Talking with Kelly Hall-Tompkins
In today’s episode, Kelly shares with us:
- Why she learned to find and follow “the unanticipated path”
- How she built the courage to “draw what I see, not what’s there”
- Why it’s so vital for artists to resist cynicism
- Why learning piano is so important, even for a violinist
- How “following your bliss” can remove barriers and create opportunities
- What Steve Jobs taught her about doggedly pursuing ideas and seeing them through
Podcast Extras:
- Kelly's Website
- A profile of Kelly in the New York Times
- Music Kitchen-Food for the Soul, Kelly’s amazing non-profit
- Fiddler on the Roof
- Fiddler Original Cast Album
- “The Last Quartet,” Kelly’s self-published biography of violinist and Holocaust survivor Alfred Mur
- Kelly performing with the Oakland Symphony
- [VIDEO] “Pure Imagination” (from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory) arr. by Kelly Hall-Tompkins
Kelly in concert.
What would a musical be without, well, musicians? As a composer and, before that, a musical director, I can’t help but be in love with everyone who plays in a pit orchestra. These are insanely talented individuals whose artistry creates a sound picture that transports the audience and helps achieve the dramatic goals of the show.
The opening notes of Fiddler on the Roof are as memorable and transporting as any in Broadway history, taking us instantly to the precarious world of Tevye, Golde and everyone in Anatevka. These days, those notes are brought to glorious life each night by Kelly Hall-Tompkins, a violin virtuosa with accomplishments far beyond the marquees of Times Square. As has been pointed out by no less than the New York Times, Kelly quite literally has the title role in a Broadway show, even though you’ll never see her on stage.
In addition to her role as concertmaster for Fiddler, Kelly is a highly dynamic, much in-demand violin soloist and chamber musician. A frequent collaborating partner of Grammy winning violinist/composer Mark O’Connor, she is first violinist of the O’Connor String Quartet, which has performed concerts nationally, including Tanglewood, Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and Lincoln Center’s Great Performer’s Circle. Kelly has appeared as soloist with the Dallas Symphony, Jacksonville Symphony, Tulsa Philharmonic, Chamber Orchestra of New York, and Philharmonic of Uruguay, among others. She is also a member of the Florida-based Ritz Chamber Players, which has appeared in the Allen Room at Lincoln Center and on WQXR’s “Soundcheck.”
In 2007, as part of the Benefit for the Victims of Darfur at Carnegie Hall, Kelly performed as a soloist before an orchestra comprised of musicians from every major orchestra in the world. In November 2016, Kelly will perform with the Oakland Symphony the U.S. premiere of a new violin concerto from the German composer Siegfried Matthus.
Kelly’s achievements off-stage include founding a non-profit, Music Kitchen-Food for the Soul, which brings chamber music performances to New York City homeless shelters.
Last, but not least, Kelly speaks seven (yes seven!) languages.
Kelly at one of her "Music Kitchen - Food for the Soul" concerts.
Jesse Kovarsky, the actor who plays the title role in the Broadway revival of “Fiddler on the Roof,” and Kelly Hall-Tompkins, the actual violinist, at the Broadway Theater. Credit Bryan Thomas for The New York Times.