Magazines and the art of smiling at nothing
Being in the CSO has its perks. Aside from the fact that I love my job and get to play harp for a living, I also get to promote the CSO. Sometimes this promoting is just talking to a reporter, or playing for a CSO donor event. This promotion though, took the cake. I was lucky enough to be chosen for the feature article in the February issue of Charlotte Happenings magazine, a product of the "Charlottes Got A Lot" organization. This article was all about local Charlotte artists and why they love Charlotte. I was featured alongside Jamie, a ballerina from Charlotte Ballet, and Ivan, the McColl Center's Artist in Residence.
The phone interview was easy enough, In fact, I was still in my pajamas in a post-Thanksgiving food coma at my parent's house in NJ. Side note: I was an idiot to schedule a phone interview the day after Thanksgiving. I got to talk about all my favorite places in Charlotte and talk about why I loved the symphony.
The second part was the photo shoot, which was scheduled right in the beginning of January (enter Spanx to hide my post-holiday binge eating belly). We shot the group shots in the McColl Center (if you haven't been, go now!) and the Charlotte Ballet. Our MEGA talented photographer Kyo Nam (do yourself a favor and check him out on Instagram @KyoHNam) was so sweet and somehow managed to hide both my belly and get a flattering pic of all of us! And, as an added bonus, I didn't kill myself wearing those 5 inch stilettos that I would normally NEVER play harp in.
The second day of shooting was the individual shots at our favorite locations. Jamie chose the Discovery Place and Not Just Coffee, Ivan was in his workshop, and since I couldn't get into the Belk that day (there was another show going on), I got to shoot at 2 of my favorite Uptown haunts; the brand new Amelie's and the public library on 6th street. When I say Kyo made this easy, believe me! I don't normally like myself in pictures, but he is an honest to god wizard.
The only catch with these individual photos was all the smiling. Clearly, I couldn't display my natural Resting B*tch Face, but I wasn't interacting with anyone. Cue the smiling at coffee cups, music scores, and laughing into mid-air when nothing funny was said. I have no clue how models do this. My face HURT. However, it was a small price to pay to get these gorgeous photos out of the deal. Seriously, Kyo is a master.
Anyway, pick up a copy in your local super market (except the Harris Teeter on 5th, I just stole all the copies from there, sorry y'all).
