BY RUTH RICE
RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM
As second percussionist for Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Michael Vatavuk sometimes clashes with the rest of the orchestra.
“I play bells, cymbals, bass drums and snare drums,” said Vatavuk, who lives in the Somerset County community of Blough.
“All percussionists play different instruments.”
He added that principal percussionist Gloria Miller spreads the parts around.
“She mixes it up,” Vatavuk said.
“There are over 2,000 percussion instruments, and a percussionist is expected to play all of them. If something is called for that you haven’t played before, you have to do your homework.”
A percussionist always plays a solo because there is no one else to rely on, Vatavuk said.
While there might be three or four percussionists in an orchestra depending on the repertoire, they are more than likely playing different instruments.
“If I make a mistake on the cymbals, everyone knows it,” Vatavuk said. “I still enjoy it, though.”
Vatavuk, 38, has been a member of the symphony since he was a senior in high school in 1988.
After an informal but intimidating audition, Vatavuk started out as a fourth or fifth percussionist and moved up through the ranks as others moved on.
He started drum lessons when he was 7 years old but then lost interest.
Vatavuk returned to lessons when he was a sophomore in high school, studying for several years with Ron Horner, principal timpanist for Johnstown Symphony.
After competing in state and regional band competitions and enjoying it, Vatavuk thought the next logical step was auditioning for the symphony.
After graduating from Windber Area High School, Vatavuk earned a bachelor’s degree in music education at Indiana University of Pennsylvania in 1992, graduating summa cum laude.
He also taught private percussion lessons at the former Williams Music Gallery in downtown Johnstown from 1987 to 1993.
Vatavuk has performed with Henry Mancini at Cambria County War Memorial Arena in Johnstown and with Mary Wilson of the Supremes at DelGrosso Amusement Park in Tipton.
He also fills in as percussionist with Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra and is a member of the Keystone Wind Ensemble, which is made up of IUP alumni.
“We get together for one rehearsal once a year, then do recordings,” Vatavuk said. “We record band music that has not been recorded before or there aren’t good recordings of it.”
The recordings are targeted for college-level audiences and high school bands that want to play the music.
He also enjoys playing in bands for musicals at local high schools, colleges and playhouses.
“What I enjoy most is playing at Mountain Playhouse,” Vatavuk said. “The talent is top notch. The musicals run for three weeks so you can get a chance to get used to the music.”
As a percussionist, Vatavuk’s favorite composer is Rimsky-Korsakov.
“He writes a lot of musical percussion,” Vatavuk said. “I have a lot to do. Rimsky-Korsakov writes more difficult things for percussion.”
Vatavuk likes the general sound of the orchestra when a Rimsky-Korsakov piece is played.
“One minute a trumpet is playing, then a clarinet comes in, and you didn’t even know there was going to be a change, he said.”
Johnstown Symphony has played two Rimsky-Korsakov compositions, “Russian Easter Overture” and “Scheherezade.”
Vatavuk has tried his hand at music arranging for the choir at St. Thomas Lutheran Church in Hooversville, where he serves on church council.
He also has done arrangements for the marching band and chorus at Windber Area High School.
When he isn’t banging and clanging with the symphony, Vatavuk works at Hoff Enterprises Inc. in Bon Air, where he stains and refinishes cabinets.
“I grew up on construction,” Vatavuk said. “I built a house with my dad when I was 10.”
In addition to building houses and garages with his father, Vatavuk built an addition on his own home which included a living room and hot-tub room.
On a smaller scale, he has constructed a wooden case on wheels for the percussion instruments at Johnstown and Westmoreland symphonies and designed and built a computer desk, stereo cabinet and a shelving unit for his home.
Vatavuk enjoys his work and enjoys his music even more now that he’s not doing it all day long.
He has worked as choral director, assistant band director, percussion instructor and music arranger for Windber Area from 1993 until August.
Since 1998, Vatavuk has been sole proprietor of MJV Enterprises, which specializes in video- and audio-tape repair, transferring video to DVD and audio to CD, production work and audio recordings for national clients.
Vatavuk’s family includes his wife, Kim, and children, Lisa and Joseph.
Michael Vatavuk
Position: Second percussionist with Johnstown Symphony Orchestra.
Age: 38.
Residence: Blough, located between Hollsopple and Hooversville.
Education: A 1988 graduate of Windber Area High School and a 1992 graduate of Indiana University of Pennsylvania.
Employment: Hoff Enterprises Inc., Bon Air.
Family: Wife, Kim; daughter, Lisa; and son, Joseph.
Note Worthy
Related Photos
-
John Rucosky
Discussion
January 15, 2009
Percussionist snares orchestra's second spot
- Note Worthy
-
-
Head of the brass
Keith Eisensmith has been with the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra since 1998.
-
'I like it where I am' | Somerset man is second bass in symphony
As second bass for Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Brian Zeigler of Somerset has the height to handle his large instrument.
At 6 feet 6 inches tall, Zeigler has no problem keeping his bass upright. -
Violinist a zealot for school music programs
As a member of the first violin section of Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Jean Sedlar of Richland Township has a history of championing the cause of music programs at a grade school level. She has been with the symphony since 1973, a year after she arrived in Johnstown to teach history at Pitt-Johnstown and has played regularly, except when she has been on sabbatical.
-
Percussionist snares orchestra's second spot
As second percussionist for Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Michael Vatavuk sometimes clashes with the rest of the orchestra. “I play bells, cymbals, bass drums and snare drums,” said Vatavuk, who lives in the Somerset County community of Blough. “All percussionists play different instruments.”
-
Leader of the pack | Bassoonist in charge of woodwinds
As principal bassoonist for Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Michael F. Kokus is in the spotlight at every concert. “I’m expected to play all the solo lines. At every concert, I play things no one else plays, by myself,” he said. A relatively new member of the symphony, Kokus has been principal bassoonist since 2007. “I became a sub in 2004, then went from sub to second bassoon,” Kokus said. “I became principal in 2007.” Being a lead player in the woodwind section means that Kokus has to be in control.
-
NOTE WORTHY | JSO's lead pianist learned at mom's knee
Beth Good of Hollsopple is a key player. She has been a member of the Johnstown Symphony Orchestra since 1979 and its principal pianist since 1998. Good grew up in Davidsville, and hardly remembers a time when she didn’t play the piano.
- Teacher enjoys playing on other side of podium As bass trombonist for Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Roger Johnston of Somerset bridges the musical gap between the two other trombones and the tuba.
-
Symphony trombonist overcomes horn failure
As second trombonist for Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Dana Menser of Somerset can’t let anything slide. Menser started playing with the symphony in 1976, after graduating from Shenandoah Conservatory of Music in Winchester, Va.
-
Clarinetist relishes seat in middle of the action
As second clarinetist for Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Rebecca Catelinet of Westmont keeps in harmony with the rest of the orchestra. While the principal clarinetist has more to play, including more solos, the second clarinetist adds harmony and sometimes plays together with first clarinetist, Catelinet said.
-
Symphony musician glad he switched horns
As principal French horn player for Johnstown Symphony Orchestra, Dennis Emert is glad he didn’t follow his childhood dream of playing the saxophone. Emert, who lives in Monroeville, began lessons on the French horn in sixth grade, when no one wanted to play the horn, including him.
- More Note Worthy Headlines
-
Man Falls Off Crane, Dies After Police Standoff
Raw Video: Cop Shoots Man Eating Another's Face
Russia Condemns Ally Syria Over Massacre of 108
Raw Video: Earthquake Shakes Evacuees in Italy
Dairy Farm Uses Chiropractor to Help Cows
Unexpected Smog in Pristine National Parks
Air Canada Plane Makes Emergency Landing
New Ticks Spread Across Southeast, Diseases Rise
Bring Your Own Tech Programs Charge Up Students
Pope's Butler Vows to Help Vatican Investigation
Mother of Allegedly Abused Girl Denies Claims
Raw Video: 19 Dead in Qatar Shopping Mall Fire
Service Dogs Help Wash. Soldiers Battling PTSD
Raw Video: Heckler Bursts in on Blair Testimony
Japan Farmers Plant, Seek Radiation-free Rice
Vatican in Chaos After Butler Arrested for Leaks
