JAMES MATHESON -- A LEGEND RETIRES

by Janet Archibald

Oboist James Matheson retired in July 2006 from the San Francisco Opera Orchestra after an unprecedented 44 years as principal oboist. As the solo English hornist of the San Francisco Opera for the past 16 years, it has been my great pleasure to sit next to one of the nicest members of the orchestra and to learn from his exemplary playing and demeanor what it means to truly be a professional musician.

Jim, or ‘Jimmy’ as so many of us affectionately call him, grew up in Southern California, where he began playing clarinet at the age of 8. At 13 he added the saxophone, at 14 the flute, and finally, at the age of 16, he began to play the oboe, studying with Robert Frost of the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He also studied with Glen Johnston of Los Angeles, Merrill Remington, former principal oboist of the San Francisco Symphony and the San Francisco Opera Orchestra, and Henri Debussier of the Queens Hall Orchestra, London, the New York Symphony, and the Los Angeles Philharmonic. He decided to stick with the oboe as there were more career opportunities for oboists at that time. After graduating from high school, he attended Los Angeles City College for a semester, then joined the Army and was stationed with the Sixth Army Band at the Presidio in San Francisco. Don Carroll, who later became the bass clarinetist with the San Francisco Symphony - and a longtime friend of Jim’s, also was a member of the band at the time. After his army discharge Jim attended Occidental College and SF State University before receiving his BA. Following his graduation, he toured the US for three months by bus playing English horn with Arthur Fiedler’s Pops orchestra ,which included local colleagues Leroy Subke, Don Knuth, and Dwight Hall.

Jim spent the next four years in Portland, Oregon as a member of the Portland Symphony, where he played 2nd oboe and English horn and, ultimately, principal oboe. He also served for a time as personnel manager of the orchestra. In 1962, Jim joined the San Francisco Opera Orchestra as principal oboist and, following the opera season, he joined the San Francisco Symphony as 2nd oboist. (Prior to the 1980 completion of Davies Hall, most of the SF Symphony members also played for the opera season as the seasons were not concurrent.) In 1980, when the 2 orchestras split, he decided to stay with the Opera. He taught at San Francisco State for many years and still teaches oboe at Stanford University. During the Opera’s off-seasons, he frequently played shows at the Curran Theater, sometimes doubling on English horn, sax, and clarinet . Some of the shows he played were Fannie, Oklahoma, West Side Story, Damn Yankees, and the Danny Kaye Show.

Jim very strongly believed in working towards establishing better working conditions for his colleagues; and, over the years, he did extensive committee work for both the SF Symphony and the SF Opera Orchestras. He participated in establishing numerous benefits that we take for granted nowadays, such as tenure, audition procedures, health care benefits, and sick leave. In addition to his committee work, he served as a member of the Executive Board of the Musicians Union Local 6 for many years.

Another way Jim helped his colleagues out over the years was with his wizardry with instrument repairs. He is a master at adjusting and repairing the oboe and English horn, and he considered it a "professional courtesy" to my colleague Debbie Henry and I to always keep our instruments in good working order. Oboes go out of adjustment at the drop of a hat, often due to changes in climate or humidity, and there were many opera performances where Jimmy had one of our instruments taken apart in the pit in his lap, counting measures and fixing the problem at the same time! Debbie and I lost count a long time ago of how many times he "saved" us from instrument malfunctions. So, if you now hear more squawks coming from the pit, it’s because Jim isn’t there to fix our emergencies. Besides oboes, Jim also worked on bassoons and clarinets for his colleagues, always graciously, and often working through his intermission breaks until the instrument was back in good working order.

When I think of Jim’s oboe playing, I think of his phenomenal technique and the ease with which he could play the most difficult operatic passages. He is an extremely modest person, and his playing reflected that. He phrased with a simple eloquence that was not flashy and didn’t call attention to himself. Rather, he served the spirit of the music. I have been amazed over the years at the range of colors he could draw from the oboe, from a clarion brightness to a muted shading that fit inside the tambour of the flute.

As much as my colleagues and I admired Jim’s playing, it was his strength of character that really stood out and made him one of the most beloved members of the San Francisco Opera Orchestra. Perhaps our greatest strength as a wind section has been that we really care about each other and root for each other , and no one did that more than Jim. Opera performances are long, sometimes as long as 5 hours, and having a supportive, positive colleague like Jim made a difficult job so much more enjoyable. An expert raconteur, Jim also entertained the denizens of the orchestra lounge for many an intermission with one great tale or another, often concluding with his signature belly laugh (“HAH!”) which could be heard ringing through the corridors.

One of my colleagues asked me recently if I ever studied with Jim. Well, no, not formally, but I certainly learned a lot from the example he set. To Jim the phrase ‘professional musician’ meant so much more than just being a first chair oboist - it meant being a supportive, caring colleague working for the betterment of all musicians. I wish him all the best in his retirement, and thanks , Jim, for the "lessons"!

published in the November-December 2006 Musical News

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