Evening star. [volume], March 18, 1962, Page 8, Image 112

About Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972

Image provided by: Library of Congress, Washington, DC

                
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Carlton Herrett is a violinist.
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The Kregals: Jesse, assistant timpanist; Marilynn, violinist.
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SUNDAY. THE STAR MAGAZINE. WASHINGTON. D C., MARCH 18. Hlo2
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His wife Maryen doubles on the piano and the celesta.
Continued from page 6
The Wrights met while playing a sum
mer engagement with a Philadelphia
summer park symphony, a job she almost
turned down because she was on va
cation.
Both the Kregals and the Herretts
met in their teens-the Herretts as fel
low students at the Cornish School of
Music in Seattle, and the Kregals as fel
low members of the Portland (Ore.) Jun
ior Symphony.
All four couples agree that living in
musical tandem is ideal, and that better
yet being in the same orchestra solves a
lot of household problems.
The only one of the eight who doesn't
play regularly with the orchestra, be
cause parts for the piano in the sym
phony repertoire are limited, is Maryen
Herrett. But this gives her more time to
spend with their 7-year-old son and to
teach. When Mr. Herrett was with the
San Antonio Symphony, she moved to
the other side of the footlights as music
critic with the San Antonio Light.
“She let the conductor have it one
time," her husband recalls with a hearty
laugh. “And I still kept my job.”
One might wonder how the Kregals
manage home practice sessions, since
violin and timpani don’t exactly go to
gether. But they've happily solved that
problem to their individual satisfaction.
He works on his drums upstairs in a
sound-proof room in their Arlington
home, leaving the downstairs to her. He
thinks both having the same schedule
“makes it easy,” and since they have no
baby-sitting problems she thinks the
most enjoyable part of playing in the
orchestra together is when they go out
of town.
STAR PHOTOS BY ELWOOD BAKER
The Romanenkos like getting out of
town for another reason. They love their
children, and “already they have abso
lute pitch,” says their proud father. But
with a resigned smile he shaken his head
and realistically admits, “At home it is
impossible to practice because of them!”
Mr. Romanenko recalls that once,
when he was going out of town, “I asked
Carmen to come along so she could prac
tice. She didn't leave the hotel for two
days.” This trip wasn’t with the orches
tra, however, for Mr. Romanenko is also a
champion chess player, and he was keep
ing a tournament engagement Last sum
mer he helped the District Chess League
win the United States Chess Federation
first team tournament. His wife, though,
doesn’t share his interest in chess. “I’m
not the type,” she says. “I hate to think.”
The Wrights, who have a year-old
son, Karl, agree that sharing music con
tributes to a happy marriage. “Being
married to a fellow musician is hectic
sometimes,” she observes, “but I can't
imagine not being married to one. At
least, you understand his problems and
he understands yours.”
The Wrights' leisure-time hobby is
playing with woodwind quartets. One of
their most anticipated pleasures is at
tending the Chamber Music Festival
every summer in Marlborough, Vt.
The Romanenkos and the Wrights
have been with the Symphony the longest
of the four couples-Ivan and Carmen
Romanenko for eleven and nine years,
and Harold and Ruth Wright for nine and
seven years, respectively. The Herretts
and Jesse Kregal joined the orchestra in
1959, and Mrs. Kregal last season. To
gether, the four couples have given a
total of 46 years to the Symphony.