Millennials are going to the Milwaukee Symphony — as key players in the orchestra

A powerful youth movement is invigorating one of Milwaukee's major league franchises, with young performers playing critical roles.

Just as the Milwaukee Bucks have put their future in the youthful hands of Giannis Antetokounmpo, the Milwaukee Symphony is increasingly relying on an influx of millennial musicians. Ten of the orchestra's 71 musicians are 30 years old or younger; three of those are principals, the section leaders on their instruments.

They won their jobs here through competitive blind auditions designed to rule out gender, race or age being used for or against them.  

Principal flutist Sonora Slocum joined the orchestra in 2012, when she was 22. Violinist Alex Ayers, a Waukesha native, came on board in 2013. Principal bassist Jon McCullough-Benner and principal bassoonist Catherine Chen both joined in 2017. Music director Edo de Waart had the final say in each of their hires.

In a recent joint interview, the four musicians shared stories of their paths to performing in Milwaukee — and a few suggestions on what the MSO might do to attract more listeners in their age group.

The right instrument

All four began playing music as little children, but only Ayers plays the instrument he started on.

Sometimes the path was bumpy.

Slocum started Suzuki violin at age 3, but hated it. She switched to piano at age 6 "so that I could sit and practice," she said, to the laughter of her colleagues. In school, her African drumming teacher introduced her to the flute. "It just felt easy, natural, like I had a voice that came freely," she said. "If you are lucky enough to find the (instrument) that speaks the most easily, then things just kind of take off from there."

Chen began playing piano at age 4 in Taiwan, and continued with it after her family moved to the United States. But in eighth grade, her piano teacher dumped her after a disagreement with her parents. "It was really traumatizing, and I just never wanted to play the piano again," she said. In high school, a teacher encouraged her to try oboe or bassoon, with her older sister suggesting the latter. "When I started bassoon early on, I knew that was what I wanted to do," she said.

McCullough-Benner dubbed his journey to playing the bass a "wild ride." He started piano at 5, but hated it. Then, for years, he played violin. "I was terrible at it," he said. For fun along the way, McCullough-Benner played guitar and bass guitar. At 14, he switched from violin to double bass after his teacher pointed out the school orchestra had no bassists in his graduating year. "I tried a friend's instrument and thought, oh, this makes a lot more sense than violin," he said.

Ayers, the outlier here, started violin at 3 with his mother, also a violinist, as his first teacher. He went on to the String Academy of Wisconsin and graduated from high school early to begin his studies at Indiana University. The Waukesha native seems to have been destined to join the Milwaukee Symphony: In 2006, he won the MSO's Stars of Tomorrow competition for high school musicians.

The audition ordeal

To win their Milwaukee Symphony jobs, each musician competed in several rounds of auditions, putting years of practice and study on the line.

Ayers was one of 90 musicians who auditioned for the spot he won. He was No. 88 in line. Each round, he had to play a Schumann excerpt that he found personally challenging enough to call "my nemesis."

"I remember having this overall feeling of a lot of pressure," said McCullough-Benner, who flew here from Oregon, paying more than $1,500 in airfare and hotel costs for his audition stay. 

Chen realized the night before departure that she hadn't booked her flight from Toronto, where she lived, but from a tiny airport two hours away. A delayed flight led to a missed connection; she didn't arrive in Milwaukee until 11 p.m., and she was the first person scheduled to play the next morning at 9 a.m. "And I got sick," she said, to knowing laughter from her colleagues. Between rounds, she simply wished for enough energy to play. A challenging aspect of auditioning is "when you hear every other bassoonist practicing the same excerpts in all the warmup rooms," she said. 

Six years ago, Slocum didn't even want to audition here. Finishing up her first year of graduate school in New York, she had taken several auditions with some success but without winning a job. "I really had to peel myself up and out and make myself available to do this." She didn't love her first-round performance, but she advanced and felt more confident as she went on. 

Paying for instruments

Under the current contract, Milwaukee Symphony musicians play a season of 40 non-continuous weeks at a minimum salary of $65,200. Musicians provide their own tools. Some play one-of-a-kind instruments. In talking about them, words are spoken normally associated with cars and houses, such as "down payment" and "loan."

For example, McCullough-Benner plays a 19th-century bass from northern Italy. "I was really, really lucky that my folks were able to help with the down payment and then help me out a little bit until I had full-time work," he said. While still in college, he took out a 10-year loan from the musicians union to finance the purchase.

Ayers was playing his mother's violin in college when he came across a beautiful instrument he wanted but felt he could never afford. Providentially, a family bequest made it possible.

Because Chen did not have to pay tuition to attend the Curtis Institute of Music, she was able to swing purchase of a bassoon. "The nice thing about bassoons is that they appreciate over time so value will always go up," she said. She would like to acquire a backup bassoon.

As a flutist, Slocum plays multiple instruments. "When the instruments come up, I do whatever I have to do to get them," she said. Recently, she sold a piccolo to pay for a flute.

She stressed the importance of knowing the market and the value of instruments. For example, she believes four head joints she owns from a European maker will grow in value because they're hard to find in the United States. Slocum also has realized there is no perfect instrument, "with every instrument there's something you have to trade for something else." 

Practice, practice

Several musicians knew they had found the right instrument for them when they wanted to practice it. So how much time do they spend practicing on their own, beyond orchestra rehearsals?

"Probably a good two hours (a day) on top of the rehearsal schedule," Ayers said.

"I don't keep track unless I'm preparing for something," Slocum said. If she's not prepping a specific work, she likes to get a flute out and play "to just see where it takes me." 

Both Chen and McCullough-Benner raised the danger of too much practicing, especially following long rehearsals. "I try to be really careful about my body now, too, so I don't get injured," Chen said. She also balances personal practice against the time required to make the reeds necessary to play her instrument.  

"We have to do the smart kind of practicing. The better we are at reading, the shorter the time vested is as far as figuring stuff out," McCullough-Benner said. 

Attracting younger listeners

These folks work in the music department, not marketing, but they were willing to share their ideas on how to attract more people their age to performances. Their thoughts boil down to "accessible repertoire," to use McCullough-Benner's phrase, and friendly concert experiences. The bassist praised the symphony's Finale program, which invites concertgoers to join musicians for a beer at the Rumpus Room after selected shows. 

During the summer, he plays in Chicago's Grant Park Music Festival Orchestra, whose vibe he loves: free performances where people can show up with a bottle of wine.

"I think it's great that we're doing all these movies," said Slocum, citing the symphony's "Star Wars," "Harry Potter" and other programs where the orchestra plays live to movie screenings. Each kind of film draws a different audience, she noted. "Then we just (have to) figure out how to keep them coming," she said, echoing the thought process of symphony executives everywhere.

Repertoire is a nuanced discussion: McCullough-Benner suggested the desirability of both musical compositions people his age would know as well as some "out-there stuff." 

Noting that movie concerts attract movie people, classical concerts attract classics listeners and pops concerts have their following, Ayers said: "I think the key is getting people to go to a new type of concert. I don't know how to do that, though."

Slocum also praised the Secret Symphony program, in which the MSO has performed in the Milwaukee Public Museum, the Central Library and other locations. "It's an experience," she said. "We have to somehow let people know that you can come here and have a nice glass of wine on a date or whatever, just make it so people know that we're having a good time over here." 

When patrons or acquaintances tell her they could never play an instrument or wish they still did, Slocum tells them there's still time. "I always encourage people to keep playing," she said. "That will keep us alive … having the audience with that perspective of what we're actually doing physically and emotionally, it can connect (us) even further with them."

SEE THEM IN FEBRUARY

• A Milwaukee Symphony quartet will play at 7 p.m. Feb. 5 at Colectivo Cafe, 11205 N. Cedarburg Road, Mequon. Free admission.
• Flutist Sonora Slocum and other MSO musicians will perform at 6 p.m. Feb. 6 during "Water Currents: Prelude to a Sea Symphony" at Milwaukee Public Museum, 800 W. Wells St. Free admission.
• The Milwaukee Symphony will perform "My Fair Lady in Concert" Feb. 9-11 at Marcus Center's Uihlein Hall, 929 N. Water St. Ticket info: mso.org.
• Former music director Andreas Delfs will conduct the MSO Feb. 16-17 at the Marcus Center. Ticket info: mso.org.