From Civic to the CSO, Principal Librarian Justin Vibbard comes full circle

When Justin Vibbard began his current job as principal librarian of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in September 2023, returning to Symphony Center felt like coming home. Twenty years earlier, he had completed three seasons as the Civic Orchestra of Chicago’s first Library Fellow, a formative experience in his career. “If it wasn’t for Civic, I don’t know if I’d be a professional librarian,” he says.

Librarians occupy a distinct role within a professional orchestra, with much of their work going unseen by audiences and even their fellow orchestra members. “A colleague of mine always says that the librarian’s job is to make sure the right music is in the right place at the right time,” says Vibbard. “For lay people, that is the most concise way to put it.”

It might sound simple, but this process can take months or even years of preparation for any given concert. In the early stages of planning, librarians research publishers and editions, purchase or rent scores as needed, and communicate with conductors and soloists. Leading up to rehearsals, they check parts for publishing errors, hand-mark bowings for string players and make sure that each player’s part is organized in the same way so rehearsals will run efficiently. After distributing the music, marking any changes made during rehearsals and successfully completing a concert, librarians keep records of any practical details that could be useful for future performances.

Originally from New Mexico, Vibbard became interested in this work while helping with his high school band’s library. He continued to gain library experience as an undergraduate trombone performance major in Nebraska, where he was mentored by Tim Howe, librarian for the Omaha Symphony. While still in college, he took a job as librarian for the Lincoln Symphony in 1999. The following year, the Civic Orchestra of Chicago announced a new fellowship for aspiring librarians, and Vibbard’s teachers encouraged him to apply. After interviewing with Peter Conover, then the CSO’s principal librarian, he was offered the position and moved to Chicago in fall of 2000.

Within his first year of mentorship from Conover and the CSO’s other librarians, Carole Keller and Mark Swanson, Vibbard realized he wanted to pursue a career in the field. “It was no longer just an administrative job that I was doing in school; it was a real tradecraft,” he says. “As I saw the way the CSO librarians functioned as members of the orchestra, and what the expectations were from them, it was very interesting, but also the challenge was appealing to me.”

One of his favorite memories from his time in Civic is the first mainstage concert he worked, which featured Pierre Boulez conducting Béla Bartók’s The Miraculous Mandarin. “I was an undergrad in a small school in the Midwest, and six months earlier, I was studying about [Boulez] in my music history book,” Vibbard recalls. “Then, I get here and I’m emailing his assistant in Paris as he’s working with Peter Bartók on this new edition that Civic was the first American orchestra to play, which is now the edition that most people use. To be involved in that kind of project with Boulez, and also just experiencing him in rehearsal, it was an incredibly thrilling moment.”

“The marvelous thing about the Civic Library Fellowship is that it’s an environment where you are entrusted with the responsibility of your chair, and there’s no one there to pick up after you if you have problems,” he says. “But you have contact with and access to CSO coaches who help you figure out challenging situations. … So, there’s this expectation, but that expectation comes with empowerment and resources for the fellow to succeed.”

After Vibbard’s fellowship ended in 2003, he went on to apprentice at the Metropolitan Opera, where he later returned for several years as a substitute librarian. In 2004, he began a 19-year tenure as principal librarian of the Florida West Coast Symphony, now the Sarasota Orchestra. During his years in Florida, he also served as librarian for 10 seasons with the Mostly Mozart Music Festival at Lincoln Center, as well as with the Britt Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, Grant Park Music Festival, Aspen Music Festival and the Santa Fe Opera.

When Conover retired in 2023 and the CSO’s principal librarian position became vacant, Vibbard admits that he felt hesitant to audition. “Nothing’s guaranteed, and there’s a lot of good librarians out there,” he says. “I didn’t want to be let down because [the CSO] has been a very meaningful place.”

Like other members of the CSO, librarians hold collective bargaining positions, and these roles are filled through multiple rounds of auditions. Instead of playing orchestral excerpts like an instrumentalist would, librarians take written tests and interview with an audition committee.

“The questions are different than what you would find in a corporate interview process,” Vibbard explains. Audition committees aim to learn about an applicant’s approach to music preparation, technical abilities, work philosophy, problem-solving skills and verbal and written communication skills. The music director ultimately makes the hiring decision, so Vibbard’s final interview was with Riccardo Muti, who then appointed him as principal librarian.

Since he credits much of his success to the influence of strong mentors, Vibbard pays it forward by mentoring aspiring performance librarians, many of whom now hold positions in orchestras throughout North America. “I’ve always felt like there needs to be more opportunities like Civic for librarians,” he says. “The field is increasingly competitive, and expectations from conductors, managers and players have changed a lot.”

During his first season as principal librarian, Vibbard’s own full-circle experience really sank in when the CSO performed Bartók’s Suite from The Miraculous Mandarin, a shorter version of the piece that he had worked on with Boulez all those years earlier. “It was great to have my hands on the parts and to be doing this again in the same building, but now with a different conductor, different orchestra and in a different role,” he said. “That was a homecoming moment for me.”