Oboe player, beloved band member dies after falling down flight of stairs at UM’s Gusman

About 20 minutes before the Greater Miami Symphonic Band was set to take the stage Sunday night, the group’s oboe and English horn player tumbled down a flight of stairs in the lobby of Maurice Gusman Concert Hall at the University of Miami, hitting her head on the tile floor.

The musician, Janice Thomson, 62, was immediately rushed to Jackson South Medical Center, where she was put on life support and suffered from internal bleeding.

She died around noon Monday, Thom Proctor, the president of GMSB, said in a message he sent to the band members Monday afternoon.

Grace Harrington, a French horn player in the band and a student at UM, was in the lobby of Gusman getting a ticket for her mother when the incident occurred. She said she heard a “bone-crunching” sound, turned around after hearing screams and saw Thomson lying on the floor.

“Everyone was running to get her,” said Harrington, a junior majoring in political science and religious studies. “They were screaming for a doctor.”

Thomson is the daughter of former Coral Gables Mayor Dorothy Thomson and Miami attorney Jack Thomson.

The Symphonic Band is made up of performers of all ages, backgrounds and professions. After her fall, three doctors in the band rushed to her aid.

The concert, which was scheduled for 8 p.m. Sunday, premiered a piece commissioned by American composer Robert Sheldon, “Magic City Montage.” Thomson’s parents had come to see her perform in the concert, the first of the fall season. The concert was delayed but the performance eventually went on that evening.

Harrington described performing that night as “surreal.”

“It was the strangest thing because it was probably our best concert,” she said. “I think all of us were snapped. And [the incident] was the only thing we could think about, so we all just focused on the music so intensely for the next two hours.”

The guest conductor, Gary Green, said that after listening to Thomson play the oboe so beautifully during the stage rehearsal on Sunday, he had planned to have her stand up at the end of the show to take a special bow. Green, who retired in 2015 as the director of bands and a professor in the Frost School of Music, has known Thomson for several years.

“My memory of Janice will always be of her warmth and her giving personality and the beauty of her music,” he said.

The university released a statement: “The University of Miami is heartbroken by the tragic incident that occurred at Gusman Hall Sunday evening. While this is an ongoing investigation and we are still trying to determine exactly what happened, we offer our deepest condolences to the family.”

The band met on Tuesday evening for its weekly rehearsal at Henry Fillmore Hall on UM’s campus. Guest conductor Steven Moore led the band in “O Magnum Mysterium,” a celebrated choral piece by American composer Morten Lauridsen.

The band will play the work in honor of Thomson at a concert dedicated to her Dec. 10 at Gusman Hall. GMSB will perform that evening with an empty seat in the oboe section adorned with a single rose.

As the band played the somber notes of the piece Tuesday night, emotions overflowed.

“You could feel it palpably through the group,” said Susie Blank-Wolfe, a string bass performer.

While Blank-Wolfe knew Thomson mainly from rehearsals and performances, she said she felt a deep bond with her.

“It’s a very surprisingly intimate, emotional connection that you make with people that you’re making music with. We make music sometimes with people who don’t share a common language but we share music,” Blank-Wolfe said. “It’s like we lost a family member.“

Blank-Wolfe’s husband Alan Wolfe, a trumpet player who has been with GMSB for 40 years and an alumnus of the UM music school’s class of 1968, said he felt “overwhelmed with sadness.”

Visitation is 5 p.m. Sunday and a memorial service will be at 6 p.m. Sunday at Granada Presbyterian Church in Coral Gables.

This story was produced by the University of Miami’s newspaper, The Miami Hurricane. Anna Timmons is co-news editor. She can be reached at Annatimmons@miami.edu

This story was originally published November 13, 2019 at 5:16 PM.