Aleese Kenitzer

 

 

Aleese Kenitzer has be playing violin and harp with the Muscatine Symphony Orchestra for 3 years.

 

Her earliest musical memory?  “I had the gift of growing up with a piano in the house from the time I could walk. My mother has played piano and organ for decades, and would often play when I was young. Prior to starting lessons of my own, I would often be found in the living room “dancing” while she would be playing, and by the time I could reach the keys on the piano, my parents began hearing those lovely “clunks” of toddler hands on the keyboard.”

 

“My favorite music completely depends on my mood. More and more, playing and listening to music has become something that I turn to as a mode of prayer. Some days you might find me listening to Mendelssohn, other days listening to Saint-Saens, and yet other days some more modern Indie Rock.”

 

Her most memorable MSO performance: “It’s difficult to pick one “performance” above the rest. As I recall the opportunities I have had to play with the MSO, what impacts me the most are the “moments” that happen amidst the music: those moments the entire orchestra takes a collective breath together, those moments you push beyond what you thought your section was capable of, those moments that the music transcends the space you’re in, and those moments that you catch a fellow musician out of the corner of your eye and you just smile at each other. That’s what makes playing together as a collective ensemble worth the time, the energy, and the work.”