Canadian class: Drs. Vaughan quickly became Philharmonic fans and supporters

There won't be a doctor in the house Saturday for the Abilene Philharmonic Guild's 2022 Heritage Gala.

There will be at least two.

Likely more.

Classical music most often is just what the doctor ordered to relieve stress, elevate the senses and sooth the soul.

In June, the first Gala honored longtime Music Director and Conductor David Itkin and the orchestra. The event replaces the annual Ball, and is a major fundraiser for the symphony.

This year, the honoree is Dr. Joanne Bacchus Vaughan. Her attending physician will be her husband, Dr. Daniel Vaughan. Both are neurologists, moving here in May 1995 from Canada.

One of their first forays into West Texas society was to attend the symphony. Quickly, they joined efforts to support Abilene's symphony that in 2021 celebrated its 70th season.

Howdy, y'all

The Vaughans years ago were strangers in a strange land, recruited by then-Hendrick Health System to come to Abilene.

"We're so highly specialized, it's hard to find a place that will take two at once," he said of finding work together in the Canadian health system.

A neurologist diagnoses and treats problems with the brain and nervous system.

However, Hendrick jumped at the chance to strike a 2-for-1 job deal and recruited the soon-to-be Vaughans. Here, they would establish Bacchus and Vaughan Neurology Associates.

She is a 1986 graduate of the medical school at the University of Toronto.

They trained in different provinces. She did her internal medicine residency in Ontario, then moved to British Columbia.

Dr. Dan did a fellowship - "specialty training after you're a specialist," he explained - in BC.

His specialty is clinical electro physiology.

They ended up at the University of British Columbia, where they met.

They became a couple with plans to marry. Why not in Texas?

They married a little over a year after settling in Abilene. They will celebrate 25 years in November.

It was a big change in locale, particularly for Dr. Dan, who is from Halifax, Novia Scotia.

But the move south, also challenged Joanne Vaughan.

"When we first visited, I couldn't believe the wind here," she said, smiling. "And the dust. I still remember the first time we experienced it raining mud."

Well, it was spring going on summer here.

"And when you do get rain, you get a ton of rain at once," she said.

The Vaughans caught on fast to weather in Abilene.

"The mosquitoes came out and they were sooo big," she said. "They say everything is bigger in Texas."

Like our fondness for The Phil.

Getting involved

"One of things we liked about the city when we were looking was that for a small city, it had a professional orchestra," Joanne Vaughan said.

"A lot of culture," her husband added.

She noted three private universities, an educated populace, The Grace Museum and other cultural offerings.

"For a city this size," she said, "we thought it offered a lot."

"Plus, it had Perini's," Dr. Dan said, laughing. He recalled their visit to Buffalo Gap in 1994, when the couple was scouting out Abilene.

It was Peggy and Gervis Galbraith who introduced them to the Philharmonic. Gervis Galbraith was a general surgeon here.

"It was a classical (concert) and we just loved it," Dr. Dan said.

The Vaughans became season-ticket holders and soon expanded their support in leadership roles.

Their two children, Hannah and Patrick, took Suzuki violin. Patrick Vaughan also studied piano with Sherry Frush, and took violin for a time in college.

Hannah was a Belle for the symphony.

Homeschooled here, both currently are grown and live in Dallas.

Joanne Vaughan learned to play the piano as a youngster.

"I regret giving it up," she said. She could play enough to keep up with her children. But that was on violin.

"I bought a violin and learned with them. After awhile, they took off and I said, 'I can't do this,'" she said, laughing.

Joanne and music

Her father, Dr. Solomon Bacchus, was a physician and her mother a nurse, and she grew up in her early years in Guyana. The family moved to Canada when she was 7.

Guyana, in northeast South America, is where cult leader Jim Jones established Jonestown and in 1978, more than 900 perished in a murder-suicide event.

Her story is much, much brighter.

Her parents, she said, were born and grew up in Guyana. Her mother bowed out of nursing to raise the children.

A clinic was on the first floor, and the family lived above.

"Things were different," she said of that setup.

Her father loved classical music and opera. It most often played in the house after work.

"It was in the house all the time," she said. "He loved his music."

Her favorite was Tchaikovsky's "Piano Concerto No. 1," which offers one of the most majestic musical introductions ever written.

When he became ill and was confined to a second-floor bed, he requested that his stereo equipment be brought upstairs so he could listen.

He died when his daughter was 12.

Dan and music

For Dr. Dan, it was Clyde Gilmore, a longtime broadcaster on the Canadian Broadcasting Company.

And Bugs Bunny.

There was a station dedicated to symphonic music on the CBC, he said.

"Like an NPR kind of thing here," Dr. Dan said.

"I was an audiophile and I loved playing the '1812 Overture' to the point my mother thought the house was coming down," he said. He's a guy, he said, laughing, so he liked it bold and loud.

But Bugs?

Joanne Vaughan said "most people think classical music is just stuffy music and it's just for older people. When you listen to those cartoons, that was a real introduction to classical music for kids without them realizing it."

Such as "The Barber of Seville," Dr. Dan said, recalling Bugs and Elmer Fudd staging a outlandish version of the Rossini opera after Elmer Fudd chases Bugs into a theater.

"For the kids, it was funny but the adults got it at a totally different level," he said.

So, the Vaughans were thrilled to find a quality symphony here, and they watched it only get better.

"The Abilene symphony has evolved like a glass of Grand Cru Bourdeaux. When you first pour the glass," he continued, "there are some hints and nuances but it grows in structure, complexity and nuance to a much fuller sensory experience."

No one mentioned Dr. Dan also knows his wines.

Both appreciated how Itkin has tied into popular culture with his programs.

"Popular culture and classical come together," he said.

Said his wife, "David Itkin has moved it in that direction and he has showed people that music surrounds us all the time. We don't realize it. It's a huge part of our everyday experiences, so he draws all of that in."

Listening to the Philharmonic is not just sitting and listening, she said, but "it fills up all your senses and brings it into the modern world. This music is for everybody."

Said Dr. Dan, "There is a great inclusivity."

Itkin's reputation draws top quality musicians and artists, she said.

She remembers trips to Colorado for summer Suzuki workshops and the violin shop there operated by a couple from New Mexico. The woman once told her that she filled in for a musician who could not make it to Abilene to perform.

"She put in her name because she wanted that experience to play for David Itkin," Joanne Vaughan said. "I thought 'Wow!'"

Being honored

Joanne Vaughan said there have been many great women honored by the Philharmonic, and she finds it hard to be included in that select group.

"It is a huge honor to be added to those names. I don't see myself in that category." she said.

Her husband said previous women honored could be carved as a "female Mount Rushmore of Abilene."

"You're kind of looking up and going, 'Wow, these women have done so much,'" he said.

Joanne Vaughan in January was invited to lunch by Guild president Tiffany Lamb and adviser Sheila Warren. She thought they would talk about moving forward from COVID-19.

"They wanted to talk about some ideas because I'm one of the advisers," she said. "Talk about how to get through this next year.

"I was totally not expecting her to ask me to do this."

But Joanne Vaughan had the resumé.

She was Guild president 2016-18, treasurer for two years and co-chaired the "A Night in Venice" 2015 ball with Harriett Haag.

She is part of the Conductor Circle.

She represents the Guild in the Texas Association of Symphonic Orchestras.

Joanne Vaughan also is vice president for projects and will chair the statewide organization's 2023 Juanita Miller Concerto Performance.

She won't be a Grand Dame, and seemed thankful.

"No, no," she said, laughing.

But to Dr. Dan, she might be.

"She is the paragon of class, intelligence and grace," he said. "She's the whole package. I'm here for the ride."

And as her date Saturday.

Greg Jaklewicz is editor of the Abilene Reporter-News and general columnist. If you appreciate locally driven news, you can support local journalists with a digital subscription to ReporterNews.com.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Canadian class: Drs. Vaughan quickly became orchestra fans, upporters