Chesco Daughter Now Aspiring Symphony Concertmaster

By

Justine Lamb-Budge--via KansasCityStar.com

The irresistible lure of a mysterious violin case prompted her to run after it at just 4 years of age, and the now-24-year-old Wayne native has yet to cease pursuing her dream of playing it.

The fateful experience led Justine Lamb-Budge to the Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia when she was only 16, and today she sits as violinist and associate concertmaster of the Kansas City Symphony.

“I always enjoyed being in orchestra, and I loved being part of a team, feeling like every person contributes and every person matters,” she said in an interview featured in The Kansas City Star on Friday. “When I was about 15, I saw the concertmaster role and I decided that’s what I wanted. I love the challenges and the excitement and the leadership, but I also loved the lifestyle I saw. … I saw all these things the orchestral world could provide. You get to tour and see the world, but you also get to have a steady job in one place, which I think is pretty great.”

Just being a member of the orchestra is challenging in itself.

“Learning your own part isn’t enough,” she said in the article. “You have to know where it fits.”

But beyond that, Lamb-Budge has taken on the duties of understudy to the symphony’s go-to soloist and pre-performance tuning leader.

“The associate position is a little tricky because you are a leader but you’re always second in command — but you have to always be prepared to be first in command. It’s a position where you have to be uniquely flexible,” she said. “… That’s what I love about it. Whether I’m sitting first or second, I’m always on my toes. I can’t sit back and let anything happen. It’s a responsibility. And I enjoy that because there’s always something new to learn, and there’s always a new challenge.”

Read much more about Lamb-Budge’s story and hear her play on KansasCity.com here.

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