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On the Cover

Grown Up Music: Punch Brothers 12 Years Later

Punch Brothers

It’s been 12 years since the young band of virtuosic players known as Punch Brothers first gathered early in their careers. Together, they have grown up in the industry, developing a deeper, more mature sound as a quintet, while each of them expanded their multifaceted individual careers.

Today, each of the Local 257 (Nashville, TN) members remains steadfast in his dedication to Punch Brothers, which released its fifth studio album, All Ashore, in July. Their first self-produced album is a nine-movement suite of interconnected themes and stories.

Chris Eldridge says it’s “huge” for career musicians to join together in union. Acting as spokesperson for the group he says, “As musicians, in the face of people more rich and powerful than we are, it’s a big deal.”

Ambitious Beginnings

In 2006 mandolinist Chris Thile first gathered the group of like-minded 20-something instrumentalists—Eldridge (guitar), Gabe Witcher (fiddle), Noam Pikelny (banjo), and the band’s original bassist Greg Garrison—specifically to complete his project coined The Blind Leaving the Blind.

“We started out working on this really ambitious piece of music together, and as time went on, we developed a voice as a band,” says Eldridge. “When we all got into a room together it felt special.” The quintet ultimately settled on Punch Brothers—drawn from Mark Twain’s “A Literary Nightmare.”

The Blind Leaving the Blind, Thile’s four-movement, 40-minute suite for bluegrass instruments debuted in 2007 at Carnegie Hall. Punch, the group’s first album on Nonesuch Records, featured the suite and other original songs from the quintet.

Four more albums, two EPs, and multiple tours have followed for the bluegrass-influenced group that defies genre definition. As the group has evolved, so has each of its members’ solo careers. Garrison left after the first album.  Paul Kowert, the band’s youngest member, stepped in.

Punch Brothers

At the start, they were idealistic musicians who were already recognized instrumentalists. It’s almost like the band grew up together as individuals, musicians, and friends, says Eldridge. “For such a long time the band was a core focus—everybody’s life orbited around Punch Brothers. But now we all have other things going on—people are married and have kids.”

“The music that we make and the language, rapport, and influences we’ve built on and developed together,” says Eldridge. “It’s been kind of a constant evolution to become better at recognizing our strengths and playing to them.”

Members of the Family

“Being in a band is much like being in a family or a relationship. We’ve spent thousands of hours playing music together and we’ve certainly grown together in that way—something like the way siblings can really sing together.” Eldridge says. “The band is a real mutual admiration society. Everybody loves music so deeply and has their own musical personality that they bring to the stew of the band.”

Eldridge describes Chris Thile, as “one of the most brilliant musicians on the planet…with an incredible ability to mastermind the architecture of music.” A mandolin prodigy, Thile co-founded the acoustic trio Nickel Creek as a child. He made his first solo album at 13, following in the steps of progressive bluegrass players like Béla Fleck and Edgar Meyer, both members of Local 257. Thile was IBMA Mandolin Player of the Year in 2001, at age 20, and a MacArthur Fellow at 31.

In 2016 Thile took over hosting duties for Live from Here (formerly A Prairie Home Companion). He released Thanks for Listening, a collection of songs written for the program in 2017.

Fiddler Gabe Witcher performed in his family’s band as a youngster. He first jammed with Thile after meeting as children at a bluegrass festival. Witcher went on to be an accomplished producer who took much of the lead in producing All Ashore. He also produced Grammy-nominated albums for Eldridge and Pikelny.

Paul Kowert records and tours with the Dave Rawlings Machine. He released the album Unless with the band Hawktail in 2018. “Paul’s an unbelievably incredible musician who can literally do anything that anyone can on the acoustic bass,” says Eldridge. He says that Paul keeps Punch Brothers grounded. “He’s pure in his sensibility of when music’s good and when it’s not.”

“Noam [Pikelny] is so ingenious at coming up with incredible textures on his instrument,” says Eldridge. “He can play so sensitively—like the world’s most lyrical banjo player. And he has such an intelligent and beautiful sense of curiosity about the instrument—an incredible work ethic.” Noam’s fourth album Universal Favorite (2017) garnered a Grammy nomination. He was IBMA Banjo Player of the Year in 2014 and 2017.

Eldridge, whose first instrument was his voice, is the son of banjo player Ben Eldridge of The Seldom Scene and grew up at bluegrass festivals. He played electric guitar from age nine and then moved to acoustic after discovering Tony Rice. His former band Stringdusters won three IBMA Awards following the album Fork In the Road (2007). Mount Royal, his 2017 album with Julian Lage, was nominated for a Grammy.

Punch Brothers

Eldridge is a member of the Live from Here house band. Too modest to discuss his own talent, the virtuosic player says he sees himself as a glue that helps keep Punch Brothers together.

Synergy of Side Projects

With such a wide range of side projects going on, Eldridge admits it’s harder these days to be Punch Brothers. “We just have to be deliberate about it. Now that we’re older—adults in every sense of the word—and we weren’t when the band started,” he says families and work/life balance are the biggest complicating factors. “It’s not full-time like when we were younger and I don’t think it ever will be again. There’s something beautiful about having new experiences—that’s so important. And then we bring that back to the band.”

For example, his work with Lage brought him back to improvising. “That project, in a way, couldn’t have been further from what I do with Punch Brothers. I reconnected with being an improviser. Then when we came back to make the new record I had a new tool to play with,” says Eldridge.
One thing that helps with scheduling, he explains, is that the Punch Brothers management team also manages many of their solo projects. “That’s a really big deal. We are existing a couple years in the future; it’s a lot of planning ahead,” he says.

Known for their individual instrumental prowess, in recent years the quintet has focused on vocals. “At the start we did a lot more chopsy, crazy playing. We don’t have a lot to prove in that department anymore. That kind of creates a space to work on other things. Singing is something we’ve been trying to get better at.”

The group describes All Ashore, their fifth studio album, as a reflection of how the political landscape affects personal relationships, parenthood, and human interactions. It’s a meditation on committed relationships. Thile describes the album as a complete thought, a single nine-movement piece of music.

Aside from The Blind Leaving the Blind, this was the first Punch Brothers album envisioned with a big picture concept and sequence, says Eldridge. “[We knew] this is where we want to start, this is where we want to be in the middle, and this is where we want to end.”

He says they went into the recording session while some of the material was still rough. “In the past when we’ve gone in to record, the music’s been pretty well locked down,” he says. The change, to a certain extent, served a purpose.

“There are certain times when we want the tape to be rolling the first time. There is magic the first time we play it right that we never get back. We were trying to leave space for that intangible magic to appear,” he says. “But also on this record, with everybody’s hectic lives, we didn’t have as much time to prepare. We also left space to be able to go back and revise stuff.”

All Ashore

The blueprint for All Ashore came from discussions the band had on tour. “The music really gets written collectively in a room with ideas coming from anybody within the band,” he says. “Thile will start singing dummy lyrics—something he learned from the Jayhawks’ Gary Louris.” Real lyrics gel after the song is written.

“Thile does all the lyric writing. We joke that it’s sort of like the United Nations where everybody gets veto power on the lyrical front,” says Eldridge. “We won’t let something out unless everybody is happy and that can be frustrating. There have been times where everybody is digging what’s happening except one person. Usually we work on it until everybody is happy,” he says and usually everyone agrees the new version is better. “That’s one of the cool reasons to be in a band. As long as you’re with people who you trust and respect, five heads are better than one.”

Punch Brothers wound up the year with a November tour of Europe. They will be touring the US again in March 2019. “It’s a lifer band; there’s no doubt about it,” says Eldridge. “I can’t imagine anything ever being more important or sacred to us than Punch Brothers.”

On the Cover

Lawrence Goldberg: The Best of Both Worlds on Broadway and Touring

Lawrence Goldberg

Music director, conductor, and keyboardist Lawrence Goldberg of Local 802 (New York City) has worked on dozens of Broadway and Off-Broadway shows, as well as national tours. Since wrapping up work as music director for A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder in 2017, he’s been subbing for Phantom of the Opera and the Cats revival on Broadway. Over the summer, he conducted Anastasia on Broadway once a week in preparation for his role as music director for the touring show. We sat down with Goldberg shortly before that tour began on October 9.

International Musician (IM): What attracted you to focus on musical theatre?

In college I studied classical piano and composition, but my ambition back then was to be Billy Joel. I didn’t have a real cohesive plan, so I was getting a musical education. Then, I realized that I didn’t have a rock and roll persona.

I had become very close friends with [now Boston Pops conductor] Keith Lockhart at Carnegie Mellon University. He started music directing shows that the drama department was doing over the summer and he hired me to be his assistant. I realized that theater was a great place to pursue many different styles of music and where I could approach a steady living.

IM: What are some of the favorite shows you’ve worked? Why?

I break them down into two broad categories: comedies and dramas. I love working on comedies because they are so fun. But comedies tend to require that the music stays out of the way and lets the comedy be the focal point. I had a ball doing shows like The Producers and The Drowsy Chaperone, but musically they weren’t quite so satisfying.

On dramas I feel like I have a more integral role in shaping the audience’s emotional response and that’s fulfilling. Shows like Les Misérables and South Pacific, where I feel like I’m almost another actor in the drama, give me a lot of enjoyment.

IM: What can you tell me about the show Anastasia? What made you want to music direct it?

Anastasia began as the animated musical that [Stephen] Flaherty and [Lynn] Ahrens wrote the score to in 1997. It capitalized on the resurgence of new Disney animated musicals, though Anastasia was not Disney. When they decided to do the Broadway version, they used six of the songs from the movie and adapted them, but also drew upon the live action movie from 1956, which starred Ingrid Bergman. They got rid of the fantastical nature of the animation and made it more realistic.

Flaherty has always been one of my musical heroes. I admire his writing and it was a thrill to get to know him personally in the process. He writes smart but accessible material and Anastasia is certainly a good example. Anastasia is a strongly put together show. The orchestrations were brilliantly done by Doug Besterman.

IM: What is your favorite piece in the show?

In the second act of the show the characters attend a performance of Swan Lake at the ballet in Paris. The writers created this wonderful ballet piece that uses two of the famous themes from Swan Lake and intertwines them with four melodies of songs heard earlier in the evening. Four different characters each sing a theme. It all gets intertwined with the themes of Swan Lake, and meanwhile, there’s this gorgeous classical ballet going on. It’s such a virtuosic piece and brilliantly put together. The highlight of the evening for me is conducting that ballet.

IM: How big is the touring pit?

We have 12 pieces on the road. Two keyboard players plus myself are touring. I’m the standup conductor. We pick up 10 local musicians in every city. Associate conductor/keyboard 2 is Valerie Gebert [of Locals 369 and 444]. She just came off Finding Neverland. To have somebody I know I can trust, both conducting the show and rehearsing, is a wonderful feeling. The keyboard 1 player traveling is Josh Cullen [of Local 802]. He’s a bit younger, but he’s a fantastic pianist.

Anastasia’s touring musicians (L to R) Music Director Lawrence Goldberg of Local 802 (New York City), Music Supervisor Tom Murray, Keyboard 1 Josh Cullen of Local 802, and Assistant Conductor/Keyboard 2 Valerie Gebert of Locals 369 (Las Vegas, NV) and 444 (Jacksonville, FL).

IM: What role do AFM locals and contractors play at each stop?

I really rely on local contractors. They live in the community and know the players. The onus is on them to give me the best players for each show. It’s a touchy situation in some ways, depending on the local market. If there’s not a lot of theatre going on, local musicians have a hard time making a living and rely on playing the tours. They want some expectation that they will be hired repeatedly; but from my perspective, the style of the show should determine who gets hired. In the larger cities it’s not usually an issue, but in smaller cities I have to understand that these people are relying on this work and we have to work with whoever gets hired.

IM: How difficult is it to bring the music up to par with just one rehearsal?

That depends on if you’re in a big city with experienced musicians or in a smaller place. I show up on Tuesday morning at 9:00 a.m. with a new group of musicians and I’ve got five hours. We’re going to do a show in front of people that night. The biggest challenge of my job is deciding what the best use of that time is to get the best result. And sometimes it’s very easy and clear from the get go that everything’s gonna be fine—they’ve done their homework and they have the right instincts—and sometimes it’s less so.

In those times, I have to work at keeping it a positive experience. I know that they’re all doing their best. I have to try to do what’s best for the show and be as understanding as possible. Sometimes that means asking people to lay out on a part and having a keyboard cover it.

IM: Do you send advance books to each market?

Yes, we send the music ahead three or four weeks. We also typically shoot a video of me conducting the show and make it available online. The Internet has become such a huge tool for tours.

IM: Is it always five hours of rehearsal time?

It varies, depending on the production and the needs of the music. When I did The Producers tour, we had seven hours, split between Monday evening and Tuesday morning. That costs a lot more money. The Producers was such a huge hit and it was so controlled. Susan Stroman and Mel Brooks kept such hands-on control of the quality that they had the full orchestration on the road—23 pieces. They didn’t want to compromise. Five hours is on the generous side these days. If there’s two hours of music, three hours of rehearsal is barely enough time to play everything. Usually the sweet spot is between four and five hours.

IM: Have there been any shows that were particularly difficult to conduct?

I think the two most difficult shows that I music directed were The Producers and Les Misérables, for different reasons. Les Misérables is difficult because the music never stops and it’s so constantly intense. I remember in the first act I had a 14-second break where I would try to drink a whole bottle of water, otherwise I was too busy to even pick it up. That was hard physically.

With The Producers, everything was either a punchline or a setup to a punch line. Mel Brooks is a comic scientist and the timing of how the music would land after each punch line was so crucial to him. Literally every 10 seconds there was a vamp. That was a stressful show to conduct because I constantly had to get the music to slam in right after each joke.

IM: Do you have a preference for working on Broadway or touring shows? What are the negatives or positives of each?

Obviously, Broadway is the pinnacle of the musical theatre business. I’ve been lucky to split my time evenly between working on Broadway and working on the road. On Broadway, I’m at home, I can see my friends, and I can do other things in the business. When I go on the road, all that kind of goes out the window and it becomes a challenge living my life day to day. I have to think about where I’m going to find food, where I’m going to do laundry, and my social life is limited to the people I’m working with.

The thing I like about being on the road is that it sort of forces me to boil down life to the essentials. I think it’s healthy to force myself to live out of a suitcase every now and then and decide what things are important and what things I can do without. Traveling with a small group of people in such an intense environment, I tend to make closer and more lasting friendships than in my normal life. On the road, because I’m picking up local musicians, it’s a constant challenge and it stays interesting. On Broadway, you can get a little complacent.

IM: Do you recall when you first joined the AFM? Have you ever conducted in the nonunion space?

My first local was 60-471 in Pittsburgh. I transferred to Local 802 in 1990. No, I’ve never conducted non-union. After the South Pacific tour closed they asked me to be involved with auditions for a non-union tour. I had such mixed feelings that I’m contributing to the dilution of our labor market. When we work for non-union employers and productions, it threatens the high standards we have all worked so hard to achieve and maintain. I know that there are music directors that get involved with the rehearsing of those tours; luckily I haven’t had to face that.

gemma new
On the Cover

Gemma New: Getting a World View from the Podium

gemma new
Gemma New, Local 293 (Hamilton, ON) member, is music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra, resident conductor for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, and her guest conducting engagements have her circling the globe.

New Zealanders are known for their “big OEs” (overseas experiences), but Conductor Gemma New has taken that tradition to the extreme. Her positions as music director for Hamilton Philharmonic Orchestra in Ontario and resident conductor for the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra mean she almost always has a bag packed during the concert season. And then there are her many guest conducting engagements. She says she’ll find herself in at least two different cities just about every week this year.

In recent seasons, New has made conducting appearances with Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Helsingborgs Symfoniorkester (Sweden), Malmö Symfoniorkester (Sweden), and Filharmonia Szczecin (Poland), plus with the Albany, Atlanta, Berkeley, Long Beach, New Jersey, North Carolina, Omaha, San Diego, and Toledo symphonies in North America, as well as Aukland Philharmonia, Christchurch Symphony, and Opus Orchestra in New Zealand.

Even in the off-season she earns her miles. In Lausanne, Switzerland, in June, she conducted the Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne. Then, she spent about two months as a conducting fellow at the Tanglewood Music Center. “I conducted in the weekly symphonic and ensemble programs and I was mentored by conductors such as Andris Nelsons and Herbert Blomstedt,” she says. She also fit in guest conducting with the Chautauqua Symphony Orchestra and the Grant Park Symphony, and back in St. Louis, she held auditions for the youth orchestra and conducted some summer pops programs.

gemma new

“As New Zealanders, it’s part of our culture to have an OE, especially just after graduating high school. We travel a lot as a nation,” she says. “When I guest conduct in Europe, the United States, or Canada, I often meet Kiwi musicians who I was in National Youth Orchestra with.”

New thrives on these engagements. “I love getting to know an orchestra and working on this beautiful music with them. To work with the orchestra is always a joy—it’s a great week!” she says.

Concertmasters are key in helping the process along, she explains. “They give me insight into the orchestra and help with communication. My job is to bring people together with a unified interpretation and to create an environment where everyone is comfortable. It’s always a musical conversation—listening to what the orchestra has to give. It’s a real pleasure to have that two-way conversation.”

New, who describes herself as highly prepared and a calm leader, says, “The first rehearsal I take quite a bit of my focus into listening to the orchestra and what they are giving; that helps me figure out a plan for the rest of the week. At rehearsal every second is accounted for. It’s a creative challenge.”

To connect with an orchestra, she tries to relay her authentic enthusiasm. “When you conduct you should be genuine about yourself and relaxed and enthusiastic about the task at hand. It’s all about a team working towards a project,” she says, adding that nervous energy plays no role. “If you are nervous and have fears, that takes part of your focus away from the group; that’s extra noise, that’s a negative.”

New’s career grew out of her childhood passion for orchestra and watching her conductors as a youth orchestra concertmaster. “I became absolutely fascinated with the orchestra and playing within this immense sound; being part of a team in achieving something that no one can do by themselves,” she says. “In my youth orchestra, we had three conductors and each of them was very different in how they led the orchestra. I became fascinated with how the orchestra reacted to their leadership and what made them uniquely different.”

She recalls first deciding she wanted a career in music at age 12 when she was part of a program combining two youth orchestras. “There were more than 200 of us on stage. I was so inspired. That’s when I realized that I wanted to be part of this for the rest of my life,” she says.

“Three years later, I got the chance to conduct for the first time and that’s when [my career path] fell into place for me,” she says. “I felt very comfortable and I had a deep curiosity for music as a whole—how it’s constructed, how we come together to bring a unified interpretation. I felt like I had these kernels of strengths that fit with what a conductor needs to do and I was excited to improve and hone in on those things. I was eager to get to know all this music and understand it on a holistic level and to physically join with the musicians’ sound.”

Among those conducting strengths, New says, “I think a conductor needs to be a great musician, a great communicator, and a great leader. And every musician needs to be creative, curious, and open-minded and always wanting to learn more.”

Over the next few years of high school she had opportunities to conduct various groups. “I asked people for advice and then I moved to Christchurch and went to university there,” she says. Eventually, she got the job conducting the youth orchestra and assistant conducting the Christchurch Symphony.

gemma new
Photo: Bankomedia

New graduated with a Bachelor of Music (Honors) in violin performance from the University of Canterbury. She also earned her master’s degree in orchestral conducting from the Peabody Institute in Baltimore. She was a Dudamel Conducting Fellow with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, among other fellowships.

When she took the position as music director for Hamilton Philharmonic she was happy to join Local 293 (Hamilton, ON). New says it is “very important” for musicians to join together in union for mutual support in the workplace.

Throughout her career, New has continued to work with various youth groups, including in L.A. She’s involved with Hamilton Philharmonic Youth Orchestra, Hamilton’s Young Musicians Boot Camps, and is music director of the St. Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra.

“I am passionate about young people playing together in orchestras and I love being a part of it every single time. When I work with young musicians I see their passion, enthusiasm, and dedication to performing music together. I love to see how they grow from the very first week until the last week of our year; it’s incredible progress and very inspiring,” she says.

“I think it’s very important for a young person to learn an instrument and to play with others. It brings certain skills that maybe, combined, cannot be learned with anything else. Music gives us work ethic, dedication, commitment, team-building, and leadership, as well as listening skills. It gives us a chance to express ourselves without using our voice—to be creative and emotional.”

New also enjoys mentoring young conductors. “When we have the opportunity, we do a conducting workshop with the orchestra so anyone who wants to conduct can get to know what it’s like to be on the podium,” she says. “Also, the other musicians find it interesting to learn how the conductor communicates with the orchestra.”

Instead of a challenge, New sees her responsibilities with Hamilton Philharmonic and St. Louis Symphony—which are 700 miles apart—as complementary positions. She says, “I love that I get to work with these two orchestras so regularly and I get to learn the inside story.”

“As music director of the Hamilton Philharmonic I am responsible for the artistic vision of the orchestra,” she explains. “I am part of the programming for the entire season. I conduct the majority of the programs and I create them in conjunction with the committee and guest conductors. I am part of the panel for auditions, as well as development and marketing. The Hamilton Philharmonic is such a superb orchestra. I love working with each and every one of the musicians, staff, and board.”

gemma new
Photo: Bankomedia

“For St. Louis, I will conduct two of their subscription programs this year, and I do movies, holiday programs, pops, education and family programs, and new music programs—a wide range of repertoire. It keeps me on my toes and creative and the orchestra is fantastic. They are so open about sharing their experience with me and so supportive of my growth as a conductor and musician.”

Just looking at next month’s agenda, she’ll have her New York Philharmonic debut in November. Then there’s a partnership with the St. Louis Symphony performing new works from composers studying at University of Missouri (Mizzou) School of Music and the film Nightmare Before Christmas. “We also have a partnership with St. Louis University for their anniversary and a youth orchestra concert. And that’s just for St. Louis Symphony,” she says.

“For Hamilton, we have one of our main stage concerts, “From Broadway to Tin Pan Alley,” with Doug LaBrecque, which I will be conducting. I will be guest conducting Jacksonville Symphony in “A French Fantasy”—a beautiful program of French music,” she says.

“The rest of the season is equally demanding,” says New. She has engagements with Toronto and Detroit symphonies, as well as Brandenburgisches Staatsorchester in Frankfurt, Germany, to name just a few.

“I look forward to all of those events and I really want to make sure that every single thing I do I love, and that I bring as much energy and enthusiasm as possible. I don’t want anything to be less exciting than the next,” she says. “Every piece that I’m currently working on is my favorite piece at the moment. I love every kind of music and I just want to find all the gems in the music to enjoy.”

Ruth B
On the Cover

Ruth B: Career Launched on a Fairy Tale

Ruth B

Photos: Jacqueline DiMillia

The story of Local 390 (Edmonton, AB) member Ruth B.’s success reads like a fairy tale, and fittingly, her first hit was inspired by one.

At just 23, Ruth Berhe, who goes by Ruth B., still seems stunned by her own sudden success. A talented vocalist and pianist with a longtime passion for music, she was planning to become a lawyer when music took over her life.

Ruth B. was in the habit of posting six-second videos of herself singing cover tunes on the now defunct site Vine. It was an easy way for the shy Edmonton student and part-time retail worker to express herself musically and somewhat anonymously. That all changed in November 2014 when she sang into her phone: “I am a lost boy from Neverland, usually hanging out with Peter Pan.” The lyric garnered more then 84,000 likes, with many of the listeners asking to hear the rest of the song. That posed a dilemma for the then-20-year-old who had only written that one line.

“I’d written a lot of poetry and short stories growing up, but I had never put music and writing together. I didn’t think anyone would listen if I wrote songs,” she says.

Inspired by her fans, Ruth B. set to work writing. Snippet by snippet, she finished the song, which became “Lost Boy.”

“I put ‘Lost Boy’ on YouTube by myself and I remember one of the very first comments was someone saying, ‘I’m so excited for this; I really needed to hear this.’ It clicked that something I had written and created could impact someone else. At that point I thought I could do this [as a career],” she explains.

“When I wrote ‘Lost Boy’ it was like a switch had been flipped and I literally couldn’t stop writing,” she says. “Two weeks after ‘Lost Boy,’ I wrote the next song, and then for a whole week, I wrote a song every single day. It became my favorite thing to do.”

Record labels also took notice of her social media success and angelic voice. In July 2015 she was signed to Columbia Records and shortly after released her first LP, The Intro, comprising “Lost Boy” and three other original songs.

Soon after she decided to make music her career, she joined AFM Local 390 in (Edmonton, AB). She felt the organization would support her as she became cognizant of the complexity of the industry and all the effort it takes to be successful.

“I didn’t know how many different components were involved—labels, radio, management, writers, producers, engineers. If you had asked me three years ago, I just thought it was artists making music,” she says. “When you see all the incredible artists that you look up to, and you hear their amazing songs, you forget about how hard they, and everyone on their team, have to work to get there. It’s not the glamour that media portrays; it’s a lot of hard work and hours.”

In February 2016, Ruth B. was invited to perform “Lost Boy” on the Today show—a big moment for the young performer. That fall, she embarked on her first major tour opening for fellow Canadian Alessia Cara, a member of Local 149 (Toronto, ON).

Ruth B. says it was challenging to transfer her talents to a stage. “It’s one thing to make music in my room and a completely different thing to be an artist and a performer,” she says. “Music can be such an internal thing, especially if you are an introvert. Putting it in front of people was hard.”

“Like anything, it’s about practice. The more comfortable you become, the more enjoyable it becomes. At this time two years ago, it caused me anxiety to know I had a show the next day. Now, it makes me super excited and I love it,” she says.

The year 2017 brought even bigger things for Ruth B. Her first full-length album, Safe Haven, launched in May, plus she was selected as Breakthrough Artist of the Year at the 2017 Juno Awards. At the Canadian Radio Music Awards she was selected as both Best New Group or Solo Artist: Hot AC (adult contemporary) and Best New Group or Solo Artist: CHR (contemporary hit radio).

Ruth B“The best part of releasing an album is seeing people react to a full body of work you’ve made,” she says. “It’s unlike anything I’ve experienced. The songs really come from my heart. When someone tweets me about the album, it hits me like nothing else can. The album has made me fall in love with the process of making music that affects people.”

The title track on Safe Haven is a reflection of the closeness she feels with her family. She’d finished recording most of the album and was on a family trip to Ethiopia, where her parents were born. Visits with her ailing grandfather inspired this tune. “Especially when he was with my mom (his daughter), he looked so happy. I wrote the line, ‘when I’m with you, I stop looking for heaven because I found a piece of it wrapped up in your presence.’ I felt super safe there with my family,” she says.

“I thought the [title] song captured the 12 songs perfectly. They had become my safe haven in the madness of those past two years. They made me feel like nothing had changed,” she says.

That summer she headlined a tour for the first time. “When I first started I was terrified. This was my own show and it was an hour-and-a-half set. Though I was nervous and scared, that tour helped me fall in love with performing. People came to see me and hear my songs. I saw the faces in the audience and met people after the show,” she says. “When you see numbers on social media, though you are grateful, it doesn’t seem real because you don’t connect.”

The first part of the three-leg tour included a show in Edmonton. “That was a huge highlight,” she says. “It was cool singing songs in front of the people who inspired them.”

Throughout the whirlwind of her success, Ruth B. has remained true to herself—a family-oriented musician from the quiet city of Edmonton. “You can stay grounded no matter where you go, that’s just a choice,” she says. “I am interested in remaining myself and writing about stuff that’s important to me.”

“I never want to write a song because it’s catchy and I know people will like it. I think that’s an easy option. I want to know that someone out there is going to get it and it will mean something to them. It could be how I feel about the world, politics, humanity. If someone asks me about it, I can back it up,” she says.

Reflecting on her career so far, Ruth B. recalls one indelible performance at the SOCAN Awards Show when she sang Bryan Adams’ “Heaven” with Adams in the audience. “Especially if you are from Canada, he’s a hero. I got to meet him and he was sweet and nice,” she says.

While Ruth B. takes the summer off from touring, her focus is on improving her songwriting and putting out more music. “Anyone who knows me knows how important writing is to me. I’m working at becoming a better writer and developing an even stronger connection with the people who listen to my music,” she says.

Belinda Whitney
On the Cover

Belinda Whitney: Tapestry of Support Shapes Compelling Career

Belinda Whitney

photo credit: Matt Dine

Violinist Belinda Whitney of Local 802 (New York City) has forged an exciting and diverse career. She’s currently concertmaster and personnel manager for The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, concertmaster for the Broadway show My Fair Lady, performs with the Harlem Chamber Players, plus does a wide range of commercial gigs. She credits her success to all the people that believed in her and helped her along the way.

Whitney’s journey in music began at school. “No one is more a product of music in the public schools than I am,” she says, recalling the first time she heard a string quartet in second grade in Philadelphia. Later, she was one of two students from each classroom selected to take violin lessons.

Her remarkably dedicated violin teacher, John Hamilton, invested heavily in his students, traveling to their homes once a week for free, private lessons. “He would give me lessons until I couldn’t concentrate anymore and then he would stay for dinner,” she recalls. It was the only payment he would accept. “He also took us to free concerts, found performance opportunities for us, and he introduced us to a summer camp.” Still teaching and performing, Hamilton is now a member of Local 294 (Lancaster, PA).

Already gigging in college, Whitney joined Local 77 (Philadelphia, PA) as a student. “It was very formal. I had an interview and I dressed up and brought my violin. The interviewer asked a lot of questions. I played some scales and a little solo,” she says. “It really drove home the fact that I was becoming part of something. We had pride in what we were doing and I valued that.” However, she had no idea how important her union would be later.

Whitney received a Bachelor of Music from Temple University and a Master of Music from The Juilliard School, where she was a scholarship student of Ivan Galamian. Though her studies were classical, the music she wished to play was more commercial. “I always loved old movies and the sound of old TV show orchestras,” she says. “When I started doing freelance gigs in college, my professor said, ‘Now, don’t you enjoy these gigs too much.’ But, I loved doing commercial work.”

Before graduation, she was already hired to play in Philadelphia that summer for The King and I with Yul Brynner. “I thought, ‘Wow, I’m not out of school and I already have a job,’” says Whitney who was 23 at the time. “I loved it. I got to work with a lot of seasoned pros; it was a great introduction.”

“At the time, big stars would go on the road,” she says. Following The King and I, she worked on several other shows—Sugar Babies with Ann Miller and Mickey Rooney and Mame with Angela Lansbury—and other acts that came through Philadelphia and Atlantic City. “I recorded with Sigma Sounds and Philadelphia International Records and did symphonic work as well. I felt like I had it all.”

Belinda Whitney

Photo credit: Kevin Yatarola

Her first full-time symphony position was as associate concertmaster for Savannah Symphony. “They sort of took a chance on me because I had no experience [as concertmaster],” she says. When the former concertmaster left, Whitney became one of the first black concertmasters for a large symphony. “That was a big feather in my cap that led to a lot of other things.”

After a few years, she wanted a change of pace and moved back to Philadelphia. A short time later she had her first gig on Broadway. The concertmaster for City of Angels dropped out just weeks before the show’s opening and John Miller, a Local 802 contractor, hired her. “It was a little odd to start in New York as concertmaster for a Broadway show, but I’d already paid my dues elsewhere,” says Whitney who went on to have a long and rewarding association with Miller. “I feel really lucky for that,” she says.

According to Whitney, one of the most important duties of a Broadway concertmaster is to maintain high standards. Not everyone is cut out for Broadway, she says. “In a symphony, you prepare a different concert every week or so. With a Broadway show, you play the same thing over and over—for years, if you are lucky. Being a concertmaster for a Broadway show is a matter of maintenance: keeping standards up, while keeping the work atmosphere inclusive, light, and pleasant. New York is full of incredibly fantastic musicians and it’s important to foster an atmosphere of respect in the pit.”

“I don’t mind playing the same thing over and over,” she says. “I feel when you play Broadway you are either building up or tearing down. You are either playing your best and thinking ‘tonight I’m going to make my sound a little better’ or just phoning it in, which is tearing down. As a concertmaster, it is my challenge to keep the standards high in the face of repetition.”

Whitney has now served as concertmaster for many Broadway shows. When asked for her personal favorite, she replies, “I could tell you why they are all my favorites. I’ve always loved old musicals. At Lincoln Center, I was concertmaster, as well as in-house contractor, for South Pacific, The King and I (which I did for a second time), and currently My Fair Lady.”

Music Coordinator David Lai of Local 802 first asked her to contract for South Pacific. “I tend to take on challenges,” she says. “He led me through it. It was a big orchestra—30 people—and by the time everyone was allotted five subs, we were talking 180 people. That was a pretty big payroll and a lot of people to get to know.”

That’s when she first realized all the little things her union does behind the scenes to make sure musicians are compensated and treated fairly. “I really can’t imagine navigating the musical freelance business without the union,” she says, describing how she acts as a bridge to the union. “I enjoy people—facilitating work situations and making them run as smoothly and painlessly as possible.”

Today, Whitney is also contractor and personnel director for The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, which she’s been involved with from its inception. When she first met with founder and Local 802 member Gary Fagin about his ideas, Whitney discovered they had similar approaches to music. “We both value musicians who are experienced in a variety of styles,” she says. “He said he felt New York freelance musicians are among the most well-rounded musicians in the world today, and have extensive playing experience, at the highest level, in many different styles. This was exactly what he wanted for Knickerbocker.”

Belinda Whitney

photo credit: Cenovia Cummins

Whitney also told him she would not contract an orchestra that didn’t provide fair wages and benefits for its musicians. “We agreed on this from day one,” she says. “We’ve had some unusual requests and Gary always says, ‘We do it the right way or we don’t do it.’ It’s been wonderful to be the bridge between this orchestra, this man who has this fantastic vision, and the union whose priority is getting people the benefits to which they are entitled. These musicians are absolutely valued.”

The Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra is Lower Manhattan’s orchestra, she says. “It started 10 years ago, not long after 9/11, at a time when so many orchestras were folding. It’s been wonderful to be a part of building it and I feel lucky to have done that.”

Whitney thrives in the diverse work of a freelance musician, which for her has also included film scores, records, and working with artists as diverse as Michael Jackson, Luciano Pavarotti, Barbra Streisand, and Stevie Wonder of Local 5 (Detroit, MI). She can also be heard, along with violinist Cenovia Cummins of Local 802, in the recording of the tango introduction to the show Mystery Masterpiece Theatre.

As an old movie buff, Whitney felt particularly blessed when she met Donald O’Connor during an MGM special at Carnegie Hall. “I went to his dressing room and we had a great time talking. At the concert, he spoke about his experiences with MGM. As they dimmed the lights to play a video of his routine ‘Make ’Em Laugh.’ I saw him walking over to me. He says, ‘Now let’s watch,’ and puts his arm around me and we watched it together. I was on stage at Carnegie Hall, watching ‘Make ’Em Laugh’ with Donald O’Connor’s arm around me! That really tickled me.”

Among the necessities for a successful freelance career, according to Whitney, are union membership, networking, affability, and professionalism. Earning livable wages as a freelance musician would not be feasible without the union, she contends. “The union really pulls it all together. I think we take our union for granted, but the way the freelance world works is really a product of our union’s hard work.”

“Respect, pleasantness, networking, and being on time and ready to play are huge for musicians,” she continues. “In a big group of musicians, you may not stand out. But, if you are early, ready to play, dependable, and friendly, people will want you around. The music world today is very competitive and there are a lot of people who can do a job pretty well. Sometimes networking skills can give you a slight edge. People will forgive a lot of missteps if they realize you are eager to learn and pleasant to be around. We all remember when we were young.”

It’s also critical to be a well-rounded musician, she says. “My experiences in Broadway, the recording business, and the classical business keep looping around for me. One takes me to the other, then back to the first. It’s been a rich experience learning different styles.”

Looking back on her career Whitney is thankful to everyone who helped her succeed. “God has blessed me more than I ever thought and I feel humbled that so many people took a chance on me. When I take inventory of my journey I realize that my career is like a tapestry of all the people who invested in me—from my family who encouraged and believed in me, to my parents driving me all over the country to music camps, to that very first teacher,” she says. “I love that I’m involved with the Harlem Chamber Players and Knickerbocker Chamber Orchestra, which put on children’s concerts. Investing in others is really important because that’s what brought me here.”

Whitney feels that working with young children is key to bringing more racial diversity to symphony orchestras. “By the time musicians are out of college, I feel like it should be a level playing field,” she says. “I think the reason I did as well as I did was because people invested so heavily in me before I got to college.”

“When I talk to my colleagues, many of them had parents who played an instrument so they started at a very early age and music was a part of the home. But about 90% of the black professional musicians I know started music in the public schools. So that means they are starting later. I think we should invest in programs targeting younger people so when they get to college they are already competitive,” she says.

Tania León
On the Cover

Tania León: A Celebration of Diversity in Composing and Life

Tania León

Tania León of Local 802 (New York City) conducts the Youth Orchestra LA (YOLA) in the premiere of her work Pa’lante. (Photo credit: Craig Mathew)

The music of North America would be vastly different if not for the richness brought from other cultures. That’s one reason why the career of Tania León is so remarkable. If she had not bravely come to the US on a 1967 “Freedom Flight” from Cuba, she would not have gifted New York City and the country with her talents and influence, inspiring generations of artists. The pianist, composer, conductor, and educator’s career culminated in the founding of her own composer organization and festival seven years ago.

“I wanted to create something that brought composers together from all walks of life,” says León. Founded in 2010, her nonprofit Composers Now is dedicated to empowering all living composers, while celebrating the diversity—in gender, culture, genre—of their voices and contributions. This month, composers gather in New York City to take part in this year’s theme: “the impact of arts in our society.”

“We have more than 99 events all over the city—each attended by the composer,” says León. “It’s a very inclusive audience.”

A proud and longtime member of Local 802 (New York City), León recalls joining the union early in her career when she was as an accompanist and worked as a music director and conductor for Broadway shows, including The Wiz and The Human Comedy. “I’ve worn lots of different hats, and all the while, backed up and supported by the union. A lot of musicians depend on Local 802. The AFM is a core organization—instrumental to having a career in music.”

Cuban Roots

Tania León

Tania León of Local 802 (New York City) looks on while Henry Louis Gates, Jr., speaks at a September 2017 event commemorating the anniversary of the desegregation of Little Rock High School. (Photo credit: Blake Tyson)

Though she grew up poor in Havana, León’s entire family supported her remarkable musical talent. Her grandmother insisted she be admitted to the music conservatory at age four, before she could even read. Her grandfather purchased a piano for the household when León was five. An avid reader, her grandmother often spoke to her about artists—Marian Anderson, Josephine Baker, Paul Robeson, Leonard Bernstein—many of whom Tania later got to work with.

When she was nine years old, León’s teacher casually planted the seed of her becoming an international pianist. While performing in France, he sent her a postcard of the Eiffel Tower. “It had such an impact; I kept saying to my family that one day I would live in Paris,” says León.

Before leaving Cuba, she earned a BA and MA from Carlos Alfredo Peyrellade Conservatory, and simultaneously, earned her CPA from the school of commerce—in case her dream of being a musician never materialized. “My family did so much to give me the best education they could,” she says.

Arriving first in Miami, she knew the city could not offer the opportunities needed to launch a music career. She explained her predicament to a church sponsor. Three days later she had a one-way ticket to New York City, which she has called home ever since.

León was able to work as an accountant at the Americana Hotel, while she worked towards validating her degrees in the US. “Following an audition, I was given an almost instant scholarship from New York College of Music and they sent me to study English at New York University [NYU],” she says. Eventually she earned her BA and MS from NYU.

Soon after arriving in the country in 1967, she became aware her new home was facing challenges—protests over civil rights and the Vietnam War were in full swing. While New York City was diverse and accepting, the unrest in the country raised her consciousness. “At NYU there was a rally every three days and the suspension of classes. Because I didn’t speak English, my classmates would tell me what to scream when we attended the rallies,” she says. “Within that first year after my arrival, Martin Luther King was assassinated.”

“When I first saw what was going on with desegregation I was saddened,” she says. Coming from a multi-racial background, racism was not something she had experienced up to that point in her life. “My neighborhood [in Cuba] was integrated. We were unified in that we were all poor.”

Racism is something she’s never been able to wrap her head around. “I don’t care what you look like. There are no two people in the world with the same skin tone; we are all different,” she says. “We all reflect each other; we are all created in the image of one another; and everyone has something to give.”

Birth of a Composer

A chance meeting with Arthur Mitchell, the New York City Ballet’s first African American principal dancer, changed the course of her life. She had agreed to sub as a ballet accompanist, and during a break, she met Mitchell when he heard her playing. “The door opened and there he was; it was like he’d come out of a movie set,” she says.

Eventually, he asked if she’d like to help with his new project, Dance Theatre of Harlem. Motivated by the assassination of King, Mitchell had the idea of using art, specifically dance, to affect social change. León became the organization’s first music director. Eventually, Mitchell inspired León to create her first composition, Tones, which she dedicated to her grandmother.

“One day Arthur said to me, ‘Why don’t you write a piece and I will do the choreography?” recalls León. “The whole experience moved me so much that I wanted to change my major to composition.”

Similarly, on the suggestion of Mitchell, León first conducted the Juilliard Orchestra for a Dance Theatre of Harlem performance in Italy. “The next thing I knew, I was in the pit and the next day my picture was in the paper with the caption ‘woman conductor,’” she says. “When we came back, I studied conducting.”

León never thought she would write an opera either. When she was first contacted by Munich Biennale festival founder Hans Werner Henze to write one, she thought it was a joke. Her opera, Scourge of Hyacinths, commissioned in 1994 and based on a BBC radio play by Wole Soyinka, won the BMW Prize for best new opera at the festival in 1999.

León instituted the Brooklyn Philharmonic Community Concert series in 1978. Over the years, she’s advised and worked with dozens of other organizations, among them: The New York Philharmonic, American Composers Orchestra, Sonidos de las Americas Festivals, International Alliance of Women in Music, Quintet of the Americas, Symphony Space, Sphinx Organization, Orquesta Sinfonica de las Americas, altaVoz, and Chamber Music America.

Today, León is an inspiration to young composers, a cultural activist, and a champion for contemporary music. She has been a professor at Brooklyn College since 1985 and is a City University of New York (CUNY) distinguished professor since 2010. As a professor, she sees her role as supportive: teaching students to believe in themselves and helping them to bring out their best compositions.

“I encourage them to follow their beliefs and support them spiritually—to find who they are. We all get preoccupied about how to start a piece and the first time the piece is heard by others. In my teaching, I incorporate everything—how to bow, how to address an audience, and how they are going to make a living,” she explains. “After years of working, you develop your voice. And hopefully, with that voice, you can write in different styles.”

Return to Cuba

Even she had to find her voice. Early in her composing career, in 1979, León visited with her father in Cuba. She played him some of her compositions. “Before I left, my father said my music was very interesting, but asked ‘where are you in your music?’ Unfortunately, that was our last conversation and I was left with that question, not knowing what he meant,” she says.

As she thought about her trip and Cuba, it occurred to her that she could include traces of the music of her primary culture in the music she was composing. Shortly after, she began Four Pieces for Cello. “The third movement, ‘Tumbao,’ refers to my father’s way of walking—very happy from the heart. That was my first gesture where I included myself,” she says.

In 2016, León was invited to return to her birthplace to perform for the first time. She conducted the National Symphony Orchestra of Cuba in a program that included one of her works. León, who has memories of attending the symphony’s concerts with her grandmother, dedicated the performance to her ancestors.

The Little Rock Nine Opera

Tania León

(Photo credit: Andrea Morales)

León is currently working on her latest commission, The Little Rock Nine opera. Commissioned by the University of Central Arkansas (UCA), the opera tells the story of the desegregation of Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957. Rollin Potter, former dean of UCA’s College of Fine Arts, came up with the idea and Thulani Davis wrote the libretto.

As she researched the project, León was deeply moved. Research is important to any commission, she explains. “When you get a commission and you have to start writing, you panic. What is important to say? You have to get inspired. At least with an opera I collaborate with the librettist.”

She first met with historian Henry Louis Gates, Jr., historical researcher for the opera. Then, in September 2017, at the event “Imagine If Buildings Could Talk: Mapping the History of Little Rock Central High School,” she met the surviving Little Rock Nine and even some reporters who had covered those defining moments of the Civil Rights Movement.

“They spoke and gave their stories,” says León. “I remember all my dreams when I was studying at their age. I believe in empathy and compassion. You have to put yourself in the heart and shoes of the characters. I’ve been trying to hear the syntax of the Little Rock students.”

One thing León has felt strongly about is the Little Rock Nine’s chorus. “I hope the members of the chorus will address diversity to show how much we have grown in compassion and empathy,” she says. The premiere of the opera (in concert form) will be at the high school around the end of 2018 or early 2019.

Commissions & Accolades

In December 2017 León’s composition Ser, commissioned for the Los Angeles Philharmonic, premiered. Other recent premieres include Pa’lante, (commissioned by the Los Angeles Philharmonic for Youth Orchestra LA), Ethos (commissioned by the New York State Council of the Arts for Symphony Space), del Caribe, soy! (commissioned by Saint Martha Concerts for flutist Nestor Torres), and Inura (commissioned and premiered by Dance Brazil).

In January, it was announced that León was selected for a $50,000 United States Artists (USA) fellowship. In 2017, she was honored as one of Musical America’s 30 Professionals of the Year. Among other honors, she was awarded the New York Governor’s Lifetime Achievement Award, ASCAP Victor Herbert Award (2013), and was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 2010. She has also received accolades from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Koussevitzky Music Foundation, and Meet the Composer, among others.

Even today, León retains her sense of wonder about the world, recalling the sequence of events that brought her to where she is today. She remembers her excitement about witnessing last year’s eclipse in Central Park. She still cannot understand, with the vastness of the universe, why people put so much emphasis on how we look and speak.

“We are riding on this vessel and there’s this universe we don’t even know about. It doesn’t make sense that we don’t respect each other,” she says.

faith seetoo
On the Cover

Faith Seetoo – Zen and the Art of musical

Faith Seetoo of Local 76-493 (Seattle, WA) has spent most of her adult life on the road as associate conductor with more than a dozen touring Broadway shows, among them: The Phantom of the Opera, Miss Saigon, Mamma Mia!, A Chorus Line, and Newsies. Since April 2017 she has been on the North American tour of Aladdin.

Seetoo’s first glimpse into the world of theatre music came when she saw Peter Pan at the Pantages Theatre in Los Angeles as a child. She was so taken by the show that she wrote to both the show’s star, Sandy Duncan, and the conductor of the orchestra, Jack Lee.

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Nurit-Bar-Josef
On the Cover

Nurit Bar-Josef: Behind the Scenes with the National Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster

Nurit-Bar-JosefWhen Nurit Bar-Josef of Local 161-710 (Washington, DC) was selected as concertmaster for National Symphony Orchestra (NSO) at age 26, she was the youngest concertmaster ever appointed to a major symphony orchestra. More than 16 years later, she recalls initial surprise on finding out she’d won the spot.

“I knew some of the others who had auditioned—it’s a small world—and I thought they might think I was too young or too inexperienced,” she says.

The young musician was aware of the huge responsibility she had accepted. “I knew what to expect from my previous experiences in St. Louis and Boston, where I saw just how much the concertmaster has to deal with on a daily basis,” she says. Bar-Josef was assistant concertmaster for Boston Symphony Orchestra and Boston Pops when she auditioned with NSO.

Leading from First Chair

“It’s constant pressure; when you are sitting in that chair, you are expected to always be on—it’s 120%, all the time. I feel like I represent the orchestra and there are times when the whole orchestra is looking to me for guidance,” she says. “That’s the biggest challenge; no matter what is going on at home, or what’s going on around you, or on the podium, you are out there for your colleagues.”

Meticulous preparation is key, she says. “Knowing the score well, in and out, and knowing everything that’s going on. You have to have that first violin part down like no one else,” she says. “And because you are number one, you have to always play the solos and play them well. I try to do my best every single time.”

“It’s a good lesson in time management because there is so much music coming out, week after week,” says Bar-Josef. “It forces me to prioritize and manage my practice, even when I have limited time. I have to figure out what I need to do now and what can wait.”

Above all, she has a passion and dedication to the current repertoire, whatever it may be. “Every week, whatever we are playing, I throw myself into it. That’s what we live and breathe for that week. Oftentimes, I feel like we are actors given a role to play,” says Bar-Josef. “If we play a Shostakovich symphony, he becomes my favorite composer that week. If we are playing Brahms, I am all about Brahms, emotionally and physically.”

For pleasure, she says, “I always, always enjoy playing a Beethoven symphony or even a Beethoven violin sonata. I wouldn’t say that he’s my favorite composer, but I would say anytime I’m playing Beethoven I’m musically and technically fulfilled,” she says.

Like all principal string players, Bar-Josef spends time marking bowings. “The other principals are waiting to get my part in order to mark their bowings to match mine, and I’ve got the library waiting for all of that to happen. That’s added pressure,” she says. “Part of the process is making sure my colleagues have the music well enough in advance to feel comfortable.”

A Conductor’s Liaison

Nurit Bar-JosefBar-Josef has the honor of meeting guest conductors and acts as a liaison to the rest of the players. She ensures a smooth working relationship between members of the orchestra and the conductor. This, she says, “is an incredibly rewarding responsibility.”

“I learn a lot from working with conductors,” she says, explaining that many of them request a one-on-one meeting before the concert, especially if she will perform a solo. “Every musician who comes to visit is different. It’s really important to me that I represent the orchestra well. No matter what is going on, I try to connect with the person on the podium.”

“Conductors travel the world and they conduct all different orchestras, from the top notch to smaller groups in smaller towns,” she continues. “I want them to feel like the NSO is an all-around good experience. As concertmaster, I am part of that—making that connection with the person. It’s a short period of time and it can be really intense for those few days.”

Though Bar-Josef relishes the challenge of these responsibilities, she admits her role can be isolating, sometimes setting her apart from her colleagues. The time requirements mean she has less time for socializing, particularly when they are out on tour. “When we go on tour, I’m constantly thinking about what we are playing tomorrow, what we are playing tonight, and how much time I have to prepare. I don’t have a whole lot of time to hang out and have fun in some new city.”

Though she is passionate about playing solos, Bar-Josef admits, “It’s one of the hardest things I do. It’s very rewarding that I get to play amazing solos like Scheherazade, though it’s stressful. There’s a lot of pressure playing solos with some of the greatest conductors standing one foot away from me.”

Bar-Josef is currently one of an estimated 25 women concertmasters in the US and Canada. While there have been some remarkable women in this leadership role over the years—for example, Cecylia Arzewski (Atlanta Symphony Orchestra 1990-2008) and Emmanuelle Boisvert (Detroit Symphony Orchestra for 23 years)—their numbers are still far below the current ratio of women to men in orchestras. Bar-Josef feels like more women will likely take the leadership role in the future.

Of course, blind auditions help to ensure the best candidates, male or female are selected fairly. And fortunately today, unlike just a couple decades ago, female orchestra musicians enjoy equal treatment. “I have never felt that anyone looked at me as a female or thought they’d rather have a man in my position; I never once felt that a guest conductor was disappointed by having a female concertmaster,” says Bar-Josef. “Today, I feel it’s all about the music and what type of musician you are—gender doesn’t matter.”

The Joy of Chamber Music

nurit-bar When Bar-Josef has a chance, she looks forward to performing in smaller chamber groups. “I always love playing chamber music,” she says. “I enjoy the camaraderie and the intimacy of it—sitting in a group close together, having my sound blend with theirs and not having to worry about leading a section. I can be much more free in a chamber group.”

A founding member of Kennedy Center Chamber Players, she performed with them for nine years. “It’s basically a core group that started out as the principals of the National Symphony—Principal Viola Daniel Foster, Principal Cello David Hardy, and Principal Keyboard Lambert Orkis. We would ask other people from the orchestra, both titled and nontitled players, to join us for four chamber music concerts a year at the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.”

The other group she’s been involved with for a long time, the Dryden String Quartet, came together less formally about 16 years ago. “When I first moved to DC, I didn’t have any family here. I had to play over Thanksgiving so I was stuck in town,” she recalls. “Daniel Foster asked me if I wanted to go to his family’s house for Thanksgiving and he said, ‘Bring your violin, we might do some sight reading.’ He’s cousins with [Time for Three] violinist Nicholas Kendall and [Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Principal Cello] Yumi Kendall. It ended up being a pretty good group.”

The group named itself after John Dryden Kendall, grandfather to Foster and the Kendalls,  who brought the Suzuki method to the US. “The first concert we played was at an embassy event in honor of their grandfather,” says Bar-Josef. “Unfortunately, everybody is just so busy in their own lives it’s difficult to find time. We try to get together at least once a year, sometimes twice if we are lucky.”

Every now and then Bar-Josef finds time to perform in other chamber groups. “I like to do outreach with different NSO players and Millennium Stage performances at the Kennedy Center, house concerts, or whatever pops up,” she says.

She has performed at the Seattle Chamber Music Festival, Bay Chamber Festival, Aspen Music Festival, and festivals in Tanglewood, Portland (Maine), Kingston (Rhode Island), Steamboat Springs, Garth Newel, and Caramoor, where she performed piano quartets with André Previn at his Rising Stars Festival.

This season Bar-Josef looks forward to working with incoming NSO Music Director Gianandrea Noseda. “I am excited that we have so many great programs coming up with him,” she says. In particular, she looks forward to playing Chausson’s Poème in November. “It’s just such an honor and a privilege. I’ve always wanted to perform that piece and what better opportunity than with the NSO and Noseda conducting.”

Nurit Bar-Josef currently performs on the G.B. Guadagnini, 1773, the “ex-Grumiaux, ex-Silverstein” violin.

Sarah Jarosz
On the Cover

Sarah Jarosz: Young Talent Now Performs with Her Heroes

At age 26, Sarah Jarosz now regularly performs with her childhood influences. As a solo artist, the Local 257 (Nashville, TN) member took home two 2017 Grammy Awards from her fourth full-length album Undercurrent, released in 2016. It was also selected International Folk Music Album of the Year.

Growing up in the Austin suburb of Wimberly, Texas, Sarah Jarosz frequently attended live shows with her family. “I was definitely affected by the Austin music scene,” she says. “Basically, for as long as I can remember, my parents would take me into Austin to see live music pretty much every weekend.”

As a youngster Jarosz began playing piano, then added mandolin at age 10. Later she picked up guitar, clawhammer banjo, and octave mandolin. One big childhood influence was the band Nickel Creek—siblings Sean and Sara Watkins of Local 47 (Los Angeles, CA) and Chris Thile of Local 257—who were just kids themselves when Jarosz began following them.

“Nickel Creek was huge for me. Right around the time I was getting into mandolin I saw their music videos on CMT and I remember thinking that there are cool young people doing this, too,” she says.

Jarosz says that one reason she is a proud union member is because of the sense of community the union provides. “Part of why I fell in love with music is because, when I was 10 years old, I found a weekly bluegrass jam and fell in love with the community of that. Any time you have a chance to continue this community experience with something like the union, it’s super positive for everyone involved.”

In addition, she says, “I feel like we have a support system, especially as hard as it is being a touring musician. I think that’s really important for people who do what we do.”

Doors Opening at Telluride

By age 12 Jarosz was performing regularly at local events. In 2007, she took on her biggest gig to date: the Telluride Music Festival in Colorado. That’s where, at age 16, she met producer Gary Paczosa, who regularly works with people like Local 257 members Chris Thile, Gillian Welch, Dolly Parton, and Alison Krauss. Impressed with Jarosz, he invited her to visit his Nashville studio.

“I was definitely super green in the studio,” recalls Jarosz. “We did some low-key, no pressure demos. It was my first time laying things down solo.”

The following spring, Jarosz signed a record deal with Sugar Hill and began working with Paczosa on her first album, Song Up in Her Head, released in 2009. With that came her first opportunity to record with some of the musicians she’d been watching for years at festivals. Guest appearances included Thile, Stuart Duncan, and Jerry Douglas of Local 257. 

“Gary always encouraged me, from the very beginning, to reach for the stars, and ask the best people we could think of to be part of it,” says Jarosz. “I think working with him, those musicians realized I was taking it seriously.

 

“One of the things that was so exciting as a young musician was having the opportunity to attend music festivals during the summer break from school, and not only seeing many of my musical heroes perform live, but often times getting to jam with them backstage or sit in during their sets,” she says. “Thinking back on it, I am so thankful to all of those people for being so generous with their time and wisdom to contribute their musical genius to my albums over the years, especially the first one. It was a dream come true for those musicians to believe in me at such an early age.”

After high school, Jarosz headed straight to the New England Conservatory where she balanced studying and her career while earning a degree in Contemporary Improvisation. “It was tough, especially in my sophomore year when I was working on my second record, Follow Me Down,” she says. “I wanted to have the experience of moving to a new city and doing the college thing. I think it was important for me to have the time and the ‘buffer’ of not going directly on the road after high school.”

“Psychologically, it had a positive impact on my life, and maybe even the longevity of my career,” she explains. “Musically, it exposed me to different styles that I hadn’t been exposed to before—a lot of jazz and free improvisation, and more in-depth work on my own music. Those musical experiences expanded my ear and prepared me for the different musical situations that I find myself in [now]. To be thrown into something completely different makes you look differently at what you do.”

Meanwhile, the acoustic world was already taking note of her talent. She received a Grammy nomination for “Mansinneedof” off her very first album. Her third album, Build Me Up from Bones, was nominated Best Folk Album and its title track was nominated Best American Roots Song in 2014. The Americana Music Association’s American Music Honors & Awards nominated her for Emerging Artist of the Year (2010) and Instrumentalist of the Year (2011). In 2012, her song “Come Around” was nominated Americana Music Association Song of the Year.

Upon graduation in 2013, it was a relief to finally be free to focus on music. “Now I feel fully settled into my life and I am sort of honing in on what I want to do as a musician,” she says. As she’s matured and relaxed into her true musical self, she says Undercurrent, takes a fresh approach compared to her previous albums, which relied heavily on her instrumental virtuosity.

Paring Down

“The longer I do this, the more I think that simple is sometimes better and I don’t need to prove my musicianship within the songs themselves,” she says. “Undercurrent is the simplest album both in terms of songs and the way it was recorded. I’m trying to get closer to the ‘marrow’ of the song.”

One of Jarosz’s greatest learning experiences has been the opportunity to work with Prairie Home Companion, first with Garrison Keillor’s The America the Beautiful—Prairie Home Companion show tour and now with Chris Thile’s weekly broadcast.

“It’s been a really great outlet to sing harmony on this person’s song or play a little mandolin to back up an arrangement. It forces me to be a listener in a more supportive way. I’ve learned such great lessons from having the opportunity to do that,” she says.

Another project that got its start a couple years ago is a trio she formed with fiddler-singer Sara Watkins (from Nickel Creek) and singer-songwriter Aoife O’Donovan of Local 802 (New York City). During an impromptu opening set they did for the Punch Brothers at the 2014 Telluride Festival something clicked and the musicians made it a priority to get together again.

This summer the band they formed, I’m With Her, is doing a series of concerts as part of the American Acoustic tour with the Punch Brothers. The trio of ladies is somewhat of an anomaly in the acoustic world. “In some festival settings there are a lot of dudes in the line-up,” says Jarosz, though they do not dwell on the negative energy of that reality. “I know that Sara and Aoife feel the same way. If you are the best at what you do, are genuine to yourself, and do it long enough, the cream will rise to the top. Hopefully, as time goes on, those [gender] lines will continue to blur.”

“I’m really excited about this project with Aoife and Sara, and I feel like it will play a bigger role in my life and career over the next couple years,” she says. The group released its first original song, “Little Lies,” in July.

“I’m happy to say that some of my biggest influences I now consider friends. They were heroes, and then mentors, especially Chris. He’s put in so much time to teach me over the years. Now I have the opportunity to work with him on Prairie Home Companion. It’s kind of cool to look over the last 15 years and see that progression,” she says.

“I think it’s really kind of special within the acoustic scene, and I know that Chris had that as well with people like Belá Fleck and Jerry Douglas [both members of Local 257] mentoring him from an early age,” she says. “You are inclined to do that for younger people who are coming up after you.”

Just 10 years into her career, Jarosz can already name dozens of big name collaborators. This summer Jarosz will also be doing shows with Mary Chapin Carpenter of Local 161-710 (Atlanta, GA).

“The nice thing about working with Sara and Aoife is that we tend to have similar instincts when it comes to music, so working on a song we all sort of fall into the same way musically. It’s also nice to work with someone who doesn’t think the same way. That’s happened a lot on Prairie Home Companion where we are working out other peoples’ songs and seeing other approaches. Sometimes that can lead to really beautiful things because it’s not necessarily the obvious outcome. It’s important to put yourself in musical situations where you have a good balance of both,” she says.

Jarosz advises young people considering a career in the acoustic world to follow that path. “Growing up, if I was scared to sit down and jam with someone like Chris Thile, or any of my heroes, ultimately, I got the nerve to do it and it was always rewarding. Finding those situations and embracing them makes you grow as a young musician, even if they scare you a little bit. If you are constantly doing things within your comfort zone, you are not going to grow,” she says. “I attribute a lot of the work I’ve done to having great heroes to look up to.”

She concludes, “Also, finding people you love to play music with and finding ways to keep it fun is all important for a long-lasting career and love of music.”

Joseph Conyers
On the Cover

Joseph Conyers: Taking Community Involvement to the Next Stage

Philadelphia Orchestra Assistant Principal Double Bassist Joseph Conyers of Local 77 (Philadelphia, PA) leads the opening Project 440 seminar in Carnegie Hall’s inaugural NYO2 program at SUNY Purchase during Summer 2016. Project 440 presented programs in social entrepreneurship and college preparedness for students.

Joseph Conyers, assistant principal bassist for The Philadelphia Orchestra, is committed to community engagement and a belief that all young people should have music in their lives. Proof that actions speak louder than words, he is a cofounder and the director of the nonprofit organization Project 440, music director of the All City Orchestra of Philadelphia, an adjunct professor at Temple University, and on the national advisory board for the Atlanta Music Project. He also works closely with the Curtis Institute of Music and the Sphinx organization and is on the artist roster of the Chamber Music Society at Lincoln Center.

“The things that drive me most are: I love music so much and I know how music can change and help people in so many different ways, whether it’s psychological, emotional, or physical, it empowers,” says the Local 77 (Philadelphia, PA) member.

Conyers spoke by phone from Seoul, Korea, on a break during The Philadelphia Orchestra’s Asian tour. Like much of what he does, Conyers views these overseas tours, his sixth with Philadelphia, as a service. “We represent our country and Philadelphia,” he says. “The universality and connectivity of music comes to life. In a lot of ways, I feel fulfilled doing my civic duty as a musician.”

Conyer’s mother, a classical music enthusiast and amateur singer, noticed he had an instinct for rhythm. She signed him up for piano lessons at age five. Conyers chose the bass at age 11. He recently celebrated his 25th year on the instrument, which he selected for its size and boldness. “From my very first lesson I was trying to do things like vibrato because I wanted to show that the bass can sing,” he says.

Conyers has fond memories of growing up in a nurturing environment in Savannah, Georgia, that allowed him to grow as a musician. That’s why, after he heard about the Savannah Symphony going bankrupt, he knew he had to do something. Along with two other musicians who grew up together, Blake Espy of Locals 77 and 661-708 (Atlantic City, NJ) and Catherine Gerthiser, Conyers founded Project 440 (P440) to fill the void in music education and engagement left after the Savannah Symphony pulled out.

They soon discovered, despite their combined networks of contacts, it was challenging to find musicians with the right skills to work with the kids. Rather than be discouraged, Conyers saw an opportunity. They changed the program’s focus and moved it to Philadelphia when Conyers relocated to the city, which he saw as an ideal place to begin program expansion and development.

“Musicians weren’t engaged in their communities in a constant and substantive way. A lot of orchestras were going under and we felt that, if we train musicians at a young age to think of their communities as part of their musical experience, we could change that,” Conyers says.

Today, P440 is based on a three-prong approach that uses music as a tool to empower young people. The focus is: College and Career Preparedness—exploring career paths and skills that music can lead to; Entrepreneurship and Leadership Building—ideating and creating what their lives can look like in the future; and Community Engagement—serving the community through music.

“Most of the people we work with will never become professional musicians, but they will become better people through music,” he says. Currently, P440 works with the All City Orchestra of Philadelphia, which showcases the best young Philadelphia school musicians. But big things are in store next year when all students involved in music at Philadelphia schools (about 20,000) will have access to P440 programs.

Not only is P440 showing results, but even more exciting is that it’s part of a city-wide initiative to provide young Philadelphians access to music education. The Philadelphia Music Alliance for Youth (PMAY) consortium, funded by a $2.5 million Andrew W. Mellon Foundation grant, brings together 10 organizations, including The Philadelphia Orchestra, to build a pathway for students in underrepresented communities (URCs).

“If we can change the narrative of why music is important for kids, especially in urban centers, it can give them opportunities and create thought processes that they might not have ever encountered before,” he says.

Eventually, says Conyers, programs like this will also help create more diverse professional orchestras by “casting the net wider” in terms of young exposure to classical music and training. “Music is a language and languages are best learned when you start quite young,” he says.

Despite his strong love for music, right up until he was accepted to Curtis Institute of Music, Conyers wasn’t sure music would be his career. “I always had two loves—music and meteorology,” he explains. “I had a plan B in my head, but getting into Curtis changed the direction of my life. I went all in with music and had a wonderful time at Curtis.”

Before graduation, Conyers had joined Local 77 (Philadelphia, PA) and began doing freelance work. It didn’t take him long to realize the benefits of AFM membership. “I did some gigs just starting out that were pretty horrible,” he says. “When you are in school, you don’t realize the power of this collective, the role it plays, and the history behind it. The union has allowed for the comfort and prosperity of many musicians. It’s neat to know I am part of something that enables me to work at a comfortable level and get an honest wage.”

Following college, Conyers became principal bass with the Grand Rapids Symphony. “That was a fantastic town and I learned so much there,” he says, recalling his experiences. When the symphony asked if he’d like to be a soloist at an upcoming concert he thought for a few seconds and then answered with his own question: “Can it be a commission?”

“The repertoire for the double bass is limited to about four standards that all bass players know. I thought this was a wonderful opportunity to add something,” explains Conyers. He asked his friend, John B Hedges, to write a piece.

“Prayers of Rain and Wind is a complete reflection of my life—my favorite composer [Brahms], my mother’s favorite hymn, my love for weather, even the sound of my church and church choir are in the second movement. Every time I play it I feel like I’m bringing a little piece of Savannah and my upbringing to a different audience,” he says.

Conyer’s next position, with Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, was like moving back home. But he didn’t stay long. When a bass spot opened up with The Philadelphia Orchestra, the first bass opening in 16 years, Conyers knew he had to audition. 

“From the first time I heard the [Philadelphia] orchestra play [as a freshman at Curtis in 1999] I was spellbound, just completely wrapped up in the sound and I felt it was something I wanted to be a part of,” he says, though he thought his chances were slim. “Lo and behold there was an opening; I went in and my life was changed forever.”

He says that working with The Philadelphia Orchestra and his mentor Hal Robinson of Local 77 is a dream come true. “It’s surreal; I’m pinching myself on a regular basis. There are no words to describe the joy I feel being able to make music with this ensemble on an almost daily basis,” he says.

Today, Conyers is proud of his chosen home city and his orchestra’s commitment to community. “The symphony orchestra can’t save the whole education system in the city, but it can be a leading voice in that conversation of how we can provide points of opportunity in communities and help bring others to join a coalition,” he says. “I see this as a huge opportunity for orchestras. Symphony orchestras can impact the greater community, and for me, that’s super exciting.”