When Ken Olsen left home to become a professional cellist, he had no idea how rough life could be.
Until his bank account dropped to $90 last February, and he was beginning to grow tired of living out of a suitcase and spending many nights on the couches of friends. Still, he did whatever he could to ensure he got a full four hours of practice in every day, even if it meant practicing while his friends watched television.
Olsen had a hard time finding the orchestra he would call his family, though close friends say he never lost sight of his true calling in life. He tried out three times for openings in the cello section in the Boston Symphony Orchestra and twice he auditioned for the principal position, a position Empire State Youth Orchestra Manager Julie Shapiro labeled the highest honor a cellist can receive, in the Saint Paul Chamber Orchestra and the San Diego Symphony.
Finally, he auditioned for a position as assistant principal, the second highest honor, in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Olsen received a call that he had got the position, and his life changed.
My life did a total 180 in one day — upside down. I was freaking out, thinking, ‘Here I am, in the cello section of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, and last week I didn’t have a job, an apartment, or much of anything else,’ he said.
While Olsen was surprised to have earned such a prestigious and high-paying title, old friends of his who knew him when he was younger, were not shocked to hear that he had made it to the top.
`I knew his teacher, and she said she’d never seen anyone play this well,` said Shapiro, who used to manage Olsen while he was playing in the Empire State Youth Orchestra.
Shapiro said she had known Olsen from when he was between the ages of 10 and 11 and that he had come to her house because he was accompanying her husband to a recital.
`I said, ‘This kid is good.’ He was young and he was good,` she said.
While Olsen was not available for further comment, Shapiro said the young cellist became part of the Empire Youth Orchestra in the mid-’90s and that he eventually left the orchestra, after more than four years, to play in the New England Conservatory.
`It’s not common,` she said. `But it’s not uncommon for our really skilled [performers.]`
After graduating from Colonie Central High School, Olsen attended the Cleveland Institute of Music, according to Shapiro. Shapiro also said she thinks that Olsen’s graduate school years may have been the time that he was living out of a suitcase.
Shapiro has not seen Olsen for a number of years, but was very pleased to hear of his new position with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. `We are very proud of him,` she said.
Shapiro explained that as assistant principal, Olsen must be prepared to take over as the lead cellist in the orchestra should the principal fall ill, or not be able to attend a concert. But according to her, Olsen has experience as the principal, as he has played the role in a number of concerts, she said.
Olsen will be making a return to the Capital District and performing with the Albany Symphony on Friday, Nov. 14 at 8 p.m. at Troy Savings Bank Music Hall. Tickets range from $25 to $49 and are $15 for students. To purchase a ticket, call Troy Savings Bank Music Hall at 273-0038.
Olsen will also be visiting his alma mater, Colonie Central High School, on Wednesday, Nov. 12.“