Member Profiles, On the Cover

Chester Thompson: A Career Built on Variety

Name a style of music, and Chester Thompson of Locals 257 (Nashville, TN) and 47 (Los Angeles, CA) has probably had some experience playing it. For example, he was a drummer with the jazz fusion band Weather Report, and from there moved to the completely different job of touring drummer for Genesis. “Oh, and in […]

Georgia Stitt: Building Equity in the Workplace  

Asked if she was aware of a gender bias early on in her aspiring Broadway career, Georgia Stitt of Local 802 (New York City) pauses a moment to consider. “I don’t think I had experienced it yet at that level,” says Stitt. “I remember specifically saying to someone in college that I wanted to be […]

Raul Agraz: From Caracas to New York, A Trumpet Player’s Journey

Venezuelan trumpet player Raul Agraz, member of Local 802 (New York City), says decades ago, when he was growing up, his home country had many similarities to the United States. “It was a fairly prosperous country, and it was a melting pot much like the US. Musicians from all around the world lived and worked […]

Paul Hannah: Road Life Is the Good Life

Born and raised in Las Vegas by musical parents, a life in music was never not an option for drummer and percussionist Paul Hannah of Local 500 (Raleigh, NC). “My dad, Don Hannah, was in the house band at the Dunes Hotel, and made a living as an arranger for everyone who came through town. […]

Amy Hess: Getting Involved in Fixing the Future

Service Starts Early Orchestra musicians of a half-century ago would hardly recognize their jobs if they saw most modern orchestras. Certainly, much of the repertoire is the same, but working conditions have been vastly improved, and musicians today typically take on many other duties to ensure their own futures. Amy Hess of Local 10-208 (Chicago, […]

Sidney Hopson: In This Together

Advocates for More Equitable Music Spaces By Cherie Yurco, IM staff writer Talking to Sidney Hopson of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) on a Sunday afternoon, he’s slightly groggy and recovering from a marathon gig in Orange County playing Danny’s Elfman’s show “From Boingo to Batman to Big Mess & Beyond!” “For the percussionists, it’s […]

Fort Wayne Philharmonic Players’ Association

Hardworking Orchestra Committee Leads Effort to Save Season in Fort Wayne For orchestra musicians, the first line of communication with management is typically the orchestra committee (OC). Many times, the OC is also the first line of defense. Such was the case recently with Fort Wayne Philharmonic (FWP) in Indiana. The orchestra’s musicians, members of […]

Cory Wong: Two Halves Make a Whole

Growing up in a fairly traditional Chinese household, one might assume that guitarist Cory Wong of Local 30-73 (St. Paul-Minneapolis, MN) might be drawn to more traditional forms of musical expression. That assumption would be incorrect. “When I was growing up, I was a Chinese kid,” says Wong. “My grandparents moved to the US and […]

Ray Chew: Jack of All Trades, Master of … Seemingly All of Them!

Growing up in Harlem and the Bronx, Ray Chew of Local 802 (New York City) was fortunate to be given opportunities that many other kids in those neighborhoods were not so fortunate to have. This, he says, is thanks to his mother. “My mom sent me to every music program in the city that I […]

Anjan Shah: Fusing Indian Culture with Western Sounds

For many musicians, drawing on their cultural background provides a wealth of material for creative inspiration. As a first-generation Indian American, saxophonist Anjan Shah of Locals 10-208 (Chicago, IL) and 40-543 (Baltimore, MD) understands this very well. However, it wasn’t an understanding that came to him until much later in his life. “Growing up in […]