four questions

Kenny Wolin chats with Platinum.

The rhythm and beat of Barack Obama's historic

WHAT BOOK, CD,
OR OTHER MEDIA
DO YOU LONG TO
SHARE?
I'd share the book What
Happy People Know: How
the Science of Happiness Can
Change Your Life for the
Better by Dan Baker. It's an
antidote for Jewish guilt.
I'd rather not say much
about the book because it's
personal. I'd rather let peo-
ple discover it for them-
selves if they choose to. But
one thing I will say is that
reading it will save you lots
of money on therapy.

presidency is, in part, in the hands of percussionist

KENNY WOLIN. The Oak Park native, who now lives in

Virginia, is a gunnery sergeant with "The President's

Own" United States Marine Band, America's old-

est professional musical organization. "We basically

provide musical support for the White House and

the commandant of the Marine Corps as well as

ceremonial duties, from the inauguration to parades

and funerals," Wolin explains. He first auditioned and

won a place in the band in 1997, but Wolin's musical

pursuits go back to his childhood. He's a graduate

of Oberlin Conservatory in Ohio and the University of

Michigan, where he earned a master's degree in per-

cussion performance. Wolin, 41, also played with the

Rhode Island Philharmonic and has freelanced as a

marimba soloist. He has two children, Sarah, 10, and

Ben, 6. While the talented musician has not had the

chance to speak with President Obama, he's humbled by his own

place in American history. "Because I play some unusual instru-

IF YOU COULD HAVE BRUNCH WITH
ONE BIBLICAL OR HISTORICAL JEWISH
FIGURE, WHO WOULD IT BE?
Saul Wahl (according to legend, he was the king of
Poland for a single day). This is my original family
name before Wolin(ski). My dad and grandpa used to

ments, I've found quite a niche with the band," Wolin says. "I may

be the first concertina [an accordion-like instrument] and bones

player to ever perform in the White House." Here, we ask Kenny

Wolin our version of the Four Questions.

—Robin Schwartz

tell me this story that we're his descendants; and that
in the late 1500s, [Wahl] was the first and only [tem-
porarily] elected king of Poland who had passed laws
that helped the Jewish people. Even though there's not
a lot of historical data to support the story, it would
be interesting to learn more about this and meet my
ancestor.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE JEWISH FOOD?
During Passover, it's gefilte fish and Grandma Fink's
brisket. I was very fortunate to grow up with both sets
of grandparents and all of my aunts and uncles and
cousins living in the same area. Passover brought and
kept us all very close so those are my "comfort foods."

WHAT WOULD PEOPLE BE SURPRISED TO
KNOW ABOUT YOU?
I'm one of the few professional Anglo concertina [an
accordion-like instrument with bellows and buttons on
both ends] and rhythm bones [a pair of animal bones
or pieces of wood held between one's fingers] players
in the world, as well as the first in the history of the
Marine Band. I've also performed on these instru-
ments for the past four years at Mystic Seaport's Sea
Music Festival in Connecticut.

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