By Emil de Cou, Music Director/Principal Conductor, PNB Orchestra
On February 28, 1990 Twyla Tharp’s Scottish-themed ballet Brief Fling made its debut on the stage of the War Memorial Opera House in San Francisco. I was in the orchestra […]
My parents settled in the Central Wisconsin city of Stevens Point, a “college town” with an active and energetic community. I was born and mostly raised in “Point,” as were my younger siblings.
My parents were […]
My family was a hodgepodge of national backgrounds, but my generation (late baby boomer) and our previous two generations were all American-born. My parents grew up in the Depression and were young adults during WWII, so my “American Story” was shaped […]
My mother and father (both Northwestern University graduates) taught vocal music for many years in the Tacoma School District. My mother’s father was an Army Finance Officer; her mother, a professional musician, once saw Mitch Miller play English horn on television and decided that […]
For my parents, America meant opportunity. Individually, they came to the US from Korea in the 1950’s, meeting for the first time in Chicago, and bringing with them their own stories of perseverance and […]
Pacific Northwest Ballet's Founding Artistic Director Kent Stowell was instrumental in creating the PNB Orchestra; he recently sat down to share memories of the PNB Orchestra and his Carmina Burana.
Violinist Michael Jinsoo Lim has served as Concertmaster of the PNB Orchestra since 2009; he is also co-founder of the award-winning Corigliano Quartet, performing at venues such as Carnegie Hall, Weill Recital Hall, and the Kennedy Center. The ensemble’s CD, featuring works by John Corigliano was honored as one of The New Yorker’s Top […]
How did you get your start in music and conducting?
EdC: I’m the only person I know of all my colleagues who went into music because of loving ballet music. Growing up in Orange County where there was no orchestra, the only orchestra nearby was LA, which I couldn’t get […]
Q: How many orchestra members are in the PNB Orchestra?
A: It varies from program to program. For Don Quixote, we’ll have 62-64 musicians. It’s a pretty big symphony orchestra. When you come to the show, it’s always fun to come and look in {the pit} because there are a lot of people down […]
I’m Tom Dziekonski, a violinist in the Pacific Northwest Ballet Orchestra. For Nutcracker, I’m the person that decorates the pit with the wacky lights and who writes the orchestral gags for the “nutty” show on Christmas Eve. (The Pink Panther outfit you may have seen during the midnight chime I got from London.)