Fairy tales are warm places of return. To be in a fairy tale is to let yourself wander aimlessly through the pines of imagination, to resist the mundanity of a regimented existence—if only for a moment.

For Dr. Nellie Sommer, bassoonist from the SYSO class of 2010, a fairy tale is more than just an escape, but a deeper source of inspiration that helped shape her professional career as a decorated musician, teacher, and academic.

From the SYSO rehearsal hall to Detroit Symphony Orchestra‘s stage, and even to the top billing on your Instagram algorithm, Nellie Sommer has created a fairy tale life all her own through her profound love of music.

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The summer before high school, Sommer played in an orchestra for the first time at SYSO’s summer camp Marrowstone in the City (now known as SYSO Summer Music), after only very recently beginning bassoon studies.

Sommer admits to feeling somewhat lost at first. “My first experience at SYSO was in Marrowstone in the City after only playing bassoon for two weeks. I was the oldest one there, I didn’t know very many fingerings, but I made so much progress.”

With help from private lessons with SYSO winds instructor Francine Peterson, Sommer moved the next year into SYSO’s advanced-level Marrowstone Music Festival, honing in on her technical skills to the point that her early insecurities about the bassoon lost intensity.

A day at Marrowstone includes 9 am–5 pm days packed with rehearsals and plenty of opportunities to socialize and build life-long friendships. That’s where Sommer says she developed her edge, as well as her first real sense that playing in an orchestra was right for her.

“Hanging out in the bassoon room at Marrowstone is my favorite SYSO memory… It was fun because of the community we built. We were constantly making reeds—we would trade tips, we would trade thread, and there was always a mentor or fellow there to help. We’d have impromptu bassoon quartet reading sessions, we were always playing card games–it was a great little spot for us.”

In addition to academic years performing in SYSO’s Junior and Youth Symphony Orchestras, Marrowstone inspired Sommer to look for a college experience that had musical offerings similar to SYSO’s.

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After completing undergraduate studies at Indiana University, Sommer went on to Yale School of Music for her master’s degree. Sommer pursued doctoral studies at Juilliard in 2017—and moved to New York City shortly before the world around her changed drastically.

With concert halls boarded up and teaching models struggling against the pressure of mindful social distancing due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the musical landscape lost any familiarity. Equipped only with Zoom accounts and ring lights, artists had to forge their own paths.

Sommer went back to the beginning: she dug deeper into her personal well of love for fairy tales. Sommer began using her personal Instagram account, @pulcinellie, as a place to post content highlighting some of her favorite fairy tale settings in the musical canon.

Sommer didn’t embark on this journey to become an influencer, saying, “[My Instagram page] was 95% just for me to have a pandemic project that would keep me practicing new repertoire, as well as a fun supplement to my dissertation on fairy tale music.”

Sommer’s fairy tale posts involve her, her bassoon, occasionally a friend or collaborator, and a very wide range of music. Scrolling through her Instagram feed, which includes years’ worth of content, you’ll hear classics by composers like Stravinsky, but there are also more modern pieces: excerpts from Disney’s The Little Mermaid, to moments from the Broadway smash-hit Wicked.

“When you’re not used to posting regularly, it can feel almost sickening, like selling out or bragging about yourself,” Sommer said of social media. “I purposefully turned away from that: it was about my musical interests, not really about me. It turned out other people thought it was cool, as well.”

Instagram kept Sommer connected with a community of musicians, providing the same sense of belonging she felt while building friendships during her summers at Marrowstone. “I’ve had really nice interactions with people who know me from Instagram, which was at first very strange. But we’re not really talking about me, we’re talking about a shared interest.”

And now, Sommer’s love for fairy tales doesn’t only exist in public archives on her Instagram. On September 20, 2024, through Parma Recordings, Sommer released her debut album “New Enchantments: Fairy Tale Music for Bassoon,” a collection of new fairy-tale works. “New Enchantments” features both new commissions and pieces Sommer arranged herself.

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Sommer navigates her work today passionately and with a developed sense of why music education is essential for young people. She hopes to instill the next generation with the same skills, community, and impactful mentorship she experienced through her work today teaching students in the Detroit Symphony Youth Orchestra.

“I feel a moral obligation to teach. I have quite direct involvement with the youth symphony here through educational programming [at the Detroit Symphony Orchestra], which is very cool… I see music education as vital in creating a strong community.”

Whether working with new musicians through the Detroit Symphony’s youth orchestra or instructing collegiate-level musicians in her studio at Rochester’s Oakland University, Sommer carries a little bit of SYSO with her everywhere.

“As a teacher, my biggest influence is Francine Peterson. She’s responsible for so many formative experiences and taught me how valuable having a good teacher can be. I had a conversation with her a few weeks ago–we talked for about an hour and she gave me some great advice. She is who I think about when I’m teaching now.”

Sommer credits other SYSO individuals, as well, for influencing her road to success and the teaching methods she employs today: Marcus Tsutakawa, former conductor of the Junior Symphony Orchestra, and Janice Gatti, SYSO’s Orchestra Manager of over 30 years, to name a couple.

As someone who felt behind her peers when she enrolled at SYSO, to now having a decorated life as performer, instructor, and arts enthusiast, Sommer would encourage any new SYSO student to find the courage to fully immerse themselves.

“SYSO is an incredible organization. There aren’t many [organizations] out there that can offer the depth and scope of study that SYSO does. Go for whatever you want to go for, even if you’re telling yourself you’re not ready. Dive into the deep end, because you’re at an organization that will support you in that journey.”

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Connect & learn more:
Website: www.corneliasommer.com
Instagram: @pulcinellie
Detroit Symphony
Oakland University