Played with the PSO since: 2018
Lives in: Newburyport, MA
At what age did you start playing the instrument you play in the PSO? Did you play any other instruments first?
I started on electric bass in eighth grade but moved on to upright bass shortly after my freshman year of high school. I first started on piano at age five (sometimes I still wish I had stuck with that…) and then switched to trumpet three years later.
Why did you choose your current instrument?
Tough to say if there was one defining reason I chose the bass, and it sounds a little cliché, but there was something about it that I was drawn to. When I was playing trumpet in the middle school jazz band, I remember being fascinated by the rhythm section, but also this was around the time that I started listening to and subsequently fell in love with The Beatles, and being drawn to Paul McCartney and his melodic bass lines.
Fun Fact: It was also around this time that my dad had written a piece for the University of New Hampshire Wind Symphony called ‘S’a’int Funk that predominately featured electric bass played by PSO’s own and fellow section-mate, Nate Therrien! I remember thinking at the time that having an electric bass in a “classical” ensemble was super cool!
What do you like about playing with a symphony orchestra?
For me, it’s getting the chance to play some of the best music that’s out there, but it’s also bigger than that; It’s also about building community—both inside and outside the orchestra—and being part of something that’s greater than the sum of its parts.
What is your favorite piece to play on your instrument?
I don’t think I can pick just one! I will say my favorite classical music is definitely from the 20th century onwards—I wrote my master’s thesis on Stravinsky—but the orchestral repertoire as a whole is so great!
How do you spend your time outside of the PSO?
Predominantly and preferably with my wonderful family, but I also currently work at Johnson String Instrument as the Merchandising Data Analyst. In this role I collect, organize, analyze and present data as it pertains to inventory, sales, and purchasing. When I have free time I love to cook, obsess over baseball, and read.
Tell us about your musical education.
I am fortunate to have grown up in a very musical household, my father taught theory and composition at the University of New Hampshire for most of my lifetime and some of my fondest memories were accompanying him to school and “sitting in” on his classes. So, it was very fitting that I received my Bachelor of Arts in Double Bass Performance there in 2013. I then went on to receive a Master of Arts in Music Theory from Tufts University in 2016.
Any recognition or accolades you want to share?
During my senior year at UNH, I was awarded a research grant to study orchestration, as it pertains to wind ensembles. This project culminated in my arrangement of Aaron Copland’s Piano Variations that went on to be performed by the Wind Symphony, that institution’s premier ensemble. I have a done a handful of smaller scale arrangements for community bands and orchestras since, but would love to get back to doing more in the future!
