"Worked at Harvard Medical School, then suddently shifted gears."

One of the joys of my job with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Association is that I am involved in what goes on beyond the music. Backstage is where I’ve glimpsed what happens in the private lives of the 106 talented and gifted musicians who make extraordinary music as the Los Angeles Philharmonic. In fact, for every orchestra member, there is a unique story just waiting to be told.  Each has a great affinity and appetite for what they do. It’s not always easy to define that certain something they possess, so let’s just say when not on stage, they do their own thing.

Second violinist Johnny Lee, for example, is one of the newest and youngest members of the LA Philharmonic. Though just 27, he had already been the Associate Concertmaster of the Charlotte Symphony prior to joining the LA PHIL in the fall of 2005. Last April, Johnny was in my office ticking off answers to the standard P/R Department questions about new orchestra members. I expected the usual story about how he studied violin from the time he was a young child, went to Conservatory, and practiced eight hours a day. As he stood in front of my desk, however, he seemed stiff and guarded.

Johnny's path to Disney Hall, I soon learned, was a circuitous one. He muttered that he graduated from Harvard with a degree in economics, was pre-med, interned at Fidelity Investments, worked at Harvard Medical School, then suddenly shifted gears. He wanted a career in music and just like that, enrolled at the Cleveland Institute of Music to get a master’s degree.

Johnny began to let down his guard, as we started to chat about his outside interests. Then quite serendipitously, we stumbled onto something we have in common: a passion for American Idol. Yes, that American Idol. We spent more than an hour talking about the show, his enthusiasm and fondness palpable. Before he turned to leave my office, he offhandedly said, "If you ever happen to get a ticket to a taping of the show, I would go in a heartbeat."

A few days later, I had a surprise for Johnny. We were given a pair of VIP tickets to a live taping of American Idol, plus wristbands to go backstage and meet the Idols after the show. We were as excited as if we had just won the lottery.

It proved to be a surreal experience. As VIP guests, we didn't have to wait in any lines. We had a parking spot in front of the studio. We wandered around backstage, mingling with the throng rushing about getting ready for the show. We passed Randy Jackson and Paula Abdul. As we climbed the steps into the studio, we marveled at our great fortune. Johnny’s eyes were shining with excitement. There, laid out right in front of us, was the set, the neon signs, and the judges’ table. It was the Elvis-themed week and just two weeks before the finale. We rose to our feet with the crowd of fellow Eliot-supporters;
we danced in the aisles, we felt the rush of Idol fever. Life doesn't get much better than a moment like that.

Of course, Johnny’s only one player. Offstage, LA PHIL pianist Joanne Pearce-Martin loves to sky-dive and flies her own plane. Second violinist Guido Lamell plays professional-level musical saw, and designed and built his own home. Assistant Principal Cellist Ben Hong races motorcycles.  And though my boss, LA PHIL President and CEO Deborah Borda, will kill me for putting this in print, this past spring, Deborah boogied with Music Director Esa-Pekka Salonen at a Staples Center concert. The performer they were there to see? Madonna. Don’t let those tuxedoes fool you.

Adam Crane was the Los Angeles Philharmonic’s Director of Communications. This article also appeared in the KUSC Members Newsletter