The Musicians
Barbara Withers (Violin)
Member of the JSO: Since 1971
Hometown: Pensacola
Education: “I was very fortunate to study with a wonderful violinist, Anna Iyanitsas Tringas, who put the same fire in her teaching as in her playing. After years of study (actually with very little gypsy music) I decided to pursue a career in violin. I then attended Oberlin Conservatory as a violin performance major and studied with David Cerone.”
Why the violin? “My mother and grandmother were pianists, so it was understood that I would study music. My mother was so impressed when she heard a violinist who was new to town perform so beautifully – so I was then given the choice of violin or piano to study. Also, I saw an episode of a weekly TV show, “Circus Boy,” with a romantic story about a young couple living with a band of gypsies in the forest. The young man used his violin to express himself so beautifully to his love – and this nine-year-old girl was hooked. I selected the violin to study, stating that I wanted to play only gypsy music.”
Education: “I was very fortunate to study with a wonderful violinist, Anna Iyanitsas Tringas, who put the same fire in her teaching as in her playing. After years of study (actually with very little gypsy music) I decided to pursue a career in violin. I then attended Oberlin Conservatory as a violin performance major and studied with David Cerone.”
Performance & experience: Barbara has played in the Summer Festival at Dartmouth College, and with the orchestras of Mobile and Pensacola. For eight years she played with the Jacksonville Symphony as an “import” musician, driving back and forth from Gainesville. In 1979, she auditioned and won a full-time contract with the JSO and moved to Jacksonville.
Favorite moments with the JSO: “My husband and I were so pleased when our son studied the oboe and decided on a career in music. Some of my favorite memories are of our JSO concerts when he was playing oboe or English horn with the orchestra, sitting across the stage from me in the oboe section.”
Family life: “In 1988 I married Richard Withers, an old friend from Daytona. [He would always joke that he wasn’t able to move the orchestra to Daytona, so he moved to Jacksonville.] He is now an attorney with Vernis & Bowling. My son is working in Washington, D.C., with the Navy Band. He is missed – but I fly up to visit him (and my adorable grandson) whenever I can. Now that our children are all married, we enjoy the company of Buster the cat, and Chico, our chatty ‘pocket’ parrot.”
Hobbies: “Since I still play with the orchestra, my schedule keeps me very busy. In spite of the long hours, I really enjoy the diversity of the two jobs. I don’t really have any extra time for hobbies, but I enjoy playing the violin on Sunday mornings for our church.”
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