ASO Musicians Take Center Stage in New ‘Behind the Curtain’ Series
September 23, 2025
By: Jon Ross
Yang-Yoon Kim knows all about the supporting cast. In the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra’s viola section, she rarely plays the melody of the piece, instead propping up the action as a hardworking, and crucial, part of the ensemble.
It’s been that way for her 15-year tenure with the ASO.
“The viola section is like Emily Blunt for Meryl Streep, you know?,” she says, referencing the 2006 movie “The Devil Wears Prada.” “So stepping into that solo role — finding that voice — is very challenging.”
Kim recently emerged from her regular spot in the ensemble to perform Max Bruch’s nine-minute “Romanze for Viola and Orchestra.” It’s all part of a new “Behind the Curtain Digital Series” video recording highlighting solo turns from orchestral section players. The recording, now streaming at www.aso.org, also highlights solos from violinists Eun Young Jung and Robert Anemone, and flutist Robert Cronin. They’re all accompanied by their ASO colleagues.
Jung has a long history with her “Behind the Curtain” selection, Mozart’s fourth violin concerto. After learning the composer’s fifth concerto as a young student, she gravitated toward the earlier work while in her first year at Ewha Womans University in South Korea. It also didn’t hurt that the concerto is in D Major, her favorite key.
“I remember it being pretty challenging to make it sound beautiful, light and lively — which is how it should sound,” says the violinist, who joined the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra in 2022. “But it’s definitely a piece that has both depth and energy.”
Anemone knows that although he’ll be in front of his colleagues when he plays the first movement of Barber’s Violin Concerto, he’s not there to be the boss. He sees concertos as a duet between soloist and ensemble. It’s all about establishing a musical partnership.
He approaches his soloist role as a fan of the music, especially with this piece, which isn’t as angst-ridden as many other violin concertos, he says.
“The Barber certainly has some tumult,” he adds. “But the first movement, at the end of the day, is really just a beautiful piece. It’s generous, it’s warm, and you can sink into just the feeling of beautiful music.”
Though he’s taught Barber’s concerto to numerous students and listened to countless recordings and live performances of the work, it’s his first time performing the work.
“It’s a piece my mother has been wanting me to perform for a long time — she’s always saying, “Oh, when are you going to play the Barber?” he says. “So I’ll be thinking of my parents when I play it with this orchestra.”
A folkloric spirit pervades Robert Cronin’s “ASO Behind the Curtain” solo selection, “Pastoral Suite” by Gunnar de Frumerie. Calling the composer “the Swedish Copland or Bernstein,” Cronin, who has been a member of the ASO flute section since 1999, describes the piece as a simple, highly emotional work.
“It’s very chordal; very basic,” he says. “But something about how he wrote it – it just shows you that great music doesn’t have to be complicated.”
Cronin may be new to the solo spotlight, but he’s accustomed to juggling multiple roles while performing with the orchestra. For more than 15 years, he ran a side business fabricating concrete countertops in addition to his work with the ASO. These days, when he’s not performing, Cronin is probably playing or thinking about golf, but he might also be reading, brushing up on the classics he missed in school.
In his spare time away from the ensemble, you might find Anemone in his woodworking studio. (He’s made most of the furniture in his house!) Kim balances out her ASO ensemble playing with a pervasive love of all things design. This fascination translates to a lot of gardening, interior decorating and fashion.
“I just love all aspects of design — finding balance, choosing a focal point. And I think that’s actually a lot like orchestra playing,” she says. “There’s a main melody, and everything else is there to support it. If everyone tries to be the star, it becomes chaos.”
But then, for some ASO musicians, it’s all about the music, all the time. Music, and performing in the violin section with the ASO, has long since become Jung’s career – and her livelihood.
“At first I felt bad about that — like I should have other interests — but then I asked my friends and colleagues, and realized most of them are the same way,” Jung says. “So now I just say: I love music, and that’s OK.”
Watch and subscribe to "ASO Behind the Curtain" at watch.aso.org/browse