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A blog about performing music, teaching music and the business of music.
Here is a recording by the former Principal Flute of the New York Philharmonic, Jeanne Baxtresser. This is taken from her first album which was recorded in 1986.
This is the Allegro from C.P.E. Bach's "Concerto for Flute in D Minor".
Enjoy!
Here is a thought-provoking article by Peter Greene titled "Stop 'Defending' Music Education". He makes some really great points that should be read by everyone.
Today I ran across one more xeroxed handout touting the test-taking benefits of music education, defending music as a great tool for raising test scores and making students smarter. It was just one more example among many of the “keep music because it helps with other things” pieces out there.
I really wish people would stop “defending” music education like this.
I get that music programs are under intense pressure, that all across America they are sitting hunched over with one nervous eye on a hooded figure stalking the halls with a big budgetary ax. Music programs are watching administrators race by, frantically chasing test scores and ignoring music in schools. So it may seem like a natural step to go running after the testing crowd hollering, “Hey, I can help with that, too.”
Don’t. Just don’t.
You can find the article here.
Chris Martin is one of the greatest orchestral trumpet players in the world. He is the Principal Trumpet of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra.
Here is a great opportunity to hear him as a soloist. He is performing the Arutunian Trumpet Concerto live with the Santa Monica High School Band under the direction of Kevin McKeon.
Enjoy!
Are you a horn player looking for some ideas for the practice room? Or maybe you have a horn student in your band who is looking for some help with how to get better?
There is a great website by two fabulous horn players and teachers, John Ericson and Bruce Hembd, called Horn Matters. It is a horn resource filled with tips on just about everything horn related you can imagine.
Follow the link below to 10 pages worth of links to stories about practicing. They cover everything from warming up and transposing to focus in the practice room and tonguing.
This is a great resource for horn players and teachers of all ability levels!
I have run out of superlatives to describe Mnozil Brass. The playing. The writing. The staging. The storytelling. Absolutely world class.
Want to make money in the music business? Come up with a concept as original as these guys did.
They did not just do what had already been done but a little better. They are unlike anything that came before them or anything that has come since.
it's hard to get an idea of what Mnozil Brass is like in concert from one clip but this does the trick. They throw one heck of a curveball at you towards the end.
Just stunningly awesome.
Enjoy!
"It is not a matter of being better than anyone else. How can you love trying to be better than anyone else? Play for your own satisfaction, and for other's enjoyment."
—Bud Herseth (Former Principal Trumpet - Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
Mr. Herseth was an incredible player and teacher and his above words are incredibly wise.
There is a byproduct of playing for your own satisfaction: You tend to enjoy the process of getting better a whole lot more and therefor do the work. Bottom line: You get better.
Practice something until you love it and then share it with the world. At that point you'll be dying to share it with us and that will shine through in your performance.
Episode 17 of The Brass Junkies features Mary Bowden, an international trumpet soloist and founding member of the Seraph Brass. She discusses her travels around the world, a transformational experience she had with our good friend Jens Lindemann that inspired her to take her career to the next level, and her new brass quintet, Seraph Brass.
She also talks about how she has gone about creating her personal brand through highly produced videos, professional photo shoots, and a great website.
Links:
Mary Bowden
Seraph Brass
Mary's YouTube Channel
Mary's Facebook Fan Page
To Sell Is Human by Daniel H. Pink
Want to help the show? Take a minute to leave us a rating and a review on iTunes.
You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation at https://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!
Produced by Austin Boyer and Buddy Deshler of FredBrass
"Never quit something with great long-term potential just because you can't deal with the stress of the moment."
—Seth Godin from "The Dip"
Spot on as always from Seth Godin! You should never make a decision to quit something in the heat of battle.
Don't decide to cut something from your recital program while you are in the middle of a frustrating practice session.
Don't decide that your band needs to play an easier march for assessment while you are in the middle of a bad rehearsal.
Don't decide to change career paths while you are in the middle of a terrible gig.
Any of the above conclusions may very well be the best thing moving forward. But there is never a drawback to being sure you are not succumbing to the stress of the moment.
The only way to accurately assess the long-term potential of something is to do so without any emotions involved. So avoid doing so in the stress of the moment.
Here is the University of Texas Wind Ensemble under the direction of Jerry Junkin performing John Mackey's "Wine-Dark Sea: Symphony for Band".
This is a live performance from 2/12/14 at Bates Recital Hall in Austin, TX.
John Mackey is one of my favorite composers writing music today. This piece is awesome.
Enjoy!
"A woodpecker can tap 20 times on a thousand trees and get nothing, but stay busy. Or he can tap 20,000 times on one tree and get dinner."
—Seth Godin from "The Dip"
Don't let this happen to you when you are practicing your instrument, working on your conducting, or pursuing whatever it is that you do.
Don't start working on something and then stop when it gets difficult to move on to something else.
There is a potential trap there. If you move along to work on something else you can trick yourself by "staying busy" or "working hard" or whatever euphemism you'd like to use instead of calling it what it is: that you bailed once the work got difficult.
The successful people in the music business regularly try the 20,000 times thing and then eat dinner.
What are you avoiding by moving on to the next tree well before you reach 20,000 taps?