PSO trumpeter tunes up for Friday evening

Charles Lirette didn’t always want to be a trumpet player. He wanted to be a pilot, but was… Charles Lirette didn’t always want to be a trumpet player. He wanted to be a pilot, but was too nearsighted. And when his father took him to the music store one day in 1960, he learned that his arms were too short to play the trombone.

He picked up a trumpet, started playing and never looked back.

Now a trumpeter for the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Lirette has come a long way from that day in 1960.

The PSO, with Lirette as a soloist, will be performing a special show on Pitt’s campus this Friday at Bellefield Hall Auditorium. Marking the first time since 1971 the PSO has played in Oakland, the 7:30 p.m. show will feature works by Mozart, Faure, Albinoni and Schubert. Because of a partnership between the PSO and Pitt Arts, tickets are available for purchase in room 929 of the William Pitt Union. Ticket prices are $20 for general admission, $15 for faculty and $10 for students.

Lirette feels that it is especially important for university students to attend the show. When asked if he felt that the symphony orchestra is a dying art, he responded, “Our audience is very gray-haired, and getting smaller. The art form is drying up.”

Lirette added that the symphony orchestra is a very European tradition and feels that this is another cause of declining interest.

When asked what, if anything, he felt could be done to increase young people’s interest in classical symphony, Lirette explained that it helps when parents introduce their children to the art form early. He added, “If you are exposed to classical music as a child, you learn to love it. If not, you will find it harder to appreciate. I grew up listening to classical music at home, and it certainly helped me find my path in life.”

After graduating from Oberlin College in 1974 with a degree in music, Lirette auditioned for the North Carolina Symphony. He held the job for two weeks before auditioning for and accepting a job with the Buffalo Philharmonic, where he stayed until 1977.

After leaving Buffalo, a friend and trumpet player in New York recommended Lirette for a job playing with a radio symphony in Israel. Lirette played with the group in Israel for a year, and then returned to the United States in 1980 to join the PSO.

Playing with the PSO has been a very fulfilling experience for Lirette.

When asked what band or musician he would most like to play with, he responded immediately that he would stay exactly where he is. “The PSO is where I want to be. It may not be as intense as, say, the New York or Chicago Symphony Orchestra, but it is more fun.”

Lirette also added that living in Pittsburgh has other advantages over working in bigger, more musically centered cities.

“Pittsburgh is a very livable city. Here you can play music, and at the same time buy a house and live comfortably. You could never do that in a city like New York.”

Lirette has high hopes for the Friday night PSO performance at Bellefield. He feels that the PSO is moving in “more of an outreach direction to students” in an effort to find younger members. A large student turnout is expected, and Lirette hopes that the performance will give them a new appreciation for classical music.