What was going on there? Our KHO musicians tell us about a snapshot before a concert. This time: Violinist Avigail Bushakevitz and dressing room 043.

That's what it is for me, too. We all get along very well. Sometimes, we stand together in front of the mirror chatting away while putting on our makeup before the concert. The photo was just for fun for the photographer, though—we don't usually do each other's makeup (laughs). But we help each other out with lots of things in everyday life—for example, it often happens that one of us has to borrow a spare pair of tights, they get torn so easily.

We also talk about the pieces or which conductors will come in next. I found my current violin maker thanks to a tip from the dressing room. When we play the New Year's Eve concert in festive colors instead of concert attire, we like to coordinate our outfits. Together, we celebrate our birthdays or when someone gets married, has a baby or has become a grandmother. And we also comfort each other when one of us is not doing well or really sad.

There is one that ended very happily for me: Between Christmas and New Year's Eve 2022, my colleagues were amused by the fact that I kept showing up with a different violin case and different violins. I just smiled and said I was trying them out. But actually, I had to swallow hard. Because the truth, which I could only tell a few of them, was that I had left my own violin under a seat in a crowded subway on December 23. The Berlin police did an incredible job of finding it. After 13 terrible days, I returned to the dressing room with my own violin in my own case and was able to tell the story. Everyone was so happy for me and we celebrated together!

Telling this, I feel a great longing for the dressing room and my colleagues because currently, I'm on parental leave.

After the preparations in dressing room 043: Avigail Bushakevitz on stage in our First Violin section.