Emily Rhodes began her musical endeavors as a child, playing piano and violin, and in high school, guitar. Her interest in guitar led her to a B.A. in Music from Abilene Christian University (ACU), with a concentration in classical guitar. During her last few semesters, Emily studied cello. She then went to the University of North Texas (UNT) and received her Master’s in Library and Information Science. While at UNT, she took lute and viola da gamba lessons with Lyle Nordstrom (lute) and Patricia Nordstrom (viola da gamba). After graduating from UNT in the summer of 2010, Emily took a break from musical activities to focus on her and her spouse's careers. In the summer of 2021, Emily renewed her musical interests with the cello by taking lessons with Basel Sarweh. She then joined the San Antonio Community Orchestra in February of 2022. Emily considers herself an amateur cellist and musician. She is currently employed as a data analyst for the University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio.

Emily would like to thank: her husband, Christopher Rhodes, for all of his loving support during their 14 years of marriage; her mother and father, Jan and Max Jordan, for all the music lessons as a child, and hours upon hours spent commuting to San Angelo and Kerrville from Mason to receive violin lessons; her friends and extended family for their love and support; her cello instructor, Basel Sarweh, for his expert guidance and mentorship toward her musical goals; and finally, the San Antonio Community Orchestra, which embraces musicians of all skills, ages, and backgrounds to enjoy playing music together.

Personal Reflections from Emily about Élégie

This piece is a classic in the cello repertoire. I had just finished performing the Allemande from Suite No. 1 of the Bach Cello Suites when Basel Sarweh, my cello mentor/instructor, put this on the music stand and said this is what I was going to learn next. I knew this piece was going to be a stretch for my abilities, and I wasn't wrong. But this stretching has led to growth in my skills as a cellist.

This piece is an elegy, that is, "a poem of serious reflection, typically a lament for the dead" (per Webster's definition). You can think of this piece like a musical poem. Though there are no words, the music very tangibly portrays many of the emotions that we experience when confronting loss or grief, such as sadness, denial, anger, depression, and finally, acceptance. 

Mourning
The piece opens with a very solemn and mournful melody. It is one of the major themes in the piece that is repeated several times. This theme is very straightforward, with the melody occurring rhythmically on the beat. I see this opening theme as a mournful cry of loss. Played loudly, it is like the sobbing wail of realization that something terrible has happened. The theme is immediately repeated, but this time, Fauré dramatically switches from a loud wailing opening (forte) to a whisper (pianissimo). When playing this portion of the piece, I imagine that the reality of loss is sinking in. 

Bargaining
We then get a different melody. It is not quite a theme as it is not repeated later. It reminds me of the stage of grief called bargaining. Realizing that a loss is real, we try to negotiate with ourselves, others, or with God to undo, postpone, or alleviate our pain. After what I would describe as a "tantrum" at the end of this bargaining, you hear the 1st theme one more time, but now at the quietest possible dynamic: pianississimo, or triple piano (ppp). I think this is denial. Is this really happening?

Memories
After this third repetition of the first theme, I believe we start reliving memories of the person we lost. The cello moves to a background role, becoming essentially the accompaniment. The orchestra takes the melody for the first time. This melody is very different than the melodies we have heard before! There is life here! Where the prior melodies were solemn and solidly on the beat, this melody is syncopated.  It is hard to distinguish where the beat falls (making it kind of difficult to play as well). This syncopation and movement in the melody line is a life remembered! The cello picks up this melody, and remembers the life and love that existed.

Anger
This almost cheerful melody eventually turns into something else: anger. Anger at the loss, the pain, and the things that are forever changed. With a loud argument between the cello and the orchestra, followed by runs of rapid 32nd notes, the anger is palpable. This ends dramatically with a transition back to the original melody heard at the beginning of the piece. The initial wailing cry has returned, but this time an octave higher and very loud (fortissimo). This is the final lament. 

Depression
The final outpouring of anguish slowly diminishes to an almost catatonic state, with the cello playing the lowest possible note in its range (C2, which is two octaves below middle C) for two whole measures. The word that best describes this section is depression. 

Acceptance
The immobile state of the cello, however, is overlaid by a new melody in the accompaniment. This new melody is not the same syncopated melody that we heard before, though it is very similar. The life we had before has changed. This one is more somber. The melody is more solidly in the key of C minor, no more hints of Eb major. It may sound solemn, but it is life. The cello takes up the melody that began in the accompaniment. The piece continues with syncopation until the final note of the piece, where again, the cello sustains a long, low C. The accompaniment continues for three more chords, and then the piece ends.

Fauré wrote this piece initially for cello and piano in 1880, and it was then published and performed in 1883. However, he later orchestrated the piece for two flutes, two oboes, two clarinets, two bassoons, four horns and strings. Thankfully, IMSLP (online music library housing public domain sheet music) has a version that was adapted for string orchestra, which is the version being played for this concert. Just like individuals who sign up for a 5k run for motivation to improve their running ability and health, I told Matty Saltibus I wanted to play this piece with the community orchestra in order to improve my skills as a musician and soloist. At the culmination of hours and hours and hours of practice, I appreciate everyone who has joined me at the finish line. Your support is humbling. I am so grateful for your love and encouragement, and I sincerely hope that you enjoy this concert.

Gracie Fowler is an accomplished oboist and educator with approximately 25 years of performance experience and 23 years of higher education teaching experience. She holds an undergraduate degree in Music Education and a Master’s degree in Educational Technology. In addition to serving as a full-time, tenured faculty member at the community college level for 20 years, Ms. Fowler also performed throughout Southern California, playing principal oboe, as well as oboe d’amore and English Horn with the Palomar College Symphony Orchestra, MiraCosta Symphony, Inland Valley Symphony, Pacific Lyric Opera Company, Tustin Ballet Company, Pacific Coast Concert Band, Escondido Choral Arts Society Orchestra, Coastal Communities Band, and as a civilian musician with the Marine Band at Camp Pendleton, CA and the Navy Band in Point Loma, CA, as well as many other organizations. Having recently relocated to San Antonio, Ms. Fowler performs regularly with the Alamo City Arts Association, Heart of Texas Concert Band, and as a substitute with Symphony Viva. She is available for individual instruction including oboe reed making and performances as well as woodwind coaching. 

Jey Ping

Jey Ping began learning the violin as a young child from his father and has enjoyed playing ever since.  Through high school and college, he studied with Yuly Ilyashov and trained through his school orchestra program, the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Missouri All-State Orchestra.  He performed with the Ladue Strolling Strings on multiple tours through Europe, Branson, Washington, D.C., and state dinners.  Jey received the Lois Percival Orchestra Award during his senior year in high school.  He is an alum of the Masterworks Festival and served as concertmaster of the Washington University Symphony Orchestra, Washington University Chamber Orchestra, Young People’s Symphonic Orchestra, and St. Louis All Suburban Orchestra.

After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Economics, Jey continued to keep music a part of his life, on top of his job working at SAP. He worked as a part-time violin teacher at Ladue and Mehlville and led the Ladue Strolling Strings.  He has served as concertmaster of the Jacksonville Symphony Society and as principal second violin with the Town and Country Symphony Orchestra. 

Today Jey lives near Johnson City, Texas, and continues to study and play as many different styles of fiddling as he can get his hands on, drawing inspiration from fellow musicians at folk schools, shows, fiddle festivals, jam sessions, and dances.  He regularly plays jazz shows at the Ragtime Oriole in Marble Falls, Texas, and plays 6-string fiddle and mandolin in the Country and Western dance band at the Ramblin’ Rose in Llano, Texas.  He plays in community orchestras such as the San Antonio Community Orchestra, Fredericksburg Community Orchestra, and Heart of Texas Orchestra.  Jey is also the substitute organist for multiple churches in Blanco County.   

John Schattenberg

Like most kids growing up in the '60s, John Schattenberg’s aspiration to play the guitar was primarily influenced by listening to the Beatles.  He began guitar lessons at 14 and by high school had acquired a love of country music and the likes of Buck Owens.  This changed as the '60s grew to a close with the popularity of artists who carried fiddles and steel guitars.  He and schoolboy friend Randy Reinhard, who played piano, decided if they were to make it to Nashville they’d better learn steel and fiddle.  In 1969 they did just that, with Schattenberg assuming the task of the latter.  After a couple of years of tackling one of music’s hardest instruments in local bands in the San Antonio, Texas, area, he was on stage with artist Johnny Bush.  Within two years,  in 1973 he moved to Nashville to tour with Faron Young shortly after Young had recorded "Four in the Morning."  After a move back to Texas, he found himself back in Nashville in 1975 working with Barbara Fairchild shortly after she had a hit with "The Teddy Bear Song."  While with Fairchild, he appeared on the nationally televised program "That Good Ole Nashville Music," on which he had appeared with Young previously.  That same year he also made an appearance on "Hee Haw" with Fairchild.  In 1976, he moved back to Texas to complete his formal education and pursue a career in science, receiving a degree in chemistry in 1978 from The University of Texas at San Antonio.  Throughout the years while working as a scientist, he continued his music career while working with the likes of artists who worked primarily in Texas, such as Johnny Bush and Darrell McCall.  Around 2000, he worked occasionally with Ray Price and was honored to appear with Price on "Austin City Limits' in 2004.

Along with country music, Schattenberg has had a love for classical music and has played as a community member in both the UTSA and Trinity University orchestras in the San Antonio area.  He has also been a member of the Saltarelli Orchestra (now San Antonio Community Orchestra) since the late 1990s.  From 2004-2008 he worked with fiddler/violinist Bobby Flores, both in his band and on many recordings for numerous artists.  In 2002, along with Flores, he received a certificate of participation in Freddy Fender’s Grammy-winning album “La Musica De Baldemar Huerta,” in which they performed all of the string work.  In recent years, Schattenberg has appeared with the artists affiliated with the Heart of Texas group in Brady, Texas, which includes Tony Booth, Amber Digby, Darrell McCall, Justin Trevino, plus many others.  He currently works with the Rocky King Band out of Seguin, Texas, which features twin fiddles.   

Jey Ping

Jey Ping began learning the violin as a young child from his father and has enjoyed playing ever since.  Through high school and college, he studied with Yuly Ilyashov and trained through his school orchestra program, the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Missouri All-State Orchestra.  He performed with the Ladue Strolling Strings on multiple tours through Europe, Branson, Washington, D.C., and state dinners.  Jey received the Lois Percival Orchestra Award during his senior year in high school.  He is an alum of the Masterworks Festival and served as concertmaster of the Washington University Symphony Orchestra, Washington University Chamber Orchestra, Young People’s Symphonic Orchestra, and St. Louis All Suburban Orchestra.

After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Economics, Jey continued to keep music a part of his life, on top of his job working at SAP. He worked as a part-time violin teacher at Ladue and Mehlville and led the Ladue Strolling Strings.  He has served as concertmaster of the Jacksonville Symphony Society and as principal second violin with the Town and Country Symphony Orchestra. 

Today Jey lives near Johnson City, Texas, and continues to study and play as many different styles of fiddling as he can get his hands on, drawing inspiration from fellow musicians at folk schools, shows, fiddle festivals, jam sessions, and dances.  He regularly plays jazz shows at the Ragtime Oriole in Marble Falls, Texas, and plays 6-string fiddle and mandolin in the Country and Western dance band at the Ramblin’ Rose in Llano, Texas.  He plays in community orchestras such as the San Antonio Community Orchestra, Fredericksburg Community Orchestra, and Heart of Texas Orchestra.  Jey is also the substitute organist for multiple churches in Blanco County.   

John Schattenberg

Like most kids growing up in the '60s, John Schattenberg’s aspiration to play the guitar was primarily influenced by listening to the Beatles.  He began guitar lessons at 14 and by high school had acquired a love of country music and the likes of Buck Owens.  This changed as the '60s grew to a close with the popularity of artists who carried fiddles and steel guitars.  He and schoolboy friend Randy Reinhard, who played piano, decided if they were to make it to Nashville they’d better learn steel and fiddle.  In 1969 they did just that, with Schattenberg assuming the task of the latter.  After a couple of years of tackling one of music’s hardest instruments in local bands in the San Antonio, Texas, area, he was on stage with artist Johnny Bush.  Within two years,  in 1973 he moved to Nashville to tour with Faron Young shortly after Young had recorded "Four in the Morning."  After a move back to Texas, he found himself back in Nashville in 1975 working with Barbara Fairchild shortly after she had a hit with "The Teddy Bear Song."  While with Fairchild, he appeared on the nationally televised program "That Good Ole Nashville Music," on which he had appeared with Young previously.  That same year he also made an appearance on "Hee Haw" with Fairchild.  In 1976, he moved back to Texas to complete his formal education and pursue a career in science, receiving a degree in chemistry in 1978 from The University of Texas at San Antonio.  Throughout the years while working as a scientist, he continued his music career while working with the likes of artists who worked primarily in Texas, such as Johnny Bush and Darrell McCall.  Around 2000, he worked occasionally with Ray Price and was honored to appear with Price on "Austin City Limits' in 2004.

Along with country music, Schattenberg has had a love for classical music and has played as a community member in both the UTSA and Trinity University orchestras in the San Antonio area.  He has also been a member of the Saltarelli Orchestra (now San Antonio Community Orchestra) since the late 1990s.  From 2004-2008 he worked with fiddler/violinist Bobby Flores, both in his band and on many recordings for numerous artists.  In 2002, along with Flores, he received a certificate of participation in Freddy Fender’s Grammy-winning album “La Musica De Baldemar Huerta,” in which they performed all of the string work.  In recent years, Schattenberg has appeared with the artists affiliated with the Heart of Texas group in Brady, Texas, which includes Tony Booth, Amber Digby, Darrell McCall, Justin Trevino, plus many others.  He currently works with the Rocky King Band out of Seguin, Texas, which features twin fiddles.   

Jey Ping

Jey Ping began learning the violin as a young child from his father and has enjoyed playing ever since.  Through high school and college, he studied with Yuly Ilyashov and trained through his school orchestra program, the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra, and the Missouri All-State Orchestra.  He performed with the Ladue Strolling Strings on multiple tours through Europe, Branson, Washington, D.C., and state dinners.  Jey received the Lois Percival Orchestra Award during his senior year in high school.  He is an alum of the Masterworks Festival and served as concertmaster of the Washington University Symphony Orchestra, Washington University Chamber Orchestra, Young People’s Symphonic Orchestra, and St. Louis All Suburban Orchestra.

After graduating from Washington University in St. Louis with a Bachelor of Science in Computer Science and Economics, Jey continued to keep music a part of his life, on top of his job working at SAP. He worked as a part-time violin teacher at Ladue and Mehlville and led the Ladue Strolling Strings.  He has served as concertmaster of the Jacksonville Symphony Society and as principal second violin with the Town and Country Symphony Orchestra. 

Today Jey lives near Johnson City, Texas, and continues to study and play as many different styles of fiddling as he can get his hands on, drawing inspiration from fellow musicians at folk schools, shows, fiddle festivals, jam sessions, and dances.  He regularly plays jazz shows at the Ragtime Oriole in Marble Falls, Texas, and plays 6-string fiddle and mandolin in the Country and Western dance band at the Ramblin’ Rose in Llano, Texas.  He plays in community orchestras such as the San Antonio Community Orchestra, Fredericksburg Community Orchestra, and Heart of Texas Orchestra.  Jey is also the substitute organist for multiple churches in Blanco County.   

John Schattenberg

Like most kids growing up in the '60s, John Schattenberg’s aspiration to play the guitar was primarily influenced by listening to the Beatles.  He began guitar lessons at 14 and by high school had acquired a love of country music and the likes of Buck Owens.  This changed as the '60s grew to a close with the popularity of artists who carried fiddles and steel guitars.  He and schoolboy friend Randy Reinhard, who played piano, decided if they were to make it to Nashville they’d better learn steel and fiddle.  In 1969 they did just that, with Schattenberg assuming the task of the latter.  After a couple of years of tackling one of music’s hardest instruments in local bands in the San Antonio, Texas, area, he was on stage with artist Johnny Bush.  Within two years,  in 1973 he moved to Nashville to tour with Faron Young shortly after Young had recorded "Four in the Morning."  After a move back to Texas, he found himself back in Nashville in 1975 working with Barbara Fairchild shortly after she had a hit with "The Teddy Bear Song."  While with Fairchild, he appeared on the nationally televised program "That Good Ole Nashville Music," on which he had appeared with Young previously.  That same year he also made an appearance on "Hee Haw" with Fairchild.  In 1976, he moved back to Texas to complete his formal education and pursue a career in science, receiving a degree in chemistry in 1978 from The University of Texas at San Antonio.  Throughout the years while working as a scientist, he continued his music career while working with the likes of artists who worked primarily in Texas, such as Johnny Bush and Darrell McCall.  Around 2000, he worked occasionally with Ray Price and was honored to appear with Price on "Austin City Limits' in 2004.

Along with country music, Schattenberg has had a love for classical music and has played as a community member in both the UTSA and Trinity University orchestras in the San Antonio area.  He has also been a member of the Saltarelli Orchestra (now San Antonio Community Orchestra) since the late 1990s.  From 2004-2008 he worked with fiddler/violinist Bobby Flores, both in his band and on many recordings for numerous artists.  In 2002, along with Flores, he received a certificate of participation in Freddy Fender’s Grammy-winning album “La Musica De Baldemar Huerta,” in which they performed all of the string work.  In recent years, Schattenberg has appeared with the artists affiliated with the Heart of Texas group in Brady, Texas, which includes Tony Booth, Amber Digby, Darrell McCall, Justin Trevino, plus many others.  He currently works with the Rocky King Band out of Seguin, Texas, which features twin fiddles.