Horn Legend Gail Williams Opens Season 3 of The Brass Junkies
The Brass Junkies is back! For the first interview on the show in close to three years, I was incredibly honored to be joined by Gail Williams. You can watch the full episode on Gail’s artist page.
The term legend is thrown around so much that it has practically lost its meaning. But what word better describes the impact that Gail Williams has had on the brass world and the world in general? The retired Associate Principal Horn of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and Professor Emerita at Northwestern University is a legend, an icon and a force of nature. And she is one of the nicest people you could ever hope to chat with. I’m so glad this one finally happened!
I was joined as co-host by another absolute force, Nicole Cash, retired Associate Principal Horn of the San Francisco Symphony. She studied with Gail at Northwestern, and the moment I decided to ask Gail to do this interview, I knew Nicole needed to be the co-host. She was predictably incredible in that role!
A few of the things we talked about:
The promise Gail made to her late teacher John Covert that has her flying halfway around the world
The Phil Farkas line that changed the course of her career
Posting her CSO resignation letter the same week she was set to solo with the orchestra
How Arnold Jacobs’ teaching gradually boiled down to one simple instruction
After the interview, I debuted a new segment called Lance Would’ve Hated This. Nothing would have made Lance LaDuke more uncomfortable than a segment that only exists for people to say nice things about him, hence the name. Joining me for the first one was a longtime friend and collaborator of Lance’s, the amazing Deanna Swoboda.
Every time I talk with Gail, Nicole or Deanna, I end the conversation in a better mood than when it started. I hope this episode does the same for you.
Head to Gail’s artist page to watch the full episode, read the show notes and transcript, and catch clips from the conversation.
