It is not uncommon for a professional musician to be asked "how young were you when you began to play your instrument?" In my case the answer is not very impressive: I had my first violin lessons when I was eleven, and didn't do much in the way of study or practice until I was fifteen. At age fourteen, however, I got a camera (after years of wanting one). I was immediately hooked on photography. I set up a temporary darkroom in our apartment kitchen (my father had an enlarger that he had not used for years), and read everything that I could find, ranging from photo magazines to pre-World War II books that were kindly handed to me by a photo store wholesaler who considered them outdated. To me they were a gold mine. They were my introduction to Ansel Adams, Edward Weston, and others, as well as to the intricate inner mechanisms of devices made by companies like Zeiss, Leitz, and Kodak. I think it is fair to say that my lifelong involvement in photography was begun every bit as much because of my science and technology bent as because of my artistic leanings. But it didn’t end there!

So what does all of this have to do with orchestral music and the North Carolina Symphony? Allow me a moment to approach that from the other side. What is it like to play violin in an orchestra? To begin with, as any trained musician knows, no matter how deeply felt the music is, to perform it one must be in command of the instrument. As “late” as my first chance to touch the violin was, I grew up surrounded by great violin playing, immersed in the sounds before earliest memory. I assure you that my desire to play like that was very strong, but there was frustration because it takes technical practice and time before what comes out can approach what one feels and hears inside. For me, the great satisfaction of performing in the Symphony comes from being on the inside of a fine conglomerate instrument. Just as we each experience greater rewards in our individual playing as we master our instrument, we also gain emotionally as the entire ensemble learns to hear and feel together, to place notes precisely, to blend, to work toward seamless joints (or “fix a few corners”, as Grant Llewellyn would say). It is a technical process with an artistic result.

Now let me jump back to photography, which is certainly a craft as well as an art form. One parallel with music is that knowing the instrument (camera, lights, any tools needed) inside out, and being able to get one’s envisioned results without too much struggle (or at least, being able to figure out how to get them!) can lead to worthwhile artistic results. In contrast, if the technical knowledge or skill is not there, only occasionally will luck permit an uncompromised work. That’s in photography – in classical music, luck will never be enough!

To continue with a personal slant, playing in a violin section (I’ve been an NCS member for almost 36 years) is a rewarding experience, but I sometimes like to “run the show”, or feel that I have a chance to shine as an individual. Maybe it seems egotistical, but being a bit of a show off is probably a good thing for a performer. Even if we’re essentially shy, it may be necessary to have that contradictory urge to put ourselves or our creations in front of an audience and say “look at me!” even though we’re a bit nervous. One of my ways of being an individual as an artist has been through musical composition. A wonderful aspect of photography for me is that I can create an image from beginning to end, as if I were the composer and solo performer of a piece (I’ve done that – Unaccompanied Variations, Violin Concerto - but the opportunities are rare). I can choose my subject, explore freely any ways that I want to depict it, manipulate the image if I feel the need (originally in the darkroom, now in computer), and print my final output.

Just one more parallel: in music as in any art form, an enforced discipline can foster creative freedom. We play music with definite pitches and rhythms demanded, and often with tempi and dynamics closely specified. Nevertheless, the performance bears an individual stamp, a result of collaboration of cooperating artists, seeking interesting interpretations as well as accuracy. In photography, having an assignment or a job to do for others can help one’s creative abilities, as long as one understands the synergy of tapping into one’s own inspirations as a means to fulfilling the client’s needs. Limitless possibilities within limiting parameters! This is one reason that I began a photography business in 1997. I continue to enjoy photographing events and providing publicity portraits for executives, artists, lawyers, you name it. This is a great balance for my self-driven photo projects, as well as for my life in music. If you’d like to explore some more of my photography world, please visit www.classicalphotography.com and have a look around. Drop me a line if you have any comments!