#2 Derek Emch, clarinetist
Q. What are the makes & models of your instruments?
A. I play a Buffet R13 Vintage clarinet.
Q. How long have you been playing these particular instruments?
A. I bought this clarinet five years ago.
Q. How did you begin playing music? When? Why?
A. I learned music in school. In fourth grade, we were taken to see the sixth grade band play a short concert and to showcase each instrument. The clarinet caught my attention when they showed off its impressive range. (It had the widest range in the whole band!) The following year, I enrolled in band and chose the clarinet. It was a good decision.
A. I play a Buffet R13 Vintage clarinet.
Q. How long have you been playing these particular instruments?
A. I bought this clarinet five years ago.
Q. How did you begin playing music? When? Why?
A. I learned music in school. In fourth grade, we were taken to see the sixth grade band play a short concert and to showcase each instrument. The clarinet caught my attention when they showed off its impressive range. (It had the widest range in the whole band!) The following year, I enrolled in band and chose the clarinet. It was a good decision.
Q. What is your favorite moment being a musician?
A. My most memorable moments as a musician come when I improvise. Before I begin playing, it's as if I am at the edge of a cliff. I have no parachute, no guarantee that I could survive if I jump, you know? But then I start playing, and I find that I have wings.
Q. What do you think of your mission as a musician in the current society?
A. Our society has slowly been fracturing over the last several years, and I fear it will get worse before it gets better. As a musician navigating this environment, I seek understanding, both for myself and for those around me. I believe that it is through understanding that we can minimize violence in all its forms and establish more meaningful relationships.
Q. Please fill the blank: Music is __________.
A. what we make it.
A. My most memorable moments as a musician come when I improvise. Before I begin playing, it's as if I am at the edge of a cliff. I have no parachute, no guarantee that I could survive if I jump, you know? But then I start playing, and I find that I have wings.
Q. What do you think of your mission as a musician in the current society?
A. Our society has slowly been fracturing over the last several years, and I fear it will get worse before it gets better. As a musician navigating this environment, I seek understanding, both for myself and for those around me. I believe that it is through understanding that we can minimize violence in all its forms and establish more meaningful relationships.
Q. Please fill the blank: Music is __________.
A. what we make it.
Check out this video of Derek performing Eric Mandat's "Chiral Symmetries"!