Today we’d like to introduce you to M. Isaac Ripple
Hi M. Isaac, thanks for sharing your story with us. To start, maybe you can tell our readers some of your backstory.
Music has always been a part of my life, and thanks to my parents, I was always supported and encouraged to pursue a career in the arts. My formal studies of the oboe began in high school when I was a member of the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra and the Erie Junior Philharmonic. I greatly attribute the early stages of my artistic growth to these two ensembles and the exposure to a high level of expectation. I went on to attend the Interlochen Arts Academy, Cleveland Institute of Music, Gannon University, and now I attend the University of Memphis Rudi E. Scheidt School of Music.
I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
Hindsight is always 20/20 right? While at the time of the pandemic, if this question had been posed to me, I would have absolutely launched into some diatribe about how it was unfair that myself and others had graduated from conservatory just as the lockdowns began and how my life and theirs was now upended and horrible. The ivory tower was crumbling!
This was the mental state and outlook of someone who had not been challenged or experienced any type of struggle. In many ways I am thankful for the pandemic; I realize this is a bizarre thing to say. Thousands and thousands of people experienced hardships and life-changing events that they never foresaw and are still coming to grips with loss be that of friends and family, or of simply how things used to be. Personally, the pandemic forced me to reassess my priorities in life, gave me a chance and space to develop other necessary and useful skills, meet my current fiance, and fall back in love with music. I recognize that I was fortunate beyond belief to be able to have meaningful, albeit alternative, employment for the duration of the pandemic and that my family and friends made it through with their health intact.
Can you tell our readers more about what you do and what you think sets you apart from others?
While I am completing my doctorate in oboe performance at the University of Memphis, I enjoy a varied and blended career in the arts and education scene throughout the Memphis region. I am the director of chamber music for the Memphis Youth Symphony Program, I maintain a large private teaching studio, I play with many of the regional orchestras, and I am the owner/operator of Grind City Reeds. I am also the Artistic Director of The Horizon Series, a chamber music nonprofit and summer festival.
How do you define success?
Success is not one dimensional. It isn’t even two, three, or four dimensional. Success is deeply personal and I believe it to be a matter of perspective. Personally, success is rooted in hard work and dedication to my craft whatever that might be – this means that success in musical performance might look different than success as a teacher which might look different than success as an administrator. The end result is of little importance to me – the process of achievement is the most integral aspect to success.
Contact Info:
- Instagram: https://instagram.com/mi.rippleoboe
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61558602745687
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/miripple
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@mi.rippleoboe
- Other: https://www.etsy.com/shop/GrindCityReeds
