Concertmaster Roy Malan Reflects on His Career with the SF Ballet Orchestra & His Plans for Future

Roy Malan, gives his final tuning note to the orchestra. (Photo taken by the Musicians of the SFBO during the evening performance of the Nutcracker, December 29, 2014, SF War Memorial Opera House.)

December 2014 marked Roy Malan’s final Nutcracker season as concertmaster for the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra.  Beloved by his colleagues, and always on the go, we managed to catch up with Roy to ask him a few questions.

Musicians of the SFBO:  Could you share some of your thoughts and reflections on your tenure with the orchestra?

Roy Malan:  Looking back, my 40 years at the San Francisco Ballet can most accurately be described as a time of unparalleled collegiality and adventure.

Clearly, the earliest years were the most adventuresome, and in many ways, the most exciting.  I can recall so many talented and daring characters then.   Who could ever forget dancer Vane Vest’s one-handed, overhead lift of fellow dancer Lynda Meyer, or those groundbreaking, cross-country tours by bus?

Paso RoblesI will never forget our former personnel manager, Alex Horvath.  Having travelled widely as concertmaster for American Ballet Theatre, Alex always knew the best bars and restaurants in any small town.  Thirty years ago, late one night while on tour, we approached Paso Robles, CA, (then considered a relatively undiscovered hole-in-the-wall).  Alex simply pulled out his little black notebook and told us exactly where we could have an excellent meal.

 

Denis de Coteau poses playfully for the camera (Christensen Society Annual Luncheon, the Sheraton Palace, SF, April 13, 1998)

Denis de Coteau, 1998 Christensen Society Honoree, poses playfully for the camera. (Christensen Society Annual Luncheon, the Sheraton Palace, SF, CA, April 13, 1998)

And who could forget Denis de Coteau?  He was such an incorrigible punster.  Denis was also the most guileless and considerate colleague.   Then, there were the Christensen Brothers – all imaginative groundbreakers.  Michael Smuin, too, was thrilling to work with.

A decided high point of my early career with the SF Ballet Orchestra was when Associate Conductor Jean-Louis LeRoux took members of the orchestra on a delightful chamber orchestra tour of Spain and the South of France.  That tour ended in Monte Carlo with a chamber music concert and dinner at the home of the daughter of the Shah of Iran.

Things like that, it seems, just don’t happen anymore.  In recent years, technical predictably and a uniform standardization have overtaken the performing arts.  Oh, if we could only have fun again!

To my colleagues along this journey:

I have been blessed to work with a group of musicians, all of the whom I consider to be my best friends.  Not only have they put up with my undeniable foibles and nagging, but have done so with support and warmth.  And what musicians they are!  What I will miss most in retirement is hearing their beautiful playing.

A heartfelt thanks for everything.

___________________________

Musicians of the SFBO:  So, what’s next, Roy?!

Roy Malan:  I have always been very active, not only playing the violin, but also serving on the faculty at UC Santa Cruz and as an organizer of music concerts (including serving as Director of the Telluride Chamber Festival  for 41 summers).  I am also a writer, a yoga practitioner, and a fanatic collector of antiques, books, paintings and mushrooms.

Efrem Zimbalist: A Life by Roy Malan (Image from back cover of book, Roy Malan on the left)

After retiring from the SF Ballet, all of these activities will be will only be stepped up.  That includes my violin playing, although with a slight restriction.  Never again will I play another note that is not music for its own sake.  An aging instrumentalist must pay more attention to playing in a way that is natural to them, both musically and physically.  This luxury is often denied to orchestral musicians, with a slight advantage afforded concertmasters and other section leaders.  Anyone having done pit work for as long as I have will understand.

So, good luck to all my beloved colleagues. Also, when my latest project (an art gallery in the Santa Cruz Mountains) opens, you are all invited!

_________________

Musicians of the SFBO:  Last, but not least, thank you, Roy, for 40 years of inspiring the SF Ballet audience, the dancers, and your ballet orchestra colleagues with your leadership and beautiful playing.  We will miss you, and we wish you all the best!!

Farewell Party For Roy Malan at the SF Ballet – December 29, 2014

(Note: The pause button and arrows in the above frame allow you to search and pause the images.)

More About Roy Malan:  

Roy Malan studied in London with Yehudi Menuhin and then at Juilliard and the Curtis Institute with Ivan Galamian and Efrem Zimbalist.  He has been concertmaster and solo violinist with the San Francisco Ballet Orchestra since 1974 and a member of the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players.  For twenty years Malan was concertmaster of both Sinfonia San Francisco and the San Francisco Chamber Symphony and a featured soloist on the latter’s European tours.  He is on the faculty at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

Mr. Malan is Artistic Director and Co-Founder of the Telluride Chamber Music Festival.  He has received critical acclaim for concerto appearances at New York’s Lincoln Center, Washington’s Kennedy Center, the Paris Opera and the Edinburgh Festival.  He has recorded extensively with Robin Sutherland, the San Francisco Contemporary Music Players and as a concerto soloist.

The author of a biography on the late Efrem Zimbalist, Malan was honored in 1982 by Zimbalist’s dedication of a specially orchestrated version of his “Coq d’or Fantasy.”  He was further honored by the bequest of the great Russian violinist’s collection of favorite bows.

 

Related Articles