“On the auspicious date of the ‘harmonic convergence’ of 1987, Helen and Leonard Byrne began their married life amid harmonies of a different kind altogether,” writes Stephanie Hammett in Saturday’s (2/8) Spokesman-Review (Spokane, WA). “Nearly half of the Spokane Symphony is composed of married couples; the majority of these, like the Byrnes, met and married after joining. ‘You’re working nights, you’re working weekends. How do you meet anyone else?’ said Leonard Byrne, the symphony’s principal tubist, sharing a look with his wife, Helen, the symphony’s assistant principal cellist who also plays with the Spokane String Quartet…. After four years of working together, he finally plucked up the courage to ask her on a date. Exactly 51 weeks later, they were married. The Byrnes don’t remember who proposed, but they do remember sitting down with their calendars to set a date, and Sunday, Aug. 16, 1987—right between a tuba festival and a conference of the American Federation of Musicians they had to attend be-cause, at the time, Leonard was the national treasurer of the Regional Orchestra Players Association.” The article includes a list of the Spokane Symphony musicians and staff members who are married.
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