Dino Madsen

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 Dino Madsen, August 8, 2022

Date transcribed: October 10, 2022

Rebecca: Okay. Thank you for making yourself available today.

Dino: It's my honor. It's my pleasure.

Rebecca: Great. Let's start with your name, your instrument, and how you came to play that instrument.

Dino: My name is Bernadino David Madsen. I started playing cello in the fifth grade through the Natrona County School District. And at that time, when you were in grade school and fifth grade, if you so choose, you could be involved in music. And I wish that I could remember the music teacher and the music teacher's name that got me into it has been so long ago, but it just immediately clicked for me. It was a fun instrument to, I'm going to say, fall into as a youngster. I didn't know what I was getting into and it really formidably shaped who I turned into.

Rebecca: Can you give us some details about that last statement?

Dino: What I really appreciate about growing up in music like that is that really showed me the world in a variety of different manners. It paired well with education. I really enjoyed the science of music. And I think that that's really what led me to the career that I'm in right now. When I started to really play a lot of music, I realized that I didn't want to do it as a living at a professional level. I wanted it to be my high caliber hobby and have really enjoyed that balance of what I do in the world of science and still enjoying music.

Rebecca: Okay. I have a couple questions. I want to be sure I capture them.

Dino: Absolutely.

Rebecca: Can you elaborate a little bit more on what you mean by the science of music?

Dino: I guess an example would be how sound works and the physics of wavelength. The artistry and the science of music is something that I've always really enjoyed. Why does this instrument resonate in the way that it does? If I were to put my finger on a certain string and a certain position, as opposed to putting a finger on a different string in a different position and run your bow across that string, how are you creating these wavelengths and how do all of these wavelengths of sound ... come into unity and make such gorgeous music. The acoustics of music, they just they’re ... music and science, I think are just such good partners together, at least in my perception. And that's one thing that I really enjoyed about music in general.

Rebecca: Great. That's very interesting. So when did you become particularly interested in acoustics and how sound works - when in your development?

Dino: I think that that was really and still is kind of an ongoing process. I think it probably was when I was at Montana State University. When I started there, I started as a music major and I had to take a physics class as a science requirement. And that's when I really started to understand that science impacts how these instruments work. But it's the artistry of understanding the science that allows you to play with a large ensemble and create music.

Rebecca: So if I understand what you've told me correctly, you got so interested in the science side of music that you were kind of pulled into science as a discipline.

Dino: I would say that's a fair statement. And I think also some of it was at a personal level, is that I really wanted to keep music in my life, but I didn't want to use it as a means of supporting my life. I wasn't looking to music for a job. And the science really appealed to me. And I thought, Oh, I'm going to be able to make a living on science and still really be able to hold music as my, what I call my high caliber hobby. And music at all levels from listening to it, enjoying it, discovering music of all types of genres, and continuing to play music.

Rebecca: So all the while that you were at MSU, you were up in Bozeman, you had musical activities there?

Dino: I sure did. There was a fantastic cello instructor there. Dr. Ilse-Mari Lee. And she was our cello instructor. And I played with the MSU Cello Ensemble for the five years that I was there. We had the opportunity to perform at the All Northwest Festival in Portland [Oregon]. [All Northwest Honors Orchestra, composed of high school musicians, who had won a place in the orchestra by taped audition. The musicians were from the northwest portion of the U.S.] Dr. Lee took us to Europe in the spring of 2000 and we toured for about a month with our cello ensemble. I played with the Bozeman Symphony Orchestra. I played with the Billings Symphony Orchestra, the Miles City Orchestra, numerous ensembles [groups] on campus at MSU.

Rebecca: Okay. If I'm not interrupting, I have more questions.

Dino: So please, please. These are and this is a real fun conversation to have. I haven’t discussed it with people like this before. I really enjoy it.

Rebecca: So how big was the cello ensemble?

Dino: Oh, I would say that there was about 15 to 20 of us. It was a very large ensemble. At that time, I moved to Bozeman, Montana in 1995, and the cello ensemble was a very large portion of the music department, MSU, at that time.

Rebecca: So what was your repertoire?.

Dino: Oh, a variety of everything from classical to contemporary pieces that Dr. Lee had written specifically for us or orchestrated and arranged. I remember that she put together a Beatles song for us, and I do remember playing that when we were in Europe. So just a variety of styles and genres of music.

Rebecca: With that many cellos you would have been able to do one of the Bachianas Brasileiras. [Heitor Villa-Lobos, 20th century Brazilian composer, wrote nine suites for various combinations of instruments and voice, integrating the contrapuntal and harmonic style of J.S.Bach with elements of Brazilian folk music. Bachianas Brasileiras No. 1 is for cello orchestra, and Bachianas Brasileiras No. 2 is for for cello orchestra and soprano.]

Dino: Oh, we could have. No, we didn't. At least from my memory, I don't remember doing that. But with that large group, we really kind of divided it up as you would an orchestra for violin, second violin, cello section, bass section. But we just used the cellos to cover all of that. So you could have melody and harmony and rhythm. It was a real interesting concept.

Rebecca: That sounds just wonderful.

Dino: Very unique. And it was, it was a lot of fun at a variety of different levels. I still have relationships with my friends from that time.

Rebecca: So you actually, your group was or this group was featured at All Northwest in Portland?

Dino: It sure was. And I want to say that it was probably either 1996 or 1997 when we went to Portland for All Northwest. And we had a charter van and we drove from Bozeman, Montana to Portland. And on the way out there we stopped at small community colleges and high schools and played along the way.

Rebecca: That's really cool.

Dino: It was real fun, you know, thinking back on it, I don't know if I really appreciated it at the level that I do now.

Rebecca: So the European tour, you said it was eight weeks, I believe.

Dino: Six to eight weeks, if I remember. This was in the spring of 2000, so about 22 years ago that we did this. We flew out of Bozeman, Montana, and we went straight to Rome. And it was kind of a chartered trip, if you will, with specific stops throughout Europe. I think a large highlight that I remember from that trip was playing at the Prague Castle.

Rebecca: Prague. Yugoslavia?

Dino: Czechoslovakia. The Republic.

Rebecca: So even if there wasn't time to be a tourist, which I don't know, you still obviously were, all of you, able to experience...

Dino: It was a very, it was a very unique way to experience Europe, to go there and play. And there wasn't a lot of time for sightseeing. But the venues that we got to play, large cathedrals and churches and as I mentioned, the Prague Castle, it seems to me there were some outdoor venues and it was it was a very special way to travel and see Europe, but also experience it with the friends and colleagues that we had within the cello ensemble. And then to be there with Dr. Lee was very special.

Rebecca: How were you received in those performances in Europe?

Dino: Well, in my memory I remember as being received very well. I think up front, people might have been a little bit reluctant to go say, oh, it's just 15 to 20 cellists that are playing. But after you could watch the performance and appreciate the music, I think that, well, at least from what I remember, the crowds in attendance were really into what we were doing.

Rebecca: All these opportunities because you played the cello.

Dino: One more time, there Becky, you kind of broke up.

Rebecca: I'm sorry. I said all these wonderful opportunities because you played the cello.

Dino: And it really started when I was in grade school. I mean, I think back on all of the different venues and shows and things that we got to play. I think maybe I was in late high school or even early college at Casper College. I started at Casper College right out of high school, but I remember going to Gillette and playing with the Powder River Symphony, and we did a rendition of Peter and the Wolf. And at that time, Governor Sullivan was in charge. And he he narrated Peter and the Wolf. [Peter and the Wolf, by Sergei Prokofiev, 20th century Russian composer, is a story for children, for symphony orchestra and narrator. Different instruments represent various characters in the story.] And that's a memory that I reflect upon quite often.

Rebecca: That's cool.

Dino: And in my current role, I'm currently in my office right now, which years ago used to be Maestro [Curtis] Peacock's office [Peacock was the Casper College string instructor and conductor of the symphony for almost 30 years. So it's very interesting to see how my kind of, career in life has come full circle, that I'm in an office that I used to take lessons in with an instructor here at Casper College. The two laboratories that I teach in, in Aley Hall used to be the chamber orchestra room and also the the rehearsal hall for Wyoming Symphony Orchestra prior to playing shows [concerts] at NC. [Natrona County High School, in Casper]

Rebecca: Goodness.

Dino: So it's oftentimes fun for me to walk into one of my laboratories and reflect back and say, Oh, I remember when we used to play music in here.

Rebecca: Did you take private lessons from the beginning of your playing the cello or did that happen later?

Dino: Well, I would say that in my recollection, it really started when I was in grade school. I started taking private lessons, I'm sure by at least sixth grade, and took private lessons all the way through college. I believe that I had at least a year of lessons with you. One of the classes that we would take when we were at Montana State was also a kind of an independent study of lessons. And we would meet with Dr. Lee once a week and play together privately.

Rebecca: So, questions about your life as a scientist. Well, you've intimated, but I don't know that you've spelled out for us what the interplay between your life as a musician is or was, and what your science career is.

Dino: I'll start with my current science career. I work at Casper College. I'm a director of the Medical Laboratory Technician Program. By training, I'm a medical laboratory technologist. I've spent over 20 years in the field. I've worked in a variety of public and private hospitals and a few private labs performing human clinical diagnostics. My current role as program director is to administrate this program, ensure we maintain accreditation, but ultimately it's to provide knowledge and training to students so they can go and perform human clinical diagnostics in hospitals, reference labs, etc. And I still hold music in high regard with my professional career. Again, the science and the music always really went hand in hand for me. It's very rare that if you were to catch me in my office, I don't have some type of music playing or even at home. I'm working in my garage, etc. I really think about music and science quite a bit.

Rebecca: Did the math end of musical notation have a role in this?

Dino: Oh, it sure does. I think that that's a very valid point. When you're looking at music and you're looking at the time of music and how it's performed and how the notes and the rhythms must stay in a specific frame, if you will. The math really is part of the science of music.

Rebecca: Let's go to the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and the time that you spent playing in it. I do not recall whether you were in there for a year or for more. Can you fill us in on that?

Dino: Yeah, I was kind of thinking about that as a question that you might ask me. I graduated high school in the spring of 1994, so I think my first season with the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra was 93-94. And then I played again my first year of college here at Casper College in the 94-95 season. So I was with WSO for two years.

Rebecca: Okay. Do you have memories from that time?

Dino: Oh, I sure do. And I would say there's still even members of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra that I still see from time to time. Dale Bohren, for example, he was a bass player at the time that I was in the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and somebody that befriended me and really kind of, I was very young, and somebody who really kind of showed me what professional music and performance was all about. Curtis Peacock was the conductor of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra at that time and also a music instructor at Casper College. During my first year at Casper College. Out of high school. The Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and Casper College [Baroque] Ensemble. Those kind of really went hand in hand. It seemed like I was always playing music. And that first year at Casper College, I remember doing a little Wyoming tour with the Casper College [Baroque] Ensemble, and most of the members in that ensemble were also members of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra. I wish that I could remember some of the performers [guest artists] that WSO brought in during those two years, but it really exposed me to - how would I describe - not only the professionalism, but the level of ability and mastery of musicians, not only nationally but globally, that would come and play with WSO.

Rebecca: I’d say that for a community orchestra, we were a pretty good group.

Dino: I wholeheartedly agree with that statement and being as young as I was in professional music at that time, I didn't really, can I say, grasp the significance of that until reflecting upon it later in life. I do remember a time where the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra played at the Casper Events Center with the Moody Blues.

Rebecca: Ah.

Dino: Yes. And that was probably it was either 94, 95 that fall or that spring when that show occurred.

Rebecca: I think it was the fall of 94. So you've mentioned Dale Bohren and that he kind of took you under his wing or helped you. Can you elaborate on that?

Dino: I just remember him just being a very kind spirit. And I think that, and this is just my perception and my take on it. But I think that he really enjoyed reaching out to the younger members of the orchestra, kind of filling us in on the history and the importance and the professionalism required to be a part of that orchestra and what it meant to be a part of that orchestra. And he was just generally a fun guy to be around.

Rebecca: Yeah, I agree. Mm hmm. Okay. From your time in the Wyoming Symphony, do you recall specific pieces that it was really fun to play? Or that were memorable.

Dino: Oh one that I still listen to quite often is the Scheherazade [by Nikolai Rimsky-Korasakov, 19th and 20th century Russian Composer]. And I don't remember which season it was that we played that, but that was a very large, influential piece of music that just really clicked with me. I really like the orchestration of it, the sound and that it was so unique and so different to me. And I also remember it being a very challenging piece to learn.

Rebecca: Yeah. I'm not sure how many times we played that piece in the 90s, but I do remember at least once.

Dino: Mm hmm.

Rebecca: A very extensive solo for the concertmaster. [first chair, first violin, and also leader of the entire string section]

Dino: Yes, indeed. And then shortly after that, when I moved to Montana, Bozeman Symphony picked up that piece too. So it was fun to play it yet again with a different orchestra.

Rebecca: So did you play in two orchestras in Bozeman, the MSU [Montana State University] Orchestra and the Bozeman Symphony?

Dino: Correct, correct. And this is kind of an interesting tidbit. When I was playing with the Bozeman Symphony, their conductor was Matthew Savery, who eventually came and did a turn as conductor of Wyoming Symphony Orchestra as well.

Rebecca: Right. So you've had the opportunity to play many, many, many orchestral pieces.

Dino: Sure have. Sure have. I still have my cello. The very first one that my folks bought me when I think I was early junior high.

Rebecca: Oh.

Dino: An instrument that I'll never part with.

Rebecca: Yeah. Okay. Are there other things you would like to tell us about your life in music? Just in general?

Dino: Well, it's still a very large part of my life, even though I'm not involved in playing cello at, can I say a professional level? Along the way, I picked up a five string banjo and it was very. I'm just going to say it was fun to apply the musical knowledge that I had and self teach myself this interesting five string banjo instrument. I’m playing in, a bluegrass band right now. [Bluegrass music is a genre of American music that developed in the Appalachian region of the United States] And I don't want to say that I'm exceptionally proficient with my banjo, but I'm getting much better at it. Without the musical knowledge and education that I'd had throughout my lifetime, I don't think that I would have ever picked up another instrument or even thought about it. Playing with the other band mates that I have, they have zero musical training, so it's been fun to showcase my musical knowledge with them and help them to understand how music works and what makes it work.

Rebecca: So I have some questions about the crossover from cello to banjo. How is the banjo tuned? That is, is it tuned in fifths like the cello is?

Dino: It's tuned to the key of G. So if you were to strum the open strings [strings played with no fingers pushing down on them to change the pitch] of a banjo, you would get a G chord. And that fretted instrument is, can I say, set up in a manner where if you know two different hand positions, you can play all the major and minor chords on a banjo. [A fretted instrument has strips of metal embedded along the neck of the instrument, for example, on a guitar or banjo.] You can ultimately tune it differently if you wanted to, you could tune it in the key of A. It's also set up so that you can bar fret a chord. [To bar fret is to lay the index finger flat on the fretboard to temporarily shorten the strings and therefore change their pitch.] It's, I don't want to say that it's a rudimentary instrument by any means. It's very dynamic, but it's simply tuned.

Rebecca: So you've been more or less the musical leader of this band in terms of imparting what you know to help the band play better?

Dino: I think that that's a very fair statement, and I think it's been well received. We’ve played together for about seven or eight years. Now, if there's a question about how should we progress through the specific chord progression? The knowledge base is there for us to have discussions like that. And it's added to the dynamic capability of our band. You know, I was talking to them the other day about what a hemiola is [the beat is in twos, and, simultaneously with the beat, the notes are in threes] and how you can play two on three. And I think when we first started, that would have been a real difficult concept for everybody to grasp. And I think at the end of the day, I think I'm just kind of a proverbial educator in my current role right now, and I can't tell you how much I enjoy teaching students and showing and sharecasing my knowledge.

Rebecca: Yeah, teaching can be very, very fun.

Dino: I'm a big fan of it. There's definitely days that are very challenging, but I think that that just, that adds to the overall satisfaction of it for me. And I really, I would if I had the opportunity and I could line everybody out, I would love to go back and talk to all the instructors and people that kind of formed who I am for music. From Dr. Lee. I can't believe how honored I am that you reached out to me about this project. You were a very large influence on my musical upbringing, especially when I got to college and I studied with you. Dr. Lee. Mr. Peacock. All these individuals that really kind of shaped and developed who I am. Such appreciation for them. And they were all educators.

Rebecca: I have a question about what I perceive to be a possible link between the arts and sciences.

Dino: Oh, sure.

Rebecca: That being intuition. I know in my own cello playing, and teaching, I've profited greatly by engaging that part of my mind. And I've read enough biographies of scientists, famous scientists, to learn that they also have this experience of, what you would call well, I don't know a better word for it than intuition. And maybe I'll just leave it at that and let you go ahead and talk about it.

Dino: I think that that's a very valid statement to say. I think intuition is the word to use. I do remember a point in my life, I think I was in junior high and the music teacher that we had, and I just, I wish that I could remember her name, was also my music teacher in grade school. And at one point I kind of wanted to give up on playing cello. And this instructor talked me out of it, using the same kind of topic that we're discussing right now, that this intuition is really going to help you open up your mind and really kind of maximize your abilities and your talents to perform at all levels. And I think playing music really gave me the courage and the intuition to try new things. Going into it, knowing that it's challenging, that you would have to do a lot of practice time to master something. And I really believe that conversations I had with that music instructor encouraging me not to give this up was probably a very big highlight in my my professional development. Even as a young child. I don't think at that point I really appreciated the profound impact that would have until later on in life. I was able to reflect on ... Ah, it came to me: That music instructor's name was Miss Jennings. And I was sitting with Miss Jennings and her saying that understanding how to play music would help you to understand the world around you. And she was 100% right.

Rebecca: Do you have recollections of specific examples of intuitive flashes that you have had either in your musical life or in your life in science or just in general?

Dino: I'm trying to kind of process how you're saying that. Could you give me an example of how you would use that?

Rebecca: Well, with me for a very large chunk of my development, especially when I was in Casper. Well, I still live outside of Casper, but playing in the symphony in the 90s, I practiced very hard and things would happen to me in my practicing that I couldn't trace a direct path from what I had done in my practicing to a picture, very compelling mental picture that would come to me that would help me play better. For example, a mental picture of my left hand, the one that fingers on the fingerboard. That's for the historical record, not for you. Of it being almost like a big ball with a little point on it. The point being the finger that was touching the string and the ball being this wonderful thing that sort of sat on top of the point very effortlessly and gave it enough weight to push down the string, but made it possible for me to move easily to different notes or vibrato, or just reach for another note with a different finger. It was just this beautiful, very clear picture that just opened up in my head one day and I was permanently a better player because of that. [vibrato is the oscillating motion of the left hand that gives a vocal quality to the player’s sound]

Dino: I think that my intuitive moment would be the first time that I went to MSU, I auditioned to be in the cello ensemble. I was still a student at Casper College. This was in the spring of 95, and I was in Dr. Lee's office, and I watched her play some of the unaccompanied Bach and focusing and visualizing on what she was doing with her hands, both left and right, and how she could move across the fingerboard. And that visualization was a point in time where I said, “Oh, if I try hard enough and I practiced enough, maybe I could get to be as good as she is.” So I would say that that was kind of my moment. [Johann Sebastian Bach composed six “suites” for unaccompanied cello, each of the six consisting of six separate sections, or movements]

Rebecca: Yeah. It's it's interesting how when another musician plays, what they're doing can just kind of float over to you and really get in.

Dino: You have at least at that point, I had enough working knowledge about the instrument, but maybe not enough about the artistry of the instrument. And watching Dr. Lee perform when I was there for my audition, just, it was it was a real special moment for me.

Rebecca: I'm going to tell you a brief story as a prelude to asking you if you have had such experiences. I was living in Chicago, well, the Chicago area, where I had moved to after undergraduate school because I wanted to be in a place where there were many, many concerts and a wide range of teachers and schools to choose from. So I went to a concert in Orchestra Hall where the Italian chamber orchestra called I Musici was performing. And that was my introduction to Italian string sound, which I had never really heard [live] before, and I realized how different it is, how distinctive it is from other ways of producing sound. So resonant; it was just a huge sound, but they weren't working hard to get the sound, it was, it was astonishing. So I went home and practiced and for one practice session I had that sound and then I lost it for years and years and years. I could not replicate that. All I had was the memory of how beautiful it was and how resonant. And then after years of trying to get it back, I finally figured out to some degree how they did it. So I'm wondering if you have had similar experiences with your cello-playing life?

Dino: Sure. I definitely, at MSU Bozeman with Dr. Lee, we really focused a lot in our private lessons of playing unaccompanied Bach and listening to a variety of other solo cellists play that and picking out pieces of what they did and applying it to how I wanted it to sound was, I would say, my moment like that to say, “Oh, listen to this.” I mean, everybody's playing the same notes, but maybe the phrasing was a little bit different, or maybe they're playing different positions [with the left hand in a different place on the fingerboard] as they're playing all these notes. You know, can I can I call the 90s kind of the analog days? There was no YouTube or videos. You would go to the library and get a CD or you would borrow a CD from somebody to listen to a variety of different performers playing something that you were currently working on. And I found it so challenging and rewarding to be able to pick something out, of a specific player, Yo-Yo Ma, or a cellist of that caliber, and say, “This is the sound that I'm looking for and how do I reproduce that and how do I make that my own?” And I think that was really kind of an important takeaway for me through my entire musical career, is not only here’s the music to play, but how do you make this music your own sound? And who were the influences that helped you create this sound you call yours, after digesting and practicing and doing your best to master these pieces? What was it that actually said “This is now yours?” And a lot of that, too, came from the other individuals that I played with at that time in the 90s. There were some phenomenal cello players at MSU, some that I just still regard to this day as some of the best musicians that I know. [Yo-Yo Ma, a contemporary American cello soloist and teacher; a child prodigy, performing from the age of four and a half.]

Rebecca: Yeah. It's really fun to be in a cello class where there are players that are much better than you are.

Dino: Oh yeah, it sure is. At least for me. It challenged me and showed me what was possible.

Rebecca: So. I'm curious, since you've mentioned the Bach suites. Which of the six suites have you studied or did you study with Dr. Lee?

Dino: Well, we played all of them, but I remember the first suite really just being, can I say, my favorite out of all of them. And I remember focusing a lot of time on that, you know as I was going to school at MSU after my first year being declared as a music major is kind of when I decided that the sciences were for me and that I was going to focus my education on that part. But I still was very involved in performing and playing and for the years that I was there, we really just focused on that first suite. And Dr. Lee was always bringing in fantastic musicians to work with. She just had a huge network of individuals that she would bring to campus and we would have little camps with them and just just amazing times with incredible musicians.

Rebecca: Cellists or

Dino: Mainly? Mainly cellists.

Rebecca: Do you remember who?

Dino: Oh, there's one individual in particular, and I think I really have to kind of wrap my archives to remember who he was, but a very good friend and colleague of Dr. Lee. I remember that.

Rebecca: There was a guy from Montana, from Bozeman, his name is Mike Reynolds.

Dino: That's exactly who it is. Mike Reynolds. Yes. Yes.

Rebecca: He was principal of All Northwest when he was in high school. Principal cello. It was amazing. Yeah.

Dino: Exactly who it is, Becky, Mike Reynolds. It was real common for him to show up to our juries at the end of each semester. And he and Dr. Lee would sit in the auditorium and we would play for them.

Rebecca: Yeah, I know Mike lived on the Eastern seaboard somewhere because that's where his work was. But he told me many times he was very homesick for Montana. He would take any reason to come back.

Dino: What I remember about him, I mean, specifically, he was a phenomenal musician. But I think what he really loved about Montana was the fly fishing. He was a fly fisherman.

Rebecca: Well, it's very difficult to be in Bozeman, let alone be from Bozeman, without developing a very strong attachment to that part of the country.

Dino: 100% true. It's a place that we still visit regularly. I have quite a bit of family that lives in Montana. I still find myself gravitating that way quite often.

Rebecca: Okay. So. Back to the [Wyoming] symphony orchestra. From your two years of playing in that group, is there a performance or a piece or a high point that jumps out at you?

Dino: I don't think that I could prioritize one experience over the other. I remember WSO being very challenging for me. I was still very young as a musician. I had to practice real hard. There were times when I thought maybe I wasn't good enough to be in there. I always had lots of encouragement from the cello section, from Mr. Peacock, from Dale Bohren about just sticking to it and not giving up. I don't remember having, at all, I would say, a bad performance, but all of the musicians at all the shows that we played with WSO, I just, I thoroughly enjoyed all of them for a variety of reasons from the different artists that they would come and play with the WSO to the gala showcase at the end of each season. I don't think that I could pick out one particular show and say this was the one that topped all of them. They were all very special for their own reasons and a variety of reasons. And this wasn't real specifically related to WSO, but I do remember playing with the Casper College Chamber Ensemble and the violist that was going to play the show got sick the day of it. And Mr. Peacock was our instructor. He was, can I say, in charge of the chamber orchestra at that time. Hours before the show, [he] came into his office. And I'm sure that this was a piece that he knew intimately. Got the viola out, practiced the solo of that piece and in the middle of our performance, played it just by memory. And really, what captivated me about that was not only the level of professionalism, but the level of musicianship that somebody can obtain by devoting time, effort, I'm going to say blood, sweat and tears to this profession. So to watch Mr. Peacock come out of his office, and I don't want to say nonchalantly, but make it look like it was something that he'd practiced his whole life. It ... really left a very lasting impression on me about what hard work and dedication and passion can do not only for music, but for your life, for your career, whatever you apply it to.

Rebecca: So he was the soloist for that portion of the performance.

Dino: And the conductor at the same time.

Rebecca: And conducted. Yeah, that was going to be my question.

Dino: Yeah. When it got to that point of the performance and I'm sorry that I can't remember the piece that we were playing, but it had a viola solo in it and it was, that was really the the point of this performance was to showcase this musician. It was the musician's last year at Casper College, and unfortunately this musician got sick. So the whole point of having this piece and the Chamber Ensemble was to showcase this individual. And then just watching Mr. Peacock pick this up, run the ensemble, conduct it, and then play the solo in the middle. And it was just, it really left a lasting impression on me.

Rebecca: No wonder. Okay. Do you have other things you would like to tell us about your, either your time with the symphony or your life in music?

Dino: Well, my time with the symphony was a very enjoyable time. The two years that I played with Wyoming Symphony, it was just, I just always felt honored that I was able to be a part of something like that. I had so much respect for all the musicians that were in the orchestra at that time. I thought they were all phenomenal musicians, that they were dedicated and they would put the practice in. And I really aspired to become that, to say, Oh, if I practice hard enough and I devote my time, maybe at some point I'll be featured somewhere. You know, kind of had these young thoughts about what you could do with life and music. And I was, I keep saying this, I was very young. I was 18, 19 years old when I was experiencing these things. And at that time, I think it was probably a lot for me to really digest. And it's taken me the rest of my life to reflect upon that. And really appreciate the importance of the Wyoming Symphony Orchestra and the development of who I eventually became at the end of my late teens. I just, I'm so fond of that time in my life ... it was just a fantastic time.

Rebecca: Yeah, we played some good music. Some hard music.

Dino: Oh, I would agree with that statement. I remember the music being very challenging. I remember working on it with you, with Mr. Peacock. At that time, I believe that I was still playing a little bit in private lessons with Sue Salz. I mean, it took the whole community to help me to get to where I was at as a musician at that time of my life.

Rebecca: I recall that we did at least one Beethoven symphony when you were in the cellos.

Dino: Mm hmm.

Rebecca: And I'm wondering if we also did any Brahms symphonies at that time. Do you remember. [Johannes Brahms, 19th century German composer]

Dino: Oh, hmm, I don't know if I do or not, Becky. I do remember them bringing in some fantastic guest artists, those two seasons that I played.

Rebecca: Yeah, there was the money to get some really good people. Do you remember any of them by name or instrument?

Dino: No, I sure don't. I remember a violinist that came and played a show with us. And maybe even a pianist that played a show with us, that kind of left an impression. But as far as the recollection of names, I don't remember.

Rebecca: Well, that would be a lot to expect after all this time.

Dino: Well, yeah. But what I what I keep saying about that time was, it was just a very impressionable time in my life, and I enjoyed every minute of it. I believe we played The Nutcracker [ballet by Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky, 19th century Russian composer] at Christmas one time. And I think that was maybe the one and only time that I got to perform that. And I thoroughly enjoyed playing that. I think that we probably played that two or three times publicly over the course of a weekend, maybe two Saturday shows and the Sunday show. And at that time we were playing in the auditorium at the Natrona County High School.

Rebecca: Yeah. There was a period when we did The Nutcracker ballet quite frequently.

Dino: Mm hmm.

Rebecca: I always loved it.

Dino: It's just it's a real fitting time of the year to play that. And I think that's one thing that I really enjoyed about it.

Rebecca: And the music is so satisfying.

Dino: 100% true. I couldn't agree with that statement more.

Rebecca: Okay. Well. Before I wind up, just want to be sure I haven't interrupted you in anything you were going to say.

Dino: Not at all. I really appreciate the conversation and it's been an honor to talk to you. I'm so glad that you were able to connect with me and reach out to me. It's been a real treat to kind of go down memory lane and think about where I started as a musician and and all the individuals that helped me to become who I am, honored and thankful for all that time in my life.

Rebecca: Well, it's really fun to find out that music has remained a part of your life and is still part of your life in whatever form, and is still an influence on your, sounds like on your, I don't know, development or.

Dino: Sure is, it sure has been.

Rebecca: Yeah. Well, great. Thank you for giving us your time.

Dino: My pleasure. My pleasure, Becky.

Rebecca: Okay. Well, take care.

Dino: Yeah, you too. It's nice to talk to you.

Rebecca: Sure. Ditto.