Podcasts about Chamber Music America

From Cuba, Dafnis Prieto's revolutionary drumming techniques and compositions have had a powerful impact on the music landscape, nationally and internationally. His various awards and honors include a MacArthur “Genius” Fellowship, a GRAMMY Award for Back to the Sunset (2018), two additional GRAMMY nominations, two Latin GRAMMY nominations (including Best New Artist in 2007), and the Jazz Journalists Association's Up & Coming Musician of the Year in 2006. As a composer, Prieto has created music for dance, film, chamber ensembles, and most notably for his own bands, ranging from duets to big bands. He has received commissions, grants, and fellowships from Chamber Music America, Princeton University, Jazz at Lincoln Center, MoMA, Whitney Museum of American Art, National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures, Jerome Foundation, East Carolina University, Painted Bride Art Center, Meet The Composer, WNYC, New Music USA, Hazard Productions, and Metropole Orkest, among others. Prieto has performed at many national and international music festivals as a bandleader. Since his 1999 arrival in New York, he has also worked in bands led by Michel Camilo, Chucho and Bebo Valdés, Henry Threadgill, Steve Coleman, Eddie Palmieri, Chico and Arturo O'Farrill, Dave Samuels and the Caribbean Jazz Project, Jane Bunnett, D.D. Jackson, Edward Simon, Roy Hargrove, Don Byron, and Andrew Hill, among others. Also a gifted educator, Prieto has conducted numerous master classes, clinics, and workshops around the world. He was on the jazz studies faculty at New York University from 2005 to 2014, and in 2015 joined the faculty of the University of Miami's Frost School of Music. In 2016, Prieto published the groundbreaking analytical and instructional drum book, A World of Rhythmic Possibilities. In 2020, he published Rhythmic Synchronicity, a book for non-drummers inspired by a course of the same name that Prieto developed at the Frost School of Music. In 2025 he released the book "WHAT ARE THE ODDS" the third book in his catalog, and it shows not only his passion for rhythm and drumming but furthermore his commitment to music education at large. This one takes you to a fascinating journey of rhythms and meters. The book features 519 examples, and each of them comes with an audio track and a video clip. He is the founder of the independent music company Dafnison Music, established in 2008. In this episode Dafnis talks about: Building a career on your own terms Teaching at Frost School of Music at Miami University His new book: “What are the Odds” Asking tough questions about tradition as it relates to Latin music Allowing patterns and phrasing to dictate the time feel Valuing the content you play over the ability to play with a click Here's our PatreonHere's our YoutubeHere's our Homepage

Happy New Year! We'd love to see you in 2025 and we have 3 upcoming concerts to share with you. San Francisco Performances Pivot Festival (San Francisco, CA) Wednesday, January 29, 2025 Herbst Theatre Carla Kihlstedt and Del Sol Quartet will perform Kihlstedt's 26 Little Deaths, inspired by Edward Gorey's macabre alphabet book, The Gashlycrumb Tinies. Moving between art song, pop song, and cabaret, this hour-long song cycle captures the pathos, humor, and wit of Gorey's iconic images. Kendrick Scott at SF Jazz (San Francisco, CA) Saturday, February 1, 2025 Miner Auditorium  Del Sol is honored to be a part of the West Coast premiere of Kendrick Scott's multimedia project Unearthed. Combining poetry, visuals, string quartet, and a jazz ensemble, this moving work memorializes the Sugar Land 95 – the 95 unidentified Black prisoners and forced laborers found buried in the Texas town of Sugar Land in 2018. Chamber Music America National Conference (Houston, TX) Friday, February 14, 2025 Duncan Recital Hall, The Shepherd School of Music at Rice University We are excited to announce Del Sol Quartet as one of Chamber Music America's inaugural Ensembles in Residence! The Quartet will be presenting a program (TBA) as part of CMA's Friday Festival event. Learn more about these and other upcoming events at delsolquartet.com/calendar.    

Inwood Art Works presentsOn Air Concert: Birds, Bees and Electric FishEnjoy this flute and percussion concert "Birds, Bees and Electric Fish" featuring Caballito Negro + Friends. Caballito Negro: Tessa Brinckman, flutes, Terry Longshore, percussion with Lisa Cella, flute and Dustin Donahue, percussion. Carlo Lopez-Speciale provided Spanish translation. This concert was performed on October 27, 2024 at 2pm at Good Shepherd Auditorium. PROGRAM (PROGRAMA)Two Seaming | Jane RiglerLisa Cella, Tessa Brinckman – flutes (flautas)music for the small hours (música para las primeras horas de la mañana) | Emma O'HalloranDustin Donahue, Terry Longshore – percussion (percusión)No. 13 | Stuart Saunders SmithLisa Cella – flute (flautas), Dustin Donahue – percussion (percusión)Itch | Will RoweTessa Brinckman - alto flute (flauta alto), Terry Longshore - snare drum (caja)INTERMISSIONBirds, Bees, Electric Fish | Juri Seo Birds Bees Electric FishTessa Brinckman - flute/alto flute/found sounds (flauta/flauta alto/sonidos encontrados), Lisa Cella - flute/piccolo/ocarina/found sounds (flauta/flautín/ocarina/sonidos encontrados), Terry Longshore – percussion (percusión), Dustin Donahue - percussion (percusión)Inwood Art Works On Air podcast is a free program produced by Inwood Art Works. Aaron Simms, Founder and Executive Producer. You can support this program by making a tax-deductible donation at www.inwoodartworks.nyc/donate.This program is supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council. Inwood Art Works programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of the Office of the Governor and the New York State Legislature.Caballito Negro gratefully acknowledges the following support for the live concert performance of Birds, Bees & Electric Fish: 2024 grant from Chamber Music America's Artistic Projects program, funded through the generosity of The Howard Gilman Foundation; 2024 UMEZ grant, administered by Lower Manhattan Cultural Council; Inwood Art Works; University Of Maryland Baltimore County Music Department for rehearsal space and percussion in preparing for this concert.

Naomi Moon Siegel               Naomi Moon Siegel is an award-winning trombonist, improviser, composer, and educator committed to creating a positive, transformative music culture beyond conventional genre norms. Her original musical vocabulary draws on the richness of various global musical traditions. Siegel explores the trombone as a vehicle for sonic expression colored by breath, spit, and physicality. A longtime collaborator with Wayne Horvitz, Siegel has performed with such luminaries as Jessica Lurie, Matthew Golombisky, Carmen Staaf, March Fourth Marching Band, Allison Miller, Julian Priester, The California Honeydrops, Martha Scanlan, Stuart Dempster, Skerik, and Thione Diop. With saxophonist Kate Olson, Siegel formed the folk punk jazz duo Syrinx Effect, which has released four albums and performed around the United States. Siegel is a recipient of Chamber Music America's Performance Plus Grant, Jazz Journalists Association's Jazz Hero Award, Montana Art Council's Artist Innovation Award, and Earshot Jazz's Golden Ear Award for Emerging Artist of the Year. . Siegel is an adjunct professor of trombone at the University of Montana and a dedicated music educator. Siegel is also a staunch advocate for intersectional gender justice in jazz and music settings, leading workshops to build awareness and work towards positive systemic shifts in our music culture.

In this episode, Tom talks with Kevin Kwan Loucks, CEO of Chamber Music America (CMA), about CMA's mission to support chamber musicians, composers, managers, educators, presenters, and advocates across the US, providing resources, advocacy, and networking opportunities.Tom and Kevin discussed the challenges faced by freelancers, musicians, and composers with regards to finances and long-term planning, as well as the role of presenters in the ecosystem. The conversation also highlighted the importance of diverse perspectives, the value of having the right partners, network, and support systems, and the benefits of joining CMA.About KevinRepresenting a new generation of performing arts executives, Kevin Kwan Loucks has cultivated a distinguished leadership profile founded on artistic excellence, entrepreneurship, and innovative strategic design. Loucks was appointed CEO of Chamber Music America in 2021 after co-founding Chamber Music | OC and serving as Director of Business Development and Strategic Partnerships at the Philharmonic Society of Orange County.About CMAChamber Music America (CMA) was founded more than forty years ago by a small group of musicians determined to create a more sustainable chamber music field. In the years since, the organization has grown dramatically, expanding both its offerings and its membership to be more inclusive, wide-reaching, welcoming, and equitable.Learn more at https://chambermusicamerica.org

Today we talked with F-Plus Trio!   F-PLUS is a violin, clarinet, and percussion trio committed to collaborating with today's most exciting composers to establish a diverse repertoire for their unique instrumentation. Formed in 2016 at the Bang on a Can Summer Festival, the ensemble has performed all over the country, including Carnegie Hall's Weill Recital Hall, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival, the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Ear Taxi Festival, the International Clarinet Association "ClarinetFest," and the New Music Gathering. F-PLUS has premiered over 35 new works since its inception, including commissioned works by Chen Yi, Chicago Symphony Mead Composer-in-Residence Jessie Montgomery, Grawemeyer-winner George Tsontakis, Emma O'Halloran, Gemma Peacocke, Perry Goldstein, Matthew Ricketts, and Charles Peck, among many others. The ensembled has been the recipient of commissioning grants and additional funding from the Fromm Foundation, Chamber Music America, the Barlow Endowment for Music Composition, New Music USA, the Canada Council for the Arts, the Irish Arts Council and the New Zealand Arts Council. F-PLUS is committed to working with the next generation of composers and performers, and has held residencies at Princeton University, the University of Delaware, the Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music, Washington University (St. Louis), University of Texas-Austin, University of North Carolina-Greensboro, UNC-Pembroke, UNC-Wilmington, and Grand Valley State, Central Michigan, Stony Brook, Duke, and Illinois State Universities.    With F-Plus we discussed how you can commission music in college and form chamber ensembles that continue after you all graduate. Follow F-Plus on all their social media to stay up to date with their performances and projects!   https://www.fplusmusic.com/ https://www.instagram.com/fplusmusic/ https://www.youtube.com/fplusmusic https://www.facebook.com/fplusmusic    

My dear friend, Kee-Hyun (Kee) Kim is the founding cellist of the acclaimed, Grammy winning Parker Quartet, founded in 2002 at the New England Conservatory in Boston. Since then the Parkers have gone on to win the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the Grand Prix and Mozart Prize at France's Bordeaux International String Quartet Competition, and Chamber Music America's prestigious Cleveland Quartet Award. Alongside those accolades, they are also in their 8th year as the Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University, serving as faculty members in the Department of Music. Their 20th anniversary was marked in the 2022-23 season with multiple performances of the complete cycle of Beethoven's string quartets, highlighted here in this episode, which was recorded in late 2022. Jae and Kee chat about Kee's upbringing and education in both South Korea & the US, his teachers and influences, and the ins and outs of balancing friendships and professional commitments. In the Secrets of Beethoven segment, they talk about the piano maker, Nanette Streicher, who was a quiet confidant and supporter of Beethoven's, a loyal friend who not only took care of his instruments, but also went out of her way to take care of the composer's well being in so many ways. Find the quartet's upcoming concerts and news at their website, www.parkerquartet.com and watch their performances on www.youtube.com/@ParkerQuartet #BBB #Beethoven #Bad Boy #Jae Cosmos Lee #A Far Cry #Chamber Orchestra #Self Conducted #Cape Symphony #Concertmaster #classical #Chamber Music #String Quartet #Parker Quartet #cellist #Boston #Beethoven String Quartet #Kee Kim #Kee-Hyun Kim #Harvard University #Blodgett Artists #NEC # #violin #viola #cello --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/beethovenbadboy/support

This episode is like a warm hug! In this episode, we interviewed pianist and music psychotherapist Renate Tsuyako Rohlfing. We were left with so many new insights into the power and potential of music; it inspired us to reflect on our history as musicians and preconceived notions and left us optimistic and excited about the future of music for the performer and receiver.  Renate Bio: As a pianist and music psychotherapist, Renate Tsuyako Rohlfing is passionate about integrating music and public health. She is focused on researching the impact of music on grief, anxiety, and memory, and works with people across the autism spectrum. A co-founder of Sounds That Carry, Renate develops projects for organizations that use musical and creative resources to solve challenges, process grief, enhance connections, and empower marginalized communities.  A decorated concert pianist, she continues to perform internationally at festivals including Musikfest Bremen, Lucerne Festival, Davos Festival, and many others.   Ms. Rohlfing writes for Psychology Today about the therapeutic benefits of musical expression on her blog, Music on My Mind, and has presented at numerous institutions including Harvard University and McLean Hospital Health and Tech Lab, and at conferences such as Berklee's Music and Health Institute Exchange Series and Chamber Music America.    She is an Associate Professor at Berklee College of Music and teaches classes on music, health, and psychology while practicing as a therapist at the Nordoff-Robbins Center for Music Therapy at New York University. She loves animals, is a proud native of Honolulu, Hawaii, and is a graduate of The Juilliard School and New York University. SHOW NOTES Music Therapy at NYU Berklee College of Music Elena Ferrante - The Lying Life of Adults   

Award-winning vocalist, composer, and educator Kavita Shah's latest album, Cape Verdean Blues, is the culmination of a diasporic quest to find a spiritual home. The carefully curated album of traditional Cape Verdean music is also a tribute to the charismatic and unapologetically individual artist Cesária Évora, and a love letter to her breathtaking archipelago and its welcoming people. On Cape Verdean Blues, Shah's ethnographic research on the island of São Vicente, and her bold self-possession have enabled her to achieve a rare feat: creating a world music album that feels like home. At the heart of the 12-song album is “sodade,” an idiomatic word that doesn't have a strict English definition, but connotes a melancholy sense of transience that permeates Cape Verde, its music, and its free-spirited island population. “In this paradise in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean, I found a sense of home that has eluded me for much of my 37 years,” Shah says. She continues: “When I look back, I realize that upon hearing Cesária's voice nearly a decade ago, she was summoning me down a path I must continue walking in search of sodade.” Shah is a global citizen and cultural interlocutor whose work involves deep engagement with the jazz tradition, while also addressing and advancing its global sensibilities. She is a lifelong New Yorker of Indian origin hailed for possessing an “amazing dexterity for musical languages” (NPR). Shah speaks 9 languages—she is fluent in Spanish, Portuguese, and French—and incorporates ethnographic research into original music. She has researched traditional music practices in Brazil, West Africa, East Africa, Turkey, and India. To support her work, Shah has earned grants from the Jerome Foundation, Chamber Music America, Asian Cultural Council, and New Music USA. Shah holds a B.A. in Latin American Studies from Harvard, and a Master's in Jazz Voice from Manhattan School of Music. To date, Shah's projects include Visions (2014), co-produced by Lionel Loueke; Folk Songs of Naboréa, which premiered at the Park Avenue Armory in 2017; and Interplay in duo with François Moutin, which was nominated in 2018 for France's Victoires de la Musique for Jazz Album of the Year. Shah regularly performs her music at major concert halls, festivals, and clubs on six continents. 乐团 whose 2020 album “The Adventures of Pie Boy” won Best Instrumental Album, Best Instrumental Recording and Best Arrangement (Bittersweet) at the 32nd Annual Golden Melody Awards and serves as music director for Tia Ray 袁婭維. He has recorded, produced, performed and arranged for dozens of artists across Greater China, including David Tao陶喆, Li Ronghao 李榮浩， Matzka馬斯卡, Leah Dou竇靖童, Maobuyi 毛不易， Karen Mok莫文蔚， A-Lin, Kevin Sun and more. He graduated from Oberlin College and Conservatory, where he studied Jazz performance with Robin Eubanks. Hsieh plays Denis Wick mouthpieces and the Adams F5 Flugelhorn. If you enjoyed this episode please make sure to subscribe, follow, rate, and/or review this podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, ect. Connect with us on all social media platforms and at www.improvexchange.com

Today,we start the show with an iconic legend and friend Professor Anthony Davis… Prof. American composer,best known for his operas, “The Life and Times of Malcolm X, which played sold-out houses at its premiere at the New York City Opera ... .This was the first of a new American genre… addressing contemporary political subjects… A new production of a revised version was launched in May 2022 at Detroit Opera and directed by Robert O'Hara. The premiere recording of X was released on the Gramavision label in August 1992 and received a Grammy Nomination for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition" in February 1993.  A new recording with BMOP and Odyssey Opera was released in October 2022. Davis won a Pulitzer Prize for his recent opera, The Central Park Five. Davis's second opera, Under the Double Moon, a science fiction opera with an original libretto by Deborah Atherton, premiered at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in June 1989.  His third opera, Tania, with a libretto by Michael-John LaChiusa, based on the abduction of Patricia Hearst, premiered at the American Music Theater Festival in June 1992. A recording of Tania  was released in 2001 on Koch, and in November 2003, Musikwerkstaat Wien presented its European premiere. A fourth opera, Amistad, about a shipboard uprising by slaves and their subsequent trial, premiered at the Lyric Opera of Chicago in November 1997. Set to a libretto by poet Thulani Davis, the librettist of X, Amistad was staged by George C. Wolfe. As a composer, Davis is best known for his operas. X, The Life and Times of Malcolm X, which played to sold-out houses at its premiere at the New York City Opera in 1986, was the first of a new American genre: opera on a contemporary political subject. A new production of a revised version was launched in May 2022 at Detroit Opera and directed by Robert O'Hara. The premiere recording of X was released on the Gramavision label in August 1992 and received a Grammy Nomination for "Best Contemporary Classical Composition" in February 1993. A new recording with BMOP and Odyssey Opera was released in October 2022. Davis won a Pulitzer Prize for his recent opera, The Central Park Five. Davis's second opera, Under the Double Moon, a science fiction opera with an original libretto by Deborah Atherton, premiered at the Opera Theatre of St. Louis in June 1989. His third opera, Tania, with a libretto by Michael-John LaChiusa, based on the abduction of Patricia Hearst, premiered at the American Music Theater Festival in June 1992. A recording of Tania  was released in 2001 on Koch, and in November 2003, Musikwerkstaat Wien presented its European premiere. A fourth opera, Amistad, about a shipboard uprising by slaves and their subsequent trial, premiered at the Lyric Opera  of Chicago in November 1997. Set to a libretto by poet Thulani Davis, the librettist of X, Amistad was staged by George C. Wolfe. Anthony Davis represents Black struggle through opera…. A graduate of Yale University in 1975, Mr. Davis is currently a professor of music at the University of California, San Diego as well as the Cecil Lytle Chancellor's Endowed Chair in African and African-American Music. In 2008 he received the "Lift Every Voice" Legacy Award from the National Opera Association acknowledging his pioneering work in opera. In 2006 Mr. Davis was awarded a fellowship from the John Simon Guggenheim Foundation. Mr. Davis has also been honored by the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the NYC Foundation of the Arts, the National Endowment of the Arts, the Massachusetts Arts Council, the Carey Trust, Chamber Music America, Meet-the-Composer Wallace Fund, the MAP fund with the Rockefeller Foundation and Opera America. He has been an artist fellow at the MacDowell Colony and at the Rockefeller Foundation's Bellagio Center in Italy. Musical Intro "FREEDOM"by June Allison & Jonva Ven Editing: Amin Abraham-Quiles in Affiliation DOCENTERTAINMENT Engineering&Mastering: Soundmusiqproductions1.org --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/infinitz8/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/infinitz8/support

What are the tools and best practices for creating thoughtful and lasting work? How can we use our talents and platforms to build arts equity that lasts? This episode of CMA Talks, "Confronting Marginalization through the Power of the Creative Life," features a discussion between artists and arts administrators about what's missing in the equity conversation. We also listen to a selection from Amina Figarova's "If Barrels Could Talk"—the score of which appears in the spring issue of Chamber Music magazine. The conversation, which has been edited for clarity, was held originally recorded at CMA's 2023 Chicago Chamberfest, held on June 2 at Pianoforte Chicago. Featured panelists: - Alejandra Valarino Boyer, Director of Steans Music Institute, Ravinia Festival - Caitlin Edwards, Violinist and Educator, D-Composed and Ensemble Dal Niente - Blake-Anthony Johnson, President & CEO, Chicago Sinfonietta - Jennie Oh Brown, Flutist and Board Member, Chamber Music America (Moderator) This podcast, and the panel held on June 2, 2023, are presented in partnership with The Wallace Foundation. Produced for Chamber Music America by Nichole L. Knight and Orchid McRae. Theme music by Orchid McRae. “If Barrels Could Talk” was created with support from CMA's New Jazz Works program with generous funding from the Doris Duke Foundation. The recording was provided courtesy of the artist.

Join Rain on LaunchLeft today as they welcome Oscar-nominated Son Lux to kick off Qasim Naqvi's launch. Tune in for an engaging conversation with Ryan, Ian, Rafiq, and Qasim Naqvi as they discuss their unique experiences and creative processes in music-making. This versatile group excels as a live band, studio recording artists, and composers, embracing various aspects of the art they cherish. As a special treat, you'll have the privilege of hearing Qasim Naqvi's captivating performance of "The Curve" at the end of the episode. -----------------  LAUNCHLEFT OFFICIAL WEBSITEhttps://www.launchleft.com  LAUNCHLEFT PATREON https://www.patreon.com/LaunchLeft  TWITTER https://twitter.com/LaunchLeft  INSTAGRAM https://www.instagram.com/launchleft/  FACEBOOK https://www.facebook.com/LaunchLeft  --------------------- LaunchLeft Podcast hosted by Rain Phoenix is an intentional space for Art and Activism where famed creatives launch new artists. LaunchLeft is an alliance of left-of-center artists, a curated ecosystem that includes a podcast, label and NFT gallery. --------------------- IN THIS EPISODE: [02:23] Ryan tells how he and Rafiq came to collaborate.  [08:25] Ian explains how they became composers for Everything, Everywhere, All At Once.  [10:26] Rafiq shares what they have been working on recently.  [12:39] Ryan comments on the reward versus the work and how the work won out.  [17:42] Qasim Naqvi reveals how he met the members of Son Lux, and they all reflect on their times together.  [25:02] Ryan talks about how their music is visual, and Qasim Naquiv discusses the modular synthesis while they land on making music with what they have.  [40:03] Listen to “The Curve” by Qasim Naqvi.    KEY TAKEAWAYS:  The difference between performing on stage and recording in a studio is night-and-day. When you find like-minded artists who appreciate each other's talents, you have a winning combination. Sometimes it’s the accident that makes the music. It’s called working with what you have.   BIOGRAPHIES::  SON LUX BIO: From the start, Son Lux has operated as something akin to a sonic test kitchen. The Academy Award® and BAFTA-nominated band strives to question deeply held assumptions about how music is made and reconstruct it from a molecular level. What began as a solo project for founder Ryan Lott expanded in 2014, thanks to a kinship with Ian Chang and Rafiq Bhatia too strong to ignore. The trio strengthened their chemistry and honed their collective intuition while creating, releasing, and touring six recordings, including Brighter Wounds (2018) and the triple album Tomorrows (2021). The result is a carefully cultivated musical language rooted in curiosity and balancing opposites that largely eschews genre and structural conventions. And yet, the band remains audibly indebted to iconoclastic artists in soul, hip-hop, and experimental improvisation who themselves carved new paths forward. Distilling these varied influences, Son Lux searches for an equilibrium of raw emotional intimacy and meticulous electronic constructions. Son Lux has most recently scored the new Daniels film for A24, Everything Everywhere All at Once (March 2022). The full score album features new collaborations with Mitski, David Byrne, Randy Newman, and Moses Sumney, among others. Based in New York, Rafiq Bhatia is the first-generation American son of Muslim immigrant parents who trace their ancestry to India through East Africa. Early influences such as Jimi Hendrix, John Coltrane, and Madlib—as well as mentors and collaborators including Vijay Iyer and Billy Hart—prompted him to see music as a way to actively shape and represent his own identity, not limited by anyone else’s prescribed perspective. When Ian Chang describes his creative process, the phrase "third culture” keeps coming up. Born in the colony of Hong Kong in 1988, Chang has lived a nomadic life. Stationed out of New York for ten years and since relocated to Dallas, Texas, he built an impressive roster of progressive pop collaborators such as Moses Sumney, Joan As Policewoman, and Matthew Dear, among others, all while performing internationally and recording as a member of Son Lux and Landlady. Ryan Lott makes his home in Los Angeles but grew up all over the United States. Music was the one constant in his formative years spent at the piano. In addition to an extensive career writing music for dance, he has become a sought-after composer for advertising, television, and film. Lott’s feature film credits include The Disappearance of Eleanor Rigby (2014), Paper Towns (2015), and Mean Dreams (2017). He has co-produced and co-written music for and with Woodkid, Sufjan Stevens, and Lorde.   BIOGRAPHY: QASIM NAQVI  Qasim Naqvi is a drummer and founding member of Dawn of Midi. Outside of his role in D.O.M., Qasim works on various projects, from electronic music to composing for orchestras, chamber groups, dance and film.  His concert music has been performed/commissioned by The BBC Concert Orchestra, Jennifer Koh, The London Contemporary Orchestra, Stargaze, Bang on a Can All-Stars, Crash Ensemble, The Now Ensemble, The Erebus Ensemble, yMusic, The Helsinki Chamber Choir, Alexander Whitley, Cikada, The Chicago Symphony Orchestra(MusicNOW Season) and others. He has been a featured composer at the Musica Nova Festival in Helsinki, the Spitalfields Festival in London, Ultima Festival, Southbank Centre and the Rest is Noise Festival in Holland.   Qasim's soundtracks for the film have appeared on HBO, NBC, PBS, Showtime, New York Times Op-Docs, VICE Media, at The Tribeca, Sundance, Toronto, Rotterdam and London Film Festivals, at dOCUMENTA 13 and 14, The Guggenheim Museum, The Tate Britain (Turner Prize 2018), MOMA P.S. 1, IDFA, Berlinale and others. He has worked with such notable filmmakers as Laura Poitras, Mariam Ghani, Marc Levin, Naeem Mohaiemen, Smriti Keshari, Prashant Bhargava and Erin Heidenreich. Acoustic trio Dawn of Midi has released two albums. Their most recent Dysnomia was acclaimed by Pitchfork, Rolling Stone, Spin, The Guardian and the New Yorker. Radiohead personally picked Dawn of Midi as their support band for two sold-out concerts at New York's Madison Square Garden for their Moon Shaped Pool tour.    Qasim earned his B.F.A in performance from the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music program and his M.F.A in composition and performance from California Institute of the Arts. He studied drums and performance with Andrew Cyrille, Joe Chambers, Reggie Workman, Buster Williams, Ralph Peterson Jr., Charlie Haden and Rashied Ali and composition with Wolfgang von Schweinitz, James Tenney, Morton Subotnick, Marc Sabat, Wadada Leo Smith, Michael Jon Fink and Anne LeBaron. He is a 2016 N.Y.F.A Fellow in Music and Sound and has received other fellowships and awards from Chamber Music America, The Foundation for Contemporary Arts, Mid-Atlantic Arts Council, Harvest Works, The Lower Manhattan Cultural Council, S.T.E.I.M. and Art OMI. Presently, Qasim lives in Brooklyn, New York and works on various projects as a freelance composer and drummer. He is represented by Erased Tapes Publishing.   RESOURCE LINKS Podcast - LaunchLeft   SON LUX LINKS: Son Lux Music - Website Son Lux - Instagram Son Lux - Twitter Son Lux - Facebook Son Lux - YouTube Son Lux - Soundcloud   QASIM NAQVI LINKS: Qasim Naqvi - Website Qasim Naqvi - Instagram Qasim Naqvi - Twitter Qasim Naqvi - Bandcamp  

Meet Martin Bejerano! Martin is an amazing pianist, composer and educator. He spent 20 years playing with the great Roy Haynes Trio. This band was nominated for a Grammy Award for the the recording, Fountain of Youth. He also played in Russell Malone's group for eight years. Along with these luminaries, Martin has played with a whole roster of Jazz greats. An award winning composer as well, Martin is a two-time winner of the prestigious "New Jazz Works" composition and ensemble development grant by Chamber Music America in 2010 and 2017, as well as the “Bacardi Choice” commission by the Dranoff International 2 Piano Foundation and Bacardi, Int. in 2013. Along with these accomplishments, Martin serves as head of the Jazz Piano department at the Frost School of Music at the University of Miami. He's featured on several recent recordings as well. You can read more about Martin at his website: Martin Bejerano. It turns out that we have some friends in common, not unusual in the Jazz world. I hope you enjoy this conversation with Martin Bejerano!I am available for online or in person study. Reach out to me at: keith@keithdavismusic.com Keith Davis Music

1.Stop downplaying the skills you have learned through the arts. Meaning if you're an artist who is looking to pivot or have a parallel career in something artistic or not, stand on the skills you've learned as an artist. Don't negate them!  2. Money is a neutral tool, we are the ones who ascribe an emotion to it and for a lot of artists that emotion is fear, but we can choose to ascribe another emotion to it or no emotion at all.  3. Give yourself permission. Permission to take chances, permission to be good with money, permission to build the life you want as an artist.  These are my key take aways from my conversation with Singer, Financial Educator & Advisor Tiffany Soricelli.  Tiffany Soricelli is an award-winning financial advisor and the owner of Virtuoso Asset Management LLC,  the first Registered Investment Advisory firm in the country dedicated to serving Artists and Supporters of the Arts through financial planning and asset management services. She is also the founder and CEO of Virtuoso Advising for Artists, a company dedicated to coaching and educating artists about the business and financial aspects of building a thriving career in the arts. As a sought-after national speaker, Tiffany currently serves as the business & financial coach to emerging artists at The Metropolitan Opera, Washington National Opera, Houston Grand Opera, Minnesota Opera, and San Francisco Opera. During the summer, she works with artists at Wolf Trap Opera, Glimmerglass Opera, Seagle Music Colony, the Mostly Modern Festival and regularly serves as a speaker for national organizations including Opera America, The Recording Academy, and Chamber Music America. She has led educational seminars for New World Symphony, LA Opera, Opera Philadelphia, Atlanta Opera and several prestigious music conservatories across the country.  Prior to her financial career, Tiffany earned her BM and MM from SUNY Potsdam's Crane school of Music. She lives in upstate New York outside of Saratoga Springs, NY with her husband and two children. Get in touch:  Tiffany Soricelli Website: https://www.virtuosoadvising.com/ Instagram: @virtuosoadvisingforartists Ayana Major Bey  Website: www.ayanabey.com Instagram: @ayanambey, @theartistpivot  Monthly Newsletter: https://www.ayanabey.com/podcast Show Sponsor: Get 10% off your first month with BetterHelp at https://betterhelp.com/artistpivot  ******* Host & Exec. Producer: Ayana Major Bey  Editor: Kieran Niemand  Part of the Boundless Audio Network 

The country's largest chamber music conference was back this year after a three-year hiatus and Relevant Tones was there. One of the highlights of the conference was two days of incredible ensemble showcases at Drom in lower Manhattan. We feature audio recorded live at these showcases from Shouthouse, Interwoven, the Beo String Quartet and the Johnston Brothers plus a piece featuring Lucy Shelton, one of the conference honorees. Featuring music by Gabriela Ortiz, Thomas Osbourne, Liu Tianhua, Chan Yaoxing, Nigel Westlake, Will Healy, Daron Hagen and Paolo Bellinati.

On this episode of GET TO KNOW YOU, we discuss  another thought-provoking topic; ‘ Why do we ignore the red flags? '. This week, I'll be sitting down with Sugar Vendil https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/magazine/dorland-v-larson.htmlSugarvendil.com . She is a composer, pianist, choreographer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn. She started her artistic life as a classical pianist, and after spending nearly a decade searching for her own voice, her practice evolved into performances that integrates sound, movement, and unconventional approaches to the piano. She writes and performs her own solo music for piano and electronics and has a keyboard/synth duo, Vanity Project, with composer Trevor Gureckis. Vendil is a proud second generation Filipino American.Vendil was awarded a 2021 MAPFund grant to support Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia. Recent commissions include Chamber Music America to write a new work for her ensemble, The Nouveau Classical Project, which she founded in 2008; ETHEL's Homebaked 2019 for Unsacred Geometry, and ACF | Create to write for Box Not Found. Tune in as we discuss; inspiration behind a composer, creative dance, absence of empathy, the main reasons we ignore red flags and what to be aware of. Stay tuned to the end of the episode to find out how you can join the conversation on the Get To Know You Cafe.FREE Exclusive offer:  https://tiffenyfarag.com/CreditsMusic- Sara Oliveira Support the show

Super excited to announce new guest, Christopher Shih, to The Story!Physician and pianist Christopher Shih has a remarkable dual career as both full-time practicing physician and actively concertizing pianist. Hailed by the New York Times as "an intelligent and thoughtful musician," with "effortless performances" and "consummate control," he has performed in major venues worldwide and has soloed with numerous orchestras, including repeated engagements with the National Symphony Orchestra at the Kennedy Center Concert Hall in Washington DC. His performance with the National Symphony on the Capitol Lawn for an audience of 50,000 prompted the Washington Post to declare, "If Shih is as gifted in medicine as he is in music, he has some serious career decisions to make. His performance was fluent, gracious, miraculously light, and a joy to the ear." Other orchestral engagements include the Georgetown, Ann Arbor, University of Michigan, New England Conservatory, Harvard-Radcliffe, Newton, Lancaster, and Paris Garde Republicaine symphony orchestras.Christopher is the winner of the sixth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition for Outstanding Amateurs in Fort Worth, Texas. He was also a press and audience favorite at the professional tenth Van Cliburn International Piano Competition. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram raved, "He demonstrated a magical touch in voicing and a fine Chopinesque rubato...a total sense of style across three centuries. For Shih, technical control supports impeccable musicianship." Christopher is also the grand prize winner of the amateur competitions in Paris, Boston, and Washington DC. His playing and interviews have been featured in television and radio programs worldwide, including NPR's All Things Considered, APM's Performance Today, WGBH's Inner Voice, WQXR, WETA, WGMS, WBJC, Radio France, Radio Classique, Canadian CBC, Taiwan CTV, and Pianist Magazine.Christopher is currently a board-certified gastroenterologist with U.S. Digestive Health in Lancaster, PA. He received his B.A. cum laude from Harvard University and his M.D. from The Johns Hopkins School of Medicine. He did his internal medicine residency training at the University of Pennsylvania and his gastroenterology fellowship training at Johns Hopkins. He is also active in community and charitable services, formerly sat on the GI board exam committee of the American Board of Internal Medicine, and is a Fellow of the American College of Gastroenterology. An avid chamber musician, he regularly performs with world-class artists, ensembles, and principals of major orchestras across the nation. In recent seasons he has appeared with violinists Nurit Bar-Josef, Alexander Kerr, David Kim, Elizabeth Pitcairn, Michael Shih, and Scott Yoo; cellists Narek Hakhnazaryan and Amit Peled; clarinetist Anthony McGill; pianist Jon Kimura Parker; the American, Daedalus, Dover, Escher, Miró, Pacifica, and Ying Quartets; and the string quintet Sybarite5. He also serves on the Board of Directors for Chamber Music America.Be sure to check out Christopher and his projects here:https://www.christophershih.com/Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/the-story/donations

In this episode, we speak with Melody Buyukozer Dawkins from Slover Linett Audience Research (https://sloverlinett.com/) on the new qualitative report, “A Place to Be Heard, A Space to Be Held: Black Perspectives on Creativity, Trustworthiness, Welcome, and Well-Being” (https://www.wallacefoundation.org/knowledge-center/pages/a-place-to-be-heard-a-space-to-feel-held-black-perspectives.aspx) The wide-ranging discussion includes background information on the creation and execution of the study as well as key takeaways for ensemble music professionals to use in their own work. We also listen to a selection from "Pillar III" from Andy Akiho's Seven Pillars performed by Sandbox Percussion. Program Notes: The article “Close Listening,” is featured in the Spring 2022 issue of Chamber Music Magazine. Read the article online: https://www.chambermusicamerica.org/close-listening The score from the featured Pillar III selection is featured in the Summer 2022 issue of Chamber Music Magazine. Produced for Chamber Music America by Nichole L. Knight and Orchid McRae. Theme music by Orchid McRae. Melody Buyukozer Dawkins appears courtesy of the Wallace Foundation. Seven Pillars was created with support from CMA's Classical Commissioning Program with generous funding from the Mellon Foundation.

J. Crew's Next Top Model! Jive Confessional! Colossal Abundance! Not only the best dressed person in the room, saxophonist Geof Bradfield sets a new standard of intellectual charisma. In this episode, we chat about diving into the scores of an unsung hero of jazz, the significance of symmetry in Geof's writing, and nightmare cocktail that consists of a milking truck, a European tour, and an inescapable glass shower.  FEATURED RELEASE: Geof Bradfield “Yes, and…Music for Nine Improvisers” (2018)  Getting to Know: Geof! Born in Houston, TX, saxophonist and composer Geof Bradfield has shared the stage throughout North America, Europe, Russia, Asia, Africa and the Middle East with jazz luminaries such as Randy Weston, Carl Allen, Brian Blade, Rodney Whitaker, Etienne Charles, Joe Locke, and Orrin Evans. He also performs and records regularly with fellow Chicago artists including Dana Hall, Clark Sommers, Jeff Parker, Matt Ulery, Marquis Hill, and Ryan Cohan, to name a few. His work is featured on 50+ CDs, including seven albums as a leader that have garnered critical accolades from the New York Times, Los Angeles Times, Downbeat, the Chicago Tribune and NPR. Bradfield has been recognized in Downbeat Critics Polls as a Rising Star Tenor Saxophonist and Arranger. Birdhoused, recorded live at Chicago's legendary Green Mill jazz club and released on Vancouver label Cellar Live in 2017, garnered 4 ½ stars from Downbeat. His most recent project Yes, and…Music for Nine Improvisers (Delmark Records 2018) was commissioned by Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works program with the generous support of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation and features a nonet of top-flight Chicago and New York artists. A committed educator, Bradfield is Associate Professor of Jazz Studies at Northern Illinois University and has given master classes and lectures at the Brubeck Institute, the Manhattan School of Music, the Jazz Education Network conference, and numerous other national and international venues.  Watch the full interview on our YouTube Channel here!

Dr. David Cutler, a self-proclaimed WEEKEND TRAVELER, is a pianist and composer equally comfortable with classical, jazz, popular, folk, and world music. Stretching what it means to be a performer, events regularly involve crazy antics: extreme eclecticism, choreography, humor, interdisciplinary collaboration, superhero costumes, character ushers, celebrity cameos, kazoo playing marching bands, you name it. Cutler's remarkable composition SuperNova dramatically reimagines the most popular string method of all time, SUZUKI VIOLIN SCHOOL, VOLUME 1. While melodies remain unchanged, rhythm section accompaniments are virtuosic and exploratory, inspired by music genres from around the globe (tango to techno, Baroque to boogie). This project includes 4 full albums, a SuperCreativity eCourse, string ensemble arrangements, and more. One of the world's leading voices on ARTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP, Cutler has led keynotes and workshops for Music Teachers National Association, College Music Society, Juilliard School, Dutch Classical Music Meeting, Chamber Music America, New World Symphony Orchestra, Indiana University, and Italy's soundSCAPE music festival. His books The Savvy Musician and The Savvy Music Teacher, which provide tools for amplifying income, impact, and innovation, have shaped a generation of musicians. Dr. Cutler is a distinguished professor of music entrepreneurship at University of South Carolina, and a Yamaha Master Educator. Cutler and his consulting firm The Puzzler Company work with arts, business, and education organizations to foster innovation. His upcoming VISUAL book (illustrations and design throughout) The GAME of Innovation: Gamify Challenge, Level Up Your Team, and Play to Win helps teams turn problems into GAMEs and play to win. Timestamp 1:31 How two different worlds in music shaped David's perspectives 4:03 Making a Difference - The Savvy Arts Venture Challenge 6:46 The birth of “The GAME of Innovation” 8:26 Dissecting the GAME 12:33 How does the GAME result in positive change in a fast paced world 15:17 The Problem Solving Process - getting everyone in play 18:18 Future university work in Indiana, while being a facilitator and musician 21:26 Big changes and success are the result of teamwork 23:37 David's typical daily routines 25:04 Finding sources of inspiration 25:51 Putting the GAME into practice: a COVID case study 32:30 Project management tips for anyone seeking change Social Media LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/davidjcutler USC Faculty page: https://sc.edu/study/colleges_schools/music/faculty-staff/Cutler.php The Savvy Musician: https://www.savvymusician.com/ The GAME of Innovation: https://www.thepuzzlercompany.com/book Follow Patti Dobrowolski - Instagram https://www.instagram.com/upyourcreativegenius/ Follow Patti Dobrowolski - Linkedin https://www.linkedin.com/in/patti-dobrowolski-532368/ Up Your Creative Genius - https://www.upyourcreativegenius.com/ Transcript Patti Dobrowolski 00:03 Hello, Superstars! Welcome to the Up Your Creative Genius podcast - where you will gain insight and tips to stomp on the accelerator and blast off to transform your business and your life. I'm your host, Patti Dobrowolski. And if this is your first time tuning in, then strap in - because this is serious rocket fuel. Each week, I interview fellow creative geniuses to help you learn how easy it is to Up Your Creative Genius in any part of your life. Hey, everybody, it's Patti Dobrowolski, and I can't wait for our guest today - you are going to meet one of the smartest human beings I've ever met in my life. I love him, he's creative - his name is Dr. David Cutler. He's a jazz and classical composer, a pianist, a conductor, a collaborator, a concert producer, a speaker and advocate and author - and author of the newly minted book, "The GAME of innovation"! And let me just say that Dr. Cutler is a distinguished professor with the University of South Carolina, and he's got a whole bunch of things up his sleeve. He's also a collaborator of mine in The Puzzler Company. So welcome, David, woo! Here we are in the podcast. David Cutler 01:27 Thank you, Patti. It's always so great to talk to you. You're one of my favorite people in the world. Patti Dobrowolski 01:31 All right. Well, I love that - I'll take that on. So I would love for people to hear your story, David, because it's fascinating to me how you got to where you are. And you're so wacky - if you Google him, you'll see just how wacky he is. But tell us a little bit about how you got into music, how you started to be helping other entrepreneurs in the music industry and other arts industry to expand themselves, and now your journey into corporations. What are you doing? Tell me all about it. David Cutler 02:01 Well, my story. Well, it goes way back when I can't quite remember what happened first, music lessons, or my mom yelling at me. Patti Dobrowolski 02:11 Either one, both work. (laughs) David Cutler 02:13 Right, about the same time. But I started playing classical piano at the age of maybe four or five. But even back then, I was not like the other kids. So I'd be playing my Mozart and just, you know, changing the notes and the rhythms, you know, change it up a bit to make it better, which I'm not sure that did but you know, beauty is in the eye of the beholder. Patti Dobrowolski 02:33 It did. I'm sure it did. David Cutler 02:36 Maybe, arguably. Well, my mom was in the next room and she was not happy. And she would say, "David, that's not what it says, David, play what's on the page. David, you are doing it wrong." Patti Dobrowolski 02:45 Oh, wow. David Cutler 02:46 Even back then. Yeah, it was - it was really tough, Patti. But there was something inside of me that just had to find my own voice, my own take on things. Patti Dobrowolski 02:56 Yeah. David Cutler 02:56 And it was those urges that ultimately led me musically towards both jazz and composition - two places where creativity was not only tolerated- Patti Dobrowolski 03:06 -it was embraced. David Cutler 03:07 Exactly, it was like, the thing. Patti Dobrowolski 03:09 Yeah. David Cutler 03:10 And so these two very different worlds shaped my world, my - you know, my whole perspective on everything from classical music, it was about attention to detail, getting stuff done, having a work ethic; from the jazz world, it was about taking something that already existed and making it your own, walking the tightrope, finding your own voice. And those themes are still with me today. Patti Dobrowolski 03:34 That is so true. And so, but, you know, the thing is that I met you at Savvy 'cause you invited me to Savvy. So tell people about Savvy. Your first book is called The Savvy Musician. You know, the Kronos Quartet wrote a really nice thing, saying you're just, you know, above and beyond, this was the go to handbook for musicians to use to get into business, but tell people about the Savvy workshops that you run, because those are incredible. David Cutler 04:03 They're pretty amazing. Well, over the last 10-12 years, I've been running many different types of what we call innovation games. And sometimes a game lasts an hour or a day, or in the case of this program, the Savvy Arts Venture Challenge, a week. And the idea is to bring together a highly diverse community of people. In this context, the idea is artists - so from all different disciplines, but different ages, races, religions, backgrounds and perspectives. But hopefully, if we get it right, everyone is super amazing, super committed to making a difference in the world. And we put them together in this very intense environment for one week, where they work on teams, and they're charged with solving some kind of a problem. And that ends in a competition - it's a tournament, where they get awards and feedback. Patti Dobrowolski 04:54 Yeah, they do a pitch. It's really - they have to come up with something brilliant that they sell and then some of those get funded, isn't that right? David Cutler 05:03 Absolutely, absolutely. And each season, we've just taken it further and further. And part of that has been, you know, not only bringing together these different perspectives to come up with remarkable ideas. But of course, you and I met in part because of the visual art element - you know, I'm a musician by training - but even most musicians are visual learners first: they just need to see it. So from even the first iteration of that game, one of the really fun things that we've done and something that separated from so many other events, is that in addition to their pitch, each of the teams would create this exhibit - a 100 by 100 inch exhibit showcasing their proposal and their big ideas and their pitch. And so that was actually part of the competition. But we've always brought in visual artists to help with the visual communication about the projects. So by the time you got there, we just had artists in our community, and you were such an important voice in that. Patti Dobrowolski 06:05 Yeah. What I love about you is that, you know, the visual artist of me, which is fantastic. And I would just say to people listening, you know, I was an actor, and I was all these other things and a facilitator. But David really called me out as a visual artist back then, he'd be like, I don't know why you keep saying you're not a visual artist, you are. And so, as a matter of fact, every illustration - almost every, I think, maybe there's only two in that book, "The GAME of innovation" I drew - that was like 500 illustrations in there, and along with all this beautiful layout, that Cara Belloso did - did I say her name right? David Cutler 07:02 Belloso. Patti Dobrowolski 06:46 - Bellosso. And Lance LaDuke helped with- but that is, I think, in a nutshell, that's like Savvy into a book, it's really about how people can work together better, to create something amazing, some kind of change in their community. So where did you get the idea for "The GAME of Innovation", for the book? Because that really came from you - it came from all your work in doing innovation workshops. So tell us just what stimulated you to write such a volume of material that is incredible and laid out so beautifully. David Cutler 07:26 Well, you helped a lot with the beautiful layout part. But you know, for a long time I've been running- Savvy was one example of these, but I've been running these experiences where teams work to solve a problem. We've worked with all kinds of different organizations from different sectors on different kinds of challenges, but the one thing that connected them was they were working as teams to do something different than they've done in the past. And it took a long time to even figure out what it is we were doing. At first, we called it a retreat, but we figured out it is not a retreat. Patti Dobrowolski 08:00 We're not going backwards. We're not holding hands here at all. No. David Cutler 08:04 That's right. And then someone said, well, maybe it's - it's like a bootcamp. And it is kind of like a bootcamp. Patti Dobrowolski 08:10 It is. David Cutler 08:10 And we're working hard, but it's more than that - because in boot camp, you're just training; here, we're getting something done. So we went through all these different concepts. And actually our colleague, Lance LaDuke, it came into focus one day in talking to him and we were just chatting, we said, you know, this is kind of like playing a game. Patti Dobrowolski 08:26 Yeah. David Cutler 08:26 And we went further with this idea of "game". Ultimately, "GAME" became an acronym that is kind of the foundation for all of the, you know, productions - all of the events that we run. G.A.M.E. stands for: "G" - guidelines, which is what constraints you're trying to solve. Patti Dobrowolski 08:44 That's right. David Cutler 08:45 What's the problem you're trying to solve? What are the non negotiable constraints? What constitutes success? Then there's "A", Arena, which is what do you have to work with? Who are your puzzlers, the people that are solving the problem? The period - how long do you have? And the place - where are you going to do the problem solving? "M" is Materials - the tools of problem solving, whether they're virtual tools, or physical ones, like crafts, and post it notes, and all the things that you have in front of you right now. And "E" is about the Experience - what are the questions that are asked, in what order, and for how long. And so, that's really where the idea of the GAME came from. In terms of the book, Lance and I got this idea that: Wouldn't it be cool if we didn't just talk about gamifying innovation, but it actually looked that way? And I still remember when we approached you about working on this project, and we're like, Patti, we have a crazy idea - you want to put this together in a book. And it has been so rewarding and different from anything I've ever done before, because of course the other books were word books- Patti Dobrowolski 09:51 Yes. David Cutler 09:51 -and this was a visual book. And what I've learned, in large part because of you, is that - you know, maybe a beautiful word, or word with a great sense of humor, or word with a long fancy background - but when you've got too many of them, it just looks ugly in a visual context. Patti Dobrowolski 10:12 This is so funny, because when we first you know, David would send iterations of the book - and me and Cara, we'd be like, "Too many words! Too many words - get rid of the words, streamline!" And you were so fantastic. Like, what I love about you is that you took feedback and take feedback - it's this really extraordinary pace, like you take it in, and then you figure out, how can I do that? Is that the right feedback? You know how to sort and sift for what's good. And then you flip - you flip the thing over and back. David Cutler 10:44 Yeah, I mean, part of that feedback actually came out of music lessons. That's what you do when you're working on perfecting music. In this case, I remember, even before I started, when I was just putting this together, I knew that I needed short sentences, short paragraphs. I made the Google Document kind of look like the book - so a page of text would be a page in the book. And I will never forget sending in to you my "concise poetry" - and you said, "Oh, my God, David" - it just goes on and on and on and on. Like, what? There are no words there, what do you mean? I said, can you just show me some examples? And you went through and just went slash, slash, slash - and it really changed my life and the whole way that I write every sentence now. I learned so much from that, and I'm really grateful for your insights. Patti Dobrowolski 11:34 Oh, well, you know, I mean, I'm grateful that you accepted the feedback. Because what I know now is this book, not only is it incredibly beautiful, like the way that Cara has laid this out, like, here's one of my favorite pages: you know, it's got these incredible illustrations, but it's full color. And so this makes it beautiful to hold and look at - every single person that I've given a pre copy to, they've said the very same thing, "Oh, my God, that book is gorgeous", and I'm like, yes, because we want you to have an aesthetic experience. All of us are about the aesthetic experience, and making it an experience that you get into and you want to read more, and you want to learn and apply the process. So what's your dream of that book? What are you envisioning is going to happen now that you've got the book and it comes out, you know, it will come out shortly - may have even dropped by the time this podcast comes out - but what's your big vision of that? David Cutler 12:33 Of course, the whole reason for doing any of this is to help organizations and teams make positive change in a world that is changing at an exponential pace. So we use the book and a whole bunch of ways - sometimes it's, we get the privilege to work with the organization first, and then afterwards, they will get this state to go deeper into the methodology; and it works the other way too. So we have many different types of organizations, buying bundles of the book to give to employees, or partners, or collaborators. The idea is to get them to start thinking about how might we work, team wise, to solve some of these challenges we have in a very non threatening way. You know, one type of leadership that does not work so well is the top down thing - "we've got to do this, I'm going to tell you how to do that". First of all, if it comes from the top - I mean, it's just impossible that the CEO is going to have all of the best ideas. It's always better when you're collaborating. But even if they do, it turns out people do not like being told what to do. But you know, you can't tell people what to think, but you can tell people what to think about. And that's what good processes do. And so the hope is that with this book, it just gets people to start to think about what changes we need to make, what's the most important problem to start with? And with the resources we have, the hand we've been dealt - what can we actually do? Patti Dobrowolski 14:02 Wow, I love that. Because what I know from working in big companies is that: there's always one change initiative or another that's happening, and that if you can get good at understanding the process that you could use and make it creative and fun and turn it into a game, it's so much more fun. You know, somebody just called me yesterday and said: you know, you came and did this, it was so much fun - you made it gamified, the whole room - and I'm like, yep, and we'll do it again. She's like, "That's good, because we want you to come back", and I think to myself - that's really what people need. We have enough people telling us what they think and what they think we should do. We have a lot less fun and play - and this book, to me, really gives permission to people to A) understand how to interact with other people that are different from you. The prickly personality is a big part of it - I love that part of the book. Understanding really what motivates them, so we understand that everybody's perspective is good, and that you need to work with people to figure out where can we put their strengths in this environment, and how can we work with them - so that we can get the best out of all of us, and that book really shows you how to do that. David Cutler 15:17 For sure. Your people are the right people - you know, sometimes when solving a problem, you have the permission to really figure out who are the most qualified people to work with on this problem? And how can you identify folks who all care about the root issue, but intersect with it in different ways? Patti Dobrowolski 15:36 Yeah. David Cutler 15:36 But a lot of times, the people you got to solve problems with are just folks that got stuck on the elevator with you, there are people in your- Patti Dobrowolski 15:42 Volunteers, they're volun-told to go into the committee. (laughs) David Cutler 15:47 And those people are the right people, because they're the only people. So as I see people wishing, "Oh, I wish we had different people here" - you don't. So how can you get the most out of this community? And in terms of - you know, in the first part of the book, when we really talk about the GAME structure, there are no solutions. It's just about, let's look at this part of designing the process. And I think that's very difficult for a lot of people because they just want to dive in and figure out what should we do. Patti Dobrowolski 16:14 They want to solve it because it's painful, and they know that the process might be painful - they might have to reveal themself or their ideas or go machinate - because we all have that experience with working in a team in the past. So- David Cutler 16:20 Totally. Patti Dobrowolski 16:29 But, that's part of the beauty of working out, working a problem all the way through. David Cutler 16:36 So totally. So much of our educational experience is about we're told the answers, right? When having a test, the job is to come up with the right answers. But great innovators focus a lot of time on thinking of the right questions, right before they even start to consider what the solution might be, just thinking of a provocative question that might get us to think in a different way. So we had to be very disciplined, and we encourage people to be very disciplined to really think about the process before you get anywhere close to solutioning. And then when you bring people in, not only does that - if it's a great process, you know, when you start a game, you have no idea what the end game is going to be, what the solutions are going to be. But a great process is designed in such a way that multiple great solutions are almost guaranteed. Patti Dobrowolski 17:27 Yeah. David Cutler 17:28 And by bringing people in, what you do is not only get their ideas, but you also get their feeling like they're empowered- Patti Dobrowolski 17:36 They're part of it. David Cutler 17:37 Absolutely. Patti Dobrowolski 17:38 They came up with the solution for it. And I love that - when we did something at the University of South Carolina, where you teach, we did that around creating a space where people could collaborate, like a drop in place and all of that. And there were so many multiple perspectives that came into that process, and so many amazing ideas that came out of it. So now- David Cutler 18:01 And not every idea - not every idea can get selected. But I think people just feel- you know, but although we will take a little bit of this one, a little bit of this, a little bit of that one. But I think just by enabling people to be part of the process to play the game, they feel more excited about the initiative. Patti Dobrowolski 18:18 Yeah, that's fantastic. Now tell us what are you doing now? So the book's coming out, and so then what's happening in your world - your personal world, because you got invited to be the guest Dean and tell us a little bit about that. David Cutler 18:34 Things are happening at this moment - of course, I continue to go and work with organizations and designing these innovation games and giving workshops that are hands on and interactive and the likes - and so that's an important part of my life. But I was invited to serve as an interim dean for a University in Indiana - so well, I almost have about a year-long game to solve where they have a lot of amazing assets and some big challenges: they're going to transform their model, they're taking a school that's built in a certain way, and expanding it and changing the vision to actually become a creative school. So the question - what does that mean to have a creative school? What does it look like? What kind of offerings will we have? How do we get interdisciplinary connections to happen? And so it will be extraordinary in wearing that hat, to have a year with that community to kind of work through this and build a sense of team that hopefully is all "plan this to win" and do something unprecedented and extraordinary. You know, Indiana has all of these communities that are spread all over - and it's a, it's a very small town, which has its own inherent challenges and opportunities. And so one of the great things about having a university in a town, is to figure out how can you really touch each aspect of this community that's around you. Patti Dobrowolski 20:00 Yeah, I love that. That sounds like a perfect game for you to play. I love it. They don't have no idea what they're getting with you, the jewel coming into their community - that's the way I see it. So that's what you're doing next year. And then- David Cutler 20:16 That's a part of it- Patti Dobrowolski 20:17 Yeah. What else are you doing? What else you got- David Cutler 20:19 Well, just, you know, we all wear many hats. So I'm still working as a musician, and I'm working with all kinds of organizations. When I just look at one calendar, we've got four different organizations in the same week, which is super exciting. And this kind of work and you know, every community has its own aspirations, has its own challenges, has its own fears. And so part of the process is just working through all of those. Patti Dobrowolski 20:48 Wow, and this thing I know to be true about you from having been in, you know, at least three of those sessions with you, Savvy, and otherwise, here's what I know - is that, you're one of the best listeners I have experienced. Like, you really understand how to listen to people and then reflect back what it is that they're saying, in such a way that the whole room feels heard and seen by you. So I think Indiana, they're just gonna have a blast with you. Of course, I think you're gonna ruffle some feathers there, I hope? Because that always is the good thing. Right? David Cutler 21:26 Well, thank you for saying that. You know, that really has been the first step in this pre- moving to Indiana period - you know, for that question is I've just been - you know, I haven't started yet. I don't have the budget, I don't have any authority - but what I do have is a Zoom account. So I've been setting up all of these meetings just to talk to people and to ask questions, and to listen and build rapport and understand. It's this reconnaissance - just to learn, yeah, what do we have to work with? And what are the landmines ahead? And what are the aspirations of folks? And how can we work as a team? And how can we put people on that team and positions where they're most likely to succeed - which may not always be the position that is most comfortable, or most familiar, or what they've even seen themselves do in the past. But I really feel to, in order to make the big important changes - we have to do this together. It can't be just one individual or this, you know, small community of leaders to do it, we really have to pledge. So it's very much like a sport - we are working as a team, moving towards the large goal of success. And it doesn't mean that everyone's going to get their way for every single thing; I promise, we will listen to what you have to say and see if there's a place for it, but ultimately, ideas belong - this is a core belief that ideas belong not to individuals, but to the team. Doesn't matter your rank. Patti Dobrowolski 23:02 Yeah, and especially when you're trying to make change, it's even better if you can forget your rank, right? So that you can come in at a level - find a way to make it a level playing field by being authentic and showing up, right? And I think you do a great job of helping people to step into that, remember who they are, who they were before, who they are now, right? So that they can respect other people. Now, so in the day of David Cutler - what happens in a day, what do you do in your day? What kind of rituals do you have, what's it look like, start to finish? David Cutler 23:37 Mmm. Yeah, I do feel like I'm one of those people that doesn't really have a typical day, because I just wear many, many hats. But there are pieces of the day that I try to keep consistent, and I try to at least touch a piano for some minutes every day. I try to be curious every day, I try to connect with people every day. So you know, it's very inconsistent schedule when you're on the road, obviously, there are planes to worry about and there are projects to worry about - but I am very aware of not just time, but also project management, and making sure that there's always forward motion, that every day I'm a little closer to something important than I was yesterday. Patti Dobrowolski 24:22 Yeah, I think you really inspire people to build a legacy in whatever it is that you're doing. And, and I think that is really one of the things that I love about you and I respect that you have, you know, came into the town of where the University of South Carolina is and you transformed the town. You really embraced the town, you included the town - you included everyone in it. So, you know, I'm sure you're quite the celebrity there, you know, in many circles because of the kinds of transformation that you brought there. And I think that's what Green Hill, Indiana, right? Green Hill? David Cutler 24:59 Greencastle. Patti Dobrowolski 25:00 Greencastle - oh, that's even better, Greencastle, Indiana. David Cutler 25:04 It is nice, isn't it? (laughs) Patti Dobrowolski 25:04 It is - sounds very good, it's going to have an experience with - now, who inspires you right now? Who's inspirational to you? David Cutler 25:12 Well, you're inspirational to me, Patti. Patti Dobrowolski 25:15 Thank you. David Cutler 25:16 I find inspiration and all kinds of people - I do a lot of reading, I just- I'm looking at a book over there called "Teaching Change", written by a gentleman named Jose Bowen. I've been reading a lot of books lately on - culture is where I've been focused recently. I listen to a lot of speakers, I look at a lot of art, and the likes - I try and find inspiration from all kinds of places. And often I don't succeed every single day, but I try many days to see if I can push myself to do something that I've never done before. Patti Dobrowolski 25:47 Yeah, do something different, right? I think that- David Cutler 25:50 And that kind of curiosity- Patti Dobrowolski 25:51 Yeah. Well, I was gonna ask you to- you know, so when you come up against a challenge, or a problem to solve, what kind of game do you play with yourself around it? Is it different every time? Or do you often find yourself using a particular game to solve it? David Cutler 26:12 That's a really good question. I mean, it is different, because every problem is different. And also, by playing different games, it causes you to come up with different solutions. But I've always tried to be the kind of person that: if 1000 people look at something, and 999 see it one way, to be the one who finds a different kind of solution. And I can give a big example, which has impacted all of our lives. Now, let's try and see if you hit an obstacle: is there a way you might look at it as an opportunity, so that what you do on the other side is better than if you had not hit that obstacle in the first place? And an obstacle that has challenged all of us in the last few years, of course, has been COVID-19. Patti Dobrowolski 26:58 Yeah. David Cutler 26:59 COVID. And it's- you know, I don't want to belittle it in any way - I mean, it touched all of our lives, it's been difficult for many of us, we didn't see other human beings. For many years, many people died from this thing - so I don't mean to minimize that. But in a moment even like that, I was determined from the beginning of it, and for myself, and for various communities, where we're - what is the opportunity in the moment? We have to be better as a result of this thing. You know, Patti, I am- you know, I'm an innovator to my core. Patti Dobrowolski 27:33 No doubt. David Cutler 27:34 I am not nearly as creative as COVID-19. Like, I'd never think, or done- a world where you'd have to be six to 12 feet apart, wearing a, you know, a Darth Vader costume, just to get by anyone. I mean, you never could have imagined it. And of course, when you change the rules, you change the game - and the world changed the rules on us. And so, on so many levels. I went into that moment thinking: how can we become better because of this? And as I hear people say: I can't wait till this COVID stuff goes away, so we can just get back to the way things used to- Patti Dobrowolski 28:10 -it was, yeah, the way it was- David Cutler 28:12 -first of all, it ain't going back to the way it was. Second, you weren't that happy with the way it used to be - do you remember just two years ago, most people weren't that happy with it at that moment? And third, isn't it a shame to wish away years of your life, right? This is, this- now we've got a new tragedy that's happening, and there will be another one after that - but this is life. The moments of our life are the moments of our life. And so to lean into that, I can give you an example of one of the things we did here in South Carolina. Patti Dobrowolski 28:46 What's that? Tell me. David Cutler 28:47 -came out of a game. But basically, this was the idea: as musicians and artists, what do we do? What is our need, at a moment like this - when every performance venue worldwide is closed down? Patti Dobrowolski 29:00 - shut down, shuts down. David Cutler 29:02 What do we do as musicians? I mean, we can't cure you. We can't give you the vaccination. We can't. I did some volunteer work, just helping people get signed up for vaccinations - I filled out this form, I never felt so worthless - I had no skills except for telling jokes on the form. So one of the things that we came up with is, you know, one of the things we can do is we can offer art in a way that tells a story and builds community. So we came up- if you can get people together. So we came up with this initiative called Celebrating Local Heroes with the concert truck. Part of that - the first part, Celebrating Local Heroes, was - we identified 10 professions that were on the frontlines of this pandemic. And then we went through a whole process where we had folks nominated and ultimately identified these 10 neighbors - not the CEOs, but people in the trenches doing amazing work as nurses and truck drivers and grocery workers and custodial staff and the likes. Then we had to figure out how can we offer art - and we came up with this idea of a concert truck that would go throughout the community - some former students of mine invented this thing several years ago before COVID as another cool way to experience music - now, it's the only way where it was for a while. And we create all these concerts around town: we made these vignette videos that were scored by local composers and recorded by local ensembles, we created community conversations where they came together and would just talk as neighbors but also had an artistic underlying. And I'm so A) proud to have done this really meaningful thing for our community during that. And I'm so inspired by these neighbors who do such important work. It changed- Patti Dobrowolski 30:55 -It was very moving - I watched it, I watched the live stream of it, It was incredible. It was really incredible, and the music was beautiful. And the people that you - you know, brought up in front of everyone and acknowledged - it was really, really so very cool. So I love that idea. That was a perfect way to bring together a community during a time of, you know, crisis in a way and serve them with no ask on your end, right? David Cutler 31:25 No ask, other than just be part of this community. And you know, we're all in this together. One of my favorite stories from that is, remember, one of the truck drivers who's talking is like: "You know, when you're on the freeway, and a truck gets in your lane, and it's so slow, and you can't switch lanes and get so frustrated, you're pulling out your- you're cursing under your breath, you're pulling out your hair? So that's me, delivering toilet paper." Your local grocery store at the time, you don't remember when the aisles were just empty? Patti Dobrowolski 31:54 Yes, yes, yes. David Cutler 31:55 That just makes you think we are all in this together - we all have a role to play. And since that, I have not looked at a car or a truck or a building in the same way. Patti Dobrowolski 32:05 Oh, I love that. I know, that is so amazing - that's such a beautiful story. Well, I wish I could talk to you all day, but I'm going to wait until the book comes out, and we're going to come back and talk more about it. So tell us, really: From your perspective, so if somebody's out there that really needs to make a change, and they aren't quite sure what to do or where to go, what are some tips you would give them about how to pivot? David Cutler 32:30 Well, one of the most important lessons that I would stress and something that I've been working on in my own life - you know, we talk often about time management, and time management is very important. But the idea of project management - I mean, seems kind of obvious, if you've got a project that will take you, you know, two spaces further, and another one that will take you six spaces, you should do the one that's going to take you further in life, yet people often don't make that choice. And furthermore, finding projects that interlock: so that with each problem you solve, you're building something bigger and more important, as opposed to being, you know, veering off in so many directions, that each effort actually competes with everything else that you do. So I think that would be my number one step: is to take some time to really figure out, what is the single most valuable project for you? And then how do you get that done? What kind of process will get you there? Patti Dobrowolski 33:32 I love it. And I'll add to that, you know, find yourself a mentor to help you because I think that's what's been very valuable about the process of working with you - I see you as somebody who gives me feedback, I give you feedback - and that's part of how we grow and learn. Like, you're in a whole space that I never lived, in the music world - other when I was a bad rapper, which we've experienced, we've experienced that together, so- (laughs) But you're amazing. And I think of you - when I think of you I think of one of the videos I saw of something that you did, where you've got a grand piano and you're playing it, but there are ping pong balls inside. And so it's just this beautiful little metaphor for how life is - you know, add something different, something on top of it that will surprise an audience and surprise yourself, too - take the risk and surprise yourself, which you certainly have done over and over again in your career. So I'm excited about this next risk you're taking to be the Dean, and I can't wait to hear how it goes for you. David Cutler 34:36 Thank you. Patti Dobrowolski 34:37 Well, thank you so much for coming and just speaking to us and inspiring us. You're just such an inspirator - I love having you here. And so thanks for your time today, David. It's been really incredible. David Cutler 34:50 Well, thank you. I just have to say, you know, when you work on a great team, it is truly - it fills you with life; and the whole experience of working with you and Lance and Cara on "The GAME of Innovation" has worked the way that a team is supposed to work. Everyone had their own contribution that made - I could never have done this on my own, and none of you could have done on your own, or any of us individually. It is so much better because we were in this together. So thank you for that, Patti. Patti Dobrowolski 35:19 I love that. Thank you, David. All right, everybody, you know the drill. If you like what you heard, be sure to forward it to your friends, and go and pick up your copy of "The GAME of Innovation", transform your community, transform your your team - everything you need to know about how to have fun and create change is in that material there. I love it, and we'll be doing some other YouTubes about it. I'm sure we've got - you've got a whole bunch of stuff up your sleeve, so I look forward to that. And until next time, please, everybody: Up Your Creative Genius. Patti Dobrowolski 35:58 Thanks so much for listening today. Be sure to DM me on Instagram your feedback or takeaways from today's episode on Up Your Creative Genius, then join me next week for more rocket fuel! Remember, you are the superstar of your universe, and the world needs what you have to bring - so get busy, get out and Up Your Creative Genius! And no matter where you are in the universe, here's some big love from yours truly, Patti Dobrowolski, and the Up Your Creative Genius Podcast. That's a wrap!

Jerod Impichchaachaaha' Tate, is a classical composer, citizen of the Chickasaw Nation in Oklahoma and is dedicated to the development of American Indian classical composition. His Washington Post review states that “Tate is rare as an American Indian composer of classical music. Rarer still is his ability to effectively infuse classical music with American Indian nationalism.” Tate is Guest Composer/Conductor/Pianist for San Francisco Symphony Currents program Thunder Song: American Indian Musical Cultures and was recently Guest Composer for Metropolitan Museum of Art's Balcony Bar program Home with ETHEL and Friends, featuring his commissioned work Pisachi (Reveal) for String Quartet. Recent commissions include Shell Shaker: A Chickasaw Opera for Mount Holyoke Symphony Orchestra, Ghost of the White Deer, Concerto for Bassoon and Orchestra for Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Hózhó (Navajo Strong) and Ithánali (I Know) for White Snake Opera Company. His music was recently featured on the HBO series Westworld. His commissioned works have been performed by the National Symphony Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and Chorus, Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Detroit Symphony Orchestra, Minnesota Orchestra, Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, Oklahoma City Philharmonic, Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra, South Dakota Symphony Orchestra, Colorado Ballet, Canterbury Voices, Dale Warland Singers, Santa Fe Desert Chorale and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival. Tate has held Composer-in-Residence positions for Music Alive, a national residency program of the League of American Orchestras and New Music USA, the Joyce Foundation/American Composers Forum, Oklahoma City's NewView Summer Academy, Oklahoma Medical Research Foundation and Grand Canyon Music Festival Native American Composer Apprentice Project. Tate was the founding composition instructor for the Chickasaw Summer Arts Academy and has taught composition to American Indian high school students in Minneapolis, the Hopi, Navajo and Lummi reservations and Native students in Toronto. Mr. Tate is a three-time commissioned recipient from the American Composers Forum, a Chamber Music America's Classical Commissioning Program recipient, a Cleveland Institute of Music Alumni Achievement Award recipient, a governor-appointed Creativity Ambassador for the State of Oklahoma and an Emmy Award winner for his work on the Oklahoma Educational Television Authority documentary, The Science of Composing. In addition to his work based upon his Chickasaw culture, Tate has worked with the music and language of multiple tribes, such as: Choctaw, Navajo, Cherokee, Ojibway, Creek, Pechanga, Comanche, Lakota, Hopi, Tlingit, Lenape, Tongva, Shawnee, Caddo, Ute, Aleut, Shoshone, Cree, Paiute and Salish/Kootenai. Among available recorded works are Iholba‘ (The Vision) for Solo Flute, Orchestra and Chorus and Tracing Mississippi, Concerto for Flute and Orchestra, recorded by the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, on the Grammy Award winning label Azica Records. Tate earned his Bachelor of Music in Piano Performance from Northwestern University, where he studied with Dr. Donald Isaak, and his Master of Music in Piano Performance and Composition from The Cleveland Institute of Music, where he studied with Elizabeth Pastor and Dr. Donald Erb. He has performed as First Keyboard on the Broadway national tours of Les Misérables and Miss Saigon and been a guest pianist and accompanist for the Colorado Ballet, Hartford Ballet and numerous ballet and dance companies. Mr. Tate's middle name, Impichchaachaaha', means “his high corncrib” and is his inherited traditional Chickasaw house name. A corncrib is a small hut used for the storage of corn and other vegetables. In traditional Chickasaw culture, the corncrib was built high off the ground on stilts to keep its contents safe from foraging animals.

This week, Garrett and Scott spend some time reviewing and unpacking the latest Grammy Award ceremony, highlighting the show's performances by Lady Gaga, Doja Cat, Curtis Stewart, Chris Stapleton, and several others. In the second movement, Garrett revisits a bit of operatic video game music while Scott honors the birth anniversary of Muddy Waters. Perri and Charlotte from the "Thrilled to Announce" podcast join Garrett in the third movement to discuss digital creation, DEI in opera, and podcasting in the "classical" sphere. And in the weekly TRILLOQUY Scott offers a whistleblower letter written by a former employee of Chamber Music America, and Garrett sends a dark shout out to three senators who refused to vote for the Emmett Till Anti-Lynching Act. Support for TRILLOQUY comes from the Lakes Area Music Festival: https://lakesareamusic.org Playlist: Lady Gaga - "Do I Love You" Doja Cat - "Mooo!" perf. Curtis Stewart - "Isn't She Lovely" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M9Gd0T1hPBU) Chris Stapleton - "Cold" Muddy Waters - "Hoochie Coochie Man" Nobuo Uematsu - "Maria and Draco" (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V8D8x3NQySE) Kaija Saariaho - "Lonh" Tyshawn Sorey - "Autoschediasms" for Crash Ensemble, Part 2 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJj3mlIhYsw) Marlon Craft - "HANS ZIMMER" More: Thrilled To Announce Podcast: https://www.thrilledtoannounce.com Downbeat (Virgil Abloh speaks to the world as his muse): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJcOe90wMRQ Grammy 2022 Winners: https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/03/arts/music/grammys-winners.html Who Gets To Define Classical Music?: https://www.yesmagazine.org/social-justice/2022/03/31/grammys-classical-music-black-artists Volodymyr Zelensky's Grammys Speech: https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world/volodymyr-zelenskys-grammys-speech-full-transcript/ar-AAVPbbj 5 Questions to Orlando Jacinto García: https://icareifyoulisten.com/2022/02/5-questions-to-orlando-jacinto-garcia-composer/ Grammy for Best Reggae Album Goes to a Bunch of White Guys: https://www.thecut.com/2022/04/white-guy-group-soja-wins-grammy-for-best-reggae-album.html Whistleblower Calls Out Chamber Music America: https://twitter.com/griffincandey/status/1510967274357805061?s=20&t=CIGKp9ggc12SdxWkS-8mlQ Three Republicans Just Couldn't Help Voting Against Making Lynching a Hate Crime: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-news/thomas-massie-andrew-clyde-chip-roy-lynching-bill-1314375/

John Zion has served as the Managing Director of MKI Artists since taking ownership of the firm in 2015. He oversees strategic planning and operations, and directs the careers of a prestigious roster of international artists. He serves on the board of Chamber Music America and has presented on arts-related issues at the Manhattan School of Music, the University at Buffalo, APAP|NYC, Chamber Music America's National Conference, and the Avaloch Farm Music Institute. In 2012, he was named one of the “Rising Stars in the Performing Arts” by Musical America. John studied at Lawrence University and the Hartt School of Music; before coming to MKI Artists, he performed regularly as a violinist with orchestras throughout New England, taught public-school music, and toured Vietnam with his string quartet. In his free time, John enjoys cooking, reading, and traveling. mkiartists.com  Our Concerts: ourconcerts.live https://www.instagram.com/ourconcerts.live/ Editing software: https://basecamp.com/ Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media: Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/gracesviolin/ Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/c/gracesviolin Website: https://gracecolbylamb.com/ If you have any questions or topics you would like covered on the show please contact me at b4thestage@gmail.com https://www.facebook.com/b4thestage/ https://www.instagram.com/b4thestage/ --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/b4thestage/message

Violinist, educator and composer, Christian Howes was voted #1 in the Downbeat Critics Poll (“Rising Stars/Violin”), named among the top three jazz violinists in the JazzTimes critics poll, and nominated for Violinist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. He received the Residency Partner Award through Chamber Music America, earned a USArtists grant through the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and was invited by the U.S. State department to teach and perform as a cultural ambassador twice, in Ukraine and Montenegro. His release on Resonance Records, “Southern Exposure” earned recognition in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Downbeat, Jazz Times, as well as a six-night run at Lincoln Center. His release, “American Spirit” was named among the Best Jazz Albums of 2015″ by the Huffington Post. Howes is the founder of “Creative Strings“, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to expand music education through the creation of online curriculum, an annual summer conference, and dozens of visits to schools annually teaching improvisation, contemporary styles, and related subjects. He endorses Yamaha violins and D'Addario strings. Connect with Christian on Facebook, YouTube, www.christianhowes.com, or www.creativestrings.org. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/orchestrateacher/support

TracklistingI. St. Mark's Square:  This jubilant 6/8 movement is in the style of the great Venetian master, Vivaldi. It expresses the mood of the great gathering center of the island.II. Bridge of Sighs: This slow movement is evoking the walk across the Bridge of Sighs. The bridge was the last place a prisoner would see daylight before going to the dungeons. The slow steady rhythm of the guitar are the steps of the prisoner where the strings are the sound of the heaviness of their heart.III: Carnival: This rhythmic conclusion of the piece is capturing the spirit of this festive occasion on the isle with a dissonant middle section reflecting some of the darker characters portrayed at this time. Bio:To date, Mr. Brown has released over 25 CDs either under his own name, his metal band Age of Fire, or various projects. He has performed in Europe, across the United States, and Canada. Brown is a member of the Guitar Foundation of America, the Charlottesville Classical Guitar Society, the College Music Society, Chamber Music America, and the Society of Composers, Inc. He taught guitar at Mary Baldwin College from 2004-2006, other private institutions for 10 years, and is currently teaching privately in his hometown of Charlottesville, Virginia, where he resides. He is a graduate of the Music, Video, and Business program at The Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale and has a Bachelor's in Business from City University in Bellevue, Washington with a specialty in Music Industry. Currently, he is attending the Vermont College of Fine Arts working towards his Master's Degree in Music Composition. His music has been heard on radio stations across the world, TV, Film, and Video Games and has even been transcribed into Braille. Mr. Brown's recordings are distributed globally through The Orchard, and wherever files can be downloaded. His compositions are available through Les Productions D'Oz and J.W. Pepper.  Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by La Musica International Chamber Music Festival and Uber.  @khedgecock #ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive #LaMusicaFestival #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans #CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain #ClassicalMusicLivesOn #Uber  Please consider supporting our show, thank you! http://www.classicalsavings.com/donate.html  staff@classicalmusicdiscoveries.com 

On this episode of GET TO KNOW YOU, we discuss  another thought-provoking topic; ‘ Why do we ignore the red flags? '. This week, I'll be sitting down with Sugar Vendil https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/05/magazine/dorland-v-larson.htmlSugarvendil.com . She is a composer, pianist, choreographer, and interdisciplinary artist based in Brooklyn. She started her artistic life as a classical pianist, and after spending nearly a decade searching for her own voice, her practice evolved into performances that integrates sound, movement, and unconventional approaches to the piano. She writes and performs her own solo music for piano and electronics and has a keyboard/synth duo, Vanity Project, with composer Trevor Gureckis. Vendil is a proud second generation Filipino American.Vendil was awarded a 2021 MAPFund grant to support Antonym: the opposite of nostalgia. Recent commissions include Chamber Music America to write a new work for her ensemble, The Nouveau Classical Project, which she founded in 2008; ETHEL's Homebaked 2019 for Unsacred Geometry, and ACF | Create to write for Box Not Found. Tune in as we discuss; inspiration behind a composer, creative dance, absence of empathy, the main reasons we ignore red flags and what to be aware of. Stay tuned to the end of the episode to find out how you can join the conversation on the Get To Know You Cafe.If you would like to support me to continue making these podcasts you can go to https://www.buymeacoffee.com/gettoknowyouwtf.A big announcement- A new course starting NOW called ‘How to Get To Know You'. We will be giving away the first lesson for free on the website. The link is available in the show description. www.howtogettoknowyou.thinkific.com. CreditsMusic- Sara Oliveira 

In this episode, we hear from pianist, music educator, and researcher, Rod Vester, whose recent article in the Summer 2021 issue of Chamber Music Magazine urges ensembles and organizations not to abandon the racial equity commitments they made during 2020's public reckoning. He talks about his personal connection to this work, highlights the importance of culture and belonging in D.E.I. initiatives, and gives tangible tips on how we can all know better, do better, and be better. Program Notes: Read “The Dangers of Returning to a Monochromatic Arts World” online: https://www.chamber-music.org/mag/2021/summer/index.html?page=28 The term BIPOC is used throughout this episode. It stands for Black, Indigenous, (and) People of Color and it is used to center those who have been most severely impacted by systemic racial injustices. Produced for Chamber Music America by Nichole L. Knight and Orchid McRae Additional production assistance provided by Anna Nordmoe Theme music by Orchid McRae (aka orchiddBB) Music featured in this episode: "It is Well Within My Soul" performed by Rod Vester, hymn by Horatio Spafford, and composed by Philip Bliss. www.youtube.com/watch?v=BGoDPZUPJGE Follow Rod Instagram | YouTube: @RodVester Website: www.rodvester.com

In this episode: Uwe and Jens Kruger sit down for an interview at the 2021 MerleFest autograph tent. Uwe and Jens were born and raised Germany and Switzerland. They began singing and playing instruments at a very young age, as music was an important part of their family's life. At ages eleven and twelve years old they were already performing regularly after debuting publicly in the spring of 1973.In 1979, Jens and Uwe left home and worked as a performing duo on the streets throughoutEuropean cities; with Uwe playing guitar, and Jens playing the banjo. In 1981 they received aCBS recording contract with their band Rocky Road. In 1982 Uwe and Jens split up, with Uwebecoming the leader of a country music band. Jens came to American and was granted theopportunity with Bill Monroe to become the first European banjo player to be featured on theGrand Ole Opry. Jens returned to Switzerland and began working in the local music scene as abanjo player, while Uwe became the band leader for many country music singers throughoutEurope. In 1988 they reunited and began to focus on their fundamental love of American roots music. In 1989 the two brothers met up with Joel Landsberg, a native from New York City, whom had recently moved to Switzerland. Joel is a classically and jazz trained bassist, who had been performing since the early 1970's as well. Jens and Uwe began hiring Joel to perform with them in a variety of bands, playing over 200 shows a year on average. In 1995, Joel became an integral part of the group and it was from that point forward the group decided to focus exclusively on performing as the Kruger Brothers.In 1997, the Kruger Brothers made their debut in America playing for audiences at MerleFest,the Wilkesboro festival named in honor of Doc Watson's son, Merle. They were big fans of Doc Watson's music, and they felt at home in the mountains of North Carolina. The trio moved to the United States in 2003.The traditional style of music that once dominated their performances slowly gave way to more of their own compositions. They increasingly incorporated elements of European folk and classical music into their performances, molding it into a unique one-of-a-kind style. Since then, the Kruger Brothers have performed at countless music festivals and performing arts venues throughout the United States, Canada, Australia and Europe. They have performed with symphony orchestras all over the world, often debuting original classical compositions that Jens has been commissioned to write by the National Endowment of the Arts, Chamber Music America, the Banff Center of Canada, among several others. They have been honored with numerous national and international awards and have been inducted into various music Hall of Fames. They have performed with the likes of Earl Scruggs, Doc Watson, Willie Nelson, Ricky Scaggs, and many more. In addition to their performances at MerleFest, they have brought much recognition to Wilkes County through their annual festival, Carolina in the Fall, named after one of their songs, which has hosted some of the best of North Carolina's folk, bluegrass, roots, and acoustic bands. The Kruger Brothers host an annual Music Academy in Wilkes County that draws participants from all over the world who enjoy musical instruction and amazing interactions with these highly sought after professionals. The Kruger Brothers are ambassadors of the music and culture, emphasizing on tradition and innovation, of the region they now call home.For more information visit https://www.krugerbrothers.com/

Saxophonist Idit Shner joins us to chat about moving between the classical and jazz worlds, her early love for baroque music as a young recorder player, and her thoughts on providing space for students to experience music-making across genres. Idit talks about the differences in the physical technique and the mental preparation for jazz vs. classical performance, and how this influences her approach to performing and recording. She shares her interest in exploring traditional Jewish and Zimbabwean musics, the internal grammar inherent in each piece, the role that her local musical community plays in inspiring her work, and how she hates the word fusion when blending the musics of multiple cultures. An active performer of both jazz and classical music, Idit has played in various distinguished venues in the United States and abroad, such as The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C. and Lincoln Center in New York. Currently, Shner plays with her jazz quartet in Eugene and Portland, Oregon. Her latest release of jazz originals, 9 Short Stories, garnered a 4 star review in Downbeat Magazine. Her jazz debut, Tuesday's Blues, features nursery rhymes and ancient melodies from the Jewish liturgy performed in a jazz setting. Tuesday's Blues got great reviews from JazzTimes, All Music Guide, and Jazz Review. Jazz festival performances include the Diet Coke Woman in Jazz Festival (NY), Bellayre Festival (NY), and New-Trier Jazz Festival (IL). Idit appears on Music from SEAMUS Vol. 16, a compilation CD of music for instruments and electronic sounds by members of the Society for Electroacoustic Music in the United States. As a classical saxophonist Idit has commissioned and recorded new music and performed solo recitals in the US and Israel. MINERVA is her latest classical release. Her third CD, Le Merle Noir, featuring music by Messiaen, Bozza, Partos, and Glass, was released on Origin Classics in August 2013. Her previous classical recording, FISSURES: 20th Century Music for saxophone and Harp with renowned harpist Yumiko Schlaffer, received great acclaim and was played on NPR's All Things Considered. Idit has collaborated with Fireworks, Beta Collide and Third Angle (new music ensembles), and performed with the Oregon Symphony and the Eugene Symphony. Other appearances include the Northwest Percussion Festival, Electronic Music Midwest, the Oregon Bach Festival, and many North American Saxophone Alliance Conventions. During March 2006 she played in Israel as a featured soloist with a symphonic orchestra, and performed contemporary music at the national convention of the Society for Electro Acoustic Music in the US. Her last solo recital in Israel was broadcasted live on Voice of Music, a national public radio station. During 2005-2006 Idit played lead alto with Sherrie Maricle and the DIVA Jazz Orchestra. Performing her own compositions in a jazz combo setting, she was selected to participate in Betty Carter's Jazz Ahead. Idit holds a Bachelor of Music degree from Oklahoma City University, a Masters degree in Music Education from University of Central Oklahoma, and a Doctor of Musical Arts degree from University of North Texas. Idit now teaches at the University of Oregon, as professor of saxophone and jazz studies. She was awarded two prestigious teaching awards: The 2015 Thomas F. Herman Award for Excellent in Pedagogy in areas of saxophone technique and chamber music coaching; and the 2016 University of Oregon Faculty Excellence Award. The transcript for this episode can be found here. For more information about Chamber Music America, please visit her website and Instagram.

This episode features award winning composer Christopher Stark. We listen to his work "The Language of Landscapes" for cello, percussion, and electronics. commissioned by Chamber Music America for the duo New Morse Code (Hannah Collins and Michael Compitello).

Margaret Lioi, past Chief Executive Officer of Chamber Music America, joins us to discuss the process of developing and realizing her vision for the small ensemble community and supporting this vision through strategic grantmaking and fundraising initiatives. She chats with us about the intersections between jazz and chamber music and how small ensemble genres and styles share more than they seem. We talk about how a person finds themselves deeply involved in arts administration, and about Lioi's vision for the small ensemble community over the next twenty years. Margaret M. Lioi has been Chamber Music America's Chief Executive Officer since 2000, serving as the longest-tenured executive in CMA's 43-year history. During this time, CMA incorporated jazz into its small ensemble portfolio, increased its grant-making to more than $1.4 million annually, established May as National Chamber Music Month, and ratified the organization's Commitment to Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity, solidifying its dedication to equitable practices in every area of its operations. After receiving a Masters in Piano Performance from New England Conservatory, Lioi was a collaborative pianist and vocal coach, working with regional opera companies and individual singers and instrumentalists. After 10 years as a performer, she returned to school to pursue an MBA with a concentration in arts management at Binghamton University/SUNY. She interned at the Spoleto Festival USA in Charleston, SC, was subsequently hired as the Development Associate, and became the Director of Development six months later. Following Spoleto, Lioi was the Executive Director of The Eleanor Naylor Dana Charitable Trust, and the Senior Director of External Affairs at The Public Theater/New York Shakespeare Festival prior to CMA. She serves on the Advisory Board of The Sphinx Organization, is a member of the Board of The Performing Arts Alliance, and is an adjunct faculty member in the MA in Arts Management and Entrepreneurship Program at The New School. The transcript for this episode can be found here. For more information about Chamber Music America, please visit their website, Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.

Ariel has a robust background working to support arts organizations that uplift cultural expression across diverse communities.  She is the Senior Manager of Impact Communications at The Save the Music Foundation, where she supports the organization in producing content that showcases the impact of the organization's 25-year body of work. When she is not with STM, Ariel volunteers her time supporting The HBCU Jazz Education Initiative as a founding member and Consulting Director. Additionally, she is the co-founder and a current board member of The Arts Administrators of Color Network, an organization she helped establish in 2016. There, she has stewarded programs that provide professional development and networking opportunities for arts leaders. She has served as the Founding Board Chair of the organization and continues to be an active member as Vice-Chair of the Board. Previously, Ariel has supported the establishment of The Lewis Prize for Music, an organization that provides financial support for Creative Youth Development music leaders and organizations across the country, where she led their communications efforts. She also served as Program Manager for the Social Impact department at The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, where she helped manage large-scale projects and events geared towards amplifying the work of artists throughout the performing arts sector on local and national levels. As a consultant for the Los Angeles Fellowship Program with the Inner City Youth Orchestra of LA, she helped to gather insights and cultivate the project alongside the LA Chamber Orchestra, and the USC Thornton School of Music. This work was funded by the Mellon Foundation. Past professional experiences also include work with National Arts Strategies, The String Queens, The MusicianShip, The Washington Women in Jazz Festival, and Washington Performing Arts. Ariel has served as a guest speaker for organizations including Georgetown University and Chamber Music America and has contributed as a grants panelist for the Department of Education, the DC Commission on the Arts and Humanities, the Maryland State Arts Council, the Arts and Humanities Council of Montgomery County, and the Association of Performing Arts Professionals. Her written work is set to be included in the 2021 publication of A Grassroots Leadership & Arts for Social Change Primer for Educators, Organizers, Activists & Rabble-Rousers.   The volume “highlights authors from around the globe, who have contributed to the ongoing effort to expand the field of leadership from a bottom-up, collective, collaborative, and horizontally-based perspective,” and will be published by the International Leadership Association in October 2021. Ariel's passion for the arts began onstage, as a French Horn player. She has had the opportunity to perform with ensembles across the world, from the Grammy's stage with Lizzo to an international festival in Guadeloupe celebrating the work of composer Chevalier de Saint George. She takes as many opportunities to visit her hometown of Detroit, Michigan as she can, and is a graduate of Howard University, where she obtained her degree in Music Business. https://www.linkedin.com/in/aeryelle https://www.instagram.com/aeryelle Aeryelle.com Contact AAMA: Website: https://www.aa-ma.org LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/african-american-marketing-association/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/aamahouston Merchandise: https://marketing-for-the-culture.creator-spring.com/

https://www.patrickcornelius.com/  instagram.com/pcorneliusmusic  The asynchronous big band piece: https://youtu.be/NNnkI8gXwvw The Album on Bandcamp: https://patrickcornelius-whirlwind.bandcamp.com/album/way-of-the-cairns  Jazzlab saxholder: https://amzn.to/3hCS067    Hailed as “self-assured" and “resourceful" by The New York Times, “Elegant" and “Extraordinary" by DownBeat Magazine (in whose annual Critics Poll he has been listed among the “Rising Stars" multiple times), and “Bold and Gifted," by All About Jazz, Cornelius' discography of six albums as a leader (and two as co-leader) features established masters (like Jeff Ballard and Frank Kimbrough) as well as rising stars (including Gerald Clayton, Kendrick Scott, and Miles Okazaki). As a composer, Cornelius has earned an array of awards and commissions, including four consecutive ASCAP “Young Composer Awards," (now Herb Alpert Award) and Chamber Music America's “New Jazz Works" in 2012, and has been commissioned to compose and arrange original music for ensembles across the globe. His latest release “Acadia Way of the Caries” is out now and available anywhere you get your music.    Listen to the Best Music Podcast on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and watch on YouTube: https://linktr.ee/thebestmusicpodcast  Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/thebestmusicpodcast  Blog: https://blog.bestmusiccoach.com  Twitter: https://www.twitter.com/thebestmusicpod  Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/thebestmusicpodcast/    #PatrickCornelius #Acadia #jazz    0:00 Intro  2:25 Asynchronous Big-Band Jazz  11:20 Album: Acadia Way of the Cairns  14:00 Finding the sound  17:49 Patrick's album process  33:50 Lifestyle: Sleep  37:15 Lifestyle: Mindfulness & meditation  40:45 Lifestyle: Exercise  47:10 Lifestyle: How do you define yourself?  48:50 Practice: Time of day  55:20 Practice: Maximum effective duration  1:01:00 Recommendations for music majors  1:06:30 Practice: Segmentation  1:09:30 Creativity: Steps to stay creative  1:11:00 Creativity: Time of day  1:13:00 Songwriting: Inspiration  1:16:00 Songwriting: Listen or not to listen?  1:19:40 Performance anxiety    #musicians #songwriter #songwriters #composers #musicmajor #musicmajors #musiceducator #musiceducators #musiceducation #podcast #thebestmusicpodcast #clips #musicpodcast #singer #guitarist #guitarplayer #trombonist #trumpet #violin #viola #cello #bass #brass #trombone #mandolin #banjo #drums #percussion #timpani #marimba #oboe #sax #saxophone #clarinet #basoon #alto #soprano #tenor #piano #keyboard #musicians #songwriter #songwriters #composers #musicmajor #musiceducator #musicpodcast #singersongwriter #musiceducation #singer #trumpet #violin #viola #cello #bass #trombone #musiclife #musicmaker #musicteacher #drums #percussion #saxophone #clarinet #guitar #piano #podcast #thebestmusicpodcast #musicislife #musicindustry #PandoraPodcasts Logo,    Intro Video, and Branding: Arron Leishman  Audio and Video: Zach Ramey zacherylramey@gmail.com  Dan's Thumbnail Photo: John Mollura Photography

Lynne Arriale is an active educator and adjudicator. She has conducted master classes and clinics internationally throughout the US, UK, Europe, Canada, Brazil, and South Africa. She adjudicated the Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works, the Montreux Jazz Competition, American Pianists Association Fellowship Awards, The Kennedy Center's Mary Lou Williams Competition, The American Jazz Pianist Competition, and the Jacksonville Piano Competition. She was a featured mentor at The Mary Lou Williams Emerging Artist Workshop at the Kennedy Center.  Lynne is a Yamaha Artist and is currently a Professor of Jazz Studies and Director of Small Ensembles at The University of North Florida in Jacksonville. In 2018, she was awarded the UNF Presidential Leader Award and was runner-up for the 2020 UNF Faculty Association Distinguished Professor Award. In this episode, Lynne shares her background, education, and musical journey. If you enjoyed this episode please make sure to subscribe, follow, rate, and/or review this podcast on Spotify, Apple Podcast, Google Podcast, ect. Connect with us on all social media platforms and at www.improvexchange.com

One of music's leading jazz saxophonists Miguel Zenón joins Tim talk about his journey in music and life. Miguel has been nominated multiple times for Grammy Awards and has carved a place for himself among the elite jazz saxophonists and composers of our time. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Miguel_Zenon_II_auphonic.mp3 Miguel was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In high school, he found himself listening to the sounds of John Coltrane, but at that point, it was just an interest, not yet a passion. He didn't get serious about actually making a career in jazz until he went to college at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. That's where he met drummer Bob Moses, who asked him to join him with the Either/Orchestra. This gave Miguel his first taste of professional experience as a saxophonist. He would later earn awards and grants that allowed Miguel to continue his education, earning a master's degree in 2001 from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. But it all goes back to when he first discovered John Coltrane and other jazz legends, and it captivated him. Links Miguel Zenón (official website) Miguel Zenón (New England Conservatory) Gratitude Our thanks to Miguel Zenón for sharing some tracks from his latest album for this episode. You find it here: About this Episode's Guest Miguel Zenón Multiple Grammy Nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón represents a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often-contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered as one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists of his generation, he has also developed a unique voice as a composer and as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between Latin American Folkloric Music and Jazz. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón has built a distinguished career as a leader, releasing twelve albums under his own name. In addition, he has crafted his artistic identity by dividing his time equally between working with older jazz masters and the music's younger innovators –irrespective of styles and genres. The list of musicians Zenón has toured and/or recorded with includes: The SFJAZZ Collective, Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, David Sánchez, Danilo Pérez, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kurt Elling, Guillermo Klein & Los Guachos, The Jeff Ballard Trio, Antonio Sánchez, David Gilmore, Paoli Mejías, Brian Lynch, Jason Lindner, Dan Tepfer, Miles Okazaki, Dan Weiss, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, The Mingus Big Band, Bobby Hutcherson and Steve Coleman. As a composer he has been commissioned by SFJAZZ, The New York State Council for the Arts, Chamber Music America, NYO JAZZ , The Logan Center for The Arts, The Hyde Park Jazz Festival, The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, MIT, Jazz Reach, Peak Performances, PRISM Quartet and many of his peers. Zenón has been featured in articles on publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg Pursuits, Jazz Times, Jazziz, Boston Globe, Billboard, Jazz Inside, Newsday and Details. In addition he topped both the Jazz Artist of the Year and Alto Saxophonist of the Year categories on the 2014 Jazz Times Critics Poll and was selected as the Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (when he was also recognized as Arranger of The Year). His biography would not be complete without discussing his role as an educator. In 2003, he was chosen by the Kennedy Center to teach and perform in West Africa as part of their Jazz Ambassador program. Since then, he has given hundreds of lectures and master classes and has taught all over the world at institutions which include:  The Banff Centre, Berklee College of Music, Siena Jazz, Universidad Veracruzana,

One of music’s leading jazz saxophonists Miguel Zenón joins Tim talk about his journey in music and life. Miguel has been nominated multiple times for Grammy Awards and has carved a place for himself among the elite jazz saxophonists and composers of our time. https://traffic.libsyn.com/secure/shapingopinion/Miguel_Zenon_II_auphonic.mp3 Miguel was born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico. In high school, he found himself listening to the sounds of John Coltrane, but at that point, it was just an interest, not yet a passion. He didn’t get serious about actually making a career in jazz until he went to college at the Berklee College of Music in Boston. That’s where he met drummer Bob Moses, who asked him to join him with the Either/Orchestra. This gave Miguel his first taste of professional experience as a saxophonist. He would later earn awards and grants that allowed Miguel to continue his education, earning a master’s degree in 2001 from the Manhattan School of Music in New York City. But it all goes back to when he first discovered John Coltrane and other jazz legends, and it captivated him. Links Miguel Zenón (official website) Miguel Zenón (New England Conservatory) Gratitude Our thanks to Miguel Zenón for sharing some tracks from his latest album for this episode. You find it here: About this Episode’s Guest Miguel Zenón Multiple Grammy Nominee and Guggenheim and MacArthur Fellow Miguel Zenón represents a select group of musicians who have masterfully balanced and blended the often-contradictory poles of innovation and tradition. Widely considered as one of the most groundbreaking and influential saxophonists of his generation, he has also developed a unique voice as a composer and as a conceptualist, concentrating his efforts on perfecting a fine mix between Latin American Folkloric Music and Jazz. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón has built a distinguished career as a leader, releasing twelve albums under his own name. In addition, he has crafted his artistic identity by dividing his time equally between working with older jazz masters and the music’s younger innovators –irrespective of styles and genres. The list of musicians Zenón has toured and/or recorded with includes: The SFJAZZ Collective, Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, David Sánchez, Danilo Pérez, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Kurt Elling, Guillermo Klein & Los Guachos, The Jeff Ballard Trio, Antonio Sánchez, David Gilmore, Paoli Mejías, Brian Lynch, Jason Lindner, Dan Tepfer, Miles Okazaki, Dan Weiss, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, The Mingus Big Band, Bobby Hutcherson and Steve Coleman. As a composer he has been commissioned by SFJAZZ, The New York State Council for the Arts, Chamber Music America, NYO JAZZ , The Logan Center for The Arts, The Hyde Park Jazz Festival, The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, MIT, Jazz Reach, Peak Performances, PRISM Quartet and many of his peers. Zenón has been featured in articles on publications such as The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Los Angeles Times, The Chicago Tribune, Bloomberg Pursuits, Jazz Times, Jazziz, Boston Globe, Billboard, Jazz Inside, Newsday and Details. In addition he topped both the Jazz Artist of the Year and Alto Saxophonist of the Year categories on the 2014 Jazz Times Critics Poll and was selected as the Alto Saxophonist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association in 2015, 2018, 2019 and 2020 (when he was also recognized as Arranger of The Year). His biography would not be complete without discussing his role as an educator. In 2003, he was chosen by the Kennedy Center to teach and perform in West Africa as part of their Jazz Ambassador program. Since then, he has given hundreds of lectures and master classes and has taught all over the world at institutions which include:  The Banff Centre, Berklee College of Music, Siena Jazz, Universidad Veracruzana,

Jon Irabagon -- saxophones Ray Anderson -- trombone Matt Mitchell -- keys Dan Weiss - drums Chris Lightcap - bass Air date 12/13/2020 "Recharge the Blade" by Jon Irabagon and Outright! has been made possible with support from Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works program funded through the generosity of the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation. --- Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/the-jam-session-inc/support

Based in the San Francisco Bay Area, as a member of the all-star SFJAZZ Collective, pianist Edward Simon has been a Guggenheim Fellow along with being awarded multiple composition grants as part of the Chamber Music America's New Jazz Works initiative. Simon, a Yamaha artist, has recorded 16 albums as a leader or co-leader; his latest is 25 Years, released via Ridgeway Records in October 2020. This follows Simon's 2016 album Latin American Songbook, with the four-and-a-half-star DownBeat review praising its “grand and sophisticated” sound. Latin American Songbook also won Simon an NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Jazz Album. The New York Times has praised Simon's “light, warm touch” as a pianist, while Jazz Journal International singled out “his deep emotional statements” as a composer and improviser. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thefortepodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thefortepodcast/support

Jessie Montgomery is an acclaimed composer, violinist, and educator. She is the recipient of the Leonard Bernstein Award from the ASCAP Foundation, the Sphinx Medal of Excellence, and her works are performed frequently around the world by leading musicians and ensembles. Her music interweaves classical music with elements of vernacular music, improvisation, poetry, and social consciousness, making her an acute interpreter of 21st- century American sound and experience. Her profoundly felt works have been described as “turbulent, wildly colorful, and exploding with life.” Jessie was born and raised in Manhattan's Lower East Side in the 1980s during a time when the neighborhood was at a major turning point in its history. Artists gravitated to the hotbed of artistic experimentation and community development. Her parents - her father a musician, her mother a theater artist and storyteller - were engaged in the activities of the neighborhood and regularly brought Jessie to rallies, performances, and parties where neighbors, activists, and artists gathered to celebrate and support the movements of the time. It is from this unique experience that Jessie has created a life that merges composing, performance, education, and advocacy. Since 1999, Jessie has been affiliated with The Sphinx Organization, which supports young African - American and Latinx musicians. She currently serves as composer-in-residence of the Sphinx Virtuosi, their Organization’s flagship professional touring ensemble. She was a two-time laureate of the Annual Sphinx Competition and was awarded their highest honor, the Sphinx Medal of Excellence. She has received additional grants and awards from the ASCAP Foundation, Chamber Music America, AMerican Composers Orchestra, the Joyce Foundation, and the Sorel Organization. The New York Philharmonic has selected Jessie as a featured composer for their Project 19, which marks the centennial of the ratification of the 19th amendment, granting equal voting rights in the United States to women. Other forthcoming works include a nonet inspired by the Great Migration, told from the perspective of Montgomery’s great-grandfather William McCauley and to be performed by Imani Winds and the Catalyst Quartet; a cello concerto for Thomas Mesa jointly commissioned by Carnegie Hall, New World Symphony, and The Sphinx Organization; and a new orchestral work for the National Symphony. The question of the week is, "What will the next period of classical music look like?" Ms. Montgomery and I discuss what she believes will define the next period of classical music, how to avoid making the same mistakes as our predecessors when writing the narrative of classical music, the widening skillsets of classical musicians, and why it is important for musicians to know how to improvise. You can find out more about Jessie Montgomery and her amazing music on her website, jessiemontgomery.com.

* The Super String concert David mentions in the episode takes place November 14th, 2020. Please click on the link to get your ticket!* https://www.savvymusician.com/superstringDr. David Cutler, a self-proclaimed WEEKEND TRAVELER, is a pianist and composer equally comfortable with classical, jazz, popular, folk, and world music. Stretching what it means to be a performer, events regularly involve crazy antics: extreme eclecticism, choreography, humor, interdisciplinary collaboration, superhero costumes, character ushers, celebrity cameos, kazoo playing marching bands, you name it.Cutler's remarkable composition SuperNova dramatically reimagines the most popular string method of all time, SUZUKI VIOLIN SCHOOL, VOLUME 1. While melodies remain unchanged, rhythm section accompaniments are virtuosic and exploratory, inspired by music genres from around the globe (tango to techno, Baroque to boogie). This project includes 4 full albums, a SuperCreativity eCourse, string ensemble arrangements, and more. One of the world’s leading voices on ARTS ENTREPRENEURSHIP, Cutler has led keynotes and workshops for Music Teachers National Association, College Music Society, Juilliard School, Dutch Classical Music Meeting, Chamber Music America, New World Symphony Orchestra, Indiana University, and Italy’s soundSCAPE music festival. His books The Savvy Musician and The Savvy Music Teacher, which provide tools for amplifying income, impact, and innovation, have shaped a generation of musicians. Dr. Cutler is a distinguished professor of music entrepreneurship at University of South Carolina, and a Yamaha Master Educator.Cutler and his consulting firm The Puzzler Company work with arts, business, and education organizations to foster innovation. His upcoming VISUAL book (illustrations and design throughout) Problem-Solving Champion: Winning the GAME of Innovation helps teams turn problems into GAMEs and play to win. email: cutler@savvymusician.com

In this episode, Bailey sits down with jazz violinist and educator Christian Howes. Suzuki grad and Suzuki Dad, Violinist, educator and composer, Christian Howes is the founder of “Creative Strings“, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to expand music education through the creation of online curriculum, an annual summer conference, and dozens of visits to schools annually teaching improvisation, contemporary styles, and related subjects. Since March 2020 he has published over 150 Free Play Along Videos on his Youtube channel to support teachers and players of all levels. He was voted #1 in the Downbeat Critics Poll (“Rising Stars/Violin”), named among the top three violinists in the JazzTimes critics poll, and nominated for Violinist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. He received the Residency Partner Award through Chamber Music America, earned a USArtists grant through the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and was invited by the U.S. State department to teach and perform as a cultural ambassador twice, in Ukraine and Montenegro. His release on Resonance Records, “Southern Exposure” earned recognition in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Downbeat, Jazz Times, as well as a six-night run at Lincoln Center. His release, “American Spirit” was named among the Best Jazz Albums of 2015″ by the Huffington Post. "SuperNova" Suzuki Reimagined with David Cutler:https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/supernovacreativity/supernova-0Christian Howes' Website and Facebook Page:https://christianhowes.com/https://www.facebook.com/christianhowesviolinist/

Billy Childs has garnered sixteen Grammy nominations and five Grammy awards: two for best instrumental composition (Into the Light from Lyric and The Path Among The Trees from Autumn: In Moving Pictures), two for best arrangement accompanying a vocalist (including New York Tendaberry from Map to the Treasure: Reimagining Laura Nyro, featuring Renee Fleming and Yo-Yo Ma), and one for best instrumental jazz album (Rebirth, 2018). In 2006, Childs was awarded a Chamber Music America composer’s grant, and in 2009 was the recipient of a Guggenheim Fellowship. In 2013 he was awarded the Doris Duke Performing Artist Award. He has been awarded a composers award from the American Academy of Arts and Letters (2015). Childs is currently serving as president of Chamber Music America. “On my first Mack Avenue recording, Rebirth (Billy Childs’ 2017 album which won a GRAMMY® Award for Best Jazz Instrumental Album), I wanted to return to a focus on my jazz piano playing,” Childs states. “Acceptance (2020) is an extension of that, and the musicians make it very comfortable for me.” Childs thrives on group improvisation and has recruited fellow master musicians—saxophonist Steve Wilson, bassist Hans Glawischnig and drummer Eric Harland—as the core ensemble for this collection: Acceptance. Elena Pinderhughes on flute; vocalists Alicia Olatuja, Aubrey Johnson and Sara Gazarek; and percussionists Rogerio Boccato and Munyungo Jackson complete the stellar lineup on this recording. 

THE BIKE PIECE WE TALKED ABOUT: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tCO7FG4KsSs Celebrating their 10th anniversary, the Akropolis Reed Quintetwas founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan and is the first ever ensemble of its makeup to win seven national prizes including a Fischoff Gold Medal (2014) and Fischoff Educators Award (2015). Hailed by Fanfare Magazine for its “imagination, infallible musicality, and huge vitality”, Akropolis has performed from Juneau to Abu Dhabi and delivers more than 120 annual performances and workshops annually. A maverick of new wind music, Akropolis has commissioned over 70 reed quintet works and recorded three albums, including its 2017 release, The Space Between Us, which the San Francisco Chronicle calls, “pure gold”. Akropolis has received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs & Chamber Music America for their adventurous artistry and compelling community programming in Detroit, MI. --- This episode is sponsored by · Anchor: The easiest way to make a podcast. https://anchor.fm/app --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/thefortepodcast/message Support this podcast: https://anchor.fm/thefortepodcast/support

1. Icli Zitella - Zona, for violin soloist and 10 string instrumentshttps://soundcloud.com/iclizitella/zona-for-violin-soloist-and-10-string-instruments2. Michael Abels - "Anthem," from the score to Jordan Peele's Ushttps://open.spotify.com/album/1gkLMuAnI8U5z2yhyhhRQk?si=4gDbAGb3Q2-m2eFUjGmcIw3.Nathalie Joachim - Suite pou Dantanhttps://open.spotify.com/playlist/1UfE5N84rXZzd8mWWqSwhG?si=VBC5-qKrQha3CJa2htJEigPanelists:Venezuelan violinist Natalie Calma, currently based in Boston, is an enthusiast of new music and improvisation. She is dedicated to promoting living, contemporary music in all of its forms. Natalie is a co-creator of Box Not Found, a violin and clarinet duo that seeks to build and cultivate the foundations for alternative streams of new music while also generating a positive impact on both the local and global communities. Natalie holds degrees from the Interlochen Arts Academy, The Boston Conservatory (BM), where she studied with Lynn Chang, and Boston University (MM), where she studied with Dana Mazurkevich. Natalie plays on a violin made by Venezuelan luthier Matias Herrera, and a bow made by Venezuelan luthier Eduardo “Guayo” Gonzales.Sugar Vendil is a composer, pianist, and interdisciplinary artist based in New York City. Her artistic practice is strongly rooted in rigorous discipline as a musician and gradually expanded into performance that integrates music, movement, and unconventional approaches to the piano. She is a proud second generation Filipinx American. Vendil was recently awarded an ACF | Create commission to write a work for Boston-based duo Box Not Found (May 2020) and was awarded with 2020 Fellowships at the National Arts Club and Sokoloff Arts. She was a 2019 Artist in Residence at High Concept Labs in Chicago and was awarded a 2019 Chamber Music America commission to write a new work for her ensemble, The Nouveau Classical Project, which she founded in 2008. Vendil was a finalist in National Sawdust’s 2019 Hildegard Competition. ETHEL premiered her new string quartet in December 2019 as part of their Homebaked commissioning program. She was a 2019 resident artist at Mabou Mines and an artist in residence at Target Margin Theater. In 2016, she was a Fellow in the Target Margin Institute for Collaborative Theater Making, which encouraged her to further pursue composition and performance making. She holds a Master of Music degree in piano performance.Amanda Cook is a Boston-based editor, writer, and arts administrator with a background in flute performance and higher education. She is the Editor-in-Chief of I CARE IF YOU LISTEN, an award-winning contemporary classical music magazine advocating for historically underrepresented artists and equitable programming. Her training as a performer coupled with her current work in music journalism and nonprofit administration provides a unique perspective from which to view the current state of classical music.More information at pauseandlisten.com. Pause and Listen was created by host John T.K. Scherch and co-creator/marketing manager Michele Mengel Scherch.

“Confusion and ambiguity are not your friends. You must know what it is you want to do. After you have articulated what that is, you have to make some sort of tangible, tactical plan to get you where you want to go.” Margaret Lioi, CEO of Chamber Music America shares how to develop as a musician in today’s world.

Andrea Brachfeld hails from New Jersey. She tours with her group, Andrea Brachfeld and Insight, featuring Bill O’Connell, Harvie S, and with Jason Tiemann, The Bill O’ Connell Jazz Latin Quintet, featuring Andrea Brachfeld, Bill Connell, and the Afro Caribbean Ensemble (ACE), and  The Bill O’ Connell Quartet / Dave Valentin Tribute Band featuring Lincoln Goines and Robby Ameen where we recently came back from a tour in Japan playing at the Cotton Club. In June 2017, Andrea was awarded a grant from the prestigious organization, Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, to compose a new jazz work. Her CD, If Not Now, When? was released on Jazzheads in May of 2018, and reflects this new music. Her newest Brazilian project, Brazilian Whispers was released on Origin Records on January 17, 2020. It features Bill O’Connell, Harvie S, Jason Tiemann, Roni Ben-Hur, Lincoln Goines, T Portinho and Chembo Corniel playing mostly Antonio Carlos Jobim compositions along with three original compositions by myself and Bill. https://andreabrachfeld.com http://wijsf.org Host: DrDivaJC

Danielle Eva Schwob is the leader of new cinematic, experimental alternative band Delanila. The acclaimed composer, arranger and guitarist has assembled an amazing array of talent for Delanila's first release, Overloaded, including Grammy-winning engineer Emily Lazar (Sia, Coldplay, Haim), top beat programmer and producer Pearse MacIntyre, drummer Aaron Steele (Portgual. The Man), Nick Semrad and Adam Agati (Cory Henry & The Funk Apostles), Jim Orso (Hot Chip), Jennifer Choi (John Zorn), Cornelius DuFallo (FLUX) and more. The album is co-produced by three time Grammy winner David Botrill (Muse, Tool, Peter Gabriel) and features complex electro-pop arrangements overlayed by Danielle's elegant and haunting soprano vocals. Known for her classical compositions and film scores where her work has been featured at Lincoln Center, National Sawdust, BRIC Celebrate Brooklyn!, Chamber Music America, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the MATA Festival and earned honors from The Aaron Copland Fund, New Music USA, The American Composers Forum, ASCAP, CMNY and BMI, Delanila is a welcome exploration into the alternative pop music scene for Danielle Eva Schwob.Support this podcast at — https://redcircle.com/back-story-song/exclusive-contentAdvertising Inquiries: https://redcircle.com/brandsPrivacy & Opt-Out: https://redcircle.com/privacy

Múltiple nominado al Grammy y compañero de Guggenheim y MacArthur, Miguel Zenón representa un grupo selecto de músicos que han equilibrado y mezclado magistralmente los polos a menudo contradictorios de la innovación y la tradición. Ampliamente considerado como uno de los saxofonistas más innovadores e influyentes de su generación, también ha desarrollado una voz única como compositor y conceptualista, concentrando sus esfuerzos en perfeccionar una fina mezcla entre la música folclórica latinoamericana y el jazz.Nacido y criado en San Juan, Puerto Rico, Zenón ha construido una distinguida carrera como líder, lanzando doce álbumes bajo su propio nombre. Además, ha creado su identidad artística dividiendo su tiempo equitativamente entre trabajar con maestros de jazz de más edad y los innovadores más jóvenes de la música, independientemente de los estilos y géneros. La lista de músicos con los que Zenón ha viajado y / o grabado incluye: The SFJAZZ Collective, Charlie Haden, Fred Hersch, Kenny Werner, David Sánchez, Danilo Pérez, The Village Vanguard Orchestra, Guillermo Klein & Los Guachos, The Jeff Ballard Trio, Antonio Sánchez, David Gilmore, Paoli Mejías, Brian Lynch, Jason Lindner, Dan Tepfer, Miles Okazaki, Dan Weiss, Ray Barreto, Andy Montañez, Jerry Gonzalez & The Fort Apache Band, The Mingus Big Band, Bobby Hutcherson y Steve Coleman.Como compositor, ha sido comisionado por SFJAZZ, The New York State Council for the Arts, Chamber Music America, NYO JAZZ, The Logan Center for The Arts, The Hyde Park Jazz Festival, The John Simon Guggenheim Foundation, MIT, Jazz Reach, Peak Performance, PRISM Quartet y muchos de sus compañeros.Zenón ha aparecido en artículos en publicaciones como The New York Times , The Wall Street Journal , The Los Angeles Times , The Chicago Tribune , Bloomberg Pursuits, Jazz Times , Jazziz , Boston Globe , Billboard, Jazz Inside, Newsday y Details . Además, encabezó las categorías Jazz Artist of the Year y Alto Saxophonist of the Year en la Encuesta de críticos de Jazz Times 2014 y fue seleccionado como Alto Saxophonist of the Year por la Jazz Journalist Association en 2015, 2018 y 2019.fuente: miguelzenon.com

Subscribe to the podcast here!Learn more about the stuff we talk about in this episode here:Assaff Weisman3:54 - How the right teacher can change everything and why he credits his life as a musician to his early teacher, Seth Kimmelman.6:07 - Seth Kimmelman's tragic passing from AIDS.7:59 - Assaff's identity as an Israeli and an American.10:15 - How Israeli Chamber Project started.15:53 - The main learning points and challenges of starting your own organization.18:20 - How our training at Juilliard at the time we received it did not teach us to think entrepreneurially.19:34 - The secret to ICP's longevity.24:40 - The importance of making peace with being in sales and how musicians are really salespeople. Chamber Music America (CMA).28:35 - Why artists resist the concept of "selling."30:50 - Approaching sales as a way to help and connect with people.32:53 - The skills that classical musicians acquire through training that are useful for entrepreneurship.35:06 - "The most important skill is connecting with people." Why connecting is the most valuable skill.36:46 - Seth Godin and Real Skills.38:00 - Seymour Bernstein (Seymour: An introduction). Continuing Education at Juilliard. Performance anxiety and vulnerability.43:59 - How Assaff's career is different from what he thought it would be.49:39 - Assaff's advice to his younger self: say "yes" to everything to combat rigidity of the mind.

Trumpeter Jason Palmer is a busy man. He's about to release a new quartet record, followed by an album funded by a grant from Chamber Music America. He's also an educator, touring musician, and composer. In this interview, Palmer talks about his early days at Wally's in Boston; what it meant to his career to have a working band with a regular gig for 15 years; why he loves to teach; and how a true crime podcast inspired his most recent music. / / / I've been recording conversations with jazz musicians since 2007. I think it's important work that deserves public support. I'd also like to be able to do it for my living. If you agree that The Jazz Session is worth supporting, become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you'll get a monthly bonus episode, early access to every show, and a yearly gift. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra bonus show exploring a classic jazz album. Big thanks to Frank Christopher for becoming a member. Theme music by The Respect Sextet Logo by Dave Vrabel Intro voice: Chuck Ingersoll Follow The Jazz Session on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe to my twice-monthly newsletter.

Trumpeter Jason Palmer is a busy man. He's about to release a new quartet record, followed by an album funded by a grant from Chamber Music America. He's also an educator, touring musician, and composer. In this interview, Palmer talks about his early days at Wally's in Boston; what it meant to his career to have a working band with a regular gig for 15 years; why he loves to teach; and how a true crime podcast inspired his most recent music. / / / I've been recording conversations with jazz musicians since 2007. I think it's important work that deserves public support. I'd also like to be able to do it for my living. If you agree that The Jazz Session is worth supporting, become a member today at thejazzsession.com/join. For $5 a month you'll get a monthly bonus episode, early access to every show, and a yearly gift. For $10 a month you get all that plus an extra bonus show exploring a classic jazz album. Big thanks to Frank Christopher for becoming a member. Theme music by The Respect Sextet Logo by Dave Vrabel Intro voice: Chuck Ingersoll Follow The Jazz Session on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook. Subscribe to my twice-monthly newsletter.

Trumpeter Jason Palmer is a busy man. He’s about to release a new quartet record, followed by an album funded by a grant from Chamber Music America. He’s also an educator, touring musician, and composer. In this interview, Palmer talks about his early days at Wally’s in Boston; what it meant to his career to … Continue reading "The Jazz Session #503: Jason Palmer"

Violinist/Composer/Educator/Producer Christian Howes is joining the conversation Cue To Cue today! Christian is bringing his wealth of knowledge as an artist in this episode. He opens up about his journey to becoming one of the top jazz violinists in the world and shares his experiences in a way that is sure to give you the kick in the pants you need to inspire you to get going and move towards the life you imagine for yourself as an artist.   In this episode:   How to practice your craft more effectively  How to define a vision for yourself as an artist Why it is important to develop a habit of self-forgiveness to be more authentic and feel less pressure to people, please. How to create the opportunity for yourself as an artist in a short amount of time. How crucial a skill set it is to learn how to sell and how to wrap your mind around this four letter word   A little about Christian:   Violinist, educator and composer, Christian Howes was voted #1 in the Downbeat Critics Poll (“Rising Stars/Violin”), named among the top three jazz violinists in the JazzTimes critics poll, and nominated for Violinist of the Year by the Jazz Journalist Association. He received the Residency Partner Award through Chamber Music America, earned a USArtists grant through the Mid Atlantic Arts Foundation, and was invited by the U.S. State department to teach and perform as a cultural ambassador twice, in Ukraine and Montenegro.  His release on Resonance Records, “Southern Exposure” earned recognition in the New York Times, Wall Street Journal, Downbeat, Jazz Times, as well as a six-night run at Lincoln Center.  His release, “American Spirit” was named among the Best Jazz Albums of 2015″ by the Huffington Post. Howes is the founder of “Creative Strings“, a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization with a mission to expand music education through the creation of online curriculum, an annual summer conference, and dozens of visits to schools annually teaching improvisation, contemporary styles, and related subjects. He endorses Yamaha violins and D’Addario strings. at www.creativestrings.org  Share the episode >> https://www.thisischelseajohnson.com/137   Follow Christian! I: @christitanhowesviolinist F: @christianhowesviolinist T: @chrititanhowes W: https://christianhowes.com/ or http://creativestrings.org

Today's guest in this third episode of the Fischoff Effect series is Matt Landry from the Akropolis Reed Quintet.  In this series, I bring you five former winners of the Fischoff competition to talk about their experience preparing for and competing at Fischoff, and about the wonderful adventures and opportunities that have followed their win! My guests this week are Blaise Magniere from the Avalon String Quartet, Dorival Puccini from Axiom Brass, Matt Landry from the Akropolis Reed Quintet , Christopher Whitley from the Thalea String Quartet, and Lydia Reah from the former Kairos String Quartet!  Whether you are a musician about to compete at the competition, or a music lover looking for a fresh approach to practicing and preparing for a concert, make sure to subscribe and tune in everyday, because those conversations are bursting with inspiration and EXTREMELY useful information!  Each group has a unique and motivating story and my guests are so generous with their insightful tips and advice!    About Fischoff Founded in 1973 in South Bend, Indiana, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition has grown to become the largest chamber music competition in the world, attracting the finest and most talented young musicians from around the globe. and is one of the most prestigious classical music prizes attainable today. Since its founding, more than 6,000 musicians have participated, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in music performance and education.  Fischoff is also deeply committed to music education and partners with competition alumni to bring free, innovative Arts-in-Education programs directly to children in their own schools and community centers. Since 1995, nearly 50,000 children, youth and adults have received free educational programming of the highest order. Website: http://www.fischoff.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFischoff Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fischoffchambermusic/     Meet the Akropolis Reed Quintet – 2012 Senior Wind Division Silver Medal, 2014 Senior Wind Division Gold Medal, & 2015 Fischoff Educator Award Kari Landry, clarinet | Andrew Koeppe, bass clarinet | Ryan Reynolds, bassoon | Matt Landry, saxophone | Tim Gocklin, oboe   https://akropolisquintet.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/akropolisquintet/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akropolis5tet/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGAiaA8x7b3W_OpBKgg7eXg   Hailed for their “imagination, infallible musicality, and huge vitality” (Fanfare Magazine), Akropolis was founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan and has won seven national chamber music prizes since 2011, including the 2014 Fischoff Gold Medal and the 2015 Fischoff Educator Award. Akropolis is an alumnus of APAP's prestigious Young Performer's Career Advancement Program and is generously supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, CultureSource, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Chamber Music America, Alice M. Ditson Fund, Amphion Foundation, High Wire Lab, and Quicken Loans. Celebrating their 10th anniversary, Akropolis' 19/20 season features 10 commissions for the ensemble including the first concerto for reed quintet and wind band by Roshanne Etezady, a chamber concerto by Jenni Brandon with guest bassoonist Monica Ellis of Imani Winds, a work for reed quintet and rideable percussion bicycle by Steven Snowden, and more. The season also features a 10-show, choreographed and staged production with BodyVox Dance in Portland, OR and Akropolis' 3rd annual Together We Sound festival in Detroit featuring a multimedia collaboration with Detroit projection artist, L05 (Carlos Garcia). Akropolis' recent and upcoming appearances includes stops at Caramoor, Chamber Music Northwest, the Oneppo Series at Yale University, the Chautauqua Institution, Artist Series of Sarasota, Chamber Music Abu Dhabi, Chamber Music Columbus, and more. Akropolis has been awarded a juried showcase at APAP (YPCA), Chamber Music America twice, Performing Arts Exchange, Western Arts Alliance, and the Mid-Atlantic Performing Arts Market. With three studio albums, including its March 2017 release of The Space Between Us, called “pure gold” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Akropolis has recorded 17 original reed quintet works. Akropolis' 2018 Together We Sound festival featured an improvisatory new work with YAK and a concert with acclaimed soprano Shara Nova. Akropolis premiered the first work for reed quintet and string quartet by David Schiff with the Dover Quartet in 2015 and has performed with artists like the Miró Quartet and renowned clarinetist David Shifrin. Akropolis has even performed with HarperCollins published author and scientist, Vic Strecher. In April 2017, Akropolis' residency in Abu Dhabi featured a performance of Marc Mellits' Splinter with original Arabic poetry performed by Khalifa University students, written around Mellits' music. Establishing Akropolis WORKS in 2016, Akropolis' members teach an annual 7-week music business mini-course at the University of Michigan as well as two semester-long courses at Michigan State University. They have delivered WORKS lectures to university musicians around the United States on marketing, financial planning, brand identity, and more. Equally committed to students K-12, Akropolis reached over 10,000 K-12 students in 2018. They conduct an annual school year long residency with students at three Detroit high schools including chamber music and music composition. Winner of a coveted Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, Akropolis has premiered more than 50 works from composers in 7 countries and was selected to adjudicate and premiere the 2018 Barlow Prize funded by the Barlow Endowment, the first time the prize was given for a reed quintet work. Akropolis' members are the first of any reed quintet to judge major chamber music competitions including the Fischoff (2018) and Chamber Music Yellow Springs (2019) competitions. Akropolis produces a YouTube Web Premiere Series with more than 50,000 views, showcasing new works, arrangements, and composer interviews for a live Internet audience. In 2012 Akropolis created Akropolis Collection and has now sold over 400 original and arranged sheet music works to more than 100 new and established reed quintets. Akropolis regularly appears in unconventional settings, including performances in office spaces in Detroit as part of its Corporate-to-Corner Tour in January 2017. In May 2016 Akropolis conducted a live recording session featuring audience participation for John Steinmetz's Sorrow and Celebration for reed quintet and audience, which Akropolis commissioned in 2014. Akropolis presents its annual Together We Sound festival in Detroit each June, bringing together multidisciplinary collaborators, new works, and educational outreach to increase arts access throughout the city. Akropolis is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization generously supported by individuals around the world. All Akropolis events include informative musical introductions and a chance to greet the artists. Originating at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Akropolis remains its founding members: Tim Gocklin (oboe), Kari Landry (clarinet), Matt Landry (saxophone), Andrew Koeppe (bass clarinet), and Ryan Reynolds (bassoon). Akropolis is represented exclusively by Ariel Artists. Contact Matthew Kulas at matthew@arielartists.com for booking.   If you enjoyed the show, please leave a review on iTunes!  I truly appreciate your support! Visit www.mindoverfinger.com for information about past and future podcasts, and for more resources on mindful practice. THANK YOU: Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme!  Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson. Also a huge thank you to my producer, Bella Kelly!   MIND OVER FINGER: www.mindoverfinger.com https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/ https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/   Join the Mind Over Finger Tribe here!  https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfingertribe/

Eric Wubbels is a a New York based composer and pianist who for the past several years has been co-director of the world renowned Wet Ink Ensemble. His music is intense, meticulous and an utterly thrilling listening experience. Eric has been awarded grants and fellowships from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, Chamber Music America, MATA Festival, Barlow Endowment, Jerome Foundation, New Music USA and others. He is a great cat with a lot of insight.

Joel Harrison is one of the first artists to have bridged the worlds of jazz, classical, Americana, and traditions from India and Africa. Born in Washington D.C. the guitarist, composer, arranger, lyricist, vocalist, and songwriter began his search for new sounds in the early 1980’s with stints in Boston and the Bay Area. Named a Guggenheim Fellow in 2010, Joel has long been recognized as a risk taker, someone who never stands still. Harrison is a two-time winner of the Jazz Composer’s Alliance Composition Competition and has received support and awards from Chamber Music America, Meet the Composer, the Flagler Cary Trust, NYSCA, New Music USA, and the Jerome Foundation.  He has released 17 CDs since 1995 as a leader and has appeared high up on the “Rising Star” Downbeat Magazine poll for many years. Podcast Highlights Being authentic gives you access to your most powerful self Always be learning, that's how you get better Get a mentor it's that fastest way to improve your craft Connect With Joel Website facebook twitter

Andrea Brachfeld was born on May 3 in Utica, New York. She is a flutist, composer, and educator. She graduated from The High School of Music and Art and the Manhattan School of Music. Some artists she has associated with are Tito Puente, Ray Barretto, Hubert Laws, Nestor Torres, Dave Valentín, Paquito D’Rivera, Hilton Ruiz, Steve Turre, Wycliffe Gordon, Wallace Roney, and Bill O’ Connell among many others. Her breakthrough performance as the flutist for the popular Latin band Charanga ’76, catapulted her into Salsa history and fame as the first female flutist to play this music in the United States. Her many awards include the “Louis Armstrong Award for Outstanding Student” from Jazz Interactions in 1974, twice the recipient of the Latin New York Music Award, the Chico O’Farrill Lifetime Achievement Award in 2006, the “Pionero Award” in 2010, the “Best Jazz Flutist” by Hot House Magazine in 2015, and Downbeat Magazine referred to Andrea as “one of the finest jazz flutists around.” Andrea tours with her group Andrea Brachfeld and Insight, featuring Bill O’Connell, Harvie S and Jason Tiemann, the Wallace Roney “Universe” Orchestra, and The Bill O’Connell Quartet / Dave Valentin Tribute Band. In June 2017, Andrea was awarded a grant from Chamber Music America and the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation to compose a new jazz work. Her new CD, If Not Now, When? will be released on Jazzheads in May 2018, reflecting this new music. www.andreabrachfeld.com www.wijsf.org

Jacob Adam Garcia is a Texas-based classical percussionist finishing a DMA at UNT and actively performing in the Dallas/Fort Worth area.  He and Laurel crossed paths at The Boston Conservatory.He teaches percussion at Texas Woman's University, serves as Principal Percussionist at The Texarkana Symphony Orchestra, and is a section player for The Midland-Odessa Symphony and Chorale, the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Las Colinas Symphony Orchestra, and the Dallas Winds.Watch here. Listen below. If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element 0:00 Intro and hello4:15 Jacob's multiple teaching and performing jobs5:30 Cars and gear...10:50 Life and finishing up your DMA15:45 Making time19:40 Student debt forgiveness (part 2). Public Service Loan Forgiveness Plan49:30 Quick on Megan's I-Ching DMA presentation1:00:44 Chamber Music America

Composer Chris Stark joins me to reflect upon the legacy of David Maslanka. Chris studied with David for a year and shares some of his memories before discussing his own exciting career. Topics: David Maslanka as a teacher, composer, and man and the lessons that Chris learned while his student Chris' background in Montana and his thoughts about writing for wind ensemble Writing the music for the upcoming movie Novitiate and advice for young composers Links: Christopher Stark Washington University Novitiate Chris Stark: Velocity Meadows David Gillingham: Waking Angels Joseph Schwantner: ...and the mountains rising nowhere David Maslanka: Symphony no. 4 World Chess Hall of Fame Biography: A 2017 Guggenheim Fellow, Christopher Stark (b. 1980, St. Ignatius, MT) is a fast-rising and dynamic young composer equally at ease in the diverse mediums of contemporary classical, electronic, and film. The New York Times has called his music, "fetching and colorful," and he has received prestigious awards from the Fromm Foundation at Harvard University, Chamber Music America, and ASCAP. In 2012, he was a resident composer at Civitella Ranieri, a fifteenth-century castle in Umbria, Italy, and in June of 2016 he was in-residence at Aaron Copland's former home in the Hudson Valley. Recent highlights have included performances at the 2016 Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival and at the Whitney Museum of American Art as part of the 2016 NY Philharmonic Biennial. Stark currently resides in St. Louis where he is Assistant Professor of Music Composition at Washington University in St. Louis. Closing music: "Augenblick" by Christopher Stark. Recording by Jerry Junkin and the University of Texas Wind Ensemble.

Angela Myles Beeching, author of the well-known book Beyond Talent: Creating a Successful Career in Music, has created and run entrepreneurship programs in a number of major music schools throughout the country, and now is a full-time career consultant for working musicians. This week, she joins me to talk about her work with musicians, and some tips for composers and performers. Also, Angela has made a very generous offer to the MPP community: between now and December 14, 2016, she is offering a free 30-minute career consultation! Just email her at Angela@BeyondTalentConsulting.com, and mention that you heard her here. During the course of our conversation, we touched on: The perceptions of entrepreneurship Using entrepreneurial skills appropriately Teaching the entrepreneurial “mentality” vs. concrete skills Listening to your critical voice Time management Setting up creative blocks Forming habits Setting a pre-creative ritual Minimizing distractions during creative time Being in a space conducive to writing Setting regular creative habits Steven Pressfield's The War of Art Describing your music Angela's generous offer to MPP listeners Going to conferences The Chamber Music America national conference Links: Angela Myles Beeching Beyond Talent Steven Pressfield: The War of Art New Music Box: You Need a Better Bio “Inside Morton's Head”: Morton Gould on the creative process “Success & Legacy” “Five Productivity Hacks”

Oct. 30, 2015. A pre-concert panel discussion featuring Jane Chu, Margaret Lioi and Astrid Schween. Speaker Biography: Jane Chu is Chairwoman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Speaker Biography: Margaret Lioi is CEO of Chamber Music America. Speaker Biography: Astrid Schween is cellist with the Juilliard String Quartet. For transcript, captions, and more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=7195

Dec. 18, 2013. The 2013 Stradivari Anniversary Concert featured the Parker String Quartet and violist Kikuei Ikeda performing on the Library's Stradivari instruments. The quartet performed Mendelssohn's String Quartet no. 3 in D major, op. 44, no. 1, and Shostakovich's String Quartet no. 9. They were joined by Kikuei Ikeda for the Dvorak String Quintet in E-flat major, op. 97. Speaker Biography: The Parker String Quartet has appeared at many of the world's leading venues, including Carnegie Hall, Wigmore Hall, Musikverein (Vienna), and Concergebouw in Amsterdam. They won the Concert Artists Guild Competition and the Cleveland Quartet Award from Chamber Music America. They are Blodgett Artists-in-Residence at Harvard University. Speaker Biography: Kikuei Ikeda was a violinist in the former Tokyo String Quartet and an award-winning soloist and chamber musician. Following studies at Juilliard, he has toured extensively. For more information, visit http://www.loc.gov/today/cyberlc/feature_wdesc.php?rec=6871

Since it’s the end of National Chamber Music Month, we thought it would be fitting to give you a taste of our upcoming episode, featuring Norman Fischer. Norman plays cello in the Fischer Duo, and is on the Board of Directors at Chamber Music America, the group who invented National Chamber Music Month. The full episode will be coming your way Monday, June 2nd! Audio production by Todd “Totaled Todd” Hulslander with catering by Dacia Clay. Music in this preview: – Sonata in A Major, Op. 69 by Ludwig van Beethoven, from The Fischer Duo’s CD “Beethoven: Cello and Piano Complete” For more about the Fischer Duo: www.music.rice.edu/facultybios/fischerduo.shtml PS, We’re on Stitcher Radio now!

I tredje programmet möter vi två New Yorkbaserade musiker. Elviolasten och tonsättaren Martha Mooke har bland annat spelat på Broadway, medan tonsättaren och pianisten Elodie Lautens operor sätts upp off-Broadway och off-Metropolitanoperan. Jag möter Martha Mooke I en vacker våning på övre västra Manhattan. Hon spelar med New York's ledande ensembler och har inga problem med att gå mellan notbundna och improviserande uppdrag. Just denna vecka varvar hon fyrsträngat violaspel, i stycken av Tjajkovskij och Bruckner, i en symfoniorkester i New Jersey, med att i studio, med femsträngad elviola, spela in altfiolstycken som tonsatts för henne. Och så har hon precis avslutat komponerandet av sin tredje String Quartet. En klassisk altfiol har fyra strängar, men Martha Mooke äger ett flertal femsträngade instrument. Hon processor ljudet I dator och med allehanda pedaler Den elektrifierade altfiolen kan låta som ett keyboard, en synth, en gitarr eller som en saxofon! Så här skriver Village Voice: ”Med sitt kritvita hår, och den blå femsträngade altfiolen, är Martha Mooke en frapperande uppenbarelse med ett bredare register än många improvisatörer kan skryta med.” Martha Mooke, som är en av stammusikerna i Carnegie Hall, har bl a jobbat med Luciano Berio, Cathy Berberian, David Bowie, David Byrne, Lou Reed, Kronoskvartetten och Rufus Wainwright. Årligen spelar Martha Mooke vid stödkonserten för Tibet House tillsammans med Philip Glass och Patti Smith. -Två turnéer med Barbara Streisand var drömturnéer av första klass! Barbara vet exakt hur hon vill ha det musikaliskt och vi musiker blev behandlade exemplariskt. Det var fantastiskt att varje kväll stå en meter från Barbara Streisand när hon gör sin stora entré och publiken jublar. Du hör inget, du vibrerar – inte bara ditt instrument, utan även din kropp vibrerar, berättar Martha Mooke. Martha Mooke’s nästa CD heter Hebra d'luz, Ljustråd, efter stycket med samma namn som tonsättaren Tania León skrivit till henne. http://www.marthamooke.com/ Tonsättaren och pianisten Elodie Lauten föddes i Paris men flyttade till New York tidigt 1970-tal. Hennes pianostycke Variations On The Orange Cycle inkluderades i Chamber Music America’s lista över nittonhundratalets 100 bästa musikstycken. Och Sequenza 21, som är en av de tre främsta internettidningarna för nutida konstmusik, listade Elodie Lauten som en av de mest inflytesrika tonsättarna av postminimalismen under de senaste 30 åren. Elodie Lauten har skrivit fem operor, stycken för piano, för elektronik och för orkester. Hon finns med på 30 CD-skivor, utgivna av 15 stora och små bolag. I New York upplever Elodie Lauten en frihet hon aldrig känt i Paris. Här kan hennes excentricitet blomma bland andra människor som är udda och kommer från olika länder. Elodie Lauten startar tjejrockband, lever en tid på Chelsea Hotel med sin pojkvän och bor tillsammans med den öppet homosexuelle poeten Allen Ginsberg. Några av hans dikter utgör librettot till hennes opera Waking in New York. Elodie Lauten skapar det lyraliknande 21-strängade instrumentet Trine och använder det i Preludiet till sin opera Death of Don Juan. Operan hade premiär i maj 2011 på Manhattan’s Theater For The New City, i East Village. - Don Juan-typen, förföraren, är en karaktär från en förfluten tid då kvinnor endast hade tre val: hustru till en man, nunna eller prostituerad. Idag, efter 1960- och 70-talens sexuella frigörelser och kvinorörelsens landvinningar, är en sådan Don Juan-karaktär inte trovärdig, säger Elodie Lauten, som i operan ger Don Juan möjlighet att uppleva äkta kärlek. Elodie Lautens far föddes som Raphael Shecroun i Algeriet. Han tar namnet Errol Parker och blir jazzmusiker och kompositör och skriver bitonal, komplex musik. 18 år gammal lämnar han Algeriet och flyttar till Paris där han bl a spelar med gitarristen Django Reinhardt. 1968 flyttar Errol Parker till New York och är så stolt över sina afrikanska rötter att han byter ut virveltrumman mot congas i trumsetet. 1971 startar han sin egen label, Sahara Records. Elodie Lauten är konstnärlig ledare för den ideella organisationen Lower East Side Perfroming Arts. http://www.elodielauten.net/

George Zacharias "Nel cor pi√π non mi sento, Op. 38, MS 44" (mp3) from "Unaccompanied" (Divine Art) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody More On This AlbumArtist: George ZachariasIt takes a particular and extreme level of skill and dedication to perform virtuoso works for unaccompanied solo violin; suffice it to say these are qualities held by George Zacharias without doubt. This is a tour-de-force of musicianship and technique - and wonderful music too. Bartok's Sonata is presented in its original version and of the two awesome Paganini works, the 'God Save the King' Variations are very rarely heard. Dejan Laziƒ?, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Petrenko "Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18" (mp3) from "Rachmaninov: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C Minor, Op. 18 - Moments Musicaux, Op. 16" (Channel Classics Records) Buy at iTunes Music Store Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Napster More On This AlbumArtist: Dejan Lazic Pianist Dejan Lazic was born in Zagreb, Croatia, and grew up in Salzburg where he studied at the Mozarteum. He is quickly establishing a reputation worldwide as ìa brilliant pianist and a gifted musician full of ideas and able to project them persuasivelyî (Gramophone). The New York Times hailed his performance as ìfull of poetic, shapely phrasing and vivid dynamic effects that made this music sound fresh, spontaneous and impassionedî. As recitalist and soloist with orchestra, he has appeared at major venues in Berlin, Paris, London, Vienna, New York, Chicago, Tokyo, Buenos Aires and Sydney, and at the Edinburgh, Schleswig-Holstein, Verbier, Huntington and Menuhin/Gstaad Festivals. In the 2006/2007 season he gave his debut at the New York Lincoln Center and the Amsterdam Concertgebouw to great critical acclaim. Orchestral engagements included the Philharmonia Orchestra London with Vladimir Ashkenazy, Rotterdam and Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestras, Australian and Netherlands Chamber Orchestras, Danish Radio Sinfonietta and Bamberg Symphony Orchestra. Upcoming engagements are with London Philharmonic Orchestra and Kirill Petrenko, Swedish Radio Symphony Orchestra, Atlanta and Indianapolis Symphony Orchestras and Basel Chamber Orchestra. He will be in season 2008/09 ìartist in residenceî at the Netherlands Chamber Orchestra. He has a growing following in the Far East where he returns in spring 2008 for engagements with the Sapporo Symphony and for recitals in Tokyo and Beijing as well as for an engagement with Seoul Philharmonic Orchestra. In 2009 a national Australian tour is planned with the Australian Chamber Orchestra. In the next season he will appear in recitals at the BBC Belfast, in Istanbul and Salzburg, Queen Elisabeth Hall London and at Vienna Musikverein to mention just a few. Alongside his solo career, Dejan Lazic is also a passionate chamber musician. He collaborates with artists such as Benjamin Schmid, Thomas Zehetmair, Gordan Nikolic and Richard Tognetti. Dejan records exclusively for Channel Classics. In autumn 2007 the first publication of the double portrait series with a Scarlatti/Bartok program is planned. The second CD will be released in 2008 with a Schumann/Brahms program as well as a recording of the Khachaturian Concerto and the Rachmaninov Paganini Rhapsody with the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra and a CD with the London Philharmonic Orchestra and the Rachmaninov Concerto No. 2. His last recording of Schubertís sonata D960 and his earlier one with Beethoven Piano Concerto No. 2 have earned rave reviews. His compositions include various chamber music and orchestral works. In 2007/08 he will premiere his ìKinderszenenî op. 15 for piano solo. Album Notes: You're going to compose your concerto. You will work with great ease. The concerto will be of excellent qualitySo spoke Dr. Nikolai Dahl, of one of the pioneers of psychiatry in Russia, and in this way he successfully restored Sergey Rachmaninov's concentration during a period of creative despair after the failure of his first Symphony. Later, Rachmaninov himself was to write: ìEven though it seems unbelievable, this therapy truly helped me. I was already starting to compose by summer!îAlthough they were separated by the crisis which interrupted his work, both the second Piano Concerto and the ìMoments Musicauxî date from the composer's early period, during which he was active primarily as a composer rather than a pianist. This explains the character of the second Piano Concerto, which partakes of both chamber music and symphony, despite the dazzling virtuosity of the solo piano part. Unlike many of Rachmaninov's other works, the concerto, dedicated in thanks to his doctor, was never revised after the first performance-another indication of the ease and freshness with which Rachmaninov went to work.The formal simplicity (e.g., in the first movement: main theme in the minor, second theme in the relative major, the development section laid out as a large-scale accelerando with gradually increasing dynamics, recapitulation with both themes, although given out with different instrumentation) is just as classically conceived as the choice of tonalities for the three movements (opening and closing movements in C minor, the slow central movement in E major, just as in Beethoven's 3rd Piano Concerto, except for the introductory modulations), and the balanced alternation between the freely improvisatory, martially strict, and dancelike, as well as between polyphonic and homophonic writing. However, all three movements are in 2/2 time, making the frequent shifts between 2/2 and 3/2 in the third movement all the more refreshing....http://www.channelclassics.com/ New Century Saxophone Quartet "The Art of Fugue" (mp3) from "Bach: The Art of Fugue" (Channel Classics Records) Buy at Rhapsody Buy at Napster More On This AlbumArtist: New Century Saxophone QuartetThe New Century Saxophone Quartet is a pioneering and versatile group winning new-found enthusiasm for its diverse repertory of innovative contemporary works and imaginative adaptations comprising an extraordinary range of musical styles. The only ensemble of its kind to win First Prize of the Concert Artists Guild Competition, the quartet is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, Chamber Music America, and the Aaron Copland Fund for Music, and in its home state from the North Carolina Arts Council. New Century has been heard in major concert venues and on radio and television throughout the Americas and Europe; in recordings for the Channel Classics label; and in unusual performance settings including two Command Performances for President Clinton at the White House, an appearance with the United States Navy Band, and a Chinese New Year broadcast seen by a television audience of over 300 million worldwide. Peter Schickeleís Concerto for Saxophone Quartet and Orchestra is among the ensembleís numerous and widely-performed commissions and premieres, which also include works from Saturday Night Live bandleader Lenny Pickett, Bob Mintzer, Ben Johnston, David Ott, and Sherwood Shaffer. Album Notes:This project then is the culmination of over eight years studying, rehearsing, and performing Bach, and even in its "final" form on this disc represents a work in progress. As the quartet has discovered, one is never through learning Bach. Faced with the infinite possibilities of interpretation, one never plays it the same way twice. (Even in "extreme" interpretations, the music almost never suffers.) Also, one cannot spend this much time in the presence of the master without being fundamentally changed as a musician. The quartet has become keenly aware through this process that playing "The Art of Fugue" has changed everything ?ó the way they listen to each other, hear and experience an individual musical line and its relation to the surrounding parts, balance a chord or section of counterpoint, and even tune. The New Century Saxophone Quartet simply sounds different now, and they approach every piece, new and old, with a fresh perspective. It is their sincere desire to present the music of Bach in a way that is true to his intentions and the stylistic practices of the period, and yet with a vitality and freshness that can come from over 250 years of perspective. It is hoped you are as moved and inspired by the mastery of "The Art of Fugue" as they are.http://www.channelclassics.com/

Jason Crane interviews saxophonist Donny McCaslin. One of the busiest saxophonists in the business, McCaslin plays with Maria Schneider, Dave Douglas and many others. He also fronts his own groups, including the band on his new CD, In Pursuit (Sunnyside, 2007). A follow-up to his critically acclaimed record Soar (Sunnyside, 2006), In Pursuit features compositions commissioned for a Chamber Music America grant. McCaslin talks about his father's influence, playing with Gary Burton, and the life of an in-demand musician.