Daily Inspiration: Meet Erika Snow Robinson

Today we’d like to introduce you to Erika Snow Robinson

Hi Erika, thanks for joining us today. We’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I was born in Shreveport, LA and raised there until our family settled in Southeast Texas. My dad was a hippie – a jazz sax and piano player – and extremely talented so I always knew music would be in my life from a very young age (sitting at his feet as he tuned pianos). He started teaching me piano in 3rd grade (I hated it!), but sadly, he was murdered two years later, when I was in 5th grade and never got to see the beginning of my REAL musical journey – when I began playing bassoon at age 10.

Most people don’t know what a bassoon is, and when they figure it out, they always ask, “How in the world did you start playing that?” In Texas, at least when I was growing up, two things were king: Football & The Marching Band. After passing the junior high band test showing whether or not I could hear pitch with a 100% score (and being rewarded with a $1 bill!), I showed up at our local junior high to pick out what instrument I would play that fall. I told them I wanted to play French Horn, but unfortunately, they had all been given out. Even at 10 years old, I had always been tall for my age, and I have large hands, so the music instructor sat me down and handed me a weird, long, skinny, wooden instrument that came up to my nose, when I was standing. She showed me how to make a noise on it, and when I was successful, she said, “Congratulations! This is a bassoon!” They showed me how to put it together and take it apart, gave me some music books and I began music lessons shortly thereafter. I absolutely fell in love with the bassoon and to this day, I still have my reed case that our band director’s wife gave to me in 6th grade.

Turns out, I was really quite good and I practiced a lot – got awards, placed high in competitions and so forth. However, as teens often do, I started acting the fool and by the time I graduated high school, I was partying way too much. I hemmed and hawed and didn’t know where I wanted to go to college, or if I wanted to major in music, so I didn’t wind up getting hardly any scholarships or money for college. I attended our local university for a year and a half, but we simply didn’t have the money for me to finish (I was the oldest of five siblings) and I began waiting tables and partying even harder. I finally dropped out of college and was ONLY partying, when my sister told me she was joining the Marine Corps. I thought she was out of her mind and told her as much. She tried to talk me into joining and I told her to go pound sand, but she eventually talked me into speaking with the recruiter.

I spoke with him (by the way, all recruiters are liars, no matter what anyone tells you) and I took the ASVAB and scored really high on it. He told me I would be a crypto-linguist and I would be learning Arabic (hello, Desert Shield/Desert Storm!). Somehow over the course of me deciding if I would join up, the topic of music came up and he figured out that I played bassoon. He immediately tried to change course and said I could play bassoon for the Marines and that “I wouldn’t even have to learn to shoot a rifle” (remember I told you all recruiters lie?). Fast-forward a bit, apparently if a USMC recruiter gets a musician to sign up, he’s met his quota for three months, so I made his day (or rather, his quarter). Either way, my sister and I joined up together, and went to bootcamp in July 1991 at Parris Island, South Carolina as all female Marines do (and yes, during the hottest three months of the year, complete with no-see-ums). We survived, I went to the School of Music in Norfolk, VA and eventually got stationed at Camp Pendleton, CA, which is how I got to the West Coast. When I got out of the Marine Corps in 1994, I stayed in San Diego, eventually met my husband, who lived in Redondo Beach, and joined him up here in the South Bay.

Upon starting my first job in El Segundo, I met other musicians and wound up finding out that the Beach Cities Symphony needed a 2nd Bassoonist. That was in 1999, when I showed up to “see if I would be a fit.” I’ve been playing 2nd Bassoon for BCSO ever since. People often ask me if I want to be Principal Bassoonist. I thought I did, or would want to, but I realize I would have to practice a WHOLE lot more than I do, and I have a lot of interests including SUPing and painting – and earlier on, I was raising two sons and being a wife/mom/volunteer/team mom – so that took up most of my time. Now, I’ve been playing Bassoon for the Beach Cities Symphony Orchestra for over 25 years and I’ve been the Board Chair of the Beach Cities Symphony Association for the past five years.

I’m sure it wasn’t obstacle-free, but would you say the journey has been fairly smooth so far?
One of the biggest challenges for me, personally, along the way was learning how to say no – whether that was to myself because I want to do one thing, but NEED to do another, or because I have too much going on and shouldn’t take on one more thing. Family and our children have always come first but I’ve always volunteered along the way, so I found that if you say you’ll do something, people will keep asking. I still have a hard time saying no and find that I think I can do it all – balance family, work, volunteering and hobbies that I love. It’s simply not possible because there are only so many hours in a day. Something is going to suffer along the way so you had better choose wisely what that is.

I have always tried to choose my children and family over anything else because it is a finite amount of time you get before they grow up and head off on their own journeys. I’m happy to say that both sons, while not making music their profession, played instruments through high school and both can sing really well. Music was a huge part of their lives growing up, and is still a huge part of our lives to this day – they also both attended pretty much all of my concerts – even when they were little. Our younger son was born in December, between the October and January concerts of BCSO’s 2000-2001 season, so even HE has literally attended nearly every concert that I have had!

The other challenges I’ve had, specific to the orchestra, is now that I’m the Board Chair, my goal is to spread the word about our symphony. We are celebrating our 75th Diamond Jubilee with this season that begins on October 18, 2024 – that is a huge feat, ESPECIALLY after making it through the pandemic. I want people in the South Bay and greater Los Angeles area to know that we are a nearly all-volunteer, community orchestra that is free to everyone and to come hear what they are missing!

Lastly, and like every non-profit/creative arts organization, my truly biggest challenge is financial backing. Just because we are free and don’t charge admission, doesn’t mean we don’t need money. Our “free concerts” (before COVID-19 shut everything down) cost about $30,000 – $40,000 per season. Now, however, everyone is in a bind and our venue no longer gives “non-profit” discounts to anyone so our concert season is being incrementally increased until we are at the “normal rate” – meaning each season will cost about $60,000. Needless to say, I am worried about how we are going to make up that difference. We definitely have amazing supporters who are returning to us after dropping off due to the pandemic – we just need to get the word out and also re-connect with ALL of our awesome audience members and past donors!

Appreciate you sharing that. What else should we know about what you do?
I have always ensured that art, whether visual or musical, is a big focus in my life. In addition to being most proud of all the time and energy I have put into our Beach Cities Symphony and its success, the other place I pour my energy into is my art studio at Destination: art Gallery and Studios located in Old Torrance. If you travel around the South Bay, you can see evidence of my artwork: 1) a public utility box located at PV Blvd and Prospect in Redondo Beach, wrapped with my “Colorful Palms” artwork; 2) the murals in the children’s section of BOTH libraries in Redondo Beach, which I designed, managed and literally painted with our Leadership Redondo Class of 2014; 3) the RUHS Seahawks logo and name on the left field wall of the Redondo Union High School baseball field; and 4) a mural “ad” for BCSO painted on the “Herondo Art Wall” (the north wall of the AES plant), at the border of Redondo and Hermosa. Additionally, prints of my artwork hang in various restaurants located in the South Bay. I’m most known for/most proud of the library murals, the public utility box AND for painting local South Bay, and specifically, Redondo Beach icons/iconic locations.

What matters most to you? Why?
What matters most to me is doing good and contributing positively to our society – and I try to do that in all ways and in everything that I do; whether it’s personally, with my family, or with the interests I pursue. Concerning the latter, I have, and will continue to volunteer for causes and things that I love. My two fave sayings: “Music is Life” and “Art Makes Everything Better” are why I do what I do because it is true. I saw so much ugly when I was younger, I think it’s important to bring beauty and music to as many people as possible. I’m a firm believer that music (especially classical music!) expands your mind, can calm the soul and that if you’re surrounded by beauty, it’s hard to do bad things. I know this is a rather simplistic, and possibly even naive view of the world, but I still think there’s some truth to it. After my father’s death, I try never to take any day, moment, or thing for granted. That’s a hard lesson for a child to learn at such a young age, but learn it, I did and remembered it, I have. I’m also open to possibilities and opportunities. I approach things from the “What have I got to lose?’ mindset – because the only thing you’ve got to lose is a chance to be no worse off than you already are and PERHAPS a whole lot better off than you are right now – but you won’t know unless you try.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.beachcitiessymphony.org
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/beachcitiessymphony/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/Beachcitiessymph
• Twitter: https://x.com/SymphonyBeach
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@beachcitiessymphony
• Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/beach-cities-symphony-orchestra-torrance
• Other: https://www.beachcitiessymphony.org/membership/support-us/

Image Credits
Aydin Palabiyikoglu
Esther Mukai