In Tune

In longer musical compositions, a key change creates an emotional shift that signals a new chapter in the story. One of Lecolion Washington Jr.’s major key shifts happened in 2013, while performing at an international chamber music festival in South Africa since 2006, at a university that had been notably slow to desegregate after apartheid ended. The concert featured a narration by Nobel Peace Prize-winning activist Archbishop Desmond Tutu. After the concert, a long receiving line formed to shake hands with Tutu. When Washington Jr.’s turn came, to his surprise, the Archbishop paused for a tête-à-tête with the American.

“He reached up and put a hand on my shoulder, and said, ‘You’re the bassoonist, right? These young people have never seen someone who looks like you on this stage. You don’t understand how important you are for the future of this country.’”

Greatly moved, Washington Jr. recalls walking away in tears.

“I thought, if playing the bassoon can do that, what else can I do that might have an even greater impact? That was the beginning of my transition out of performing and into leadership roles.”

Only a few weeks into his new job as President and CEO of the Handel and Haydn Society (H+H), Washington Jr. is already demonstrating why he was the board’s choice. A relatable and inspiring speaker, his passion for the beauty of Western classical music is matched by his enthusiasm for reaching larger audiences through music’s transcendent power.

Washington Jr.’s role is to steer the strategic, business, and artistic vision of H+H, including performances by the H+H Orchestra and Chorus at Symphony Hall and NEC’s Jordan Hall, all touring, and educational activities, including oversight of eight youth choruses, community outreach, and business development. It’s a big job, but Washington has the chops. In his nine-year stint as head of the Community Music Center of Boston, he doubled the net worth of the nonprofit and found it a permanent home in Roxbury. He’s also an experienced professional musician and teacher—he was a tenured bassoon professor at the University of Memphis and helped create and run the PRIZM Ensemble and the PRIZM International Chamber Music Festival in Memphis.

H+H was founded in 1815 by middle-class Bostonians who, like Washington Jr., wanted to share their love of music with more people. Named for two of the world’s most renowned 18th-century composers, George Frideric Handel and Joseph Haydn, H+H ensured Bostonians could experience master choral works performed by professional musicians, the way Europeans did. In its first year, H+H presented the American premiere of the euphoric “Hallelujah” chorus from Handel’s “Messiah.” American premieres of important works followed: Haydn’s “Creation” (1819), Verdi’s “Requiem” (1878), and Bach’s “St. Matthew Passion” (1879), as H+H assumed a spot on the center stage of Boston’s musical scene, even performing at an 1863 Grand Jubilee in celebration of the Emancipation Proclamation, and two years later at Boston’s official civic memorial service for Lincoln.

By the 20th century, American music was evolving in exciting new directions, and technology was bringing great performances directly into people’s homes. As the century waned, audiences for public performances of classical music increasingly tended to be older, middle- or upper-class, and generally, though not exclusively, white. Across the world, symphonies and ensembles performing music written mainly in previous centuries have had to scramble to stay relevant and expand their reach while remaining faithful to their mission, a challenge that H+H is meeting head-on.

Songs in the Key of Life

Washington Jr. grew up in Denton, Texas, a small but lively college town famous for its annual arts and jazz festival. Music was always part of life. His mother’s family made up half of their church’s choir, and his father tinkered with the guitar and trombone. Washington Jr.’s sister Saundra, whom he describes as “the coolest possible kind of second mother” to him, played the clarinet in band, and Washington Jr. assumed he’d do the same. But when middle school band director Bud Wis asked him to consider the bassoon, Washington Jr. said sure, he’d play whatever instrument Wis handed him.

“He told me to blow into it. A noise came out—it wasn’t a musical noise—but Wis said, ‘now you’re on your way’.”

Washington Jr. describes himself back then as a “middle of the road player,” whose interest in band was mainly social. When he had an opportunity to play with a string ensemble, he was dubious. Classical music didn’t resonate with him much. The string players were the best in the region, and in this group he ranked low, the fourth bassoonist out of five. But he accepted the challenge.

“We played Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird’ and the Brahms ‘Academic Festival Overture.’ I remember thinking, ‘What is this?’ The cells in my body just opened up. It changed everything for me.”

At the University of Texas in Austin, Washington Jr. declared as a chemical engineering major, and also tried out for one of the college’s prestigious orchestral musical ensembles. He showed up at the audition with a borrowed bassoon from his old high school, not realizing all the other musicians had received personal invitations.

“I start playing this really fast tonguing piece. And the folks on the panel immediately start shuffling papers around. They were like, ‘Who is this?’”

Washington Jr. played another piece, this one by Tchaikovsky at twice the written tempo, but the panel of judges was already smitten. He scored higher than any candidate, many of them classically trained and members of the all-state band. The experience convinced him to switch his major to music. He then immersed himself in playing in chamber ensembles and studying the history of Western classical music.

Music of His Mind

What most people call classical music is really divided into several periods. Baroque, composed between 1600 and 1750, is ornate, grand, and stately, with pieces often composed for official occasions, music defined by composers such as Johann Sebastian Bach and Handel. The Classical era, marked by witty, elegant structures, is dominated by Mozart, Haydn, and others, and stretches from 1750 to 1820. Beethoven defines the 19th century and Romantic period, with its sweeping, emotive power and dynamic extremes, which required larger orchestras and more varied instruments. While all these types of music sound dramatically different to the sensitive listener, they’ve been grouped under one label: classical. Like jazz or rock, to the knowledgeable, these are blanket, almost meaningless terms.

Washington Jr. says his relationship with classical music wasn’t love at first sound. In college, music theory was taught through Western European compositions—Mozart piano concertos and Beethoven string quartets. While he appreciated the beauty of the music, Washington Jr. became frustrated with the rigid approach to teaching theory.

“A Stevie Wonder album like “Songs in the Key of Life,” which I knew well, could have taught me everything that I needed to know about theory, but it wasn’t presented to me in that way,” he says with a wry smile.

Gradually, after a career of professional performances alongside some of the best musicians in the world, Washington Jr. did fall in like, and then in love, with the music. He says it’s hard to choose a favorite piece.

“All four of Brahms’ symphonies, especially the third. Beethoven’s ‘7th symphony,’ Shostakovich’s ‘7th symphony,’ Shostakovich’s ‘10th,’ Stravinsky’s ‘Firebird,’ Haydn’s ‘Creation,’ Purcell’s ‘Dido and Aeneas’” he says, sighing for what he’s leaving off the list.

He muses further. “There’s also Zelenka. He was a Baroque-era composer who wrote a lot of beautiful chamber music for bassoon. It’s very virtuosic, but it’s also very well written for the instrumentation.”

As for non-classical music, he cherishes Stevie Wonder. “I’m an empty nester now, and ‘Overjoyed’ was the song I used to sing to my sons at bedtime, so I get pretty emotional when I hear it.”

Washington Jr. says the experience of being a musician shaped his attitude to work and to life.

“The reason I wanted to get really good was that I realized the best seats in any orchestra—the best seats in the house—are in the middle of the bassoon section. You’re surrounded by sound. The violas are in front of you, the cellists are here, the brass are there, the percussion is here, the horns are there. And you only get access to those seats if you’re a quality player.”

He points out that because musicians in an ensemble aren’t playing the whole time, they can focus on listening to others.

“You know who has improved over time; you hear their progress. You’ve heard someone in rehearsal, and you’re thrilled to be there when they share their performance with everyone.”

He has been able to draw on lessons learned through performing music to guide his roles as a teacher and administrator, which he describes as nurturing.

“We’re all a part of something bigger than our individual selves. We have to marvel at those around us while also doing our part.”

In Square Circle

Handel and Haydn are astonishingly accomplished masters of their art. They are also dead white men, which describes nearly all composers of classical music’s traditional canon. Conscious of the need to engage a changing world and motivated by a desire to keep the music of the past alive, H+H has incorporated new ideas into concerts by programming consultants such as African American countertenor Reginald Mobley and bringing in talent in the form of resident conductors such as Dr. Anthony Trecek-King. H+H has also expanded its repertoire by featuring historical works by less well-known composers, such as by the female French composer Louise Farrenc, African American abolitionist Ignatius Sancho, and others.

H+H’s eight youth choruses introduce music into Boston public schools, and the organization’s commitment to DEI has resulted in real action, including the development of bilingual music instruction materials, digital streaming initiatives, and other activities done to reach as many members of the Boston community
as possible.

While this expansion precedes Washington Jr., he is fully on board.

“I think that we show the breadth of our blind spot if we don’t acknowledge that with history comes built-in bias. I think it’s important for institutions to be very honest about that. Anyone can go to a Black church, but a Black church is honest and transparent about who they are and the culture they’re built around. Institutions don’t have to change what they do. But they can acknowledge, name it, and find ways to evolve and welcome everyone,” he explains.

“When you create a house, you consider how people will enter it. If we want more members, we want a door that’s both wide and visible. If we have a door that’s narrow and hidden, we are essentially a secret society, and that’s shirking our responsibility.”

Washington Jr. is excited about the upcoming season. He talks about premiering a new work this year, something not many Baroque institutions are doing, and sees no limits for the future.

“We’re the Handel and Hayden Society—not just the Handel and Haydn Symphony or Chorus. We’re not solely performing music written in a specific period, though we may be inspired by it. That changes the scope of what’s possible. We have a beautiful opportunity to stretch beyond any boundaries.”