Ravinia 2023 Issue 6

“ APPRECIATING A WORK-LIFE BALANCE DOESN’T MEAN THAT YOU’RE NOT ALWAYS A MUSICIAN, IT JUST MEANS YOU RESPECT DOWNTIME . IT ENHANCES THE MUSIC MAKING. ” THIS PAGE: LAUREN DESBERG; NEXT PAGE: PATRICK GIPSON/RAVINIA Lark was born to the breed. Her father plays with the gospel-bluegrass ensemble Narrow Road. Her moth- er played piano for almost a decade when Lark was growing up. Classical music made an impression on her via radio and Performance Today , the American Public Radio series hosted by Fred Child and reputedly the most listened to classical music program in the country. “I adored the music from a very young age,” she said. “My parents were amazing about having unique styles piping through the house. I would gravitate to what I thought was good music. It didn’t matter what the style or genre was. I quickly fell in love with classical because of the depth of emotion.” Top 40 radio did not have the same pull on her, but she listened so she could sing along to the songs with her friends. “Otherwise, I was just in my corner loving the violin,” she said with a laugh. “Nobody else was interested in that, so I would listen to the radio all the time and get to know the songs. Now, in my 30s, I have a larger appreciation for that music. I live in Seattle, and Taylor Swift [on tour and in town at the time of our conversa- tion] has taken over. I find her music really amazing.” At the age of 6, Lark wanted to play the piano, but a local piano teacher advised the family that it would be easier to acquire a violin. She studied the Suzuki method for six years, and her teacher supplemented her lessons with fiddle books. As a pre-teen, her parents drove her to Cincinnati on weekends for Starling Preparatory Strings, an all-day Saturday program. As a young teen, she attended Mark O’Connor’s Fiddle Camps. In the summers of 2007 and 2008, she joined the distinguished cohort of artists whose classical music journeys took a leap forward at the Ravinia Steans Music Institute, where she was mentored by violinist Miriam Fried. In 2006, she had had what she jok- ingly refers to as “a bonus summer” at Steans studying with Fried, who would oversee her earning bachelor’s and master’s degrees at the New England Conservatory. “I got to see the magic that happened at Ravinia,” she said. “The music is wafting around and you can’t ignore it. It was my first encounter with the Chicago Sympho- ny Orchestra. [Then Ravinia Music Director] James Conlon gave master classes. The Emerson Quartet gave a concert in the Martin Theatre. It was really miraculous.” Her two years as a Steans fellow were “so formative for me,” she said. “It was my first summer after college and it opened a world into chamber music. It was at once exhilarating and intimidating. My first encounter with Ravel’s String Quartet was there. I had less than a week to learn it, and I re- member freaking out as a 17-year-old. Now I know that’s par for the course, so I’m grateful for that experience. All the colleagues I worked with over those years are now still very much my colleagues and dear friends. It’s incredible how you can follow a lot of successful musicians’ paths from Ravinia Festival.” As for bluegrass, it’s in the blood, she says. “It’s a combination of grow- ing up in Kentucky and hearing that music and being of the generation of the New Grass movement with its marriage of styles. You’re seeing a lot of cross-pollination between virtu- oso bluegrass players and classical musicians. Chris Thile comes to mind, playing the Barber Violin Concerto [on his mandolin] with a symphony orchestra.” Both classical and bluegrass have rich centuries-old traditions. Lark be- lieves that knowledge of the past helps to keep the music moving forward rather than going in circles. But she also believes that “the beauty of music is originality. Our duty as musicians is to honor our individuality and our instincts.” Among the musicians Lark ad- mired and wanted to emulate were Yo-Yo Ma and Itzhak Perlman. “I have a clay model I made of Itzhak Perl- man in my childhood bedroom,” she laughed. “I haven’t showed it to him. I should send him a picture.” RAVINIA MAGAZINE • AUGUST 28 – SEPTEMBER 10, 2023 12