Editor’s note: The Capital City Weekly is running Q&As with Meghan Johnson and Bill Paulick ahead of Juneau Symphony’s fall concert, “Sizzling Strings.”
The concert — as you’ll see in Paulick’s Q&A — features visiting French horn player Jim Thatcher, who has played for hundreds of film scores. The concert will feature “both new and timeless symphonic classics” including Sibelius’ “grand and majestic” Andante Festivo, which will begin the concert, and Schumann’s Fourth Symphony. Thatcher will play Ewazen’s “suspenseful” horn concerto.
The concert is Saturday, Oct. 29 at 8 p.m. and Sunday, Oct. 20 at 3 p.m. at Juneau-Douglas High School. Tickets are $17 to $32 and available at the JACC, Hearthside Books, or online.
What is your earliest musical memory?
It’s when my dad bought our first stereo phonograph and album in the early 1960s. The album was Herb Alpert and the Tijuana Brass, “Whipped Cream & Other Delights.” Wow! I was amazed that they had figured out how to reproduce different sounds that came out of each speaker. It made the music sound so realistic — I couldn’t believe it.
What is your instrument, and when did you start playing it?
I play French horn. I always knew I wanted to play horn, but I actually started on trumpet. A French horn was way more expensive, so my parents got me a used trumpet for $10/month, which we paid off in eight months! I was able to switch to the horn in seventh grade and it has been my instrument ever since. I also took piano lessons as a kid. I loved Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts with the New York Philharmonic that were broadcast on TV, especially Peter and the Wolf. When the camera landed on the horn player I got a very special feeling and knew that was a sound that I loved. I have always loved all those warm resonant instruments, like the bassoon, cello, English horn, and of course the French horn.
What is one of your favorite pieces of music? What about it moves you?
I don’t focus on any one piece but of course I am a horn geek, so any French horn piece gets my attention. I love anything with a beat except acid rock, heavy metal, and rap. I love any music that makes me want to move. I notice that when we play rousing classical music during work hours in my instrument repair shop, we work more quickly and efficiently. Music is just as good as a cup of coffee for getting me going.
Who inspires you musically? Why and how?
I am continually inspired by the hundreds of current and past musicians who have put in the time and effort to become efficient and entertaining and comfortable with their instruments. I feel the same way about conductors and instructors, especially those at summer horn camp where I go with my daughter, who also plays French horn in the Juneau Symphony. They all inspire me and show me how to be a better player and teacher. I also really love it when performers and instructors do a great job of conveying the meaning behind a piece of music. In fact, I am inspired by anyone who is better than me at my instrument, even my own daughter.
What are you looking forward to about the upcoming concert, Sizzling Strings?
This concert has a lot of string music, so as a non-string player, I won’t be playing as much as I usually do. But I am looking forward to hearing my old friend and competitor from high school, Jim Thatcher, who will perform the French horn solo on the Concerto for Horn and String Orchestra by Eric Ewazen, who will also be attending the concert. Jim and I competed in the Los Angeles county school system, and we both ended up as finalists for a fourth horn slot. After we graduated, he went off and became a professional horn player, and I joined the Coast Guard, which has been a great life for me in Alaska. But I am looking forward to hearing my old friend play and for the second half of the program I will be sitting to his left, just as we did back in high school! I am really looking forward to that.
• Bill Paulick is the Juneau Symphony principal French horn player. He is the owner of Juneau Brass & Winds, an instrument sales and repair shop.
Bill Paulick, lead horn player for the Juneau Symphony.
