Don Marshall is guest of honor at Downey Symphony concert

Don Marshall at a Downey Symphony concert in 2019. (Photo by David Whalen)

DOWNEY — After the Downey Symphony Orchestra tunes up for their Jan. 22 performance at the Downey Theatre, they will pause to spotlight Don Marshall. 

Don was president of the Board of the Downey Symphonic Society (DSS) from 2017-2019. The DSS wants to thank Don for his remarkable achievements, and to reflect back on the fortunate moment when Don and Downey coincided.

“When I moved to Downey after my retirement,” said Don, “I went with my mother to a Downey Symphony concert.  I was really impressed at the quality of the orchestra and our brilliant conductor Sharon Lavery.”

“After that,” said Don, “I became a season subscriber. Harold Tseklenis later recruited me for the Board. He invited me for coffee at the Starbucks in the Landing. We had a wonderful chat, and the rest is history!”  

History is the story of such small moments that have unforeseen impact on the future. It was a lucky day for us when Don came to that first concert.   

Under his leadership the Symphonic Society saw solid growth, obtaining important new grants, and seeing more and more enthusiastic patrons filling the seats as word spread of their outstanding performances. 

Born in Long Beach, Don grew up in South Gate. He arrived back in California after being head of the Department of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. 

“Then I was chair of the Board of Trustees of the Poetry Foundation,” Don said, “which publishes Poetry magazine.” Don served as Fletcher Jones chair of Great Books at Pepperdine from 2003-2011, when he retired. His email address reads “profdon.”

“I’m very proud of the high musical quality of our concerts,” said Don. “The people of Downey, led by some dedicated volunteers, have built a remarkable cultural institution and sustained it for over 60 years. I was honored to take the lead in organizing the celebration of our 60th season (with a lot of help from Board members). And grateful that we won a prestigious grant from the National Endowment for the Arts for that season.”

“My experience with administrative work gave me a sense of the role of the Board,” said Don, “and the importance of having everyone on the Board involved and contributing to the enterprise.”

“I’m extremely proud of the fact that the Symphony has presented premieres of work by living composers, said Don. “We are not only continuing the great tradition of past symphonic music but adding to that history with significant works. I’m also pleased that we were able to increase our audience during my term on the Board. The Symphony concerts are when Downey comes together, to experience the best things in life.”