Buffalo Community Orchestra
orchestrahornThe Buffalo Community Orchestra extended an invitation to me to perform during their 20th anniversary concert in May, 2015. I couldn’t refuse. Since then, I have become the assistant horn, on call whenever one of the regular horn players is unavailable for a concert.
The experiences I have had with the BCO have been incredible opportunities to improve my musicianship and network with other musicians.
Selected concert highlights:
May 2017
with conductor Ernesto Estigarribia
Egmont Overture, Ludwig van Beethoven
Horn Concerto, Reinhold Glière, ft. Jolyn Halvorson
May 2016
with conductor Lindsay Ross Boyd
Violin Concerto, Felix Mendelssohn, ft. Erik Rhode
Symphony No. 5: Finale, Pyotr Tchaikovsky
Hungarian Dance No. 5, Johannes Brahms
Oct. 2015
with conductor Lindsay Ross Boyd
An Outdoor Overture, Aaron Copland
An American in Paris, George Gershwin
Victory at Sea, Richard Rodgers, arr. by Robert Russell Bennett
May 2015
with conductor Paul McShee
Symphony No. 5, Ludwig van Beethoven
Danzón No. 2, Arturo Márquez
Enigma Variations: Nimrod, Edward Elgar
Monticello Community Strings Orchestra
orchestrahornJune 2010 – Aug. 2010
Although it is generally a strings-only ensemble, the Monticello Community Strings Orchestra periodically includes works that feature percussion and winds. I was fortunate enough that they called on me several times to cover a horn part.
This ensemble was my first experience playing with a full orchestra because my high school only offered concert band. Once I got a taste of what it's like to play onstage with all those lush, wooden instrument… I was hooked!
St. Cloud Municipal Band
concert bandhornWhen the second horn from the St. Cloud Municipal Band had an unexpected conflict for their Fourth of July performance, they asked me to fill the seat. I've never really been under this kind of pressure before—I had only one rehearsal and one week of preparation time—but I was able to work efficiently so I could perform at my best.
Winsted Area Community Choir
choirvoicerecorderThe Winsted Area Community Choir began as part of a larger endeavor to bring the arts into this small community and the surrounding area. In the few years it lasted before the director moved away, this group brought music lovers from many surrounding towns together with a single purpose: to share that love with and generate support for the arts from the community at large.
Not only did this choir offer its members opportunities to sing, but it also included featured soloists from within its ranks: for one concert I accompanied a piece on recorder, and others had also accompanied on flute and piano. We even brought neighboring arts organizations into its concerts. For example, on several occasions we partnered with a local dance school, and once we featured a bluegrass ensemble.