105 TBSO PROFILE: Eleanor Hopwood

Principal Second Violin, TBSO

Born: Vermont

Instrument: Violin

Age you started to study music: 9

How long have you been with TBSO: Since October 2021

What’s on personal playlist: Lo-fi, Victor Wooten

The first time the TBSO’s Christopher Stork picked up a violin, he knew it was the instrument for him. Stork says the opportunity came during a visit to his public school by an orchestra. “There [were] a couple of musicians from the string family that came to classrooms afterwards, to let people try out the instruments,” he says.

“After playing violin, I was absolutely hooked.”

Stork admits he had to “beg for a year” to get a violin of his own, as his musical parents had different hopes for their son. “My parents were both trumpet players,” he says. “My parents both run a business called Stork Custom Mouthpieces; they make brass mouthpieces for brass musical instruments.” However, Stork says he “had no love for trumpet playing whatsoever.”

“The dogs would always scream while people played trumpet,” he says. “I was not a fan as a kid.”

Stork went on to study violin at the Mannes School of Music in New York City, and earned his Bachelor and Master’s degrees at McGill University’s Schulich School of Music. And while he’s performed with a number of orchestras and music festivals, Stork says the TBSO, which he joined last fall, is a perfect fit. “I’ve never really figured myself as much of an orchestral musician,” he says. “My biggest draw to playing music was always the interaction between players.”

“So being in a chamber ensemble, and being in, more or less, a chamber orchestra has always been a big draw for me, and I think that’s definitely something I do love about this ensemble.”