Spotlight: Ethan Blackwood

Clarinet - phd candidate

What’s your connection to healthcare?

I am a PhD student in neuroscience at Penn, which is a program within the Perelman School of Medicine. My research is not directly related to healthcare or medicine, but my advisor is a practicing anesthesiologist, and it has been interesting to gain some understanding of our medical system from the providers' side from talking to him over the years.

Why did you choose to pursue your current field?

The brain is fascinating in so many ways. Many of my peers have a background in biology and gravitated toward neuroscience because the nervous system is both interesting to study and central to so many aspects of our health. For me, the main draw was its connection to psychology and cognitive science. The way we process and react to the complex world around us, building up our own individual habits and systems of thought, and particularly how this changes as we mature and learn, is just so interesting to me. Another interesting question (though probably very difficult to study) is whether the "internal worlds" of AI systems are or can be similar to those of humans. For my PhD project, I stayed focused on "natural" intelligence; I am investigating what happens at the neuronal level when we have a sudden burst of insight or "a-ha moment."

What instrument(s) do you play in PMSO, and how long have you played these instrument(s)?

My main instrument is the soprano clarinet (the normal one), which I started playing in middle school. I stopped for about 5 years before I was inspired to pick it up again in 2020 so I could join PMSO. In the spring of 2024, I decided I wanted to branch out, so I found a cheap used bass clarinet on Craigslist and started practicing. In the fall, I did it again with the cute but dangerous Eb sopranino clarinet. I'm excited to be switching between all 3 instruments for this concert, a real exercise in embouchure flexibility!

Why did you start playing your instrument(s)?

I played music from a young age, starting on piano. I was excited at the opportunity to learn a band instrument in middle school, since I was lucky enough to have the resources to do so through a school program. Maybe the better question is why I picked it up again after a 5-year hiatus. In college, I quit because I was anxious about not being good enough and I didn't think it was worth spending lots more effort to become more competitive and allay these feelings. But I eventually came back to it because I missed the feeling of playing in an ensemble, and I realized that if I could approach music purely as a hobby, without feeling like I had to be at a certain level of playing at any particular point in my life, I could enjoy it fully.

Why is music important to you?

I think, above all, music is a grounding force in my life. I am the kind of person who will listen to the same album or symphony every day for a month or more, because I keep wanting to come back to a particular mood or feeling it evokes; in this way, it offers an escape from whatever else is going on in the world. I feel similarly about playing in a band or orchestra. Why does music have such unique power to manipulate our feelings? It's yet another mystery of the mind.

Why did you get involved in PMSO?

I heard about it from violist Catrina Hacker, who is in the same graduate program as me. I went to one of the concerts, then I decided, hey I should do this thing even though I haven't played in a while. I believe I participated in a virtual performance project during COVID before I had the chance to play with PMSO in person.

What has your experience in PMSO been like so far?

I feel like PMSO is always trying new things and growing in ambition, instrumentation, and musicality. It has continued to offer new challenges as I work to improve my playing each semester.

What is your favorite piece that you’ve performed with us? Have there been any highlights of playing with the orchestra?

One that stands out is the Dvorak cello concerto that we played in the fall of 2023. I was listening to it on repeat for months before and even after the concert. The melancholy slow section about 2/3 of the way through the first movement gives me chills, especially right at the end when we are at the cusp of starting to come back alive for the rest of the movement. I feel a similar way about the last movement of Sibelius 2, though I didn't play on that piece.

Why should people come to the concert this year?

Come to hear the booming Dance of the Knights and songs you probably know and love from West Side Story, and stay to appreciate all the less famous moments throughout the program that we've been working hard to perfect over the last 3 months.

Interview with Ethan Blackwood prior to the Spring 2025 concert. Published 4/9/2025