TBJ186: Beth Wiese

This conversation with Dr. Bethany Wiese, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Appalachian State University, was incredibly engaging.

We had a deep conversation about things like how applying restrictions to the creative process can actually free you up to be more creative, the value of being “intelligently unpredictable” and separating the output of you as a musician with you as a person.

It’s a wonderful and thought-provoking conversation.

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!

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Monday YouTube Fix: Arnold Jacobs on Solfege

This short clip perfectly sums up why solfege is so important for brass players.

And as an added bonus you get to enjoy a little 1984 fashion!

TBJ185: Sylvia Alimena

Sylvia Alimena is a gift to the brass world and the music world in general!

As you will hear, she has an incredibly refreshing outlook on performing, teaching and on life.

The work that she does with Brass of Peace will have a ripple effect on the world for many years to come.

I’m so glad we were finally able to make this interview happen!

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!

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On This Episode of The Brass Junkies:

• Sylvia’s incredible 29-year run in the National Symphony Orchestra

• What it was like playing under Rostropovich

• The energy and passion that was captured in the National Symphony Orchestra recordings under Rostropovich

• The one-liners that Slava used to deliver in rehearsals

• A memorable concert of Shostakovich 8 in Orchestra Hall in Chicago where they really went for it

• The National Symphony’s transition from Rostropovich to Slatkin

• What she learned as a conductor from Leonard Slatkin

• Slatkin’s ability to convey everything in rehearsal with his hands rather than his word

• Rostropovich’s ability to motivate every single person in the orchestra and make them feel loved and how she has tried to bring that to all of her conducting engagements

• What she saw coming from the podium that she intentionally tried not to emulate herself as a conductor

• The benefit of an orchestral horn section that isn’t all playing the same brand of horn

• How Sylvia took over Brass of Peace from its founder

• Why it’s never too soon to talk to students about artistry

• Working through a common problem with “Guinea Pig Time”

• Why she stopped teaching for a while and why she felt a calling to come back to it

• Why the key of saying no to things is putting yourself and your health first

• Her need to convey strength and where she thinks that might come from

• What life was like as a female horn player in an orchestra early in her career

• How she has seen kids evolve mentally to be more human towards each other than they were 30+ years ago

• Lance teaching his studio to tango

• “Hold the torch high”

• Sylvia’s job as an educator is to give students the skills to differentiate themselves in college

• The three-step audition process for Brass of Peace and what a typical season looks like

• How COVID has changed whether some kids are looking to go into music for a career

• Fractured Atlas and how they help to support Brass of Peace

• Sylvia visits The Practicing Corner with two really good pieces of advice

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Monday YouTube Fix: Tank And The Bangas - NPR Music Tiny Desk Concert

The musical storytelling is SCREAMING LOUD in this performance. That’s all I’m going to say.

Make music with as much conviction as this and you will get traction and find an audience. Guaranteed.

Enjoy!

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An Incredible Quote from Naval Ravikant

The following is an excerpt from TEM253:

Here's this week's quote. Four words and it is powerful. This is from Naval Ravikant and it is:

"Escape competition through authenticity."

That is brilliant. The number of times in my life where I've said this much in only four words is exactly zero.

The only way to escape competition is to not be fungible or interchangeable. And the only way to not be fungible is to be yourself. That's the only thing you've got over the rest of the world and the only thing that I've got over the rest of the world is that I'm me. Double down on whatever it is that makes you, you.

That's what being authentic means.

But keep in mind that as soon as you have the courage to be authentic, people will come for you. There will be downvotes on YouTube and 1-star ratings on Apple Podcasts and replies to your tweets questioning why you had the audacity to think that anyone else needed to hear those thoughts.

This is because people who are authentic and true to themselves and have the courage to actually show that to other people are a direct threat to people who don't have that courage. So know this is coming, but also keep in mind that it is truly the only way to escape competition and to get traction in the music business and in the world in general.

So as Seth Godin likes to say, go make a ruckus.

You can listen to the entire episode below or wherever you listen to podcasts.

TEM254: Monica Ellis of Imani Winds

TEM254

Monica Ellis has been the bassoon player for Imani Winds since founding it 25 years ago and is a creative force in the musical world.

Listen Now

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TEM254: Monica Ellis of Imani Winds

Monica Ellis has been the bassoon player for Imani Winds since founding it 25 years ago and is a creative force in the musical world.

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

• The past collaborations between Imani Winds and Boston Brass and how special it was to combine so many seasoned chamber musicians

• The importance of bringing a point of view when making music

• The people, the mission and the “badassery” that have enabled Imani Winds to survive and thrive for 25 years when so many other groups don’t make it a fraction of that time

• How a group having a strong foundation and premise helps things to always be moving forward when adversity arises

• How each time Imani Winds has brought on a new member they have brought their own authentic selves to the group (and why they always look for strong personalities)

• Why the backstage relationship is what brings the magic to the stage in a chamber ensemble

• The enormous amount of opportunities presented to Monica and Imani Winds and how they decide when to say no

• How Monica is able to be so present in her family’s life while also being so involved with Imani Winds (note this is NOT the how can you be a mother and have a career question!)

• Why “turning the switch off” is important as a musical entrepreneur since there is always something else still to do

• How the mission of Imani Winds has evolved over time (and how their mission started by knowing what they didn’t want to do)

• The musical storytelling that Imani Winds has done over the last 25 years

• Why no matter how young you are, you don’t need to wait to tell an interesting story

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.tem.fm/shownotes

Monday YouTube Fix: Mahler 2 with The Cleveland Orchestra and Leonard Bernstein

I was today years old when I learned that Leonard Bernstein only conducted the Cleveland Orchestra once in his career! At least it was a phenomenal performance…

Here he is conducting them in 1970, filling in for George Szell who was in the hospital.

The story goes that Bernstein went to the hospital to visit Szell and that Mrs. Szell wouldn’t let him in because he was wearing a white leisure suite and told him he looked like an ice cream cone.

This is one of those stories that may not be true but I choose to believe it is because it is awesome!

Enjoy!

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The Case for One Person Calling the Shots in a Chamber Group

I have been in chamber groups with one person calling the shots artistically. I’ve also been in chamber groups where everyone had an equal say in what was played and how it was played.

It’s seems to be a common belief that a true artistic democracy is the more desirable of these two models. That everyone putting their vision forward will always end up with a richer artistic product.

But in my experience, each model has benefits.

Jeff Curnow, former member of the legendary Empire Brass and current member of the Philadelphia Orchestra, talks in the clip from TBJ182 below about the benefits of playing in a group where one or two people are calling the shots.

It’s just food for thought if you’re ever considering starting a group.

Artistic democracies are good! But so are groups that are formed to realize the vision of just one or two people!

For episode 182 of The Brass Junkies, come for thoughts on how to set up a chamber group artistically and stay for the Empire Brass road stories. This interview was one of my favorite hours in quite some time.

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TBJ184: Sergio Carolino

We finally got around to interviewing the legend that is Sergio Carolino. He is a truly special musician and one hell of a human being.

This was one of those interviews that left me energized. Sergio is so kind and so generous. I really appreciate his approach to his craft and his outlook on life.

And he had a very special relationship with Sam Pilafian, which he told us about.

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!

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On This Episode of The Brass Junkies:

• Why he feels the need to have something extra creatively on top of his orchestra gig

• What drives him to have so many projects

• His desire to keep tuba music moving forward as an artform

• Why he doesn’t make music for ego but in pursuit of excellence

• The 10 albums that Sergio has completely finished that he hasn’t released yet!

• How he still can’t believe that he gets to play recitals with people like Gene Pokorny and Dan Perantoni

• The first time he met Sam Pilafian and how blown away he was by one of his idols talking to him like they had known each other for years

• How his first tuba influences were Sam Pilafian, Kirk Joseph and Bob Stewart and not the classical guys

• The trouble he ran into at conservatory when he showed up and sounded like the jazz guys he grew up listening to

• How if you imitate the sound and the phrasing then the intonation and rhythm fall into line

• How lucky he was to get recordings of some of the giants of the tuba world at an early age

• Why he thinks about fretless bass even when he’s playing classical solos

• The curiosity that drives him

• His original plan to pursue a career as a caricature artist

• How he created his own musical opportunities with the other people in his village beginning at age 13 or 14

• Why he stays away from negative people

• The many ways that any of us can make the world, and the musical world, a better place

• The importance of being around musicians who are better than you

• The musicians he would most love to collaborate with (he doesn’t hesitate with his answer)

• His passion for learning styles of music which are new to him (and why the key to all of it is learning the phrasing)

• The low point he reached 6 or 7 years ago that almost led him to quitting the orchestra and moving to Nepal and the advice that Gene Pokorny that renewed his love of tuba playing

• How we are only here for a few years before moving on and why we need to make the most of our time

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TEM253: The real reason your rates are so low

TEM253

The thing we are afraid of and why we should realize that the hardest part is already done.

Listen Now

Apple Podcasts
Spotify
SoundCloud
Stitcher

TEM253: The real reason your rates are so low

The thing we are afraid of and why we should realize that the hardest part is already done.

On Today's Episode of The Entrepreneurial Musician:

• Why we charge people less than we really think we are worth (and why the reason doesn’t hold up to scrutiny)

• The hardest emotional part of a sale and why it’s already done once someone has contacted you to inquire about your services

• Why we must not associate us promoting our music with pushy sell at all costs tactics like they use at car dealerships (and how we frequently do equate them on some subconscious level)

• This week’s quote is Naval Ravikant saying more in four words than I can say in four episodes!

Show notes for all episodes of TEM including topics discussed, links to all books and websites referenced can be found at:

http://www.tem.fm/shownotes