Longtime orchestra member Paul Kasameyer, age 70, passed away suddenly on March 22, 2014, while bicycling in Arizona with his wife, Ann, and friends.
Paul was soloist in “The Typewriter”
at the 2012 Pops concert.
With his eyes twinkling as usual,
he asked for an “A” to be played by
the oboe, hit the A key, listened
carefully, and announced that
the typewriter was in tune.
Paul was our resident pianist and percussionist. He also was our representative on the Livermore Cultural Arts Council, a former treasurer of the Symphony, and LAS’s first webmaster. The Competition for Young Musicians is held at the Kasameyers’ home, as is the Guild’s winter meeting. He and Ann have supported LAS over many years in many additional ways. For example, at a concert years ago, he played one of the two pianos in Carnival of the Animals—Ann played the other one; Paul lifted folding chairs out from storage in his garage and repeatedly loaned them for seating at violin sectional rehearsals, always with good cheer; and it was Paul who arranged for use of the special Allen organ at last April’s concert.
He received a PhD in geophysics from MIT and worked at LLNL for nearly 40 years. He is survived by his wife of 48 years; their three children, Karen, Amy, and Alan Kasameyer; and five grandchildren.
Many donations to the Symphony’s music fund were made in memory of Paul, and in 2017 the Kasameyer family donated a set of four beautiful professional hammered-copper timpani to the Symphony in his memory. The matched set of four kettledrums made their debut with LAS in December 2017, a gift from Ann Kasameyer and her children, Karen, Amy, and Alan. Ann wrote, “We are delighted to purchase the timpani for the Symphony. As you
all know, being involved with LAS was a really important part of Paul’s life here in Livermore. I’m looking forward to hearing them in concert.”
(written in March 2014, updated February 2018)
(added in July 2014:)
Orchestra members were notified in July 2014 that December concert music was already available. Music director Lara Webber explained that, “Thanks to the extraordinary generosity of the Kasameyer family, and the music library fund they have created, [our librarian] has already purchased
musical materials for most of the repertoire we will perform this season. Wow!”
Ann Kasameyer reported that her daughter Karen said when told about this, “Dad would have been so pleased with this donation.”
© Livermore-Amador Symphony Association