Fred Henle,violin
Fred Henle is a software engineer at Prealize Health. He currently serves on the boards of Greenwood Music Camp, the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra Foundation, and the Holyoke Civic Symphony, where he also plays as a violinist and is currently HCS Board of Directors President. Previous orchestras include the Maryland Symphony Orchestra, the Dartmouth Symphony Orchestra, the Harvard-Radcliffe Orchestra, the Pioneer Valley Symphony, and the pit orchestra of the Valley Light Opera.
Roberta Goldman, violin
Roberta Goldman has been playing the violin in orchestras and chamber music ensembles all of her life. Since moving to Holyoke 25 years ago, after her retirement working in management positions with nonprofit arts organizations, she has played both violin and viola in the Pioneer Valley Symphony, the Holyoke Civic Symphony, as well as other community orchestras. She was on the Board of NCMC and still is on their NCMC Advisory Board. She was a volunteer for many years for the Associated Chamber Music Players, an international chamber music organization) serving first on the Advisory Board, then the organization's Board, then for five years, as Board Chair.
Nancy Hoople, violin and viola
Nancy Hoople studied music theory and viola at Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and in West Berlin, Germany as an undergraduate, and did graduate work with Russian violinist Rafael Sobolevsky at Syracuse University. She later earned a Master of Public Health degree at UMASS Amherst, and has worked as a healthcare researcher/analyst since 1991. Concurrently, she continued to play viola and violin and has been very active in the local orchestral and chamber music community, performing with the Holyoke Civic Symphony for the last 20 years.
Audrey Barker Plotkin, cello
Audrey Barker Plotkin grew up near the musical city of Rochester, New York, where one of her earliest memories was conducting along with classical records with a piece of spaghetti. She had better success with the cello, which she began studying in the public schools at age 9. Decades later, she is still playing, and for many years has been performing with the Holyoke Civic Symphony as well as in chamber groups , bringing her much joy. Professionally, Audrey is a forest ecologist at the Harvard Forest.
About the Orchestra
The Holyoke Civic Symphony, under the direction of David Kidwell, is made up of talented amateur musicians and students who perform an exciting mixture of styles and composers. Their mission is to make orchestral music accessible to Holyoke and the surrounding communities. Three of their four concerts each season are free of charge.
The 2023-2024 season is entitled, “The Brass Menagerie.” Each concert will feature an amazing soloist on an instrument of the brass family: horn, trumpet, trombone and tuba. Each concert will also include favorites from the orchestral repertoire, such as Brahms' Third Symphony in October, Bizet's L'Arlesienne Suite in December, Tchaikovsky's Sixth Symphony in March, and Stravinsky's Firebird in May.
The concerts are welcoming, unpretentious, and fun for all ages. Come as you are and enjoy the music. They look forward to seeing you in the audience!
