| In Memoriam: Charles Hois, 1930-2010 | 24 February 2010 |
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The following article is taken from the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Charles F. Hois / PSO trumpeter for 36 years, nearly all as the principal Tuesday, February 23, 2010 By Gary Rotstein, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette Charles F. Hois carried the demeanor of one who took his trumpet playing lightly, as he did much of life, making others laugh with his barbs. But seriously, the man could play. You don't spend more than three decades as principal trumpet of one of the nation's foremost symphonies without talent. Those around him during his years with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra knew it, from conductors to colleagues. even if Mr. Hois never --excuse the phrase -- blew his own horn. Mr. Hois, 79, died of lung cancer Sunday at Family Hospice's Center for Compassionate Care in Mt. Lebanon. He was diagnosed two years ago. The Mt. Lebanon resident started playing trumpet when he was growing up in Philadelphia at age 8. Mr. Hois set the instrument aside after retiring from the symphony in 1996. He'd blown enough notes by then to satisfy him. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music and a Marine veteran, he spent five years with the Cleveland Orchestra before joining Pittsburgh as the first among its four trumpets when arriving for the 1960-61 season. His wife, Audrey, said he was offered principal trumpet positions at the same time by the orchestras in Minneapolis and New Orleans, but Mr. Hois picked Pittsburgh because of its prestige under music director William Steinberg. Frank Ostrowski of Whitehall, a trumpet player in the symphony at the time, had heard Mr. Hois when both were students at the Tanglewood music camp in Massachusetts in 1948. Plenty of people admired Mr. Hois' playing after he arrived in Pittsburgh, which was no surprise to Mr. Ostrowski. "When I first heard him play, I decided to practice harder," Mr. Ostrowski said. "I always told people that Charley Hois never improved -- he played that way his whole life." Those attending symphonies over several decades heard trumpet solos from Mr. Hois during performances of Mussorgsky's "Pictures at an Exhibition," Handel's "Messiah," Mahler's Third Symphony and many other pieces. He seemed to do it effortlessly, but he would practice for hours daily in the basement of his home. Mr. Ostrowski recalled Mr. Hois playing a solo for a symphony recording of Stravinsky's "Petrouchka" that Mr. Steinberg pronounced perfect on the first try. Yet, a representative of the record company insisted on a second take. "Mr. Steinberg turned around, shrugged his shoulders, and Charley played it again, just as good as the first time. That was the consistent player he was," Mr. Ostrowski said. But unlike some musicians, Mr. Hois was hardly one to try to curry favor with the many well-known conductors and guest artists with whom the symphony performed. Ron Schneider, a horn player for the symphony since 1978, said that when Lorin Maazel first appeared as a guest conductor, he announced to the musicians at rehearsal how he had a special way he wanted them to perform. In a dry, low voice so only those around him heard, Mr. Hois muttered, "Oh, please, share it with us." He was so modest, in fact, that he told his wife he wanted the windows in the house closed while he practiced so as not to disturb the neighbors. "The neighbors said, 'Open them up, we want to hear him play,' " Mrs. Hois recalled. Mr. Hois, who stepped down to second trumpet for several years before retirement, also participated for many years in the Gateway to Music program, in which trained musicians visited schools to educate children about instruments and classical music. In addition, he taught at Duquesne and Carnegie Mellon universities during his time with the symphony. From the early 1960s to 1970s, he also performed with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra, at the resort in New York where he and his family had a cottage and regularly spent their summers. In addition to his wife, Mr. Hois is survived by three sons, Jim and Brian, both of Mt. Lebanon, and David of Bloomfield; a sister, Carolyn Denny of Hope Valley, R.I.; and four grandchildren. A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. March 14 at Southminster Presbyterian Church, 799 Washington Road, Mt. Lebanon. Memorial contributions may be made to the American Cancer Society, P.O. Box 22718, Oklahoma City, OK 73123.
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