Scott Pingel
Principal
SFS member since: 2004
Hometown: Madison, WI
Music schools you attended: University of Wisconsin, Eau Claire, Manhattan School of Music
Began playing music: At age 5 (bass at 17)
Musical inspirations: My parents and old Weather Report recordings
If I were not a professional musician: I might be a: coffee shop owner in a small mountain village
Favorite composers: Berg, Brahms, Bach, Mozart, Dutilleux, Stravinsky
Favorite works featuring my instrument: Mahler, Symphony No. 1; Ginastera, Variaciones concertantes; Stravinsky, Pulcinella; Berg, Three Pieces for Orchestra
When I’m not working, I enjoy: Spending time with family and friends
Recent reading: Liberty and Tyranny, by Mark R. Levin; The Miracle of Freedom, by Chris Stewart and Ted Stewart; Dietrich Bonhoeffer; Applied Economics, by Thomas Sowell
On my CD player/iPod is: Jamiroquai, Miles Davis (1960s), Berg and Schubert songs
Favorite things to do in the Bay Area: Snowboarding in Tahoe; Napa Valley, for food and wine
Plus: I will be performing at two of my favorite festivals, Music@Menlo and Music in the Vineyards
Larry Epstein
Associate Principal
Larry Epstein
Associate Principal Bass
Member since 1975
Hometown: Miami, FL
Musical influences:
My father, a bassist who’s done it all in the music business, certainly influenced my basic approach to bass playing. Also, three summers of study and performance early on at Tanglewood (then called the Berkshire Music Center) showed me how energizing and challenging a career in orchestral music could be.
On playing in an orchestra:
There is a certain alchemy to making music, and when all the ingredients are just right, the performance can really soar. While each one of us in the Orchestra controls only the sound of our own instrument, a good performance rests on how well we listen and react to each other. And, as a touchstone for the collective energy onstage, the conductor gives structural and emotional shape to the music with gestures that hopefully make playing as a unified ensemble easy. It’s endlessly fascinating to see how differently conductors approach their task.
Interests:
I am an avid bicyclist and I also enjoy jamming with musicians at my neighborhood blues bar, Skip’s Tavern. My first CD, released in 2006 and available at www.larryepsteinbass.com and at the Symphony Store, also features some of the top Bay Area jazz musicians interpreting seven of my own tunes.
Stephen Tramontozzi
Assistant Principal Richard & Rhoda Goldman Chair
Stephen Tramontozzi
Assistant Principal Bass
Richard & Rhoda Goldman Chair
Member since 1980
Hometown: Arlington, MA
Other activities:
I started writing music in high school. I studied composition at Eastman and the New England Conservatory, and with John Adams at the San Francisco Conservatory. I also enjoy writing popular songs and music for chamber ensembles. I’ve been on the faculty of the SF Conservatory since 1985. I teach privately at different levels, and I’ve done master classes across the country.
Recent listening:
I enjoy listening to Brazilian music from the 1930s and ‘40s—it’s so melodic and full of character, and often harmonically sophisticated.
Recent reading:
I loved reading the books in the Tales of the City series by Armistead Maupin. It was great fun revisiting late-twentieth century San Francisco in these books. The characters are vividly drawn and the plots outrageous. The dialogue writing is superb. I laughed out loud.
Mark Wright
Lee Ann Crocker
Chris Gilbert
Brian Marcus
Brian Marcus
Bass
Member since 1981
Hometown: Northridge, CA
Activities:
I love improvisational theater. Doing improv requires amazing listening skills and the ability to be present—what drives a scene is how you listen and relate to someone else on stage. I also do a great deal of Feldenkrais, the movement method, which helps with my own health and well-being as well as my playing.
Current listening:
I enjoy listening to the Guarneri Quartet playing late Beethoven string quartets; also recordings of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau singing Schubert lieder. I love listening to him because of the quality of his sound and his amazing musicality—it’s all so perfect and effortless.
Advice for aspiring musicians:
Take a movement class. It makes such a difference to become aware of what you’re doing with your body while you’re playing. Take yoga or Feldenkrais, whatever it is—this is especially true for young bass players, because bass is such a physical instrument. Also, I think it’s important to learn and practice music away from your instrument. Study scores, practice visualization, and listen.
William Ritchen
SFS member since: 1983
Hometown: West Islip, NY
Music schools you attended: Eastman, Juilliard
Began playing music: At age 6
Musical inspirations: Attending School of Orchestral Studies at Saratoga, NY, summer home of the Philadelphia Orchestra
If I were not a professional musician, I might be a: Chef
Favorite composers: Mahler, Stravinsky
Favorite works featuring my instrument: Mahler, Symphony No. 1; Stravinsky, Firebird Suite and Rite of Spring
When I’m not working, I enjoy: Fly fishing, golf
Recent reading: Undaunted Courage, by Stephen Ambrose
On my CD player/iPod: Various jazz artists
Favorite thing to do in the Bay Area: Spending a day out at Point Reyes for relaxation.