FEATURED SINFONIA MUSICIAN: Getting to Know the Sinfonia Family
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Shari Gleason-Mayrhofer, Principal HornA skilled musician and experienced arts administrator who anchors the PSO’s horn section and serves as its director of community engagement, Shari Gleason-Mayrhofer has additional talents involving wool and sourdough.
A PSO member since 2012, she earned a bachelor of music degree in horn performance and music theory from Oberlin College Conservatory and holds master’s degrees from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Georgia State University. In addition to her roles with the PSO, Gleason-Mayrhofer serves as executive director of the Friends of Chamber Music of Reading, teaches horn at Lehigh and Kutztown universities and Muhlenberg College, and maintains a busy performance schedule in the Lehigh Valley-Berks County area. She is a member of the Mainstreet Brass, Fyve Woodwind Quintet, the Pennsylvania Philharmonic and the Southside Sinfonietta, and performs in musical theatre productions at the Fulton Theatre, Muhlenberg College, and DeSales University. |
But when she’s not fulfilling her multiple roles in her performing arts world, she pulls out colorful skeins of wool and kneads starter dough for her favorite pastimes—knitting and baking. Gleason-Mayrhofer recently took her knitting interests to new heights by attending Shetland Wool Week, a world-renowned celebration of Britain’s most northerly native sheep, the Shetland textile industry, and the rural farming community on these remote Scottish islands.
We caught up with her to talk about her many interests and her love of the PSO.
How did you get interested in knitting and baking bread?
I took knitting as a course in Oberlin’s Experimental College (“ExCo”) when I was an undergraduate student. Funny, we were allowed to take two ExCo courses for credit during our time in college, and I took knitting and Indian Cooking, which included making chapatis, naan and puri breads. I had always enjoyed cooking (and eating!), but this was my first exposure to “yeasted” doughs. I continued to experiment with bread from that time on—baking most of the bread we ate at home—but I really started to get serious around 2017 or so, I’m not sure why! Honestly, I think I sort of randomly joined a Facebook sourdough group and I was inspired by the photos of amazing breads people from around the world were baking—and since that time I’ve concentrated on naturally fermented doughs.
Do you see them as complementary skills?
I think so. I’m not a particularly creative person. I don’t need to make “original” things, but I love experimenting with process. I like to understand how knitted garments are shaped and constructed and what kinds of techniques and ingredients are required to make different kinds of breads. And both are generally slow processes, which seems to appeal to me.
What’s the most complex item you’ve knitted and the most complex bread you’ve made?
Knitting: In my early years of knitting, I experimented with lots of complicated designs—delicate lace shawls, intricately cabled sweaters, and colorful ski sweaters. Now I find myself exploring the fine details of fit and finishing, while knitting plainer, classic designs. I fail miserably at rectangles. I have the worst time finishing scarves and blankets!
Bread: My bread-baking has followed a similar path. Occasionally I’ll step out and make something fancy, for example a wrapped semolina sourdough bread that looked like a sunflower with petals that opened up as the bread baked. I have gone through phases of experimenting with laminated doughs like croissants and Danishes that take lots of steps and more precise shaping. Lately, though, I find myself baking simpler breads, repeatedly looking for just the “right” texture and flavor; some favorites are a buttered multigrain porridge bread, red quinoa, and jalapeno-cheddar semolina. Oh, and I have the worst sweet tooth, so sometimes I cannot resist making frosted cinnamon rolls or filled donuts.
How do these activities help inform your work as a musician?
I think they’re all about processes that take time; everything is a practice, and certainly I see that as a musician.
Do you wear any of your favorite knitted garments during PSO concerts?
Knitting black is an extreme challenge! I’ve actually been working on a black sweater for some time and it’s not finished—someday soon, I hope. But I do often wear my sweaters to rehearsals, and I always have some knitting to keep me occupied when I’m not playing.
What do you enjoy most about playing with the PSO?
I love the intimate experience of playing in a chamber orchestra. As a horn player, it’s entirely different from a large symphony orchestra—all about precision and matching tone color with winds and strings. And that lends itself to getting to know the other musicians in a more personal manner, I think. I really treasure the friendships I’ve made through the PSO, and I look forward to connecting with these folks at every concert!
We caught up with her to talk about her many interests and her love of the PSO.
How did you get interested in knitting and baking bread?
I took knitting as a course in Oberlin’s Experimental College (“ExCo”) when I was an undergraduate student. Funny, we were allowed to take two ExCo courses for credit during our time in college, and I took knitting and Indian Cooking, which included making chapatis, naan and puri breads. I had always enjoyed cooking (and eating!), but this was my first exposure to “yeasted” doughs. I continued to experiment with bread from that time on—baking most of the bread we ate at home—but I really started to get serious around 2017 or so, I’m not sure why! Honestly, I think I sort of randomly joined a Facebook sourdough group and I was inspired by the photos of amazing breads people from around the world were baking—and since that time I’ve concentrated on naturally fermented doughs.
Do you see them as complementary skills?
I think so. I’m not a particularly creative person. I don’t need to make “original” things, but I love experimenting with process. I like to understand how knitted garments are shaped and constructed and what kinds of techniques and ingredients are required to make different kinds of breads. And both are generally slow processes, which seems to appeal to me.
What’s the most complex item you’ve knitted and the most complex bread you’ve made?
Knitting: In my early years of knitting, I experimented with lots of complicated designs—delicate lace shawls, intricately cabled sweaters, and colorful ski sweaters. Now I find myself exploring the fine details of fit and finishing, while knitting plainer, classic designs. I fail miserably at rectangles. I have the worst time finishing scarves and blankets!
Bread: My bread-baking has followed a similar path. Occasionally I’ll step out and make something fancy, for example a wrapped semolina sourdough bread that looked like a sunflower with petals that opened up as the bread baked. I have gone through phases of experimenting with laminated doughs like croissants and Danishes that take lots of steps and more precise shaping. Lately, though, I find myself baking simpler breads, repeatedly looking for just the “right” texture and flavor; some favorites are a buttered multigrain porridge bread, red quinoa, and jalapeno-cheddar semolina. Oh, and I have the worst sweet tooth, so sometimes I cannot resist making frosted cinnamon rolls or filled donuts.
How do these activities help inform your work as a musician?
I think they’re all about processes that take time; everything is a practice, and certainly I see that as a musician.
Do you wear any of your favorite knitted garments during PSO concerts?
Knitting black is an extreme challenge! I’ve actually been working on a black sweater for some time and it’s not finished—someday soon, I hope. But I do often wear my sweaters to rehearsals, and I always have some knitting to keep me occupied when I’m not playing.
What do you enjoy most about playing with the PSO?
I love the intimate experience of playing in a chamber orchestra. As a horn player, it’s entirely different from a large symphony orchestra—all about precision and matching tone color with winds and strings. And that lends itself to getting to know the other musicians in a more personal manner, I think. I really treasure the friendships I’ve made through the PSO, and I look forward to connecting with these folks at every concert!
