Photography courtesy Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and Netanel Draiblate
A virtuoso takes flight in several careers and inspires local youth
A Delta Connection Flight from Frederick Douglass Greater Rochester International Airport to JFK in New York was delayed. Storms in the area forced the jet to sit idle at an airport that was all but shut down. The 70-plus passengers at the gate settled in the waiting area or sat cross-legged on the floor for an anticipated five-hour delay.
One of the pilots quietly slipped into the plane’s cabin and emerged with a violin. Without fanfare, as the waiting crowd watched, this young, trim, uniformed officer began playing “Memories after Alhambra,” a popular 1896 piece by Spanish guitarist and composer Francisco Tarrega.
Heads looked up. All eyes focused on the performer. Glum faces turned to glee.
What the passengers did not know was that one of our nation’s most talented violinists and accomplished concertmasters was performing their “free” concert.
“People don’t expect, when you are wearing a uniform like that, that you are proficient in anything else. But pilots do do other things.”
So explains Netanel Draiblate, the 40-year-old concertmaster of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra who also—effective earlier this year—just happens to be a licensed airline pilot. The airport episode, caught on camera by a flight attendant and posted to Facebook, has captured more than 56K views and 600-plus shares, making “Nati”—as he is known—somewhat of a media star. Hundreds of comments and emails have poured in, some from musician colleagues, including the son-in-law of world-famous violinist Isaac Stern, and others from an astounded and appreciative public.
In his characteristic self-effacing, no-time-to waste-persona, Draiblate doesn’t dwell on his social media fame. He seems just as surprised by the notoriety as anyone else. Catching him at an Annapolis coffee shop between flights and performance halls, Draiblate prefers to talk about music. More specifically, the future of music. And that leads to another recent achievement and his favorite topic, The Annapolis Youth Academy.
Starting Them Young
On a mild spring Sunday, 50 musicians fill the stage at Maryland Hall. More than half are high school students clad in long-sleeved black shirts, slacks, or skirts. Alongside are some 20 members of the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra. They are together to perform the annual “Orion Youth Orchestra and Annapolis Symphony Orchestra Side-by-Side” concert. In the audience are parents, relatives of the musicians, and fans of great music.
Under the baton of Jose-Luis Nova, the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra (ASO) Director for nearly 18 years, they perform works by Debussy, Mendelssohn, and Stravinsky, designed to showcase the progress these young people have made since joining the Annapolis Symphony Academy.
It was just seven years ago that ASO’s concertmaster first conceived the idea of serving the community by serving its youth.
“I always thought that as the capital of the state we should be living the way the state approaches anything…and not falling behind Rockville or Baltimore where the big music centers are,” Draiblate says.
For him, this meant stretching the ASO beyond its annual concert series. Draiblate’s aim was to reach deep into the community and provide music lessons for children based on a Venezuelan model where “kids learn strings and are placed with the orchestra.” But first he had to sell the idea to a less-than-enthusiastic Board of Directors.
“At that time the ASO was not financially solvent,” he explains, “so it was an uphill battle. But our point was, if you want more support from the community, you need ideas like this.”
Photography courtesy Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and Netanel Draiblate
The Board agreed, but only if the project could attract its own resources. For that, Draiblate turned to ASO supporter Anna Greenberg who invited local philanthropists Jane and Pete Chambliss to give the program a generous start.
“When we announced the gift to the Board, they unanimously supported it,” Draiblate says.
Prior to joining the ASO five years ago as Director of Education and Community Outreach, Julie Nolan met Draiblate when he taught her daughter violin. “I thought so highly of him, that when he asked me to help him start the academy, of course I said yes.”
Housed at Temple Beth Shalom in Arnold for rehearsals and recitals, the Annapolis Youth Academy officially began in 2018. As an after-school program, it began by serving middle and high school students, many who receive need-based tuition assistance. Nearly half represent underrepresented backgrounds.
“Nati is amazing,” Nolan says. “He is a delight to work with, and he has tremendous vision.”
Today the Annapolis Youth Academy is a fully established music school offering programs for every age. Some 40 professional musicians serve as full- and part-time teachers for the 80-plus students. Draiblate is especially pleased the program now attracts very young students in its Pre-K Discovery classes.
“If you look at sports programs, they look at 3rd and 4th graders and think, how can I develop them for sports? So why don’t we do the same for music? If I get a kid in 3rd or 4th grade, or even younger, I can keep him.”
Born To It
Photography courtesy Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and Netanel Draiblate
Born in Bat Yam Israel, a Tel Aviv suburb, Draiblate understands what it means to induce a love for music early. His parents were both violinists. His mother taught; his father performed with an orchestra. When he was six, they put a violin in his hands, and his career was launched.
Israel’s mandatory military service allowed the talented soldier to continue his music. As he explains, “Twenty people every year audition to be musicians in the miliary. It means we are not going to be assigned any kind of high-profile work. Part of our job is to play concerts for soldiers assigned to fighting units. We travel to bases in the country and play for entertainment. It was fun, a good thing to do. We had a mission—to make their lives easier. Everybody has a role.”
After earning his bachelor’s degree at age 22, Draiblate left Israel to study in the United States. He earned both his Master’s and Graduate performance diploma from Peabody and a Doctorate in Musical Arts from the University of Maryland.
In 2009, a friend at Peabody mentioned that the concertmaster position with the Annapolis Symphony Orchestra was open. It was near the beginning of a new conductor’s term. Jose-Luis Nova had been with the ASO just a few years and was slowly building a world-class organization.
“Auditioning for concertmaster is very elaborate,” he explains. “You are on trial for a year. The whole orchestra evaluates you. You play a whole season. You have to be able to communicate not just with the musicians, but also with donors.”
Spanish-born Nova understands the challenge of communicating well with various groups. It’s clear—both on stage and off—that he has great admiration for his concertmaster, not only for his musical talent, but also his leadership style.
“He is a very intuitive musician. He has the right instincts for music. Things come naturally to him because he is so gifted, and this goes together with his leadership skills. It is a joy to perform with him.”
Why Fly? Why Now?
With his musical career soaring, and his dream of establishing a school to inspire young people to pursue music, why begin another career?
“I always wanted to fly. I flew with my dad on my sixth birthday. His orchestra had a tour in Italy. It was my first time on an airplane. I got the bug,” he says.
Because of his musical career, Draiblate never thought he’d have the time to fly, or so he was told. Then on his 36th birthday, a woman he was dating gave him a one-hour discovery flight at Lee Airport. During flight training, fellow pilots suggested he could do both.
In February, he earned his airline pilot license. Currently a first officer on the CRJ-900 for Endeavor Air, a subsidiary of Delta Airlines, he flies to New York and has four- or five-day stretches where he sits and waits to be called.
“Most pilots don’t like this. They want to get their hours. But for me, it’s great because I have lots of work to do.” His goal is to fly international flights, something he can do if he stays with Endeavor for four to five years: “My schedule would be lighter, because you compress more flight hours.”
Draiblate denies pursuing flying for financial reasons, but he is very clear about the challenges musicians face making a career in music alone. Most musicians hold at least part time teaching jobs or other jobs to sustain themselves and their families.
“When your music becomes your livelihood, it adds a level of pressure. You can cobble a living together as a musician, but it normally requires multiple jobs and often in different cities. I like to fly because I always wanted to fly. The financial benefit is a byproduct.”
Photography courtesy Annapolis Symphony Orchestra and Netanel Draiblate
A Dual Life
If anyone understands the duality in Draiblate’s life, it is the Chair of the ASO Board of Directors. Mary McKiel, Ph.D., a Standardization Certification consultant who often works in foreign countries, is also a licensed pilot. Driving past Lee Airport on her 50th birthday, she decided it was time to sign up.
McKiel calls Draiblate “extraordinary.”
“He is very focused on purpose. It was his idea to set up the Academy. He saw the need in our community to educate young talented musicians, particularly minority students. And he has the leadership to engage people at all levels…donors, schools, community, the board. He figured out how to go about making this dream happen once he got everyone on the right side. It’s a kind of leadership you don’t see very often.”
As a violinist, Draiblate has performed in concert halls on four continents and collaborated with such world-class artists as Pinchas Zukerman, Yo-Yo-Ma, and Itzhak Perlman. He also is a much sought-after teacher. This past year, a packed crowd at Maryland Hall shook the rafters with a heart-pounding, standing ovation for his performance with the ASO of Tchaikovsky’s Violin Concerto.
“His becoming a pilot is so right for him now,” Maestro Nova says. “He has all that talent and is able to coordinate many different activities at once and make it seem so easy.”
If asked, the soft-spoken, but adamant artist resists citing favorites. Favorite concerto? Composer? Symphony? “I cannot answer that. Your taste changes as you grow up. The best answer is any music I am playing I am very excited about.”
He won’t choose a favorite in careers either. But his newest has given him a certain perspective. “We spend almost 100 percent of our time on the ground, walking. But when you fly as a student at 3,000 feet, it looks so small. And then you go to 30,000 feet—and you see the long game. It changes how you think. You see from a wider lens.” Draiblate’s future holds curtain calls and runways yet to imagine. But for those of us on the ground, we remain grateful to soar with him—wherever his talents lead.
