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Rowe got his first professional job in Nashville, Tennessee, and with it an upgrade on his violin.
"This is the instrument that I bought in 1963 when I went to play with the Nashville Symphony String Quartet," explains Rowe. "It was a Gagliano."
And he made history with it.
"I made the string quartet the first integrated string quartet in the south," says Rowe.
It was the first in a string of firsts for Rowe, who in 1968 was hired as a sub for the Philadelphia Orchestra; becoming the first Black musician to play with the Fabulous Philadelphians.
"I never thought I'd be a part of something that extraordinary," says Rowe.
"I was amazed at the sound," explains Rowe. "When the brasses and the winds would play...I felt like I was going to be blown off of that slanted stage."
He joined the ensemble full time in 1970, but violist Renard Edwards was hired that same season and Edwards became the orchestra's first permanent African American player.
6abc.com
They have a video in the link. That's a heck of a life.
"This is the instrument that I bought in 1963 when I went to play with the Nashville Symphony String Quartet," explains Rowe. "It was a Gagliano."
And he made history with it.
"I made the string quartet the first integrated string quartet in the south," says Rowe.
It was the first in a string of firsts for Rowe, who in 1968 was hired as a sub for the Philadelphia Orchestra; becoming the first Black musician to play with the Fabulous Philadelphians.
"I never thought I'd be a part of something that extraordinary," says Rowe.
"I was amazed at the sound," explains Rowe. "When the brasses and the winds would play...I felt like I was going to be blown off of that slanted stage."
He joined the ensemble full time in 1970, but violist Renard Edwards was hired that same season and Edwards became the orchestra's first permanent African American player.
Trailblazing musician Booker Rowe takes final bow after 50 years with Philadelphia Orchestra
After a career of firsts that included becoming the first Black musician to play with the Fabulous Philadelphians, violinist Booker Rowe is hanging up his violin.
6abc.com
They have a video in the link. That's a heck of a life.
