She played solo 2,000 times on TV
mainThe death has been announced of Lois Schaefer, principal piccolo of the Boston Symphony from 1965 to 1990, and before that with New York City Opera.
Lois, a much-loved teacher, was 95.
Ms. Schaefer was best-known to the general public through her frequent appearances on National Public Television with the Boston Pops, where she led the piccolo obbligato in “The Stars and Stripes Forever” more than 2000 times. (From her Legacy obit:)
We mourn the recent passing of another long-time player with the Boston Pops, clarinetist William Wrzesien. There is a notice of remembrance available from NEC: https://necmusic.edu/news/remembering-william-wrzesien
Isn’t that a flute though in the pic? If it’s a piccolo, I’ve never seen one that long.
Uh . . . yes. It’s a flute.
bass piccolo…
Her position in the Boston Symphony was principal piccolo, which requires a significant amount of flute playing as well. Her position in the New York City Opera was principal flute. There are no professional piccolo players who do not also play flute.
Ah…I guess that explains it. I thought it odd a woman known principally for piccolo was pictured playing a flute!
She was part of a peerless flute section: Doriot Dwyer, Fenwick Smith, and Lois. I met her at Tanglewood, and she was very friendly to this harp student, giving me rides to and from the grounds, and such.
What about James Pappoutsakis?
She collaborated on chamber music frequently with her good friend Anne Hobson Pilot, Principal Harp of BSO, so as a harp student you were probably on her A list!
It was indeed a peerless section, but as Drummerman points out, below, the original team was Doriot, James Pappoutsakis and Lois. Fenwick Smith replaced James Pappoutsakis in the section.
I always identified Doriot Anthony Dwyer as a piccolist. I can almost hear William Pierce giving her a shout out with his Boston Brahmin accent.
Those were the days. Halcyon days in Boston.
She was one of those players where you don’t realize the instrument (or the repertoire) is hard until you hear someone else try to play it. RIP.