Lake Placid Sinfonietta musicians James Rester and Mirella Gable perform at St. Agnes Church in Lake Placid. (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

Two members of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, Mirella Gable and James Rester, decided to give back and donate their time, travel and costs to perform a French horn duet on Friday, Jan. 5, at St. Agnes Church in Lake Placid. An added benefit to the attendees and musicians is that hearing and performing duets and solos on the French horn is a rarity that all involved would like to experience again.

Taking advantage of the musicians’ generosity, the Sinfonietta organized a benefit reception following the performance. Tremendous to all involved was the concert, and the benefit attracted a large audience.

Gable and Rester are gifted musicians like their collaborative pianist, Risa Okina, who performed with them. Rester, a decorated Army veteran, has performed and recorded with the Baltimore Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra and other leading orchestras. Serving as principal horn for the Sinfonietta, he serves as second horn for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic, third for the Delaware Symphony Orchestra, and fourth for the New Bedford Symphony. Always looking for ways to enhance his craft, Rester has been a product development consultant and machinist for Houser Mouthpiece Works and is a dealer for Stork Custom Mouthpieces.

Gable, third horn for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic and the Symphony of Northwest Arkansas, teaches privately and as an adjunct professor at South Western Oklahoma State University, Oklahoma State University and the University of Central Oklahoma. In the summer, Gable performs with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta.

Often referred to as the accompanist, correctly pianist Risa Okina is a collaborative musician. She and her counterparts work together during rehearsal and performance to create the best possible outcome. Okina, a professor of music theory and accompaniment at Crane School of Music, so enjoyed the collaborative nature of working with musicians that she abandoned her dreams and goal of becoming a soloist to craft a career as an accompanist.

Robin Baxter, president of the Lake Placid Sinfonietta, and Risa Okina, collaborative pianist (Provided photo — Naj Wikoff)

“I’m a classically trained pianist,” said Okina. “I always wanted to be a soloist, but when I was in college, a friend asked me to accompany her for her jury. I discovered that this is more fun than playing alone. As a soloist, you practice and perform alone; you often don’t get to play with other musicians. I started by accompanying my friends who played different instruments; some were vocalists. I found the music-making process to be fascinating. So, after I got my master’s degree, I decided to change my profession and become an accompanist, a collaborative musician.”

Gable started out playing the piano and recorder in elementary school, piano because her mother was a piano teacher.

“When I became old enough to try out for the band, I decided I wanted to play the flute, but my mother said no, there’s too many flutists in the world,” said Gable. “So, then I decided on the harp, but my mother said they’re too expensive, we can’t afford one. My parents were both musicians. I suggested xylophone or something else in the band. My mom said, hold on, and she went into the closet and pulled out her French horn, a gift from her father when she graduated high school. She put the horn in my hands, taught me how to play a note, and I was hooked.”

Around the age that Gable was taking up the French horn, Rester had already decided he was to have a career as a professional musician.

“Initially, I didn’t want to play the horn; I wanted to play the drums and attract all the chicks; be a cool dude,” said Rester. “My mom said, ‘You can play drums or any other instrument if you want, but I want you to start on the horn.’ This was when I was in sixth grade. I played the French horn in the band for about two weeks, took my horn home for the first time to practice, and when my mom came home, I thanked her. I said I will do this for the rest of my life.”

Gable and Rester love Lake Placid, recreating in all the community has to offer and performing with the Sinfonietta, working with other excellent musicians without the drama and interpersonal stressors often found in a large orchestra, so much so that they said when they retire, they’d love to move to Lake Placid and become full-time residents.

Combining two solo pieces and duets, their performance featured works by Brahms, Gliere, Gounod, Rossetti and Telemann and received a well-deserved standing ovation.

The fourth member of the concert was the church itself. The acoustics were terrific, as Father John Yonkovig confirmed.

“Every musician and singer that comes in loves it,” said the Rev. John Yonkovig. “There is a great saying: the glory of God is human beings fully alive. Music is part of being fully alive; it touches the spirit like nothing else can.”

That spirit began with the musicians contacting Sinfonietta’s board president, Robin Baxter. She said they felt terrible last year because they fell ill near the end of the season and couldn’t perform, and proposed this concert in the winter with them covering their cost.

“They said we’re not expecting a stipend; we want to do this, and we will cover the cost for the piano accompanist,” said Baxter. “We want to come to Placid and do this for the Sinfonietta because we love the Sinfonietta. I said, this is wonderful; what a fabulous idea. We were leery that we might not get a good crowd so close after the holidays, but many people turned out; it was wonderful. I am thrilled; I am so happy.”

The attendees loved the performance.

“It was like they were singing,” said Marijke Ormel. “There were no words, but it was just like a song; I was very impressed.”

“The pianist and the two horn players were awesome,” said Jim Cushman. “It’s unique to hear French horn soloists and duets; those who made the concert had an exceptional experience.”

Coming up, the Sinfonietta will have its annual in-school program for kids, and another special concert later in the spring. Gable and Rester will again perform with the Sinfonietta in the summer.

(Naj Wikoff lives in Keene Valley. He has been covering events for the Lake Placid News for more than 15 years.)