by Erica Reid

John Morris Russell and Thea Tjepkema in front of Cincinnati Music Hall.

Although John Morris Russell (known around town as JMR) travels widely for guest conducting engagements, Cincinnati is truly home for him and his family, which includes historic preservationist Thea Tjepkema and their two children, both of whom were born in the Queen City. “Having lived in nearly every corner of the continent, this place just feels right,” confesses John.

“Since our very first day here, in the fall of 1995 when John began work as assistant conductor, the Orchestra has been like family,” says Thea. “We knew no one here, but all of a sudden we had 90 new family members.”

“They helped look after the kids,” laughs John. Several Orchestra members brought meals when the Russell children were born and remain good friends with the family to this day.

“It goes beyond the Orchestra,” John continues. “Some of our best friends work for the Opera, Ballet, Playhouse in the Park, Art Museum…. Across our entire arts community, everyone is always so supportive and fun to be with. There’s this sense that we’re all on the same team—that the pursuit of beauty and excellence is enhanced by our mutual experience.”

Beyond Cincinnati’s collaborative arts scene, what makes Cincinnati feel like home to JMR? If you’ve attended any of his Pops concerts, it may not surprise you that his first answers revolve around history.

JMR, Thea Tjepkema, JMR’s mother Janet and brother Eric in the rotunda at Cincinnati Union Terminal.

“You can actually see Cincinnati’s history in the buildings around us, an extraordinary timeline of American architecture, and of course Music Hall is the crown jewel,” he says. “I get teary-eyed when I see the Museum Center at Union Terminal—the extraordinary workmanship and design inside and out.” John also appreciates the details in the Mercantile Library, the Cincinnati Art Museum and the Italianate brownstones throughout the Over-the-Rhine neighborhood. “The fact that so much of it is gorgeously preserved—it gives us a unique sense of place,” he adds.

His interest spans beyond Cincinnati’s most famous attractions, as well. “It’s really cool to be in Eden Park and see the vestiges of the old water plant, with these huge chunks of limestone that have been repurposed from a reservoir into a park.” John loves the “thousands of stairs that cover all of our hills” and the footings of the old inclines in Price Hill and Mount Adams, “hidden and subsumed by nature, but still there.”

John Morris Russell and Thea Tjepkema at Great American Ballpark for a Cincinnati Reds game.

That sense of history informs Cincinnati’s music, of course—and Cincinnati has few citizens as passionate as JMR about its musical history.

“Why the Pops in Cincinnati? We are at the crossroads of musical culture in the USA,” he explains. “The first settlers came down the Ohio River from Appalachia, and later riverboats brought coal to stoke the flames of the Industrial Revolution in our burgeoning city. Those boats also brought Appalachian music, much of which had Celtic roots, that settled in the Ohio Valley and morphed into bluegrass and country.”

Cincinnati’s riverboats also connected the city to the deep south, from ports such as New Orleans, where they picked up more than cargo: they ferried Black musical culture, including African folk songs, blues, jazz and gospel traditions. German immigrants in the mid-19th century would add another layer to that musical history, bringing orchestral instruments and musical traditions along with them—forming orchestras and singing ensembles that would eventually spawn the May Festival, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra and so much more.

JMR is just as fascinated by Cincinnati’s current music scene as he is by its history. A few of his and Thea’s favorite spots for live music—outside of Music Hall—are The Comet in Northside, Caffè Vivace in Walnut Hills and Schwartz’s Point Jazz & Acoustic Club in Over-the-Rhine.

JMR with Chip Graeter (left) and Bob Graeter on a recent tour of the Graeter’s factory to see the production of JMR’s Holiday Pops ice cream (peppermint stick chocolate chip flavor).

“Although we adore fine dining when we have the opportunity (and there are plenty of options here), we really like ‘mom-and-pop joints,’” explains JMR. “We lived in Windsor [Ontario] for 11 years before moving back to Cincinnati, and one of the things we loved there was the incredible international cuisine,” he says, noting that their favorites were often family-owned restaurants with authentic cuisines from China or Iraq. The Russells had a harder time finding those great off-the-beaten-path restaurants when they moved to Cincinnati, until their children took up the challenge. “Both Alma and Jack started finding really interesting places with their high school friends (mostly in the ‘burbs). Now we know a bunch of spots to have fantastic dim sum or an exceptional shawarma.”

John Morris Russell with FC Cincinnati mascot Gary.

When visitors come to town, the Russells show them Cincinnati-iconic places, starting with Graeter’s Ice Cream in Hyde Park Square. “That’s always a gotta-do: eating an ice cream cone while sitting by the Kilgour Fountain,” says John. Guests can count on one of Thea’s amazing tours of Music Hall, and other visits may include exploring the American Sign Museum, wandering around Over-the-Rhine, any number of amazing parks, or grabbing a coffee at Lookout Joe. Ready for a beer or a bite? Zip’s Cafe in Mt. Lookout Square, City View Tavern in Mt. Adams, Rhinegeist in Over-the-Rhine, Scotti’s Italian Restaurant in downtown Cincy and New Riff Distillery in Bellevue are always on the list. Oh, and, naturally, guests will be invited to try Cincinnati-style chili—but the Russells are likely to choose Price Hill Chili over Skyline or Gold Star: “It’s the spiciest!” John declares.

JMR, Thea Tjepkema and composer Eric Whitacre at The Alcove.

To JMR and his family, the city they call home is a diverse blend of history, art, flavor and fascination. They find it walkable and family-friendly, and they adore the robust system of public parks. “There are so many things here that are unique and cherished, and so beautifully maintained and woven together,” John says.

At the end of the day, it is the people who make a place a home, and the Russells have found a richly diverse community of, as he likes to say, “really groovy people.”

“It comes down to the people who really love this place and all of the quirky, wonderful things about it,” he says. “All those folks who come to our concerts, who sing in our choruses, who make music together in dozens of community ensembles—it defines us. We are neighborly, supportive and empathetic, and, yes, a little geeky—that’s Midwestern chill.”

“In Cincinnati, people stay because they’re always looking out for each other,” he adds. “They invest in their community—their treasure, their time, their talents. They keep it here. I think that’s what we really love most, that everyone is invested in this place and in one another.”

John Morris Russell and Thea Tjepkema with the sparkling lights of the Roebling Bridge in the background.