We had the good fortune of connecting with Anabel & Matthew Detrick and we’ve shared our conversation below.
Hi Anabel & Matthew, why did you decide to pursue a creative path?
Matt and I both come from artistic musical families. In mine, my father’s side of the family are all classical musicians. I started reading music when I was practically a toddler and began formal lessons at age 6. Back in Mexico in the 1980’s, my uncle founded an orchestra and invited my extended family members to play; I had multiple opportunities to appear as soloist in his orchestra. My husband’s mother was a public school music teacher in Pennsylvania. Even in retirement she maintains a private studio of over 30 students. She started Matt and his brothers on violin at the age of three. His father Joe considers himself a ‘folk’ musician, and he plays the guitar, banjo and sings. As a family, they would create and perform musical programs for the community. It seems we were destined to be in the arts world from a very early age! Neither one of us can recall a time without music or violin playing.Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
Apollo Chamber Player’s mission is to connect communities and cultures through globally inspired music. When we began our journey we thought that there must be a way to engage audiences to classical music by presenting it alongside folk or world music that relates to it, so we chose programs based on the music of different countries. As our mission became more focused we realized that this kind of thematic programing is unique in our field, but most of all, our audience made us aware of the fact that we were providing an educational and cultural experience on top of the musical performance. The journey is never easy – we began as volunteers for our own projects, not only performing but marketing, managing, and doing everything to create a functioning non-profit organization.. Matt’s vision and passion for Apollo seemed risky but he never let us give up. No idea was too far-fetched. That’s basically the only way to overcome challenges – creating goals and not letting failure get you down. This advice can be applied to our professional careers as well, every failure is a learning experience and every success is a stepping stone in the journey of life. A career in the arts is a challenging but worthwhile endeavor! We want the world to know that music is a universal language that can help people become aware of our similarities, hopefully leading to cultural understanding. We aim to create collaborative projects with other artists from different disciplines and backgrounds and partner with organizations that make a difference in our community.Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Well, you can gain 10lbs in a week while visiting Houston! I’d start the day with breakfast tacos, my favorites: Tacos a go-go and Brothers taco followed by coffee at Retrospect or Catalina. For a nice lunch we recommend Local Foods or Paulie’s. Then there’s myriad places for dinner, Goode Company BBQ, Pondicheri, Thai Village, Star Pizza and my favorite Hugo’s! Of course during the pandemic I wouldn’t go in person however you can get pick up or delivery from pretty much everywhere right now. Now to walk off all those calories…there’s the Houston Arboretum and Memorial park with the new Eastern Glades addition. Hermann park is always a nice walk and you can’t miss the McGovern gardens. One of our personal favorites is the Mercer Arboretum and botanical gardens located just north of town. If you’re an early riser I’d recommend biking along the bayou trails, lots of spots to explore. Mid-day head to the museums district or check out the Menil collection. If you need to relax head to Blossom Massage for a blissful experience. After dinner there’s all sorts or entertainment: Apollo Chamber Players, Houston Grand Opera, Houston Ballet, Mercury, ROCO, Houston Chamber Choir just to name a few. All currently offering some form of digital content…..did I mention Apollo Chamber Players?Who else deserves some credit and recognition?
Anabel: There are so many people that helped me along the way. The person that purchased a violin for me to use, the teacher that gave me lessons for almost nothing, the conductors that invited me to perform with orchestras (particularly Jorge Velazco), the Fine Arts Institute of Mexico that awarded me scholarships to go out of the country for summer workshops, my dad who always made me practice and made me play in front of people, my college professor, the late Fredell Lack, who inspired in me the love and power of music but most of all my mother, because even though she was not a musician; she was always the one driving me places, recording lessons, filling out applications, and generally being my fearless PR person and most avid fan. Matt: Aside from my wonderful parents and my primary childhood violin teacher, Collette Wichert, I owe much of my success to the late Kenneth Goldsmith. ‘Mister G’, as his students affectionately call him, was my violin professor at Rice University for my undergraduate and graduate studies. He was the reason I came to Houston, to the Shepherd School of Music to study music performance. He not only taught and improved my technical proficiency (I had some catching up to do as a freshman) but also mentored me in commissioning and founding Apollo after graduating. His Mirecourt Trio commissioned hundreds of new works over their 25 year performing career. We played most of our 20×2020 project commissions for him, prior to premieres and studio recording sessions, and his musical insight was always incredibly valuable. His legacy is embedded in my playing, in Apollo, and in our hearts.
Website: ApolloChamberPlayers.org
Instagram: @apollochamberplayers
Twitter: @apollochplayers
Facebook: facebook.com/apollochamberplayers
Youtube: yourtube.com/apollochamberplayers
Other: Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/artist/1ztphmH3Kea29RLw8ZvjSY
Image Credits
Katy Cartland, Jessica Gonzalez, Ben Doyle