Tami Pederson: A woman of note
digg it!
Facebook
del.icio.us
Seed Newsvine
Fark It
Reddit
BY KATHRYN CATES MOORE/Lincoln Journal Star
First thing each day, Tami Osborne Pederson heads straight to her kitchen and grinds fresh coffee beans. The soft whir of the grinder is music to her ears, blending the fragrant, sharp notes of Pederson's perfect cup of coffee. No cream. No sugar. Chances are good if you meet Pederson, she will have a coffee cup in her hand. Music teacher, community volunteer, symphony violinist and wife of the University of Nebraska-Lincoln athletic director, she's caffeine fueled.
The first cup usually gets her out the door.
At 7 a.m., good weather or bad, the first hour of the day is reserved for a brisk walk with neighbors.
Some things, such as those daily walks, are straightforward and simple to schedule. Other things, such as juggling a variety of roles, are not.
Like the symphonies she plays, composed of difficult movements and a variety of tempos and tones, Pederson's life is complex.
It is never as orderly as the music, however, black notes dancing on white paper, with a distinct beginning and end to each piece.
I. Allegro, or quickly
Tami Pederson has been on the move much of her 47 years.
Born in Norfolk, she and her family moved where the jobs took her father. To Iowa. To Illinois. To Minneapolis.
Back to Omaha.
After she married Steve Pederson, she began moving again. To Ohio. To Tennessee. To Pittsburgh.
Back to Lincoln.
She always keeps coming back to Nebraska.
Red is her favorite color. Her kitchen walls are painted red. The overstuffed chairs in her living room are red. She liked the color even before she began to wear it officially in December of 2002, when she and her family were thrust into the Husker spotlight.
"We have to be independent, strong women," she said of herself and other wives of college athletic directors and coaches. "We know our families come first."
Looking at the positive side (and she is a glass-half-full kind of person), Pederson clings to the friends she has made through the many moves. She e-mails them and calls them and keeps up with birthdays and weddings and crises.
Ellen Ireland met Pederson in Ohio when their boys were in kindergarten in 1988. Both have moved many times since — Ireland now lives in Texas. They are self-described "best friends."
Last summer, the two reconnected one more time, rearranging Pederson's dining room and family room on a whim. "I needed my Tami fix," Ireland said. "She has a contagious enjoyment of life."
Pederson's music and her professional violinist skills make slipping into a new city a little easier.
She's played the instrument since she was a fourth-grader, said her sister and fellow professional violinist, Kim Salistean.
Drawing the bow across the strings comes naturally after decades of practice.
So regardless of the city in which she lives, Pederson picks up a gig here and there, teaches a few dozen students and substitutes in their symphony.
Right now, she is a member of Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra, teaches violin privately and at Nebraska Wesleyan University and plays in an assortment of other string groups.
"I like my job as a musician," Pederson said. "I can go to work and really focus on that."
II. Andante, moderately slow
During quiet times, Tami Pederson likes to sit on her wrap-around front porch and watch the world go by.
That lasts about 15 minutes.
Slowing down isn't really in her nature, said everyone close to her.
Even as a child, she seemed in a hurry, said her sister, Salistean, who is 20 months older.
When Tami (whose given name is Tamilyn) began playing piano in second grade, she told the teacher she wanted skip the beginning music and start at the same level her sister was playing.
It didn't work out that way, but she did catch up quickly, Salistean said.
After her first date with fellow UNL student Steve Pederson, "I knew he was the one I would marry," she said.
And she did, graduating early (of course) from UNL, then going on to get a master's degree.
"He's flexible," she said of her husband. On the Friday evening before the Texas-Nebraska game, she had a quartet gig, then rushed to a dinner honoring former UNL player Mike Rozier.
"The gig was booked first," she said.
"It was no problem," Steve Pederson said. "She's always been doing a million things at one time." In college, he remembers, Tami would be at the music building practicing her violin in the middle of the night, while everyone else was sleeping.
The only thing really "slow" in their house is the Crock Pot, her favorite method of cooking dinner. She has three of them, for different occasions.
By 9 a.m. on many mornings, when most people haven't even begun to think about dinner, Pederson has chopped vegetables and filled up the slow cooker.
Then, if there is time, she will sit down and practice. The folder of upcoming LSO music demands it — often one to three hours a day.
"I like the standard symphony repertoire best," she said. Brahms, Mahler and Tchaikovsky top her list of favorites.
During the week, about 35 of Pederson's violin students, instruments in hand, slip inside the front door after school and wait patiently for their lesson.
Clark Potter, principal viola in Lincoln’s Symphony and professor of viola at UNL, sees the results when her students play in the Junior Youth Orchestra he conducts. "Her students are good players," he said.
Lessons take place in Pederson's library/studio, a room lined with new and vintage books (like the set of teen detective Nancy Drew) and quirky accessories.
It’s "my space," she said. Pederson's leather day planner sits on the desk next to a computer screen. An upright piano fills up the rest of the room.
In the evening, when the last violin student has left her house, the family sits down for a dinner prepared hours earlier. "We've always eaten late," she said. "But we try to eat together."
After dinner, with Honey, the family's 70-pound golden retriever, at her feet, Pederson might have her last cup of coffee of the day.
III. Minuet and Trio: Waltz tempo
Three elements are easy identifiable in Tami Pederson's life: family, music and friends. That trio of priorities shapes her endless daily lists — she prefers to cross off every item at the end of the day — and her actions.
When the moves and travel became the norm in their household, her family became even more close knit, she says.
The Pederson children — Mark, 23 and living in New York City; Kari, 20, a student at UNL, and Kristin, 17, a student at Lincoln Southeast High School — may not live under one roof anymore, but they talk to each other regularly.
It’s not always idyllic, however. Sometimes the cacophony of public opinion gets too loud for her family, even if you are "tough-skinned."
When Steve is under intense scrutiny — as he was during the 2003 football season — his wife and kids pull in even closer. "We keep things in perspective and rally as a family," she said.
Steve agrees. "Nobody likes to hear negative talk about your spouse," he said. During difficult times, Tami focuses on family, he said.
In some ways, Pederson is just like her mother, Connie Osborne. Pederson comes from five generations of musicians; her mother taught piano in the home, finding new students in the new cities when they moved.
Osborne remembers her daughter’s ability to fit into new places, even as a child.
Pederson has learned through moves across the country to treat her new friends like family.
And those new friends often include other spouses who follow their husbands in collegiate jobs.
In Lincoln, Pederson and Janelle Boehm and Lisa Miles, wives of the UNL senior associate and associate athletic directors, decided to put their time and talent to use.
The formed SHARE, which stands for Spouses of Husker Athletics Reaching and Embracing. Six community outreach programs receive their support, and on the third Thursday of each month many of them cook and serve lunch at Matt Talbot Kitchen.
Dressed in what she calls her "standard turtleneck" and a green apron, Pederson pours coffee for the 150 men, women and children who receive a hot meal. But not just any coffee. Foregoing the standard Maxwell House, she brings her fresh-ground coffee beans so the rich, dark beverage is something special.
This month: Cinnamon Nut Swirl.
Susanne Blue, director of the Matt Talbot Kitchen, said the monthly meals offered by SHARE are a "feast." Chicken quarters, green beans, fresh fruit, baked potatoes and bread are on their menu.
And Cinnamon Nut Swirl coffee.
IV. Vivace, or lively
Leaning forward in the front row of the new skybox in the North Stadium at the Texas-Nebraska game, Tami Pederson is intent on the game.
The wind is cold, but the windows are flung open. Pederson wears a black turtleneck with a red jacket, and her hands are wrapped around a warm red mug of coffee.
She's an avid Husker fan — and not just football. Pederson's sports interest has grown over two decades of marriage to a man whose job revolves around collegiate teams.
In Pittsburgh, basketball was her favorite sport to watch, she said.
Here, football weekends usually are packed from morning till night, and Tami Pederson is there, dressed in red and smiling and meeting new people. "I really don't grow weary of those events," she said. "I love the fans and the donors and the athletes."
Sometimes, when the weather is nice, she and Steve ride bikes down to the stadium very early. "It's a great way to start a game day," she said.
And at the end of the day, after the final commitment, they go home and turn on ESPN, she said. "We want to see how our friends in other schools came out," she said.
V. Ritardando, gradually slowing down
In one corner of the living room sits her daughter's red cello case. Red is the color theme here, but family is the focus. Photos line tables and shelves. A series of prints from the Dundee area of Omaha hang on the wall.
In another room are some of Tami Pederson's favorite things. The "family history," hanging in the dining room/sun room, is family pictures, shot for media guides at the universities where they were at the time.
Starting in 1988 and continuing through last year, you can see how the family of five has changed and grown over the years.
Almost 20 years of the Pederson family, on the move.
But for her, each one of those places became home — where she found new friends, performed her music and celebrated with her family.
Reach Kathryn Cates Moore at 473-7214 or kmoore@journalstar.com.
In her own words
Greatest treasures: My wonderful marriage and my wonderful kids.
What I love the most about living in Lincoln: The trails.
What I love the most about living in Nebraska: The sky. Wide-open and welcoming.
Favorite vacations: New York City if we are in need of energy. We love the shows, shopping, restaurants, architecture and museums. If we need relaxation we go to Vail.
Favorite authors: Willa Cather and Lorna Landvik. I have caused friends all over the country to fall in love with Willa Cather. Lorna Landvik lives in Minneapolis, and her books are fun to read.
Collections: My daughters and I collect dishes. I collect blue, pink and brown willow. Brown is hard to find, but the girls and I think the search is fun. I also have an awesome collection of angels.
Favorite color: Red.
Favorite composers: Johannes Brahms and Peter Tchaikovsky.
Hobbies: Reading, writing letters, baking, being with my family and friends, and I love to rearrange furniture. This is weird, I know, but it began as a child. I always rearranged my bedroom.
Education: Bachelor in Music Education and a Master’s in Music-Violin Performance.
Favorite saying: Bloom where you are planted.
In a few words
From Steve Pederson
Connection: Husband of 26 years.
Tami, in his words: My best friend; always positive; dynamic
Offbeat: About their first date, he said, “She was the most special person I’d ever been around. I still feel that way.”
From Clark Potter
Connection: Fellow musician; principal viola player for Lincoln’s Symphony Orchestra
Tami, in his words: Team builder; talented; committed
Offbeat: They share a love of Husker sports. Potter remembers rushing to Pederson’s car during symphony rehearsal breaks to listen to the play-by-play of a UNL basketball game.
From Kim Osborne Salistean
Connection: Older sister; like her sister, a professional violinist
Tami, in her words: Energetic; loyal; creative decorator
Offbeat: Growing up they shared a bedroom with bunk beds and laughed so much at night their parents couldn’t get them to go to sleep.
From Ellen Ireland
Connection: Longtime friend, met in Ohio, now lives in Texas
Tami, in her words: Exuberant; caring; intelligent
Offbeat: During a visit to Tennessee, the two of them sneaked off to the mall one evening and got a second piercing in one of their ears.
From Connie Osborne
Connection: Mother
Tami, in her words: As a child, friendly, happy, energetic; as an adult, goal-oriented, organized, positive
Offbeat: After just moving to Omaha in her junior year at Central High School, Tami played Marian the Librarian in the school musical “The Music Man.”
Post Your Comment
Standards and RulesYour posted comment will appear after it has been approved.
Frequently asked questions about story commenting.