Episode #47: Helen Wargelin
Hello and welcome back to the Dominic Brancazio Podcast, where we talk about all things classical music. Today we’re joined by my friend Helen Wargelin. Helen is the 2nd horn player with the Virginia Symphony Orchestra and in today’s episode we talk about what it is like playing as a professional musician after coming straight out of school. We specifically go over Helen’s background, her studies at Northwestern University and New England Conservatory, her audition journey leading up to her Virginia Symphony Orchestra audition, some of the differences of what it’s like playing in a professional orchestra vs a school orchestra, we talk about being in a committee, and we also talk about the tenure process for orchestras.
If you would like to learn more about Helen, please check out the links in the description below. I loved catching up with Helen in this episode! She is such a wonderful friend and an absolutely fantastic musician. I think this conversation will be especially useful for students currently in school who are wondering what it’s like to play professionally. We go into a lot of detail about Helen’s perspective going straight from school to playing in an orchestra and we talk about a bunch of topics that are maybe not always discussed when you’re in school. It was so much fun hearing Helen in this conversation and I hope you all get a lot out of it too. Thank you for listening and please enjoy the show.
To learn more about Helen: