In Memoriam
Richard "Dick" White
5/7/1927 - 12/18/2006
National Symphony Oboist and Solo English hornist
He was my mentor, my teacher and my friend.
I am a better musician and a better person for having known him.
I wrote this paragraph for the Friday Morning Music Club newsletter.
I first met Dick in the FMMC Orchestra. When I heard that I would be playing 2nd to the recently-retired EH player from the National Symphony, I started to get pretty nervous. I wanted to make a good impression. After the initial introductions, the rehearsal started. Sylvia, the conductor, asked about the parts that we all had, whether we had measure numbers or rehearsal letters. Turned out that the strings had measure numbers and the winds and brass had the rehearsal letters. Dick turned to me and said “Ah! That means we have the advantage.” I cracked up laughing. That was Dick – easygoing and fun. Playing with him was a joy. His passion for music was evident and infectious. He knew the repertoire so well, that he could give me tips on how to approach some of the more difficult parts, with alternate fingerings, or sometimes just a “heads up – this part is tricky.” I started taking lessons from him. His approach to playing and teaching music was to simplify as much of the process as possible. Playing the oboe should be easy, like breathing. Or singing. He also felt that oboists should try to “find their own voice” rather than trying to sound exactly like someone else. Many teachers are stingy with their information – the old school method of “I taught my students every thing they know, but not everything I know” was not Dick’s way. I am sure he has forgotten more great music than most other musicians ever knew. And the stories! One of my favorite things about FMMC rehearsals was that Dick and his good friend and NSO tour buddy Ed Skidmore would sit down after rehearsals and tell such wonderful stories about playing and touring in the NSO. My favorite is still the one about having to play the offstage oboe part in the Berlioz “Symphony Fantastique” with Leonard Bernstein conducting. After much consideration, Maestro Bernstein thought that the offstage solo would sound best played from just outside the hall in the lobby, with the door slightly open. Dick was dragged away while trying to play the solo by a security guard who thought that he was just some crazy person with a musical instrument there to interrupt the concert.
For the past couple of years, I have been taking voice lessons just for fun. Dick’s lovely wife Jane, who is also a truly gifted musician and teacher, agreed to take me on as a student. I wore her down by begging for lessons for only three years! My Saturdays were perfect days. I would arrive at their house at 10:15 for my voice lesson. After that, I went downstairs to Dick’s studio to say hello and chat if he had some time. He usually did, and those afternoon chats were wonderful.
One of the last times I saw him was just a few weeks before his passing – he brought his oboe to my shop for a minor repair. He was happy and chipper and looking forward to his next concert. I am glad that I told him that day that he has had a profound influence on my playing and my approach to my instrument.
I am a better musician and a better person for having known him.
Susan Vought Findley
12/17/2007
On the eve of the first anniversary of Dick's passing, I am both grateful for having known him, and poignently aware of his absence. Miss you, sir.
8/25/2008
After awhile away from the oboe, and now starting to return to it, it is remembering the sheer joy in Dick's approach to the instrument that makes me want to pick it up and play again. And I have. Thank you, sir.
5/22/2009
You are still missed A LOT!!
3/15/10
Ian White playing his grandfather's oboe d'amour (left)
Wally Schutz, Ian's good friend and partner-in-oboe-crime gives the d'amour a try (right)
4/12/10
I've been thinking about what made Dick's approach to teaching the oboe different than most others. I think that it was his process of trying to always simplify - to make it easier to play rather than more difficult or complicated. To focus on the music itself rather than obsessing about equipment. Anyone can make something more complicated - it takes a really smart person to break something down to the essential parts and eliminate what is not really necessary.
I wish every oboist could have spent some time with him.