grandfather took over a century ago.

To see Ron in action on the clarinet, attend Canadian Brass in concert with the Peninsula Symphony on March 14th and 15th!