Celebrating JoAnn Lamolino: A Decade of Music, Community, and Aloha

Q&A with JoAnn

You spent nearly a decade in Hawai‘i with the Honolulu Brass Quintet and Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra. Looking back, what stands out most to you about that time in your life?

I loved my time in the Honolulu Brass Quintet and Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra. All of the friends I made and my daily interactions with everyone. Learning and living with Aloha! It’s definitely a style of living that doesn’t exist on the mainland. And when I was thinking of moving back to the East Coast, these two factors were my biggest hangups that I wasn’t sure I could live without.

What made performing with Honolulu Brass Quintet special for you personally?

The Honolulu Brass Quintet gets to perform in such a wide variety of concerts: During my time, traditional brass quintet recitals, performing with Raiatea Helm at the Blue Note, education shows in O‘ahu schools and my favorites were performing on the outer islands. Knowing that the outer islands have more rural living and their access to live music is much more limited than O‘ahu, it always felt extra special to present education shows and performances for those audiences. One other CMH standout for me was performing Lāhainā Noon by Leilahua Lanzilotti at the Noguchi sculpture in May 2022. I love the weaving of music and nature as it inspires the senses.

Is there a particular experience from HBQ’s school and community performances that has stayed with you?

So many stand out but I can be brief with my top 2! My first overnight to Big Island in my first season. We were at a school near Ocean View. I remember eating lunch with the students in their cafeteria, a traditional plate lunch and outside the windows was basically a lava field. I remember thinking how different life must be here.

On the same trip we performed Christmas carols in a library that was a large trailer and the audience was so appreciative on a level I had never experienced. You could just feel it.

A more personal experience was February of 2018. HBQ played 4 education shows on Maui and the next day I won my permanent position with the HSO. Auditions are such a tricky/unpredictable part of our business. I always credit how inspired I felt during that trip that led to winning the audition. I had a very distinct feeling or knowing that my time in Hawai‘i wasn’t going to be over. Perhaps my first encounter with Mana!

Has your understanding of what it means to build a life as a musician changed over time?

Yes, definitely! When I was in school the emphasis was on three different career tracks, win an orchestra job, win a military band job or get a DMA and teach at a conservatory/university. I think that is a very limited view. Reality is there are more highly qualified musicians than there are full time jobs available. As we know, there are plenty of organizations that can’t offer full time employment. That doesn’t make what they are offering lesser than to their community. With all of that information and a landscape that is constantly changing, I think making a career in the arts is about knowing yourself, your strengths, values and how best you can serve your community. To that end, what you are looking to create and how you want to live that out does change over time.

How did your journey with mindfulness and Mind.Music.Sanctuary begin?

A mindfulness practice became a non-negotiable in my life almost 20 years ago. I started practicing yoga and meditation to combat performance anxiety and focusing issues. In 2020, when I realized we were not going back to work anytime soon, I signed up for a Kundalini yoga teacher certification course. It started in October of 2020, completed in April of 2021 and we went back to work at the Shell in May 2021. I founded the Mind.Music.Sanctuary as part of my final project for my course. The assignment was to design yoga classes dedicated to the needs of a specific community.

What have mindfulness practices taught you about sustaining a long-term artistic career?

In a field where you are constantly looking outside yourself for work, “good enough” validation, and just a general “make it happen” mentality, it’s easy to get outside of yourself and forget who you are and what you want. In order to stay true to yourself and avoid mental angst, it begins each day with going inside ourselves through meditation. I use the term meditation loosely. To me it’s whatever activity you can be mindful of, in the moment. For some people it’s as simple as long deep breathing, washing dishes, running, deadlifting, yoga or surfing. There are no right or wrongs. Everyone’s life experience is different and learning to love yourself and stay true to your values in a noisy world is the way to not suffer mentally as a musician.

Have musicians become more open to conversations about mindfulness and wellness?

Yes, definitely. There used to be a stigma around performance anxiety and most people kept their issues private. I struggled for a solid ten years before I was able to get formal help with my issues. Now, there are so many musicians, life coaches and psychologists offering services to help in this area.Once you deal with it, you realize it doesn’t just go away. You gain tools to take care of yourself and live with it in a positive way.

Do your work in performance, education, mindfulness, and community service feel connected?

Yes, very much so! I have been traveling a lot throughout the mainland and there are slight variations in style of music making and communication. Being intentionally in the moment, knowing who I am while serving the community. Whether I am a performer on stage, presenting a Mind.Music.Sanctuary masterclass at a university, or teaching trumpet at YOLA, they all require me to be in the moment.

What projects and goals are exciting you most right now?

There are so many! I am looking forward to continue building what I have started since leaving Honolulu. I have really enjoyed becoming a substitute at the New York Philharmonic and the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. I grew up outside of NYC and studied with members of both orchestras. Now getting to perform at both is a dream come true for the kid version of me who still lives on!

I have loved watching the Mind.Music.Sanctuary grow and see where it fits with musicians. I have presented classes at about 16 conservatories/universities in the last two years. It’s very rewarding to know I am introducing young musicians to the possibilities of mindfulness practices and how that can have a significant positive impact on their journey as a musician and human being.

I have also been subbing with many orchestras around the country. Pittsburgh, San Diego, Phoenix, Charlotte, Naples, Richmond, and Omaha. I think what I love most about those experiences is I get to live in these places for a time and learn about the culture. Everywhere is uniquely beautiful in some way. It’s also very interesting to learn how each orchestra plays stylistically different.

On a personal level, my husband and I have time to binge watch TV shows at home on our couch. Most of the time I was in Honolulu, he was 4962 miles away (according to United) in New Jersey!

What would you like CMH audiences and Hawai‘i’s music community to know as you begin this next phase?

I hope audiences really know how great the music community is in Hawaii. Between Chamber Music Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Symphony Orchestra, Royal Hawaiian Band, Hawai‘i Youth Symphony, University of Hawai‘i, Hawai‘i Opera Theatre and Ballet Hawai‘i, music is alive on all levels. There is something for everyone. Like everywhere in the U.S., it does need to be cherished, nourished and taken care of like the true gem it is. A big Mahalo to all for welcoming me to be a part of your community for 10 years!