Published: October 09, 2007 08:44 am            

Symphony's flutist is center of attention

BY RUTH RICE

RRICE@TRIBDEM.COM

Tom Godfrey has always been surrounded by women.

Godfrey, who lives in Pittsburgh, is principal flutist with Johnstown Symphony Orchestra. He has held that seat since the 1988-89 season.

"It's a great group (symphony) to play with," Godfrey said.

"I've played with a lot of groups, and with Johnstown, there's a camaradarie. (Maestro) Istvan (Jaray) has a gift, a natural approach to music. He has a connection that makes him easy to talk with."

The flute section is in the center of the woodwinds, and Godfrey is the only male flutist.

"Who wouldn't like it?" he asked.

"We sit side by side and play in harmony. We know each other from playing in different groups."

This isn't the first time Godfrey has been the only male flutist.

Growing up in Bowling Green, Ky., he played flute in his high school band, the only boy in a bevy of girls.

"There was something about the purity and clarity of a single musical line that I found intriguing," Godfrey said.

"With the symphony, it can be emotional to be as expressive as I can, and it's a mental challenge to be in time and in tune."

Godfrey finds it very satisfying to play with Johnstown Symphony.

"It's fun and challenging to get 60-plus musicians on stage at the same time and communicate the same intention and emotion," Godfrey said. "Maestro makes it easy to connect."

Godfrey also is principal flutist for Westmoreland Symphony Orchestra and performs regularly with Pittsburgh Opera, Pittsburgh Ballet, Civic Light Opera, Pittsburgh Musical Theatre, Wheeling (W.Va.) Symphony, Pittsburgh Symphony and Gateway to the Arts Inc.

Godfrey has performed with music festivals in the United States, Rome and Venice.

His performances can be heard on WQED-FM's "Performance in Pittsburgh" broadcasts. The station is at 89.3 on the radio dial.

Godfrey is on the adjunct faculties of Rogers Creative and Performing Arts School and Carnegie Mellon University, both in Pittsburgh.

"I can set my own schedule," Godfrey said. "At both, I'm teaching a few hours a week."

During the school year, Godfrey performs with the Gateway to the Arts performing orchestra.

"We do school performances," he said. "It's a chamber group, which is a different beast. With an orchestra, you have the leadership of a conductor, but with a chamber group, it's more democratic."

Last year, he served as a visiting professor at West Virginia University, Morgantown.

"I worked with the flute department," Godfrey said. "It was limiting on my time."

This summer, he will play for Civic Light Opera, a music festival in Ohio, summer concerts in Pittsburgh and a tour with Wheeling Symphony.

"I think I have too good of a time," he said.

Godfrey's first musical instrument was the guitar. His father was a music professor, and Godfrey was exposed to music at a young age.

Now Godfrey considers playing classical music on the guitar a hobby.

In his free time, he enjoys playing with his two dogs, Olivia, a rescued Greyhound, and Madeline, a Labrador mix.

"They are both a joy," Godfrey said. "It's great to come home and have someone excited to see you."

Godfrey, and his wife, Kathy, a nurse practitioner in the neonatal intensive care unit at Magee-Womens Hospital, Pittsburgh, also board two horses.

"Kathy doesn't play an instrument," Godfrey said. "She's the responsible one of the family."

        

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