It took three seasons for the St. Louis Symphony to fill the position of Principal Trumpet after Susan Slaughter stepped down in 2010 after 40 years. Slaughter holds the distinction of being the first female to hold the principal position in a major symphony orchestra and the word “legend” has been used to describe her.
Karin Bliznik was appointed Principal Trumpet last June and took her seat as the St. Louis Symphony opened its 20113-2014 season on September 20. She agrees with those who call her predecessor a legend. “That is a really great word. She is quite the legend,” Bliznik told the Symphony’s Eddie Silva in a conversation during her second week in the position. In fact, when her father introduced her to the St. Louis Symphony’s recording of American in Paris and Bliznik heard Slaughter’s beautiful sound, it helped guide her in the direction of becoming a professional music.
In her conversation with Silva, Bliznik shares her background, her influences, her thoughts on being a leader in the St. Louis Symphony and her impressions of her new home.
