ONE ON ONE | Ronald Gould At church and college, bringing classical music to life

How did you become interested in classical music?
In my senior year, I had a chemistry scholarship. Of course, I played and had served as organist during my high school years. I decided I would chuck chemistry and do something I really loved. I studied piano ever since I was 6 and studied organ since I was about age 12, and I played in a Lutheran church.
Why did you come to Youngstown?
I had a job in Rhode Island and was called here in 1959 for an interview at Youngstown State University and St. John's Episcopal Church. It was always a combined position. I had always been interested in college teaching. I started in 1960 at both places. I've been full-time since 1962 at YSU. This will be my 42nd year, and I will retire at the end of the fall semester in December of 2002. I'm going to leave both places at the same time.
Why did you stay here?
From the very beginning, I was attracted to this place. I didn't even know where Youngstown was, to be perfectly frank. I came out and was very impressed. I'm able to do the things that I really enjoy doing. I have a very wide repertoire of jobs, and my two offices are a block apart. You couldn't ask for anything better than that. My wife is a registered nurse and works at Forum Health, and she has completed her master's in counseling and also works at the Neil Kennedy Substance Abuse Clinic. So we've both had very rewarding careers in this environment.
What is your favorite form of music?
We just came back from Chicago. We saw a couple of operas, which is one of my great passions, probably more so than any other musical form. I am really devoted to opera.
We're subscribers not only to the Youngstown Symphony but also the Cleveland Orchestra. We go to Cleveland very often for opera, symphony, ballet, theater.
Do people recognize the music that's available locally?
I think there are always people who do. At the same time, I'm amazed by my own students. Comparatively few of them take the opportunity to go hear things that are available to them up there.
What's the root of your love for this kind of work?
I really can't say. I was playing the piano, my mother tells me, at age 2. I've always loved Wagner. I love to play the wedding march. Playing an organ in a church service is one of the greatest treats for me. I enjoy working with people very much.
What is Youngstown Musica Sacra?
It has been a real asset for the community. So often, this music is no longer heard. We do the major choral works with orchestra both in liturgy and in concert. The choirs [of St. John's and St. Columba Cathedral], the people from the symphony and from the university who play for me, they enjoy that.
How did it start?
We got an Ohio Arts Council grant in 1980, and with funding from St. John's and the cathedral, we've been able to make it an ongoing thing. The cathedral gave us some major funding to take an Italian tour in 1989, with 30 selected singers from this group, and a brass quartet from the university. We did a Mass at St. Peter's Cathedral and sang for an audience for the Pope. We even sang in the Sistine Chapel.
What's the future of classical music?
The programming has changed dramatically in the last 10 years. There's no denying we have audiences of people of my generation. Young people have not always risen to the occasion.
From academe, jobs are not nearly so plentiful. I'm not sure my job will be continued when I retire. Nowadays, one has to be very creative to make sure you have all of your bases covered, but not necessarily with specialists.
The study of the organ has certainly declined. I put the fault in the hands of the churches, who have not been able to keep up in terms of salary to make the job worthwhile. I've worked seven days a week for my entire life, and I've enjoyed doing it. But young people today, who do other things, want their weekends free. I just had a message from a local church desperate for an organist and they want to pay him $35 to do this job, $35 a Sunday. That says a great deal about why nobody is willing to play it any longer.
It's passive listening now. All of the technology is wonderful, but you have to have a human who is pressing the keys and making a live performance.