LONGTIME PJS FAMILY RECALLS EARLY DAYS

Posted on November 22, 2019

Linda Neale (PJS 1967) and Georgia Marshall

Linda Neale and her mother, Georgia Leupold Marshall, came to the PYP office recently to share some stories of the early days of the Portland Junior Symphony.

Georgia’s mother (and Linda’s grandmother) Ruth Saunders was a violin student of PYP Founder Mary Dodge, first in Burns, and later when they both moved to Portland. Ruth played in the very first concert given by PJS, on February 14, 1925 at Lincoln Hall (then Lincoln High School). She met her future husband, Marcus Leupold, in the orchestra! For many decades she was a visible and strong supporter of PJS. Both Georgia and Linda recalled her hosting dinners and receptions for guest artists and guest conductors, including Aaron Copland, who came for the 40th anniversary of the orchestra in 1964.

Linda recounted what a wonderful, warm human being Aaron Copland was, how supportive and forgiving he was of the PJS trumpet player who missed an important solo passage in The Red Pony performance, on March 7, 1964, how enthusiastic he was about the orchestra and the organization.

A few years later, she took a year of study abroad in London and attended a London Symphony concert Copland conducted. After telling her friends how she had met him and played under him in PJS, they urged her to take them backstage to get his autograph after the performance. Reluctantly she agreed and when they arrived backstage they saw all the society ladies of London dressed to “the nines.”

Eventually, she made her way up to the conductor and began to speak, “Mr. Copland, you probably don’t remember me, but I was in the Portland Junior Symphony …,” at which point he flung his arms wide and cracked a huge smile, saying “Oh, I am so glad to see you…” like she was his long-lost buddy. And all the society ladies were standing around looking down their noses wondering “Who is this person?” She recalled that he remembered everything about his visit—even her grandmother’s dinner! He seemed very happy remembering his time in Portland.