Sigma Alpha Iota

sai-national.org • Fall 2021 7 I first met my friend in 1960, my freshman year at the College-Con- servatory of Music in Cincinnati (CCM). For the first time in my young life, I was fortunate enough to have an accomplished woman brass player as a teacher and mentor. Trust me, there were precious few back in those days, over a half century ago. at teacher, that mentor, that remarkable friend is Betty Glover...a legend in the brass world! Betty's journey in the brass sphere began in Hudson, IL, when as a fih grader she began playing trumpet in the elementary school band, but not for long. She discovered early on that she was much better suited for the baritone horn, the instrument on which she won many prizes while in high school. In fact, the famous cornet soloist, Herman Bellstedt, wrote a solo for her — Betty Lee — published by yet another famous cornet solo- ist, Frank Simon. Betty later turned her attention to playing the tenor trombone before entering the Conservatory of Music. It was there that she began her life- long affiliation with Sigma Alpha Iota, and was one of the founding mem- bers of the Cincinnati Alumnae Chapter. Upon graduation in 1944, she won the principal trombone position with the Kansas City Philharmonic, making her one of the first woman trombonists in a symphony orchestra. e year 1952 brought yet another milestone in my friend's career when she became the bass trombonist with the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra (CSO), eventually adding the euphonium to her list of instru- ments. To date, she is the first and only woman to ever hold that position in a major orchestra in our country. Her tenure with the CSO spanned nearly thirty-three years, where she performed under the batons of great conductors such as Max Rudolf, Josef Krips, George Szell, Robert Shaw, Eric Leinsdorf and so many others. Her return to Cincinnati also brought with it an invitation to join the faculty at the Conservatory of Music, which later merged with its rival, the College of Music, and eventually became part of the University of Cincinnati (CCM). Over the course of forty years, she taught the low brass instruments, brass methods courses, and launched one of the first brass orchestral repertoire classes in a major music school. Nonetheless, Betty's greatest passion was conducting the CCM Brass Choir. For twenty-three years, she provided the most accomplished brass students the opportunity to perform programs that were innovative, eclec- tic, and exceedingly challenging. It is safe to say that over the past couple of generations, the brass sections of symphony orchestras and US military bands have been the beneficiaries of players who received their ensemble training under her baton. In 1993, shortly aer retiring from CCM and before moving to Provence in Southern France, there came yet another first in the form of the Pioneer Award presented by the International Women's Brass Confer- ence (IWBC). is award was given in recognition of her leadership in breaking barriers and stereo-types in the world of brass performers. A real trailblazer for women in music! A Tribute to SAI Betty Glover Music Notes CONTINUED ON PAGE 46

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