Shop Talk S01E15: Musician Injuries Could Soar After COVID: Musician Perspective

Guests Jon Boen, Catherine Chen, and Yumi Hwang-Williams

This is the second in a series of podcasts focusing on the topic of what orchestras of all budget size should be considering when planning for post-COVID concert activity. This installment focuses on what musicians think so I invited a trio from each major section of an orchestra: strings, brass, and winds.

Jon Boen
With a career covering opera, symphonic, chamber, Baroque, solo performing, and even Broadway and jingles, Jon Boen combines these components to offer a unique musical perspective.

Widely recognized as one of the most technically commanding performers of the horn, Jon believes that his experience at the opera adds a layer of lyricism to his interpretations not commonly found in brass playing today. He has served as Principal Horn for the Lyric Opera of Chicago since 1979, a position he secured at the age of 22. Since 1998, he holds the position of Principal Horn of the Grant Park Orchestra.

Catherine Chen
A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she currently serves as Principal Bassoon of the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra, a position she has held since 2017 at the age of 24. Prior to her current appointment, Catherine was the Associate Principal Bassoon with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra at the age of 22.

Working from the belief that music is more than playing the right notes at the right time, Catherine Chen approaches each piece as an opportunity to sing through her instrument and connect with the audience.

Yumi Hwang-Williams
Since 2000, Yumi has been Concertmaster of the Colorado Symphony and was Concertmaster of the Cabrillo Festival Orchestra for twelve years.

Strings magazine calls Yumi Hwang-Williams “a modern Prometheus” who has “emerged as a fiery champion of contemporary classical music.”

Yumi made her debut at the age of fifteen as a soloist with the Philadelphia Orchestra. A graduate of the Curtis Institute of Music, she's known today both for her stylish performances of the classics and her commitment to the works of present-day composers.

Yumi plays on a violin made by Carlo Landolfi in Milan, circa 1752. For context, in that same year Thomas Jefferson was enjoying life as a nine year old.