symphony spotlight
Meet Madilene Loosier
conroe symphony orchestra Principal Viola
Still in the Middle of the Music
Meet Madilene Loosier, Principal Viola — 29 seasons strong,
and one of the most remarkable people in our orchestra.
The line for the violin was long. The line for the cello was long. But the cute boy holding the viola was standing all by himself — so ten-year-old Madilene walked right over.
“I picked up his viola and immediately played Mary Had a Little Lamb, without ever having picked up the instrument before,” she remembers.
That was fourth grade. She made All-State Orchestra as a high school freshman, played through college, and joined the Conroe Symphony Orchestra barely a year after graduating.
That was 29 seasons ago. All told, Madilene has played viola for about 43 years — and today she serves as the CSO’s Principal Viola.
Ask her what keeps her coming back, and her answer is almost meditative:
There is nothing like sitting in the middle of about 60 musicians and being one small part of a whole symphony. For those two hours, nothing else clouds my mind. It is a peaceful and fun escape
-Madilene Loosier
That sense of music as refuge is something Madilene has leaned on more than most.
In September 2007, on an ordinary morning at a Huntsville bank drive-thru, she was carjacked and taken hostage at gunpoint by two men who had escaped from the Huntsville prison. She survived, something she does not take for granted, and does not tell as a story of fear, but as one of faith and strength.
“I definitely had angels protecting me that day,” she says. She later learned that a woman from her church had felt a sudden, pressing need to pray for someone’s protection that very morning, about an hour before it happened — unknowingly praying for Madilene. “God works in awesome ways.”
Recovery took time, months of it. Her three boys were just four, seven, and nine. And through the hardest stretch, the person beside her was her husband, Shane. It’s no small thing that when we asked Madilene what she can’t live without, her answer was simply: “My husband, who is my rock and supporter in everything. We are best friends.” A traumatic event can break a marriage. Theirs it made stronger.
“It literally is something that, if it doesn’t kill you, it makes you stronger. I’m a little more fragile in some ways, but I’m stronger in others for going through that experience.”
-Madilene Loosier
And through all of it, the music was still there, those two hours where the mind goes quiet and there is only the sound of 60 people making something beautiful together.
When she’s not on stage, Madilene runs the show in an entirely different way. She’s a Certified Piano Technician who has owned and operated Madilene’s Piano Tuning & Repair for 22 years, full-time, with all three of her grown sons working alongside her.
In her remaining hours, she gardens, cooks and bakes from scratch, plays piano, sings, serves as a Precinct Chair, and supports nonprofits across the community.
Her love of music was handed down. “My grandmother played piano and organ for her church,” Madilene says. “She paid for my piano lessons, which I began at age 8, and was my biggest cheerleader.” On summer visits, the two would perform together for specials at their church with Madilene playing, her grandmother accompanying.
Home today is a place in the country she shares with Shane, her husband of nearly 32 years, an Army veteran, and Walker County Pct. 2 Constable along with a horse, a donkey, a cat, and honeybees. Two of their three sons are Air Force veterans, and their grandchildren have earned Madilene a title she wears proudly: Grammy.
Her musical taste is as wide as her life is full: jazz, big band, and swing from her days playing piano in jazz band and gigging at retirement homes, a good classical piece on the viola, and gospel and country when she sings. “I love a variety!”
Her advice for anyone thinking about picking up an instrument comes from a lifetime of proof that music stays with you through everything:
“Learning an instrument is something special that you can do for all of your life. There are so many opportunities to play — in groups, individually, or just for your own pleasure.”
-Madilene Loosier
Twenty-nine seasons in, through every season of life, Madilene is still right where that ten-year-old chose to be: holding the viola, in the middle of the music.
Madilene, Off The Stage
Can't Live Without
Army veteran husband, Walker County Pct. 2 Constable Shane Loosier who she has been married to for almost 32 years.
Favorite Memory
“Getting opportunities to make connections and accompany so many famous people has been an extra treat. We had a small group from the CSO accompany Ray Price at the Crighton Theatre years ago and that was a special experience.”
Roles Within Community
Conroe symphony Piano Technician
Precinct Chair
Supports non-profits
Principal Viola
Former Board Member
Former Personnel Manager
Madilene Loosier has been the owner of Madilene’s Piano Tuning & Repair for 22 years and served on the CSO for 29 years.
Come Hear Madilene 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
To Learn More About Our Musicians
Honor Madeline
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