In Friday’s (8/24) Charlotte Observer (North Carolina), Katya Lezin writes, “Jeffrey and Ellen Ferdon are at every Charlotte Symphony performance, but they are not season ticket holders. These south Charlotte musicians play for the symphony. Jeff, 50, is the third chair, nonrotating double bass player and Ellen, 51, is a section viola player. Both began playing their respective instruments as children, and neither envisioned making a career of their musical talents until years later. … They met when they both landed spots playing in the Greensboro Symphony. … They married in 1983 and moved to Charlotte one year later when Ellen landed a spot in the Charlotte Symphony. … One year later, there was an opening for a bass player with the Charlotte Symphony and Jeffrey applied for it. He won the seat and both Fredons have been with the symphony ever since. They are one of five married couples playing in the symphony, a distinction that comes with many advantages but some challenges as well. ‘Having kids and maintaining a life outside of the orchestra was tough,’ Ellen says of the challenge of raising their son, Aldon, 21, while both parents’ jobs often called for them to be away in the evenings.”
Posted August 24, 2012
