![]() With Knoxville being just under two hours away it was a no brainer and an easy enough drive to just spend one night away from Asheville. My closest friend, Lacie, who lives in Ohio, was going to be there visiting family and I thought what a great way to catch up and spend my birthday weekend exploring a new city. We are the most fortunate of all, for we had the benefit of his extraordinary talents and guidance during our formative years and we have the example of his imagination and determination for the rest of our lives.This past weekend Andrew and I took a whirlwind trip to Knoxville, Tennessee. Today one can see how brilliantly he has succeeded on all accounts.ĭave's resignation from the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra marks the end of an era, but for those of us, "the young people", who received our stimulus from him and the activities of the K.S.O., the era is unending - permanently impressed upon every fiber of our thought. He insisted that an active cultural life must begin at home - the concert being only the final link in a chain of day-to-day interactions between community and musician. In the mid-fifties while in high school and an active member of the K.S.O., I saw he had his work cut out not only in educating the young people, but also in making Knoxville conscious of the importance of the orchestra and of its place in the community. He represented an ideal of complete self-dedication and of musical and personal integrity. He never seemed content and kept us all (and here there could be a long list of young Knoxville musicians) working to come up to his standards. And then we were supposed to play it as well - so he organized the "Young Performer's Contests". We were supposed to compose it as well - so he organized the "Tune Contests". Yet it seemed like Carnegie Hall and, in retrospect, it may have been even better than Carnegie Hall.ĭavid Van Vactor was not content, however, just that we hear music. gymnasium complete with basketball goals and occasional appearances by tennis-shoed undergraduates intent upon crossing the auditorium come hell or Beethoven. In fact it took place within the old U.T. The afternoon seemed to unfold in another world. The impression these concerts left on all of us was enormous. A lot had to do with the half day out of school, of course, and with the trip down town with good friends, but a lot also had to do with seeing a full symphony orchestra, hearing beautiful music, and learning about it first hand from that debonair, mysterious man on the podium - David Van Vactor. I still remember vividly the excitement at Fountain City Grammar School in the late 1940's when we were preparing to go to a Young People' s Concert given by the K.S.O. A special note should also be made of his evangelical concern and care for the musical education of the children of Knoxvi1le. Your words of editorial were quite appropriate in evaluating the tremendous contribution he has made to Knoxville's cultural life. I read of conductor David Van Vactor's resignation from the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra with deep sadness. It is a brief but deeply felt appreciation of David Van Vactor, the conductor, composer, flutist and educator who, from the late 1940's to the mid- 70's, made such a vital contribution to the musical life of Knoxville, Tennesse, and to the life of countless young people, myself included, who looked to him for inspiration. The following letter, addressed to the Editor of the Knoxville News-Sentinel and dated December 24, 1972, appeared in the "News-Sentinel Forum" in January of 1973. Letter to Editor, Knoxville News-Sentinel
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