Kevin Reid

What do you want patrons of the Symphony to know about you?
I played the piano for five years before switching to the horn in the fifth grade.  I sit in the back of the orchestra and blow air into a coiled tube that has three keys which really don’t do anything. I also have the best seat in the house to listen to my wonderful colleagues.

Do you have any pre-concert rituals or routines?
Like baseball players, I am somewhat superstitious and will duplicate what I did before a concert that went well. This includes eating the same dinner I had the other night and sitting in the same chair to warm up in.

What would you be doing if you weren’t a professional musician?
 If I wasn’t a musician? I would probably be exploring rainforests or digging up fossils, two more jobs that don’t pay a whole lot. Haha.

What teacher, mentor or other influencer inspired you the most?
 I have had to honor to study with many world-class musicians, including my first college teacher William Capps, who shaped my early years. I was fortunate to study at the Aspen Festival one summer and study with Jerome Ashby and David Jolley. That’s about as good as it gets.

What do you do in your spare time?
 In my spare time, I drive my high school boy back and forth to marching band rehearsal (they rehearse more than we do!), try to figure out 6th-grade algebra and hopefully have time to cook dinner. I am also very active in our church. I enjoy reading Kafka, Faulkner and Flannery O’Connor and collecting baseball cards.

What has been your favorite moment on stage?
 Like asking me who is my favorite composer is, there are just too many favorite moments over the years to single out one. I have gotten good over the years at holding back tears after a beautiful performance. Every time I hear a piece on the radio or in another concert hall, I remember playing it in Jacoby Hall and the wonderful playing by my fellow musicians over the years.

Do you have pets?
I have two cats who are about as useless as the valves on my horn. They pretty much do what most cats do, eat and sleep, but I believe that if they heard someone playing Beethoven, they would know it was Beethoven (unlike most cats).

Who is your favorite composer?
It is impossible to narrow it down to one favorite composer. Mahler and Strauss, of course, have a special place in my heart.

Education
Bachelors of music from FSU and a Masters of Music from SMU.