SONGoftheDAY: “Allegro Scherzando” and the art of the cello
Kay Graham and her Harold Hayslett cello. Photo by Douglas Imbrogno. Click to enlarge
SONG of the DAY: “Allegro Scherzando” by Felix Battanchon
PERFORMERS: Kim Graham (on Hayslett cello No. 47), with her student Dean Pauley (on Hayslett cello No. 54).
CD: From “The Hayslett Collection: A Musical Tribute.” The CD is for sale locally at Taylor Books, Frog Creek Books, Cornucopia, Gorby’s Music and Ferguson Tea Room in Hurricane and online at cdbaby.com/cd/hayslett
By Douglas Imbrogno
Got cello? Kimberly Graham does and it’s not just any old cello.
The West Virginia Symphony cellist is one of just two orchestra performers who own an instrument made by Harold Hayslett, a master instrument maker from South Charleston whose work is being honored on several fronts to mark his 90th birthday on Dec. 26.
On Sunday, Dec. 16 in the state Cultural Center’s Great Hall, 18 of the state’s finest musicians will perform a free concert on some of the 80 violins, 63 cellos and 13 violas Hayslett has made in his career as a luthier. It’s a career the Putnam County native turned to full time after 33 years as a Union Carbide pipefitter.
Graham is one of the limited number of people across the country fortunate enough to own a Hayslett cello - No. 47, to be exact. “People always comment on the tone of it. It’s really warm, it almost sounds like dark, rich honey to me,” she said.
You can hear Graham play her cello at Sunday’s concert and on the new CD “The Hayslett Collection: A Musical Tribute,” which features an arresting blend of classical, old-time and contemporary music, almost all of it performed on Hayslett instruments (including one electric cello and a one-of-a-kind, refurbished F-hole guitar).
Sales of the CD benefit the Music Mentors program, which provides free music lessons to area children whose parents can’t afford lessons.
Graham has been playing Hayslett cellos almost since she first began playing stringed instruments while in 7th grade on the West Side. The luthier’s South Charleston workshop was the go-to place for repairs to the low-cost, plywood laminate cello her parents first bought for her.
“Every time I would go to have something done to my little cello, I got to play on his instruments. I’d always wanted one,” she said. Ten years ago, she finally was able to afford one — they can cost well upwards of $10,000 — after a dalliance of two years with a Hayslett cello.
“I’d played so many of his instruments, that when I sat down and played this one it was different. It was almost like I knew. I just looked at him and said: ‘I have to have this one — can I take it home?’ He said ‘Sure.’ I had it for almost two years before I actually bought it.”
It was a marriage made in West Virginia.
“The coolest thing about it is the fact it’s almost all West Virginia wood, and I’m a West Virginia native,” said Graham, who also teaches cello and is a strings instructor in Boone County schools. “Getting to grow up and play all of those Hayslett instruments is one of the highlights of my cello life, actually.”
Her Hayslett cello has been played by cellists of renown who’ve come to town to play with the symphony, including Yo-Yo Ma, during a cello workshop. At one point, Hayslett even took cello lessons from Graham.
“I think he wanted to get a more hands-on knowledge of how the instrument worked. That was kind of interesting, to be on the other side because I was always trying to learn things from him. He’s like a walking encyclopedia. He knows all about the ancient makers, he knows about the sound, how it’s produced, the best kinds of woods…”
At age 89, Hayslett continues to make instruments. And Graham continues to check them out. “He loves them to be played. When you go down there to have something done, you have to make sure you leave a lot of time. Every time I play a new cello I think… ‘Hmmm, do I like this one better than mine?’”
Not so far. One thing is certain, though–Graham is only a steward of her Hayslett cello.
“That’s the thing about string instruments. If they’re passed down and taken care of, they can last for hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of years. People say these are borrowed pieces of equipment for us. They’ll live a whole lot longer than we will.”
Among other players featured at Sunday’s concert and on the CD are Jenny Allinder, Barb Kuhns, Linda Scott, Greg Bentle, Dave Bing, Amelia Chan, Luigi Peracchio, Sandra Groce, Andrea Di Gregorio, Dean Pauley,Darrell Murray, Dan Boyer, John Lilly, Bobby Taylor, Andrew Dunlap, Heidi Muller, Bob Webb (who conceived and recorded much of the project).
RELATED: On the Friday, Dec. 14 “West Virginia Morning” on West Virginia Public Radio starting 7:30 a.m., Kate Long visits with Harold Hayslett and his family in his workshop.
