Andrew Bruck met his wife, Cynthia Kempf, at the Yale School of Music. She plays viola in the Jacksonville Symphony.

What do you want patrons of the Symphony to know about you?
I would like them to be aware that performing as a professional musician requires the same kind of focus and intensity during training as well as performance as an athlete preparing for and competing in the Olympics. Not only must we thoroughly have prepared the music, but we must also be in top physical and mental condition to achieve continuous peak performance in a setting where every sound we produce projects for all to hear.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a professional musician?
If I were no longer able to continue my musical career, based on my passion for nutrition, I would probably want to own a health food store and/or be a full-time holistic health coach.

What do you do in your spare time?
I like to run, read, teach music both one-on-one and in classroom settings, play jazz music on both violin and piano, solve chess puzzles, and enjoy my Buddhist practice.

What is your favorite thing about being a professional musician?
Knowing that what we do has the ability to inspire listeners and return to their everyday challenges with a renewed spirit.

What sport(s) do you participate in?
I run, occasionally competing in races, 5K being my favorite distance.

Do you have a favorite team?
The dog agility team of my wife, Cindy Kempf, and our rat terrier, Comet.

What is your favorite food?
I really enjoy green smoothies since they are nutritious, delicious and quick and easy to prepare.

Who is your favorite composer?
I am drawn to music/composers that are able to raise my spirit and allow me to raise the spirit of the audience members. Such music, in the words of my favorite philosopher, Daisaku Ikeda, enables a listener to experience “a broadening of the self, a feeling of fullness, borne from a mysterious rhythm, a kind of flight toward the infinite, lived as a sharing, an exchange, whose source is our interior world.”

Education
Bachelor of Music, Indiana University.