Published: November 09, 2007 07:57 am            

Playing second suits symphony's violinist

BY RUTH RICE

RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM

Beth Pile of Somerset County doesn’t mind playing second fiddle.

Pile began her stint with the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra as first violinist in 1989, then moved to second when an opening came about.

“I prefer second, so I asked for it,” Pile said. “This year, the principal second resigned. I really like second violin because of the lower notes.”

The role of a first violinist is similar to that of a soprano, Pile explained, while a second plays the harmony of an alto.

“I’m not as comfortable playing the first’s higher notes, so I end up with second,” Pile said. “If you don’t play high all the time, you lose your touch.”

Pile also is not interested in being a soloist.

“There’s a lot of competition to be a performer,” Pile said.

“It’s a different mind set.”

Like all stringed instruments, the violin does not have marks where the player’s fingers should be placed.

“You have to feel it,” Pile said.

“It’s all in the ears. You hear the note. I think the strings are as close as you can get to singing.”

Violinists will usually mark their music with bowings, which tell them when to use shorter or longer bow strokes rather than a repetitious back-and-forth motion.

“Bowing makes the music breathe,” Pile said. “We can stop, give it some oomph or give it phrasing.”

Pile enjoys the leadership role of being a principal player.

As principal second violinist, she takes the flak when a wrong note is played because she is in charge of her section.

“The stress is on me to come in at the right time,” Pile said. “They all follow me. My job is to get the bowings from the concertmaster. That includes where to play on the bow. We have to play together. The first and the second are close and have the same rhythms.”

The number of violins depends on the music that has been selected, but Pile said there are usually 12 first violins, 12 second violins, 10 violas and cellos and six bass.

She also serves as music librarian for the symphony, a position she has held since last fall.

“I get the music to the players and see to renting it if we don’t have it,” Pile said. “For every concert, I have to copy music. It’s an ongoing job.”

Patricia Hofscher, the symphony’s executive director, is a former music librarian.

“For an orchestra our size, it’s vital to have someone who knows about music in this position,” Hofscher said.

“The fact that she’s a string player is even more wonderful. She knows about bowings.”

Pile also alerts Hofscher when a piece of music includes an instrument the orchestra doesn’t usually have, such as a saxophone or piano.

Hofscher can then consult with music director Maestro Istvan Jaray and hire the extra player.

“That’s an important part of what she does,” Hofscher said. “She’s one of the most super people. She’s even-tempered and handles the kids well in the youth orchestra.”

Pile is responsible for getting music ready for about 80 musicians.

The music is sorted by instrument and part, which helps her in her monumental task.

She typically is able to give out music for the next concert at a Friday dress rehearsal before a Saturday performance.

Because the orchestra doesn’t hold rehearsals on Mondays after performances, musicians have a chance to look over the new arrangements before the next rehearsal.

“The one thing I don’t want to hear at rehearsal is ‘I don’t have that piece,’ ” Pile said.

Pile also played in the Williamsport Symphony from 1982 to 1989 and in the Altoona and Westmoreland symphonies from 1989 to 1991.

She currently plays first violin in the Laurel String Quartet with other Johnstown Symphony members.

“We play weddings, receptions and parties,” Pile said. “I might have a practice with youth symphony Saturday morning, then play with the quartet in the afternoon and have a symphony performance at night.”

Pile has been manager of the symphony’s youth orchestra since 1998.

In that position, she records attendance, serves as music librarian, makes sure there is a place to rehearse, schedules concerts and takes the baton when Jaray can’t attend.

“Maestro says I’m the mom,” Pile said. “Eighty-five percent of the violin and viola players are my students.”

She works with the young musicians every Saturday from September to May.

Pile began playing violin when she was 5 years old in Cincinnati, where her mother played the French horn.

She and her husband, John, who is an environmental scientist at Earthtech Inc. in Richland Township, met while singing in the choir at Gettysburg College, where Pile graduated summa cum laude and received a bachelor’s degree in music education in 1982.

“I picked Gettysburg because it doesn’t have a conservatory,” Pile said.

“As a kid, I had lessons at a conservatory and knew I didn’t want that. I enjoy other things. I’m well-rounded.”

She was elementary and middle school orchestra instructor for the Williamsport Area School District from 1982 to 1989.

She and her husband worked toward their master’s degrees at Penn State at the same time.

Pile received a master’s degree in music education in 1987.

The couple moved from Williamsport to the Johnstown area in 1989.

Pile was a long-term substitute teacher for Somerset Area, Conemaugh Township Area and Westmont Hilltop schools districts from 1989 to 1992.

Since 1992, Pile has been orchestra instructor for St. Benedict’s School in Geistown, where she teaches stringed instruments to students in grades four to eight.

She also teaches private lessons in violin, viola and cello at East Hills Recreation Center, Richland Township, where she has a studio, and in her Somerset County home.

In this capacity, she prepares students for college auditions, helps students prepare for district, regional and state orchestras and organizes student recitals.

“I work with the public school teachers to assist students who would excel with some private help,” Pile said.

Since 1989, Pile has been director of music at Friedens Lutheran Church, where she leads two children’s choirs and the adult choir on Wednesday nights.

Pile admits she doesn’t have a lot of down time.

“I tell my students, ‘If you want to make a living at music, you have to be busy,’ ” she said.

A typical Monday involves sorting music for her role as librarian at the symphony office, giving music lessons at East Hills Recreation in the afternoon and attending symphony practice in the evening.

“In the summer, I have more time, but from September to May, it’s go, go, go,” Pile said.

“I do like my schedule because it’s flexible. I can say, ‘You don’t have a lesson today.’ ”

When she isn’t performing or teaching music, Pile loves to read spy thrillers by authors such as Robert Ludlum.

She also enjoys watching live and televised sporting events with her husband.

“I have three sisters, and we were all my dad’s ‘boys,’ ” Pile said. “I grew up in Cincinnati watching the Reds and Bengals games, and I still like to watch them.”

Pile lives on 31 acres near Friedens with her husband and four cats.

She also delivers Meals on Wheels in Somerset County.



Beth Pile

Position: Principal second violin with Johnstown Symphony Orchestra.

Residence: Friedens.

Age: 47.

Education: Graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor’s degree from Gettysburg College in 1982. Received a master’s degree from Penn State in 1987.

Employment: Orchestra instructor at St. Benedict School, Geistown. Private violin, viola and cello instructor at East Hills Recreation, Richland Township, and in her home.

Family: Husband, John.

        

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