In the second episode of Beyond the Music, Quad City Symphony Orchestra Executive Director Brian Baxter chats with Ben Coelho, Principal Bassoonist.
Ben reflects on 15 seasons with the QCSO, the joy of reuniting with his fellow musicians, and his excitement for performing Brahms’ Symphony No. 2 to open the orchestra’s 111th season. He also shares insights into the intense preparation that goes into each performance and the special connection he feels with audiences both on and off the stage.
TRANSCRIPT:
Brian Baxter
OK, I’m Brian Baxter with Quad City Symphony Orchestra, and I’m thrilled to be here with my colleague and friend Ben Coelho. Welcome.
Benjamin Coelho
Hello, Brian. Thank you. Thanks for having me. This is such a pleasure.
Brian Baxter
Yeah. So tell us your role with the Quad City Symphony and how long you’ve been doing it.
Benjamin Coelho
Yes, I believe this is my 14th or 15th season with the orchestra as the as the principal bassoon. I just remember that the100th anniversary of the orchestra was my fifth year.
Brian Baxter
Wow.
Benjamin Coelho
We’re how many years after 100?
Brian Baxter
This is at the start of our 111th season.
Benjamin Coelho
Right. So I’m 15 years, yes. So it’s a good, good round number, I guess.
Brian Baxter
There we go.
Excellent. Well, we’re lucky to have you as a part of the orchestra. We’re excited to launch this new season and I wanted to ask you from your position, what excites you most about our season opener at the beginning of October?
Benjamin Coelho
Sure.
Well, I must say I am a people person. I enjoy my colleagues and friends very much, so I always look forward and seeing them again. And I haven’t seen them some for almost six months, since we finished last May or last April.
And so I’m always very excited to see everybody and you know, and make music together. I think we have such a very unique group of people in the orchestra, the ambience of the orchestra, the atmosphere is so amazing. Of course, nothing could happen without the leadership of
Mark Russell Smith or Maestro that keeps us together and keeps us inspired to make music better and better every single second that we’re there on stage. So that’s what’s really exciting for me in the beginning season.
The music is just an added plus to it, and it just happens that, you know, we have one of my favorite symphonies. you know Brahms, and I love Brahms and the second symphony is such a tremendous amazing beautiful piece. I see that it’s second symphony.
As a Symphony that is has such a broad range of emotions that goes from very sunny to very like dark and in these emotions and you know and in the moments we live now we have to hook into this the moment of life.
And friendship and camaraderie and I think the symphony brings us together and the music expresses all this, this amount of energy and feelings we all have right now. So,I think it connects with people, very dearly the symphony. So I think this the symphony is amazing. Of course Grieg and Tchaikovsky, are also amazing pieces, but the Brahms symphony really speaks to my heart.
Brian Baxter
I think something our audience is always curious about is the preparation it takes to get to the point of this beautiful performance on a Masterworks concert weekend. So can you tell us what that looks like for you from your position from first seeing the music to stepping on stage?
Benjamin Coelho
Sure. As musicians we are constantly in preparation for something. You know, we have the fundamentals of scales, long notes and all of those things. I see myself like in many ways relationship with like athletes.
Because that level preparation is needed every single moment, even though we’re sitting there, it looks like we’re happy and we’re excited and we’re playing music. But is it takes a lot of energy in preparation. In my case with a reed instrument like the bassoon, I spend hours and hours and hours making reeds so that when I come into the to my rehearsal, my reed is ready to go. And many times I use two or three different reeds for the same program depending on the work we’re doing. So it takes a lot of preparation, mental, preparation and athleticism with the, you know, with practicing.
Brian Baxter
Yea, I think people don’t fully appreciate the level of preparation and just daily, daily work you put in, even as a long tenured professional, right?
Benjamin Coelho
Right. That’s right. Like, there is a saying in Brazil. As you know, I’m from Brazil, you know, Levando a vida na flauta. That means carrying life on the flute, which means like it’s so easy. Life is so easy. If you play a musical instrument, it’s like living a life in the flauta, which is a is a total misconception of how hard it is to get that level preparation. But it’s joyful. I’m not complaining. It’s like it’s all a great joy.
Brian Baxter
Right. Oh, yeah. No, absolutely. So, is there one thing you wish the public, the audience knew about the life of an orchestra musician that maybe you think they don’t?
Benjamin Coelho
No, I think that I think a lot of people do understand that kind of preparation is needed. But I just want the audience to come enjoy themselves when they go to a football game, a basketball game, they go there to enjoy. What they’re seeing and for the success. Everybody wants everybody’s success. So, I’m happy for them to come and they sit back and relax and listen to the music. And we do like when people come into the afterglow and they come and talk to us. It’s the highlight of the concert, sharing with the audience, talking to them and in trying to understand what they enjoy, what they didn’t enjoy. You know, they’re very open when they come and talk to us, and we appreciate that.
Brian Baxter
That’s fantastic. I think we’ll leave it there. Thank you, Ben, for joining us on Beyond the Music.
Benjamin Coelho
Well, you’re welcome and see you all in October
Beyond the Music: sharing the heartbeat behind the harmony
Beyond the Music: Sharing the Heartbeat behind the Harmony takes you behind the scenes of the Quad City Symphony Orchestra to meet the musicians, staff, and community members who bring the music to life.
Through candid conversations and personal stories, this series explores the passion, people, and purpose that drive every performance, giving you a deeper connection to the symphony and the harmony it creates both on and off the stage.