Nikki Abissi, Trombone.
Extendabone inventor.
When you were 18, what were your career aspirations and how much (if at all) did those change by the time you finished university/grad school?
I wanted to play in an orchestra when I went to college at Juilliard. When I graduated I went to join the New World Symphony for a fellowship, so nothing changed.
Over the course of your entire career to this point — but prior to the pandemic — how have you pivoted or changed career paths and why?
While in my second season with the New World Symphony, I won my first orchestra job as second trombonist of the Alabama Symphony. It wasn’t a great fit for various reasons and after getting a third year added to my probation period I didn’t get tenure. Fortunately, I had been qualified runner up for Principal trombone of the Colorado Symphony. Unfortunately, the person who won the job took so long to say he wasn’t coming that I could no longer be offered the position and instead was given a one year contract.
During the time between when I took the audition and I was offered the one year, I began dating the man that would become my husband. In fact, we got engaged while I was playing in Colorado. I didn’t want to live across the country from him, so it no longer made sense for me to take the audition for Colorado again. With his job as principal trombone of the Atlanta Symphony, and less than a year after we got married Associate Principal Trombone of the New York Philharmonic, there were limited audition opportunities that made sense for me to bother taking. I also suffered a great loss of confidence without performing regularly as a full time member of an ensemble. The result of this is I have not won another audition for an ICSOM orchestra. Instead, I have been freelancing and hold positions in two smaller ensembles (American Symphony Orchestra and Montclair Symphony). I also teach, and have recently invented and produced an aid for trombonists called Extendabone that is a slide extension handle. As a short trombonist myself, I need this tool.
What were you doing at the start of this year (2020), prior to the pandemic?
I had my best year as a freelancer. I had gotten my contract for the American Symphony and a spot as a sub for West Side Story, which I felt was going to be a huge opportunity to break into more Broadway subbing. I also had a small teaching job working with beginning brass players, which I also lost at the end of June in addition to the other things.
How has the pandemic changed your career path or goals moving forward?
I am determined to carve enough work for myself teaching and coaching that I can survive another lockdown. It is a slog and I’m not feeling very successful at it right not while I write this, but I don’t want to be dependent on orchestras again. I also want to forge ahead with Extendabone. It is not a great time to have a product related to bands when so many schools are remote, but I am still gaining traction and learning about business while I do it.