A Conversation Between TCO and COYO
Among its ranks, The Cleveland Orchestra boasts six members who are alums of The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO). Two of these players — second violinist Jeffrey Zehngut (far right) and his brother, violist Gareth Zehngut (far left) — recently sat down with two current musicians in COYO: violinist Cyprus Foster (center right) and oboist Eliana Fittante (center left). Their conversation ran the gamut, from what brought them to COYO to their advice for young musicians to what they like to do outside of music.
Among its ranks, The Cleveland Orchestra boasts six members who are alums of The Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra (COYO). Two of these players — second violinist Jeffrey Zehngut (far right) and his brother, violist Gareth Zehngut (far left) — recently sat down with two current musicians in COYO: violinist Cyprus Foster (center right) and oboist Eliana Fittante (center left). Their conversation ran the gamut, from what brought them to COYO to their advice for young musicians to what they like to do outside of music.
ELIANA FITTANTE: How did you end up in COYO? Was it a teacher recommendation or did you do independent research?
JEFFREY ZEHNGUT: I went to Interlochen Arts Camp and met a violist from Cleveland who was in COYO. I was deciding between youth orchestras that year in Pittsburgh, Philadelphia, and Cleveland, which are all about four hours from our hometown in Pennsylvania. Since I already had a friend in COYO and the group’s schedule was ideal, I ended up choosing that one. We’d leave around 8:30 in the morning, my parents would do some work in the library during rehearsal, and then we’d drive back and be home by 10.
GARETH ZEHNGUT: For me, I had a brother’s recommendation to join COYO!
ELIANA: Did you overlap with one another?
GARETH: Yes, Jeff started the year before me. (We’re three years apart.) And then our younger sister, who’s a violinist, joined after us.
CYPRUS FOSTER: What was the most influential part of being in COYO for you?
GARETH: Being on a stage with a bunch of kids like me who were taking music seriously and at a level you don’t find in most other youth orchestras. Also, getting the chance to receive coaching from Cleveland Orchestra players mdash; my coach was Stan Konopka, who still plays in the Orchestra and coaches for COYO. Being in COYO is honestly where I learned how to play in an orchestra and what the role of a violist is.
ELIANA: Do either of you have a favorite piece that you love to perform?
JEFFREY: There are a lot of amazing pieces, but I always go back to Mahler; I think that’s some of the repertoire we do best here. Sibelius’s Second Symphony was one that confirmed my decision to go into music and join COYO. Shostakovich’s Fifth Symphony was another one of those too.
ELIANA: We played it at our concert last year! It’s amazing.
CYPRUS: If there were one thing that you could tell yourself at our age, or someone who is considering going into music, what would that be?
JEFFREY: Music is a wonderful thing. If you need music, if it speaks to you, then give it everything. If you’re interested in other things and can see yourself doing something else, that’s OK too! But do something you love.
GARETH: Along the same lines, if going into music means just one thing, that can be dangerous. You can push yourself and might be fortunate enough to get to do what we’re doing. I can confidently say we both feel incredibly lucky to be where we are. But at the same time, not everybody gets to the NFL. You might not end up with the career that you dreamed of, but that doesn’t mean you won’t end up with the career that you love.
JEFFREY: Exactly. Success in music can mean a lot of different things.
CYPRUS: That makes sense. What do you do to maintain your level of playing and further it?
GARETH: I spend a lot of time working on exercises that my former teachers gave me, and they’re still incredibly helpful. As far as improvement, being around people who inspire you and getting to play with them is a great way to continue to hear things in ways that you hadn’t thought about before.
JEFFREY: It’s also inspiring to talk to younger musicians, like yourselves, who are playing with this same level of commitment. It helps us to remember where we once were and how we felt back then.
ELIANA: What do you like to do other than music?
GARETH: We like to travel a lot mdash; anywhere and whenever we can mdash; and to play soccer. My wife and I also got into vegetable gardening some years ago, which has been nice. When you see streaks of dirt on my tux, that’s the excuse!
CYPRUS: Speaking of, do you exclusively listen to classical music?
GARETH: I love a variety of music. Plus, hearing other high-level performers and their different approaches to music can still translate to our work in a way.
JEFFREY: And every genre has its own traditions and history that’s passed down. I saw the Bob Dylan movie not too long ago and the music that he created is just amazing.
ELIANA: What about Wicked? Have you seen that?
JEFFREY: Not yet, but I’m sure you’ve heard that Cynthia Erivo is coming to Blossom this summer [July 27], which will be incredible.
CYPRUS: Yes! You should see it before then.
JEFFREY: We are both musical fans, so we definitely will!