ST. LOUIS – As the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra’s 2021-2022 nears its conclusion, Music Director Stéphane Denève is honoring six musicians who are retiring from the orchestra.
“We are all so very grateful for all that these superb musicians have done for our wonderful orchestra and the St. Louis community through their extraordinary tenures,” Denève said.
Bassoonist Felicia Foland, second violinist Becky Boyer Hall, first violinist and the Justice Joseph H. and Maxine Golderhersh Chair Dana Edson Myers, Principal Trombonist and the Mr. and Mrs. William R. Orthwein Jr. Chair Timothy Myers, second violinist Wendy Plank Rosen, and first violinist Hiroko Yoshida share a combined 231 years playing for the SLSO.
“It has personally been a great joy to share the stage with them, admiring their meaningful and friendly musical dedication, their deeply poetic curiosity, and always well-prepared musicianship, grounded in remarkable personal integrity,” Denève said. “They leave precious legacies with our orchestra, and they will serve as an inspiration to all with their commitment to education. Merci de tout coeur, dear Felicia, Becky, Dana, Tim, Wendy, and Hiroko.”
Foland joined the SLSO in 1990 as second bassoonist. She played under directors Leonard Slatkin, Hans Vonk, David Robertson, and Denève. She’s described as “a fervent music educator.”
Hall, a St. Louis native, played in the youth orchestra at Kirkwood High School and received a Bachelor of Music degree from the St. Louis Conservatory (now part of Webster University). She joined ther SLSO in 1993. In addition to violin, Hall has performed on mandolin, hardanger fiddle, banjo, guitar, pennywhistle, hurdy-gurdy, bowed psaltery, and the jaw harp.
Over the course of her 42-year tenure with the SLSO, violinist Dana Edson Myers has appeared with the orchestra as soloist on several occasions, including performances on subscription programs by Michael Tippett and Louis Spohr. Prior to her time with the SLSO, Myers performed with the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, and was a member of The Hague Philharmonic and Ensemble “M,” a contemporary music ensemble in Holland.
Timothy Myers is a founding member of the trombone quartet, Trombones of the St. Louis Symphony, with whom he performs and records alongside his SLSO trombone colleagues. He is the co-founder of the St. Louis Low Brass Collective, an organization that provides educational and performance opportunities for all low brass players in the St. Louis region, especially students and adult amateurs.
Rosen, a native of Long Island, New York, joined the SLSO in 1980 after three seasons with the Kansas City Philharmonic. A dedicated music teacher, many of her students have participated in the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra.
Yoshida was appointed to the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra in 1974, working under Walter Susskind, Jerzy Semkow, Slatkin, Vonk, Robertson, and Denève. For more than four decades, Yoshida has been a violin instructor to hundreds of students, many of whom have gone on to be recognized in national and state competitions.
