“Ellen Tomasiewicz plays a mean French horn. Good enough to play in the Naples Philharmonic, where’s she’s the principal horn, for 24 years,” writes Adam Fisher in Tuesday’s (5/19) Naples Daily News (Florida; subscription required). “But playing in an elite orchestra for a quarter-century takes more than talent. You have to move in concert with 139 other musicians, playing with and off the rest of the orchestra, all while following your conductor. Tomasiewicz learned those skills—teamwork, coachability, camaraderie—in her previous career.… Before she developed her skill as a musician, Tomasiewicz was perhaps even more talented on the basketball courts at Weston, Connecticut, and Princeton University. ‘There are a lot of parallels,’ Tomasiewicz, 54, said. ‘It’s completely team-oriented in what I’m doing at work. You’re always trying to blend with people, you’re listening. You’re trying to be a good colleague and an encouraging person.’ Being a good teammate is something Tomasiewicz honed as one of the best basketball players in her home state’s history—a distinction made official last month when she was inducted into the Connecticut Women’s Basketball Hall of Fame…. ‘It was completely shocking and awesome to be recognized for something I loved to do,’ Tomasiewicz said.”
Posted May 19, 2015
