Meet the Musician Monday: Bassoonist Chris Jewell

Assistant Principal Bassoon, Chris Jewell

Where are you from and when did you start playing the bassoon?

Kansas City, Missouri
Freshman year of high school. I switched from saxophone once I realized I couldn't be in orchestra unless I played something else.

When did you join the orchestra and move to the DC area?

Joined in 2000

What is your role in the orchestra? Are you on any committees?

I am the clown of the orchestra. Take two....
As a bassoonist, we anchor the woodwind section and provide the bass line, as well the occasional solo passage.
I've served on the orchestra committee since 2005.

Which performances have stood out in your mind?

Certainly Wagner's Ring Cycle last year was a sublime experience. It was as rewarding as it was difficult. I also never forget my first time playing Turandot and hearing the soprano come to the edge of the stage at the end of the opera and just bury the orchestra! It was thrilling every night to witness such power and beauty.

What you most looking forward to this season?

Aida is one of my favorite operas, and I loved this production.

Rite of Spring with the Mariinsky Ballet

Do you have any performances outside of the Kennedy Center this season?

I'm looking forward to playing a concerto with the American Youth Symphony Orchestra in November.

Who have been your greatest musical influences?

Certainly all my bassoon teachers taught me so many things that I draw upon every single day.  I think of them fondly when I'm teaching and I find myself repeating something my teacher told me 20 years ago. Other big influences have been Leontyne Price and Ella Fitzgerald, two of the greatest there ever were.

What are some of your passions outside of music?

Does reedmaking count? It shouldn't. Trying new gins?

Meet the Musician Monday: Violinist Michelle Kim

Photography by Danielle Cho

Where did you grow up and what made you choose violin? 

I was born in Seoul, South Korea and moved to Los Angeles when I was 10. My mom grew up listening to classical music and started me on piano lessons when I was five. After a few months, she switched me to violin so I could play duets with my older sister who had already been playing the piano for a year.

Where did you get your musical training?  When did you know you wanted to be a professional musician?

I didn’t take a straight path to becoming a professional musician. Growing up in LA, I took lessons with Laura Schmieder at Colburn School and played for the Colburn Chamber Orchestra every Saturday. But by my junior year in high school, my family decided that I should give up the violin to prepare for college and a traditional career.

Even though I hadn’t played for two years, I still brought my violin to UC Berkeley. I knew that music could open many doors in life, including traveling to performances, meeting people, learning different cultures and building lasting friendships.

I got a degree in statistics while playing in the University Symphony for four years.   I also gave recitals on and off campus with faculty members and fellow student musicians, and was a soloist with the orchestra for two separate performances after twice winning the orchestra’s concerto competition.

Through David Milnes, the Music Department Director and University Symphony Conductor, the University Music Department paid for my lessons with Zoya Leybin, a San Francisco Symphony member and a faculty of the SF Conservatory.  In the beginning of my senior year, just as I was putting my violin away for good to focus on finishing school and looking for a job, David convinced me that I had a future in music and encouraged me to follow my passion. We discussed career options in music and, on that day, I decided to become a professional musician! 

I spent the next several months applying to conservatories and decided to get a Master’s Degree in Music at Manhattan School of Music to study with Laurie Carney, a founding member of the American String Quartet. The summer after I graduated from MSM, I was very lucky to win a position in the first violin section in the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra! 

Could you name any favorite artists you’ve worked with or productions you’ve performed in since being in the orchestra?

I am extremely fortunate to have worked with Placido Domingo at the Washington National Opera.  He has brought so much passion and beauty to our music.  He was – and still is -- a great inspiration in my career and in my life.

with Maestro Domingo at intermission

I enjoy working on the standard opera and ballet repertoire and also love playing new music.  I was especially moved by playing The Little Mermaid ballet by John Neumeier and Lera Auerbach this past season. And I found Jake Heggie’s opera Dead Man Walking compelling and satisfying.  I also saw Miami Music Festival’s performance of this opera this past summer.   

 

Do you perform outside of the Kennedy Center?

Quite often.  Four years ago, I started to play the electric violin and perform different genres of music such as rock, crossover, EDM and adult contemporary.  I also do some composing/arranging/covering. 

Playing various types of music and in different Kennedy Center productions (Kennedy Center Honors, gala concerts, etc.) -- and working with talented orchestra colleagues -- inspired me to find my own sound. 

Some of my cool electric violin gigs include performing at the Peace Institute for then Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel and Korean National Defense Minister Han Min-Koo, at the IMF Annual Meetings in DC, and at the National Association of Health Underwriters Capitol Conference.

Performing in a recital at the
In Spiritum Music Festival in Portugal

Performing for the IMF Annual Meetings

Performing at the MGM National Harbor
Grand Opening private event, Dec. 2016

This is a short demo/music video of my performance at the Italian Embassy in DC for Becky’s Fund Walk This Way fundraising fashion show. 

Recently, I performed my own composition Con Spero at the United Nations Headquarters in New York celebrating the UN General Assembly’s passing of the new International Name Day for Micro, Small, and Medium Sized Enterprises. 

Michelle performing her composition Con Spero at
the UN Headquarters in NY

What has been the most inspiring concert experience since being in the KCOHO?

The most inspiring concert I’ve played at the Kennedy Center was in 2012 with visiting musicians from Tunisia to commemorate the Jasmine Revolution in their country.  It was a side-by-side concert with Kennedy Center orchestra musicians as we all performed Hannibal Barca, a symphony written by a Tunisian composer.  I started a humanitarian organization, Culture Saves, after seeing and feeling this music bring hope and inspiration to the audience and to the musicians.  Culture Saves connects artists from around the globe and enables them to find commonalities in different cultures, and to help restore hope and promote peace in areas of conflict through the arts.

with Tunisian Violist, Mourad Frini

Do you have any hobbies outside of the orchestra?

I picked up squash (the game and not the fruit!) several years ago at my gym in DC. I’ve participated in amateur squash tournaments and camps in the DC area, San Francisco, Rye (New York), Baltimore and France.  And I like to prepare things that I enjoy eating – such as simple Italian dishes, sushi and Korean food.  I also love movies, especially sci-fi and independent films. And I’m thinking seriously of getting a dog…    

playing in a squash tournament

In the recent past, you severely injured your hand. What was it like coming back from an injury like that, and how has it changed your playing? Any advice to other musicians recovering from injuries that require time off their instrument?

Two years ago, I broke my left (fingerboard) hand in a car accident. I had two surgeries during the following year and months of occupational therapy.  A serious hand injury like this can often end a violinist’s career.  I was broken physically and mentally and spent months moping around.  Eventually, I accepted the fact that it would take time before I could play again (if at all!). So I focused on things I couldn’t do before when I was working as a full-time violinist.  When you’re displaced from your passion and your career, it’s important to put your energy into other interests that you weren’t before able to fully develop. With this philosophy and this attitude, I organized events for Culture Saves with visiting artists from around the globe. I also participated in other volunteer projects in the Washington area.  When my hand finally healed and regained its strength and motion, I was able to return to my career as a performer… with a new perspective and appreciation for my work.  

 

What do you most look forward to playing this season?

I look forward to working with our Music Director Philippe Auguin in Don Carlo later this season.  Maestro Auguin always brings a robust but sensitive, and an elegant but modern, interpretation to every piece of music. 

with Maestro Auguin

And a week from today (Monday, September 25), I’ll be performing the Debussy Trio on the Millennium Stage with two gifted musicians - KCOHO cellist Igor Zubkovsky and pianist Grace Eun Hae Kim. 

In November, Washington National Opera is performing Handel’s baroque opera Alcina for the first time.  Although Handel wrote over 40 operas, the last one that WNO performed was Tamerlano in 2008 with Placido Domingo, David Daniels, and Sarah Colburn.  I’m thrilled to be playing in Alcina, especially since I’ll be on stage in full costume playing the solo violin part with the Morgana character in Act II.  I’ve been performing on stage since I was seven, but I’ve never performed on an opera stage before! There will be seven performances of Alcina.     

Currently, I’m enjoying our run of Verdi’s Aida.  This is my first time playing this opera in its entirety and this work has quickly become one of my favorites.

Meet the Musician Monday: Percussionist Greg Akagi

Where did you grow up and where did you go to college?

I grew up in Oregon.  After graduating from high school, I headed east to Oberlin College where I earned my BA in Biology and Music Performance, and a minor in Chemistry.  During my time at Oberlin, I studied percussion with Michael Rosen. For grad school, I went on to study with Tom Freer at Cleveland State University where I earned my master’s degree. 

What is your position in the orchestra and when did you join?

I am the assistant timpanist/section percussion and I’ve been with the orchestra since 2006.

What made you choose percussion at your instrument and what made you want to pursue music as a career?

I started playing the piano with I was 3 years old.  From there I never really thought about another instrument.  Around grade 3, I decided I wanted to play the saxophone (I still do), my parents thought I should play the trumpet … Somehow, I picked the drums and began taking lessons from Roger Allen.  My dreams of playing along with Careless Whisper, Baker Street, and Harden My Heart are still placed on hold.  As far as a career goes, music was just a hobby for me.  But, after attending the Music Academy of the West for a summer and after working in an infectious diseases lab at the University of Michigan, I decided that drums was more fun.  My goal was to find a steady, non-freelance job by the age of 30. 

Most people don't know this about you, but tell us about your cameo in a famous music teacher movie when you were young. What was that like?

Growing up I was pretty involved in fashion modeling and commercials.  I’ve actually been in 2 movies.  The first one was when I was in the third grade, it’s called “Wee Sing Together.” Doug Rosenthal (2^nd trombone in our orchestra), tells me that he used to sing along to the VHS tape of this movie when he was little; which kind of makes me feel a bit old.  Next up was “Mr. Holland’s Opus.”  I was able to play in the 90’s orchestra and got to kick off the opening drum solo for the “American Symphony” with Richard Dreyfuss.  It was good fun, a lot of waiting around, and many extra scenes were cut from the final movie.  I remember specifically filming 2-3 days worth of a prom story line scene that got cut completely.


What has been your favorite concert experience since being in the orchestra?

Boy, this one is very difficult for me to answer.  There have been many concerts, operas, and musicals that I have been fortunate to be a part of.  Off the top of my head, my favorite opera was probably Madame Butterfly or Elektra; leaning more towards all the Strauss we’ve done.  For ballet, this one’s easy – We played Khachaturian's Spartacus with the Bolshoi Ballet (they are so good).  And for musicals, it’s probably “Beautiful” the Carole King musical.  I grew up listening to all her music, so that was a treat to perform. 

Do you have any hobbies outside of the orchestra?

Well, my wife and I have 5 kids at home, so most of our free time is spent preparing for the next day or week.  Doing laundry, making food, helping with homework, or chauffeuring people around takes up a lot of the day.  However, I do enjoy rec league sports like softball and volleyball, which I’ve been playing for 20+ years, and Major League Baseball. The Atlanta Braves are my favorite team and have been since about 1982.  Dale Murphy is my favorite player of all time.  My son and I got to meet him once, so that was a thrill.  A goal of mine is to watch a game at all the MLB stadiums in the country.  So far, I’ve been to 22, with Pittsburgh’s PNC Park or San Francisco’s AT&T Park as my favorites.  Most recently, my family and I attended a game at Citizen’s Bank Park in Philadelphia this past summer.

What are you most looking forward to playing this season?

Anything ballet.  I love it when we get to perform ballet. 

Meet the Musician Monday: Hornist Peter de Boor

Where are you from originally and where did you go to school? 

I was born in Indiana, but raised in Madison, Wisconsin. I got a Bachelor's degree from Princeton, attended Cambridge University on a Churchill scholarship, and entered the PhD program in mathematics at the University of Chicago. I left without completing that degree, and got a Master of Music degree in performance from the University of Michigan.

What's your position in the orchestra and when did you join? 

I am the Third horn. For historical reasons, in an orchestra, unlike in a band, the horns come in pairs—high and low. So I'm the high horn of the second pair. I joined the orchestra in 1997, three months after my first child was born. So I never have to think hard to remember how long I've been working here.

What are you most looking forward to playing this season? 

Don Carlo. It has some fantastic music in it, in particular a dramatic horn quartet to open the second act. And our music director Philippe Auguin will be conducting, and he always brings a special level of energy.

What has been the highlight of your time here? 

The Ring Cycle that we performed in 2016 has to be right at the top, but the tour to Japan in 2002 is a very close second. 

Japan Tour 2002

Japan Tour Horn Section 2002

Japan Tour 2002

Ring Cycle Horns

Ring Cycle 2016

When did you start playing the instrument and what made you choose it?

I started in sixth grade, in 1977. I had seen an army band on tour in concert the previous year, and my mother had told me that the French horn players didn't use any valves to change pitches, only their lips. She was anachronistic by about two hundred years, but I guess something about the challenge of that intrigued me.

What made you want to become a  professional musician? 

I was planning to be a mathematician, but in the middle of getting my PhD I found myself completely unmotivated. I began thinking about what else I could do, and around that time I heard that a high school friend and horn-quartet colleague, who had gone on to music school, was achieving professional success as a horn player (she has been playing in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for about as long as I've been here). She inspired me to start down this road.

You currently serve as the Chair of our orchestra committee. How long have you served and what it is like being Chair? What are your duties? Have you served in any other committees or worked with our local union? 

The orchestra committee is a team of five musicians who represent the orchestra in dealings with the management, including during labor negotiations. We very recently finished negotiating one-year renewals of our agreements with the Washington National Opera and the Kennedy Center, a task that took 12 full days of talks across the table and many more days of internal planning. And we are already starting the planning process for the next round. 

I have been on the Committee since my second year in the orchestra, and I've been the Chair for five years. We have a very egalitarian committee, and try to make all decisions by consensus, so my role as Chair is more one of facilitator—I'm the point of contact on the committee for management, and when there's an issue that needs to be resolved, they'll come to me and then I will huddle with my fellow committee members to come to a decision.

For the last ten years I've also been the Administrator of the orchestra's Benefits Fund. Because we have two employers, we had to come up (thirty years ago) with an unusual arrangement to get health insurance and other benefits, namely a fund into which both employers contribute. The fund has two employer trustees and two union trustees (who make all the big decisions), as well as an Administrator who handles all the day-to-day business on their behalf—enrolling people in coverage, mailing premium payments to insurers, etc. So it's almost like I have a second job in Human Resources. 

I served for one three-year term on the Executive Board of the D.C. Federation of Musicians, the local musicians union, but stepped down so I could serve on the governing board of the International Conference of Symphony and Opera Musicians (ICSOM), which is a players conference of the American Federation of Musicians representing the musicians of the 52 largest-budget orchestras in the country. I serve as the editor of their quarterly publication, Senza Sordino, which you can also find online at www.icsom.org/senzasordino.

What do you like to do in your spare time? 

What does "spare time" mean?  I used to do a fair bit of gardening, but that has fallen by the wayside. In the last decade I've become a fairly serious recreational runner—meaning that I do a lot of it, not that I'm particularly fast. I completed the Marine Corps Marathon in 2013, and this past May I organized a group of my colleagues to take part in the Semper Fi 5k and raise money for wounded vets and their families. To motivate me I embarked on a project to run the length of every street in Arlington. I'm currently in the third iteration of that, in which I'm taking the streets in alphabetical order.

the Semper Fi 5K 2013