Beaumont Enterprise | When Symphony of Southeast Texas music director Chelsea Tipton moved to Beaumont, he bought a matching bow tie and cummerbund with the Texas flag on it. “I kind of started there saying Texas is my home,” Tipton said. The set has become one of many fancy, colorful and patterned vest, tie and cummerbund combinations in a collection Tipton has built over 10 years.
He has just over 20 ties. “I think it just adds a little bit of a twist to the appearance of things,” Tipton said. When choosing which set to wear for a particular concert, Tipton considers the music. For a classical concert, he’ll go with more subdued colors with subtle patterns that don’t detract from the formality of the event. For pops concerts, he’ll wear bright colors and funky socks, sometimes changing at intermission to keep it fresh for the audience.His favorite colors are red and purple.
Whatever he chooses, it has to be loud enough that people can see it from far away, but not so loud that it takes away from the show. “You want them to focus on the music,” Tipton said. “You don’t want it to be so ostentatious that they’re looking at you and not listening.” Tipton admits he doesn’t tie the bow ties himself. They come already knotted and he slips them over his head and adjusts them. He said he tried to learn with YouTube videos but found it difficult to follow. But he does want to learn.
“My next step with the bow tie journey will be to learn how to tie my bow tie,” Tipton said.
To see some of Tipton’s ties, visit the Beaumont Enterprise feature and scroll through the photo gallery.
