By Samantha Edington

Concertmaster Sarah Kwak has a full plate. As well as memorizing the details of every instrument’s role in each score played, she acts as the bridge between conductor and orchestra, the orchestra and the Portland community. Since her stunning opening performance as concertmaster at the 2012 waterfront concert, Kwak has been proactive in building a relationship with the public. She and her husband, fellow orchestra member Vali Phillips, began and lead the musician-run and produced Classical Up Close annual spring concerts—free chamber music for the public. Explaining the idea behind the concerts, she says, “I think that a concertmaster should create a sense of community for the orchestra players so that everybody feels important and invested…and proud of creating something.”

Kwak’s position demands that she constantly has her “antennae out,” listening for the style and phrasing of the other orchestra members and transmitting the conductor’s intentions through her body language. How does she handle these responsibilities so deftly and under bright stage lights? Kwak says, “You have to listen with ears and eyes in the back of your head—Is somebody actually playing longer? Is it out of tune here? Do we need to work on it? There are a million things, so I can never let my attention stray for one second.”

Kwak took the time to chat about the details of the role she plays in the orchestra, how she juggles multiple responsibilities and how everything comes together on stage during concerts.

See Sarah Kwak perform on January 24 & 26, 2015.

Oregon Symphony concertmaster Sarah Kwak brings it all together.

SETTING THE TONE

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InSymphony: You were appointed as Oregon Symphony concertmaster two years ago. How do you feel you’ve defined this role since you stepped into it?SK: I can’t say for certain…but from what I hear, I think I am far more proactive than most concertmasters. A lot of concertmasters will just come in and do the job and leave. And that is the extent of their job description, basically. With me, I feel like I want to be connected to everybody, not just the musicians, but the staff, the patrons and everybody—be a community. So, I am very proactive in developing those relationships and doing things for the symphony. I am heavily invested in the health of this organization. I see the Oregon Symphony as one big family, so it’s really just like taking care of the family.

InSymphony: As concertmaster, are you like the conductor’s translator? SK: I’m like the conduit from the conductor to the entire orchestra. They’re looking to me for information—and maybe even clarification of information—that they’re receiving from the podium. For instance, he’ll [conductor] give the downbeat, but where is the downbeat exactly? So, with my body, I have to show everyone where it is. You know, length of notes, dynamics like that. Exactly, I am a translator of the conductor’s wishes.

InSymphony: What kind of preparations do you undergo for each concert? SK: There’s actually a lot that goes into it, a lot of behind-the-scenes work. First thing I do is I refresh my memory if it’s a piece that I’m familiar with…by listening to a recording of it. Then I will study the score and make sure I know exactly what everybody else has; I mark my part, then I mark the bowings in the parts, so I have to try to mark the phrasing and the style consistent with how I think the piece should go, and also how I think Carlos will want the piece to go, and try to get the sound that he wants. And then, of course, I have to learn the notes—a small detail [laughs]. Then I have to, being the concertmaster, know it backward and forward. I have to have it down perfectly before the first rehearsal so that I can concentrate on other things other than learning how it goes. It’s a lot of preparation.

InSymphony: Since you are responsible for creating consistent methods for everybody to produce sounds, do you think that your musical style represents the orchestra’s?SK: I would have to say I have a big influence on it, yes. The last two summers I played with a different orchestra—just for two weeks— it was a festival-type situation and I sat third chair, right behind the concertmaster. Last year, I sat behind the concertmaster at the Berlin Philharmonic and, this year, I sat behind the concertmaster at the Chicago Symphony. Two incredible violinists, but two very different players. And it really makes a huge difference, who is sitting in that chair. I mean, just in terms of how the rest of the section plays, the style and everything. So, in answer to your question, I like to think that I am influencing what’s going on.

InSymphony: When you are in front of the audience and helping lead the string section and the rest of the orchestra, performing occasional solos, how do you manage all of that demanding work? SK: That’s actually one of the more difficult aspects of being a concertmaster: suddenly, there’s this solo there, like, “Ahhhhh!” [laughs]. It is difficult. And then you have all the eyes of your

colleagues watching you, and they’re right next to you. That’s the difference between standing up and playing a concerto. You can block everybody else out because you are in your own space. Then when you have a stand partner—not only that, when you have an entire section—watching your part, you know, they are following along, they know when you’re making mistakes, when you’re not playing the right note or something [laughs]. So how do I deal with that? Well, I think of the orchestra as a big chamber ensemble and I’ve done a lot of chamber music, so I guess that’s where my training comes in. You’re just like the first violinist in a quartet, leading. Sometimes you have the melody; sometimes you don’t. Sometimes I’m playing with other instruments, not just the violin, so then it really is like chamber music.

InSymphony: What are other challenges of being in your position?SK: Always being on the spot because the conductor may want a certain change in articulation or change in style, and then I have to on the spot change the bowings to match what he wants. So, I have to think really quickly on the fly [laughs]. Also, trying to figure out how to relay what he wants with my body so that people behind me can see: “she’s playing softly,” or “she’s playing long here.” Things like that. Also, if our section isn’t together with another part of the orchestra, how to deal with that.

InSymphony: You have to bring them together.SK: Right, so I’m always listening. Like I said, I’m Carlos’ right-hand [woman]. He cannot possibly be listening to everything all at once, so it’s also my job to be listening for the things that might slip through the cracks. Like I said, if there’s something that’s not together, the violins, the trombones or something, and he is busy listening to something else, then I’ll bring it to his attention and say, “We weren’t quite together there.” But I guess I am always trying, always thinking about how to better the performance or the interpretation. I’m playing the notes, but half of me is thinking, “How can this be better,” or, “Are we together? What’s going wrong here, and how can we fix it?”

InSymphony: What parts of your job do you find most enjoyable?SK: Just playing the symphonic repertoire. I love my leadership role. I love the responsibility and feeling like I actually make a difference; I might be deluded in that [laughs], but having a bigger role in shaping and defining how we sound. I like that.

InSymphony: What stands out about the Oregon Symphony orchestra when you compare it to other ones that you’ve worked with? SK: The Oregon Symphony has a really tremendous work ethic. People are willing to work at their best all the time. You’ll see the wind section, even after the rehearsals, over tuning with each other, trying to make it as blended and as in tune as possible. [Though] Carlos demands a lot, there [are] never any complaints. So, people are really willing to work hard here, and I appreciate that. Another aspect is that the musicians are willing to collaborate with the staff and management in order to make this a thriving, healthy organization.

InSymphony: You were part of starting the Classical Up Close concerts. What motivated you to do this series? SK: Classical Up Close came out of an unfortunate situation, which

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{ }Q & A

was the cancellation of the Carnegie Hall concert for Oregon Symphony. So, my husband and I, and about seven of our colleagues, got together and were just trying to brainstorm—what could we do during that empty week [when] we didn’t have any concerts? And we came up with putting together these free chamber music concerts for the community because I didn’t think that had ever been done here. It was for two purposes: to serve the community and thank our friends, supporters who already come to the symphony, and to make new friendships and foster new relationships by going out into all different areas of Portland to do that. And it was also to raise visibility for the Oregon Symphony so that people would say, “Oh, Oregon Symphony is over here. That’s really great, and I love that. Maybe I’ll actually come down to the Schnitz now.” So that’s where that came from. I think that a concertmaster should create a sense of community for the orchestra players so that everybody feels important and invested in the same thing and proud of creating something. It just happened to all come together, and really by working on this all together—three-fourths of the orchestra participated in this—and because it is all musician-run and musician-produced, we did everything by ourselves.

InSymphony: Have you ever thought about being a conductor?SK: [Laughs] No. That’s not for me.

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For an extended version of this and other interviews, scan this QR code with your smartphone or visit http://orsymphony.skiesamerica.com.