Meet Mr. Bob Zupnik, SHHS Class of 1935
At the age of 98, Robert (Bob) Zupnik, SHHS ’35, probably won’t find too many challengers to the assertion that he is Shaker Heights High School’s oldest living alumnus. Regardless of his official status, he has fond memories of his days as a Shaker student.
After graduating from Shaker, he earned a degree in chiropractic medicine, but after being called up for service in World War II, he went on to pursue his true passion - music - and became the assistant principal oboist for the Cleveland Orchestra from 1946-77. (Spoiler alert: he claims to be their oldest living member, too.)
Now living in a retirement community in Richmond Heights, he graciously shared his recollections with us, along with a stirring rendition of the Shaker Heights High School fight song from his day!
Watch the video and read the interview to learn about the “humble beginnings” of Shaker’s music program, the winning football team of ’34, and how the oboe saved his life.
An Interview with Bob Zupnik, SHHS ‘35 (Shaker’s “Oldest Alum”)
Q: What was Shaker Heights like when you were a student here?
A: My family moved from Cleveland to Shaker Heights in 1933, when I was in the tenth-grade. Shaker was a beautiful place, a beautiful school building. Their stadium had just been added in 1932, and they had a wonderful football team. The big thing I noticed about Shaker was that people were so pleasant and sociable. Everyone would invite friends to their homes on the weekend. I felt like I was going to a party. We rented a home at 3370 Aberdeen Road, with an option to buy. My father bought that house a year later for $8,000.
Q: What did you do for fun at Shaker Heights High School?
A: We used to have a music club called Shaker Federation of Allied Artists. Mrs. Gunn, the Latin teacher, was our sponsor. We would meet once each month in a different home and put on little recitals. I remember going to Martha Joseph’s house on South Park Boulevard. Their home had a picture window that was two stories high!
Q: What instrument did you play?
A: I started off playing the violin. I took lessons at the Cleveland Institute of Music starting in what I think was their second year, 1926. I started the oboe by accident in the seventh-grade. My teacher at Patrick Henry School said, “I have this instrument lying around, it’s an oboe – is anyone interested?” I raised my hand. I had no idea what it was, but I was the only one who raised my hand.
Q: Did you play in the marching band at Shaker Heights High School?
A: Shaker was just starting music then, and they had no band. In 1933, Mr. Griffith Jones started the music program. Our band was very small, and we had no uniforms. We used to sit in the stands in our overcoats and winter caps, while the other teams had uniforms. We had very humble beginnings.
Q: Did you know that Shaker’s marching band is now the largest in the state, and they have toured all over the world? They just went to Spain over spring break.
A: I’m so glad to hear that! Anybody who goes into music, they’ll have something worthwhile and they’ll love music even if they don’t become a professional. They’ll have an audience built in. We need people to listen to us. Music conveys all of the human emotions, absolutely all – from love to rage.
Q: Did the football team win the championship when you were there?
A: Shaker had a marvelous team. We won just about every game. We did play in the finals in 1934, and Shaker played South High. I’m sorry to say we lost that game 7-0.
Q: What did you do after you graduated from Shaker?
A: I was accepted into the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia on a full scholarship, but my father, who was a dentist, insisted that I go to medical school at Western Reserve. Two years in, I told my father, “I just can’t do this.” Instead, I went to night school for chiropractic medicine so I could keep up with my music during the day. I did get my license and joined a local practice until 1941, when I received a draft notice. This was just before Pearl Harbor.
Q: Where did you serve during the war?
A: I was so fortunate. Somehow I avoided going overseas without trying. After basic training I was sent to work in physical therapy in Hattiesburg, MS. Later, I joined the band corps in Carlisle, PA. By 1944, if you hadn’t been overseas, you had to go. But West Point needed an oboist, and they asked me to come there instead. Then the war ended in 1945.
Q: Do you think it’s fair to say that playing the oboe probably saved your life?
A: Yes, it did, at various points in my life. After the war, I was living in New York, trying to join the musician’s union. One December, I came back to visit my folks. My friend Harry Fuchs told me, “While you’re here, you have to play for this guy, George Szell.” He was the visiting conductor for the Cleveland Orchestra at the time. About a month after I played for him, my mother called me and said, “Mr. Szell is going to be the new conductor of the Cleveland Orchestra and he would like to have you as the assistant principal oboe player.” I had nothing at all, and now I had a job with the Cleveland Orchestra, which was my ideal! I looked up to Cleveland Orchestra players like you might like up to Babe Ruth or Al Rosen.
Q: Talk about being in the right place at the right time!
A: Now that I’ve lived as long as I have – and I’m within two years of 100 – you realize there were certain junctures in your life that were crucial to your future, but you didn’t know it at the time. If I hadn’t bumped into my friend Harry that day, I wouldn’t have come back to Cleveland and I never would have met my beautiful wife, Helene. [The couple raised two daughters, Marilyn Zupnik, former oboist with the Minnesota Symphony, and Jill Walker, who works in the pediatric sports medicine department at University Hospitals.]
Q: What’s the secret to your longevity?
A: Look, I'm just like any other person. There’s nothing particularly that make me any different from anybody else. It’s just that I’ve had the good fortune to have a fascinating life.