Paula White
Violin II, Principal Member Since 2015 I first started playing the violin at the age of 5, after seeing some kids playing on TV. This was during the 1970s when the Suzuki Method was spreading across the US. I was so motivated by the sight of these little kids all playing together that I told my parents I would help pay for the little quarter size violin I started on. My first teacher, John Lambros, concertmaster of the Charleston Symphony and new Suzuki method convert, was a wonderful violinist and teacher. The first song I played was Mary Had A Little Lamb. I spent many summers attending music camp at the Suzuki Institute at Stevens Point, WI. When I was in 5th grade, my family had moved to Minnesota. Although a rough move at first, Minneapolis had a thriving youth symphony scene and I was very lucky to travel to Europe twice with my youth symphony while in high school. After college I moved to the Bay Area, where I played with the UC Berkeley Symphony Orchestra before moving on to the Collegium. I learned about period instruments and how to tune gut strings (constantly) and a lot about the style. I remember an “aha” moment when I finally got what the conductor was looking for: a beautiful sound. For years I immersed myself in Early Music. Eventually I realized I really wanted to dig into the symphonic repertoire again. Dorothy Lee suggested I check out the Oakland Civic Orchestra. My first concert with OCO we played Tchaikovsky’s 4th. I was hooked. I still attend chamber music camp in the summer. If I ever win the lottery, I'll quit my day job as an environmental educator and just play all day, either the violin, or bridge, another extremely compelling past time. |