From the Deputy Publisher: Double Forte

Left: Cathy Resmer and her tuba, circa 1996. Right: Graham Resmer with his trombone in 2022 Credit: Courtesy

For 27 years I’ve been humming “Fantasy on a Theme by Samuel Barber.” It takes me back to the university wind ensemble I joined in college. I auditioned for the group my junior year, looking for an easy one-credit A.

It didn’t work out precisely as planned. I presented myself to the conductor toting my cornet, which I hadn’t touched since eighth grade. After I butchered a couple of scales, he shook his head. Wasn’t there anything else I could play, I pleaded. He scanned his office. “How about that?” he said, pointing to a forlorn tuba in the corner.

A few months later I was playing tuba, second chair, on a 10-day concert tour in Japan. Because I was a bit too short for the giant instrument, I had to bring along a wooden block — essentially a booster seat — to reach the mouthpiece.

“The Sammy Barber piece,” as the conductor called it, was my favorite. My part was lyrical, loud at times and, most importantly, simple. I could play it confidently and feel like I was contributing to the ensemble.

Hearing the recording now brings tears to my eyes as I remember how hard I had to practice and how generous the other musicians were. They were more welcoming than any other group I joined at my conservative Virginia alma mater.

I haven’t played music onstage since graduation, but I’ve seen many symphony concerts at Burlington’s Flynn theater; my son, Graham, 17, is a trombonist in the Vermont Youth Orchestra.

Both Graham and his younger sister, Ivy, played brass instruments in the Winooski Middle/High School band — thanks in part to their devoted band teacher, Randall Argraves. Graham wanted to take it a step further.

When he was in fifth grade, we discovered the Vermont Youth Orchestra Association’s Endangered Instruments Program; it offers subsidized private lessons to kids who play hard-to-recruit-for instruments. Trombone was on the list, which also includes oboe, bassoon, French horn, string bass and tuba.

Graham got two years of heavily discounted lessons through the program. He also attended Symphony Summer Camp and was accepted into the VYOA’s Da Capo ensemble, then the Vermont Youth Philharmonia, the junior varsity orchestra. Last year he made it into the VYO. Over the summer, he played second-chair trombone on a 10-day tour of Greece. He’s much more dedicated to music than I ever was.

Members of the Vermont Youth Orchestra and the Vermont Youth Philharmonia performing in Thessaloniki, Greece, in July 2023 Credit: Courtesy

Playing trombone in the VYO is an escape, he told me. It forces him to listen closely to his fellow orchestra members. “You have to be so engaged in the music,” he said. “It takes my brain completely away from whatever else is happening in my life.”

That includes playing two varsity sports — football and wrestling. Last year he was the No. 3 wrestler in the state in his weight class.

There’s not much crossover between the VYO and the wrestling community, which is filled with yelling coaches and parents and sweaty teens in singlets throwing each other to the mat. “It’s a completely different vibe,” Graham said.

But they’re more similar than you might think. The sense of camaraderie Graham feels with his wrestling teammates is similar to his bond with the low brass section of the orchestra — he pushes himself to improve because he doesn’t want to let his colleagues down.

Both activities require performing under pressure, often with hundreds of people watching.

In other words, they’re pretty good training for life.

“When I’m onstage, I just block out the noise and focus on what I have to do,” Graham said. “That’s the same thing I do for wrestling.”

I’ve loved watching Graham play sports and music, and not just because he’s my son — seeing talented athletes or artists perform in person is a thrill. There’s nothing like being part of a live audience witnessing something together — gasping, sighing or spontaneously cheering as a group.

Similar to the performers onstage, you feel like you’re part of something.

This week’s Performing Arts Preview highlights dozens of such opportunities. Get out your calendar, buy some tickets and see some shows — like the VYO’s Fall Concert on Sunday, October 22, at the Flynn.