At first glance, one might not think that Pilates instructor Julie Begun and high school student Ramone Cason have much in common. But this Thanksgiving their worlds might collide. Cason, his mother, three siblings, relatives and friends will gather for Thanksgiving dinner in the Casons’ one-bedroom apartment in Arlington. The 16-year-old might entertain the group with a musical performance. Although he has never been to an orchestra performance, he dreams of being a professional bass drummer.
For Begun, one person will be missing from her holiday table this year: her dad, Fred Begun, who served as the principal timpanist of the National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) from 1951 to 1999. He died in 2012. Unlike Cason, her childhood memories were filled with musical privilege.
“My dad was playing in a concert in New York City and I was young, under 5,” recalled Begun. “They had announcers in those days who announced the guest artist. That night it was my father. I was standing on my chair and when he was walking on to the stage, I screamed out ‘Hi Daddy!’ The entire audience totally cracked up.”
This Thanksgiving, Begun is honoring her father’s legacy by working to raise money for scholarships in his name for the George Mason University School of Music and the College of Visual and Performing Arts. The scholarships will support talented percussion majors at the undergraduate and graduate levels who might have financial limitations.
Begun donated his entire library of musical scores and individual timpani parts to the university. The collection is housed in Fenwick Library and includes notes from composers and conductors from his tenure with the NSO, as well as autographed timpani parts. In recognition of the gift, the School of Music named its percussion studio in the de Laski Performing Arts Building the Fred Begun Percussion Suite.
Begun began his professional musical career on the timpani in 1951 after graduating from the Juilliard School of Music.
“My dad tried to pass on what he knew to emerging percussionists and make some of the gifts that he had available to others who were not as fortunate,” said Begun. Begun is asking others to contribute to the Fred Begun scholarship fund in order to help other musical aspirants.
Cason might be one of those budding musicians. Next year he will begin applying to colleges and is considering majoring in music. “I plan to be a famous musician one day,” he said.
His mother, however, has other thoughts: “I’m glad that he likes the drums, and I would love to be able to send him to college,” said Cynthia Jackson. “But I think he should study something that’ll help him get a steady job.”
As Cason prepares to perform for family and friends this holiday, Begun will honor her father’s gift of music: “We spent his last Thanksgiving together,” she said. “It was special. We didn’t know how many more Thanksgivings there were going to be so we were happy to be together.”