What's My Motivation Again?

I’ve chosen today’s topic based on a reader comment. (Yes, I do take your feedback into consideration -- please keep it coming.)

This non-oboist reader said: “I don't know how you manage to have a full-time day job with the reeds. I would stab myself with the knife (intentionally) after about 3 weeks, let alone if I had to do it with something else full-time.”

Luke Bakken, Bassoonist and Software Developer, Spokane, WA

Spokane native Luke Bakken plays second bassoon and contra with the Spokane Symphony and serves on the orchestra players committee. Luke also performs with Allegro, the Northwest Bach Festival, Connoisseur Concerts, and can be heard on soundtracks to feature films including The Grudge and Drag Me to Hell. Luke studied with John Hunt at the Eastman School of Music while double majoring in Computer Science at the University of Rochester. Luke participated in the Aspen Music Festival for four summers and held the contrabassoon fellowship for three of those years. He currently works for tier3.com as a software developer.

Tell us about your musical training and your musical career.   

Dr. Brian Peterson, Bassoonist and Surgeon, Salt Lake City, UT

Of the many insights from my remarkable interviewees, something you'll read below from Brian Peterson still stands out to me after countless hours working on this project. When asked what motivated him to pursue his medical career, he responded: "I got to re-thinking my music degree and realized that I probably wouldn't have a career in an orchestra because I just didn't think I was going to work hard enough." 

This sentence exemplifies the incredibly high standard Dr. Peterson -- and all of the interviewees you'll meet here -- have set for themselves, and passion, dedication, commitment to excellence, and extraordinary accomplishments that most of us can only aspire to. Enjoy!

Bassoonist Dr. Brian Peterson (pictured at left with his wife, oboist Barbara Peterson) of Salt Lake City has performed with the Utah Symphony, the Utah Chamber Orchestra, and the Orchestra in Temple Square, which accompanies the Mormon Tabernacle Choir. He earned a BM from USC where he studied with Norman Herzberg and an MM from Brigham Young University. Dr. Peterson is an otologist (ear surgeon) at Jordan Valley Medical Center and Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City. He attended medical school at the University of Utah; completed his residency at Upstate Medical Center in Syracuse, New York; and held a fellowship at the Michigan Ear Institute.

Click on the video below to hear Brian rock out on the contrabassoon! (More vids on his YouTube channel.)

 

What's your non-music career?

 
I’m an otologist -- ear surgeon -- at Jordan Valley Medical Center and Intermountain Medical Center in Salt Lake City.

What’s your training on the bassoon?