In Thursday’s (7/25) Bellingham Herald (Washington), Margaret Bikman interviews Whatcom Symphony Orchestra Concertmaster Grant Donnellan, who is also a faculty member at the Seattle Youth Symphony’s Marrowstone Music Festival. “Ferndale native Grant Donnellan, following in the musical footsteps of his mother, violinist Joanne Donnellan”—Whatcom’s former concertmaster—“picked up the violin at age 4 and hasn’t put it down since. ‘I credit my parents for exposing me to high-quality music from an early age…. I was very excited by my chamber music experiences in middle and high school and this is probably what pushed me in the direction of a career in music.… I hope I can similarly inspire future generations of classical musicians in our community…. When, for example, I work with a second-grader in the Beethoven in the Schools program, or with a high school student at the Marrowstone Music Festival, and they become excited by the music in a way that is unique and uninhibited, I feel privileged to participate in that moment.’ ” Donnellan describes Whatcom’s recently appointed music director, Yaniv Attar, as “a wonderful musician and an equally fine person who fits the orchestra and its trajectory beautifully…. I think we are lucky to have him in our community.”
Posted July 26, 2013
