Houston Symphony musicians work hard to perform for more than 400,000 people in the Houston area every year—but how do they spend their time away from their instruments? Many exercise in their spare time: some are tennis players, runners, and—like Jarita Ng, viola, and Mark Nuccio, principal clarinet—fans of cycling.
Jarita worked to create custom Symphony-branded kits, or clothing made specially for cycling, for herself and other musicians to sport while hitting the trails. “We’re thankful for all of Jarita’s work with the design,” said Mark. “We get attention and comments everywhere we ride.”
Often, Jarita joins Mark and Houston Symphony Trustee Tad Smith to ride, along with Marina Brubaker, first violin. When they wear the kits, Jarita said, “we hear things like ‘Do you play?’ and ‘I used to have season tickets.’ It’s almost like we’re mini celebrities!” Mark added, “They say, we’ll definitely come since we know someone, and we’ll look for you on stage.”
Mark and Tad recently completed the Triple Bypass, a 120-mile cycling event in Colorado, while proudly wearing their Symphony kits. The miles-high ride was a fairly serious undertaking, though Jarita notes that Symphony cyclists usually enjoy riding at their own paces and distances, and often just for leisure. “The last organized ride we all did together was Tour de Houston, which is a 62-mile ride. But normally we do it for the fun, not for the time!” A number of other musicians and board members, including Board President Janet Clark and Governing Director Barbara Burger, ride as well—Trustee Ellen Yarrell even wore her Symphony kit on stage once for a pre-concert speech.
Besides the exercise, cycling together has other benefits as well. Mark said that the exercise “helps with the air, clears the mind, and keeps the body more efficient for the kind of air needed to play a wind instrument.”
Elise Wagner, bassoon, and Jarita went for a ride between rehearsal and the performance in the Woodlands on July 3: “It is nice to move and explore the neighborhood—it feels amazing to go out and breathe; we often sit for hours at a time.” They plan to continue the rides between rehearsals and concerts in the Woodlands in the future, when the weather and the temperature allow.
While exercise provides a refreshing outlet, music always follows. “If we’re riding with friends, music isn’t going through my mind, but when I’m out there by myself, it does. I’ll think of pieces that match the cadence. Sometimes, after the Fourth of July, I’d have The Stars and Stripes Forever stuck in my mind—at 120 beats per minute. When I run, it’s the third movement of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto. But it’s always upbeat music—I don’t want to go slower and slower!” said Jarita.
—Kerry Ingram
Top image, left to right: Tad Smith, Houston Symphony board of trustees member; Jarita Ng, viola; Mark Nuccio, principal clarinet
