I’ve had some time off to focus on a couple items that weren’t as time sensitive as the programs we were performing. You’ve probably noticed a couple new faces in the flute and trumpet sections. Joining us on principal flute this year is Nick Johnson. When he was telling me about his training and youth, I just couldn’t believe it, because it SO mirrored my own experiences. He spent his early years around Hartford, attending the Hartt School at the University of Hartford, and its Junior Division before that! He also knew Gabe Lefkowitz in the Boston area, where they both attended the Walnut Hill School in Natick. Most recently though, Nick had been living in California and studying with a major force in the flute world, former LA Philharmonic principal flutist Jim Walker.
Our second trumpet, DJ Creech, has had an entirely different sort of experience, getting his musical development solely in the South. From Dacula, Georgia (pronounced “Da-CUE-la” with an accent on the Q), he has received a Bachelor’s in Music from Georgia State, a Master’s from MTSU (where he knew an old bud of mine from the New Hampshire Music Festival, trombone professor David Loucky), and is currently pursuing a Doctorate at the University of Georgia. I think I got all that straight, the paper on which I wrote all his info down got put away in some cookbook yesterday, I’m afraid.
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With Christmas now behind us, the New Year is at the gate waiting to board. It can be a somewhat dormant period for musicians, workwise. It’s a time for musicians who itemize to check off all of the end-of-year financial errands so that tax bills are a little easier to swallow. This includes buying strings, rosin, and replacing that mute you lost in the storm in the Alpine Symphony, getting bows rehaired and instruments adjusted, buying reeds and getting wind and brass instruments cleaned and maintained, tuning pianos, and purchasing music that you will be playing in the coming year. And, for many players, it is a time to give back.
Looking through the November Masterworks program, I counted seven KSO members that contributed to the Annual Fund at the $100-$249 level or higher. The program only lists contributors of $100 or more, but I betcha that at least 15 players gave up to that amount. We’d love to count you among our numbers. Our Executive Director, Rachel Ford, has a heartfelt message here which is worth taking a look at whether or not you make a donation. And now that it's after Christmas, it IS actually sort of time-sensitive
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