Ayane Kobayashi Staff Cartoonist

ENTERTAINMENT THE SIDEKICK

2022 APRIL

Trisha Atluri

Executive Entertainment Editor

@trish_atluri

One conversation with violin and viola player Jerry Bailey takes the listener in directions they never would have expected.

Bailey, a seasoned classical musician, helped found the Galveston Symphony Orchestra and is a dedicated member of the Coppell Community Orchestra. Despite his colorful past, Bailey maintains an unassuming and kind demeanor, preferring to discuss the evolution of the violin bow from the baroque period to modern times rather than his lengthy list of accomplishments.

A thoughtful conversationalist with both words and musical notes, Bailey cares about every aspect of music, from the minutiae of instrument parts to accessibility to its education.

“Music is strong, beautiful, mysterious and enigmatic,” Bailey said. “You play it this way, and then you set that piece aside and come back to it six months later, and you have a whole different concept of it. You keep on discovering stuff.”

In 1979, Bailey decided it was time to establish the Galveston Symphony Orchestra. A newspaper ad, several grant applications and six months later, the orchestra was officially operating as a nonprofit organization. Financially, the group was initially supported by a $10,000 grant from the Moody Foundation.

“Every community needs a community orchestra,” Bailey said. “This pandemic has just been awful in the arts community throughout Texas. The way that lifestyles are changing, I think community orchestras, community bands, community choirs, community everything, they’re going to be much more important and actually vital to communities. People go crazy working from home if they don’t have something else to do.”

In 2000, Bailey left Galveston to support his family in Coppell. For the next 17 years, he traveled between the two cities to play dress rehearsals and concerts with the symphony orchestra. Though he prioritizes his family, he found it too difficult to abandon his career legacy.

A few months before his last Galveston performance, Bailey applied for the Coppell Community Orchestra. One look at his resume impressed founder and director Cecilia Hamilton so much that she bypassed his audition and invited him on board immediately.

“He has a great deal of musical knowledge,” Hamilton said. “Sometimes he will give suggestions to the surrounding members, and that saves me a lot of time as the conductor, because if people are working well in their section you don’t have to micromanage them.”

Both his music experience and business knowledge make him a valuable addition to the orchestra, as his past allowed him to advise the Coppell orchestra board in its early years. Now, after five years of active participation, orchestra members know Bailey as a dependable and helpful face who takes time out of every orchestra practice to educate younger musicians in the string section.

“I look at him and I can’t help but be inspired every time that I see him,” Coppell Community Orchestra President Vanessa Younts said. “Him and a few other musicians, when they walk in the room, I feel calm because I know we’ll be able to play today. When he’s around and there’s opportunities, he’s always one of the first string players to volunteer. I love that about him. He’s so open, and he’s always willing to participate and help others.”

With decades of music and leadership experience under his belt, Bailey’s story inspires many.

“Nothing’s ever easy,” Bailey said. “Starting an orchestra isn’t easy. You have to find people who can help and resourceful people and people who have enthusiasm and people who have the skills and then you have to motivate them to do what you would like as a team to do. You have to compromise and keep hustling and it’ll get done.” What advice would you give to younger musicians? Don’t ever turn down an invitation to play somewhere. Work, work, work and practice, practice, practice and collaborate with other musicians. The best musicians I know work everyday and don’t take days off.

Galveston Symphony Orchestra founder Jerry Bailey plays the viola at the Coppell Arts Center on Jan. 19. Bailey’s musical experience has been instrumental in the Coppell Community Orchestra. Nandini Paidesetty

IN THE SPOTLIGHT

Gopinath dually conquering stage fright

Yaamini Jois

Staff Writer

@yjois12

After six years in choir at Coppell Middle School East and Coppell High School, senior Megna Gopinath has spent her last year performing with the Madrigal choir with a speaking role in the 2021 Madrigal feast.

This year, Gopinath was named a Texas Music Educators Association (TMEA) All-State Musician for treble choir along with six other singers. This recognition is the most prestigious honor that a high school performer in Texas can receive. As a thespian, Gopinath has performed at the Texas Thespian Festival and acted in a short film, Terrifying Texas Tales, in her junior year.

How did you get involved in choir and theater? I started choir in sixth grade when my mom told me I should. Though I originally wanted to do band, I joined choir and loved it. During this time, I wanted to act as well, but I was scared of joining the theater program because I had stage fright. I had this fright in choir as well, and I was often absolutely terrified of the solos all choir members perform. I also didn’t have enough space in my schedule for both choir and theater, but I was able to join theater in my sophomore year.

What are the differences between choir and theater?

Being a part of choir and theater goes hand in hand. Joining theater forced me to become more comfortable on stage, and I learned to be more confident. Moving on a [stage] is a unique experience, because you have to be fully comfortable with your body and exaggerate your movements to make an impact on the audience. I was shy before I joined theater, but the program changed my life. Because of what I learned from theater, I was able to perform better as the Jester in the Madrigal feast. [The Jester role] has to be over-exaggerated, so I had to be comfortable with moving around and overusing my movements.

The first day I walked into my theater class, I realized that you can truly be as open as you want. No one judges you for who you are, which helped me become less shy as well. I always wanted to take theater, but I was afraid of acting or even having to perform solos, so it took time for me to become more confident when I performed.

What did the role of Jester in the Madrigal Feast mean to you?

The Jester role leads the song “Masters in the Hall,” which is a traditional piece that the Madrigal choir performs. Performing during rehearsals and performing on stage were different experiences for me. Being in the costume of the Jester helped me feel like I was truly the Jester, so I was more comfortable performing on stage. We performed two nights for the Madrigal Feast, and I was able to take in all of the feedback I received from the first night to make the second night even better.

During rehearsals, I got nervous and doubted myself more, but [choir directors Aaron Coronado and Bona Coogle] let me know I was chosen for a reason, which assured me that people believed in me.

What are some of your takeaways from your years performing?

I’m a perfectionist, so learning to accept that not everything can always go perfectly was hard. In my first semester of this year, I got frustrated anytime I didn’t meet my expectations with my performances, with TMEA and my role as Jester in the Madrigal Feast. However, I’ve learned that your performances and [failures] don’t define you; the results you get from a competition or audition don’t define your talent. Directors you’ve never met only see you once before they accept or reject you, so they don’t know your skills like a teacher or director at school.

In my freshman year, I was nervous anytime I performed, and I couldn’t focus on anything else. Now, I’m still nervous, but I have learned to focus on how I can be better. I always ask if there’s anything I can do better on because they are the ones who can give me the most valuable feedback. The basic goal: am I improving or not?