On the Record – Kevin Finamore
WITH SARAH KIENLE
Trumpet player Kevin Finamore celebrates the friendships of the DSO trumpet section and the joy of performing Beethoven’s Ninth.
BEETHOVEN: Symphony No. 9
“You mention everybody would have a spot in their heart for this piece and I think that’s the key. That’s sort of why I chose it… As a performer, there’s nothing like the experience of playing Beethoven 9, and when we finish, just that vibe in the room, that energy… It takes us through the human experience…when you finish Beethoven 9, everybody is on the same page. He literally captured our spirit.”
JOSQUIN DESPREZ: “Ave Maria, gratia plena … virgo serena”
“2020 has obviously been a shocking year, and I listen to a lot of Josquin and medieval music because it’s just so peaceful, particularly the Ave Maria. There’s a simplicity and a perfection to it, that no matter what is going on, it just calms me down. It gets me planted again, and it gets rid of anxiety and all that kind of stuff. Literally, it’s like medicine.”
CHASE: Chase
“This album was shown to me by my first trumpet teacher… and I was just blown away by the high notes and all that stuff. So immediately all I wanted to do was play the high notes and be Bill Chase. With this album I’ve sort of spent my whole life trying to be able to do that, but that was a huge inspiration for me and got me practicing. It just sort of really put the fuel into the fire.”
WYNTON MARSALIS: Carnaval
“This album I heard in middle school right after I started playing and was just so in awe. It had everything I could ever dream I could possibly do on the trumpet…. And Wynton Marsalis as a figure…all of his jazz albums, even his Haydn trumpet concerto back then, I was always in awe of what he could do. And this album in particular was one where I was like ‘I want to do that.’”
