Michael Knox.
In Sunday’s (12/21) Ashland News (Oregon), Jim Flint writes, “For nearly six decades, if you followed the low, steady heartbeat of the Rogue Valley Symphony, you’d eventually arrive at the back of the orchestra, where Michael Knox held court—quietly, reliably and with a tuba that anchored everything above it. Knox is retiring this season after 55 years with the symphony, a tenure that stretches back to the orchestra’s earliest days and spans every conductor, countless performances and more stories than most symphony veterans could fit into a single lifetime. He joined as a teenager and leaves as a revered elder statesman, still sharp, still curious and still very much himself…. RVS Music Director Martin Majkut described Knox as ‘a living memory’ of the organization. ‘He is friendly, constructive, thoughtful. You would not know that he has been coming to these rehearsals for five decades…. He remains curious and possesses the same sense of wonder.’… Beyond the stage, Knox served on the Artistic Advisory Committee, sometimes encouraging programming strategies designed to balance innovation with familiarity…. Retirement from the symphony does not mean retirement from music. Knox remains active with the Rogue Valley Symphonic Band … and the Ashland City Band, where he has completed 56 seasons.”
