Bass Trombone Pair Takes on Interlochen
Chris (left) and Eviatar (right) are 11th grade trombonists in the MYS Symphony Orchestra and Trombone Quartet. Chris attends Mahtomedi High School and studies bass trombone with Karl Wiederwohl. Eviatar attends Roseville Area High School and studies tenor and bass trombone with Felix Regalado.
In elementary school, both Chris and Eviatar were drawn to trombone in fairly ordinary ways. Chris first learned on a red plastic trombone his parents bought him in third grade—a trombone he still has today. Eviatar discovered the instrument in fourth grade after sitting next to an older student on the school bus who played trombone. “I was like, ‘he's cool, I want to do that too,’” he remembers. Chris didn’t have much say in coming to MYS; his older brother Matthew, a trumpet player, had already been a member for three years when Chris joined as a sixth grader. “My parents just signed me up. I didn't know anything about it, really,” he says. Eviatar’s path to MYS began much farther away, in Israel. When his family was preparing to move to the United States last summer, they searched online for a youth orchestra and found MYS. “My mom scheduled a Zoom meeting with Melissa, and we talked and I decided to apply.”
While their introductions to trombone were casual, both can point to a moment when they began taking the instrument much more seriously. At the end of seventh grade, Eviatar attended a performance of Mahler’s Third Symphony by the Israel Philharmonic. With three trombone solos in the first movement alone, the piece made an immediate impression. “I was like, ‘yeah, that's what I want to do.’” For Chris, the inspiration came through his MYS experience. After working his way up from Wind Orchestra, he joined Symphony Orchestra as a ninth grader. “I was playing with three other amazing trombonists. They were all way older than me and way better than me,” he recalls. Being surrounded by musicians he admired pushed Chris to work harder—a dynamic he would encounter again a few years later at Interlochen.
For most of their musical journeys, Chris and Eviatar focused on tenor trombone. Both, however, were especially drawn to their instrument’s low range, eventually leading them to bass trombone. Eviatar recalls his fascination when first learning of the instrument: “When I found out there was a special trombone just for low notes and I was like, ‘I wanna play bass trombone! I wanna play bass trombone!’” He begged his parents and his teacher to let him try it, but they told him he was too small. When he finally got his first bass trombone in seventh grade, he was hooked. Chris made the switch a few years later when his private teacher encouraged him to try bass trombone. Although tenor and bass trombone play the same notes using the same slide positions, they are distinct instruments: bass trombone is larger, uses a bigger mouthpiece, requires more air, and produces a deeper, darker tone. Today, Chris specializes exclusively in bass trombone, while Eviatar continues to study both instruments, switching between bass trombone for school band and jazz band and tenor trombone for MYS and solo repertoire. Still, his preference is clear. “I prefer playing bass trombone. I love just the big dark warm sound. That's what I love to do,” he reflects. Chris is equally happy with his decision to specialize in bass trombone—and admits he doesn’t miss playing tenor.
Both musicians’ private teachers recognized their potential and encouraged them to apply to Interlochen Arts Camp earlier this year. Both were accepted as bass trombonists, but neither was initially sure about committing to the six-week Orchestra Summer Program. Chris had applied for the one-week Trombone Intensive instead, but after learning that Eviatar was considering the orchestra program, he changed his plans. “After I sent in my audition I sent another email asking if I could do the six-week program, because I heard Eviatar was planning on doing it and I really wanted to do it with him.” Eviatar was also hesitant about spending six weeks away from home. “At first I was thinking, six weeks, that's way too much time, I would not want to do that. But I just applied to see if I got in.” Once both had been accepted, the decision became easier. They ultimately spent seven weeks together—one week at the trombone intensive followed by six weeks in the orchestra program—and even shared a cabin with twelve other campers.
The Interlochen experience quickly became about much more than spending a summer together. They were surrounded by some of the country’s finest young musicians—players who brought a level of intensity that challenged Chris and Eviatar to raise their own standards. Chris was particularly struck by the preparation of the other brass musicians. “Before our first rehearsal all the low brass met up and we tuned chords for the pieces we'd never even sightread yet with the orchestra. That was all new to me.” Experiencing that attention to detail gave him a new benchmark for his own practice. For Eviatar, the demands of pursuing a career as a classical musician came into sharper focus. A low brass faculty member emphasized the motivation and persistence required to pursue classical music, particularly as a trombonist, where there are relatively few professional jobs. Rather than feel discouraged, Eviatar found clarity: “It made me realize how hard it is, but also just how much I want to do that—there's nothing else that I want to do.”
Their summer at Interlochen gave Chris and Eviatar the chance to perform alongside talented musicians from around the country while knowing at least one familiar face in an unfamiliar place. Furthermore, the experience reinforced the same lesson Chris encountered when he first joined Symphony: being surrounded by excellent musicians can raise the expectations you set for yourself. Through influences both simple and profound, these two trombonists have grown into dedicated musicians with increasingly ambitious goals—and they are eager to bring that drive back to MYS this season.
