KATHY BLANCHARD, DOING WHAT SHE LOVES
CURRENT POSITION: Professional Violist and Viola Teacher
LOCATION: Troy, Michigan
UNIVERSITY OF MICHIGAN DEGREE: Russian Language
GRADUATION YEAR: 2007
ACTIVITIES AT MICHIGAN: Michigan Pops Orchestra, IM Broomball, Campus Symphony Orchestra
MICHIGAN POPS ORCHESTRA INSTRUMENT: Viola
Listen to one of Kathy's favorite Pops pieces while you read about her Pops Life!
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Songs for a New World
A CONVERSATION WITH KATHY
KELLY COMPTON, our Pops Life correspondent, finds out how Kathy has found a way to surround herself with the things that she loves.
KC: Kathy, tell us a bit about your musical background before coming to Michigan!
KB: I was born and raised in Troy, and I started playing viola in 5th grade in the Troy School District. Troy’s schools have phenomenal music programs, especially for strings. I started taking lessons in middle school, and in high school I got into the symphony orchestra; I was principal my last two years. I also was the principal in one of the youth orchestras in the area, I was in a fiddle group, and I was in a string quartet – music was basically my life outside of school. Even in school, that’s where I made all of my friends.
I had briefly considered going to music school but ultimately decided that I didn’t want to pursue music as a career because I loved it too much. I didn’t ever want it to become WORK. In high school, my private teacher invited me to one of his performances, and during intermission he told me, “I get paid for these. I don’t ever look at the payment before I play because I’m afraid if it’s not enough, I won’t play as well.” That was really eye opening for me. That is exactly what I never wanted to be, and that’s when I decided music school wasn’t for me.
KC: Once you got to Michigan, what drew you to the Michigan Pops Orchestra?
KB: I knew that I wanted to continue playing viola in college since it had been such a big part of my life for so long. It’s funny, because at orientation my mom was the one who asked one of the leaders about musical opportunities on campus. This particular tour guide was a member of Pops (he was one of the first board members!), and he ended up becoming one of my really close friends in the orchestra. It’s such a small world – I didn’t put two and two together until years later.
KC: Tell us about your experience with Pops, and share some favorite memories!
KB: Pops was a great place to blow off steam. It was such a fun group to play with, and I loved bringing everything together at the concerts. I always had something to look forward to on Sunday nights, whereas most students dread their Sundays. Some of my favorite Pops memories… I loved the whole 10th anniversary experience. I was on the Board at that point, and I loved planning for it, figuring out what music we were going to play, getting the choir together – just all of it was awesome. That was my favorite program that we played.
Some other memories… I always loved grabbing food or coffee with anyone who was able and willing. I’ll never forget this one time when I was hanging out with some Pops friends, and there were horse-drawn carriages just sitting outside of Pizza House! We rode through Ann Arbor together on a free carriage ride. All of the social events, parties, even rehearsals and sectionals – everything was always so happy.
KC: Where are you now? Tell us a bit about your career!
KB: I’m in Troy, MI and I work as a professional violist and teacher. I majored in Russian and have an un-declarable minor in Polish, so languages are kind of “my thing.” Every time I tried to go the language direction, though, it felt like swimming upstream. When I graduated from college, I had to move home for personal reasons, so I ended up working at a local violin shop for several years. I tried to go back to school to get a Master’s in teaching English as a second language, but I soon discovered that trying to get my Masters was, again, like swimming upstream. Eventually I thought, “Why am I doing this?”
Then things just seemed to fall into place with my musical career, even though I didn’t have the musical classroom education, so to speak. Right now, I have a studio of over 30 students. I travel to their homes for lessons, and I’m also an active player in the area with a lot of different ensembles. I play or sub with most of them, and I have a couple of quartets and other groups as well to play parties and weddings and such. I’m a yoga teacher on the side, too, which is more of a hobby than anything else.
KC: How do you balance all of that?
KB: (laughs) Sometimes, it feels like not very well. Teaching is my main “bread and butter;” I guess I’ve always kind of been a teacher by nature. That’s really why I left the violin shop; I wanted to teach. I play because it helps to keep me sane. Seriously, though, sometimes practicing suffers a bit because of all of my students. Sometimes I have to cancel or reschedule lessons to accommodate rehearsals and performances, and sometimes I go weeks without a day off. It just depends, and it all sort of evens out at the end. I don’t know, I just kind of make it happen.
KC: You were originally worried to go into music because you didn’t want it to feel like work. Do you now love it any more or less?
KB: I love it differently, but I do love it just as much. It’s nice that I’m my own boss. I ended up starting a business, more for legal and tax purposes than anything else. But if I were working for a music company teaching lessons through them, or if I worked at a school full time teaching music, I think that would be a different story. Because I’m my own boss, I can choose what gigs I take and what students I take. I’m not forced to do things that I feel like I HAVE to do even if I don’t want to.
KC: How do you think the Pops Orchestra influenced where you are today?
KB: As far as my career goes, Pops influenced me in a couple of ways. First off, Pops allowed me to keep playing, which, in and of itself, is such a huge thing. Second, being on the Pops Board showed me how an orchestra works and how it is run. It has helped me to be more empathetic when the groups in my area are having money troubles or issues with their librarian, etc., and that’s always a good thing. Instead of getting upset, I can just think, “Well, we faced something similar when I was on the Board as well.” Musicians tend to automatically dislike management because they can’t see things from their perspective. Having been a part of Pops helps me with that.
As far as relationships go, I got a little spoiled in Pops. The friends that I made in Pops are the best friends I’ve ever had. They’re my tribe and my family, and it’s sad that I don’t get to see them that often now that they’re all across the country, but they’re all truly incredible people, and I’m so lucky to have them in my life.
KC: What advice would you give to students interested in a similar career path?
KB: Do what you love. Find a way to have a good work/life balance. And, finally, figure out how to communicate with your students in a firm, clear, and compassionate way.
KC: What does the Pops mean to you personally?
KB: They’re my family. Even the younger members now whom I don’t know - we’re all connected through this amazing music and experience of running an orchestra. We’re all in a way similar, which is why most of us get along so well. It’s a little crazy, too, because things are about to come full circle…I’m about to have a few former students audition in the fall! And now, we’re all going to be even more of a family, because this initiative will allow the alums to connect with EVERYBODY!
KATHY'S FAVORITES
- HOLIDAY SEASON: Halloween
- LATE NIGHT TALK SHOW HOST: John Oliver
- CHARITABLE CAUSE: I have a huge soft spot for animals, so any sort of humane society or rescue
- RESTAURANT IN A2 AND DETROIT: In Ann Arbor, probably either Frita Batidos or Grizzly Peak, and in this neck of the woods, Traffic Jam and Snug
- PLACE IN THE WORLD TO VISIT: Poland
- POPS PIECE: If I had to choose, probably the opening sequence from Songs for a New World
- DETROIT SPORTS STAR: Nicklas Lidstrom
10/1/17