Member Profiles, On the Cover

Ajibola Rivers: Change Requires Seeing and Moving Beyond Accepted Norms

Johann Sebastian Bach’s six suites for unaccompanied cello are widely acknowledged to be the pinnacle of creation for that instrument. Composed between 1717 and 1723, they’re also among the most frequently performed music for solo cello. So, what does one do after studying all six suites? For cellist and composer/arranger Ajibola Rivers of Local 77 […]

The Musicians of Back to the Future

Traveling Musicians Thrive in a Nomadic Lifestyle Performing on a national Broadway tour in different cities across the country sounds like an exciting and rewarding job. According to the four diverse musicians who travel with the Back to the Future: The Musical (BTTF) tour, it is indeed those things—but it also presents unique challenges. Things […]

Cristina Zacharias

Baroque Performance Recreates the Authentic Sounds of 18th-Century Music The small midwestern Canadian town of Morden in southern Manitoba seems like an unlikely place for nurturing a love of playing baroque music for a living. But, as violinist Cristina Zacharias of Local 149 (Toronto, ON) explains, it all came about quite naturally. “My sister and […]

Shawn Pelton

The Ultimate Union Gig: Live from New York on a Saturday Night Playing for the evening broadcast of Saturday Night Live (SNL) is like spending a whole day at the studio. Because that’s exactly what you do, according to Shawn Pelton of Local 802 (New York City), drummer for the show’s on-stage band since 1992. […]

Colorado Music Festival Achieves Union Contract

Summer festivals are a staple of off-season work for many orchestra musicians. Not only is it a great opportunity to work with colleagues from other orchestras, but many festivals also take place in desirable locations, where musicians can take advantage of outdoor summer activities. CMF is a prime example, comprising five weeks of major orchestral repertoire and premieres of new works in the stunning surrounds of Boulder, Colorado.

Under the Big Top: Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua Musicians Organize with the AFM

They may perform under a big top, but it’s no circus. The musicians of the Blue Canvas Orchestra, the house band for Lake Superior Big Top Chautauqua, are musical storytellers whose performances just happen to take place in a huge tent. With a season that runs from mid-June through mid-September, the shows are as unique […]

Sasha Romero: Visibility Promotes Acceptance

Romero’s journey toward self-acceptance started with striving for an understanding of who she was, and her place growing up as young boy in the East Texas town of Longview. “I didn’t really know enough back then to question my identity,” she says. “I realized that I didn’t like my assigned gender at birth. I wanted to be a girl from the age of 5. But I didn’t have the basis to even begin to understand what being trans meant.” Nevertheless, she says, people around her knew something was up. “I wasn’t quite ‘normal’ enough for their taste, so I got bullied a lot, ostracized, and experienced social isolation.”

Abe Lagrimas, Jr.

Firmly Rooted in the Aloha Spirit Growing up in Hawaii isn’t all sun, surf, and palm trees. Okay, well, maybe it is. But for a budding musician, that can present its own challenges. “Like any other kid learning an instrument, video games and television are a distraction,” says Abe Lagrimas, Jr., a jazz drummer, vibraphonist, […]

Francisco Joubert Bernard: Harnessing the Collective Power of Solidarity

Between teaching, touring as second bassoon with the Louisville Orchestra, and playing with the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra, it’s a wonder Francisco Joubert Bernard of Local 11-637 (Louisville, KY) has time for anything else. But he is a firm believer that orchestra musicians need to take an active part in their organization’s governance. For Joubert […]

Lesa Terry: Music Builds Many and Varied Bridges

Lesa Terry of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) was still in school when Leonard Bernstein came to her sister’s house. “It was my first time playing at the Hollywood Bowl,” she recalls. It was with a training orchestra through the Los Angeles Philharmonic. “Bernstein was conducting. And let me tell you, that was an experience […]