Participants in the Baroque performance join the Front Row today. They include Jeffery Lastrapes, professor of cello; Susanna Self, adjunct professor of flute; and Christopher Koch, music director of the Springfield Regional Opera.
Christopher Koch, tell us a little bit about yourself, you’re a guest artist coming in to play a concert.
Yes I am. I’m the music director of the Springfield Regional Opera in Springfield, Missouri. I’m also the music director of the civic orchestra there and I teach at the university. So mainly, I’m a podium dweller, but for the last five or six years, I’ve focused on early music performance and my instrument of specialty is recorder and I try to do three or four events every year.
Where did you become acquainted with the recorder?
I’ve actually played the recorder for a very long time but not particularly well. Like Susanna, I was a flutist and we actually were in the same class at music school a few years ago. About 17 years ago I had an accident that ended my flute playing days, unfortunately for me I was on the conducting path, but five or six years ago I decided I wanted to return to playing and used the recorder as the vehicle and really began working and doing concerts around the country and here I am today.
Susanna, tell us more specifically about the concert, this is a concert of Baroque music is that right?
Yes, that’s correct. The pieces that were doing are very rarely heard because two of the pieces we’re playing, are two of the only pieces written for recorder and flute as solo instruments.
Is it fun to play music with both the traverse flute and a recorder?
I am really looking forward to playing this. I’ve actually never gotten to play duos with recorders before and it’s just such a joy to not only get to play something new, but also get to play with a good friend of mine from a long time.
Listen to the full interview at the top of the article.
