James Byars (1941-2026)

To the Editor:

Thank you to Allegro for reposting the beautifully written obituary for oboist and Local 802 member James Byars, who we lost on Aug. 13, 2026. I served for 35 years as an elected board member of AFM Local 30/73 (Minneapolis/St. Paul). Whenever we lost one of our members, someone always shared a favorite memory. So here’s what I remember about James Byars:

I remember our first meeting in 1962 as fellow oboe students at Tanglewood. James was so much fun and I think about him and the other “Tanglewood boys” often (I was THE girl in the group!). James told me how he had studied with Harold Gomberg of the New York Philharmonic at Juilliard. At Tanglewood, James was studying with Ralph Gomberg of the Boston Symphony. He would tell me that he had all his lessons at Harold Gomberg’s apartment and every time he would go there, he remembers that the place always smelled like burnt toast!

After that summer, we kept in touch and we always sent holiday cards around Christmas to one another. James came to Minneapolis with the ballet on one occasion and we got to see each other again. I also knew his first wife Janita, who was a clarinet student at Tanglewood; they had been a couple from age 19.

Another story: once, James happened to see Fred Rogers at a restaurant. He went up to talk to him and the encounter led to invitation for James to appear on “Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood.” When the show was televised, I had my youngest son on my lap watching the show that morning, and almost lost it with excitement to see James on that broadcast, introducing the oboe. What a total thrill!

Now I see from the obituary that James eventually moved to Saratoga Springs; I did not know that!

Thanks for letting me share these memories of my friend James.

Rachel Brudnoy (rachelbrudnoy@earthlink.net)