As DSSO Concertmaster and Violinist Extraordinaire
Erin Aldridge, principal violinist and Concertmaster, is completing her 20th year as the concertmaster with the Duluth Superior Symphony Orchestra (DSSO). She will be honored at the May 16th Masterwork concert and will be playing the solo in “Bruch G Minor Violin.”
According to DSSO Music Director, Dirk Meyer, “Erin is not just an integral part of the DSSO; she truly is an indispensable part of the arts and music scene in the Twin Ports. Her incredible breadth of talent is what makes Erin so unique – from classical to pop and folk music, it seems there’s nothing she can’t do. I’m always looking forward to working with her, especially when she plays as a featured soloist with the DSSO.”
“Erin has certainly helped raise the musical level of not only the orchestra but the whole area through her amazing skills of teaching, musicality, and enthusiasm for performing. She’s actually very modest about her incredible abilities and encourages a sense of team spirit that is one of the aspects that makes it so special to work with her,” said Laurie Bastian, principal, second violin.
Kevin Hoeschen, principal viola, stated, “Erin has added so much joy to the Twin Ports music community over the past twenty years! She not only shines on the stage of Symphony Hall as our concertmaster, but she shares her love of music throughout the community. Erin has truly made a lasting difference in the lives of many musicians, young and old, and we have been fortunate she chose to call the Twin Ports her home!”
Aldridge has known since the age of two that she wanted to play the violin. As she has been told since, she proclaimed to her mother, “I want to “pway the bioyin.” And, she has indeed been playing ever since, beginning shortly after that pronouncement, first playing on a tiny 1/10th size violin.
Erin explained, “The biggest influence for me was my grandmother, who was a violinist in Toronto, Canada. She was one of my biggest supporters and an amazing woman. There is a picture of her with her violin that lives in my case, and she gets to go with me to all my concerts.”
Born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Erin said, “I’m an only child with two amazing and supportive parents who were not professional musicians but instilled a love of all types of music from a very early age.” Her father played saxophone (as later did Erin), and her mother played piano.
“I was very lucky to have access to some very amazing music programs,” she added. “I started at the age of two in a Kodaly Musicianship Class at the Wisconsin Conservatory of Music in Milwaukee. From there, I started the violin at age two-and-a-half and piano at age four.
She continued her music studies in the String Academy of Wisconsin under the direction of her teacher, Mimi Zweig. Aldridge attended the Indiana University Summer String Academy every summer in Bloomington, Indiana, also under the direction of Mimi Zweig.
Fortunate to go to Roosevelt Middle School of the Arts and the Milwaukee High School of the Arts, she also became a member of the Milwaukee Youth Symphony Program. “All these programs truly afforded me some incredible experiences, including international travel and masterclasses/performances with renowned musicians. I even got to play for Luciano Pavarotti in a student quartet from the Youth Symphony,” she stated.
Aldridge attended Indiana University, where she received her Bachelor’s degree in Violin Performance. She went on to receive her Master’s degree and Performer’s Certificate in Chamber Music Performance from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee, where she was also a member of the Leonard Sorkin Institute of Chamber Music. She continued her studies at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, where she received her Doctor of Musical Arts degree in Violin Performance.
Teaching Career
Aldridge started teaching during the time she was pursuing an undergrad degree at Indiana University Jacobs School of Music. She says she felt lucky to be a teacher in a pre-college string program and was able to make that her job to help support herself through school. From there, at both grad schools, she was a violin teaching assistant with a small private pre-college studio on the side.
Since 2003, she has been on the music faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Superior, where she serves as Professor of Violin and Director of Orchestras. “I am currently in my 20th year of teaching at UW-Superior. For me, my students are everything. The best part is that lightbulb moment when I see them either walk off a stage, finish a presentation, or any culminating event with a giant smile on their face. When they are happy because they all realize they have the power to do anything they want, that is as powerful as it comes for me as a teacher.”
Being Concertmaster
Aldridge has been the DSSO concertmaster since the spring of 2005. Her job as concertmaster includes the on-stage responsibilities, essentially being the DSSO Director Dirk Meyer’s right-hand person and helping to lead the section, as well as the orchestra.
There are times when there are concertmaster solos built into the orchestral parts, so she is responsible for that as well. She also tunes the orchestra and acts as a liaison between the musicians of the orchestra and their guest soloists.
She added, “Off stage, I am responsible for the thing I hate the most (but is one of the most important aspects of string playing), bowings. I have to go through every piece of music and mark my part, which direction my bow will go. From there, the other principals mark their parts so that the whole string section is in unison. For the sound of the strings, bowings are crucial. It is a painstaking process, but worth the work. I also work a lot with the office staff and board members.”
Eclectic Taste in Music
“I have eclectic taste, which surprises most people. I actually don’t listen to a lot of classical music,” she stated.
“I have played a lot of different styles of music, including fiddling, Klezmer, jazz, folk, funk, and rock. I am currently a member of the Bluegrass/Americana/Folk band Danny Frank and the Smoky Gold.”
Soloist, Guest Artist, and Award Winner
In addition to being a soloist with the DSSO and the Lake Superior Chamber Orchestra, Dr. Aldridge has been a performer and guest artist with a number of other musical organizations, including the Long Prairie Chamber Orchestra, the Mesabi Symphony Orchestra, the Itasca Symphony Orchestra, and at the Indiana University Summer Music Festival, Arizona State University, DePaul University Contemporary Concert Series, Madeline Island Music Camp, Ashland Chamber Music Series, National String Workshop, and “Live at the Chazen” Concert Series.
She was selected for the “20 under 40” award by the Duluth News Tribune in the fall of 2007, an honor given to 20 professionals who are successful in their chosen fields and role models in the community. In 2012, she received the Community Enrichment Award from the Duluth Depot Foundation Annual Artist Awards and was also honored by the American Association of University Women as one of four “Created Here” artists in the Duluth-Superior area.
When asked about what is most exciting for her when performing for a full house of patrons for the DSSO concerts, she said, “The energy! There is nothing like that. We always have an incredibly supportive and exciting crowd at symphony concerts. When the house is packed, it adds that extra layer of excitement, and there is this beautiful connection that you can feel on stage with the audience.”
More Information on “Rhine Journey”
Masterworks 6. May 16 at 7 pm
Tickets are currently available online at destinationduluth.co/DSSOMasterworks6 or the DECC box office.
DECC Symphony Hall
350 Harbor Dr
Duluth, MN 55802
(218) 722-5573
