Way to go AMY!!!

[kellyann1293]

I had the privilege of being in band with Amy Nelson back in high school. She was an awesome trumpet player then, and I see she's only gotten better since!

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Waukegan trumpeteer part of ‘Fiddler’ farewell
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June 12, 2009
By BETH KRAMER <!-- e --><a href="mailto:ekramer@scn1.com">ekramer@scn1.com</a><!-- e -->

WAUKEGAN — After touring in Asia and all over the United States, a Waukeganite is playing a venue closer to home.

“Fiddler on the Roof” featuring Chaim Topol, who starred in the original motion picture in 1971, opened in the Oriental Theater in Chicago this week.

Amy Nelson, 37, is playing first trumpet in the 12-piece orchestra. She joined the Topol Farewell tour when it started in January and will continue during its run through next January.

» Click to enlarge image
Professional musician Amy Nelson, 37, of New York plays trumpet with the orchestra for “Fiddler on the Roof.” She is a 1989 graduate of Waukegan East High School.
(Thomas Delany Jr./News-Sun)

“Each week, I sit in the pit and listen to the audiences. We get a standing ovation every night,” Nelson said.

The show is about a Jewish dairyman, Tevye, played by Topol, who tries to cope with a harsh existence with his wife and five daughters in a small village in czarist Russia in the early 1900s.

Nelson described Topol as having a “warm charisma” onstage and as a nice guy offstage.

They perform eight shows a week.

“I enjoy the challenge of recreating the show’s music every night. I don’t find it boring or repetitious. I always find something new,” Nelson said.

Prior to playing for the Fiddler tour, she spent most of 2008 in China and other parts of Asia playing for the “Sound of Music” and “Cinderella.” In fact, she said she was only five days off from that tour before starting the Fiddler gig.

“I think I’m really lucky to have a steady job playing in today’s economy. I really enjoy what I do,” Nelson said.

She has taken the opportunity to visit national and international landmarks during the tours. While in Dallas, she visited the site where JFK was shot. She also visited the Great Wall of China and Tiananmen Square.

“I don’t know that I would have bought a plane ticket to climb the Great Wall, but it was a wonderful experience,” Nelson said.

Vince Dellamorte of Waukegan was her first trumpet teacher when she started at age 8.

He taught her while she was a student at Hyde Park Elementary School.

“She is one of the best students I ever had because she wanted to play. She loved the instrument and she just wanted to play music,” Dellamorte said.

[Frankzilch]

She's pretty cute. You can bet your bippy she can toot my horn anytime.

[Blackdiamond]

Do you have gray hair :?: :lol: