Now and then, in cities and towns across America, someone comes along to offer something important, something life-giving to the community. That’s what happened in 1958, when José Azcue came to Fulton. After arriving from his native Spain, countless Fultonians learned to love and appreciate music from a man who’d been in love with it from an early age.
I remember Mr. Azcue from my school years; I was in the same class as his daughter, Charito, who, along with her brother Peter, helped me prepare this memory of their father.
It was in his hometown of Oiartzun that six-year-old Azcue began studying music. “In my house we had a piano,” José once said in an interview, “and I started tangling with it. It seems that I was good at it.”
Others recognized José’s talent and by age 11, he was studying at a seminary in Villafranca de Navarra. Like many young boys in Spain at that time, José received his education at the seminary and it was there that he was exposed to music which he described as “of a higher level.” His superiors recognized his potential and he was soon playing the organ at church masses. Despite his strong faith, José left the seminary before taking perpetual vows, but remained close to the Catholic church throughout his life.
Azcue began playing music outside the church, eventually joining a performance group that included his wife, Rosario. (She was known as Charito in Fulton.) “He was on a music tour with a group of Basque singers and dancers,” their daughter Charito explained. “Dad accompanied them on the accordion.”
The group eventually toured America in 1952 and again in 1954, leaving José with the impression that the United States “was a place of the future.” While in the states, Azcue saw a newspaper ad about a job for an organist at a church in Upstate New York. That parish was Fulton’s Immaculate Conception Church.
“His application was quickly accepted,” Charito said, “but Immigration Services refused to give him a green card the first time. They asked if there was no American organist who could fill that position, but at the time, masses were sung in Latin and an organist who could sing in Latin was required. Sometime later, Dad received his green card.” By 1958, Azcue, his wife, and three children were calling Fulton their new home.
A fourth Azcue child, Peter, was born in Fulton and he shared some memories of those early years in our city. “We lived on Fifth Street, near the church, and our life revolved around the church and St. Mary’s School. Three or four mornings a week my father was up early to play organ for mass. Every day after school he gave piano lessons at our home. There’d be a section of our living room partitioned off and students would come for their lessons in a steady flow. My father worked, he taught and he studied. This was his life, with an occasional round of golf, which he loved.”
Jose’s strong work ethic could be seen in how he mastered the English language. Already bilingual in Spanish and Basque, Azcue also studied Greek and Latin in the seminary and had quite a bit of understanding of French and Italian. Peter mentioned this about his father: "When he and my mother were touring, most of the group would be on the bus talking and relaxing. My father would be in the back of the bus, studying English.”
Richard Swierczek, who also devoted many years to sharing his musical talents with our city, suggested one reason why Azcue looked forward to working and raising his family in Fulton. “The organ in the Immaculate Conception church was a magnificent instrument.” Soon, the two men of music began collaborating. Swierczek, who worked for the Fulton School District, talked to José about joining him in the city’s public schools. “He would need to earn certification, and we spent some time with school administration, New York State teacher regulations, and then I took him to Syracuse University to arrange for his certification classes. José was a remarkable musician, and the Church and eventually the Fulton public schools were to benefit.”
One of the many young people who received those benefits was Mike Callen, who attended St. Mary’s School and was involved with the school choir. Mike has vivid memories of his days spent studying music under Azcue.
“He would be seated at the piano or standing near the stage looking through his briefcase. Mr. Azcue did not mess around. Once practice began, he had our full attention and desire. His humble radiant smile was the golden reward for getting it right. We, his cherubs, loved and respected him and knew the feeling was mutual.”
For nearly twenty years, Azcue enriched Fultonians with his music. He then returned to his home country in 1975. “Upon his return to Spain,” Charito and Peter explained, “he won the prestigious position as ‘Titular Organist of the Basilica de Santa Maria Del Coro,’ holding that position until his death in 2008. Thanks to the importance of this position, he started his career as a concert organist, playing in different countries in Europe. Over the next 35 years that was the focus of his work.”
There were other highlights of Azcue’s musical career. In 1985, he celebrated the third centennial of the birth of J.S. Bach by playing his complete works in a series of concerts throughout Spain. That same year he represented Spain in the Europalia Festival that took place in Belgium. Though often appearing as a soloist, José also accompanied orchestras such as the Spanish National Orchestra and the Orchestra of the Spanish Television, and the Orfeon Donostiarra, a Basque choir which has sung all over the world.
In the years since José left Fulton, so many in our city never forgot him. As Mike Callen said, “The memory that I have most often is that José was always on the move, and in going from place to place, he touched so many lives and souls. Almost 50 years later, people still talk about when José Azcue was here.”
