Mishee Kearney is full of talent, from her creative prowess in art and music to her ability to pick up hobbies like jousting and archery.
The Columbia native went to Hood College on a music scholarship for a few years and joined the school’s Early Music Ensemble. She earned a bachelor’s in history and art history with a minor in medieval studies.
She went onto graduate school for exhibition design. Today, she works as a museum exhibition lighter for the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C.
By day, she spends time at the Freer Gallery of Art and the Arthur M. Sackler Gallery on the National Mall. After hours, she works with the Maryland Renaissance Festival and plays with the Hood String Ensemble as her schedule permits.
She also tends to her horses, can sing in Latin, and translates songs to Middle English. We talked to the three-year FSO veteran about her motivation, most memorable concert, and more:
Who is your dream duet?
“[American singer and pianist] Amanda Palmer. She’s the lead singer for The Dresden Dolls. She just does a lot of very interesting music. She does a mix of classical and rock, and she’s just really cool. She’s kind of edgy and feminist, and I’m like, ‘Yeah!'”
What inspires you most?
“The thing that inspires me the most is [the fact that] I’m fairly young, and I don’t want to look back and be like, ‘Yep, I sure watched TV real good, sitting at home.’
That’s probably my motivation to get out and do things, to do the Frederick Symphony and all of my other hobbies. There’s no reason that just because I’m out of school doesn’t mean I have to stop doing interesting things or new experiences.”
What was your first instrument?
“My first instrument was the viola in third grade. I grew up in Howard County, which has a program for second graders where they bring in all of the instruments for you to try at the end of the school year to sign up for the next year.
I’ve never liked high-pitched noises, so violins have always been kind of painful for me, even if they’re in tune. Playing the viola is kind of that nice, mellow tone that is not too crazy.
I’ve always liked how violas interweave with an orchestra and support it. It’s kind of like a bass, where if it’s not there, you don’t really notice it. But when it is there…all of the sudden, there’s that next level of plumpness. The viola kind of does the same thing but is not six feet tall.”
When and where was your most memorable concert?
“At Hood, we have…full symphony pieces with the wind ensemble and the string ensemble. For me, the time we did Night On Bald Mountain (by Russian composer Modest Mussorgsky), I was the only viola since it’s a very small community there.
There’s a very strong viola part where…if you mess it up, the entire orchestra goes down because it’s through a tempo change. The fact that I got it, I was like, ‘OK, good. I can mess up anything else now.'”
How has music changed your life?
“It has always been my way to be a part of something greater and to kind of lose myself. I know a lot of people find that in religion or in nature, but it’s my part of being something greater than just me.
It’s very interesting. Music’s like a story and how you play is how you tell the story. Maybe it’s someone else’s story, and you’re telling it the way that they said it or maybe you’re adding your own twist onto it.
To be able to be part of…music that’s been around for thousands…or hundreds of years, but then I get to add my legacy or add my voice to it is really poignant for me.”
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