In her own words, Professor of Violin and San Francisco Francisco Opera Concertmaster Kay Stern discusses how she won her first position at SFO after only a month of playing viola.

When I decided to leave the Lark Quartet, I started teaching at the Cleveland Institute of Music. I was also playing as concertmaster for orchestras in Ohio and New York City, and performing extensively as a chamber musician. I came to a point in my life where I wanted to pursue one avenue full-time. So I looked in the papers to see what was available and there was an opening for a title viola position in the San Francisco Opera.

I had never played viola before. This is one of those moments of me just being naive. I rented a viola for a month and worked my butt off. It was supposed to be for the second chair and it was the third time they had this audition. They hadn't picked anybody. So I was there. Maybe if it was a violin audition, I would have had a conversation in my head about, 'Uh oh, I hope I get past the first round'. I had no emotional baggage, I just loved the excerpts, studied the context in the operas, and enjoyed the different dramatic styles.

It just so happened that I got the job. And it was the same time that the principal violist was leaving for Seattle. So I was Principal Viola of San Francisco Opera and I'd never played viola in an ensemble before. We started off with a Strauss Festival, which was so stressful because I had to put a Roman numeral for which string to help me read the music. But it was phenomenal. I loved being in between the viola and cellos and being part of the motor instead of the melody.

Then the San Francisco Opera was looking for a Concertmaster. To make a long story short, I auditioned and won the job. I could not have planned any of this, I could not have thought it through. I just kept saying, 'Oh, that sounds interesting.' I wasn't really competitive with other players because I just kept challenging myself —I always thought most people's technique was much easier and cleaner than mine. I was always going for the expression of the music and what it meant.

As I look back, despite how anxious I felt about something, I simply just took every opportunity and jumped in.

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