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Austin360 blogs > Austin Arts: Seeing Things > Archives > 2009 > April > 25 > Entry
Q-and-A: Jessica Mathaes, violinist and concertmaster with Austin Symphony Orchestra
In 2005, violinist Jessica Mathaes won the distinction of being the youngest-ever and first female concertmaster of the Austin Symphony Orchestra at age 25.
Since landing the position, Mathaes has delighted Austin audiences with her vivacious playing that’s both technically superb and emotionally engaging. In addition to her role with the orchestra, Mathaes has a busy solo career, which you can find on her Web site, www.jessicamathaes.com, and this spring is releasing her first solo CD, ‘Suites and Sweets.’
Preview a sample here:
What are you working on right now?
It’s been a busy and fun 2009 for me so far! Most recently I soloed with the Round Rock Symphony— they are in their debut year as an organization and had such a great energy. I played a world premiere with them by Manly Romero, and a surprise encore, the “Souvenir d’Amerique- Yankee Doodle Variations” by Henri Vieuxtemps. The program was very virtuosic, so I had to practice it a lot, and playing it for the audiences made it very rewarding.
When I’m not on the Long Center stage performing as concertmaster of the Austin Symphony, I am usually preparing for or playing solo engagements both in and out of town. This year so far I have performed three different solo recital programs and a concerto program. There is so much great violin music to play, so I’m constantly learning new repertoire, which really keeps me on my toes. A lot of my work over the past months has been devoted to my debut solo CD, “Suites and Sweets.” The official release of the disc is coming up in May, which is very exciting for me.
What do you like about Austin’s classical music scene?
I love the audience members! I have felt very welcomed and appreciated ever since I came to the city in 2005, which makes it so fun to share my music with the Austin community. I always enjoy talking to the concertgoers and have met many interesting people that way.
One of my fondest Austin classical music memories is the bicentennial birthday bash I threw for my violin back in 2007. A perfectly quirky Austin event, the idea was actually dreamed up for me by an audience member at one of my previous concerts! I played pieces from 1807, 1907, and 2007, including a world premiere by Austin’s own P. Kellach Waddle. I was overwhelmed by the turnout when I walked out on stage and was greeted by four or five hundred Austinites in the hall to help celebrate. We had a birthday cake reception afterwards — it was a blast!
How could Austin’s classical scene be improved?
Unlike some other forms of music, classical music has a history that goes back a few hundred years. It is a really rich and exciting history, but the music is still very relevant to today and the emotions and tastes of modern people. The problem is when it is treated as something that’s old and stuffy, which it does not have to be. I think it’s up to the people who advertise classical music events to market them as something young people might enjoy. It is also up to the performers to be accessible and to potential audience members to go ahead and try classical even if they haven’t in a while — they might like it!
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