Central Ohio Symphony losing executive director come July

Under the watch of its longtime leader Warren Hyer, the Central Ohio Symphony has performed countless concerts, commissioned numerous compositions and thrown a multitude of Fourth of July celebrations.

For 33 years, Hyer has served as the executive director of the symphony, based in Delaware, Ohio.

That remarkable run is to come to a close at the end of July, when the 70-year-old Delaware native and resident retires.

“After (about) 30 years, I haven’t accomplished everything I’ve wanted to, but I think now is a good time,” Hyer said.

His colleagues in the central Ohio classical-music scene praise the leader.

“The Central Ohio Symphony has been an anchor in the community, thanks in part to Warren's unwavering leadership,” said Peter Stafford Wilson, the music director of the Westerville Symphony and Springfield Symphony Orchestra, and a longtime former associate conductor at the Columbus Symphony Orchestra.

“His commitment to the orchestra, the community and the art form make him a solid colleague with whom to work, and symphonic music is alive and well in the region, thanks to his remarkable tenure,” Wilson said.

Prior to taking on a leadership role, Hyer played with the symphony ? and continues to do so to the present day.

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“I’m the only original member left of the symphony from when it was formed,” said Hyer, a percussionist. He currently plays timpani with the orchestra.

Hyer’s musical roots run deep, but his first instrument was trombone.

“Then, when I got braces, it was advised that I not continue that, so I moved to percussion,” said Hyer, who ultimately majored in percussion performance at The Ohio State University.

“What I really like is the musical qualities of percussion, as opposed to the more percussive parts of percussion ? all the little subtleties that you can do in percussion.”

Upon graduation, Hyer started his own business. “I made percussion mallets for marimbas,” Hyer said. “In fact, I still do that... I just delivered a custom-instrument frame to the Cleveland Orchestra last week.”

Over the years, Hyer had played with the Central Ohio Symphony, as well as its predecessor organization, the Ohio Wesleyan Symphony ? which consisted of both student musicians and professionals.

After the groups split, Hyer continued his involvement with the Central Ohio Symphony, serving as a personnel manager and board member. Then, he decided to take on the executive-director role at the symphony.

“The symphony actually hired a general manager before me, and she was here for about three years,” Hyer said. “It ended up being that she would call me most every day and say, ‘What do you think about this?’... When she left, I looked at it and I thought, ‘You know, this is something I would like to try.’”

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Today, the Central Ohio Symphony is made up of about 100 musicians, including substitutes; for most concerts, 65 musicians are used.

“Most of our musicians have some type of college involvement, either playing in an orchestra in college or (having) a degree (in music),” Hyer said. “There are some people for whom it is just an avocation, but most of our players have a great deal of experience.”

A majority of the roster resides in Delaware and Franklin counties. “We have musicians from Logan County, Licking County and I think we have one from Union County,” Hyer said.

Music Director Jaime Morales-Matos conducts the concerts, which are held at Gray Chapel on the campus of Ohio Wesleyan University.

As a regional orchestra, the symphony counts among its peers at the New Albany Symphony Orchestra and Westerville Symphony ? orchestras far smaller, in budget and performance schedule, than the Columbus Symphony, but which serve important roles in their locales.

“First of all, we’re very accessible ? we’re accessible in price, we’re accessible in terms of location (for those who reside in Delaware County),” said Hyer, who says that such orchestras can have outsize impacts.

“Our per-capita contact with people in our community far exceeds what big orchestras can do,” he said. “They (might) have 2,000 people who come (for a concert) who represent a population of a million people. We have 1,000 people who come for a concert in a city of 40,000.”

Hyer said he also believes that orchestras such as his own build audiences for larger groups.

“If people come and they kind of like us, maybe they go explore what Columbus has,” he said.

Under Hyer’s tenure, the Central Ohio Symphony has made a priority of bringing new works to its patrons.

In 2008, the symphony was one of 50 orchestras to co-commission Pulitzer Prize Winner Joseph Schwantner’s “Chasing Light,” and it has continued commissioning other composers on its own.

“If somebody calls and says, ‘Hey, I’ve got a new piece of music, would you be willing to consider?’” Hyer said. “I say, ‘Send it to me.’”

The symphony’s budget is generally in the range of $250,000 to $270,000, which is drawn from ticket sales, donors, fundraising and grants, including grants from the National Endowment for the Arts.

The final concert Hyer is to oversee is the symphony’s annual July Fourth concert at Phillips Glen in Delaware.

“What is neat is to look out and see all the people there enjoying it,” he said of the yearly patriotic performance. “They sit there and they listen (to the music), which is really, really wonderful.”

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The symphony is currently searching for a replacement for Hyer.

In retirement, Hyer ? who is married to retired Delaware Attorney April Nelson, each of whom have grown children ? said he plans to rededicate himself to his percussion business, but audiences should count on continuing to hear him.

“It is my intention to stay on and play timpani for a while yet,” he said.

At a glance

The Central Ohio Symphony is to next perform with pianist Dror Biran at 7:30 p.m. May 4 at Ohio Wesleyan University’s Gray Chapel, 61 S. Sandusky St., Delaware.

Tickets cost $30, $25 for senior citizens or $6 for students. For more information, visit centralohiosymphony.org.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Warren Hyer, Central Ohio Symphony leader, is retiring after 33 years