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Staff photo by Doug Koontz Bruce Habitzruther, conductor, leads practice at E.C. Glass. |
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By Kristin Patterson The News & Advance Bruce Habitzruther has been helping the city of Lynchburg make beautiful music for almost 20 years. As conductor and music director for the Lynchburg city symphony and director of strings for the Lynchburg school system, Habitzruther, 50, has not only seen but been part of Lynchburg’s music growth, both in talent and interest, for the last two decades.On a daily basis, he leaves his Goode home in his ’88 station wagon to trot between five city schools, teaching orchestra classes. On an annual basis, he prepares five symphony presentations and two youth concerts, most of which take place in the auditorium of E. C. Glass High School. “I just love music,” he stated simply.Since his fourth grade days of practicing scales on a cello balanced awkwardly between wobbly knees, Habitzruther has been in love with music. He learned to play a little on almost every instrument during his time at the State University of New York, he said, which has come in handy in his classes and with symphony members. He also spent four months conducting the Royal Conservatory and the Royal Academy of Fine arts in Antwerp, Belgium, before coming to Lynchburg in 1971. He came to teach stringed instruments for the public school system and was the principle cellist in the city symphony until 1977, when he became conductor. |
Bruce E. Habitzruther
Who influenced you?
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“He’s one of
the most talented, organized and efficient people I’ve ever
worked with,” said Ginger Paris, who managed the symphony
while Habitzruther conducted and played the viola for the symphony.
Paris also plays in a string quartet with him on weekends.“He’s
a very clear conductor,” she said. He doesn’t just
wave his arms around, she said. He tells you what he wants though facial expressions and mannerisms. Paris has worked with other conductors and says Habitzruther conducts like he does everything else. “Everything is just enough, he never overdoes it,” she said. “He’s always had high expectations and he approaches it in a way that makes you want to meet his expectations.” Paris said she’s known students of Habitzruther’s who’ve returned from college disappointed that their upper level courses are easier than their high school orchestra classes. “And he’s not overt about giving a lot of praise, but when he does, you know you’ve done well,” she added. She also describes Habitzruther as competitive. “Everything he does, he does well,” she said.From holding the pro-racquetball title to leading the high school orchestras to first place medals in every competition in the last 18 years, Habitzruther has created a reputation for himself that implies he’s willing to work hard. He remembers well his early days as a musician.“There was always music around the house,” he said. Though that music was mostly tunes from the radio, it was enough to spark his interest. Then when the music teacher at his elementary school was recruiting students for instrument lessons, Habitzruther stepped forward. “We were offered four instruments and I didn’t know what the cello was, so I decided to pick that,” he laughed. He worked on his masters degree at Wichita State University after earning a Ford Foundation Grant. This was where he met his wife, Ellen, who was studying the violin under the same grant. The two were married in 1971 and moved to Lynchburg several months later when there was an opening for both a string and violin teacher in the public school system. “We always seem to go along together in the music world,” said Ellen. “But usually we play together because there’s a need for a violinist and a cellist, not because we’re husband and wife.” The two play in a quartet for weddings, local restaurants and festivals. They pick out music together for the symphony and plan out performances.They rarely play at home, he said. The two have no children. “When we’re home, we usually don’t like to think about music,” he said. This full-time teacher, symphony director, sports nut and growing real estate owner has plenty of other things to do.“The musicians decided they wanted to do it,” Habitzruther said. “And they wanted me to lead them.” With this breaking away, Habitzruther made some changes to the symphony. He kept the same classic, traditional music, but began bringing in professional musicians from across the state to play with the 25 local musicians, helped with the funding programs and drew in more than quadruple the crowd per show. “We tried to make it as professional as possible,” he said. “And the community’s so supportive in everything we do. It really keeps you going.”The symphony was averaging crowds of 150 until it broke away. Now, E.C. Glass auditorium bursts at the seams with typically more than 1,000 guests per show. In order to draw a younger crowd, Habitzruther changed symphony performances from Sunday afternoons to Saturday evenings and began to let students above the eighth grade audition for parts.“ He makes it fun for the kids,” said Cathy Ewing, whose daughter Melanie plays the violin in Habitzruther’s orchestra class at Heritage “He makes her want to learn and we love it because we love to hear her play at home.” Ewing, an active member of the booster club for strings — a support group of parents and students who help raise money for the orchestra class — said her daughter switched her schedule around this year to make sure she had time for Habitzruther’s class. “He’s just as good as it gets.” |