JAVS Fall 2012

States and the Commandant of the Marine Corps,” explains Staff Sgt. Tran, Assistant Principal Violist in the orchestra. Tran studied with Richard young at Northern Illinois University and yizhak Schotten at the University of Michigan before beginning doctoral studies at SUNy, Stonybrook, with Lawrence Dutton; he cut those studies short when he joined the orches tra in January 2005. Even with their specialized duties, the violists main tain a relationship with fellow members of the Marine Corps: “There are some weeks where we join the bar racks Marines to welcome an incoming commanding officer or sergeant major,” says Shieh. “I do a fair amount of volunteering,” adds Tran, “so I sometimes have the chance to meet other Marines at military volunteer functions. I really respect what they do in their unique area of expertise, and they also reciprocate the same mutual respect.” Hart also emphasizes this feeling of mutual respect among her peers: “I feel tremendous respect and grati tude for the Marines who put themselves in harm’s way for our country. Though I have no combat role, I know that the Marine Corps values my role as a musician as one of the many different specialties required to be successful as an organization. The applause of the audience at our public concerts expresses gratitude not only for our music, but also for the service of all Marines.” The Marine Chamber Orchestra has a regular season of orchestral and chamber music concerts, which are free for the public to attend. The small size of the ensemble allows solo opportunities for most of the members, and all of the violists have performed solos with the orchestra: Shieh performed Mozart’s Sinfonia Concertante in 1998; Tran played the J. C. Bach/Casadesus Concerto in 2007 and Bruch’s Double Concerto for Clarinet and Viola in E Minor, op. 88, in 2010; and Hart performed Martinů’s Rhapsody-Concerto in 2011. But, the members of the orchestra play a variety of other private events at venues including the White House, Blair House (the President’s Guest House),

the Library of Congress, and the Capitol, often as part of a smaller chamber group: “Functions can include events like State Dinners, the Kennedy Center Honors, the National Arts and Humanities awards, Medal of Freedom awards, or a Christmas Eve service at Camp David,” according to Tran. “The schedule can get very intense during the holidays.” Shieh adds that “the functions we perform for could be anywhere from a bill-signing at the White House to a reception at the Blair House or from an Easter breakfast gathering to a celebration for the Super Bowl champions.” Rubbing elbows with celebrities at the White House is all in a day’s work for members of the orchestra: “It is always fun to see people with prominent positions ranging from movies stars, to athletes, political lead ers, the Queen of England, or musical icons,” observes Shieh. “It is such a funny experience being the object of fas cination of guests, sometimes even famous ones,” adds Hart, “I will never get used to celebrities asking to take photos with me.” A particularly enjoyable aspect of working among such high-profile guests is the chance to mingle with musical icons: “Paul McCartney was being honored at the Kennedy Center,” says Tran, “and I had the opportunity to play string quartet arrangements of his music for him at the end of the event. As we’re play ing for him I’m thinking to myself, ‘you know, I’d prefer listening to yOU perform your music.’ It was surreal because I’m a huge Beatles fan.” On other occasions, the opportunity to perform with these icons presents itself, as Shieh explains: “There are times when yo-yo Ma grabs a cello and plays with the orchestra at the White House, or when Itzhak Perlman sits in with a quartet to perform a piece, or even when he takes the baton and conducts the orchestra.” Playing in a string quartet with Perlman and Ma is one of Tran’s most memorable moments with the orchestra: “I grew up listening to them as a kid, and I

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