{ Impromptu
L aura Farmer
Karin Brown
Assistant Principal Viola
When she and her cellist husband
welcomed twins, a family that includes
the BSO stepped in to help.
Any mother can tell you that no matter how much
you prepare, you are never quite ready for that moment: that is, when labor pains start to shoot through
your core, the moment when the drama of bringing
a new soul into the world unfolds, the day when you
meet the new love of your life.
For BSO Assistant Principal Viola Karin Brown,
that moment came on July 19, 2013, when she and
her husband of 13 years, cellist Daniel Levitov, welcomed not one, but two, new loves of their lives into
the world: Arabella Agnes and Imogen Smith.
“It was the scariest moment of my life!” recalls the
new mom. “I woke up at 3 a.m. because I was having
pains that felt like someone was squeezing my ribs.”
At 36 weeks pregnant, Brown had already beaten
the average term for carrying twins by one week,
so her doctor decided that it was time to bring her
babies into the world a little early.
Little Arabella, a.k.a. “Ara,” was the first born, with
little “Immy” tagging along behind.
Since the twins’ arrival, the new parents have started
to adjust to the new normal, thanks to a small army
of helpers.
“We were fortunate to have family help for the first
nine weeks of this adventure,” Karin says. “It is truly
a staggering amount of work even for four adults,
what with the feeding, changing diapers, cuddling,
washing bottles, and doing baby laundry.”
And if it takes a village to raise one child, it takes
an orchestra to raise twins — Brown has been
overwhelmed by the affection that her BSO family has poured on the Brown-Levitov family since it
doubled in size.
Karin with her twins Ara (left)
and Immy (right).
44 O v ertur e |
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M itro H o o d
“I have had so many colleagues stop by bearing
gifts of food,” she said of her fellow musicians, whom
she rejoined on stage in February. “We moved into
our new house about three weeks before the twins
were born, but I’ve