Interview: Dana Zimbric of CLASSICS 4 KIDS at San Diego's Balboa Theatre

In its most recent season, Classics 4 Kids reached nearly 37,000 people at 256 San Diego County schools, two thirds of them in lower income areas. You'd think Taylor Swift or Justin Bieber was performing the way more than 1000 young San Diego students cheer at a Classics 4 Kids concert. Music Director and conductor Dana Zimbric gets audiences young and old excited about great music. In an email interview she explained to me how she does that and how she became a musician.

Dana already knew that she wanted a career in music while in 7th grade. "My parents say I was always musically inclined. Every time I heard music, even as an infant, I had to move. I loved to dance and could sing on pitch when very young." Her love of classical music came early as well. "I was begging my piano teacher for some Mozart or Bach when I was eight!"

By the time she got to the University of Wisconsin, she was ready to major in clarinet-performance. While there she caught the eye of UW's Director of Orchestras David Becker who suggested she might have a knack for conducting. "Next semester I led a chamber orchestra of my peers and was hooked. After earning my degree in clarinet performance, I went on for a Master's in Instrumental Conducting, also from UW."

While an undergrad, she had become music and choir director at a United Methodist Church near the university. "I led the weekly choir rehearsals, chose repertoire for each Sunday service, and even participated in the Christmas pageant. It was a great first professional opportunity."

A few early concert experiences could have gone better. While conducting a stage version of The Wizard of Oz at the Pabst Theater in Milwaukee she also controlled a tape player that made the wild whooshing sound of the wind. When it was time to turn it off and cue the orchestra to stop, "I was so excited I knocked the tape player off the music stand, and pieces shot all over the stage. I was horrified! But it did kind of look like a tornado had come through. So true to the storyline!" Then there's the time she forgot her baton for Mozart's Magic Flute.

Not long after graduating Dana moved to San Diego on a fellowship as an assistant conductor of the San Diego Youth Symphony. "The fellowship was only for a year, so I was anticipating moving back to Wisconsin to be with my then fiancée (now husband Mike). I was working in the office when someone called to see if there would be anyone affiliated with SDYS who might like to help an organization named Classics 4 Kids with their music library. I jumped at the chance. I helped with the library for a concert in April, 2003 and attended one led by Mario Marigliotta. I remember standing backstage and thinking that this was the most amazing thing I had ever witnessed and that I would LOVE to be the one on the podium someday. Just a few months later Mario stepped down, and I was offered a year as Conductor in Residence. The following year I became the Music Director, and now I'm starting my 19th season."

At that first concert she was enthralled by the reaction of the young audience. "It was a huge

'aha' experience for me personally, and I'm fortunate the opportunity came so quickly." After years of worrying only about winning competitions and how she sounded and played, she saw a chance to combine artistic excellence with service to the community. It was also an opportunity to get young people excited about classical music. What she now calls "concert design" became the key.

"The main theme ideas come from co-workers, musicians, teachers, sometimes docents, my own children, other parents, or my own head. Sometimes maybe I've had an idea for a concert for years, and then suddenly I meet a performer, author or composer whose work I want to do, and the concert comes together around that."

Programs include musicians, dancers, actors or other cultural guests. "Script and pacing are part of concert design. Often what is said from the stage and how the concert program flows are the MOST important elements when performing for young audiences. It's like a 3-D puzzle or sculpture--usually a very fun process, but sometimes it's frustrating to have to whittle down the list of possible pieces and guests."

Recent seasons have seen concerts featuring music not usually thought of as "classical," mariachi and jazz for example.

"There are a few reasons why C4K programming is broader than traditional 'classical' music. It

MUST appeal to teachers, PTAs, principals & school administrators who decide whether to send classes to our school-day concerts. Then, of course, we MUST excite and engage young people in a meaningful way.

Kids need MUSIC education, whether it's classical or other, and Great Music is Great Music--

regardless of categories. I believe children who think they don't 'like' an orchestra, or classical music, or music in general can be pleasantly surprised and change their minds when they see programs such as our 'Beethoven Goes Country.'"

But some things may elude concert design. "At a just-reopened Balboa Theatre a piece of a stage light fell and nearly hit a violinist. "A child attending that same concert wrote a thank-you letter to Classics 4 Kids for the program, and then mentioned seeing a ghost in the rafters at the theater. That story still gives me chills!"

Perhaps the same ghost struck again when the power went out in the middle of a C4K concert at the Kroc Center. "We had 600 kids in the auditorium, a full orchestra on stage, and no lighting. The orchestra tried, but they couldn't see the music. So I excused them and tried to sing songs and do activities with the kids while they were still in their seats. It was chaotic. That experience really made me think hard about how to entertain a theater full of kids."

Dana's non-C4K experience includes a decade as music director of the California Chamber Orchestra in Murrieta/Temecula, and in December she conducted San Diego Symphony

musicians in eight performances of the Golden State Ballet's production of Tchaikovsky's Nutcracker ballet. "I love the piece, and it is amazing having the best seat in the house for beautiful dancing, music, costumes, and sets." She hopes to make that a yearly pleasure.

With two young daughters and a husband who is a pediatric neurologist, Dana finds it challenging to get the right balance between her professional and personal lives.

"Fortunately, I was a juggler and tight-rope walker in a previous life.

In all seriousness, it's a constant struggle. I don't know if there is a good way to balance everything. My husband and I have learned to 'tag-team parent' over the years, and I try hard to carve out times in my day for just 'work' and just family." When she mixes the two, things don't always go smoothly. Her toddler once upset an associate's coffee cup, and embarrassment hit again when her two girls tore into the cake at a friend's retirement party.

The pandemic has forced major changes in most concert organizations. The California Chamber Orchestra cancelled live concerts. Classics 4 Kids has replaced theirs with Virtual Meet & Greets featuring individual musicians, including Dana. "I get to share a story about my personal piano named "Hershey" and introduce students to the piano and some fun pieces via Zoom. While not a replacement for in-person concerts and programs, our Virtual Meet & Greets have proven to be a lifeline for music in the classrooms. I honestly love presenting them, too."

A piano named Hershey??

"Our century-old family piano was made in Holland, Michigan. A couple of years ago my parents decided it should be played more regularly and that my two daughters, just beginning their studies, could use it. So, I took on the complicated task of moving an antique piano from Michigan to San Diego.

When it arrived, a key in the middle of the keyboard wasn't working. We looked inside it for a broken string and instead found a pink chocolate Hershey's Kiss blocking the action! Issue resolved and name decided.

I love sharing that story during my Meet and Greets. The students always want to know where the Kiss came from-but it is a true mystery."

Dana Zimbric's concert schedule for the coming season can be found at the Classics 4 Kids website.