Tobey Home Filled With Music Again:
New Teen Orchestra on Murray Avenue & at Sarah Neuman
by Judy Silberstein
( December 10, 2002
) Music has come again to the recently quiet home at
the intersection of Murray Avenue and Weaver Street.
For decades, the home reverberated with the sounds of
Rosalyn Tobey and her students at the grand piano. A
tragic automobile accident claimed Mrs. Tobey’s
life and temporarily closed her studio. (See: Rosalyn
Tobey) Now, son David and daughter-in-law Moira
have started a new string orchestra that meets in Mrs.
Tobey’s ample studio.
A dozen or more teen violinists and violists from Mamaroneck,
New Rochelle and Pelham come together to play music
“for the fun of it,” for themselves and
for local residents. Their music enriches their own
lives, and that of Alton Tobey, the noted artist, who
still resides in the Murray Avenue home surrounded by
his own striking artwork, including a large portrait
he painted of his wife Rosalyn to commemorate their
fiftieth wedding anniversary.
Used to overhearing Rosalyn’s music lessons,
when his health allows, Alton makes a point of sitting
in the living room during orchestra rehearsals. Before
and after music sessions, students and their parents
chat with the octogenarian artist and admire the dramatic,
large canvases displayed throughout the home.
The musicians are all students of David or Moira Tobey,
and are all involved in private lessons or other orchestras
through their high schools. The aim of the Tobey orchestra
is to encourage the members to play in a recreational,
relaxed way that may be different from what they experience
at school, or in other orchestras with competitive entrance
requirements. They take on the challenging classical
pieces, but intersperse them with lighter pop or holiday
selections.
Said Moria Tobey, “Even if the students don’t
choose to enter the musical profession, we hope they
will always find groups like our orchestra to enjoy
making music.”
The students displayed their musical talents and enthusiasm
on December 7 in a concert at Sarah Neuman Center. Accompanied
by pianist Brendan O’Keiff, the orchestra first
presented a series of classical pieces by Bach, Puccini
and Handel. For their second set, the orchestra shifted
gears to provide a medley of Beatles and holiday pieces
for the assembly of elderly residents.
Even the sleepiest residents grew animated when they
heard the up-tempo strains of Winter Wonderland.
One woman who had been dozing in her wheel chair during
a short break, lifted her head and proclaimed, “I
like that!” at the sounds of Hava Nagila.
Bodies were swaying and feet were tapping along with
the beat.
“The orchestra is succeeding beyond our original
expectations,” reflected David Tobey as he finished
conducting the holiday concert. The students are already
playing at a high level with tremendous variety. They’ve
refilled my father’s home with beautiful music,
and now we're sharing it with the Sarah Neuman Home.”
To learn about joining the Tobey orchestra, contact
632-8226.
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