Obituary of longtime Baltimore Symphony timpanist Dennis Kain
The BSO will hold a memorial service at 2 p.m. Thursday at Meyerhoff Hall. On Wednesday, the BSO issued a statement mourning the loss of Mr. Kain and providing these comments from BSO members: David Coombs, Contrabassoon: Dennis was one of the nicest guys that you can imagine. He was the best timpanist I ever heard in my life. He lived for music. He would go home and listen to music all night, except when he was going to baseball games. He was into minor league baseball games. He always had a smile on his face. Laura Sokoloff, Piccolo:
In the more than 40 years I worked with Dennis, I can count on my fingers the times any conductor asked him to play something differently. That is how excellent and professional he was—always prepared with a complete understanding of how he needed to play and why. Our greatest luxury was relying on his perfect sense of rhythm for all these years. Dennis was always a vital part of the ‘Baltimore Symphony sound’!
Christopher Williams, Principal Percussion:
He knew the music, his own part and how everything was supposed to fit together. His sound on timpani always blended with whatever music we were playing, yet when he had to he could be a very dynamic player who could lead the entire orchestra. His model of consistency at such a high level always amazed me—day to day, year to year. He was the consummate professional and musician we all strive to be.
Christopher Wolfe, Assistant Principal Clarinet:
Dennis was the consummate symphonic musician. His commitment and dedication to the orchestra were unsurpassed for almost fifty years. His timpani playing on many of the BSO recordings have become the benchmark for excellence and are sought after by many musicians around the country. He was admired by everyone and will be sorely missed by all.
