Spotlight on Orchestra Personnel Manager

MOSL personnel manager and violist Lisa Sinden-Gottfried has been performing with MOSL since 2015, taking on the duties of Orchestra Personnel Manager in March 2023.

What does the job of Orchestra Personnel Manager entail?

"The orchestration for each work on a concert program varies. I collaborate closely with Roger and Ed to determine the number of musicians needed by instrument, and then hire them for each concert. St. Louis has so many talented professional musicians, it makes that part of my responsibilities quite easy. There are challenges. The instrumentation for a piece like the Saint-Saëns’ “Organ” Symphony and Bartók's Concerto for Orchestra call for large ensembles - the Saint-Saëns also calls for two pianos and an organ while the Bartók requires two harps!

The Personnel Manager serves as the primary communication between the orchestra and conductors. I also coordinate with our treasurer on payroll and assemble and distribute music folders for the regular season.

One of my favorite responsibilities is working with our “Sharing the Music Stand” students. Once we have student musicians on board for a concert, each is fully integrated as a regular member of the orchestra.

Tell us a little about your formative years as a classical performer.

“Odd fact: I started on viola, not violin. I attended a “meet the instrument” session at a public school here in the St. Louis area when I was 9 years old. As most students hovered around the violins and cellos, I noticed the lonely viola. Bottom line? I felt sorry for it and decided right then that was the instrument for me.

I soon started taking private lessons. My first private teacher was Sallie Coffman, who is a former member of MOSL! I later studied with Fryderyk Sadowski, (as did Joe Kaminsky, MOSL’s principal 2nd Violinist). My teacher in high school was Joan Korman. It’s special to me that the viola I currently play was Joan’s viola during her years in the SLSO. Most influential were my four years in the Saint Louis Symphony Youth Orchestra. My last year was when the orchestra went to Austria. Another fun fact? Several MOSL musicians were on that trip. The first time I played the Saint-Saëns No. 3 was in the SLSYO with at least five other MOSL musicians. That was nearly 40 years ago!

Reflecting, I realize just how rich the musical training and experiences were in the St. Louis area, and I believe continue to be. Other experiences that were certainly formative include attending the National Music Camp at Interlochen during high school. Those eight weeks of immersion into symphonic music furthered my passion.

With my passion in full swing, I initially pursued music performance and graduated from Juilliard. That summer I spent playing in the All-American College Orchestra at Disney World (with our concertmaster Susie Thierbach - the music world is small!). Before adding my other educational pursuit, I was fortunate to participate in wonderful musical experiences including Spoleto Festival Orchestra in South Carolina and Italy (fun fact: Mary Weber, MOSL trumpet, and I just discovered we were there together), Graz Festival Orchestra, National Orchestra Institute and the Missouri Symphony.

“St. Louis has a solid foundation in musical training, with many ties to the past. Who knew that 40 years later some of us would still be playing together? The music world is small indeed.”

I understand you are a licensed psychologist. How has that overlapped with your musical career?

“Musician development and eventual career paths often start in early years without a formal decision. From my earliest memory, I wanted to be a medical doctor. When I fell in love with music it took me off that path. When I was in my Master of Music program, a graduate school research paper was pivotal. When choosing a topic, I looked for something related to medicine but involved music. I chose Music Performance Anxiety. I was fascinated by the research and loved presenting the paper to the faculty and students, which was a requirement. The response revealed a need. Musicians have unique experiences that are often not understood, including the passion they feel about playing, their instrument and the pursuit of their craft. It is not just performance anxiety, or more positively stated, performance enhancement, but other facets unique to a musician’s life.

I realized pursuing psychology would allow me to do both. While completing my PhD in Psychology at Arizona State University and my internship year at the University of Florida, I kept playing viola. I soloed with an orchestra in Arizona and served as the principal viola of the Gainesville Symphony while completing my pre-doctoral internship. My dissertation was on Music Performance Anxiety and has been cited over 150 times.

With a few exceptions, I have been able to both play viola and practice psychology. No matter where I lived, there was always a community of musicians. Prior to moving back to St. Louis I subbed with South Bend Symphony and the Northwest Indiana Symphony while working at Valparaiso University and a private practice. A job at the Student Health Center at Washington University brought me back home, but with a young family and a full-time job, it was the first time I did not have time to play. Those were rough years. On my leave with my third child, I decided to start playing again and have not stopped. I have since left Washington University and now have my own practice, which allows me flexibility.

Do you belong to or regularly perform with any other area or regional ensembles?

“When my daughter went to Missouri State, I auditioned to be a sub with the Springfield Symphony. This was during the height of the pandemic, and they had implemented extreme measures to allow the orchestra to keep playing. They often perform big orchestral works, which I love. My daughter has since graduated, and I continue to play as a regular member. I play violin and viola in Winter Opera St. Louis, and more recently in Gateway Festival Orchestra, as well as in other freelance settings. Of course, most of my time is spent playing with and managing MOSL, a personal favorite! I love being part of MOSL, its growth musically, in the community and with students.

Which works in the upcoming season most ignite your musical passions?

“Saint-Saëns and Bartók. For me, I love being a small part of something that is larger than its collective parts. That to me is the definition of an orchestra. The sound can be so big and powerful or so soft and intimate, and you experience it with other musicians and audience members, all of whom are friends, colleagues or strangers. The experience is collective, yet individual. The communication with each other and the audience is non-verbal, through music. The sound that those pieces produce and the emotions they can evoke I think truly do not have words. It is simply my happy place. It did not take my psychology training to know the power of music. Music is an international language, can influence mood, heal and speaks to all.””