"You're always a product of your environment, and you know, sometimes, if the environment is not right, you got to figure out how to make it right."
– Michael Scott

1. What is your main instrument?

My main job is as a bassoonist. I am the second bassoonist in the Memphis Symphony Orchestra, and I have had that chair since 1976. Bassoon is home base for me in the orchestra, but I am a multi-instrumentalist, so I also play saxophone on the pops series and other programs when they need it.

2. When did you start playing?

I started on alto saxophone in seventh grade at Corey Junior High and played sax through ninth grade. When I got to Hamilton High School, they handed me a bassoon, which I had never even seen before. My band director, Thomas Doggett, joked that I was so tall and skinny I looked like one. At first it was pretty hit and miss. The only other person I knew who had played bassoon was a friend a year ahead of me, and we were just figuring it out together. Things changed when another friend, who was in the Memphis Youth Symphony, invited me to a rehearsal. He introduced me to Vincent DeFrank, and even though I was almost embarrassed to admit I played bassoon, DeFrank told me to come join them. I came back the next Sunday, sat between two experienced players, and they basically adopted me and showed me what I needed to know.

3. What was high school like for you musically?

Hamilton had everything: a big marching band with about 150 people, plus concert band and jazz band. In concert band I was mostly on bassoon, and in jazz band and marching band I played alto sax. You do not march with a bassoon. I started taking private bassoon lessons in 11th grade; before that it was just what we did in band class. Around that time I went to the Midwestern Music Camp at the University of Kansas for six weeks. There were kids from all over, maybe 85 saxophonists and only about 12 bassoonists. That is when I started thinking about supply and demand. If I wanted to work, bassoon might be the smarter vehicle. The next year I went to a similar camp at the University of Iowa. I was last chair bassoon in Kansas but first chair alto there, so even then I was weighing those two paths.

4. Did you study music in college?

Yes. I went to what was then Memphis State, now the University of Memphis, and majored in music education. My teachers told me that was the best degree if you wanted options, because you could always teach. My parents were schoolteachers, and I spent my summers taking general education classes. That let me load up on music during the fall and spring, 18 to 22 hours of music while most people took 15 mixed hours. I played in four or five ensembles every semester. My teachers never told me to choose just one instrument. They knew I played saxophone and bassoon. I played alto sax in jazz ensemble, bassoon in the wind ensemble and concert band, and eventually in the orchestra once some upperclassmen graduated.

5. When did you start doubling seriously?

That really took off at Memphis State. The jazz band put us in a spot where we needed to learn clarinet, and later I picked up flute. My first real doubling gig was a summer production of “Purlie Victorious” the university did with the opera department. I was playing alto sax, clarinet, and flute, and I had only been on clarinet and flute for about a semester when the music director asked if I could play them. I said yes, and the parts were simple enough that I got through it. That gig paid about $250 for two weeks, my first “doubler’s check.” The success of “Purlie” led to more shows with the theater department such as “Guys and Dolls” and “South Pacific”, and many of those required doubling. In some ways, my career has looked the same since I was 18 or 19, moving between instruments and between classical, jazz, and theater work.

6. How did you move from school into a professional career?

I have been a professional musician for over 50 years now. At Memphis State, I was surrounded by people like James Williams and Donald (Don) Brown, musicians I had known since we were teenagers who went on to work professionally, and that community mattered. I finished my bachelor’s in four years with 176 credit hours. The degree only required 132. If I had taken a foreign language, I could have had a double major in performance and music education. I initially had an assistantship lined up at the University of Illinois, but it disappeared for political reasons. Around then, the Memphis State jazz band played the Wichita Jazz Festival, and I got a soloist award. The jazz band from Western Illinois University heard me and offered me a scholarship, which is how I ended up in graduate school in Macomb, Illinois. There was not much to do there except play and go to school. I taught a jazz band, played in ensembles, and studied bassoon with Robert Kipper, who told me I would probably be a good fit as a community college teacher and prepared me for that.

7. How long have you been earning your living in music, and what does that include?

By the time I finished graduate school and came back to Memphis, music was already my path. I tried to interview with the Memphis school system, but the supervisor missed the appointment. A couple of days later, some of my old professors called about an opening at Shelby State Community College. My mother said, “You need to come home,” so I did. I went through the interview process there, and the president, Jess Parrish, remembered me from Memphis State because the jazz band used to play for administrative events. I was hired at Shelby State on a Tuesday and auditioned for the Memphis Symphony that Thursday, the same week in August 1976. I stayed at the college for 41 years and eight months, teaching everyone from fresh out of high school students to grandparents coming back for retraining, and all that time I was playing with the symphony. Along the way I built an online Music Appreciation course, did some consulting with McGraw Hill, and figured out how to get community college students into symphony concerts. Once classical music bit me, it stayed with me, and between performing and teaching, that is how I have made my living for decades. 𝄂

Next issue, we will dig into how Michael approaches doubling, the styles he plays across symphonic, jazz, and theater work, and what he tells young musicians who want to make a career in music.

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Getting the Gig exists to surface exactly this kind of detail—so high school musicians (and their parents) can see what real, workable music lives actually look like.

“There’s something I try to pass along to my students now. Yes, work on your pieces and be great at your instrument. But also ask, “What’s my vision? What am I going to do with this when I graduate?”’

1. You’ve done a lot of chamber music over the years. How did that become such an important part of your musical life?

In undergrad, I did a lot of chamber music and absolutely loved it. I stepped away from it a bit during my master’s, but once I got to Memphis, I found my way back- both through traditional chamber groups and through recording sessions that are basically small ensembles, like string quartets or small string sections. It’s still classical, but it felt like a different world to me, helped by teachers who really loved teaching chamber music.

2. What was it like competing at major chamber music competitions?

We were very serious about it. I played a lot of piano trios (violin, cello, and piano) and we rehearsed constantly and traveled to competitions. We went to events like Fischoff in Indiana (we went twice), plus others like Coleman and Plowman.

You submit a recording first; if you’re accepted, you play multiple rounds over several days, often in big halls with an audience even in the prelims. It’s very competitive but also exciting. The top prizes can be thousands of dollars, plus concert opportunities and career support. Those competitions really exist to help launch chamber music careers.

3. When you moved to Memphis, what were some of the biggest challenges in building your career?

One of the hardest parts was simply finding my path. I came here thinking I would keep teaching in a straightforward way, but that didn’t work out. I started subbing with the symphony and then slowly building my own private studio on the side.

There are a lot of musicians in town, so finding students isn’t easy. It’s a lot of word of mouth, connections, and showing up in the community. Like when I taught for MMI, and some students and parents started asking for private lessons.

Something I wish school had focused on more is the business side of music: how to market yourself so students (and parents) can actually find you. I’m still figuring out how to present myself, how to grow, and how to make it sustainable.

4. Do you enjoy being your own boss now that you’ve created this independent career?

I really do now. For a long time, I was afraid because I didn’t have experience running my own thing. But once I realized I could be my own boss, I discovered I liked it.

If you have that gut feeling that you can do something, sometimes you just have to throw yourself into it and figure it out as you go. That’s pretty much what I’ve been doing.

5. Tell us about your company, Diamond Strings. What’s your vision for it?

I recently started my own company, Diamond Strings, focusing on booking weddings and events for my chamber music group. It’s new, I only started last year, so it’s still in the early stages, but I have a big vision for it.

I want to see it grow beyond just Memphis, to become a larger, established company in the region. We already have days where we’re booked for multiple events at once, which means I’m coordinating several ensembles while also playing. It’s a lot of moving parts, so I rely heavily on musicians I trust. People who are prepared, responsive, and professional.

6. How are you blending classical training with the music people request for weddings and events?

The way I listen to music has changed. Now, when I hear something, I’m always asking, “How would this sound on strings?”

People still love traditional classical pieces for weddings, but more and more they’re asking for pop. Lady Gaga, Bruno Mars, and so on. There are great arrangers online who adapt these songs for string ensembles, and that’s become a big part of what we do.

For fun, I listen mostly to pop, not classical. Artists like Bruno Mars, Bad Bunny, and newer artists like Alex Warren and Olivia Dean. My kids listen along with me; they enjoy all kinds of music.

7. Looking back, what do you wish you had known in high school about studying music and building a career?

I wish I’d had a clearer picture of what a music career can actually look like. I didn’t really think, early on, about what I would do with my degree once I finished school. My vision didn’t really form until I was already out in the world and had to figure it out in real time.

There’s something I try to pass along to my students now:

• Yes, work on your pieces and be great at your instrument.

• But also ask, “What’s my vision? What am I going to do with this when I graduate?”

8. What’s your biggest piece of advice for young musicians who want to work professionally?

My main message is simple:

• Be early. Not just on time—early.

• Be prepared. Know your music, know the details of the job.

• Be reliable.

Talent is wonderful, but it only takes you so far. People may not call you back if you’re late or unreliable, no matter how well you play. In my own company, I don’t rehire musicians who can’t show up on time, even if they’re amazing players.

If you show people that you are prepared, dependable, and someone they can trust, they will want to work with you again and again. 𝄂

Getting the Gig exists to surface exactly this kind of detail—so high school musicians (and their parents) can see what real, workable music lives actually look like.

Most kids bring home finger-paintings from kindergarten. Yennifer Correia brought home a violin and a K–12 scholarship. In this installment of Getting the Gig, she walks us through her wild pipeline: conservatory school in Venezuela, summers at Interlochen and Meadowmount, the pressure cooker of Rice, teacher burnout, and finally finding a balance between the symphony stage and the classroom.

1. What’s your main instrument, and how did you get started?
My main instrument is the violin, and I started when I was about six or seven. I was in public kindergarten in Venezuela when a private school with a conservatory came to test kids for musical aptitude. They saw something in me, gave me a violin, and offered a full scholarship from elementary through high school.

2. What was that music school like?
It was a full-day school, basically preschool–12th grade, with regular academics plus a serious music conservatory built in. We had private lessons, orchestra, theory, ear training—the whole thing. The school even provided the instrument, and my family never had to pay for tuition.

3. Did you always stick to violin, or did you try other instruments?
Violin was always my main focus, but the curriculum required us to learn recorder and cuatro, a small Venezuelan four‑string instrument, kind of like a little guitar. In high school I also volunteered to play viola for a couple of concerts when the orchestra needed more violas. But overall, it’s been almost entirely violin.

4. How did your education continue after high school?
The same people who supported me in Venezuela also sponsored my studies in the U.S. I did my undergrad at the University of North Texas in Denton, and then went to Rice University in Houston for my master’s. Rice was a very intense orchestral training environment. That’s also where I met my husband—he was doing his doctoral degree there—and later we both ended up in Memphis, playing with the Memphis Symphony.

5. At what point did you start thinking seriously about your career path?
Honestly, pretty late. In classical music, it often feels like your options are either teaching or performing, and I knew I wanted both. I chose a performance degree, but I didn’t really start preparing orchestra excerpts seriously until my senior year of undergrad. At Rice, everyone around me was laser‑focused on orchestral careers, which pushed me to take that path more seriously.

6. You’ve mentioned burnout. What did that look like, and how did it lead you to teaching?
At Rice I was practicing six to eight hours a day, plus orchestra and chamber music rehearsals. The competition was extremely high, and along with my stage fright, performing became emotionally exhausting. By the time I finished my master’s, I felt pretty defeated and started to wonder if a pure performance career was sustainable for me.

So I went into teaching. I took a full‑time job at an elementary school in Houston, teaching general music and a small violin program. I did that for about two years, and I genuinely enjoyed it.

7. How did you end up balancing performance and teaching in Memphis?
When we moved to Memphis, my plan was to keep teaching. Instead, I began playing with the Memphis Symphony, and that reignited my passion for performing. At the same time, my classroom experience in Houston made me a much stronger educator when I later worked in schools as a fellow. Navigating a classroom isn’t something you really learn in music school, so having done it full-time already made a big difference.

Now I see my ideal path as a combination: I want to play in orchestra and also teach. I don’t want to be limited to just one role. 𝄂

Getting the Gig exists to surface exactly this kind of detail—so high school musicians (and their parents) can see what real, workable music lives actually look like.

Join us next time as we pick back up for Part 2 of Yennifer Correia!

What has your educational journey been like—from Brazil to the U.S.?

In Brazil, I went straight into a music degree after high school. Our undergrad was very focused: music theory, history, harmony, counterpoint, orchestra, and a ton of cello.

Then I did a master’s degree in Brazil, researching Brazilian composers who had been erased or ignored, and working on projects that made their music more accessible.

In 2016, my cello teacher told me about an opportunity in the U.S. for an Artist Diploma in Louisiana. I defended my thesis early, said goodbye to my family, and moved to the U.S. with about $400 in my pocket and basically no English. My teacher there spoke Portuguese, which helped, but it still took months before I felt brave enough to speak.

After that came a second master’s, and now I’m finishing my Doctor of Musical Arts (DMA) in Memphis. Over time I realized a DMA is not just “more cello.” It’s about research, teaching, leadership, and vision—who you want to be in the musical world.

Do you still want to perform, or is teaching your main focus now?

I want both. I love performing, and I want my students to feel proud to say, “That’s my teacher” when they see me on stage or online. But teaching is just as important to me.

Long‑term, one of my biggest dreams is to build a studio that can offer scholarships, so money isn’t the main reason a talented young player can’t continue. I also want to be a bridge between students in Brazil and opportunities abroad, using the connections I’ve made in the U.S.

I’m also interested in community‑engaged projects—like the work I did with Iris Collective and the Baptist Center for Good Grief, helping families who had lost loved ones create music together. Projects like that show me how powerful music can be outside of a concert hall.

What kind of music do you listen to for your own listening pleasure?

Even though I’m a classical cellist, I don’t only listen to classical music. I love Brazilian music. One of my favorite artists is Liniker, a Black trans singer from Brazil who just won a Grammy. When I miss home, I listen to artists like Milton Nascimento.

I also love Robert Glasper, and his group August Greene with Common and Karriem Riggins. And then there’s Brazilian hip hop—especially Racionais MC’s, a group from my area in São Paulo that I grew up listening to. Their music talks honestly about the reality of where I’m from.

What do you tell your high school students that you wish someone had told you?

I tell them, “You can do it.”

I have a student who often says, “But I’m so bad at this,” even before she really tries. I stop her and say, “You didn’t even try yet.” I don’t want her inner voice to sound like the harsh things adults once said to me.

To me, teaching is a way of talking to my younger self. Yes, we work on technique, intonation, rhythm—all of that matters. But I know that the words I choose can stay with a person for life. So I try to teach confidence and kindness, not just cello.

If a young musician from a background like yours is reading this, what would you want them to know?

I’d say this:

• You don’t have to start at age five to be serious.

• Where you’re from does not disqualify you.

• There is no shortcut—but there is power in showing up consistently.

• The doubts and the negative voices are loud, but they are not the full truth about you.

Living itself is a privilege. If you’re here, and you love music, you deserve a chance to try. 𝄂

Click here for Part 1 of Roberta dos Santos interview.

Next week, be on the look out for a special Spring Break Bonus Post!

You’ll want to make sure to grab your headphones.

Brazilian cellist Roberta dos Santos grew up in the peripheries of Taboão da Serra, in the metro area of São Paulo, first playing organ in her church before discovering the cello at the age of 17 through a free nonprofit program. That opportunity launched her into conservatory training, two master’s degrees, and now a DMA in cello performance in Memphis, where she studies with Kimberly Patterson. Roberta is active as a performer, teaching artist, and researcher of Brazilian music, committed to expanding access to high‑level musical training for young people from underserved communities.

“One of my students always says, ‘But I’m so bad at it.’ And I tell her, you didn’t even try yet. Teaching is my way of talking to my younger self. There are so many ways you can hurt someone for life as a music teacher. You’re not just teaching technique—you’re teaching confidence.”

What is your main instrument, and how did you choose it?

My main instrument is cello, but my first instrument was organ in my church in Brazil. In my church, women only played organ—men played all the other instruments—so that’s where I started around age 11, just playing hymns by ear with one finger next to my mom.

I discovered the cello at 17 in a nonprofit music program in my hometown. One day I saw a student walking by with this huge instrument and said, “I want that big one.” My mom was upset because we had no money to buy a cello, but the nonprofit offered free lessons and let me borrow an instrument. That moment completely changed the direction of my life.

When did you realize music was more than just a hobby?

As a teenager, my life was complicated. My parents divorced when I was 12, and I had to take on responsibilities that were too heavy for my age, especially helping care for my younger sister. I was always searching for something—crocheting, painting, any hobby that could help me express what I was feeling.

When I started cello at 17, it became more than a hobby. It was a way to escape and process what I couldn’t put into words. I would travel hours across São Paulo by bus just to get to my lesson. That kind of commitment made it clear that this wasn’t just something to pass the time. It was becoming my path.

What kind of sacrifices did you make to study music seriously?

The nonprofit didn’t have a cello teacher at first, or even a cello for me. The director basically said, “If you trust me, keep coming. I’ll find you a teacher and an instrument.” So I kept showing up.

When I finally started lessons, I had to take public transportation for about two hours each way, with a big cello in a soft case on packed, bumpy buses. It added up to five hours of commuting for one lesson.

Later, in college in São Paulo, my classes started around 7:30 a.m., and I often stayed at school practicing and playing in orchestra until 10 or 10:30 p.m. I eventually moved in with six other women, all musicians, just to be closer to the university so I could survive the schedule.

It sounds extreme, but if you don’t have money or connections, your commitment and consistency become your main currency.

Did people ever make you feel like you didn’t belong in music?

Absolutely. I started cello “late” compared to people who began at 5 or 6. When I got to college, I was surrounded by musicians my age who had been training for many more years. I often felt like I didn’t deserve to be there.

On top of that, I still remember hurtful comments from earlier teachers and adults—things that made me doubt if I was good enough or “too old” to catch up. Those words stay with you.

Now, as a teacher, I use those memories as a guide for what not to do. I don’t want my students to hear the kind of comments that almost made me quit. I made it, not because I was special, but because I kept showing up. That’s the message I want them to receive.

How did your church background help you—and hurt you?

Church is a huge part of my musical story. I learned to play by ear, to sing, to understand harmony without knowing the formal names for anything. That made theory and ear training in college much easier for me.

But there was pain too. In my church, women were expected to play only organ, not instruments like cello. Some people told me I shouldn’t use music to make money, or that I should stay in my lane and not pursue a professional career.

I disagree with that completely. Those attitudes hurt, and they made me question myself. But I can’t erase that experience—it shaped who I am. It also taught me the importance of not limiting other people because of tradition or fear. 𝄂

Next time, we’ll look to the future with Roberta dos Santos to discuss her plans, favorite music, and her best advice for musicians like you. See you next time!

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1. Is playing still your main thing?
Yes. I still play as my main thing—jazz, church, and other gigs—and build other work around that. Teaching and workshop work are important, but playing is still at the center.

2. If you’re involved in other music things, what are those?
A big one is education. I run programs like Memphis Jazz Workshop for young players, coach combos, and help students get ready for college. I’ve also done a lot of church music directing over the years. And I’ve put out my own records—I started writing seriously in New York around 2006–2007, and my first all‑original album came out around 2012.

Stand by Me (2013) Stephen Lee’s first original album.

3. What styles of music do you play?
A mix of jazz, gospel, R&B/soul, and church music. I grew up on Walter Hawkins, Andraé Crouch, Luther Vandross, Earth, Wind & Fire, Yellowjackets, Al Jarreau, and straight‑ahead jazz, so all of that is in there. When I write or play, you might hear church harmony, jazz lines, and R&B feel all in the same tune.

4. Which one is your passion genre?
I’d say jazz, but jazz fed by gospel and soul. That moment when I heard Cyrus Chestnut live, swinging hard, is when I knew, “This is what I want to do.” So the passion is jazz that still carries that church and R&B story‑telling energy.

In The Moment (2024) Stephen Lee

5. What opportunity do you want to have, that you haven’t had yet – what’s your dream gig?
I’d love to play the major international jazz festivals—places like North Sea and Nice. I don’t want to live on the road 15 days a month anymore, but I do want those big festival stages, where you bring your own music to a serious listening audience from all over the world.

6. What do you wish a professional told you, when you were in high school?
A few things:

• Be careful with social organizations. Fraternities and all that can be great, but don’t let them take over your life like I did for a while.

• Protect your time. Practice and preparation matter more than you think.

• Be professional early. Be on time, be prepared, be respectful.

• And if you can already play at a high level in high school, understand that a big part of your future is just staying focused, networking, and saying yes to opportunities. The playing is the foundation—but your habits decide how far it goes. 𝄂

Click here for Part 1 of Stephen Lee’s interview.

Getting the Gig exists to surface exactly this kind of detail—so high school musicians (and their parents) can see what real, workable music lives actually look like.

1. What is your main instrument?

Piano is home base for me. I came up on piano in church as a kid, and that’s still my main voice, even though I also played a lot of drums and percussion in school.

2. When did you start playing?

I really started around 10–11 years old. My family was at Wednesday night rehearsals at church, and I’d sit and watch the pianist, a man named Gary Melton. He showed me songs for the Sunday School choir, and I’d go back on Saturday mornings to practice. We didn’t even have a piano at home until I was in junior high, so I’d practice at the church.

3. Did you play in college?

Yeah. I went to the University of Tennessee, Knoxville. I got in because I had basically taught myself to play several instruments—admissions gave me a shot based on that, not my ACT score. Once I got there, I studied music, took jazz history, played in jazz combos, and studied privately with Donald Brown.

4. Did you grow up wanting to play music for a career?

By 12th grade, yes. I wrote in one of those senior books that I wanted to be a professional musician and that I wanted to work with Luther Vandross. Even before that, I was gigging—playing church and solo piano in restaurants for $50–75, so I knew it was possible to get paid.

5. Were you exposed to the idea of a music career growing up?

Not really in a formal way. My mother would rather I stayed in gospel. Like a lot of Black parents then, she was wary of jazz and club life. Most of the “career” picture came later, when I met people like Donald Brown, heard Cyrus Chestnut at a festival, and started seeing musicians who were clearly making a living playing.

6. How long have you been earning a living playing music, roughly?

I was already being paid to play in high school—church, solo piano gigs. After college, I went to Las Vegas, then Europe, then New York, always gigging. I’ve basically been earning from music since my teens, and as an adult I’ve always combined church work, jazz gigs, and later recording to make a living. 𝄂

Next issue, we’ll discuss what Stephen does now, the styles he plays, his dream gig, and the advice he wishes someone had given him in high school.

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