symphony spotlight
Meet Debbie Andrew
conroe symphony orchestra Co-Principal Bassoon
“Yes — What Is It?”
and 14-season member of the Conroe Symphony Orchestra.
Debbie Andrew’s entire musical life turned on a single, cheerful yes.
She was a flute player in junior high when her band director came looking for someone to take up the bassoon. “He asked if I’d like to play,” Debbie remembers, “and I said, ‘Yes — what is it?'”
She didn’t even know what the instrument was. She said yes anyway. Sent to the choir room to teach herself for the rest of the semester, she figured it out one note at a time.
“It was rough at first,” she says, “but it worked out!”
Fourteen seasons with the Conroe Symphony Orchestra later, it’s safe to say it worked out. Today Debbie plays co-principal bassoon — on an instrument that happens to be 103 years old.
Ask her what she loves about playing here, and it’s the same thing so many of our musicians describe — a kind of peace that arrives the moment the music starts:
“I’m so thankful the Conroe Symphony gives me the opportunity to keep playing my bassoon. When sitting in rehearsals, everything else about the day or week just vanishes for two hours.”
-Debbie Andrew
That same say-yes spirit shows up all over Debbie’s life. When she’s not on stage, she and her family are deep in America’s national parks — not quick drive-throughs, but real adventures: hiking, camping, kayaking, boating. They’ve been to 50 parks so far, with just four left in the continental U.S. before they set their sights on the eight in Alaska. And in case anyone thinks adventure has an age limit: Debbie learned to wakeboard at 59.
She also gives her time to Isaiah 117 House, an organization that works alongside child protective services to provide a safe, loving home for children awaiting placement — physical and emotional support during some of a child’s hardest moments.
Her people are her joy. Debbie and her husband have two married children and five grandsons scattered across the country, which means plenty of travel to see them. “Grandsons are awesome,” she says, “and we are so blessed!”
And after nearly 60 years of music, one supporter has never missed a beat.
“My mom is still coming to all of my concerts. She’s been supporting my musical endeavors for almost 60 years. Thanks, Mom!”
-Debbie Andrew
As for repertoire, Debbie has a soft spot — and a healthy respect — for Tchaikovsky.
“He wrote some awesome bassoon passages in his orchestral works,” she says. “It’s always fun and a little nerve-wracking to play those parts.”
From a choir-room experiment to co-principal bassoon, Debbie’s story is proof of what can happen when you simply say yes — and then keep showing up.
Debbie, Off The Stage
Favorite Composer
Tchaikovsky
Facts You Might Not Know
Learned to wakeboard at 59!
Plays a 103 year old bassoon
Roles in the Orchestra
Serves as a Board Member
Leads Chair Sponsorship Program
Writes Our Grant Applications
Come Hear Debbie For Yourself
“The musicians in the orchestra must have music in their hearts to make such a sacrifice to come to rehearsals after their day jobs. They just have music-making as part of their lives.”
— Gary Liebst, Music Director
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