Page 15 - BUZZ Magazine - Issue No. 3 - Summer 2022 | University of Rochester

Photo of Jerzy Semkow,
RPO’s principal conductor
from 1985 to 1989. Semkow
and his clear vision for
music inspired Smith, as a
trumpet player in Semkow's
orchestra and as a then-
aspiring conductor. The
two water bottles in the
foreground feature Ward
Stare, RPO’s conductor from Handcrafted conductor batons. Christopher Seaman,
2014 to 2021. Both men RPO’s conductor from 1998 to 2011, gave Smith the personally
inspired Smith and modeled, handcrafted baton on the left. The one on the right came
for him, the qualities of an from Amazon but didn’t work for Smith, so he attached a pen’s
excellent conductor. grip to make it fit his hands. Jerry-rigging that baton was the
catalyst for Smith to now order through PaGu Batons in Buffalo.
Similar to Ollivanders, the wand shop in Harry Potter,
customers select the size, style, and preferred wood type
for their wished-for batons.

Sonora windup
phonograph
record player.
A friend of Smith’s no
longer wanted this
conversation-generating
78 rpm-playing antique—
but Smith did. He often
cranks it up and plays
some of the old records
stored inside, like
“Hot Jazz with Jelly
Roll Morton.”

FIND INSPIRATION

HERB'S CITY TRUMPETS
uofr.us/HerbsTrumpets

GATEWAYS MUSIC FESTIVAL
GatewaysMusicFestival.org

EASTMAN’S CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION
esm.rochester.edu/100
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