Music on the Rocks

This episode of MOTR I have the pleasure of the company of fellow Yamaha Horn Artists Mike McCoy (former hornist of Presidio Brass, studio musician and Faculty at San Diego State University and Point Loma Nazarene University) and Larry Williams (Black Pearl Chamber Orchestra, Lyric Brass Quintet and Adjunct Professor of Horn at Washington Adventist University).  Grab a cold one and join us as we talk about our hate / hate relationship with bell covers, reminisce on stories and antics of long running shows and what its like to be a horn player in the world of professional Brass Quintets!

This episode of MOTR I am joined by the Associate Principal Trumpet of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Jeffrey Curnow!  Jeff is a former member of the Empire Brass, former principal trumpet of the Dallas Symphony and is currently on faculty at both the Curtis Institute and Temple University.  Jeff is also a weekly contributing cartoonist for NPR!Grab a cold one and join us as we talk about his love for cartooning, his touring days with Empire, the differences between playing in a chamber group and being Principal Trumpet of a ajor Symphony Orchestra and of course ... gin!  

This episode I am very pleased to have one of my great friends and touring buddies, Jose Sibaja with me!  Jose is the Lead Trumpet player of the Boston Brass and Associate Professor of Trumpet for the Blair School of Music at Vanderbilt University.   Sit back and enjoy a cold beverage as we discuss recording from home, teaching and tough love, touring with Ricky Martin, the do's and don'ts of travel and relive great stories from the road!www.Josesibaja.com

A special, post recital interview from the North East Horn Workshop with Elizabeth Freimuth, Randy Gardner and Jeff Scott!Grab your drink and don't miss this episode with these amazing hornists as we talk about their careers, failures and what they learned from them, how they chose their programming in a Covid era and much more!

It is such a pleasure to have one of the staples of the Las Vegas music scene, Beth Lano, on MOTR this episode! Beth is Associate Principal Horn of the Las Vegas Philharmonic, has been the top call freelance hornist on the Las Vegas Strip since the 80's and is the Director of Marketing and Public Relations at the University of Nevada Las Vegas. Grab a drink and join us in conversation as we talk about her career in music, her journey into PR and Marketing and a plethora of other interesting topics!

This Episode of MOTR I am delighted to have the one and only Zoltan Kiss as a guest! Zoltan is an internationally recognized trombone soloist and has been a member of the Mnozil Brass since 2005.Grab a cold drink and join us as we talk about how he was discovered by Mnozil, funny stories from the road, the state of live music and his favorite things to cook!www.zoltankiss.com

In this episode of MOTR, I am joined by fantastic musician and horn maker Dan Vidican. Dan is the owner and craftsman of Lukas Horns and also plays 4th horn with the Memphis Symphony. Grab you favorite spirit and join us as we talk about the qualities of a great custom horn and the famous soundtracks we've all heard his horns on, the importance of not waiting for the perfect time to start new things, hobbies and most importantly ... soccer!

This episode of MOTR I have the pleasure of hanging with my good friend and amazing horn player Jamie Hersch! Jamie is Associate Principal horn of the Singapore Symphony and on faculty at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory. Grab a drink and join us as we talk about his rapid rise to professional playing, candid details of self derailment and getting back on track, performing and recording the worlds longest piece written for horn and of course cars and video games!

This episode I had the pleasure of hanging out with wonderful Hornist and Composer James Naigus. Grab a beverage and join us as we talk at length about his upcoming consortium piece for horn and mixed media "Visions" along with everything from his upbringing as a young musician to shows that we wish were not leaving Netflix!http://jamesnaigus.com/home.html

This episode of MOTR, I am absolutely thrilled to have legendary hornist David Krehbiel as a guest. He has been a staple in the orchestral world for decades having been a member of such orchestras as the Chicago Symphony, the Detroit Symphony and the San Francisco Symphony. Grab your favorite beverage and join us for an hour as we talk about his brand new book "Through the Door: A Horn-Players Journey", reminisce about his days in the orchestras, his experiences conducting and playing in the Summit Brass and his penchant for pranks!

This episode of MOTR, I had the pleasure of chatting with the incomparable hornist Rick Todd! You name it, he's done it. From Orchestral playing to Hollywood Studio playing to putting out burning Jazz Albums, Rick Todd is at home with it all. Grab your favorite sipping drink and join us while we talk about cutting his teeth as a student and colleague of Vince DeRosa, jamming with Clark Terry, touring with Barbara Streisand, his new project "The Art of Practicing" and much more! www.richardtoddmusic.com

I'm delighted to be joined this episode by world class instrument case maker Howard Wiseman. Known throughout the music world for his beautiful, innovative, super light and durable carbon fiber instrument cases, Howard Wiseman has been at the top of his craft since he was a teenager! Grab a drink and join us for a great chat about how he built a thriving business at the young age of 15, how he combines his love for sports with music and whats next for Wiseman of London!

This episode, I am thrilled to have my dear friend and musical mentor Tom Leslie. Tom is the Director of the Division of Wind Band Studies and Professor of Conducting at the University of Las Vegas, Nevada. He has conducted, and recorded twenty-one highly acclaimed albums with the UNLV Wind Orchestra and has served as the 75th President of the prestigious American Bandmasters Association. Grab a drink and join us as we talk careers, cars and everything in between!

My guest this episode is my former horn professor and good friend Bill Bernatis! Bill is the Assistant Professor of Horn at the University of Nevada Las Vegas and serves as Principal Horn with the Las Vegas Philharmonic, as well as Assistant Principal Horn with the Chautauqua Symphony. So grab your favorite libation and join us for the next hour or so as we talk about his eclectic career as a hornist, his love of tequila and as always, great stories ... including an audition for the Empire Brass!

This episode I am joined by Michelle Baker, retired second horn of The Metropolitan Opera Orchestra and Chair of the Brass Department at the Manhattan School of Music. Join us as we explore her career at the Met, talk about movie scores she's played on as well as favorite foods to cook and shows to binge watch!

This episode of MOTR, I am joined by Horn Professor at University of Wisconsin-Madison and Meridian Arts Ensemble Hornist Daniel Grabois. You won't wanna miss this one as we chat about everything from his time on Broadway to what he did to secure a six figure grant from his university to playing for Frank Zappa in his home! So grab your drink, kick up your feet and press play!http://www.danielgrabois.com/

This episode, I sit down with world renowned Dutch composer and conductor Johan de Meij! Grab your favorite beverage and join us as we discuss everything from his beginnings in music as young low brass player in military bands to his award winning / best selling compositions. https://johandemeij.com

In this episode, I interview Imani Winds hornist and newly minted Oberlin Associate Professor of Horn, Jeff Scott. Join us as we talk about his career, life on the road and reminisce with stories we've shared over the years! I honestly haven't laughed this hard in a long time, so grab a drink and prepare to kill an hour or so hanging with us on Music on the Rocks!

Join me in a great conversation with the virtuoso hornist Marty Hackleman, as we cover his orchestra days, chamber music days, teaching and a bunch of great stories from the road!

I have a great chat with the great Jerry Peel! A legendary commercial horn player. Jerry has recorded hundreds of radio and television commercials, Hollywood films and recordings of an impressive array of top jazz and pop stars including Dizzy Gillespie, Chuck Mangione, Barbara Streisand and Frank Sinatra.