Everyone Has the First Time

Getting ready for the big solo!

Every once in a while, we all get to enjoy some special first-time moments. My past couple weekends were spent rehearsing and performing with the Oak Ridge Symphony in Oak Ridge, TN. The town, located just northwest of Knoxville, is well known for being a key location for the Manhattan Project during World War II. I have performed a number of times in their Chamber Music Series, and each time I was struck by its highly educated audience members and their great interest in classical music. It was a pleasure meeting some familiar faces and play some great music with local musicians there. So here are some first-time experiences for me:

• Playing one of the greatest orchestral clarinet solo parts: Kodaly's Dances of Galánta
• Playing on a new mouthpiece in a public performance for the first time in six years  (I've been using my previous mouthpiece for all occasions. This time, I tried my new Vandoren M30D and really loved it!)
• My awesome wife accompanied me for the trip to the concert, so we got to spend some relaxing time together in Oak Ridge and Knoxville for the first time!

[Press Clipping] Performance with Tesla Quartet at Oak Ridge Chamber Music Series

The article is from The Oak Ridge Today published on November 2, 2012

Award-winning string quartet plays Saturday

by John Huotari

The award-winning Tesla Quartet will play at Pollard Auditorium in Oak Ridge on Saturday.

The quartet will perform Gyorgy Ligeti’s “Andante and Allegretto” and Carter Pann’s “String Quartet No. 1: Love Letters.”

Korean-born clarinetist Wonkak Kim, a music faculty member at Tennessee Tech University, will join the quartet to play Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart’s “Quintet in A Major for Clarinet and Strings.”

It’s the second concert of the season in the Oak Ridge Civic Music Association’s 2012-13 Chamber Music Series. The show starts at 7:30 p.m. Saturday.

ORCMA said the young quartet won a gold medal at the 2012 Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition and third prize in the 2012 London International String Quartet Competition. A quartet-in-residence at the University of Colorado at Boulder, the group has performed in Austria, Canada, and England, as well as the United States.

The quartet formed at the Juilliard School in 2008, quickly establishing itself as one of the most promising young ensembles in New York, the press release said. Quartet members are violinists Ross Snyder and Michelle Lie, violist Megan Mason, and cellist Kimberly Patterson.

The Tesla Quartet’s performances have been praised as “technically superb,” “full of urgency, color and subtle dynamics,” and as “a master class in quartet technique,” the release said.

It said Kim has captivated audiences around the globe. He has received praise from reviewers for “excellent breath control and fine command of his instrument,” “lyrical musicality and supple tone,” and “impressive range.” Since his solo debut in 2007 with the Washington Metropolitan Philharmonic, Kim has performed in hundreds of venues on four continents.

The Tennessee Arts Commission is a co-sponsor of this and other ORCMA Chamber Series concerts.

For ticket information, visit the ORCMA website at www.orcma.org or call the ORCMA office at (865) 483-5569. A reserved seat ticket costs $25 ($12 for students).

Becky Ball’s program notes for the concert are on the ORCMA website, and the Tesla’s website is www.teslaquartet.com.