Page 10 - Tribute program full book

Her greatest satisfaction, she said, “is watching students of all ages find their way to music
Tracy and composer Kari Steinert, a former student,
at the 75th Gala
Fred and Roz Cohen at the 75th Gala
8 9
and the pride they show when they complete a performance, whether it’s just for me or a
roomful of appreciative audience members.”
She also is proud of having brought “outstanding teachers to the school; experienced ed-
ucators and performers, kind, creative and compassionate people,” one of whom, David
Wampler, a 68-year-old trombonist, just happens to be Wilson’s husband.
They met while she was working at Jacob’s Pillow. She had gone back to Lincoln for a
family event and was at a jazz club with a friend. Wilson told her friend she recognized
the horn player in the band “from somewhere.” It turned out “he was a grad at Nebraska
when I was an undergrad,” Wilson said during her office interview. “I pretty much knew
who everyone was in the music department.”
Wilson was, still is, a pianist. “The word at the time was that pianists didn’t always frater-
nize with horn players,” Wilson said lightly.
They carried on a long-distance relationship between Lincoln and the Berkshires until
finally, in the summer of 1987, “he packed up all his things and moved out here,” Wilson
said. He found work as a freelance musician, playing with the Albany Symphony and in
the pit for several musical productions. He now teaches at College of St. Rose in Albany,
N.Y. They married six years later. They live in Becket together with their rescue dog, an
Tracy at Hudson Yards in New York City “Alabama swamp dog,” Wilson says, named Tanner.
For Wilson, running Berkshire Music School has been “much more than a job. It’s who I
am as a person,” she said. “It’s who I want to be.”
Her successor has not yet been chosen. Wilson is hopeful she will leave behind a legacy of
“good leadership, hard work, fairness; of creativity. People have said to me that I’ve been
running the school as my own little parish; that the school is like a mini-Juilliard only
better. I’ve always tried to be fair and honest and balanced.”
She’s been thinking about retiring for a while, she said. She will continue conducting the
Stockbridge Festival Chorus with which, with the exception of her time with the BSO,
she’s been associated since 1992; and this summer will be her third as music director of
the Stockbridge Sinfonia. In addition to continuing her piano playing, she will take up
another instrument — the cello. “I haven’t unpacked my cello case in years,” she said.
She’s anticipating traveling with her husband and taking long walks with him and their
dog. She’s also looking forward to attending closed Friday BSO rehearsals at Tanglewood.
And, she said, “the first day of retirement, I am going to buy a kayak — we live really close
to Greenwater Pond — and a subscription to the New York Times.
“The next chapter of my life will be like a whole new novel,” she said. “The school has al-
ways had top priority. Now, Tracy, it’s your time to take priority.”