Meet the Musician Monday: Bassoonist Sam Blair

Do you come from a musical family?  When did you start your musical training and what made you choose the bassoon?  Do you play any other instruments?     

I grew up listening to my dad play electric guitar and sing in his bedroom.  He was also in an Irish jam band, and one of my earliest memories is of me playing a drum on stage with him at a pub.  I must have been three or four.  He tells me he used to sing to my mom’s belly when she was pregnant with me.  That’s probably where I got my early musical abilities.  

I started bassoon in the 6th grade at the age of 11.  Many kids start on something a little smaller and easier, like the sax or clarinet, and then get switched to bassoon when the band director desperately tries to fill the hole in their ensemble.  I really wanted to play the french horn, so I showed up the summer before 6th grade to try out, but I couldn't make a sound on the mouthpiece.  I tried every instrument they have in the room and failed at even squawking out a sound.  In a hail mary attempt, the band director left for a minute and came back with a bassoon reed.  I peeped out a sound and she handed me this big case of an instrument I had never heard of before.  I remember crying as I left with my mom thinking I had failed and they stuck me with the instrument they didn’t even bother trying everyone out on.  I didn’t know how to put it together, it was almost as tall as me, and my hands weren’t quite big enough to get to all the keys.  But I grew into it, and I’d like to thank my band director for introducing me to my future!  

I learned to play percussion in marching band since bassoons don’t march, so I know my way around a marimba.  I also played drums for a couple of years in a garage band, and I’ve been playing guitar since middle school as well.  

When did you join Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and what were your favorite productions since?  

I started with the KCOHO at the end of the 2011 -12 season.  My first production was Verdi’s Nabucco with Maestro Auguin.  That will always be one of my favorites.  I also really enjoyed last season’s The Marriage of Figaro. Mozart is an amazing writer for bassoon, and every single note is a joy to play. Any time we get to play a ballet by Prokofiev is great also. He has such a unique style and sound that I absolutely love.

You’ve performed in many places outside of the Kennedy Center.  Tell us about your experiences playing with different groups/festivals in DC and around the world.  

I was lucky enough to play a long trial for co-principal bassoon with the Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra in Kuala Lumpur during my last year of grad school and the year following.  I went out three separate times for a total of five months.  It was such a great learning experience fresh out of school, both musically and for life.  Learning about and living in a completely different culture was enlightening.  As much as I enjoyed my time there, I knew I couldn’t live there forever, so I ultimately decided to return to the U.S. to join the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, FL.  

Another highlight of my young career was playing for the YouTube Symphony in Sydney, Australia. They chose the orchestra based on an audition video you literally posted to YouTube.  Others could watch and vote for their favorites. Under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas of the San Francisco Symphony, 100 or so musicians from all over the world came together to play a concert at the iconic Sydney Opera House.  The concert was live streamed on YouTube and was a huge success.  

I was one of four musicians selected to do a promotional video leading up to the event, so I actually got to go to Australia twice in one month.  I was very jetlagged. The program was called “Making Tracks”, and the idea was to pair a classical musician with a local pop musician, take them all over Australia, and write a song together in a week. It was to promote the show as well as general tourism.

I had an amazing time with my collaborator Stu Cullen playing all over the country, and I can safely say that I am the only bassoonist in the history of the world to play in a hot air balloon.

Just a casual jam session floating over Parliament House in Canberra, Australia

Playing with the Verbier Festival Orchestra was another wonderful experience. It’s a summer festival program in Verbier, Switzerland and it is one of the most beautiful places on Earth. It’s so interesting playing with people from other countries and educations. It’s a challenge getting in synch, but I think the product is one that could not be duplicated by musicians of a similar upbringing, and that’s exciting. The very first concert I played there featured Strauss’s “Alpine Symphony” directed by Charles Dutoit. Playing that piece in the Alps, using real Swiss cowbells they literally picked up from a nearby farm, was a once in a lifetime performance that I will always cherish.  

Warming up for a rehearsal in Verbier and representing the WNO!

When I add it all up, my bassoon has taken me to 14 countries on five continents. I consider myself a very lucky individual to have a life in music, so much so that I have “lucky” tattooed on my spine.  

What kind of music do you listen to other than classical music?

I grew up listening to classic rock, and I listen to mostly rock when I’m driving. I was never able to listen to music when reading or studying, whether it was classical or popular. I’m always drumming along or trying to analyze the piece I’m listening to.  

What are your hobbies?

I like to play disc golf around the area.  I started playing in college with my dad and his friends. It’s a great way to get outside and walk around, and they’re usually in wooded areas. Being around trees always makes me happy. I also like to annoy my girlfriend with made up songs I play on her ukelele, usually just describing what she’s doing.  

Meet the Musician Monday: Cellist Igor Zubkovsky

Photography by Danielle Cho

Where did you grow up? Do you come from a musical family? 

I grew up in Moscow, Russia.  Both my parents are professional musicians - my father is a pianist, teacher and composer and my mother is a pianist who does a lot of accompanying - obviously, there was never a shortage of practicing with the piano which, of course, was and still is very beneficial.  

This is a video of me performing Tchaikovsky's Pezzo Capriccioso with my mother, Susanna Kolker.  

You can hear the piece Waltz "Recollection" composed by my father, Sergey Zubkovsky.  

Where did you do your musical studies?

My parents took me to the Gnessins Moscow Special School of Music when I was 5, and there was a very good cello teacher who I stayed with through the high school.

Then I entered the Moscow State Conservatory, and at the end of my first year there I got into the American Soviet Youth Orchestra that was made up of 50 young musicians from the United States and 50 from the Soviet Union, we toured numerous cities in both countries as well as Europe - Joshua Bell was the soloist and Leonard Slatkin one of the conductors.  Many of the students who were there are now in the top orchestras, including Michael Mayhew (who was my roommate on the tour), the horn player at the Cleveland Orchestra and Eric Lee, our own Associate Concertmaster.

What made you decide to pursue your musical career in the States?  Did you play in any ensembles previous to KCOHO?

Shortly after I finished my studies in Russia, I got a call from my friend who went to US a few years before and was studying at the Peabody Conservatory, and he said - hey, we need a cellist for the string quartet, would you be interested in applying for Peabody? I thought - sure, why not.  So I sent an audition tape and got a full scholarship for Graduate Performance Diploma.  It was a good experience, I especially enjoyed working with Earl Carlyss, the former violinist of the Juilliard String Quartet - not only going to his chamber music and string quartet classes but we actually got to perform together on numerous occasions and received critical acclaim.

At my second year at Peabody I started taking orchestra auditions and got an Assistant Principal position with the Harrisburg Symphony Orchestra which I keep to this day.  With this orchestra I performed Beethoven's Triple Concerto as a soloist, as well as many other symphony programs and their annual July 4 concert series.

HSO July 4th concert

I also was a member of Pittsburgh Opera for one season, before winning an audition for Louisville Symphony in the summer of 2003 - but I only got to play one summer concert there because just a couple of months later I got my current position with KCOHO.

What is your position in the orchestra?

I am a member of the cello section.  Since there are only six cellos in our orchestra, on some occasions we all get to play principal.  Last season I have been acting principal for several WNO productions and played solo cello parts in operas Don Giovanni, Rigoletto (as part of “Justice at the Opera” concert that featured Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg), and Champion, "An Opera in Jazz", where my job was to lead a cello section against the jazz quartet.  And in one number, called "Seven Babies", which is a big aria that Denise Graves was singing, there was a big cello line that accompanied her so that was quite an experience.

You have a very active chamber and solo career. What sorts of concerts have you played? Where have you performed?

Over the years I played in all sorts of chamber groups, starting at the Moscow Conservatory where first I became a part of the "Moscow Soloists" chamber orchestra conducted by famous violist Yuri Bashmet, then I was a member of the "Brahms-Trio" - we won top prizes at the chamber music competitions in Italy and Germany.  

Brahms Trio Announcement

Also, as a Grand-Prix winner at the 1st Tansman Competition in Poland, I performed solo with Lodz Symphony Orchestra and also recorded a CD (which is available on Amazon.com and Prestoclassical).  Here's the other CD with my solo appearance which is also available online.

Lodz Philharmonic program

Later, we formed a Capitol Piano Trio with pianist Anna Ouspenskaya and violinist David Chernyavsky who was then Assistant Concertmaster of the WNO Orchestra (currently he is a member of San Francisco Symphony).  We played locally and recorded a CD with trios of Mendelssohn and Babajanian. 

For about 7 years I've had a group called Marquis Ensemble - piano/clarinet/cello.  One of the highlights was the series of concerts in Paris.   Since the repertoire of our ensemble was limited, I've done some arrangements for the group, one of them - Gliere's Andante, originally for coloratura soprano and orchestra.

Also I performed at the Merkin Hall in NY, and was a soloist with Altoona Symphony, playing Tchaikovsky's Rococo Variations.

Also, in recent years I traveled to Russia and performed concerts at the Rachmaninoff Hall in Moscow as well as in Yaroslavl and other cities.  Last year I returned to Bedford, MA where I played before.  You can watch part of my recital below.  

What has been your favorite musical experience at the Kennedy Center or elsewhere?

I really loved playing Puccini's Turandot.  And of course, - because I love playing Russian operas, - Tchaikovsky's Maid of Orleans which we performed in 2005 with Mirella Freni singing the title role.  I also collaborate with the local opera company Bel Cantanti, which only uses a string quartet instead of the full strings.  It's a combination of chamber music and opera - every musician is responsible for their parts since everything is so magnified.  The director of the company, Katerina Souvorova, is also Russian, and we got to perform such operas as Glinka's Russlan and Lyudmila, Rachmaninov's Aleko, and this season they are staging Rimsky-Korsakov's Sadko.

Igor warming up before the Bel Cantanti performance of
 Menotti's, "The Unicorn, the Gorgon and the Manticore."

What are you most looking forward to this season? 

This season we have two Verdi's operas that I have never played before.  We just finished "Aida" which I enjoyed very much, and now I am looking forward to "Don Carlo" with our Music Director Philippe Auguin in March.

Do you have any hobbies outside of the orchestra?

I've done some arranging - mostly duos and trios with a cello.  I teach privately and publicly.  This year, I was on the faculty at the Miami Music Festival where I did private lessons and masterclasses, performed at the faculty recital (with a WNO violinist Michelle Kim) and also played in the orchestra with students.  We performed an all-Wagner program with our KCOHO colleague Michael Rossi conducting.  Michael is the second trumpet player and a conductor who founded this great music festival in Miami.

Also this year I will be one of the judges for the Friday Morning Music Club High School Competition and the Washington International Competition for Strings (preliminary round).

Please visit my YouTube channel where you can see my other videos.

Meet the Musician Monday: Violinist Karen Lowry Tucker

When did you join the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra?

I was the first hire of our former music Director, Heinz Fricke in 1992. He had been the Music Director of the Berlin State Opera (Staatsoper) for 30 years prior, and our orchestra greatly benefited from his experience. At the beginning of his tenure the orchestra held auditions to fill 2 violin openings, 2 cello openings and a harp opening. Having won one of the violin openings, I welcomed a chance to try my German on the Maestro and it was a disaster! I had been a member of the Munich Chamber Orchestra from 1979-1981 and the 15 of us hailed from all over the world. I am from Louisville, KY, my stand partner was from Turkey, the concertmistress was from Texas, our principal second violinist was from Japan, the principal bassist was from Austria and the other musicians were German born. In his broken English Maestro Fricke told me my German accent was "all over the place". Go figure...

When did you begin playing the violin?

I began studying the piano at age 5 and at the beginning of the 6th grade, a member of the Louisville Orchestra came to my elementary school to give us a demonstration on the violin. I loved music and hated math so when I was told violin lessons would be once a week during our math hour, I SIGNED UP. I didn't escape math because music depends on math; however, little did I know that at age 12 I had just chosen my career path.

Because of my beginnings, I have for many years now chosen to perform fun, educational children's shows in the elementary schools of Washington, DC with my colleague Elizabeth Pulju-Owen and her husband Drew Owen. Our objective is to help expose young people to the joys of classical music. It is so rewarding when I detect that we have caused a young student to catch that same spark I had in the 6th grade.

Did you play in any ensembles previous to KCOHO?

I played with the Louisville Orchestra while working toward my Bachelor of Music Education degree from the University of Louisville. Subsequently, I decided I wanted to perform more than I wanted to teach, so I pursued a Masters Degree in Performance from the University of Texas at Austin under the tutelage of Stephen Clapp. I traveled to Europe to spend a year exploring before wanting to start the grind of auditioning for an orchestra job in the U.S.  In that I traveled nowhere without my violin, I heard of an opening in Munich, Germany with the Munich Chamber Orchestra and decided to test my auditioning skills. I thought I had nothing to lose for no one knew me there and I wouldn't be embarrassed if I got nervous and played poorly.  I GOT THE JOB. I was elated because I love to travel and they were a touring orchestra. We were in Munich less than 10 days a month so the rest of the time I was able to travel the world with this fantastic ensemble. When I was hired they had just returned from Japan to my dismay. I had always wanted to travel there because my early violin studies were based on the Japanese Suzuki method. Instead, the orchestra's next tour was 5 weeks in AMERICA! 

Upon returning permanently to the U.S., I was an apprentice with the Atlanta Symphony under Robert Shaw and the National Symphony Orchestra under Mstislav Rostropovitch. Both afforded me invaluable experiences which prepared me for an appointment as Associate Concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony and 2 years with the North Carolina Symphony. My summer studies and summer orchestral experiences have been at the Meadowmount School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, the Eastern Music Festival and the Grant Park Music Festival. 

What do you enjoy doing when you are not playing the violin?

I LOVE to travel. Growing up my dad drove the family to a different part of the country for vacation every summer and I enjoyed it immensely. My dear husband, Del, is an avid swimmer and we have enjoyed traveling extensively throughout the Caribbean  He has twice participated in the 4.4 mile Chesapeake Bay Swim, swimming across the bay in under 3 hours. He also loves to drive so we now take long, well planned road trips in the summers. We enjoyed staying in the French Quarter of New Orleans last summer and witnessing the sights and sounds of that vibrant city. One year was a road trip to the Santa Fe Opera Festival and the Grand Canyon. Several years ago we drove to the one state I had never visited- Maine. We had a glorious time with my colleague Meg Thomas and her dear husband at their beautiful summer home in Camden.

Karen's husband & support system, Del

I also like to occasionally take the train to NYC to the Metropolitan Opera and be an audience for a change. I usually choose to attend an opera we have just performed or one we are about to perform. I get quite emotional and silently cry inside because I know every note and can finally see how it all fits together. I always meet an audience member who sees how emotional I am and is very impressed that I would go to such lengths to see an opera.

What is one of your most memorable moments during your tenure here at KCOHO?

My fondest memory is a staged concert we had honoring operatic legends such as the great Ms. Leontyne Price. As Ms. Price graced the stage to receive her honor, she said a few words in her ever so eloquent and elegant way and then she surprised us all. She began to sing "America the Beautiful" a cappella and we were in awe! What an unexpected honor.

What are you most looking forward to this season?

I look forward to playing Handel's Alcina for I love the era.  It's a new opera for me and I've already begun to do my muscle exercises to prepare myself for holding the violin up for very long periods of time. I was actually in line to be one of the musicians on stage who gets to wear period clothing, play a short memorized part and then go home. I declined because I really want to play the entire opera - besides, the thought of wearing a wig over my signature avant-garde hairdo is not an option. Sorry George Fredrich...

As a first violinist, you have a lot of notes to play. How do you handle your preparation?

Playing first violin in an opera orchestra is exciting and taxing at the same time. It has proven to be quite athletic for me personally because we seem to be playing constantly. My upper arms look like Popeye! I am grateful for my sensitive and caring physical therapist who was a marvelous pianist and therefore understands the demands of being a musician. She keeps me motivated to stretch my muscles correctly so as to prevent injury and helps me with ways to continually promote good posture. I am always anxious to receive my music so I can pace myself and not let it pile up.

I am in my 25th year with the KCOHO and I am grateful to the late Maestro Fricke, the audition committee in 1992 and for the prayers of my mommy for the chance to play at the Kennedy Center for a quarter of a century and counting. Thank you dear Del for your undying support, for your patience and for honestly enjoying listening to hours of scales and passages I repeat over and over and over again until it's finally to my liking. I am also grateful to perform on a beautiful 1783 Italian violin by Antonius Gragnani.

Meet the Musician Monday: Violinist Martha Kaufman

Where did you grow up? 

I was born in Kingsport, Tennessee and lived there until I went to college in Bloomington, Indiana.

Do you come from a musical family?

Yes! Both my mother and grandmother played the violin. My grandmother, who was also from Tennessee, went to New York City in the 1920’s and studied with one of Leopold Auer’s assistants at the Institute of Musical Art (later named Julliard).   She was very musical and loved all forms of music, but I don’t think she was ever too serious about studying. Ladies didn’t do this type of thing in her day and eventually she returned to Tennessee and married. 

My mother is a violinist who helped start the Suzuki program in Kingsport. After doing this for 5 years she decided to move into the school system and started a highly successful string program at the high school level where she worked for 20 years. She had major influences on high school age students and taught us that through working hard we could achieve and expect great things, even if a person was from a small town in East Tennessee.  

I believe my mom was the one who inspired and taught me the most in my formative years with the basic lesson to work hard, work steady and work honestly. During the time period I was growing up in Tennessee I was exposed to a lot of teaching philosophies and met and played for many people like Shinichi Suzuki, William Starr, Paul Rolland, Kato Havas, Samuel Applebaum, Dorothy Delay, Roman Totenberg to name a few. I went to many music festivals and camps so that I was introduced to a lot of different ideas and thoughts which helped me connect with players from around the globe at an early age. Music was the soul of our family and was my guiding force in my growing up years.

What is your position in the orchestra? 

I am a member of the second violin section of the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra. I joined the orchestra in September of 1999. Previous to this appointment I served as associate concertmaster of the Knoxville Symphony and principal second violin in the Savannah Symphony.

What made you play the violin?

I started taking violin lessons at the age of five. My mom and grandmother played, so I had heard a lot of violin music, but when my cousin started violin lessons I was motivated by jealousy, and demanded that I also be allowed to take lessons. I started in the Suzuki method, which was perfect for a five year old. I probably stayed with this approach a bit too long because I did not learn how to read music until age 10. I learned everything by ear which was sort of ridiculous because I was playing the Bach double and Bach violin concertos completely by ear. I joined the school orchestra in 7^th grade and was quite angry that I wasn’t placed as concertmaster because I thought that I played better than everyone, but I couldn’t read music well. Being in the school orchestra taught me to read for which I will always be grateful. Just a side note on this subject, I’m still not great at sight-reading and tend to always fall back on learning a lot of music by listening to it. I do advocate for my students to read music immediately so they don’t have huge gaps in their playing levels.  

Where did you do your musical studies after high school?

I decided to try to become a professional violinist when I was 15 years old. I had won a few concerto competitions and I enjoyed soloing with the orchestras so I thought that maybe I would like to try this professionally. I was wrong about becoming a soloist and I learned quickly that I was going to have to work really hard to be in a professional orchestra. I did my undergraduate studies at Indiana University where I received a Bachelor of Music degree. I then went to the Cleveland Institute of Music and earned a Master of Music degree while studying with David Cerone and Kathleen Winkler. I loved college and enjoyed all the musicians and teachers I met, many of whom I’m still in contact with today.

What has been your favorite musical experience at the Kennedy Center?

I would definitely have to say that playing the Wagner’s Ring Cycle conducted by Maestro Philippe Auguin was a highlight. The work was so massive and intense. I remembered being in college and saying to all my friends, “I will never be in an opera orchestra and I definitely will never play Wagner.” Guess what? Thankfully, I was wrong again! I am still amazed that our orchestra was so successful with this undertaking. Everyone worked so well together, we were definitely on a musical high and I believe everyone learned so much. The thought of having to start working this prior to our first rehearsal made me very nervous but once we started preparing I realized we were doing something amazing with someone (Maestro Auguin) who had studied the scores meticulously and I was going to learn a lot during this time period. I will always remember this time.

Do you have any hobbies outside the orchestra?

I have always enjoyed teaching privately. I have had excellent students who now play professionally and I have had students who enjoy music and learned a little on their violin journey but don’t play anymore. I have two daughters who play the violin a bit. They will never major in music but hopefully I have taught them to love music. The poet Henry Wadsworth Longfellow called music “the universal language of mankind.” During these tumultuous times in which we live, music is one thing humans can come together and enjoy regardless of race, gender, intellect or politics. All the walls and barriers can come down for this art form and we can live in harmony.      

Meet the Musician Monday: Violist Elizabeth Pulju-Owen

Photography by Ning Fan

1. Where did you grow up? Do you come from a musical family?

I was born in Minnesota but grew up here in the DC area, in Fairfax, VA. My family is both musical and large. My mother is a pianist and church music director so we all played an instrument and sang in the church choir. We still like to sing together and often start singing whenever we have a family get together. "Happy Birthday " always has at least two harmony parts. I was never as good a singer as some of the others, though, so I guess I concentrated on my viola playing.

2. What is your position in the orchestra? When did you join?

I joined the orchestra as a member of the viola section in September of 1998. Prior to that I had been a member of the New Orleans Symphony and its successor orchestra-The Louisiana Philharmonic, for 8 years. I also played in the Alabama Symphony and Savannah Symphony for one season each.

3. What made you decide to play the viola (at first and professionally) and where did you do your musical studies?

I began on piano at age seven. Later, I wanted to play the drums in my elementary school band. However, my mother suggested that I play the violin instead as we already had one at home and didn't have the drum kit. To this day, I'm not sure if she really just didn't want to buy the drum kit, or didn't want to listen to me practice drums. I'm not sure beginning violin was much better. When I started high school, I made the decision to switch to viola. I found that I preferred the darker, lower tone of the viola and also enjoyed the role that it plays in the orchestra. Even though we don't get much glory, I like being in the middle of things. I can really be aware of all the other parts around me, and I enjoy fitting my sound into the mix. I wasn't sure at first if I wanted to pursue music as a career, so I started college as a double major in Music and English at the Catholic University of America. It wasn't long before I started resenting the time my academic classes were taking away from my practice hours, and I decided that I needed to focus on music and find out if I had what it takes to succeed in this highly competitive field.

4. You are a member of a chamber group that plays for children. What kinds of performances d o you do?

Get ready for a long answer because this is one of the things I am passionate about. I perform with the groups Dynamic Duo and Presto! Karen Lowry-Tucker, a KCOHO first violinist, and I have been performing children's shows as the Dynamic Duo for ten years or so. We use music and storytelling, complete with costumes and props, to engage children while teaching about the music and instruments of the string family. When my husband, cellist Drew Owen, began a second career as a magician, we knew that we had the makings of another great show and Presto! was born. In our Presto! shows, magic is added to the music and story to create a memorable experience for our audiences. While the focus of our programs is music, our stories also provide life lessons about things like cooperation and friendship. Most of all, we hope to inspire children to find their own creativity, something we all need in our lives. Bringing music to children who may have never seen or heard a string instrument up close is one of the most important things I do. I'm incredibly lucky that it's also one of the most fun things that I do! I get to write stories (something I've done since childhood), make costumes and props, and then act out the stories. In Dynamic Duo's "Karen Builds a Violin" for instance, I get to be a chipmunk, swan, cat, horse, duck, and Karen's Grandma all in the space of thirty minutes! 

Photography by Ning Fan

Photography by Ning Fan

Over the years, we have performed for thousands and thousands of kids throughout the DC area, primarily in DC Public Schools. We have been lucky to be a part of the National Symphony Orchestra's In School Ensemble program which sponsors the performances in DC and in Title I schools in Maryland and Virginia. Performing for children is so important and I love the fact that we are bringing music to them in a way that really enables them to connect with us and what we are teaching. So many of the children we play for have little opportunity to hear live music. They haven't learned to think classical music is "uncool" and are excited to hear our music and learn what we are teaching. And they remember it! We played at a school last year that we had visited several times over the years. While we were setting up, some 4th grade students came in to get ready for their band class. When they saw us, they remembered that they had seen us perform when they were in the 1st grade, then proceeded to tell us what the story had been and what instruments we played! It wasn't the first time something like that has happened; it's great to know that we're having an impact. 

Photography by Ning Fan

5. What has been your favorite musical experience at the Kennedy Center or elsewhere? 

How can I not start with The Ring Cycle? That was a tremendous musical experience and I am very proud to have been a part of it. Wagner's music is incredible and every aspect of the production was top notch. It's also the hardest thing I have ever played. It felt like my version of Mt Everest-keeping all that music in my head and in my fingers, keeping my focus for each performance, and meeting the physical demands of performances up to five hours long. I also remember my very first opera here, Fedora, with Mirella Freni and Placido Domingo. What a great way to start my new job!

6. Do you have any hobbies outside of the orchestra? 

I enjoy gardening, hiking and flying stunt kites, though not at the same time. I also try to work out regularly. Mostly, I seem to spend my time driving my teenaged daughter to all her activities. I really do enjoy that, though. It's our time to talk and catch up on what's going on in her life.

7. What are you most looking forward to this season?

I'm really looking forward to Don Carlo and also to Hamilton, which I'll play this summer. My daughter knows the entire thing by heart and is teaching me the lyrics.