For 40 years, Salem native Peter Frajola has been a mainstay of the Oregon Symphony
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Peter Frajola wanted to rebel.
He had been playing the violin since age 4, thanks to his parents, both violin teachers.
So, while in junior high, Frajola started playing the guitar. He describes the reaction of his father — also named Peter — to him playing guitar as "furious."
The elder Frajola eventually got over his son's rebellious streak as Peter never stopped playing the violin.
"He realized that I was still in music and I was still learning a different facet of music," said Frajola, who graduated from Sprague High School graduate in 1976. "I don't think playing the guitar hurt my violin, and I certainly don't think playing the violin hurt learning the guitar."
Soon after Frajola started playing guitar he found his passion for the violin, and it's been part of his personal and professional life since.
Frajola is starting his 40th season playing violin for the Oregon Symphony. As the associate concertmaster, he is second chair among violins. And he's given a lot back to children who play violin.
The Portland-based Oregon Symphony plays its first of seven concerts of the season in Salem at 7:30 p.m. Friday when Frajola and the orchestra come to his hometown to perform Mozart's Sinfonia Concertante at Smith Auditorium at Willamette University.
"I love coming to Salem. It's a great community," Frajola said. "The stage is very, very easy for us to play and hear each other. It's a great stage for us to play on."
The other Oregon Symphony performances at Smith Auditorium this season are Jan. 12, Feb. 9, March 8, April 19 and May 10.
From child prodigy to professional violin player
Frajola's parents, Leah and Peter, played violin in the Oregon Symphony.
The elder Peter taught orchestra in schools around south Salem. Leah gave private violin lessons to hundreds of children in the area.
Each of the four Frajola children started playing at about age 4.
But it wasn't until attending Sprague that playing the instrument clicked.
He says that after playing violin for about 10 years, he started to make "some good sounds" and made it sound like it was supposed to.
"I did decide in high school I wanted to do this for a living," Frajola said.
He played with the Oregon Symphony for the first time at age 17 while a senior at Sprague.
For most young musicians, the dream of being a professional musician is just that.
But Frajola was different.
He spent two years at the University of Oregon, then transferred to San Francisco Conservatory of Music. After graduating, he got his first job in the San Francisco Opera orchestra, then played in the Louisville Orchestra and the Knoxville Symphony Orchestra for a year each.
He then was hired in 1984 for his position with the Oregon Symphony where he has been ever since.
He has never had another job to support his musical aspirations.
"My day job and my night job," Frajola said. "The symphony is fantastic. It’s a full-time orchestra for all 80 or something of us musicians.”
40 years with the Oregon Symphony
Frajola has been around the Oregon Symphony since he was a small child when his parents played in it.
And in his 40 years since joining the symphony, he has seen it evolve significantly.
He says that when he started, most of the musicians were originally from the Portland area or had lived there for a while. Now, few are from the area. He says the rest are graduates of places such The Julliard School and the Cleveland Institute of Music.
"The orchestra just continues to get better," said Frajola, who now lives in Beaverton.
He said the symphony has branched out in the past 20 years to play with rock bands and rap groups.
It also has done things like playing the music of movies.
There was the time film composer John Williams conducted the symphony in 2014.
"The orchestra was just on fire and looking around at each other, getting to play Star Wars and all of these different themes that he wrote with him conducting," Frajola said.
The Oregon Symphony, which plays most of its concerts at Portland's Arlene Schnitzer Concert Hall, constantly brings in guests to collaborate.
"I'm star struck like almost every week," Frajola said.
He says he's most looking forward to playing with violinist James Ehnes. (The symphony plays with Ehnes in Salem on April 19).
Music outside of the symphony
For four decades, Frajola has balanced the demands of playing and learning multiple pieces of music at a time.
Besides playing three to five performances a week through the season — which runs from October through June — he practices with the full orchestra up to five times for each piece, and he also practices on his own at home.
But playing in the symphony isn't the only thing Frajola does.
He's played in a number of combinations over the years with other symphony members, including string quartets.
He says he likes going out in the community to bring music to the people.
Frajola has spent a lot of time giving back to youth musicians, including working with the Salem Youth Symphony orchestra at McKay High School this spring.
In 2019, Salem recognized Frajola's work by naming Nov. 2 Oregon Symphony in Salem Day.
The 65-year-old still plays guitar. In a Zoom interview, he proudly wore his Fender t-shirt, and he has a Fender Stratocaster and a Gibson Les Paul that he plays for fun in his spare time.
But playing violin is his career, and something he plans to continue.
"It's rare to make it into a profession," said Frajola.
Bill Poehler covers Marion and Polk County for the Statesman Journal. Contact him at bpoehler@StatesmanJournal.com
This article originally appeared on Salem Statesman Journal: Peter Frajola Oregon Symphony performs Oct. 27 Salem
