“Life after the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra has been good to musicians who retired in recent years,” writes Mark Kanny in Saturday’s (2/6) Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. “Some simply enjoy retirement, while others use the time to develop early but neglected enthusiasms, discover new professional activity or find a better balance in life…. Says cellist Gail Czajkowski, who was a member of the symphony from 1979 to 2014, … ‘I’m happy to be able to watch all the Steelers games on Sunday.’ … Oboist James Gorton … joined the symphony in 1971 for the opening concert at Heinz Hall and left in 2012…. Gorton has taken up recording work in his retirement and already has made several commercial releases.… John Soroka joined the Pittsburgh Symphony as principal percussionist and associate principal timpanist in 1978 [and] officially retired in 2008…. Three years ago, Soroka became executive director of the Allegheny Riverstone Center for the Arts … The most musically active of recent retirees is [Andres] Cardenes, who … retired [as concertmaster] in 2010. He maintains an active career as a violin soloist and as a conductor and is head of orchestral studies and university professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s School of Music.”
Posted February 10, 2016
