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| ALUMNI
PROFILES - John Sparrow |
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Though
he began as a bassoonist with the Atlanta Symphony Youth Orchestra,
John Sparrow is now the Vice President and General Manager of
the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. It was a long journey, and Mr.
Sparrow owes part of his success to his four years with the
ASYO.
"I went to the Eastman School of Music with the full intention
of becoming a professional bassoonist with a major orchestra,"
says Sparrow. During his junior year in the Bachelor of Music
program, however, Mr. Sparrow got to serve in various administrative
capacities for local orchestras in the Rochester area. He enjoyed
it and began to question whether serving the musicians on stage,
rather than being one, would be a more apt career path for him.
In his senior year at Eastman, Mr. Sparrow applied for an American
Symphony Orchestra League fellowship. He was a finalist, but
did not win a fellowship. However, he did get interviewed for
several orchestras in the process. This led to a job as Operations
Assistant for the Florida Philharmonic Orchestra.
His duties had two parts. One was unloading and loading the
truck. The other was driving around and tending to the needs
of guest artists. It was the latter that Mr. Sparrow says, "was
one of my favorite jobs. I got to meet so many fascinating personalities."
For ten years, Mr. Sparrow served in different administrative
positions for the FPO, experiencing many management changes.
In the process, he earned his MBA from the University of Florida.
All of these things, he says, "gave me many different perspectives
on solving problems within an organization."
All the while, he had the high standards of the ASYO in the
back of his mind driving his input and decision-making for such
an organization. It was his past with the ASYO that led him
to return to Atlanta, seeking the position of V. P. and General
Manager of the ASO.
Mr. Sparrow feels he brings a unique perspective to his current
position because of his ASYO experience. He knows a lot of the
history of the ASO and ASYO. "It is important to know and
preserve this history in thinking about where the orchestra
will be in ten years."
He also finds it interesting that the ASYO has had quite a few
alumni return to the ASO. These alumni are, Chris Martin, ASO
Principal trumpet (ASYO 92-93); Mark Hughes, ASO Assistant Principal
trumpet (ASYO 78-79); Chris Pulgram, ASO first violin (ASYO
80-81); Sou-Chun Su, ASO Associate Principal Second violin (ASYO
83-85). The latter, says Mr. Sparrow, "is still one of
my best friends."
From his years in ASYO, Mr. Sparrow recalled playing Copland's
Lincoln Portrait, with Andrew Young as narrator. "It was
very exciting to work with someone of that stature who was equally
thrilled to work with us."
He also remembers his first opportunity, at the age of 14, to
play principal bassoon on Tchaikovsky's Second Symphony. "I
was very nervous and excited at the same time, and I was having
so much trouble with this one passage. At that very tense moment,
Mr. Flint was able to give me a sense of comfort. It is his
great patience, his musical knowledge, and his ability to work
so well with young people that is so rare in a 'teaching' conductor.
He has helped make the ASYO great and maintained its level of
professionalism."
Mr. Sparrow is excited to "repollonate the next generation
of ASYO seeds." He feels very protective of the ASYO, and
wants it to be run as a professional orchestra for young people.
"That's what makes it so special--the level expected is
never lowered. Also, Jere and the coaches really work hard to
teach you how to be a musician--they don't just teach the music.
It isn't so mechanical, that way. It also gives the young musicians
a chance to see what the life of a professional musician is
like."
For ASYO alumni, he says their experience with the ASYO is invaluable.
"It will serve you well in whatever you do. Getting into
the ASYO sets a very high goal at a very young age that's hard
to reach, and it gives you a sense of pride and fulfillment
when you do reach it. Also, you get to create a product that
can't be great unless everyone contributes. It has remained
great because of a lot of people's hard work." |
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John Sparrow
For more information
on ASYO Alumni please contact: [email protected]
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