“There Are Big Names Here”: Interview with School of Music Student Xander Day
Today we have a special interview with Xander Day, a first-year graduate student and flutist at DePaul’s School of Music. Xander recently had the opportunity to play with the world-renowned Chicago Symphony Orchestra—an opportunity he received through the connections he made at DePaul. His story perfectly captures how School of Music students make the most of the incredible resources and networks our faculty members provide. Let’s dive in!
Hi Xander! Thanks so much for meeting with me today. To get us started: How did you find out about DePaul?
Xander: DePaul was initially on the map for me because Mark Sparks was teaching here. He’s the former principal flute of the Saint Louis Symphony. As grad school time got closer, I discovered that Mark had retired but I found out we have two Chicago Symphony flutists and a member of the Lyric Opera Orchestra on the faculty, too, and I was like, “Woah, there are big names here.”
Something I’ll say about DePaul is that the faculty here are just generally really connected, and they can give you opportunities themselves or introduce you to the right people. I study with Alyce Johnson from the Lyric Opera, and recently she recommended that I have a lesson with the piccolo player for the Chicago Symphony, which I did and she’s incredible. I’ve looked up to her playing for so long and now I’ve had a lesson with her and she knows who I am. Which is crazy!
And now you’ve actually gotten the chance to play alongside her at the Symphony Orchestra. Tell me about that experience.
X: I had just finished a show substituting with the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. First performance at Symphony Center! So I was feeling really good after that and just trying to relish in it. And then one morning I was eating my breakfast—oatmeal—and I got this email from the personnel manager of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. I couldn’t breathe. I dropped my phone. My roommate’s girlfriend who was visiting at the time, I think she thought I burned myself because my hand was over my mouth. So I call him back and he’s like, “Where are you right now and how soon can you get here?” I’ve never run so fast to the train. I’m like, in these massive snow boots and a hoodie and on the train I kind of realize “oh this is what I’m wearing.”
So I meet the personnel manager in the rotunda and he takes me backstage to unpack. The orchestra is actively rehearsing at this point and he tells me that Jennifer, the piccolo player my professor connected me with, is expecting me, and so is the conductor. The orchestra isn’t stopping so I just go on. I was just like, sheepishly walking in with my flutes and I take this little route and I get down to where the flutes sit. The music is going on and I look at the music, Jennifer had put it on my stand for me. I have like two seconds so I just pick it up and give it my best.
How did you feel?
X: I was absolutely terrified. Once we got to the break, you know, I was able to say hi to Jennifer and Stefán and get my bearings. But we finished for the day and then I went back to DePaul because I had class, I had stuff to do. But by the middle of the day, I got an email that said, “You’re on.” So I cleared my schedule and played three shows with them.
What was it like to play with them?
X: It took a concert and a half to process what was going on. After the soloists give their bows, the whole orchestra stands up together, and I kept thinking “I’m really up here right now. I’m standing with the Chicago Symphony right now. This is insane.” Then on Sunday’s concert, I was just like, let me relish it. I’ve never been in a performance where everybody was so tuned in with each other across the entire orchestra. Everyone was giving their best the whole time.
The first concert was on Valentine’s Day. The concert hall was built in such a way that you can kind of see some of the facial expressions of the audience members from the performance area, even in the balcony. I remember looking at the couples on Valentine’s Day, having a beautiful night and holding hands. No one was thinking like, you know, “who is this guy playing third flute? Is he gonna mess up?” It’s date night, it’s Valentine’s Day, and they came to hear some really beautiful music, and they’re going to walk away feeling like that was a great show.
What’s something you learned from this experience?
X: Consistency. The orchestra is so consistent, it’s like not even funny. I’m still working on that, my teacher and I were talking about it yesterday, but the orchestra is so consistent. They could do six shows in a row, which would be awful, but they could do six in a row and it would be the same, consistently good performance. Having that consistency happening around me… I learned a lot.
That’s such an amazing experience, thank you for sharing it with us!
X: It was the wildest week of my whole life (laughs).
Before I let you go, I always like to ask: What’s something you want new students to know about the School of Music?
X: Everybody here is so nice and supportive. I’ve seen that across all the instruments here. The instrumentalists support each other within their studios, but we’re also going out to support each other and see each other’s shows. That’s how it should be, and I’m happy to say that that is how it is here. And the new School of Music building is really gorgeous. And the facilities are really great. And we’re right in Lincoln Park! The location is incredible.
I couldn’t agree more. Xander, thank you so much for talking with me today!
X: Thank you so much for this!