Page 35 - Phil March Cartoon program digital

Viola Musician and Personnel
Manager/Librarian for the Phil

I grew up in Chapel Hill, After living one year in the New
NC. My father Maurice England area, I auditioned for the Cape
Bursey was a Chemistry professor at the Symphony in 2008 and have been an
University of North Carolina at Chapel active member of that organization ever
Hill and my mother Joan Bursey works since. In 2015, I became the Phil’s music
for the EPA. My older brother by 4 years librarian and in 2022, their personnel
is John Bursey who works in IT. manager. I also freelance quite a bit
I started on the violin at 4.5 years old. My with smaller chamber orchestras on the
mother decided it would be easier to take Cape as well as play for theater runs in
both kids to the same extracurricular the summer on both the viola as well as
activity. I was a handful at that age and the violin.
my first teacher almost gave up on me a My responsibilities as music librarian for
few times. I do remember being so small the Phil require getting music to string
that I started playing the violin on a principals for bowings, creating folders
simple box with two rubber bands. for every musician who performs in
a concert, creating practice parts for
Around middle school I made the
decision to switch to the viola. After outside string players, and scanning
high school, I received my Bachelor’s in musical selections for practice. I’m also
viola performance from the University responsible for preparing the rental
of North Carolina in Greensboro and my music for bowings and returning it after
Master’s in viola performance from the our concerts.
University of Tennessee in Memphis. I In addition, since 2008 I’ve been teaching
also attended one year at Longy School at the Bosse School of Music, a private
of Music in Cambridge but never finished music school located in Weymouth,
my Performance Diploma degree. MA. I teach all levels of violin and viola
I have the same violin that I acquired as and beginner to intermediate piano to
a full-size instrument during mid-to-late approximately 37 private students every
elementary school. I also have 3 violas week, including young students in early
at my home: one that was purchased childhood.
when I made the decision to switch Besides classical music, I enjoy playing
before attending middle school, one chamber music, Pops concerts, plus
purchased during my undergraduate lesser-known works and other genres
days that I still use now and a smaller of music. In my downtime, my favorite
instrument for instrument demos. musical groups to listen to are Pink
Floyd, Nothing More, Sleep Token and
I often get asked the difference between
a violin and a viola. The biggest Falling in Reverse, among many other
difference is that these two instruments groups that play classic rock to heavy
read in different clefs. Clefs are musical metal.
symbols that composers use to denote I have been married to my husband
different alphabet letters to line and Karl DeGraide since 2016 and we have
space notes on the page. The viola is lived in a single-family Cape style home
also a larger instrument and goes lower in North Attleboro since 2015. We have
on the staff since it has a lower sounding 2 adorable cats, Anita and Dr. Chomp,
string than the violin. The violin’s lowest personally named by my husband as Dr.
string is a “G” while the viola’s lowest Chomp has a PhD in “chompanomics.”
string is a fifth lower at a “C.”

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