Life

Student and mentor reunited Saturday in HSO performance

Chris Martin

By Bill Moss, Published: March 18, 2014

Growing up in Marietta, Ga., Christopher Martin studied under the guidance of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, which at the time included Larry Black, now the principal trumpet for the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra.

Then a sixth-grader, Martin told his mentor that he wanted to learn to play the trumpet "so I can be in the Atlanta Symphony and sit next to you."
Years later, the talented young trumpeter was named principal chair in the Atlanta orchestra while Black was still playing in the section. Martin had become the "boss" of his former teacher.
Larry BlackThe two friends, who went on to perform together for two seasons in the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, will be reunited Saturday when Martin, now the principal trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, joins the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra for a concert entitled "Theme and Variations" on Saturday at 7:30 p.m. in the Blue Ridge Conference Hall at BRCC.
The concert will begin with the HSO and Martin performing several popular pieces, including Edward Elgar's "Enigma Variations" (1899), Haydn's "Trumpet Concerto in E flat Major" (1796) and Johann Pachelbel's "Canon in D" (1694).
"Variations" contains 14 distinct movements, each written to reflect one of Elgar's loved ones. Haydn wrote his concerto for his friend Aton Weidinger to showcase the capabilities of the keyed trumpet, which Weidinger had recently invented. And Pachelbel's piece was written for the wedding of his friend and student Johanne Christoph, who was the brother of J. S. Bach.
Martin and the HSO will also perform variations on "Carnival of Venice" (Jean-Baptiste Arban, 1864) and close with "Bugler's Holiday" (Leroy Anderson, 1954), pieces which will dazzle the crowd.
Martin attended Eastman School of Music in Rochester, New York, and worked with both the Philadelphia and Atlanta orchestras before accepting his current position as the Adolph Herseth Principal Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Tickets for the performance can be purchased online at hendersonvillesymphony.org or by calling the Hendersonville Symphony Orchestra office at 828.697.5884.