The Philadelphia Orchestra was founded in 1900. Since its inception, the orchestra has had four conductors, Fritz Scheel, Carl Pohlig, Leopold Stokowski, and Eugene Ormandy.
JOHN de LANCIE
Principal Oboe
John de Lancie joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1946 and assumed his present post as principal oboist upon the retirement of Marcel Tabuteau in 1954. Through his appearances as soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra, his recordings, and as a member of the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet and other chamber groups, he has gained world-wide recognition.
One of Mr. de Lancie's interests throughout the years has been to add to the repertoire of concertos for oboe and orchestra. This interest began after meeting Richard Strauss during World War II and persuading him to write his first and only Concerto for Oboe and Orchestra. In 1959, Mr. de Lancie commissioned the French composer Jean Francaix to write "L'Horloge de Flore" for Oboe and Orchestra, which received its world premiere in 1961. He has since performed this work with the Philadelphia Orchestra on numerous occasions and also recorded it with RCA Victor.
In 1962 Benjamin Lees was commissioned by Mr. de Lancie to write a concerto which was premiered in 1964 by Mr. de Lancie with the Philadelphia Chamber Orchestra. (The Lees concerto is published by Boosey & Hawkes.)
Mr. de Lancie was born in Berkeley, California, in 1921 and came to Philadelphia to attend the Curtis Institute of Music as a pupil of Marcel Tabuteau. He joined the Pittsburgh Symphony in 1940 under Fritz Reiner, and in 1942 entered the U.S. Army.
He serves on the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music as instructor of oboe and woodwind ensemble.
In addition to approximately 600 Philadelphia Orchestra recordings, Mr. de Lancie has recorded the following solo works:
As a founding member of the Philadelphia Woodwind Quintet, Mr. de Lancie has also recorded 12 LP's for Columbia Records covering the entire gamut of woodwind music.
STEVENS HEWITT
Assistant First Oboe
Stevens Hewitt was born in 1924 and raised in New York City, where he was introduced to the oboe in Stuyvesant High School, primarily a school for science. While in high school he had a New York Philharmonic scholarship to study with Albert Goltzer, and a year's theory scholarship at N.Y.U.
He studied to be a chemist at the College of the City of New York, a pursuit interrupted by World War II service in the Signal Corps, maintaining telephone equipment in Africa and Italy .
Upon return from the service he studied with Clement Lenom, a member of the Boston Symphony from 1901-25, and graduated Juilliard as a student of Harold Gomberg.
While a student he was the English horn soloist at Tanglewood in the Sibelius "Swan of Tuonela" and oboe soloist in Ravel's "Le Tombeau de Couperin." He also played the Pergolesi Oboe Concerto with Leon Barzin and the National Orchestral Association.
He has had wide experience in many facets of music including a woodwind quintet tour with Martha Graham, Broadway shows; the Sadler's Wells and American Ballet Theatre; the Asbury Park Concert Band; New Orleans Opera; Dallas, New Orleans and Baltimore Symphonies; the Bach Bethlehem Festival; and chamber music at Marlboro.
Since 1965 he has been a member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, teacher of oboe and ensemble at the Philadelphia Musical Academy, and first oboe at the Robin Hood Dell.
Mr. Hewitt is the author and compiler of method books for his instrument and has a large library of books and music.
When he has time he enjoys musical detective work and has hunted down the wind versions of Beethoven's Pathetique Sonata, Op. 31, and Septet, Op. 20; Rossini's Serenade for Oboe and Small Orchestra; a wind octet by Jean-Jacques Rousseau; etc.
Mr. Hewitt's wife, Lynn, is a fourth generation Californian, was raised in Java and South America, and is a Stanford graduate. They have three children, Paul, 7, Sarah, 5, and Alan, 3.
CHARLES M. MORRIS
Second Oboe
Charles M. Morris, born in Coatesville, Pennsylvania, in 1921, joined the Orchestra in 1954. He studied with John Minsker and later attended the Curtis Institute of Music, where he studied under Marcel Tabuteau.
Upon Tabuteau's retirement, John de Lancie moved into his teacher's first chair and Mr. Morris was engaged to fill the assistant first vacancy created by the move. Upon the retirement of Louis Di Fulvio, he moved to the second oboe position, where he has remained. Prior to joining the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Morris played one season each with the New Orleans Philharmonic (1947-48) and the Baltimore Symphony (1948-49) and was a member of the Kansas City Philharmonic for five seasons (1949-1954).
His wife, Barbara, is also from the Philadelphia area. They have two daughters, Deborah, 14, and Michelle, 8.
For relaxation he enjoys outings with his family, such things as biking and hiking.
The rest of the section is left with the impression that if you were to awaken Charles in the dead of night, suddenly, he would know exactly how many bars rest were left until the next oboe entrance. He enjoys being able to conquer the complexities of his own income tax and being able to wade through real estate and insurance problems. He carries with him a little notebook in which, at the last trump, will be found an exact record of all pertinent material. This year he is a welcome addition to the Orchestra Members' Committee.
LOUIS ROSENBLATT
English Horn
A native Philadelphian born in 1928, Louis Rosenblatt began to study the oboe with Nicholas Lannutti at the South Philadelphia High School for Boys. Later he became a pupil of John Minsker. After being graduated from high school, he was accepted at the Curtis Institute and became a student of Marcel Tabuteau. He joined the Philadelphia Orchestra in 1959 as assistant first oboe. When John Minsker retired from the Orchestra, Mr. Rosenblatt moved to the English horn position to fill the vacancy.
During the Korean War, Mr. Rosenblatt served as first oboe in the U.S. Army Field Band. Upon separation from the service in 1954, he became the English horn player of the Houston Symphony. The following season he joined the New Orleans Philharmonic, remaining there until his move to Philadelphia.
He was associated with the Marlboro Music Festival in the year of its inception and in a subsequent year.
During his fourteen seasons with the Philadelphia Orchestra, Mr. Rosenblatt has made numerous solo appearances. Besides recording Sibelius' "Swan of Tuonela" twice, he has performed Honegger's "Concerto da Camera" for Flute, English Horn, and Strings and Diamond's "Elegies" for Flute, English Horn, and Strings. He was soloist in Stanislaw Skrowaczewski's "Concerto" for English Horn and Orchestra with the composer conducting.
He has been a member of the Temple University faculty for 14 years and has had pupils who are now playing in symphony orchestras throughout the United States. He also teaches master classes at the Ambler Music Festival in the summer besides playing English horn at the Robin Hood Dell.
His wife, Renate, was born in Wurtzburg, Germany. She is a fine pianist, was a performer at Marlboro, while Louis was there. They have two sons, William, 12, and Richard, 7.
Languages are among his wide interests, and he can speak fluent German, Yiddish, and French. He has also studied Hebrew and can get along in Italian and Spanish. In the few years since the Orchestra's first Japanese tour, he has learned to speak, read and write Japanese, and was the only member of the Orchestra able to read signs on our recent Chinese tour. In a piece with no English horn part, you may find him backstage, keeping busy committing even more of the thousands of Oriental characters to memory.
The Orchestra is now in its seventy-fourth season.