Woman donates her cello to SUCO
By Amy L. Ashbridge Staff Writer
MOUNT VISION — After playing a single instrument for most of her life, Lois Devfne decided to give her beloved cello a new home. "I knew it would be taken care of," she said. "I knew Janet (Nepkie) would see that it wasn't banged around." Devine, 80, donated her cello to the music department at the State University College at Oneonta last week.
"My brother's violin teacher picked it out in Chicago," Devine said at her home Monday. "It was $400. That was a lot of money." "The cello is a Stradivarius pattern and is made of maple, Nepkie said. "She simply wants to keep music alive," Nepkie said. "It's a way to keep that cello singing."
Nepkie is a music professor at SUCO. She is also principal cellist with the Catskill Symphony Orchestra and the Glimrnerglass Opera Company.
Nepkie said any student who wants to study cello at SUCO, but who can't afford one, will be able to use Devine's donated instrument. "It will be a life-changing experience for the person who gets to work on it," Nepkie said. "It's an inspiration to them when they hear such good sound. It puts new musical ideas into your head."
By donating the instrument to the college, Devine is doing the college and the instrument a service, Nepkie said. "It is typical of her generosity," she said. "We're very grateful." Instruments can deteriorate if they aren't used, Nepkie said. "It's like a person who never gets to talk to anybody," she said. Students will be able to give the cello the attention it deserves, Nepkie said. "The cello continues to sound beautiful if it's played," she said. "The cello actually responds to being played." Devine was one of her students, Nepkie said.
"She had been very, very well-taught," she said. "She fit right in with my undergraduates." Devine said she started playing the cello at a young age — about 12 years old — and was one of several musicians in her family. "I played it fairly decently," she said. "I hated practicing, but I loved the cello." Music formed an integral part of her life, Devine said. She used to teach on Long Island and in the Southern Tier.
"I had a lot of little kids playing violin," Devine said. "I enjoyed it, and I enjoyed the little kids."
She was a member of the Catskill Symphony Orchestra as a cellist for about 13 years.
The symphony will honor Devine at its concert Saturday.
She also played in various string quartets. "We'd play string quartets all afternoon and eat," she said. "That's always important to musicians."
Devine said those groups have since dissipated. "Everybody got old," she said. "Life goes on."
Devine kept the same instrument for her entire career as a cellist and teacher, she said. "I just loved it," Devine said. "It was a nice instrument." |
