The sound of an Irish fiddle is what pulled Evansville Philharmonic Orchestra Concertmaster Jack Bogard into a life of music.
Growing up in Cincinnati, Ohio, his walk past a former Irish pub called The Dubliner provided the spark.
“I heard its musicians playing,” he says. “I pointed to the fiddle and said, ‘I want to do that.’”
By second grade, he was taking lessons at Cincinnati’s Riley School of Irish Music.
“Irish fiddle became my musical language,” Bogard says, citing critically acclaimed Irish fiddler Martin Hayes as having the most impact on his artistic approach to music.
After learning largely by ear, classical violin lessons came next. From Celtic and classical, he also learned bluegrass, folk, and jazz.
“Gradually, I learned to express the different ways music made me feel through my violin,” he says.
After earning his bachelor’s degree in jazz at Cincinnati Conservatory of Music and a Solo Performance in Orchestra diploma from Indiana University, it was time to perform.
Bogard joined the Evansville Philharmonic violin section in 2021 and was promoted to concertmaster in 2023, leading the string section and assisting Music Director Roger Kalia. He also is the Eykamp String Quartet’s first violin and an adjunct music professor at the University of Evansville.
“Jack’s calm demeanor and thoroughness encourage collaboration and inspire confidence in his peers,” Kalia says. “His skills as a violinist set a high standard for artistry and elevate our string section to even greater heights.”
Bogard’s diverse musical experience “leads to a different way of learning the music we play, including how to interpret music and theory behind the music we play,” says philharmonic principal cellist Graham Cullen.
Bogard jumped headfirst into Evansville’s culture. He lives in a Haynie’s Corner Arts District carriage house and plays on the philharmonic’s wiffleball team. Handier with a bow than a bat, “I can hit the ball — sometimes,” Bogard admits.
You also can hear him at Haynie’s Corner’s Front Porch Fest. Just listen for a fiddle.
