DALLAS — Clifford Spohr joined the Dallas Symphony in 1963, that was six years before he married his wife, Sandy.
Spohr left school in New York to come to Texas, a decision that came with some trepidation at first. But landing with the Dallas Symphony was an opportunity he could not pass up.
"I tell people I came out of grade school...uh, grad school," Spohr said, laughing.
Cliff is 83 and still plays the bass with the symphony. The year 1963 would become memorable to him and the world in other ways too. On Nov. 22, 1963, President John F. Kennedy was assassinated while riding in a motorcade with his wife, Jacqueline Kennedy, and Texas Gov. John Connally.
"I don't remember crying," said Spohr. "I could cry about it now,"
"It's a poignant moment," said Neil Bicknell who was a senior at Amherst College in that year.
Bicknell recalls Kennedy giving his last speech at the college just a month before the assassination. Kennedy was in Massachusetts to dedicate the Frost Library at Amherst.
It is a day Neil will never forget. It would be JFK's last major speech.
"This gallant-looking guy standing tall..[it was] extremely impressive," said Bicknell with his wife, Judy.
Spohr would have a memory of his own.
"It's not a good memory of Dallas. I took two photos. There were two cars," said Spohr.
Spohr had just arrived in Dallas. He took his camera with him and was along the parade route. He was driving back home when he heard on the radio about the president's assassination. Spohr had witnessed JFK's last living moments, Bicknell had witnessed his last speech, and their paths would cross at the 60th anniversary of the tragedy happening this week in Dallas.
The Dallas Symphony Orchestra performed the Adolphus Hailstork JFK tribute in early October. Titled "JFK: The Last Speech," the piece includes excerpts from Kennedy's Amherst College speech and lines from Robert Frost's poems.
"Almost like a chorus reflecting on what Kennedy is saying," said Bicknell. Bicknell has been instrumental in the creation of a film, a book, and now, the symphony, related to the President's last speech. "His message and values are more important today than when he spoke to us," he said.
Cliff Spohr did not play a part in the symphony's rendition of the piece. He told WFAA the second time he heard the piece, he had a greater appreciation for the JFK tribute.
"The opening brass...the trumpets, it's like a declaration," said Spohr.
"The symphonic work is part of a larger project spearheaded by a group of the students who were present at JFK’s speech in 1963. 'JFK: The Last Speech' is a project of members of the Amherst Class of 1964, through the nonprofit Reunion ’64, Inc. The symphony follows a book and a documentary of the same title. The world premiere took place on July 16, 2023, at the Colorado Music Festival," read a press release by the Dallas Symphony.
Additional performances of JFK: The Last Speech are set for Amherst College and Yale Philharmonia.