“Music director Michael Stern has hired 33 of the Kansas City Symphony’s 80 musicians,” writes Robert Trussell in Friday’s (2/5) Kansas City Star (Missouri). “Five of the newest hires… are playing their first season with the orchestra. They include two violinists, a trumpeter, a cellist and a bassist…. Their job is to contribute to an organization that brings music to the public on a demanding schedule.… For 42 weeks, the orchestra performs classical works, a pop series, a family series, Christmas programs, concerts celebrating movie music and free happy hour concerts. In addition, it plays for the opera and the ballet, presents an annual concert in the Flint Hills and has made special appearances at some home games for the Kansas City Royals and the Kansas City Chiefs.” In individual profiles, each of the five newer musicians speaks about their backgrounds and the audition process: associate concertmaster Justine Lamb-Budge; violinist Stirling Trent; cellist Meredith McCook; double bassist Brandon Mason; and principal trumpet Julian Kaplan. Says Stern, “When you look at the freshman class, all of these five people are such fantastic citizens in the orchestra.” Also included is video of each musician performing part of the “Star Spangled Banner” as a solo.
Posted February 9, 2016
Pictured (left to right): Kansas City Symphony musicians Meredith McCook, Justine Lamb-Budge, Brandon Mason, Julian Kaplan, and Stirling Trent. Photo by Keith Myers
