During my second year teaching at Texas A & I and performing with the Corpus Christi Orchestra, Missy and I had decided that two years in southern Texas had been a good start and it was time to move on. I applied for several teaching positions but when nothing materialized, we made tentative plans to move to San Francisco and free lance. We toyed with the idea of living in SF speared on by the fact that one of my former clarinet teachers, Robert McGinnis, held the principal clarinet position in the SF symphony orchestra.
During the spring of ’62, I learned that the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra had two clarinet openings: one for Assistant Principal and the other for Bass Clarinet. At the start of the 1962 season, my dear friend, Keith Kummer, had been appointed Principal Oboe in the Baltimore SO. In an attempt to learned more about the situation, I called Keith who said that the auditions were legit and that the committee would consist of the conductor and principal winds. After talking with Keith and getting a better handle on the situation, we had to decided what to do keeping two factors in mind: 1) should we deplete our savings for the travel expenses involved and possibly have to stay in Texas and 2) which chair should I audition for knowing that it wouldn’t be a good idea to audition for both. Once we had decided what to do, I made arrangements for my flight to Baltimore with my B-flat and A clarinets in hand and the bass remained in Kingsville.
During my flight from Houston to Baltimore, I had a small plastic salad dressing container explode all over my clean white shirt. My unknown seat companion never blinked nor said anything. The flight attendant was there quickly to hand me the largest paper napkins I had ever seen. After arrival at BWI, I met Keith at baggage and we soon were off to Dundalk so he could introduce me to his friend Robin, her three children and her parents. The drive seem to take forever. While in Bloomington and Kingsville I had found it fairly quick to get across town; not so in Baltimore.
The following afternoon I had my audition and, when the results came in, I wasn’t chosen.
Before heading back to Texas, I stopped by Peabody to see Charles Kent. Dr, Kent had been one of my professors and advisors at IU SofM and had been appointed Dean of the Conservatory of Music while I was in Bloomington.