Douglas Quint
Doug Quint grew up in Pittsfield, Me. He attended the University
of Southern Maine before earning a B.M. degree from Manhattan School
of Music and a M.M. degree from Juilliard (studying bassoon with
Frank Morelli at both institutions). Doug also studied with Judith
LeClair in the Professional Studies program at Juilliard, and is
currently the bassoonist of the Zephyros Quintet.
Doug Quint and his nephews atop North Traveler Mountain in Baxter
State Park in Maine, July 2002. |
How long have you worked at Juilliard, and what do you remember
about your first day?
I have worked at Juilliard since August 1995-just a few months
after I graduated from the School. I don't remember much about my
first day working here, since I had already been in the same office
as a work-study student.
What job at Juilliard would you like to try out for a
day and why?
I would be Estelle Schneider [in the Facilities Management
Office]-only so that I could yell at Vinny over a walkie-talkie.
What is the strangest job you've ever had and what made
it strange?
Delivering propane gas tanks in high school, to strange
people all over central Maine. My father was a propane gas distributor.
I would ride with him to load and unload tanks off the back of a
pick-up. We drove all over the county, down roads with no names,
and occasionally delivered tanks to houses with dirt floors inside.
I would stand by, listening to my father shout obscenities as he
fixed gas toilets. One time, an elderly woman answered the door
in a bathrobe, which she opened for my brother-and proposed something
that he declined. Another brother found a dead customer when he
went to collect on a late bill. My sister and I also filled 20-pound
tanks from a fill tank beside the house. We had no idea what we
were doing, and I can't believe that nothing ever blew up. I did
this off and on from the time I was about 9 until I quit high school
at 16. At first, my dad would bribe me into doing it by buying me
a Coke. Later he had to pay cash.
If out of the blue your boss said to take the day off,
what would you do with your free time?
Make reeds.
What kind of performances do you prefer to attend and
why?
I go to a great number of performances because the School
orchestras are involved-and I try to show up for the concerts that
I am playing in.
What was the best vacation you've had and what made that
trip so special?
I don't really take vacations-just playing trips. Every
trip is usually fun, but our quintet tour to California and Hawaii
was a real highlight. My best friends, great music, and Hawaii-how
can you go wrong? Juilliard's trip to Japan and South Korea was
also memorable, mainly because I have never worked so hard in my
life. Thank goodness for the beer vending machines there.
What might people be surprised to know about you?
I pierced my own nose back in high school. I shoved an
ice cube up my right nostril and jammed a macramé pin through.
I don't really know what motivated me, other than boredom. In a
town of 4,000 people there really isn't a lot to do, and jamming
pins through your body becomes a viable option for excitement when
the only store in town closes at 7 p.m. I also pierced the cartilage
in my ear with a pushpin. I stopped wearing the nose ring after
I left high school. I have a big nose, and one day I looked at myself
and thought, "Why the hell am I trying to draw attention to
my monstrous honker?"
Is there anything you'd like to add?
Three more zeros at the end of my yearly income.
| Next
Month:
Amanita Pleasant-Heird, assistant to the senior vice president
for development and public affairs. |
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