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Hitz Academy Blog

A blog about performing music, teaching music and the business of music.

Filtering by Tag: Matt Neff

The Brass Junkies Episode 180: Matt Neff of the North Carolina Symphony

Andrew Hitz

As you will hear, Matt is a really good friend. We used to teach together and played next to each other in the American Festival Pops Orchestra for years.

We had so much back there that I’m not sure how we never got in any trouble!

Matt is a killer classical player and a killer jazz player! Both of them sound like his home base and that’s not easy to do.

I loved hearing him talk about taking lessons after he already had a major gig and crediting that with winning the North Carolina Symphony audition upon his retirement from the United States Air Force Band.

You can watch the episode on YouTube below or head over to Pedal Note Media for all of the links to where to find it.

Enjoy!


On This Episode of The Brass Junkies:

  • His brand new awarding of tenure with the North Carolina Symphony!

  • The North Carolina Symphony’s significant outreach across the state

  • Getting a lesson with Jim Nova to overcome nerves with auditions

  • The negative self-talk he experienced in his Pittsburgh Symphony audition and how he dealt with it moving forward

  • How he used taking 20-25 professional auditions during his time in the Navy Band to “check himself” as a musician

  • Changing his pants while driving down I-95

  • The different kind of practicing you do when you are preparing for auditions

  • Matt’s 17-year run in the Navy Concert Band in Washington, DC

  • The Ashley Alexander recording Matt heard as a kid featuring Commodores bass trombonist Lee Goss (the loudest bass trombonist to ever live according to Matt)

  • His 2-hour audition for The Commodores including playing with the band, the trombone section and playing tunes with the rhythm section

  • The variety he’s experienced in his career and why it’s so important to him

  • Throwing Matt Niess under the bus