Welcome to LSO Spotlights! Meet some of the newest musicians to join Longwood Symphony and get a glimpse of their musical background, work life, and what LSO means to them. We truly appreciate each one our wonderful orchestra members and are grateful for all of their musical contributions.
Christopher Yuskaitis, MD, oboe & English horn
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What has your experience been like with the LSO?
I am so impressed by the quality of the LSO. The musical repertoire is diverse and challenging. In addition, the LSOs mission to bridge the gap between arts and medicine parallels my personal passion.
What is your profession?
I’m a child neurologist and researcher at Boston Children’s Hospital. I care for patients with infantile spasms and disorders of brain development, where I also study the underlying causes of these conditions in the laboratory.
What instrument do you play? How long have you been playing?
I play the oboe and occasionally English Horn. I played for about 10 years or so through college but my playing fell off after that. I’ve always had a goal to start playing consistently again and join an orchestra. After a 17-year hiatus with urging from Lisa Wong, an LSO member, I began playing regularly again about a year ago.
How has music affected your life?
Music heals. Music alleviates stress or promotes creativity. My interest in the effects of music on the brain is what got me into research and medicine in the first place. I am passionate about bridging the gap between arts and medicine, and sharing this connection with others.
Are there any major projects you’re currently working on?
Not at the moment, just trying to find time to stay up with playing. Without the regular performances of the LSO, it is hard to dedicate time to playing amongst the multiple work/life demands.
How has your work changed during the pandemic?
Work is very different, although I constantly remind myself to put it in perspective of what so many people are going through right now. All outpatient clinical work is virtual telemedicine visits and there are still limitations on research spaces that hamper productivity.
How have you stayed inspired during quarantine?
A physician-scientist needs to be comfortable with delayed gratification and maintaining sight of long-term goals in the setting of short-term failures. I know that we will recover and rebound as a society in the next several years and that we won’t be getting back to “normal” in the near-term. In the short-term, I’ve been inspired by all of the workers that continue to make sacrifices for others both in the hospital and in our community. As the pandemic drags on and we head into a second wave, I am inspired by the delivery drivers, cashiers, custodial services, nurses, aides, and first responders that continue to work through these difficult times.
What are you looking forward to with the orchestra?
Playing again as a full ensemble!
Aaron Levett, violin
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What has your experience been like with the LSO?
I've loved my time in the LSO! When I moved to Boston, the LSO was the first music ensemble that I joined, and it's where I played my first concert in Jordan Hall. I've met so many amazing people and always looked forward to Monday rehearsals. Ronny is a wonderful conductor to work with, and chooses lots of great repertoire - both old and new. One particularly special memory was our December concert, where we performed the Brahms Double Concerto with violinist Ayano Ninomiya (NEC Faculty) and cellist Blaise Déjardin (principal cello of the BSO).
What is your profession?
I'm a Software Engineer at Google, working on a Search infrastructure team.
What instrument do you play? How long have you been playing?
I've played violin for 16 years! I also recently started taking Zoom Oboe lessons; I've been playing oboe for about 2.5 months now, so I'm still very much a beginner :)
How has music affected your life?
Music has always been something that grounds me. Throughout pretty much all of the twists and turns of life, music has been a constant hobby that I've always enjoyed and made time for. I went to college in California, so when I moved to Boston for work, I didn't know many people in the area, but I was able to meet lots of people and make some friends through various music ensembles I've been in.
How has your work changed during the pandemic?
I'm working from home for the foreseeable future, possibly even through the end of June. Overall, I've had a lot more video conferences and chat threads, and I miss my coworkers. But it's nice not having to move from room to room when there are back-to-back meetings.
What are you looking forward to with the orchestra?
I'm looking forward to finally being able to play in an orchestra again! The last orchestra concert I ever played in was towards the end of February. It's hard to believe that 8 months have gone by already. I'm pretty sure this is the longest (since I first joined a youth orchestra when I was little) that I've gone without playing in an orchestra.
Matthew Lee, oboe & English horn
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What has your experience been like with the LSO?
Playing with the LSO has been a really great experience that’s kept me connected to playing the oboe and that’s given me opportunities to meet so many people from different walks of life, all who care about health and about orchestral music making.
What is your profession?
I'm a second year PhD student in the Population Health Sciences program at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health. My research focuses on food policy and applications of causal inference methods to nutrition questions.
What instrument do you play? How long have you been playing?
I’ve played the oboe for 16 years and the English horn for 9 years — and hope to continue for many years to come!
How has music affected your life?
Music has been a consistent part of my life as I’ve transitioned from living in California, to Boston, and back to California again because of the pandemic, and has helped to keep me grounded during all of the uncertainty. I’ve met some of my closest friends through playing music and love the feeling of delivering a concert together after hours of hard work and collaboration.
Are there any major projects you’re currently working on?
Currently, I’m working with some other graduate student friends to try and put together a virtual woodwind quintet. We’re hoping to play the Nielsen Woodwind Quintet by the end of the semester, although it’s been challenging with all the new technology and coordination needed to make things work online.
How has your work changed during the pandemic?
A big part the first two years of my program is connecting with other students, researchers, and faculty, so it’s been difficult having to move everything online and not being able to meet in-person. However, I’ve been able to spend more time with family and escape the East Coast winter for at least a year — which is a plus!
How have you stayed inspired during quarantine?
I’ve been really inspired by the ways organizations are rethinking what it means to be an arts organization, both in terms of performance as well as the connection to our audiences, and by the drive people have shown to keep making music despite the circumstances. Personally, I’ve enjoyed discovering new recordings of my favorite pieces and watching virtual masterclasses.
What are you looking forward to with the orchestra?
I’m very much looking forward to playing in-person again, once things are safe, and figuring out ways to increase representation and voices of Black composers and musicians in our community. I’m also looking forward to more virtual concerts and watching my string friends perform!
Ji Seok Kim, violin
+ Read more about Ji Seok
What has your experience been like with the LSO?
I joined the LSO because I was interested in meeting new people and playing in orchestra again. I've also enjoyed getting to perform chamber music with several LSO musicians publicly or just for fun.
What is your profession?
I work as a Research Associate at a biotech company called Dewpoint Therapeutics. In my job I get to conduct experiments in the biology wet lab with the goal of searching for and validating novel drugs against diseases for which there are no effective therapies currently available.
What instrument do you play? How long have you been playing?
I've been fiddling since I was a kid, but I actually don't remember when I started taking violin lessons. I've played on and off, although I really started enjoying violin in high school. I spent a summer at the Boston University Tanglewood Institute and that experience had a big impact on my appreciation for music and performance.
How has music affected your life?
Very much, music allows me to combine my scientific, or logical side with my emotional, human side. I think music reflects so well what it is like to be human and combines the desire we all have to feel, think, and communicate. I feel it's one of the only things I do that really combines the left and right brains.
Are there any major projects you’re currently working on?
I'm helping my mom take care of the house, gardening, and making sure our backyard is ready for the winter weather. I'm also in the process of applying to medical school.
How has your work changed during the pandemic?
I finished my last undergraduate semester online, and have since graduated from MIT with my undergraduate degree in physics. My full time work began remotely but has now become a combination of working in the lab and from home.
How have you stayed inspired during quarantine?
I've been planning outdoors & hiking trips with my friends. I've hiked a lot around Massachusetts, but I'm looking forward to venturing out to the White Mountains sometime soon.
What are you looking forward to with the orchestra?
Play together as much as we can! I also played with the LSO string ensemble this fall, which was really nice after not having played music with others in a while.
Sophie Lu, violin
+ Read more about Sophie
What has your experience been like with the LSO?
My experience with the LSO has been incredible so far! It's really great to be in a group that not only shares a passion for music, but is actively involved in our surrounding communities as well.
What is your profession?
I'm currently a research technician at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. What instrument do you play? How long have you been playing? I have been playing the violin for sixteen years.
How has music affected your life?
Music has been a safe haven for me as well as a means to connect with other people around me that I wouldn't have known otherwise. Are there any major projects you’re currently working on? I have started virtual volunteering recently, which involves playing the violin over Zoom for pediatric in-patients.
How has your work changed during the pandemic?
My lab went remote for three months at the beginning. We have returned in a socially distant format with shift work starting in June.
How have you stayed inspired during quarantine?
I have been trying my best to stay in touch with people in a safe way, whether it be through social media or Facetime calls. Sustaining social interactions and staying connected with others are how I stay motivated and inspired.
What are you looking forward to with the orchestra?
I'm looking forward to playing together with stand partners and full winds again, just as before!
Christine Liu, viola
+ Read more about Christine
What has your experience been like with the LSO?
I joined LSO in Sept of 2019, and it has been such a wonderful experience. I have always loved playing in orchestras, and having such a fantastic group of musicians and passionate people to work with is amazing.
What is your profession?
I am a PhD student in Speech and Hearing Bioscience and Technology program at Harvard Medical School. I work in Dr. Anne Takesian’s auditory neuroscience lab at Mass Eye and Ear studying the basic mechanisms of auditory learning and plasticity.
What instrument do you play? How long have you been playing?
I play the viola! I started playing on the violin when I was 6, and switched to the viola when i was 9.
How has music affected your life?
Music has always been a huge part of my life in many different ways. Playing music with others have brought me so much joy and meaning over the years — and it has certainly been one of the most rewarding, fun, and engaging part part of my life. Music is also what got me interested in hearing and neuroscience, and inspired me to pursue science research and advocacy.
Fun fact: I have a Bachelor of Music degree in music theory (started out as viola performance major) from Northwestern University Bienen School of Music, where my orchestra conductor, Victor Yampolski, is an old colleague of Ronny’s at the BSO!
Are there any major projects you’re currently working on?
During quarantine, I started to record myself play every movement of all six Bach cello suites! I haven’t quite finished yet, but it’s something I’m trying to work on when I have some free time.
How has your work changed during the pandemic?
Our lab shut down for two months, and I was working from home as much as I could. It was tough in the beginning to lose the routine, but now we’re getting back to the lab and starting to do experiments again.
How have you stayed inspired during quarantine?
Music, Bach, and lots of cooking and baking.
What are you looking forward to with the orchestra?
I look forward to be able to play full symphonies with the LSO soon! I grew up playing in orchestras since I was 9 and orchestra rehearsals have always been the highlight of my weeks. I’m dying to hear the powerful sound of an entire symphony orchestra in person soon!
Calvin Ludwig, flute & piccolo
+ Read more about Calvin
What has your experience been like with the LSO?
The mission and the extraordinary quality of the LSO have surpassed my expectations. For me, music and the LSO represent more than just a "break" from day-to-day life; it is a way for me to do something I love with talented, accomplished, and generous people.
What is your profession?
After a year of bioinformatics research at Boston Children's Hospital in LSO trumpeter Len Zon's laboratory, I am currently a 2nd-year medical student at Tufts University School of Medicine. I feel very grateful to be continuing my studies — both in and out of the classroom — amid the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
What instrument do you play? How long have you been playing?
I have played the flute since age 9 and picked up the piccolo along the way. I have been playing ever since then and have been loving every minute!
How has music affected your life?
Music has had a positive impact on my life for more than 15 years. I have music to thank for some of my closest friends and most cherished memories.
Are there any major projects you’re currently working on?
With Adel Malek MD/PhD at Tufts Medical Center, I am conducting and publishing research related to better predicting intracranial aneurysm rupture probability. Our predictions are based on deep learning analyses of 3-dimensional rotational angiograms of patient aneurysms.
How has your work changed during the pandemic?
After full-remote medical school learning Mar–Jun 2020, Tufts transitioned to a hybrid learning model beginning in Aug 2020 for our pre-clinical curriculum. In particular, I am very thankful to spend one full day per week in person in a nearby internal medicine clinic with a terrific preceptor.
How have you stayed inspired during quarantine?
Remaining connected as best I can to classmates, mentors, family, and friends is really important to me and has been instrumental in maintaining my overall well-being during this extraordinary time. What are you looking forward to with the orchestra? I look forward to making music with a group of people whom I regard very highly!
Angela Wittmann, viola
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What has your experience been like with the LSO?
I highly enjoy and am inspired by making music with people who are not only passionate musicians but also want to make a difference in the world.
What is your profession?
I’m a postdoctoral Fellow at MIT at the Materials Research Laboratory working on magnetism.
What instrument do you play? How long have you been playing?
I play the viola. I started playing the violin when I was 14 and switched to viola four years later.
How has music affected your life?
Music has always been my escape to maintain a balance in my life. In research, I have to maintain a clear structure in my thoughts and work to form rational arguments. Music, on the other hand, requires creativity and allows me to be lead by the unconscious mind. This gives me the opportunity to explore both, the logic but also the emotional side.
Are there any major projects you’re currently working on?
I’ve just been gifted a piano recently and am very excited to explore chamber music in the near future.
How has your work changed during the pandemic?
Most of my work is based on experiments we conduct in the lab. During the first months MIT had completely closed down research and I had to reinvent my approach to research. I’m slowly settling into a new routine at home but also am very excited every time I get to conduct an experiment in the lab again.
How have you stayed inspired during quarantine?
I’ve been in the very fortunate situation that I have been able to continue with both my work but also hobbies during quarantine even though they had to be adapted to the new situation. One benefit of having to move all interactions online was that physical location did not play such a large role anymore and hence allowed me to reconnect and spend more time with friends and family who live further away.
What are you looking forward to with the orchestra?
I was very excited and highly appreciated the opportunity to get to play together again in a smaller string orchestra for the most recent (virtual) LSO concert this fall. I hope that we can continue playing orchestral music as soon as the weather permits outdoor rehearsals again in spring.