Abby Black, our new Principal French Horn by Neil Kimel When did you start playing the horn and where did you study?        I began playing the horn in fourth grade. My school didn’t offer horn as an option, so my parents bought me the cheapest single horn on eBay and told me I had to stick with it until at least eighth grade.      Throughout high school, I played extensively for Jon Boen (retired Lyric Opera principal horn), who was an incredible influence on me. His kindnes

By Melissa Trier Kirk and Eleanor Bartsch 1995 was a great year for music of all kinds in Chicago. If you played in the Lyric Opera Orchestra, you were performing Wagner’s Ring Cycle (the first in Lyric’s history) under the baton of Maestro Zubin Mehta. You might also have been recording a song for another significant musical cycle: the sprawling, three-disk alternative rock opus, Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness, by the Smashing Pumpkins.    Chicago in the 1990s was

An Interview with John Mangum by A View From The Pit staff VP: We wanted to start with your “origin” story. Was there a particular event, performance, experience, or person that made you want to work in the arts? JM: When I was nine, we moved to a new town, There was a kid my age across the street, and my mother pushed me out the door and said, "Go over there and make a friend."It turned out his mom was a piano teacher. He did not become a friend, but I went home and told my

by Neil Kimel At the end of the 2024-2025 season, Jon Boen will retire from the Lyric Opera Orchestra after 46 years as principal horn. Jon studied at Northern Illinois University under Bill Klingelhoffer who was a previous principal horn at Lyric. Bill invited Jon to the pit for the first time to assist him on Die Meistersinger with Ferdinand Leitner conducting. Quite the baptism of fire to opera! Jon played one season as 3rd horn at Lyric under another principal horn Gail

By Melissa Trier Kirk Last fall, Lyric’s Principal Bassoonist Preman Tilson received a message from Ukrainian-born conductor Michael Holian. The concert Preman had organized shortly after the invasion of Ukraine in 2022 had been such a successful fundraiser, could he do it again on the occasion of the 1,000th day of fighting to commemorate Ukraine’s fight for freedom? “ I was looking for ways that we as an orchestra could help give support,” said Preman. He worked to put toge

Annika Donnen on her role as Managing Librarian By Neil Kimel You may wonder how so many singers, musicians, and a conductor all stay “on the same page.” It’s not as simple as it sounds. Managing Librarian Annika Donnen will shed some light behind the scenes on how it all comes together and about her journey to Lyric Opera. How did your life transition from being a violist to becoming the Managing Librarian at Lyric Opera? I was very lucky to have a great career in Dallas as

Violinist Eleanor Bartsch joined our 1st violin section after auditioning last spring. She kindly answers some questions so we can get to know her better. Welcome Eleanor! Where are you from and what made you fall in love with the violin? I’m originally from St. Paul, Minnesota. I come from a musical family - my dad is a pianist and organist and my mom is a violinist and Suzuki violin teacher, so it was in my blood! My sister and I grew up totally immersed in a musical life w

by Eleanor Bartsch There’s a new face in the pit at the Lyric Opera of Chicago, but if he’s doing his job right, you won’t see or hear him during a performance. Chicagoland native Kevin McPartlin has been with Lyric since 2018 and was recently promoted to the position of pit stagehand. Kevin and the pit team are essential to every rehearsal and performance, handling the many behind-the-scenes tasks that allow the orchestra to focus on the music. The pit is its own bustling ec

By Rebecca Oliverio Welcome to our new Bass Trombone player, Will Baker! Will is no stranger to Chicago and we are very happy to have him in the orchestra. Tell us about where you are originally from and how you ended up where you are now. I was born and raised in Walnut Creek, California, about 45 minutes inland of San Francisco. My childhood home was full of music from as early as I can remember. My dad is a self trained guitar player and was the lead singer in a band of bu

A Conversation with Assistant Principal Horn Fritz Frozz by Neil Kimel Every section of the orchestra has an assistant principal who is an “understudy” of sorts in the principal’s absence and plays principal on certain operas as well, but in the horn section, Fritz Foss has quite a big job. Buckle up as you’re about to learn about the treacheries of transposition, the Wagner tuba, and what it means behind the scenes to be supremely flexible in moments of need. 1. What are th

by Kathleen Brauer Some of the most peculiar gigs I've played were with a string quartet. One was at Eagle Tavern in Greenfield Village,...

by Neil Kimel One way to learn about the composers of your favorite operas is to watch films about their lives. While there have been...

by Melissa Trier Kirk Heesoo won the Principal Clarinet position with us last summer and started playing here in the fall. He graciously...

By Rebecca Oliverio A few members of our newsletter team sat down with Speranza Scappucci, conductor of La fille du régiment. She gives...

On October 3, 2023, the Chicago Lyric Opera Orchestra lost a cherished colleague, former Principal Flute, Jean Berkenstock. Jean served...

By Melissa Trier Kirk The summer found some of our orchestra members scattered around the globe performing and teaching while others...

By Neil Kimel Within his complex operas, Wagner assigns characters and certain thematic elements musical "leitmotifs". These themes alert...

by Rebecca Oliverio One of our more recently appointed members of the orchestra is Assistant Concertmaster Emily Nebel. This role is...

by Neil Kimel After our beloved Judith Kulb retired at the end of last season, Paul Lueders was asked to play the important position of...

by Melissa Trier Kirk This February, the Lyric Opera Orchestra lost a cherished colleague, violist Frank Babbitt, who passed away after a...