SAN DIEGO SUMMER POPS: MAD SCRAMBLE AND BIG GAMBLE : POPS CAME IN NICK OF TIME FOR PLAYERS

For some players in the San Diego Symphony, the return of the summer pops season came just in the nick of time. Local orchestral players have spent the eight months since the 1986-87 symphony season was canceled scrambling to make ends meet and keep their musical skills in shape.

“I have to play the pops, or else it’s off to work at Thom McAn’s (shoe store),” said French horn player John Lorge. Contrabass player Michael Wais said, “Had not the pops and a new contract come along, I would have had to have considered changing my profession. It’s haunting to think that what you’ve worked so hard to develop is slipping away. There’s only so much you can do in your practice room--you need to play with an orchestra.”

Other players, such as symphony violist Gary Syroid, had already taken work elsewhere because of the dim prospects of reviving the pops this summer. “I will be playing in the pit orchestra of the Pageant of the Masters in Laguna Beach,” explained Syroid, who will play seven nights a week in the pageant’s 30-piece ensemble through the end of August.

Syroid has been regularly commuting to Costa Mesa, where he has played with Keith Clark’s Pacific Symphony, the Orange County Performing Arts Center’s resident orchestra. While he has remained the principal viola in the San Diego Chamber Orchestra and done other free-lance work in town, his economic survival was based on his willingness to make the 180-mile round-trip commute.

According to personnel manager James Hoffman, the average size of the weekly Summer Pops orchestra will be about 70 musicians. “Few people turned down the opportunity to play the pops this season, except for those players who traditionally play summer music festivals in other parts of the country,” Hoffman said. “What’s different this year is that family folks will not be taking weeks off from the pops to take vacations, which they usually do.”

“Except for a week I had already committed to play in the pit for a show in Los Angeles, I will play every week of the pops,” said violist Rebekah Campbell. She said she and her husband, cellist Glen Campbell, would be glad to be back to work. “At this point, work is restorative.”

Survival has taxed the ingenuity of the once-secure orchestra players, although a few have claimed to have had a better year financially without the San Diego Symphony. “I made more money this year, but I also had to work a lot more,” said Syroid.

“It was a very hard year, although I sold our avocados,” said Lorge. “Actually, I traded avocados from our backyard for groceries at a market down in Lakeside.” While Lorge was able to play a few concerts with the Los Angeles Philharmonic last fall and made some money copying music manuscripts, he and his wife decided to redesign their home to be able to take in foster children to make ends meet.”

While there is a certain risk involved with this season’s pops--the orchestra members will be totally dependent on the audience turnout for their remuneration--the heavy cloud of a strike will not hang over the shell at Hospitality Point.

“I’m excited, especially since we have settled the contract and can concentrate on playing music,” said trumpeter Mark Bedell. “Last summer the pops was a battleground for a lot of reasons. This summer we are looking forward to playing, not picketing.”

Players are anticipating the summer musical season, even if the pops repertory is not their cup of tea. “I’m not personally a pops fan,” said Rebekah Campbell. “Oh no! But I support a pops program in this city, because it brings people to hear a symphony orchestra who would never come to hear a meat-and-potatoes concert in downtown San Diego. I believe an orchestra should be a community institution.”

“I don’t mind playing pops music,” said bassoonist Arlen Fast. “It may not be as rewarding as playing Brahms, but I don’t dislike it, either.”

Other musicians value the pops for its strong audience response. “If people enjoy the music, it’s easier to get into the event. I’ve done the pops in summer mainly because of the sincere and appreciative audience,” said Wais.

Bedell is hoping for some of the magic of the first Hospitality Point pops series to return this year. “I think the public is anticipating the kind of pops they like, programs similar to those on the pops’ opening season. It’s a kind of rebirth of the pops. This summer we’ll play with more dignity--we’ll hold our heads up high.”