Jay Julio plays viola and violin in the orchestra of the Angelica cast in the current touring production of the musical "Hamilton."
Life on tour is nothing like "regular" life, Julio told IPR.
Mondays are usually the only day off, but because Mondays are also travel days, the musicians don't always get to rest on their day off.
Julio said they and the other musicians must manage their energy carefully during the days to ensure they can give everything to each audience every night.
"It's a big emotional investment," Julio said. "It's why I went into music."
Julio noted that coming to a performance is also a big emotional and financial investment for the audience members, and they take that responsibility seriously.
"We are the thing that somebody has looked forward to for a whole year or more," they said. "We are in the business of making people's dreams come true for a night."
Going on tour also can mean putting life, or at least one version of life, on hold.
Julio went on leave from their position as assistant principal viola at Opera Philadelphia for the tour. They also gave up their apartment and put all their belongings in storage.
"When I decided to join this tour, I knew that I could leave in this way and totally give myself to the tour," they said. "I'm very lucky that I could do that."
This is their first Broadway tour, and Julio is the only person in their current tour who's doing it for the first time.
"It's really an honor to be part of this incredible band," they said.
As far as how they got the role, Julio explained that Broadway shows and tours don't have the same audition process as roles in professional orchestras.
Instead, a music coordinator scouts or "headhunts" musicians who would be good fits.
"It's much more like a chamber music, where the ensemble will reach out to you first," Julio said. "This is very different than an orchestral setting."
They gave the example of their audition with Opera Philadelphia for the assistant principal viola role, which Julio ended up winning. That was a full day of blind auditions where violists from all over the country flew in to Philadelphia to be considered.
When asked where audiences can hear them shine during a performance, Julio points out a four-measure viola solo they get to play during "One Last Time," George Washington's farewell address.
Julio is also a member of the orchestra's string quartet (two violins, viola and cello) that is featured throughout the score (including in the very first measure), particularly in ballads.
"It's Quiet Uptown," heard near the end of the show, is also a feature piece for the string instruments.
"I always have to pace myself and make sure I'm ready to play that," Julio said.
The current Broadway tour of "Hamilton" will be in Michigan later this month at the Wharton Center in East Lansing.
The tour returns to Michigan in July and August at the DeVos Performance Hall in Grand Rapids.
For those who might want to attend "Hamilton" but for whom cost might be a barrier, Julio suggests downloading the "Hamilton" app to participate in a digital lottery for $10 tickets. The ticket lottery for each city opens a few days before the tour arrives.
In the next couple of months, the "Hamilton" tour will also be in Las Vegas, Des Moines, Cleveland and Columbus, OH.
