—by Kristi Shade

Emily Levin is on a roll. Fresh off her audition win at the Santa Fe Opera in August, she won the principal position with the Dallas Symphony Orchestra just a month later. Though she’s only in her mid-20s, Levin is hardly a new name in the harp world, having competed and won awards at two of the world’s most prestigious international harp competitions—the International Harp Contest in Israel where she was a finalist in 2009, and the USA International Harp Competition where she won the bronze medal in 2013.

I caught up with her back in her sun-filled apartment in New York City, where she gave me a behind-the-scenes look at her audition prep, talked about how she deals with nerves (she swears by chamomile oil!), and shared some interesting things that may surprise you. This harpist is one smart cookie—in addition to winning harp auditions left and right, she has aspirations of being a music history professor and is close to fulfilling her lifelong dream of competing on Jeopardy.

Harp Column: Congratulations on your back-to-back audition success with the Santa Fe Opera and the Dallas Symphony! How does it feel?

Emily Levin: It’s still really surreal. I just started my DMA so I thought I had the next, at least, two years planned. I was going to be here (in New York City), I was going to do coursework, and then this happened. I don’t necessarily handle change that well, [Laughs] so it was a little bit of an adjustment! But I’m so excited.

HC: Let’s go back, way back. Can you tell me a little bit about how you got started on the harp, where you grew up, and who you studied with?

EL: So, I started harp when I was 5. My dad told me the Bible story of David playing the harp when I was 4, and I decided that I was going to play the harp. My mom had me on a waiting list for cello lessons because she loved the cello and she thought I would do well on it. So for a year, she would take me to cello concerts, she would play cello recordings, she would show me cellos, and every time I would say, “No, I am going to play the harp.” This lasted for an entire year until she finally gave in and started looking for harp teachers. And, it turns out, Mary Kay Waddington, who started (the) Suzuki method for the harp, lived about 15 minutes away from us (in Colorado). So she signed me up for a lesson, and I went. I’ve been playing ever since.

HC: So, you studied with Mary Kay for a while?

EL: Yes, I studied with her until I went to college. Then I went to Indiana University (IU), where I studied with Ms. (Susann) McDonald for my undergrad. I did music and history there. Then I came to Juilliard for my master’s and now doctorate with Nancy (Allen).

Mary Kay was phenomenal. It’s only now that I’m doing more teaching that I realize what an amazing teacher she is. I wish someone could tell you when you start lessons that you need to pay attention to how somebody teaches, which of course you’re not going to notice. She was really great. She drills in you that you have to have good tone. You don’t move on until you have good tone, and you don’t move on until you can play relaxed. I think that has been so helpful for me.

HC: Throughout your musical life or studies, did you have clear goals in mind? Did you know you wanted to be an orchestral harpist?

EL: Yes and no. I’ve always loved playing with people, which you don’t always get as a harpist. So, I started in youth orchestra when I was 12, and I loved it. It’s just really nice to be a part of something bigger than yourself, and you feel like you are, in a small way, helping make the music happen. But at the same time, I also loved performing solo and chamber music. So, I always grouped it in the “I want to perform” mentality, with the assumption that, as a harpist, you have to do orchestra and you can also do solo performances and collaborations, etc. And so that was always in the books. It was only when I got to Juilliard and started teaching academic courses (I’m an ear training fellow) that I fell in love with classroom teaching and decided that I also wanted to teach music history at the collegiate level, which is why I applied for my doctorate. So, my plan always was to hopefully win an orchestra job, continue the competition/performing side of things, and then ultimately get a teaching job as well. There’s just something about classroom teaching and the interaction between a group of students and yourself—I really love it.

HC: Can you tell me a bit about the Santa Fe audition—what was it like, what was the audition process, what was some of the rep for the audition?

EL: I was in Tanglewood this past summer and while I was there, both Santa Fe and Dallas were announced. It was a little scary because they work you very hard at Tanglewood, especially this summer—it was their 75th anniversary so they were having double and triple rehearsals every day and a lot of new music. So, on top of all of that, I was preparing for these auditions. Especially for Santa Fe, I was concerned because they were opera excerpts I had never really heard before, like the beginning of Wozzeck or the middle section of Tosca, which I kind of know, but I really didn’t. So it took a lot of hours of listening and a lot of score studying. In that way, it really helped me because it forced me to be overly prepared. Sometimes with orchestra auditions you can say, “Oh, I know how that goes, that will be fine,” but for Santa Fe, I put in a lot of time making sure I could sing the opera part that was going on as I played until I just knew how it went. When I got there, it felt pretty comfortable. The first round was behind a screen, and they advanced, I think, nine to semi-finals. Semi-finals and finals were on the second day and the screen was down for both rounds. They were so nice—it was in this room that was freezing cold—I’ve never played in a colder room, (Laughs) and I walked in and they said, “Welcome, take your time warming up, we know it’s really cold. Take as much time as you need, we’re not in a rush.” So, from the beginning, it just felt really nice playing for them. Then for finals, there were four of us and we each played two Peter Grimes excerpts and the “Meditation” from Thaïs. After the Peter Grimes excerpts, the conductor, Harry Bicket, talked to me and asked me to do some things differently—a lot of evocative imagery of the British coastline. Then we played the Thaïs with the concertmaster. It was just a really nice audition; they were really lovely people and it was really well run. At the time that I won, they asked, “Do you have any other commitments right now?” And of course I said, “No, I’m in school!” And they warned me, they said, they take their commitment to Santa Fe very seriously—if you sign a contract, you don’t come late and you don’t leave early. I said, “Oh, that’s fine, I mean, I’m taking the Dallas audition but that’s just an audition—I‘m sure it’ll be fine.” And so I took the Dallas audition and then…I won that. There are two weeks of conflict between Dallas and Santa Fe.

HC: Oh, no! Only two weeks?

EL: Yes, only two weeks. I was very sad. I am so excited, though, that Grace Browning will have the job, because she’s amazing, and they are going to love her.

For the Dallas audition, the prelims and semi-finals were on the stage of their hall behind a black curtain. They picked five for finals. For the semi-finals rep list, it was basically half of what had been on the prelims list plus some other stuff, which is incredibly nerve-racking because you play Tzigane for the first round and you think, “Yes! I don’t have to play it again!” And then you get to semi-finals and they say, “Please start with Tzigane,” which was stressful. Finals were the next morning—our call time was 8:00 a.m.! And we each played with Demarre McGill, the principal flutist, and a pianist.

HC: The Mozart (Flute and Harp Concerto)?

EL: Yes, just the exposition. We rehearsed with him and then did the finals—Demarre is amazing. So, that was great. Then, the orchestra manager sat on stage and gave you the orchestra excerpts to play one after another. I don’t know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but it was the same list as semi-finals and they told you one at a time what you had to play. It was Tzigane, again, it was Salome, again! We were supposed to do the Ravel (Introduction and Allegro) but they cut it for logistical purposes. Then (the committee) came back in. Because the audition was for next season, I was pretty certain if they chose somebody they would ask for trial weeks from at least two people since they had the rest of this year. And, especially because I’m really young and I was the least experienced and youngest person in the finals, I thought for sure they would ask for a trial if they want to hear me play. Then Scott (the orchestra manager) came in and said, “We would like to hire Emily,” and it did not register that it was me! I was very confused for a minute because I was absolutely certain that they wouldn’t hire someone right away. So I was very surprised, but excited. The orchestra is amazing, really great people. And that is that.

HC: How did you prepare for the audition, and what did you find most helpful?

EL: Orchestra auditions have always been my weak point. I get so nervous—really, really nervous.

HC: I think readers will love to hear that! That something can be your weak point, and you can still be successful.

EL: It’s a definite weak point. You are playing such a small part of what is happening, and it’s really hard to make musical sense of excerpts, like the opening arpeggio of Berlioz (Symphonie Fantastique second movement) for example. When you are playing a complete piece, you can get into it, you can feel the music develop and you can have musical ideas. But with excerpts I was so painfully aware of the fact that you have to play the right notes. Don’t mess up the notes! That was me going into these auditions. So I tried really hard to be over-the-top prepared for both auditions. I started prepping for Dallas after Santa Fe and really drilled the notes. Once I learned them, I would record them and listen to them, which is a very brutal process! But I learned very quickly that stuff I thought sounded good, I would realize that one of the notes sounded uneven. Through that, I was able to be a better judge of how I was sounding. I did lots of playing with recordings—that was really helpful. I made a numbered list of the repertoire and put it in a bag and would draw numbers in groups of four to simulate having to go through without stopping. It was surprising how hard it is to make yourself keep going. Because in the practice room, if I made a mistake, I would stop to work on it and then keep going. But, when you have to play four in a row and the first one is terrible, you suddenly realize you have a lot of work to do. I did one mock audition at Tanglewood and a few play-throughs at Juilliard. I played through the Mozart with two of my friends, which was incredibly helpful too. Going into the audition, I’ve never done beta-blockers, because that’s not something I want to do, but I researched “natural ways to make yourself less nervous.” So I bought this soothing herbal tea that did not taste very good, and I bought chamomile oil, which apparently calms you down. I would put (the oil) on my wrists and my neck—I smelled like an herb garden. [Laughs] It was disgusting. But it worked, I think. It might have all been a mind game.

The main thing that helped was having a musical idea for each excerpt and concentrating on that. That was pretty easy to do with Santa Fe, mainly because with opera it’s very easy to convey musical ideas. Actually, my first round of Dallas, it was one of those auditions where you feel fine but it feels like a battle. When I finished that, I was shaking. I told myself, “Emily, if you pass to semi-finals, you can’t play like that!” So then I focused on an overall theme for what I was playing—in Salome, you are seducing someone. I just focused on the emotional content rather than just playing all the notes. And then it became fun, because there was a point to what I was doing.

HC: Yes, and you kind of remove yourself from the situation when you do that. Did you feel more at ease in Dallas knowing you had just won Santa Fe?

EL: Well, the rep was very different. I felt better about the Santa Fe excerpts because I hadn’t played them before. When you are playing Berlioz again—especially if you have had bad experiences with Berlioz—you say to yourself, “I know I’m going to mess up this run, I tend to mess up this run!” But it was nice going into an audition knowing what I had done before had been validated musically. Going in, I thought, “Okay, you know you can play the harp well, so just have fun with it and it doesn’t matter what happens.”

HC: Other than the chamomile oil, do you have any quirky audition rituals?

EL: I stop caffeine just 24 hours beforehand. I love coffee—it’s one of my favorite things. But, because I get so nervous, I try to remove anything that could heighten my nervous system. That’s the only thing I really do that’s different. It was slightly concerning for Dallas because I was off coffee from Saturday to Wednesday and I had a headache the whole time. That’s a side note that I should try to stop drinking so much coffee [Laughs]. But, more than anything, I try to make (the audition) as normal as possible. Even if it’s all in your mind, that transmits to the rest of your body.

HC: You competed in several international harp competitions in the past. How do you think these competitions shaped you as a musician and as a person?

EL: Although competitions are incredibly stressful and exhausting, my competition preparation and experiences definitely boosted my playing and my musicianship. They are one of the best experiences for becoming a better musician. You’re forced to fine-tune pieces to an extremely high level, and this focused approach transfers into your other, non-competition projects. I’ve improved the most in competition working periods. There is also the fun part of meeting so many other amazing harpists. I’ve met some of my closest harp friends at competitions!

HC: Do you think these experiences better prepared you for auditions, like the ones you just won, and for your larger musical life?

EL: Actually, for quite some time I struggled with audition preparation because I felt it was so different from competition prep. With competitions, you are playing solo and chamber works, and you have the satisfaction of experiencing the music because you get to play all of it. With excerpts, you really have to dig to find that same connection, but once you do, it transforms your playing—at least for me. Once I got past just playing the notes and could focus on what was happening in the full orchestra, excerpts became much more meaningful, and dare I say even fun—most of the time.

HC: What are your plans moving forward—are you moving to Dallas?

EL: Yes, I start full time in September, so I’ll move sometime before that. I’m going to start playing with them this semester, so I’ll be there for a week in February. I’m going on tour with them to Europe, which is so exciting. I was writing down the places they’re playing in my calendar and it’s just mind-blowing—The Netherlands, England, Scotland, Vienna, Switzerland, Germany, Slovenia and Spain!

HC: That’s a pretty nice way to start your job! And what are you playing in Europe?

EL: Shostakovich 7, Die Walkure, so I get to do some Magic Fire Music, and I think we are doing one performance of Rosenkavalier.

HC: What are you most looking forward to with your new position?

EL: I’m really excited for a new, great music-making opportunity. Tanglewood prepped me a little bit for that this summer because they treat you like a professional orchestra. Being able to play music with people who are talented and care about the music they play, there is nothing like it. I’m so excited. And it’s going to be nice to be part of a larger group. There’s something so exciting about knowing where you’re going to be for the next, however long you want to be, which is not something I’ve encountered before, so I think my mindset is changing a bit.

HC: Yes, it’s a luxury we don’t always get as musicians.

EL: Yes, it’s strange how ingrained it is. You’re taught that you don’t know where you’re going to live and you’re not going to have a steady source of income and that’s incredibly stressful! I’m only realizing that now that I know I will have those things.

HC: Yes, all of a sudden you are breathing easier!

EL: Yes!

HC: Do you have any long-term goals or wishes for your future as a harpist?

EL: I still want to teach eventually. That’s something that doesn’t have to happen right away, which is nice, but it’s not something I want to give up. And I still want to do solo performing. I love performing solo so much that that’s something I still want to focus on. It just helps you as a musician if you are still working on that sort of thing. New music is also really important to me. I’m in a new music ensemble here in the city and I want to keep being involved with that.

HC: Some final fun questions: Favorite solo piece to play?

EL: The Tournier Sonatine. I first learned it for the first time I did Israel, and then I did it for my third stage of USA, about 10 years apart. Revisiting it throughout those years has really solidified it. I’ve sort of grown with it. It’s just such an amazing piece. It’s the closest thing we have to a Ravel sonata for the harp.

HC: Orchestral piece?

EL: Maybe one of the Mahlers. I love all of them in different ways. I think Mahler 4 is probably my favorite to play—it was also the first Mahler I ever played. He just writes so well for the harp—you feel so important when you do play and not in a pretentious sort of way, but in a musical setting.

HC: Orchestral excerpt?

EL: I just love Tzigane because of all of the notes you get to play. [Laughs]

HC: Said no one ever!

EL: Just kidding, it’s the worst! I don’t know if it’s my favorite but I do like playing the Smetana cadenza early on in an audition. It gets you into the harp and you can explore the beautiful sounds the harp has without it being too stressful. Also, when it goes well, Salome is the most exhilarating thing to play!

HC: Chamber piece?

EL: I just played Ravel’s Introduction and Allegro for the first time this summer—I don’t know how I escaped all of my former teachers without playing it. It’s incredible! There is nothing like it. So, absolutely, the Ravel. He was a genius! Nothing comes close to it, it’s just perfect.

HC: Favorite food?

EL: I’m a big cereal fan. Cereal Day is March 7, and every year I take the week before and plan out jokes, puns, and cereal fun facts. On Cereal Day, I send out one every hour to all of my friends. [Laughs] And it culminates in a cereal personality quiz that I write. I think it goes back to the fact that I don’t like cooking and it’s easy. I’m partial to Frosted Mini Wheats.

HC: Favorite thing to do to unwind?

EL: Recently, as of this summer, I’m a “real runner.” I run 10K multiple times a week, which is very exciting! It’s amazing how much it can calm you down; it just brings you back to yourself.

HC: If you were not a harpist, what would you be?

EL: I would either be a lawyer or a history professor. I studied history in my undergrad and I really loved it. I think that’s why I want to be a music history teacher, it’s the next best thing. It’s just fascinating to read about the past and see how it impacts the present.

HC: Anything you would like to tell us that may surprise the readers, other than the fact that you celebrate the holiday of cereal? [Laughs]

EL: Oh, they’re gonna judge me…that’s okay: my life goal is to be on Jeopardy. I’ve made it as far as the pool where they could call you to be on the show, but you don’t know if they are going to. I don’t think they are calling me for this current cycle so I will have to take the online poll again and go to a live audition again.

HC: So you’ve been to a live audition already? How does that compare to an orchestra audition?

EL: It is scary! Because, at least when you play the harp, you know that you have been training for this your whole life and it is stuff that you know, whereas (for Jeopardy) you are sitting in this room with very smart people and you realize, what if they ask me questions and I don’t know any of the answers? So, then you have the fear of public shame plus the fear of not knowing anything!

HC: So, it’s probably good prep for your orchestral audition—nothing can be as bad as auditioning for Jeopardy!

EL: Right, exactly! •