PSO trombonist’s motto: ‘Eat, drink and be Murray’

Long before he joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, trombonist Murray Crewe showed up for one of his first U.S. auditions with only a mouthpiece.

As the story goes, the airline had lost his trombone, so he cobbled one together with borrowed slides and bell sections from musicians also vying for a spot in the Utah Symphony. After the final round, his own instrument appeared, and he asked for one more chance to play for the judges.

“The committee said, ‘It doesn’t matter. You won,’” recalled Jim Nova, a PSO trombonist. “He won the audition on somebody else’s equipment. That’s unheard of.”

This instance of turning calamity into opportunity with plenty of flair was befitting of Mr. Crewe’s credo: “Eat, drink and be Murray.” Mr. Crewe, the former PSO principal bass trombonist whose vibrant personality he also brought to Duquesne University and Carnegie Mellon University as a music professor, died Feb. 11 of liver and kidney failure. He was 56.

Fellow musicians called Mr. Crewe a bass trombone legend known for his full, resonant notes that never sounded too strident, and for his ability to play delicate passages with skillful restraint.

“For me, Murray’s playing was very elemental, organic. He’s a real force of nature,” said Peter Sullivan, principal trombone of the PSO, who played with him here for 17 years and in some concerts in Canada before that. “His approach was very operatic — his soft, expressive playing was as convincing as his signature fortissimo sound.”

Mr. Crewe was the first Canadian trombonist to win a job in an American orchestra (Utah) and among the PSO’s most “colorful characters,” said Craig Knox, principal tuba of the PSO. And Rebecca Cherian, the orchestra’s coprincipal trombonist, said 15 years playing alongside Mr. Crewe, Mr. Sullivan and Mr. Knox were “the most gratifying musically and personally I could ever hope for.”

Born in Regina, Saskatchewan, into a family of musicians, Mr. Crewe moved around Canada often as a child. He started playing in the high school band, first tuba, then, encouraged by a mentor, the bass trombone.

He attended the University of British Columbia, where he would meet his future wife, Linda, a fellow music major, then studied music with some members of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra brass section. He won principal bass trombone of the Quebec Symphony, and after stints in Salt Lake City and Toronto, landed in Pittsburgh in 1993.

In addition to playing in the PSO for 23 years and teaching music, Mr. Crewe recorded numerous brass albums and taught at festivals across North America. The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation even ran tribute programming in his memory on nationwide radio, Mr. Knox said.

Beyond Heinz Hall, Mr. Crewe was a sports fan, especially hockey. His son, Ralph, recalled June 12, 2009, when his father was playing Mahler's Symphony No. 2 “Resurrection” on the same night as Game 7 of the Stanley Cup Final. The moment the concert ended, the two ran across

street to watch the Penguins victory together.

“It was one of the most emotional days of my life,” his son said.

In addition to his son wife, Mr. Crewe is survived by a daughter, Emilie of Vancouver, British Columbia; a sister, Jenny Mitchell of Vancouver Island, British Columbia; and a brother, Bill Crewe of Memphis, Tenn.

The family has requested that people should attend concerts or other cultural events. A memorial likely will he held in April.

Molly Born: mborn@postgazette.com or 412-263-1944.