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Julie Vaverka Obituary
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Memories and Condolences
for Julie Vaverka
Michael Romanul
June 25, 2025
I just found out about Ms. Vaverka's passing yesterday (June 24th). Primarily a cellist, I had mostly been a freelancer in New England in the 1980s and 1990s, although I changed careers and worked in the banking field. I currently belong to an online group that posts information about clarinetists, having studied the clarinet and wrote a book of clarinet studies in 2008. Ms. Vaverka and I were both studying music at Boston University. She must have been an upperclassman while she was a lowerclassmen. I did not know her particularly well, but where she was associated with the New Hampshire Symphony Orchestra as a player and a personnel manager, she must have been responsible for my being hired as an alternate player with the ensemble. In that capacity, she must have called me back in the day to participate in rehearsals and performances when I was available. When I viewed information about a clarinet symposium in Oklahoma, and I saw Ms. Vaverka as a participant, I misread the year of the event - thinking that it was an upcoming occasion. Instead of what I thought would be in 2026, the event actually occurred in 1996. Where I recently completed writing a composition for clarinet and cello, she might have relished the piece originally written in honor of my late cello professor, whose father was a clarinetist.
Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin
October 5, 2022
Hard to believe 15 years have passed since Julie's death. Still seems like yesterday we were opening up a bottle of a cherished wine together from her awesome collection and dining on an exquisite meal she lovingly prepared. May her memory continue to be a blessing as the mysteries of life and death unfold in this Jewish new year 5783.
Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin
October 5, 2020
I never stop thinking of you, Jules! You live on through Pro Arte and all our precious memories!
Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin
October 6, 2019
Julie, it seems like only yesterday the sweetest sounds ever were emanating from behind me on stage, and in between were the rollicking sounds of your unmistakeable okie laugh. You are still deeply missed, but hopefully still keeping all of heaven pouring music into our souls.
Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin
April 21, 2008
A Memorial Celebration of the Life of Julie Anne Vaverka will take place on Sunday, June 1st, 2008 from 3:00-5:00 PM at First Baptist Church in Newton, 848 Beacon Street, Newton Centre, MA (located at the corner of Beacon and Centre Streets). Parking is available both in the lot behind the church and on the street (public parking “Triangle” diagonally across the street is free on Sundays).
If you would like to donate food or flowers for the celebration, please contact Kathy O’Donnell at [email protected] If you would like to help in any other way, contact Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin at [email protected]
John Sears
January 21, 2008
I first met Julie ten years ago while at that time doing the electrical work on her new home and was immediately taken by her wonderful personality and positive outlook on life.
It is seldom that you meet someone who you clearly remember for years. Julie was one of those people.
I saw her last on a beautiful summer day in August of 2007. Even though I had not seen her for several years I felt like I had come to see an old friend. True to character she enthusiastically greeted me and after informing me of her illness told me that she anticipated a full recovery.
I was recently (and quite belatedly)shocked and saddened to hear that she had lost her battle with cancer.
Julie possessed both a precious musical gift and unique inner beauty.
She will be missed, and those who knew her and were inspired by her during her short time on this earth are blessed.
Helene Rosenblatt
October 22, 2007
I read with shock from the web search I had just done. Julie Anne Vaverka...obituary by Sue-Ellen....Doing a double take, I followed the link, thinking this can't be.My sincere condolences to Julie's family and friends. Images of a very young Julie are what flash through my head. CRCP...Charles River Chamber Players,chamber music group of my "Boston Years". How wonderful a player you were, and how supportive of those around you.
Be at Peace Julie -
Julie at NHSO Halloween Pops 10/06
October 18, 2007
Julie & Jesse set about mowing in Oklahoma
October 17, 2007
Dad Wilfred, Julie, Mom Jane, brother Jesse
October 17, 2007
Julie & Aunt Lillie eat cannoli in the No. End (Boston)
October 17, 2007
Julie & Cousin Antone
October 17, 2007
Julie & Grandpa Albin Vaverka
October 17, 2007
Pama Garden Days (Brighton, MA)
October 17, 2007
Tim, Julie, Pat, Sue on Prairie City Day, ca.1968
October 17, 2007
Julie & close friend Patty Peach, ca.1970
October 17, 2007
Julie practicing, ca. 1967
October 17, 2007
Julie at Prom time, ca.1970
October 17, 2007
Susan Earnheart Terrell
October 12, 2007
I went to school with Julie Anne, in Marshall Ok, before she left us for bigger and better things in Boston, she left a big whole in the class of 1971 in Marshall Ok when she left. I have thought of her so many time through the years. I was so sorry to hear of her passing. Maybe she and Tim are in heaven playing clarinet duets again.
Richard Terrell
October 11, 2007
Oldest best friend. My heart is deeply saddened. She will be greatly missed. The music in heaven will soar with her passing. I will remember you always and the great times we had. There will never be another Julie Anne.
I love you until we meet again in God's hands.
LaDonna Rouse Terrell
Jan Pfeiffer-Rios
October 11, 2007
The Lavazza Chamber Ensemble will be playing the slow movement of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet on 10/14 in memory of our beloved Julie.
Julie in her 20's
Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin
October 11, 2007
Julie Anne Vaverka (b. Sept 6, 1953, Enid, OK; d. Oct. 5, 2007, Manchester, NH)
[Obituary by Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin and Andrew Wilson]
The one thing that colleagues and friends will remember most about Julie Vaverka is her voice, whether from the other end of the telephone line, or from the bell of her clarinet. Julie never had to fear that she would not be heard. She was a commanding presence, with a speaking voice that could reach across the prairie expanses of her native Oklahoma. One only had to hear the first words to know that Julie was on the telephone, often with the welcome news that she was offering orchestral employment to New England’s musicians. More importantly, however, was the voice of beauty, grace, and harmony that she summoned from her clarinet during the hundreds of classical concerts in which she performed throughout New England for more than thirty years.
That voice was stilled in a Manchester, NH hospital on October 5, 2007, after a long and valiant battle with metastatic breast cancer.
Raised on the family wheat farm in Marshall, Oklahoma, Ms. Vaverka took a different path from an early age. She started learning piano at the age of 5, and towards the end of elementary school, chose the clarinet. As a child, she often played duets with her trumpet-playing dad (and sometimes trios when brother Jesse joined in), learning traditional Czech polkas first-hand in the thriving ethnic community of Garfield and Kingfisher Counties. Her musicianship developed rapidly as her mom drove her to Enid each week to study with Dr. Max Tromblee, clarinet instructor of the Phillips University Music Department. She later enrolled at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy, determined to become a professional clarinetist. She then went to study with Steve Girko at Oklahoma University, at the Eastman School of Music under Stanley Hasty, and later with Boston Symphony principal clarinetist Harold Wright. At age 19 she became the youngest member of the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra.
After moving to the Boston area in the 70’s, she established herself as an indispensable, passionate free-lance artist and teacher. She soon became a member of the New Boston Wind Quintet, and in 1978, co-founded the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra cooperative. Julie was profoundly devoted to the orchestra as principal clarinet, soloist, and concert organizer until her death. She also performed regularly with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Boston Ballet Orchestra, and the Springfield (MA) Symphony. She was a regular member of the Monadnock Festival Orchestra and the New Hampshire Symphony, serving simultaneously as clarinetist and personnel manager for both organizations. Springfield Symphony principal clarinetist Michael Sussman, her colleague of over 30 years, described her this way: “Julie certainly studied with great teachers – Wright, Hasty, Moyse - but when she first came to this area, she was already a really excellent player. Of course she grew musically over the years. But she was just a natural, great musician, and she loved her colleagues.”
One of her career highlights was playing by Mr. Wright’s side as interim second clarinet of the Boston Symphony for the two years prior to Mr. Wright’s death, and for the two years following. At the BSO she also performed with the BSO Chamber Players at Prelude Concerts at Symphony Hall, at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and as a founding member of the Boston Wind Octet with Harold Wright and now-retired BSO oboist Alfred Genovese. Genovese recalls, ““Julie was so darn good – a fantastic musician! She was plenty talented to be a regular member of the BSO, and when we played together, she was just one of us. She was also an amazing friend, and I loved her like a sister.”
Ms. Vaverka recorded for both the Boston Pops and the Boston Symphony Orchestra during her time with the orchestra. These recordings include Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole under Bernard Haitink, and the movie soundtrack for Schindler's List under John Williams, for which she performed as principal clarinetist.
During rehearsals Julie was famous for her infectious laugh and straight-from-the-hip manner. Her deep love of animals was ever-present at rehearsals in the form of a tiny, impeccably behaved dog lying on stage in a soft carrier next to her clarinet case. Well-concealed, conductors never seemed to even notice that a dog was there.
A devoted and beloved teacher, Ms. Vaverka served on the faculties of Phillips Exeter Academy, the Boston Conservatory of Music, University of Connecticut, Boston University, and Dartmouth College. She maintained lifelong connections with many of her students, who were deeply touched by the continued love she devoted to them long after their studies were completed. Rohan Smith, chairman of the music department at Exeter, where Julie taught for over 20 years, described her impact on the school: “The Academy simply came alive in Julie’s presence. Over the years, letters arrived from Exeter graduates who mentioned that she imparted not just incredible skills, but her love of music and life.”
In 1997, Ms. Vaverka decided to relocate to NH, where she was teaching and playing more and more. Eva Gruesser, concertmaster of the NH Symphony, recalls that Julie “was the heart and soul of the New Hampshire Symphony, as well as the motor that kept it going." After a long search, she bought some land atop Mount Delight, where she could relish the pace of country life and yet manage frequent commutes to Boston. She had a home built to her designs and relished being surrounded by farmland again. Her yard soon grew into an organic Eden of horticultural wonders, from exotic, fragrant flowers to European heirloom tomatoes and Crandall currants, all lovingly tended until her final days.
Julie was also a talented cook and wine connoisseur. Her passion for the culinary arts nearly drove her to give up music as a career in order to pursue her equally compelling dream to become a professional chef. She enrolled at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, and after completing her degree, realized she simply could not tolerate the large musical hole in her life. She returned to music, but shared her extraordinary culinary gifts with others at every possible turn. Whether sublimely turning a phrase of Schubert or delicately turning a Coq au vin, her life reflected an enormous heart and consummate artistry.
Plans for a celebration of her life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, 107 Brighton Avenue, Suite #1, Boston, MA 02134.
Anne Hooper Webb
October 11, 2007
My heartfelt condolences go to the family of our much beloved Julie Vaverka. I have known her for many years as a fellow member of the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra of Boston. Her playing alone made a stellar contribution to the quality of the orchestra, but she became also a key figure in the planning of our repertoire. In the recent years that I have served on the Repertoire Committee, she suddenly swept on, herself, and deluged us with a list of innovative ideas for concert programs and a cohesive plan and pattern for whole seasons of concerts. Her expertise in this part of the orchestra's existence will be sorely missed, for with it went the exclusively Julie bubbling-to-bursting enthusiasm that could catch the greatest sceptic unawares.
My own small personal connection to Julie was through her dear dog Sophie who dutifully attended almost all Julie's rehearsals under her chair, in her soft carrying case and who even heard a few concerts on big stages, in the same manner. During our rehearsal breaks, there was much cavorting and greeting by the little dog to any willing orchestra member and plenty of news given by Julie, if asked, about exactly how spoiled her deserving Sophie was. I came to look forward to each rehearsal not just for good conductors and great music-making but for the brief and precious meetings with a canine music-and-people enthusiast and her devoted mistress.
My thanks, Julie, if you can hear it, for your great gifts to Pro Arte and for having spilled onto so many of us, in and out of your music world, such infectious energy of life. May we remember you daily by embracing and spreading the enthusiasm you yourself could never contain!
With much admiration, gratitude, and love,
Anne Hooper Webb
Barbara Englesberg
October 11, 2007
We at Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra will miss Julie more than I can say. She was such a creative artist----a sublime clarinetist. Her contributions as a founding member of Pro Arte are so numerous. She created and directed our Aperitif pre-concert chamber music series. Even in her illness she researched and created programs for the entire series for the present season. She was full of energy and enthusiasm for putting together programs and proposed many interesting projects. Last October she spoke eloquently at a Mount Auburn Cemetery chamber music concert performed by Pro Arte players, celebrating the Cemetery's 175th anniversary. Julie had researched and put together the program of music by Piston and Foote, who had been buried there. We will miss her great artistry and her fighting spirit. I trust that the love that we felt for Julie will inspire us to keep making music with intensity at the highest level and to keep the spirit of Julie's creativity alive.
Jan and Frances Pfeiffer-Rios
October 11, 2007
We love you, Julie! Playing chamber music with you was always a dream. Being with you was always great fun. Hug Sophia for us.
Julie in her early 20's
Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin
October 11, 2007
Obituary: Julie Anne Vaverka (b. Sept 6, 1953, Enid, OK; d. Oct. 5, 2007, Manchester, NH)
The one thing that colleagues and friends will remember most about Julie Vaverka is her voice, whether from the other end of the telephone line, or from the bell of her clarinet. Julie never had to fear that she would not be heard. She was a commanding presence, with a speaking voice that could reach across the prairie expanses of her native Oklahoma. One only had to hear the first words to know that Julie was on the telephone, often with the welcome news that she was offering orchestral employment to New England’s musicians. More importantly, however, was the voice of beauty, grace, and harmony that she summoned from her clarinet during the hundreds of classical concerts in which she performed throughout New England for more than thirty years.
That voice was stilled in a Manchester, NH hospital on October 5, 2007, after a long and valiant battle with metastatic breast cancer.
Raised on the family wheat farm in Marshall, Oklahoma, Ms. Vaverka took a different path from an early age. She started learning piano at the age of 5, and towards the end of elementary school, chose the clarinet. As a child, she often played duets with her trumpet-playing dad (and sometimes trios when brother Jesse joined in), learning traditional Czech polkas first-hand in the thriving ethnic community of Garfield and Kingfisher Counties. Her musicianship developed rapidly as her mom drove her to Enid each week to study with Dr. Max Tromblee, clarinet instructor of the Phillips University Music Department. She later enrolled at the prestigious Interlochen Arts Academy, determined to become a professional clarinetist. She then went to study with Steve Girko at Oklahoma University, at the Eastman School of Music under Stanley Hasty, and later with Boston Symphony principal clarinetist Harold Wright. At age 19 she became the youngest member of the Oklahoma City Symphony Orchestra.
After moving to the Boston area in the 70’s, she established herself as an indispensable, passionate free-lance artist and teacher. She soon became a member of the New Boston Wind Quintet, and in 1978, co-founded the Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra cooperative. Julie was profoundly devoted to the orchestra as principal clarinet, soloist, and concert organizer until her death. She also performed regularly with the Boston Symphony, Boston Pops, the Rhode Island Philharmonic, the Boston Ballet Orchestra, and the Springfield (MA) Symphony. She was a regular member of the Monadnock Festival Orchestra and the New Hampshire Symphony, serving simultaneously as clarinetist and personnel manager for both organizations. Springfield Symphony principal clarinetist Michael Sussman, her colleague of over 30 years, described her this way: “Julie certainly studied with great teachers – Wright, Hasty, Moyse - but when she first came to this area, she was already a really excellent player. Of course she grew musically over the years. But she was just a natural, great musician, and she loved her colleagues.”
One of her career highlights was playing by Mr. Wright’s side as interim second clarinet of the Boston Symphony for the two years prior to Mr. Wright’s death, and for the two years following. At the BSO she also performed with the BSO Chamber Players at Prelude Concerts at Symphony Hall, at the Tanglewood Music Festival, and as a founding member of the Boston Wind Octet with Harold Wright and now-retired BSO oboist Alfred Genovese. Genovese recalls, ““Julie was so darn good – a fantastic musician! She was plenty talented to be a regular member of the BSO, and when we played together, she was just one of us. She was also an amazing friend, and I loved her like a sister.”
Ms. Vaverka recorded for both the Boston Pops and the Boston Symphony Orchestra during her time with the orchestra. These recordings include Benjamin Britten's Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra under Seiji Ozawa, Ravel's Rapsodie Espagnole under Bernard Haitink, and the movie soundtrack for Schindler's List under John Williams, for which she performed as principal clarinetist.
During rehearsals Julie was famous for her infectious laugh and straight-from-the-hip manner. Her deep love of animals was ever-present at rehearsals in the form of a tiny, impeccably behaved dog lying on stage in a soft carrier next to her clarinet case. Well-concealed, conductors never seemed to even notice that a dog was there.
A devoted and beloved teacher, Ms. Vaverka served on the faculties of Phillips Exeter Academy, the Boston Conservatory of Music, University of Connecticut, Boston University, and Dartmouth College. She maintained lifelong connections with many of her students, who were deeply touched by the continued love she devoted to them long after their studies were completed. Rohan Smith, chairman of the music department at Exeter, where Julie taught for over 20 years, described her impact on the school: “The Academy simply came alive in Julie’s presence. Over the years, letters arrived from Exeter graduates who mentioned that she imparted not just incredible skills, but her love of music and life.”
In 1997, Ms. Vaverka decided to relocate to NH, where she was teaching and playing more and more. Eva Gruesser, concertmaster of the NH Symphony, recalls that Julie “was the heart and soul of the New Hampshire Symphony, as well as the motor that kept it going." After a long search, she bought some land atop Mount Delight, where she could relish the pace of country life and yet manage frequent commutes to Boston. She had a home built to her designs and relished being surrounded by farmland again. Her yard soon grew into an organic Eden of horticultural wonders, from exotic, fragrant flowers to European heirloom tomatoes and Crandall currants, all lovingly tended until her final days.
Julie was also a talented cook and wine connoisseur. Her passion for the culinary arts nearly drove her to give up music as a career in order to pursue her equally compelling dream to become a professional chef. She enrolled at the Cambridge School of Culinary Arts, and after completing her degree, realized she simply could not tolerate the large musical hole in her life. She returned to music, but shared her extraordinary culinary gifts with others at every possible turn. Whether sublimely turning a phrase of Schubert or delicately turning a Coq au vin, her life reflected an enormous heart and consummate artistry.
Plans for a celebration of her life will be announced at a later date. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to Pro Arte Chamber Orchestra, 107 Brighton Avenue, Suite #1, Boston, MA 02134. [Obituary by Sue-Ellen Hershman-Tcherepnin and Andrew Wilson]
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