Belinda Waldron
When WyoHistory.org published its history of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra in October 2021, the editors realized that there were many more people available to contribute their thoughts and memories of that organization. The American Heritage Center at the University of Wyoming was also interested, and offered to contribute funding to support an oral history project to capture more information on the history of the symphony.
The Casper College Western History Center transcribed most of these interviews. In addition to being available here, at WyoHistory.org, the audio files plus transcripts are also available at the Western History Center and the American Heritage Center.
Thanks to the interviewees for donating their time; to the Casper College Western History Center for transcribing the audio files; to Kylie McCormick for transcribing some of the audio files; to the American Heritage Center for funding the project; and to the trustees of the George Fox Fund, Inc. for donating the use of its Zoom account.
Wyoming Symphony Oral History Project
Rebecca Hein interviewing Belinda Waldron, March 31, 2023
Date transcribed: July 12, 2023
Rebecca: Okay. Thank you for making yourself available today for this interview. Let's start with your name and your instrument and how you came to play that instrument.
Belinda: Okay. My name is Belinda Waldron. I, at the time I was in the symphony, I was Belinda Lanyk, and I played the cello. I started playing the cello in high school. I had been a violinist, and our orchestra at Natrona County High School [in Casper] didn't have any cellos or didn't have any cellists, I should say. So we were invited, we were all invited to switch instruments if we wanted to. And so that's how I started my journey.
Rebecca: Well, that's cool. Who was your orchestra instructor?
Belinda: Mr. Fox.
Rebecca: Okay. All right. And did you take private lessons when you were in high school?
Belinda: I did, I had to. (laughs) I did. Sue Salz was my cello instructor privately and got me kind of up to speed, you could say. And then I also took lessons with Rebecca Hein.
Rebecca: That was later.
Belinda: Later.
Rebecca: Yeah. So, um, that was after you had graduated from college, right?
Belinda: Correct. Yeah. So when I was in college, I did play. I went to the University of Rochester, [New York] and the Eastman School of Music is part of the University of Rochester. I obviously wasn't at the caliber of playing at the Eastman School, but I did get to take lessons there from a graduate student, and I played in a quartet for a little while and tried to keep up on it.
Rebecca: So you, you attended the University of Rochester?
Belinda: Mmhm.
Rebecca: And there was a cello teacher available to you through the Eastman School of Music who was a grad student?
Belinda: Correct.
Rebecca: Wow, well, Eastman is a very high caliber music school, as I'm sure you know. That's really cool. Did you play in an orchestra in college, then?
Belinda: No, I didn't, I didn’t.
Rebecca: But you kept up on your lessons. And then at what point in this process did you move back to Casper?
Belinda: So I graduated from college in 1996 and was ready to come back to Wyoming; I felt a bit homesick and so I just, I moved on home after I graduated.
Rebecca: Yeah, that would have been about from the middle of the decade when I was principal cello [in the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra]. And when, you must've started taking lessons with me right away when you hit home?
Belinda: I think pretty much. I, I honestly don't remember what in the world inspired me to. Well, I know I loved playing cello, so I guess that in and of itself would be a reason to play. And eventually to try out or audition for the symphony, but there wasn't any particular thing I was planning to do when I moved back. I did take lessons with another instructor, now that I remember, in Casper. I think that was after I had moved back as well, but not for that long. I enjoyed it though.
Rebecca: Okay. Do you remember anything about your audition for the symphony in 1996?
Belinda: I remember, first of all, being terrified (both laugh) and remember playing a couple of pieces. I had, I had practiced a lot and tried to prepare and played okay. And I kind of walked out, not having any expectation about which way it would go. I sort of felt I had given it my best shot. (laughs)
Rebecca: You got in?
Belinda: I got in. I did get in. It was a lovely surprise.
Rebecca: That’s great. Okay. So as I recall, you played in the symphony, it was the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra at that point, for the entire time you were living there in Casper. Is that correct?
Belinda: Yeah, pretty much. Three or four seasons. Three or four years.
Rebecca: Okay. Okay. Do you recall, well, let's see. I guess we can jump in anywhere. I remember that one of the things I did as principal cello was to rotate the section so that the only two people that never, the, whose chairs never changed were me and my stand partner. But everybody in back of us sat at the front of the section, in the middle of the section or the back of the section, wherever. Do you remember any of that or who your [stand] partners were or anything like that?
Belinda: I really, I really don't have a lot of recollection about that. It's a bit muddy for me. I know for me, the whole time that I was playing, I was really trying to, and I don't know if everybody has this experience, probably, but I was really trying to just do it justice, you know, the fact that I was, that I was in the group and that that everyone, you know, that the section was relying on me to keep up to the level that, that everyone else was. And I really, I felt that I wasn't, that I was always kind of hard pressed to do that. And I remember in our lesson sometimes I would show up and and not have practiced, and just feel like I was, I was not pulling my weight, you know, so I don't, I don't really recollect a lot in terms of any relationships I had with other musicians or any kind of social aspects or anything like that. I really was just focused on trying to do my best (laughs), trying to do it justice and trying to pull my weight, you know?
Rebecca: Well, I'll just tell you that it's a very rare adult student that has enough time to practice.
Belinda: I'm sure, I'm sure.
Rebecca: I was used to used to having my adult students coming in, and the first thing they say is, “I hardly practiced at all this week.” So yeah, that was pretty normal. Okay, well, do you remember in particular any pieces that we played?
Belinda: I remember. Didn’t we play some I mean, am I going to say this right, Saint-Saens? Am I saying that right? Yes, I am. Oh, so far as, say, that song. So I remember a piece that I really, really loved, and I wouldn't be able to tell you the title of it. Do you remember? [Camille Saint-Saëns, 19th and 20th century French composer]
Rebecca: Well, I, I know he composed things other than his cello concerto. I performed the cello concerto with the symphony sometime, and I think it was 1998. But there were, he had other pieces. I just don't remember them so well.
Belinda: It must be, since you performed that in 1988, that must be what I'm remembering. I really thought that piece.
Rebecca: 1998.
Belinda: 1998. Right. So that could be a very beautiful piece. Yes. And I would have paid a special attention to that if you were soloing. So I really, really enjoyed that. And the other thing I really enjoyed, I feel like there were a lot of super challenging pieces that we got to play. And that was, that was a really great piece of it for me. I really I did, I felt very challenged by the music and I really enjoyed getting it, preparing for that, preparing for that. As nerve wracking as it was at the same time, I really did enjoy it. And one thing that might be kind of mundane to a lot of musicians at that level is The Nutcracker. I loved playing The Nutcracker. I loved that it was a combination of such melodic pieces and then some technical pieces here and there that, that really were challenging me. And I can't get through a holiday season without hearing The Nutcracker and just wanting to just focus in and listen to that music.
Rebecca: Okay, say a little bit more about what The Nutcracker is for people that will be listening to this audio or reading the transcript that don't know anything about classical music.
Belinda: Oh, gosh. Wow. So the Nutcracker Suite is a ballet and we, we played it with if I remember, didn't we play it with a ballet, [company] with as well performing at times.
Rebecca: Yes.
Belinda: So it's a ballet and the music is set into pieces that are, that correspond to the scenes of the, the musical that's going on, the play that's going on on the stage with the ballet dancers. So there are, there are lots of types of music; there are, there are soldiers. Then there's the Sugar Plum Fairy, and gosh, I'm trying to think of the name of that one suite that's very. Is it Arabian?
Rebecca: The Arabian dance, yeah.
Belinda: The Arabian dance. So many, so many fun, classy pieces. So if somebody is listening to this and they think they don't know The Nutcracker, go find it on YouTube, listen to it, and I bet you will recognize some of the the common themes out of that ballet, right?
Rebecca: Yeah, because, because you refer to the Nutcracker Suite, which is the collection of the favorite dances.
Belinda. Mmmmm.
Rebecca: And then the whole ballet is a lot more. But it's not as interesting. Like, I don't think, for example, the opening where the, the Christmas party, I think there isn’t a Christmas party on the other.
Belinda: Yeah, yeah, yeah.
Rebecca: The Nutcracker [a toy] is given as a gift and so on. But whoever picked out all those dances for the suite I think did a good job.
Belinda: I guess so since for me, that's the whole thing. Right. But you're absolutely right. I mean, it's, you're, the orchestra is playing for this entire storyline, right? And so it's not all, it's not all very razzle dazzle. (laughs)
Rebecca: Some of it is really hard, I think.
Belinda: Yeah.
Rebecca: But yeah, that sort of defines the Christmas season for many, many people who love symphony orchestras.
Belinda: Indeed. Yeah. And they know a lot today. What I'm hearing is that a lot of symphonies are playing to movie soundtracks and things like that to get audiences today. And I love that because it's really pulling people into the world of recognizing how important this music is in, in creating an experience for people, a visual experience. But the music is a huge part of setting the scene.
Rebecca: Yeah, Yeah. Okay. So that's The Nutcracker. Do you remember any other special performances that we did that involved either ballet or choir, for example, or a play on stage? Like one year we did Peer Gynt, I don't know if you were there then, but do you remember any of those other ones? [Peer Gynt, a play by Norwegian dramatist Henrik Ibsen, set to music by Edvard Grieg, 19th and 20th century Norwegian composer and pianist]
Belinda: There was a time we played with a rock group, and they were really famous and and then once again, I'm going to rely on you to help get my memory. It was (pauses). Was it the group that does “Time in a Bottle?” Does that ring any bells with you?
Rebecca: No, were you in the orchestra after I quit, because the only rock concert we did was the Moody Blues.
Belinda: Yeah, Moody Blues.
Rebecca: That was the fall of, let me think, fall of 1994.
Belinda: I'm so glad you're here to fill in all the gaps in my memory. I remember playing with them and how fun that was.
Rebecca: Yeah, we did that at the Casper Events Center and it was a very good crowd.
Belinda: Yeah, that was really exciting. Is it fair to call the Moody Blues a rock group? A classic rock?
Rebecca: I, I don't know that I would call them a rock group, but I don't know what you would call them. I'm not an expert on genres (both laugh) outside of classical music, so, and always outside of the norm of what we, the symphony usually played.
Belinda: Yeah.
Rebecca: But yeah, it was, I mean, if you were going to call it a pops concert, it was the most spectacular, sensational non-classical concert the symphony had done in its history.
Belinda: Mm hmm. Mm hmm. Yeah, and I appreciated that they were willing to take their, take their music to that next level and and arrange it for us to participate in that way. It really worked.
Rebecca: Yeah, and I think it brought people in. See, I've been interviewing a lot of people associated with the symphony, and two of them were managers of the orchestra. I think one of them was Dale Bohren. You probably remember Dale. He plays the bass. He was manager for a few years. He was the first person that got the Moody Blues here. And then later there was another manager who got them back.
Belinda: Mmm.
Rebecca: And both concerts were great. Yeah. Okay. So do you remember any choral concerts that we did?
Belinda: Not specifically. I'm sorry, I don't.
Rebecca: Oh, that's fine. Okay, well, let's see, before I ask the question I like to ask the best, I'd just like to ask you if you have any other memories that you, that have occurred to you or that you would like to mention.
Belinda: I remember, this is a random memory, but I had this little round wooden Buddha, (laughs) and it was just, a it was a wooden ball that had a Buddha carved into it like a Buddha, you know, kind of curled up. And I would use it, I would roll it around in my hands to warm up my my hands. And that was sort of my ritual. That's what I remember.
Rebecca: I used to do the same thing with a golf ball. And my husband told me that was a really good way to loosen up my muscles, and he knew a lot more about that sort of stuff than I did. It’s sort of not in the classical tradition, or didn't used to be when I was a student, to do any other warming up than on the instrument. So it was really good to have something like that to rub around in my left hand and it really seemed to help.
Belinda: I think I learned it from you.
Rebecca: Could be.
Belinda: Learned it from you. And it really it became a really strong part of my, my, my routine and my ritual. And the other thing I remember was my case had this particular smell, and I'm so sad, I lent my cello to my godson when he was in high school because at that time I wasn't playing and I thought he could put it to better use. He left it at the high school. And so I lost my cello and I lost that distinctive, beautiful woody smell that my case had. And, and I lost my little Buddha and it's so sad.
Rebecca: Yeah. Wow.
Belinda: That's another really strong, potent memory I have, was warming up for concerts by rolling my Buddha.
Rebecca: I can't remember. There's something that I taught that I truly can't remember when I discovered it. So I'm going to ask you if you remember, then if you don't, I’ll assume that it came after you left Casper and my studio. But at one point I discovered how much easier it is to play with, most of the time with the fingers all grouped together.
Belinda: Mmmhmm.
Rebecca: and only, only spread them when you need to. Yeah, You remember that?
Belinda: I remember that. And I remember that being a very radical thing that you were doing.
Rebecca: Yeah, I got a lot of argument (laughs) from some of my colleagues, but it worked so well. I didn't, I didn't really pay much attention to what they were saying.
Belinda: Yeah, I do remember that very well.
Rebecca: Yeah, great.
Belinda: And I think that was actually, if I can just comment on that. I think that was actually really helpful for me in particular because the way that I started playing was so nontraditional, I didn't actually get very much instruction right up front in in technique, you know, like I sort of jumped right into playing music and trying to, well, for one thing, trying to audition for All State and things like that, you know? So there wasn't a lot of time to correct my form, I think. So I really did appreciate your attention to that.
Rebecca: Okay, I have something to say about that in a minute, but I want to jump to, could you say a little bit more about what All State is?
Belinda: Oh, All State. In Wyoming, at least when I was in high school, we were lucky to have All State choir, All State orchestra, All State band, which were opportunities for young musicians to audition and join if they were successful, to join a group of people who had successfully, you know, met the level to perform together and we would go to, you know, a location that was determined and we would have special music that we practiced and have a couple of really long practice days together. And then we would perform. So even though I had just started playing the cello in high school, I auditioned for All State. I think it was my second year. I only started playing, I want to say I only started playing cello in my junior year, and then I auditioned for All State orchestra as a senior.
Rebecca: You I made it?
Belinda: And I made it in. And I don't know if you want to hear that story, but because it's a little controversial.
Rebecca: Sure, this is all about the background and experience of the people who played in the symphony. So go ahead.
Belinda: Okay. Well, hopefully I won't get anybody in trouble or upset about this story. I do think, did I say I auditioned when I was a senior? Yeah. So when I was a senior, the cello section at Natrona County High School grew substantially because we got several sophomore cellists that year and we were all studying with one teacher. So it was really great. And, you know, she was preparing all of us to audition for All State orchestra and, you know, and I guess I felt at that point I was like, What the heck? Let's go for it. (laughs) So what happened was that you had to, I believe they did the auditions at a regional district kind of event or clinic, because I remember being on a bus and it was in the winter time. We'd all been preparing and we all had our instruments under the bus and had to drive an hour or two to get to the location. We weren't there just for the audition though, because the audition itself cut only took, I don't know, fifteen minutes per person. It was, you know, we were there for something else, if I recollect. But the way that the scheduling went, we got on the bus in the winter, in the cold, got off the bus two hours later and went right into the auditions. So we didn't have time to warm up; our instruments didn't have time to warm up. We did however we did, and I'm pretty sure none of us actually made the cut on the audition because our teacher just advocated for us. She, she said, “you know, that's not okay. How that went? And, and my students are good enough to be in this orchestra.” And we as a result, the compromise was we all got in. So I don't know, you know, maybe it's possible some of us had good enough auditions, auditions to get in in the first place. But because of her advocacy, all of us in the section got into All State that year. I won't say that I was, you know at the level in my second year playing to get into All State. But I was lucky to be able to participate.
Rebecca: Well, that just sounds, hair-raising, just to have to play cold. I mean, really cold. Not just like it's summertime and you didn't warm up, or fall and you didn’t warm up. But winter, you're cold and your instrument can't possibly be in tune or stay in tune.
Belinda: Yeah. Oh, it was. It was, it was not a good situation. But I would say as a student, you know, I, I just went and did my best. I, I would never have thought to raise a fuss over it, but, but our teacher did that for us.
Rebecca: Okay. And do you remember things about playing in that All State orchestra, like who the conductor was or what the music was or anything?
Belinda: No, I wish I did. I will say I enjoyed it. I really, I really loved it, I thought it was a great experience. It was fun because I was there with all my classmates. So, you know, it was really, it was a neat experience for all of us to be able to be there together and share that. I do remember one person and it wasn't me, thankfully, I think people, one person did play during the pause, made me question the decision to let us all in. But but overall, we did okay. We had fun.
Rebecca: Great. Yeah, well, I, I have to tell you, I've heard some really, really good professional orchestras. I’ve heard a few clear lapses of attention where somebody played something wrong. You couldn’t mistake it.
Belinda: (laughs)
Rebecca: You know, years of playing have taught me that that's, that's harder than playing, keeping your attention on what you're doing so that you don't jump in when you shouldn't, or make some really audible error. So that happens to many, many people.
Belinda: Well, thank you for that. Yeah, and that's true. And the music was not easy. It was definitely a good challenging experience for everyone.
Rebecca: Yeah, that's what's great about All State, all these people, the top people in their high school orchestras actually get to go and play in a better orchestra.
Belinda: Mmmhmm.
Rebecca: And conductor and music they wouldn't normally get to play and stuff like that.
Belinda: Yeah. And you know, that's probably, having experiences like that, you know, one reason I'm really grateful for growing up in Wyoming is that we got to do things like that. You know, there just aren't enough people to make it out of this world to be able to do that. And so, you know, I had a number of great experiences as a student. And I, I can honestly say that if I hadn't, if my, if I didn't have the opportunity to take private lessons, if I didn't have the opportunity to prepare for something like All State and really take on challenging music, I probably never would have continued with the cello or auditioned for the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. You know? That's not, that's not a normal thing to do. But my, my opportunities kind of set me up to be able to do it.
Rebecca: Well, I would say exactly the same thing about myself growing up in Wyoming. There were many opportunities I had because it was a much less competitive environment than it would have been in a more densely populated state.
Belinda: Mmmhmm.
Rebecca: Yeah. Okay. Well, anything else before I ask my final question?
Belinda: No, please ask.
Rebecca: Okay. It is, does anything jump out at you from your time with the symphony as being the pinnacle, that the highest point of your experience where it's just so memorable? It could have been a concert or a rehearsal or just whatever some, some musical event that, that's with you now; has always been with or that jumps out at you.
Belinda: I think not a specific memory, but I think for you to get a little personal, I think what stands out is I, I'm good at funny things, you know, there's sort of this level (pauses) I’m searching for words, expectation or performance or it's kind of an embodiment, if you will. So I don't even know why this is emotional, but it's just moving to me to think about it. And really, I considered this that you ask that question, Becky. But for example, I'll give you an example of how it's kind of shown up for me in recent life, is I was on a webinar, as we all are these days (laughs) and someone was talking about your posture and I realized that, for instance, right now I'm sitting on the edge of my chair. And there was something about playing in the symphony that it just, it just helps me bring something different to my, my environment, my body, my posture. You know, like when that came up in the webinar and, and it was about kind of, your presence, I realized like it's the most natural thing in the world to sit on the edge of my chair and plant my feet on the ground, you know, I just like I said, I don't know why that makes me cry, but it's, it just feels like it was such a profound and, and formative experience. And I'm like, you know, I'll never lose that, when my family at Christmas time, we have a little quintet that has formed over the years. So of, all of the the kids and adults in our family who played and play musical instruments and so we've gotten to the point where myself and my brother-in-law and a couple of my nieces and my son all play musical instruments. And I rarely play. I really can't pretend to be really on the ball with my cello playing these days, but now sitting down and preparing a little Christmas carol for our our new, you know, our Christmas Eve party is it's like, it's like, yeah, of course. Of course. We do that.
Rebecca: Well, that's really cool to hear that music is still part of your life in that way.
Belinda: Yeah, Yeah. It's really, it's a neat thing to be able to bring forward and it doesn't have to be a full time occupation (laughs) or, or even something I do as a real hobby. A true hobby. But, but I do carry that experience forward for me. Absolutely.
Rebecca: Yeah. Well, that reminds me of something. And then I have a couple of other miscellaneous,
Belinda: Okay.
Rebecca: that have cropped up here. This business about sitting on the edge of the chair with your feet on the floor.
Belinda: Yes.
Rebecca: Before my husband and I moved to Casper in 1992, I spent, oh, I don't know, maybe a two month period working really, really, really intensively on my sitting position in playing the cello.
Belinda: Mmm.
Rebecca: Helped me so much, and I never had a problem with my back twisting up or hurting or anything else after that, because it's very common for cellists to kind of accommodate their body to the instrument in ways that are not very ergonomic.
Belinda: Mmm.
Rebecca: So back discomfort is common. So I worked all that out so that I never, ever had a problem that way again. And it also really helped my playing. So by the time I hit Casper and was teaching there and I'm sure this happened in the lessons that you had with me, that was one of my big, big things that I made students work on because I knew how much it was going to help them play better and just feel more comfortable physically and, you know, be able to take a concert weekend when you have a Friday night rehearsal, a Saturday afternoon rehearsal and Saturday night concert, sort of like All State, you know, quite a lot of playing that you don't normally have in a short amount of time. Yeah. So so that's cool. And then
Belinda: I forgot about, I forgot how the, the practice schedule would change right before our concert.
Rebecca: Right, yup. So you really needed to have your playing, anybody did, be ergonomic enough that you could get through that without problems.
Belinda: Yup.
Rebecca: Okay now back to the switch you made from violin to cello. This is rather interesting to me because over the course of my cello teaching time, I taught a handful of students who had switched from violin to cello. And their left hand, just for people who aren't musicians, I'll just say that’s the hand that moves up and down the fingerboard and pushes the strings down to change the highness or lowness of the note, their left hands looked sort of violin, like they were a violinist.
Belinda: Mmm.
Rebecca: And then we had to work it around to the point where it's more of a cello, a, a cello friendly hand or a hand that works better on the cello. But I never saw a trace of that in your left hand that I can recall. So you must have made the switch pretty, pretty thoroughly, no doubt, with the help of your teachers.
Belinda: Yes, I as I said, I was very, very fortunate to have, to be able to take private lessons throughout. And so, you know, I said maybe we didn't spend as much [time] on my form, but I must think with great (laughs) I don't, I can't imagine how I really, I but I was willing, you know, I chose to, I chose to try it. So I could only imagine, you know, best with my hand in position. (laughs)
Rebecca: Okay. I thought of one more question.
Belinda: Okay.
Rebecca: I’ll just look, there. Yeah, that's, I think is my last one. The entire nineties or the entire time that you were playing in the symphony, you, we played under Curtis Peacock.
Belinda: Yes.
Rebecca: You remember anything at all about him and his conducting and such, that you'd like to mention?
Belinda: Oh gosh, you know, he was the most high level conductor I ever played under. And I really, I really felt he was excellent. You know, he just had a, a comprehension of the music that I, I really trusted. You know, that's sort, I, you know, I know. I hope this is the case for any symphony conductor. But I, it was my only real experience of the person being in total command of everything that should have been happening and everything that was happening, you know, So, so I really appreciated his professionalism and expertise in that role. I really had an, experienced, real trust for him.
Rebecca: Okay, Well, great. Before we stop, is there anything else that you’ve thought of?
Belinda: Well, thank you for this opportunity. I hope it provides some value for people listening. It's been a fun walk down memory lane (laughs) and thanks for all your prompts and filling in the gaps of my, of, my poor memory.
Rebecca: Yeah, well, we really appreciate your giving your time.