On a High Note: Jeffery Work

Lucky for us, Jeffrey Work’s father had a penchant for calling attention to the sounds of the trumpet in the music played on the family’s record player. When Work’s school in Hastings-on-Hudson, New York, introduced instruments to students of the fourth grade, he picked up a trumpet of his own and never looked back. After 13 busy years as a freelance musician in Boston, Work joined the Oregon Symphony as principal trumpet in 2006. He has also served as principal trumpet of the Colorado Music Festival in Boulder since 1999 and performs concerto and chamber repertoire locally. Work’s virtuosity graces the Oregon Symphony’s cd Music for a Time of War, as well as the Boston Philharmonic’s recordings of Stravinsky’s Petrushka and Mahler’s Symphony No. 6. Among his prolific solo credits are renowned concerto appearances with Mstislav Rostropovich at the Rencontres Musicales d’Évian in Evian, France, and the National SymphonyOrchestra in Washington, D.C.

Photo by Christine Dong, Artslandia

When did you first know you wanted to be a professional musician?

I attended the National Music Camp at the Interlochen Center for the Arts in Michigan after my sophomore year in high school. That summer surrounded me, for the first time, with people I could really relate to. We musicians are of a kind. I was thrilled by that chance to be immersed in studying my instrument, to play in a fantastic orchestra, and to hear great artists. Perhaps the real treat, though, was to be making friends with people who got me and who I felt I understood as well. Because the quality level at Interlochen was so high, it also gave me confidence that I might be able to compete successfully someday. It’s easy for a kid to be a big fish in their home pond, but it’s a great feeling to realize you’re at least a good-sized fish in one of the Great Lakes!

What advice do you have for someone wanting to follow in your footsteps?

Merely wanting a career as a performing musician is not enough. It must be not only a want but a need. If that describes you, and if you can dedicate your whole being to the pursuit, then I say, “Go for it.” Persistence, beyond talent and hard work, is required. Be ready to get knocked down (and you most certainly will, repeatedly), but more importantly, be able and willing to get back up, having learned from the fall. Improving on a musical instrument and gaining a career playing one are both a long game. To me, at least, the rewards are well worth the effort.

Is the symphony orchestra still relevant, or is it a museum?

This question comes up a lot and always makes me squirm a bit. Of course, the symphony orchestra is still relevant,and when did “museum” become such a dirty word? It’s like asking if oil on canvas is still relevant, or if we should still be writing plays now that we have the internet. The symphony orchestra per se is an artistic medium. When the language of music is spoken, especially without the use of words, I can think of few more colorful, more communicative, or more exciting mediums than ours. As with any time in history, people are creating music that will stand the test of time and music that will not. Since we perform a great deal of the former, some may find the symphony orchestra akin to a museum. I embrace that. It thrills me to bring Beethoven’s Fifth Symphony, or Mahler’s Ninth, or even The Stars and Stripes Forever to life for our audiences. Their experiences are always relevant. Why, after all, do symphony orchestras seem to be nearby in moments of great sorrow and great celebration? When the twin towers fell, musicians played for first responders, and when the Berlin Wall fell, the world sang Ode to Joy – with symphony orchestra accompaniment.

If we agree to define “classical training” in music as an “extended study and mastery of a complete system of techniques, pedagogy, musical knowledge, and repertoire,” make a case for this approach in our multimedia, digitally driven world.

Don’t we modern human beings need relief from our “multimedia, digitally driven world?” So few things engage so much of our brains as trying to steadily, perhaps endlessly, improve on a musical instrument. Doing so teaches valuable life lessons: persistence, creative problem solving, patience, acceptance of failure, work ethic, collaboration, teamwork. Of course, there’s also the self-expressive side of studying music–learning to connect with an audience and learning how to interpret the creative self-expression of another artist, the composer. All of these things make the case quite strong!

How do you feel the musical landscape has changed since you were a student?

When I was studying, symphony orchestras did a lot more classical and a lot less everything else. My career is far more musically schizophrenic than I ever imagined. Our 18 weeks of classical concerts have mixed throughout an incredible variety of different styles–rock shows, movie soundtracks, traditional pops, children’s concerts, and the list goes on. That’s terrific for our community, but it can be difficult to turn on a musical dime so frequently.

What’s the biggest challenge you’ve had to overcome so far, and how did it change you?

In recent years, I’ve lost a lot of weight (intentionally, I’m happy to say). I’m two-thirds of the man I used to be! How could something so extraordinarily positive possibly have an unforeseen negative? Musicians are athletes – athletes of the small muscles. When you lose a third of yourself, your whole body changes in ways that are hard to anticipate. Playing the trumpet changed just as much. The struggle to find what I call “my new optimum” has been frightening, challenging, and humbling. I’m working tirelessly to regain strength, range, endurance, and the confidence that comes with them. And, all the while, I hope my new optimum might be better than ever

Artslandia’s theme for the 2019/20 Season is A Night Out. Describe for our readers your perfect night out.

A homebody like me has some difficulty answering this question. We musicians, after all, provide perfect nights out for others (or we try to). I guess, for me, gallery hopping on First Thursday followed by a nice meal, a decadent dessert, and a walk along the Willamette with my girlfriend would be hard to beat.