Listen on –
This conversation I got to have with Lisa Weinhold, principal flutist of the Alabama Symphony Orchestra, was a really wonderful experience. I’ve known Lisa for years now, and although we are friends and colleagues, I’ve never had a chance to sit down and talk with her and get to know her on this level. She was really wonderful to talk to, and full of so much great insight. I really appreciated her willingness to be open and talk about some of the professional difficulties in her life, especially related to the Alabama Symphony closing its doors and going bankrupt in the 1990’s. Hearing her perspective about how that event has changed her outlook on our responsibility as musicians in the orchestra was inspiring to me. I completely agree that while our first responsibility should be to play world class music in our hall, there are other ways in which we can serve our organization and community.
I also really enjoyed hearing about how enriching dog training was for her life. I think it’s so important for musicians to have disciplines outside of performing because I think it can teach help broaden our perspectives and add so much to our musical ideas. I hope you are just as moved by her experiences as I was!
Here’s a Spotify playlist for Lisa’s episode.
Until next time,
Ryan