Jerry Epstein: My Life as a Musician

Dear Wayne Shorter... you were a gift to the Universe... may you join Jerry and all the gifted musicians above in musical frenzy in the multitude of dimensions surrounding us. I had the honor of capturing Wayne Shorter with my late husband, Jerry during a break at Walt Disney Concert Hall during an LA PHIL rehearsal in 2006. Photos by Rebecca Dru Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all co-written and edited by Rebecca Dru ©2006/2019 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved (at Walt Disney Concert Hall) https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpd-pqjJJ6g/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

I was cleaning out a file cabinet today and came across some of Jerry’s tour memorabilia... Thought this invitation from the Ambassador of the United States to a formal lunch for the LAPhil was interesting... #amusicianslife #jerryepstein #violist #laphil #eurotour #invitation #ambassador (at Finland Hellsinki) https://www.instagram.com/p/CWMvh_LFBWb/?utm_medium=tumblr

Dear universe, this is my late husband JERRY Epstein. JERRY was a sweet soul who was kind and caring. JERRY was a violist in the LA Phil. JERRY was a married man. His name is JERRY not Jeffrey the pedophile but you keep tagging him anyhow. Ignorant humans, get your name straight...stop with the death threats and hurtful comments. I will eradicate you from IG if you choose to continue this blatant stupidity and lack of knowledge. Rebecca https://www.instagram.com/p/CDtu3oagrkP/?igshid=17br6igf0c0ue

Saturday, July 11th, will be a year since you left the physical world...and I miss holding your hand... Jami and I as well as many others feel your presence daily...Sometimes people can smell your cologne... Coco goes everywhere with us... This weekend we'll be planting Sunflowers (Jerry's favorite flower) and scattering your ashes in places you enjoyed. You are loved, my Lovey and will never be forgotten... #jerryepstein #violist #lovey #1year #remember #weloveyou #druified #msjamicakes #rebeccadru #family #wemissyou #lightbody #chooselove https://www.instagram.com/p/CCaAxa6AycW/?igshid=14yuz248b6f9f

LA PHIL Violist Jerry Epstein and Maestro Edo de Waart at the Hollywood Bowl (Aug. 15, 2006) ©2006 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . . . . Photos by Rebecca Dru Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all co-written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2019 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #performance #hollywoodbowl #concert #Maestro #famousconductor #orchestraconductor #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified #rebeccadruphotography (at Hollywood Bowl) https://www.instagram.com/p/CCJaCNCgATz/?igshid=10e98v36i28rv

Happy Birthday, Jerry... hope you’re having a big party wherever you are...❤️❤️❤️ https://www.instagram.com/p/CBin-wMAexb/?igshid=79793tf3skqm

Jerry LOVED Boxing. He loved watching it, he loved meeting people involved, he loved intelligence and strategy. One of the great joys in his life was his brother (in-law), Young Dick Tiger (King Charles Nwokolo from Nigeria). Tiger was a contender in the Olympics, winner in the Commonwealth Games and a very successful professional boxer who now focuses on working with up and coming talent and people who have a passion to box as their fitness routines at his Tiger Boxing Gym in Los Angeles, California. Tiger an inspiring example of one who suffered adversity in his early years and turned it into LOVE. Love of his profession, love of his family, love of his friends, kindness towards everyone. He makes you smile and lifts your heart. Tiger is pure joy. It would have given Jerry great pleasure to watch the videos, Tiger, his sister (in-law) Elizabeth and their son Emeka are now producing; boxing and entertainment.   https://bit.ly/bettertogetherTigerElizabeth Photos by Rebecca Dru Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2019 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . . . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #LOVE #chooseLOVE #bekind #heart #creativity #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified #rebeccadruphotography #Tiger #youngDIcktiger #charlesNwokolo #nigerianboxer #TigerboxingGym #DickTIger #kingcharles #family #boxing #passionate (at Los Angeles, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/CAsmECUAMf4/?igshid=ys4sxll1tbtn

My Sweet Lovey LOVED to paint…especially with Jami…something they had done together since she was born…this was the last time he so joyfully lifted his paint brush and created his vision.  He so wanted the world to be a happy loving place… #jerryepstein #sweetman #painter #violist #create #lastpainting #happiness #hope #druified #rebeccadruphotography (at West Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-3YS8_Af5V/?igshid=3kaiszn0y6sn

It’s been 9 months since you left the physical body... we miss you sweet Lovey... we feel you... #jerryepstein #weloveyou #violist #sweetman #druified #rebeccadruphotography (at West Hollywood, California) https://www.instagram.com/p/B-2dPqVAN6P/?igshid=1krr9j5wm8i2k

"Christian Zacharias was a wonderful pianist and conductor. He specialized in Mozart and I had a good time at the Hollywood Bowl after an LA PHIL rehearsal talking to him." (Aug. 6, 2008) . . Photo by Rebecca Dru Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2020 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #performance #hollywoodbowl #concert #Maestro #famousconductor #orchestraconductor #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified #rebeccadruphotography (at Hollywood Bowl) https://www.instagram.com/p/B8Ko760ghMB/?igshid=1nzkmvfemmrfu

I just read about the immediate retirement of Vladimir Ashkenazy...shocking that it's so sudden... I hope he's okay. Jerry loved working with Vladimir Ashkenazy. I wish I could remember his stories...we never had a chance to work on this one before he passed on... I remember relishing the opportunity, early on in our marriage, to join Jerry at his LA PHIL rehearsals and be able to watch Ashkenazy's fingers at the piano up close. He was one of my favs... Photo by the late David Weiss Jerry Epsteinn’s Stories are all written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2019 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . . . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #performance #hollywoodbowl #concert #Maestro #famousconductor #orchestraconductor #vladimirAshkenazy #concertpianist #retirement #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified #rebeccadruphotography (at LA Phil) https://www.instagram.com/p/B7louVNgBd2/?igshid=1ervpj1e72yin

Hard to believe it's been exactly 6 months since Jerry passed on....here's a collage of so many of the conductors he worked with over the years that I captured (except for a few by the late David Weiss). photos by the late David Weiss Photos by Rebecca Dru Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all co-written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2020 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #LOVE #chooseLOVE #bekind #heart #message #creativity #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified #rebeccadruphotography #Maestro #famousconductor #orchestraconductor https://www.instagram.com/p/B7Ol-7lgF9x/?igshid=n4pdyt02ay8h

I remember back in September/October 1996 when the LA PHIL was the artiste in residence at Theatre du Chatelet. When Jerry had a free moment, we'd steal him away. On this particular day, we were taking him to Château Versailles. On the way to the train station, he found the beret he'd been looking for... and it became a fixture on his head. Sweet Jerry.... Photo by Rebecca Dru Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all co-written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2019 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . . . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #LOVE #chooseLOVE #bekind #heart #creativity #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified #rebeccadruphotography #travelblogger #Paris #Beret #paristrainstation (at Paris, France) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6mZNCyAm5z/?igshid=ioqhg0j77v33

Congratulations MTT for your being honored tonight at the Kennedy Center!!! Back in 2007, I was honored to capture this moment with Lovey and Michael . One of the last stories Jerry Epstein told me before he left us was of how much he absolutely loved Michael Tilson Thomas. "Michael and I were friends and colleagues at the University of Southern California. When we first met, we just clicked. Michael thought I was a very talented violist and I respected his musicality and knowledge. I was a viola major; Michael was studying conducting and also played oboe in the USC orchestra. One day Michael asked me if I would want to go out to dinner at a nice Italian restaurant a few blocks away from campus and he brought a score of a Stockhausen piece that was so intricate that he had to color code the different sections so you would see yellow and green and blue etc. The piece was so complicated. Stockhausen wasn’t exactly a house hold name, but I could see how excited Michael was as he was really into contemporary music at a time when most musicians were basically into the classics. Michael became the music director of The Young Musicians Foundation Debut Orchestra following Lawrence Foster. I played with both of them. Michael was very exuberant, like I said, when it came to modern music. We did a lot of Hindemith. At the time it was considered modern but now it’s standard repertoire. After I got into LA Philharmonic, Michael became the principal guest conductor and conducted many of our concerts. We would get together after rehearsal or after concerts and have a meal and share stories from the concerts. As I get ready to leave… I just want Michael to know I will always love him. He will always be one of the greats." Photo by Rebecca Dru Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all co-written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2019 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . . . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #LOVE #chooseLOVE #bekind #heart #message #creativity #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified #rebeccadruphotography #Maestro #famousconductor #orchestraconduc (at Walt Disney Concert Hall) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6H2idigNPH/?igshid=1j056sv8gc5gz

Jerry Epstein loved being by the water any chance he could get. During the 1969 LA Phil Tour in British Columbia, he enjoyed being aboard the ferry going from Vancouver to one of the islands. He was a handsome sexy talented man! photo by the late David Weiss Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2019 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . . . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #LOVE #chooseLOVE #bekind #heart #message #creativity #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified #rebeccadruphotography (at Vancouver, British Columbia) https://www.instagram.com/p/B6Hpp6Ygxj4/?igshid=wpcxusplnaey

Michael Feinstein used to stop by our late neighbor Stan Ziegler’s home to visit the Yale Whiffen Poof singers when they were in town; Stan was a recruiter and an alumnus of Yale. My daughter Jami LOVED listening to Michael’s voice as did I and so Stan introduced Jami to Michael; I had worked with him at with the LA PHIL. Every time Michael was in our building, he’d stop by to say hi to Jami. He was so gentle and sweet to her. In July 1992, Michael joined Rosemary Clooney with the LA PHIL at the Hollywood Bowl. I enjoyed working with him. He’s a master of Great American Songs…especially Gershwin. He and Rosie were fabulous together. Bec brought Jami to rehearsal and afterwards, they came backstage. As soon as Michael saw Jami he came right over to give her a hug. He’s an endearing talented soul and I will always remember kindness. Photo by Rebecca Dru Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2019 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . . . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #LOVE #chooseLOVE #bekind #heart #message #creativity #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified #rebeccadruphotography (at Hollywood Bowl) https://www.instagram.com/p/B5hTeA9gXAl/?igshid=1gl091xuzxuqy

Jerry Epstein thoughts on a few of his favorite composers: Mozart died at 35..how sad was that. He was getting deeper and so much more mature in his writing. I still get goosebumps from everything he wrote; just flawless and effortless. Beethoven is impossible. Such different styles, but also similar. That’s like saying you can only have lobster or filet mignon. Too difficult. BRAHMS: Listen to the Brahm’s G minor and C minor piano quartets. My piano quartet played them many times; just glorious. Jerry Epstein’s Stories are all written and edited by Rebecca Dru @druified ©2019 Rebecca Dru All Rights Reserved . . #LAPHIL #classicalmusic #Jerryepstein #violists #Musician #43yearsinthelaphil #mylifeasamusician #LOVE #chooseLOVE #bekind #heart #message #creativity #storytelling #documentary #recordkeeper #dailystory #instastory #History #druified https://www.instagram.com/p/B5hOBTpAxAr/?igshid=sw85pvejxdmv