Podcasts about Juilliard School

This week marks the second session of "Rockabilly 2 Rachmaninoff," a captivating new series of "In the Flamingo Lounge" dropping every two months on the second Saturday. Each episode promises unique insights, featuring a special guest from the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra. Joining us on the second episode of the “Rockabilly 2 Rachmaninoff” series, is Classical crossover tenor Jay Dref. Jay inspires audiences with his passionate, transcendent voice. His uplifting, timeless interpretations of classic standards and modern material has quickly made him one of the premier vocalists of his generation. Reviewers have called him “Groban-like” and his music has become very popular on classical crossover and adult contemporary playlists on Spotify where he has over 100,000 listeners in 157 different countries.  A Buffalo native, Jay is a graduate of The Juilliard School. He has toured internationally and performed at venues such as New York's Lincoln Center, Los Angeles' Dolby Theatre, and the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Jay also has appeared in concert with the Buffalo Philharmonic Orchestra, the Niagara Symphony Orchestra and the Hilton Head Symphony Orchestra.  Most recently, Jay has collaborated with world-renowned soprano Sarah Brightman on several concert tours spanning four continents. He will continue to tour with Ms. Brightman throughout this year.

Asians and Asian Americans are numerous within the classical music industry, but their identities are often politicized and racialized in this Eurocentric musical genre. For the third episode of Obbligato on APEX Express, Isabel Li discusses this intersection with Mari Yoshihara, Professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Professor at the Center for Global Education at the University of Tokyo, Japan; author of many books, including Musicians from a Different Shore: Asians and Asian Americans in Classical Music (2007) and Dearest Lenny: Letters from Japan and the Making of the World Maestro (2019). Tonight's episode features music by Chinese American composer Zhou Tian. To learn more about Mari and her work, please visit her website: https://www.mariyoshihara.com/index.html  Musicians from a Different Shore: https://tupress.temple.edu/books/musicians-from-a-different-shore-2 Dearest Lenny: https://global.oup.com/academic/product/dearest-lenny-9780190465780?cc=jp&lang=en&  Transcript  Opening: [00:00:00] Apex Express Asian Pacific expression. Community and cultural coverage, music and calendar, new visions and voices, coming to you with an Asian Pacific Islander point of view. It's time to get on board the Apex Express.    00:00:53 Isabel Li  Good evening. You're listening to KPFA 94.1 FM. My name is Isabel Li and I'm delighted to be hosting a new edition of Obbligato on Apex Express, which is a semimonthly segment specifically about AAPI identities in classical music. Tonight's guest is someone I have been incredibly excited to speak to because her writings have actually very much informed my studies and research. In fact, her books are exactly about the subject matter of Obbligato. I am honored to be speaking to Mario Yoshihara, Professor of American Studies at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa and Professor at the Center for Global Education at the University of Tokyo, Japan; author of many books, including Musicians from a Different Shore: Asians and Asian Americans in Classical Music, published in 2007, and Dearest Lenny: Letters from Japan and the Making of the World Maestro, which was published in 2019. Welcome to Obbligato on Apex Express. Mari, how are you doing?  00:01:55 Mari Yoshihara  I'm doing fine. Thank you for having me.  00:01:58 Isabel Li  Of course, my first question for you is how do you identify and what communities are you a part of?  00:02:06 Mari Yoshihara  Oh well, that's actually a little bit complicated I am. I am a Japanese woman who have spent a little bit over well, maybe not more than a little more than half of my life in the United States. Born in New York but raised in Tokyo, educated mostly in Japan, but also earned my graduate degrees in the United States and most of my academic career has been in Hawaii, so I've been in American academia for almost 30 years now, but I also have a dual appointment with the University of Tokyo in Japan. So I split my time between Japan and Hawaii now.  00:02:54 Isabel Li  Can you tell us a little bit about your work and your books? I had a chance to read Musicians from a Different Shore, but how would you summarize your research to someone who might not have read your book?  00:03:04 Mari Yoshihara  So I am a scholar of American studies, which is an interdisciplinary field that has anything to do with America broadly defined. And within that, my area of expertise is about, well, I would say I'm a scholar of US cultural history. US Asian relations, mostly US, East Asian relations, especially in the cultural dimension, cultural studies, gender studies, Asian American studies, etc. And so I have written a number of books, both in English and Japanese, but the one that you're referring to, Musicians from a Different Shore, is a book that I did research for more than 20 years ago and was published in 2007. It's a study of Asians and Asian Americans and classical music. So it was partly historical in that I examined the ways. which Western music, so-called western classical music, was introduced to East Asia and how also East Asians became have become so successful and prominent in this field that is generally considered a white European elite art form, so it was partly historical, but then the rest of the book was based on my ethnographic field work and interviews among Asians and Asian Americans in classical music looking at how well who these people are in the first place and then also how musicians, Asian and Asian musicians themselves, understand the relationship between their racial and cultural identity on the one hand, and their practice of Western classical music on the other, so that was my study.   And then I also wrote another book called Dearest Lenny. It's about—the subtitle is Letters from Japan and the Making of the World Maestro. It's about Leonard Bernstein's relationship with two very special individuals in Japan. And through that story, I interweave an account of various things. For one thing, how Leonard Bernstein became a world maestro and also the relationship between politics and arts, gender, sexuality, art and commerce, etcetera, etcetera. So that was my most recent book published in English and then, I'm sure we'll talk more about this, but I'm currently doing a follow up research on the on Musicians from a Different Shore, taking into account all the changes that have been taking place in the classical music industry in the United States in the past, I would say five years or so especially so that's my that's the abbreviated version of my research.  00:05:55 Isabel Li  That's really cool, and I also want to ask you about these changes, if you can talk a little bit about the classical music world. I feel like classical music is one of those genres that seems to be unchanging on the outside. But as a scholar of classical music, what types of changes have you observed that has influenced how AAPI identities play into this world?  00:06:18 Mari Yoshihara  Yeah, I think especially in the last, I would say, yeah, 5 to 10 years, especially in the last five years, classical music industry in the United, I mean I say specifically in the United States because I don't see the similar kind of changes taking place in Japan where I'm currently located. And I also don't really know the situation in Europe. But the field of classical music in the US is changing. I think most significantly because of movements like the Black Lives Matter movement and also with the onset of COVID and the rise of anti Asian hate, there's been a lot more heightened awareness about how issues of race and also class shapes classical music. So there's a lot more vibrant conversations and debates about these topics in the industry and also in terms of AAPI community, are the biggest changes, the biggest change I'm seeing is that Asian and Asian American musicians themselves are being a lot more vocal and active in issues of race and racism in the field and there I've encountered many Asian and Asian American musicians who have, for instance, you know organized events or organizations, or taken up various forms of advocacy and activism on these issues. So compared to, say, 20 years ago, 20, 25 years ago, when I was doing the original research, I see a lot more kind of, you know, explicit awareness and awareness and articulation of these issues by Asian and Asian American musicians themselves.  00:08:12 Isabel Li  That's really interesting. Just because classical music is also one of those genres, that doesn't seem like a genre that most people explicitly associate with politics or activism. What are some examples of these, like activist movements that you've observed within the Asian American community in classical music?  00:08:32 Mari Yoshihara  So for instance, some Asian and Asian American musicians are are becoming a lot more vocal about the actual like racism or sexism that they have themselves experienced, or that they witness in the industry, like in in schools, conservatories, orchestras, opera companies, etc. Either through the media or you know their own writing, and also like speaking up within the organizations that they work in. So that's one. There are other kinds of advocacy and activism in that they demand more diverse repertoire, and I think the repertoire is in terms of the industry industry changes. That's the area that's changing the most, the the kind of repertoire that many orchestras for instance perform have become a lot more– I mean overall it's still very white, European centered– but in terms of the actual numbers of pieces that are performed, works by living, composers and composers of color, women composers, etcetera. That is significantly increased in the last 10 years and that is, you know significantly to do with the advocacy and activism on the part of, you know, artists of color.  So yeah, so things like that and then, you know, many Asian, Asian American artists are doing their own programming, for instance, like event organizing programming. So yeah, those are the areas that I see changes. I see things happening that I didn't see 25 years ago.  00:10:20 Isabel Li  Definitely. I remember reading your book, and your book has been published since 2007, so a lot of changes have happened since then. But in general, when you did your research at first, what how would you summarize the dynamic of Asian identities, Asian American identities in this very Eurocentric field, it's a juxtaposition of two different cultures and identities that a lot of people also observe in orchestras. There's a large population of Asian and Asian American musicians, conductors just in general. It's a very large population, but yet this identity is still not quite represented in media. It's not quite seen, so talk to us a bit about this juxtaposition and how you observe these dynamics in your research.  00:11:10 Mari Yoshihara  Yeah. So. The thing is, Asians and Asian Americans are indeed numerically overrepresented in classical music, in the sense that compared to the general public, the the the proportion of Asians and Asian Americans in the overall US population, the number of Asian and Asian Americans in classical music indexed by things like the student body at major conservatories or membership roster of US orchestras, etcetera, Asians and Asian Americans percentage is higher than the general population, right. So in terms of the numbers, Asians and Asian Americans are, quote unquote overrepresented. But those numbers are not reflected in the actual like voice, power and influence that they have in the industry.   So that was my finding back 2025 years ago and I think that's still true today. Also, the thing about Asian, Asian American musicians is that it's a racialized category. They are seeing and treated as Asian. It's this racial category. But their identities and experiences as Asians is not at all uniform, right?   Some of these Asian musicians are Asian Americans, like multi generational Asian Americans whose parents or grandparents or great grandparents etcetera have come to the United States and they themselves are U.S. citizens. So that's one group.   Many Asian musicians working in the United States are people who were born and raised in Asia, places like China or South Korea, Japan, etcetera, and came to the United States as international students to study music, often at the college level, college conservatory level, so obviously these people have very different sense of identity and experience as Asians compared to say, you know 3rd, 4th generation Chinese Americans or 1.5 Korean Americans.   There are other people who live in the United States because they were very talented, very young musicians, and the whole whole family immigrated to the United States specifically for their music education. So Midori, the famous violinist, Midori is a case, example of this, but there are also a number of other, especially among Koreans and Chinese. There are families, the whole family immigrated to the United States when the child was a very promising musician at age 7 or something. So that's one group. They too have a different sense of identity and experience of Asians than the two former groups that I that I talked about.   There are other people who also came to the United States because not because of the music education, but because of their parents' profession, for instance. And they have transnational kind of family ties and you know, they move, they go back and forth between US and Asia, for instance. And then there are also mixed roots families where one parent is Asian and the other is non Asian.   And then there are also Asians who were born and raised in Europe for other parts of the globe and then came to the United States, for either personal or professional reasons.   So in other words, they're all Asians in terms of their racial identity. But what that means is really quite diverse and their experience as Asian and Asian American musicians is also quite diverse. So it's not as if you know, just because they're Asian, they share some kind of experience and identities around which they coalesce. So that's, you know, that was true 20, 25 years ago. And I think that's still true today.  More and more Asian musicians are coming to the United States to study, study or work in classical music, but especially because of this, like new influence, this Asian category is becoming even more diverse. However, because of the COVID, you know the rise of Anti Asian hate during the COVID pandemic, I think that heightened the awareness of, you know, these different kinds of Asians, the heightened awareness that they are Asians. First and foremost, you know, in, in that in the sense of being racialized in the United States. So I have talked with a number of musicians, Asians and Asian American musicians, who did not really, hadn't thought about their Asianness before. It wasn't at the forefront of their identity before, but during this rise of anti Asian hate it they became they basically became more politicized. You know, they had quite a politicized language and awareness to think about race and racism especially against Asians and Asian Americans.  00:16:31 Isabel Li  Yeah, that's a great point. It is a such a diverse group and there are so many different identities, even within just the Asian American framework AAPI, as a label is very, very diverse. And that applies to classical music as well. But I think there's also this social perception of Asian and Asian Americans as a group that also relates to the model minority stereotype that's historically been present and, for example, a lot of people might think of, like a young Asian or Asian American musician as being like a prodigy because they are technically skilled at their instrument, where like these social perceptions that exist both in media and in the culture around us, why do you think that is?  00:17:15 Mari Yoshihara  Well, that as you said, there is a model minority myth and there is a stereotype of Asians and Asian Americans as being very studious and diligent, but also quiet, right? I mean, they just quietly follow, like, obedient, obediently follow the instructions and that translates in the field of music as the stereotype that Asian musicians are technically very proficient but artistically non expressive. I mean, that's a very common stereotype that yeah, you know, practically any Asian, Asian Americans in classical music have been subjected to, you know, quite regularly and frequently. And I think that, yeah, that just comes with the overall kind of racial stereotype of Asians and Asians and Asian Americans in American society at large. And also the fact that, you know, classical music, especially in terms of instrumental performance, it is an area that is, it's something that is, indeed, technically very demanding, right? You need many, many years of disciplined training and a lot of practice. And there is a myth of merit– well, no, not entirely a myth– but there is this this very, you know, dearly held faith in meritocracy in classical music. The idea that if you have the chops you will be rewarded, you will be recognized and you know, no matter what kind of great artistic idea you might have, if you can't play the notes, you can't play the notes. That kind of ethos of meritocracy is particularly strong in classical music because of the technical demands of the genre, and that and that kind of, you know, goes hand in hand with the model minority methods for Asian Americans.  00:19:20 Isabel Li  Definitely. That's really interesting and another part of your book that was quite fascinating to me when I first read it was chapter 3. You talked about the intersection of gender as well as, you know, racial identity in classical music. The chapter is called Playing Gender and you talk about, I think at large don't necessarily associate classical music with a discipline that provides a stable job. It is an art form and there is kind of an uphill battle for artists in a sense like a starving artist myth there. We're not even a myth. Like if there's a starving artist image, whereas the image of a very successful classical musician there's this duality that you also mentioned in one of your other chapters about class. So what really interested me in for this chapter was that there was this intersection of power in classical music of who would go down the path that might not be traditionally as successful. How do you think gender dynamics play into this and how do you think they might have shifted within the last two decades or so?  00:20:20 Mari Yoshihara  Huh. I'm not sure if it has shifted all that much in the last two decades, but as you said, because music I mean, not just classical music, but music. Like, you know, arts in general is a field that is very like economically insecure in terms of career, right?   But at the same time. Classical music is associated with kind of, you know, bourgeois identity and just kind of overall cultivation and so, many Asian, Asian American parents are very eager to send their kids to, say, piano lessons, violin lessons, cello lessons, etcetera. To, you know, give them a well-rounded education and also because it is considered useful tool, you know, when you're going to college and stuff like, you know being, you know, being able to show that you're very talented violinist, for instance, is believed to help your college application.  So there's this, you know, both stereotype and reality that like, you know, places like Julliard Pre-College, very competitive, you know, school, like music education program for kids is filled with Asian, Asian American, you know, students and their parents who are waiting, waiting for them to come out of school.   So there's that. But how gender plays into this is that while both men and women are do study music at a young age. When it comes to, you know, choosing say, college, like what they would, what they would pursue at the college level, far fewer male students tend to choose music as their college major or go to conservatory and pursue it as a as a career. But I think it's both their own choice. And also especially for Asian and Asian Americans, like parental pressure to not pursue music professionally because of, you know, financial insecurity.   So there's that, and also how that plays into the actual experiences of Asian, Asian Americans musicians who do study music is that I have heard from a number of female Asian musicians that either their peers or especially their teachers are doubtful that they are actually serious about music. There is a stereotype that, you know, say for instance, Japanese or Korean female students at Juilliard School, Manhattan School or whatever, they are there because they, you know, they want to study music and then find a good husband and marry, you know, a lawyer or doctor or engineer or something. [laughs] And and not that that doesn't happen. But that's a stereotype of, you know, that's a racialized and gender stereotype that comes from these, you know, gender and class and racialized dynamics.  00:23:35 Isabel Li  And just for clarification, is the classical music world at large still a male dominated field?  00:23:41 Mari Yoshihara  Yes. Oh yes. Definitely. I mean, it depends on the segment of you know, I mean classical music is itself quite diverse. So if you look at, for instance, the string section, especially the violin section of the New York Philharmonic for instance, you will find that like, I think the majority of those violin players are Asian women, perhaps. But if you look at say for instance, the Faculty of Conservatories or music directors and major orchestras and said, I mean still very male dominated.  00:24:23 Isabel Li  Yeah. Yeah, definitely. I like how your book also has so many different layers for each chapter. So Chapter 3 was about the gender intersection with this, with this identity, and Chapter 4, was it Chapter 4, I believe it was about class, Class Notes, and you've already mentioned a little bit about how class plays into the perception of music, how class influences gender even. But there's a statement in there that you said that, “it's misleading to characterize Asian musicians as just coming from the upper middle class.” And it makes sense that people would think of musicians coming from this economic bracket, because classical music is an in and of itself a very kind of expensive undertaking. You need so many lessons, so many instruments. But tell us why this statement would be misleading.  00:25:15 Mari Yoshihara  Because I mean, first of all, most of the overwhelmed, I would say overwhelming majority of the Asian, Asian American musicians that I interviewed come from middle class backgrounds, many of them from so-called like professional executive class backgrounds in, meaning that their parents hold these professional executive positions, right. And that's why they were able to afford advanced musical studies from a fairly young age. They need, you know, sustained and disciplined and often costly, you know, lessons, you know, competitions, etcetera, auditions, travel, etcetera. So that's for sure, yeah.   At the same time, there are also Asian musicians who come from less privileged backgrounds, you know, immigrant families who have, because quite a few. I mean overall Asian American population, many immigrants experience downward social mobility upon immigrating to the United States because of, you know, oftentimes linguistic barriers or you know, or plain old racism. And so you're not Asian families that immigrate to the United States, like, for instance, if the parents have professional positions back in South Korea, oftentimes they become, you know, for instance, you know, small business owners and they experience downward social mobility. I mean, that's a very common scenario. Yeah, so now all Asian, Asian American musicians grow up in a privileged environment.  00:27:06 Isabel Li  Definitely a great point. Now before we move on to some discussions about Mari's research. First of all, thank you for tuning in to Obbligato on APEX Express, we'll be taking a short music break and as mentioned earlier, a great way to increase diversity within classical music is to uplift works by living composers. If you're listening to my first.  00:27:26 Isabel Li  Episode 2 months ago, you'll know that I featured music by Chinese American composer Zhou Tian. I'm happy to say that coming up next is one of Zhou's compositions inspired by a trip to Italy. This is a piece called Hidden Grace performed by the Formosa Trio.  27:45 – COMP MUSIC – Hidden Grace  00:35:34 Isabel Li  That was a piece called Hidden Grace, composed by Zhou Tian for a fascinating instrumentation of flute, Viola and heart coming up for our second piece. In this interview, break another movement by Zhou Tian, the third movement of his double concerto for violin and Viola, called Rendezvous.  35:58 – COMP MUSIC – Double Concerto for Violin and Viola, III. Rendezvous  00:41:09 Isabel Li  Noah Bendix-Balgley on violin, Shanshan Yao on viola, and the Hangzhou Philharmonic, playing the third and final movement of Zhou Tian's Double Concerto for violin and viola. So back to the conversation with Professor Mari Yoshihara.  00:41:25 Isabel Li  As you also mentioned before, you're working on an updated version of Musicians from a Different Shore. Can you talk–I don't know how much you can talk about your, like upcoming projects, but are you using similar research methods to what you've done before using ethnographic field work? You've mentioned the new changing dynamics of classical music in the United States with new waves of activism and awareness. What are some new topics of your chapters that you might focus on? So for your 2007 publication, you talked about your gender and class and how these intersect with identity. Are there any new things that you're drawing upon here?  00:42:02 Mari Yoshihara  Yeah. So I'm using basically the same research method. I'm interviewing actually some of the same people that appeared in Musicians from a Different Shore. Some people kept in touch with over the years, I've gone back to them and interviewed them to see the trajectories of their careers since the first time I interviewed them. But then I've also interviewed a bunch of other, you know, new musicians that I'm speaking with for the first time. So it's essentially an interview and ethnographic fieldwork-based research.  I told you earlier about I think one of the biggest changes is, as I said before, the activism and advocacy on the part of Asian, Asian American musicians themselves. So I have one chapter about that. Like, what? How? What kinds of advocacy and activism they're engaged in.   Another big change that I'm seeing is that compared to 20 years ago, there are a lot more Asian musicians in the field of opera.  00:43:01 Isabel Li  Ohh yeah.  00:43:02 Mari Yoshihara  Uh. Both as singers. Yeah, many of them singers, but also in other, you know, like for instance opera, you know, pianist for opera or be opera directors, et cetera. There are many more Asians in this particular field than what I saw 20 years ago. And I talked about this a little bit in my first book, but opera is a very particular kind of field within classical music.   How race plays into opera is very different from other areas of classical music because it's a theatrical art form. It's visually oriented, you know art form. And because singers have to be cast in order to, you know, sing on stage. So the racial politics in opera, you know, unfolds very differently from, say, for pianists or cellists or conductors or or composers.   So I now have a whole chapter about opera, especially Madame Butterfly, that this very fraught work, you know, opera that many Asian and Asian Americans have love hate relationships. A lot of pigeon-holing that happens in that through that opera. But also, production of new opera by Asian and Asian American artists, composers, directors, singers, etcetera. So I have a whole chapter about that.   And then I also will have another chapter about, you know, what it means to, you know, sit at the table, basically. Like stand on the podium and sit at the table, stand on the podium. Not only, I mean I will, I will have a whole discussion about Asian and Asian Americans conductors, but not only in that literal sense of, you know, standing at the podium, but like being at the table like in other words, not only, Asian and Asian American musicians playing music that are given to them and they are assigned to them that they're hired to play, but also having a real voice in the organizational and institutional dimensions of classical music industry. So the kinds of people, Asians, who are in these positions more executive positions with decision making power what their experiences are like. I'm going to have a chapter about that.   So those are some of my ideas. I'm still in the middle of the project, so I can't. I can't see the whole picture, but those are some of my current ideas.  00:45:48 Isabel Li  I see. And do you have an idea of when this book will be published or an updated version?  00:45:54 Mari Yoshihara  Well [laughs], my goal rather ambitious goal is to have it published in 2027, because that would be 20 years since Musicians from a Different Shore, so that would be ideal if I can make that.  00:46:08 Isabel Li  Well, yeah. Nice. That's really exciting, definitely. I will also kind of bridge, I guess my part of the research into this part of the interview, since I'd love to talk to you a little bit more about how classical music in general is portrayed in media.   So as I've introduced myself before, I had a back, I have a background in media studies as well as music history and theory. And what was really interesting to me in my senior thesis while I was doing research for that was I coined this term and it could just be loosely associated with the genre of film. But it's the “classical music film.” So think of any narrative fictional film you can think of with a classical musician in there. So it could be like Amadeus, where I think of like Tár. If you watch Tár like a lot of these depictions are quite understandably white and European, but they my senior thesis I've never really seen any depictions of Asian American or Asian classical musicians? I was wondering if you have ever watched a film like that, or could maybe talk a bit about maybe the lack of representation in media, how media plays into how people perceive classical music as a genre as a whole.  00:47:23 Mari Yoshihara  That is a very interesting question. I think you know, because of the stereotype of Asian and Asian American model minority and model minority stereotype often is associated with, you know, violin or piano-playing Asian American kids, I think. Asian, Asian American characters who are, you know, these kind of musical classical music geniuses appear here and there. But the ones that center on such a character as the main, you know, like the protagonist, come to think of it, I'm not sure if I've seen. I mean, I've seen several Korean dramas, you know, character, but those are Korean dramas, not Asian American, so more American works with Asian classical musicians…  00:48:21 Isabel Li  And I think also classical music as a genre is. It's interesting because classical music is also kind of underrepresented. It's not quite in the mainstream. And then one of my final questions for you is I do also want to take a second to acknowledge that your book was actually one of the only books that I could find about this topic. I think there are not that many other books about Asian and Asian Americans in classical music. I think there are a few other books and a few and definitely some papers that talk about this, but what got you interested in this field? And I don't know if you think there's a scarcity of information, but do you think there's relative scarcity of information about this topic?  00:49:01 Mari Yoshihara  Yeah. So how I got into it is. So I was a pretty serious student of piano when I was a child. That's like, yeah, that really kind of preoccupied my childhood and adolescence. But then I, for various reasons I ended up not going to a music Conservatory and became an academic.   And then once I entered academia and became a scholar of American studies, all I was studying was like race, gender, class. I mean, that's what  we do in American studies. And my first book, which was originally my doctoral dissertation, was a cultural history of orientalism and white women. So that was a study of the intersections of race and gender and to some extent class in American history.   So once I finished that book, I was thinking about what projects to work on next. And I happened to turn on the TV, and it just so happens that the Vienna Phil New Year's concert, conducted by Seiji Ozawa was playing on the TV and that was sort of my “aha” moment because I had always known or, you know, kind of generally aware that Asians and Asian Americans are, if not necessarily overrepresented, but, you know, they're quite numerous, you know. They're present. Their numerical presence is quite notable in classical music that is often associated with white, you know, European culture, elite culture.  So I was kind of curious about that phenomenon, but I hadn't really thought too much about it until I watched Seiji Ozawa were conducting the Vienna Phil. And that's when I thought, well, maybe I can kind of combine my classical music background and my academic training in studies of race, gender, class into this project. So that's when I decided to work on. You know, this topic of Asians and Asian Americans, classical music.  I think the reason that there hadn't been at least a book-length study on the topic until my book is that for one thing, classical music is considered to be kind of a very abstract absolute form of music. This ethos that it is kind of transcends– that it is a universal, transcendental kind of genre, that is sort of above things like politics or race or gender. Like it shouldn't matter that these, you know, individual identity, racialized gender identity shouldn't matter vis-à-vis the universalism of classical music. I mean that kind of ethos is very strong in this particular genre of music. I think that has a lot to do with it.   And also the study of classical music until rather recently, like musicological study of classical music, really tended to be focused on the study of composers and their works, right? It was the textual that, like it, was an analysis of Beethoven Symphony or, you know, Bach Fugues, etcetera. Yeah. It was really focused on the study of the score, the study of the composer's ideas, as reflected in the score, I mean that was the centerpiece of musicological approach to classical music.  And so sort of more sociological anthropological study of the musical practice is a relatively new approach in in the field of musicology. I'm not a musicologist. So that's not how I'm trained. But I think the academic approach to classical music was not very, kind of, open to the kinds of topics that I raised in Musicians from a Different Shore.  00:53:12 Isabel Li  Definitely. I see. And my very final fun question for you is can you name three of your favorite classical music pieces for any recommendations you have for the audience who might be listening, who might be wondering what they will listen to next?  00:53:27 Mari Yoshihara  Well, OK well. Pieces well, because I wrote a book about Leonard Bernstein. I mean, I ended up– I wrote a book about Leonard Bernstein. Not necessarily because I was an avid fan of Bernstein. It just kind of happened this this project. But nonetheless of while I was doing research and writing the book I did listen to a lot of Bernstein. I and I have come to really love Bernstein music and so. And you know, of course, everybody knows West Side Story, but he actually wrote many other pieces that may not be as well known.   Well among the pieces that I like, I like…which one should I choose? I will choose. Ohh well, I'll choose a piece that I learned myself as a pianist.  I learned the piece called “Touches” that he wrote. It was a commission piece for the Van Cliburn International Piano Competition, and it's kind of yeah, it's a chorale and variation. So that's very interesting and very interesting and very Bernstein-esque so well.   I'll OK, as an American study scholar. I'll, I'll stick with American pieces. I like someone Barber a lot. I like Barber “Excursions,” which I also learned to play.  00:55:04 Isabel Li  Yeah.  00:55:09 Isabel Li  Tough question.  00:55:11 Mari Yoshihara  Umm, Mason Bates piece that I also learned, “White Lies For Lomax.” This one was also, I believe…was it commissioned by the Cliburn? But no, maybe it wasn't. Yeah, I think it was commissioned. But anyway, I played it at the Van Cliburn International– the amateur competition of the Cliburn competition.  I did all these. So like Bernstein, Bates, Amy Beach piece I also played. Yeah, I'll stop there. I I wish you had prepped me for that then [laughs]–  00:55:42 Isabel Li  Oh my gosh. Great responses.  00:55:46 Mari Yoshihara  Hard to think on the spot.  00:55:47 Isabel Li  Yeah, I totally get that. Whenever people ask me for my favorite composer, I never have an answer. No, so I totally get it.   Well, thank you so much for your time, Mari. And thank you for your wonderful insights. I'll put the link to your books so that people can learn about your works on APEX Express on kpfa.org. So thank you so much for your time, Mari.  00:56:07 Mari Yoshihara  Thank you.  00:56:09 Isabel Li  As mentioned, please check our website kpfa.org to find out more about Mari Yoshihara, her scholarship, and links to two of her books. We thank all of you listeners out there. Keep resisting, keep organizing, keep creating and sharing your visions with the world. Your voices are important.  00:56:31 Isabel Li  APEX Express is produced by Miko Lee, Jalena Keane-Lee, Preeti Mangala Shekar, Anuj Vaidya, Swati Rayasam, and Cheryl Truong. Tonight's show was produced by Isabel Li. Thanks to the team at KPFA  for their support. Have a great night.  [OUTRO MUSIC]  The post APEX Express – 09.04.2025 – Obbligato with Mari Yoshihara appeared first on KPFA.

Steven Blier is the co-founder and artistic director of the New York Festival of Song, and has served asprogrammer/translator/pianist/arranger of more than 150 of its programs.He has been a recital collaborator with some of the great singers of our time, including Renée Fleming and Cecilia Bartoli. He has recorded on the Koch, New World, Nonesuch, Albany, and RCA labels, and he won a Grammy Award in 1990. He was also nominated for Grammy Awards in 1999 and 1989.  Most recently, he issued six new albums on NYFOS Records, including Schubert/Beatles with Theo Hoffman and Julia Bullock.Blier has been on the faculty of the Juilliard School since 1993, and has given master classes around the U.S. in song repertoire. A longtime feature writer for Opera News Magazine, he has been guest faculty/recitalist at the Wolf Trap Opera, Santa Fe Opera, the Steans Institute at the Ravinia Festival, and San Francisco Opera. He holds a BA degree from Yale University, summa cum laude, Phi Beta Kappa.

Trumpeter Chris Gekker has done just about everything a brass player can do—and done it at the highest level. A longtime member of the American Brass Quintet (18 years) and now Professor of Trumpet at the University of Maryland, Chris has also taught at Juilliard, Manhattan School of Music, and Columbia University. His career spans recording Bach's Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 to sharing the stage with Sting, all grounded by a reflective artistic life shaped by literature and poetry.In Part 1, we talk about the books that feed his imagination, his father and early upbringing, the interpretive world of the Hindemith Sonata, trumpet mentors from Gerard Schwarz to Thomas Stevens, and the winding arc of a career that prizes curiosity over categories.[Subscriber Content] In Part 2, Chris reflects on the transition to full-time teaching at Maryland and takes us deep into his approach to trumpet playing and musicianship—drawing on insights from his writing, especially Trumpet Talk.DoricoProfessional music notation and composition software from Steinberg. Download a free 30-trial today!Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.Would you like more inspirational stories, suggestions, insights, and a place to continue the conversations with other listeners? Visit anthonyplog-on-music.supercast.com to learn more! As a Contributing Listener of "Anthony Plog on Music," you'll have access to extra premium content and benefits including: Extra Audio Content: Only available to Contributing Listeners. Podcast Reflections: Tony's written recaps and thoughts on past interviews, including valuable tips and suggestions for students. Ask Me Anything: Both as written messages and occasional member-only Zoom sessions. The Show's Discord Server: Where conversations about interviews, show suggestions, and questions happen. It's a great place to meet other listeners and chat about all things music! Can I just donate instead of subscribing? Absolutely! Cancel at anytime and easily resubscribe when you want all that extra content again. Learn more about becoming a Contributing Listener @ anthonyplog-on-music.supercast.com!

This episode of The Other Side of the Bell, featuring rising trumpet star Will Leathers, is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass. This episode also appears as a video episode on our YouTube channel, you can find it here: "Will Leathers trumpet interview" About Will Leathers: Will Leathers earned Bachelor's and Master's degrees from The Juilliard School in 2022 and 2023 and was the first undergraduate classical trumpeter to receive the prestigious Kovner Fellowship. In 2022, while still completing his studies, Will secured the highly sought-after position of Principal Trumpet for both the Nashville Symphony Orchestra and the Santa Fe Opera, an extraordinary accomplishment for a musician at his stage of career. He continued to break barriers, being recognized by CBC Music as one of Canada's “30 Hot Classical Musicians Under 30,” solidifying his place as one of his generation's most promising classical musicians. He has performed with world-renowned ensembles, including New York Philharmonic Brass, Cleveland Orchestra, St. Louis Symphony Orchestra (Guest Principal Trumpet), Toronto Symphony Orchestra (Guest Principal Trumpet), and Philadelphia Orchestra (Guest Associate Principal Trumpet). He also performs as a concerto soloist, both on piano and trumpet. Will's artistry has also led him to collaborations with elite chamber ensembles, including The National Brass Ensemble, where he was invited to perform and record with some of the finest brass musicians from major American orchestras, American Brass Quintet, Rodney Marsalis Philadelphia Big Brass, and Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival Orchestra. He has been a part of a number of recordings such as "Deified", an album by the National Brass Ensemble, and Soundtrack for the film Rustin Produced by Barack and Michelle Obama's production company Higher Ground. Will released his debut album, "Blue Sky Purple Clouds," in 2025, a collaboration with Michael Gaspari. It is now available on all major streaming services.   Episode Links:   Website: willleathers.com Instagram: @leathersboy Bandcamp: willleathers.bandcamp.com Buy the album: Blue Sky, Purple Clouds   Podcast Credits: “A Room with a View“ - composed and performed by Howie Shear Podcast Host - John Snell Selected Artist Photographs - Sophia Szokolay  Audio Engineer - Ted Cragg

Join Conversations on Dance hosts Rebecca King Ferraro and Michael Sean Breeden for a live podcast recording with one of the Vail Dance Festival's most celebrated returning artists and this year's Artist-in-Residence, Melissa Toogood. Toogood, a Bessie Award-winning dancer and former member of the Merce Cunningham Dance Company, has just been named Director of The Juilliard School's Dance Division and will share her vision for the next chapter of one of the world's most prestigious conservatories. She also debuts a new work for the Festival's NOW: Premieres program this year.This episode is brought to you by Discover Vail and was recorded live from the Vail Dance Festival on July 29, 2025.Tickets to Conversations on Dance at the 2025 Vail Dance Festival on sale now! https://vaildance.org/conversations-on-dance/LINKS:Website: conversationsondancepod.comInstagram: @conversationsondanceMerch: https://bit.ly/cod-merchYouTube: https://bit.ly/youtube-CODJoin our email list: https://bit.ly/COD-email Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Welcome to Hollywood and Beyond Podcast with Cincinnati actor and writer Steven Brittingham. Your home for meaningful and in-depth interviews. On the next two episodes of the podcast: Gregory Jbara (Part 1).  Followed by (Part 2).   Part 1 covers Gregory's background from his early years in Michigan to his transfer to The Juilliard School. His theatrical work leading up to his 2009 Tony award-winning role in ‘Billy Elliot The Musical'. Also included is how Gregory landed a role on "Blue Bloods", preparing for the role, and how Season 1 of the show shifted into a different perspective at the on-set of Season 2 of the CBS blockbuster television hit.    Part 2 will cover Gregory's memories of "Blue Bloods", and his upcoming directorial debut film "Original Sound".   Selected clips appear courtesy of CBS and "Blue Bloods" and the Tony Awards   “Blue Bloods” arrives to the podcast this summer with special guest Gregory Jbara! In an truly in-depth interview experience that lasted over two and a half hours, prepare to learn the backstory of “Blue Bloods” as Gregory reflects on the landmark police drama and his own artistic journey.   Send questions or comments to Host Steven Brittingham: hollywoodandbeyondshow@gmail.com   Created/Produced/Edited/Guest Booking/ Hosted by Steven Brittingham   Please consider leaving a Rating or a Review! Your amazing support is always appreciated.   Visit the official website and leave Steven a private voice mail! hollywoodbeyond.net   See you again on the next episode friends and listeners! Thank you for listening.   "Meaningful Interviews" with Steven Brittingham     

The Trombone Corner Podcast is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass and The Brass Ark.  Join hosts Noah and John as they interview Amanda Stewart, of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. About Amanda: Amanda Stewart is currently the Associate Principal Trombonist of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra, a position she began in the Fall of 2014. Born in Oakland, Maryland, she began playing the trombone at the age of six. Her studies started with Harold Hudnall and continued with Dr. H. Keith Jackson, current Dean of the College of Creative Arts of West Virginia University. She received her bachelor of music degree from The Juilliard School, studying with Joseph Alessi. As an orchestral musician, Ms. Stewart has played with numerous orchestras. She was Principal trombonist of the San Antonio Symphony for eight seasons, Assistant Principal trombonist of the Lyric Opera of San Antonio for four seasons, and Associate Principal trombonist of the New York Philharmonic for two seasons. Ms. Stewart has also been a regular substitute and extra player with the Boston Symphony and has toured with them internationally. She has also performed with the Baltimore, Cincinnati, Cleveland, Dallas, Houston, Kansas City, National, North Carolina, Philadelphia, Pittsburgh, and Toronto Symphonies. Ms. Stewart has also spent several summers performing in the Colorado Music Festival Orchestra. In other performing capacities, Ms. Stewart is a current member of the trombone ensemble, STL Trombones. She has also performed as a member of the Burning River Brass and the San Antonio Brass. During her tenure as a member, Ms. Stewart performed twice as a soloist with the San Antonio Symphony. She has also appeared as a guest artist at the International Trombone Festival and the International Women's Brass Conference. As an educator, Ms. Stewart currently teaches at Washington University in St. Louis, and has taught privately at several other universities, namely Our Lady of the Lake University, St. Mary's University, Rutgers University, Trinity University, and McKendree University. For part of the 2025 Spring Semester, she served as an adjunct Assistant Professor of Music at Indiana University's Jacobs School of Music. Also, Ms. Stewart has also given masterclasses at many national universities and conservatories, including the New England Conservatory, Rice University, and The Juilliard School. Ms. Stewart is an Edwards artist, performing on Edwards trombones and Griego Mouthpieces.

What happens when world-class opera collides with the rugged beauty of the Adirondacks? In this episode of ADK Talks, we pull back the curtain on the Seagle Festival—America's oldest summer vocal training program, a cultural institution with a rich legacy, tucked away in the charming village of Schroon Lake, NY.Hosts Jane and Steve of ADKtaste.com sit down with Artistic Director Darren Woods, a visionary leader who has not only led but also transformed the Seagle Festival into a hub for boundary-pushing performances and emerging talent, inspiring a new generation of opera enthusiasts. Also joining us is Kate Morton, an electrifying young Mezzo-Soprano, who recently earned her Master of Music in Vocal Arts from the prestigious Juilliard School in New York City. A former Seagle emerging artist, Kate's extraordinary path to the stage is as dramatic and unexpected as the operas and musical works she performs.

The Horn Signal is proudly brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass. Join hosts John Snell and Preston Shepard as they interview horn players around the world.  Today's episode features Julie Landsman, former Principal Horn of the Metropolitan Opera and teacher at University of Southern California. About Julie: Principal horn with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 25 years, Julie Landsman is a distinguished performing artist and educator. She received a bachelor of music degree from The Juilliard School in 1975 under the tutelage of James Chambers and Ranier De Intinis, and has served as a member of the Juilliard faculty since 1989. A native of Brooklyn, New York, Landsman achieved her dream of becoming principal of the MET in 1985 and held that position until 2010. She has also shared her talent to many other ensembles within the city as a current member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and having performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic. Additionally, she has performed with numerous groups outside the city, including her co-principal position with the Houston Symphony, substitute principal position with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and recent performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra as Associate principal horn, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, principal horn. She has recorded for RCA, Deutsche Gramophone, CRI, Nonesuch and Vanguard labels, and is most famous for her performance of Wagner's “Ring” cycle as solo horn with the MET Opera under the direction of James Levine. Landsman has performed as chamber musician at many festivals and concert series, including the Marlboro Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center,  Orcas Island Chamber Music  Festival,  and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she appeared as a guest artist with the Guarneri Quartet. In the summers she performs and teaches at the Music Academy of the West , the Sarasota Music  Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival. World renowned as a master teacher, Julie Landsman holds faculty positions at The Juilliard School and Bard College Conservatory, and teaches frequently as a guest at the Curtis Institute. She has presented master classes at such distinguished institutions as The Colburn School, Curtis Institute, Eastman School of Music, Mannes College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, USC Thornton School of Music, Cal State Long Beach, Rowan University, University of Oklahoma, and University of Southern Mississippi, to name a few. She is also a visiting master teacher at the New World Symphony in Miami. Her international presence includes master classes in Norway, Sweden, and Israel.  In 2016 Landsman was an honored jury member at the ARD horn competition in Munich, Germany. Her students hold positions in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Opera and Ballet Orchestras, Washington National Opera Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and the American Brass Quintet. She recently received the “Pioneer Award” from the International Women's Brass Conference and was a featured artist at the International Horn Society Conference in 2012 and 2015. Her recent series of Carmine Caruso lessons on YouTube have led to further fame and renown among today's generation of horn players. Landsman currently resides in Santa Barbara, California.

In the words of The New Yorker, Charles Neidich “is an artist  of  uncommon merit -- a master of his instrument and, beyond that, an  interpreter  who keeps listeners hanging on each phrase.”        Charles is the artistic  director of the Wa Concert Series at  the Tenri Cultural Institute in New  York, which he founded with his wife, clarinetist Ayako Oshima, in September 2017. This concert series is inspired by the  Japanese concept “wa”—  meaning circle, but also harmony and completeness; each  performance is  thus paired with visual arts and offers a variety of culinary delicacies prepared by Ayako Oshima. In recent seasons, Charles has added conducting to his musical accomplishments. He has led the Cobb Symphony Orchestra and Georgia Symphony in performances of the Franck Symphony in D Minor and Mozart's Clarinet Concerto (also playing the solo clarinet part). Charles commands a repertoire of over 200 solo works, including pieces commissioned or inspired by him, as well as his own transcriptions of vocal and instrumental works. With a growing discography to his credit, he can be heard on the Chandos, Sony Classical, Sony Vivarte, Deutsche Grammophon, Musicmasters, Pantheon, and Bridge labels. His recorded repertoire ranges from familiar works by Mozart, Beethoven, Weber, and Brahms, to lesser-known compositions by Danzi, Reicha, Rossini, and Hummel, as well as music by Elliott Carter, Gyorgy Kurtag, and other contemporary masters. Although Charles became quite active in music at an early age, he opted against attending a music conservatory in favor of academic studies at Yale University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Arts, cum laude, in Anthropology. In 1975 he became the first American to receive a Fulbright grant for study in the former Soviet Union, and he attended the Moscow Conservatory for three years where his teachers were Boris Dikov and Kirill Vinogradov. Charles Neidich has achieved recognition as a teacher in addition to his activities as a performer, and currently is a member of the artist faculties of The Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, the Mannes College of Music. During the 1994-95 academic year he was a Visiting Professor at the Sibelius Academy in Finland where he taught, performed and conducted. Mr. Neidich is a long-time member of the renowned chamber ensemble Orpheus.

This episode we are joined by artist Marianna Gailus!  Marianna was recently Andrew Scott's understudy in Vanya and made her Broadway debut in Patriots starring Michael Stuhlbarg.  She got her MFA at the Juilliard School and is a proud of Group 51.  We speak with Marianna about when she decided to pursue a career in acting, her time at Juilliard, working on Vanya and much more!

Drew Barr has directed productions of new, modern, and classical plays and musicals for theaters across the United States and around the world. He directed the Dutch-language premiere of the National Theatre of London's War Horse, which opened at Amsterdam's Royal Carré Theatre before a year-long tour of the Netherlands and Belgium. For the National Theatre, he also directed the Australian premiere of War Horse, which ran in Melbourne, Sydney and Brisbane. He was the Resident Director for War Horse on Broadway at Lincoln Center Theater. Also on Broadway, Drew served as associate director for Nicholas Hytner's productions of Sweet Smell of Success, starring John Lithgow, Kelli O'Hara and Brian D'Arcy James and Twelfth Night, starring Helen Hunt, Paul Rudd and Kyra Sedgwick, as well as for Simon McBurney's acclaimed revival of All My Sons by Arthur Miller, starring John Lithgow, Dianne Wiest, Patrick Wilson and Katie Holmes. Drew was associate director and dramaturg for Simon McBurney's production of The Kid Stays in the Picture at the Royal Court Theatre in London.Drew has directed and guest taught for many of the country's leading actor training programs, including the Juilliard School, NYU's Graduate Acting Program, USC's School of Dramatic Arts, SUNY Purchase, the University of Delaware's PTTP, the University of Washington's School of Drama and the Department of Dramatic Art at the University of North Carolina Chapel Hill. He is on the acting faculty of AMDA College of the Performing Arts in Los Angeles. As an actor, Drew appeared on Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein's An American Daughter. He was a founding member of East Coast Artists, a performance collective under the leadership of Richard Schechner, with whom Drew devised and performed in Faust/gastronome, The Three Sisters and Amerika. He toured the country as a member of Maurice Sendak's national children's theater, The Night Kitchen, playing the role of Alligator in the Sendak/Carol King musical, Really Rosie. Drew moved to Lexington with his filmmaker husband, Tim Kirkman, in June of 2024Drew is directing ANGELS IN AMERICA, a play written by Tony Kushner debuted in 1991, that will be presented by ACT OUT THEATRE GROUP and open at the Black Box Theatre in the Pam Miller Downtown Arts Center on 6th June and play the 7th, 13th, 14th and 15th June.A complex and at times metaphorical examination of AIDS and its social impact - this play, that won 3 Tony Awards and a Pulitzer, has been called "a turning point in the history of gay drama."For more and to connect with us, visit https://www.artsconnectlex.org/art-throb-podcast.html

In this episode, I chat with The Dolphins Quartet (violinists Luke Henderson and Issac Park, violist James Preucil, and cellist Ian Maloney) about their backgrounds in music, their time at The Juilliard School, and how they met and started working together. We also discuss their rehearsal process, how they choose repertoire to perform, how they compose music for themselves, and their collaborations with living composers. Finally, we talk about their experience performing in the Great Lakes Chamber Music Festival and their upcoming performance with the festival this summer.Join us for our May book club meeting on Saturday, May 24th at 3:00 pm EST! Find us on Substack to get all of the book club details!The Dolphins Quartet websiteThe Great Lakes Chamber Music FestivalProject Music Heals UsKneisel Hall Music FestivalGet in touch with me at: hermusicacademia@gmail.com

Recent political developments in the U.S.—from executive orders to proposed agency closures and evolving federal funding guidelines—have placed cultural organizations at the center of a national conversation about how institutions uphold their values and navigate their role in a rapidly changing America.  In this episode, Brett Egan of the DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management breaks down what's happening now, what's at stake, and where cultural organizations might find unexpected opportunity in the turbulence.  CI to Eye with Brett Egan (1:30) -- CI's President (Interim) Christopher Williams sits down with Brett Egan, President of the DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management. They discuss how to prepare for threats to the arts and cultural industry, and rethink what resilience means moving forward. CI-lebrity Sightings (31:55) -- Dan Titmuss shares his favorite stories about CI clients in the news. This month's episode spotlights The Juilliard School, Louisville Orchestra, and San Diego Theatres.  LINKS: DeVos Institute of Arts and Nonprofit Management Capacity Interactive | The Arts and Culture Sector is Facing a Funding Squeeze in 2025 New York Times | Juilliard Plans $550 Million Drive to Go Tuition Free Sentinel News | Louisville Orchestra bring classical music to all corners of Kentucky Broadway World | San Diego Civic Theatre Will Get $7.5 Million Renovation  

Damian Woetzel got addicted to dance when he was 11 years old. While his “dirty secret” is that ballet was never that hard for him, his experience as a young boy in the world of dance wasn't always easy. In this episode, Damian takes us backstage on his remarkable journey from being called “twinkle toes” in high school, to becoming a principal dancer and choreographer for the New York City Ballet, to his influential second act as the president of The Juilliard School and an advocate for arts education. Here are his songs. Knee Play 5 - Philip Glass We are the World 1985 - USA for Africa More Than This - Roxy Music Fast Car - Tracy Chapman Tom Traubert's Blues - Tom Waits Other Song - Caroline Shaw Freedom - Jon Batiste Listen to Damian Woetzel's full playlist on Spotify. Find the transcript of this episode at lifeinsevensongs.com. Thoughts? Guest suggestions? Email us at lifeinsevensongs@sfstandard.com.

45 years after graduating from The Juilliard School, I have a chance to chat with my former violin professor there, Lewis Kaplan. At 91, Kaplan is a senior professor of violin and chamber music at Juilliard and is still running 2 Bach Festivals. We chat about the legendary Ivan Galamian, who we both studied with, whether or not I practiced as a student, being a founding member of The Aeolian Chamber Players, the changing art of teaching in the 21st century and more.

On this special episode, Little Kids, Big Hearts host Todd Loyd chats with award-winning composer, lyricist & performer Lance Horne

“I'm really interested in the relation between performance and ritual. Where do those two separate?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.“I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“I'm really interested in the relation between performance and ritual. Where do those two separate?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.“I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“I'm really interested in the relation between performance and ritual. Where do those two separate?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.“I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“I'm really interested in the relation between performance and ritual. Where do those two separate?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.“I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“I'm really interested in the relation between performance and ritual. Where do those two separate?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.“I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“I'm really interested in the relation between performance and ritual. Where do those two separate?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.“I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“We look at creative work as though the very creative process itself is something good. These are tools of expression, and like any tool, you can use them to damage something or to make something. They can be turned to very malign purposes, for instance, in the operas of Wagner. So I wanted to do this set of books, I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“We look at creative work as though the very creative process itself is something good. These are tools of expression, and like any tool, you can use them to damage something or to make something. They can be turned to very malign purposes, for instance, in the operas of Wagner. So I wanted to do this set of books, I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“We look at creative work as though the very creative process itself is something good. These are tools of expression, and like any tool, you can use them to damage something or to make something. They can be turned to very malign purposes, for instance, in the operas of Wagner. So I wanted to do this set of books, I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“We look at creative work as though the very creative process itself is something good. These are tools of expression, and like any tool, you can use them to damage something or to make something. They can be turned to very malign purposes, for instance, in the operas of Wagner. So I wanted to do this set of books, I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

“We look at creative work as though the very creative process itself is something good. These are tools of expression, and like any tool, you can use them to damage something or to make something. They can be turned to very malign purposes, for instance, in the operas of Wagner. So I wanted to do this set of books, I want to show what is kind of the basic DNA that people use for good or for ill. What are the tools they use, if you like, of expression that they use in the creative process?”Richard Sennett grew up in the Cabrini Green housing project in Chicago, attended the Juilliard School in New York, and then studied social relations at Harvard. Over the last five decades, he has written about social life in cities, changes in labour, and social theory. His books include The Performer: Art, Life, Politics, The Hidden Injuries of Class, The Fall of Public Man, The Corrosion of Character, The Culture of the New Capitalism, The Craftsman, and Building and Dwelling. Sennett has advised the United Nations on urban issues for the past thirty years and currently serves as member of the UN Committee on Urban Initiatives. He is the Centennial Professor of Sociology at the London School of Economics and former University Professor of the Humanities at New York University.Episode Websitewww.creativeprocess.info/podInstagram:@creativeprocesspodcast

The Trombone Corner Podcast is brought to you by Bob Reeves Brass and The Brass Ark. Come watch the Los Angeles Brass Alliance (LAB-A) at 7PM on May 4th at Glendale First baptist Church for their second installation of Next Up! This free concert (generously sponsored by Bob Reeves Brass) spotlights LAB-A's annual collaboration between emerging LA-based composers and brass musicians.  Learn more at: www.labrassalliance.org. Join hosts Noah and John as they interview Michael Dease, commercial trombonist from Los Angeles. About Michael: Michael Dease is one of the world's eminent trombonists, lending his versatile sound and signature improvisations to over 200 recordings and groups as diverse as Grammy winning artists David Sanborn, Christian McBride, Michel Camilo, and Alicia Keys. Born in Augusta, GA, he played the saxophone and trumpet before choosing the trombone at age 17. In 2001, Dease moved to New York City to become part of the historic first class of jazz students at The Juilliard School, earning both Bachelors and Masters degrees, and quickly established a reputation as a brilliant soloist, sideperson, and bandleader.   Best Next Thing (Posi-Tone, 2022), Dease's newest release, his ninth on Posi-Tone, gathers together an assemblage of exceptional musicians to help him interactively explore the essence of the blues and reframe the abstract truths of jazz as the "Best Next Thing "for today's audience of listeners. Dease, the winner of the 69th Annual DownBeat Magazine Poll for Trombonist of the Year and multi-Grammy award winner, is also a sought-after lead, section and bass trombonist with today's leading jazz orchestras. His experiences include bands led by Christian McBride, Roy Hargrove, Nicholas Payton, Charles Tolliver, Rufus Reid, Jazz at Lincoln Center Orchestra and the Dizzy Gillespie All-Star Big Band. However, it is on the frontline of quintets and sextets led by master musicians like The Heath Brothers, Winard Harper, Renee Rosnes, Bill Charlap, Claudio Roditi, and Lewis Nash, where Dease has revitalized the trombone's image. Not content to simply improvise, Dease arranges and composes for many different bands, constantly adjusting his tone and timbre to add just the right flavor to the music. Dease's unique blend of curiosity, hard work and optimism has helped him earn worldwide recognition, including awards from ASCAP, The International Trombone Association, Yamaha, Eastern Trombone Workshop, New York Youth Symphony, Hot House Magazine, Michigan State University, among others. Dease was profiled in Cicily Janus' book, The New Face of Jazz: An Intimate Look at Today's Living Legends (Random House). His experience in the studio has led him to produce several recording sessions for emerging artists, often composing and writing liner notes for the releases. Dease's singular talent has made him an effective and prolific teacher, resulting in invitations, master classes and residencies at University of North Texas, Scranton University, University of Iowa, Florida State College, Broward College, and many institutions abroad. He serves as Professor of Jazz Trombone at the renowned Michigan State University jazz program and has also been on faculty at Queens College - CUNY, The New School and North-eastern University. Many of Dease's current and former students are enjoying successful careers in the music world. Always an informed, but forward-thinking musician, Dease learned the craft from trombone legends Wycliffe Gordon and Joseph Alessi. His associations have run the entire spectrum of musical experience: Alicia Keys, Paul Simon, Paul Schaffer and the CBS Orchestra, Elton John, Neal Diamond, Illinois Jacquet, Slide Hampton & The World of Trombones, Fred Wesley, Maceo Parker, WDR Big Band, George Gruntz, Billy Harper, and numerous others. Dease enjoys spending every possible minute with his extraordinary wife and Professor of Percussion at MSU, Gwendolyn Dease, and their daughters Brooklyn & Charley. Michael Dease is a Yamaha Performing Artist and uses Pickett Brass and Vandoren mouthpieces exclusively. View Michael's All Music Guide entry here for a partial listing of his sideperson credits and discography.

SynopsisCarlos Salzedo, the most influential harpist of the 20th century, was born in Arcachon, France, on today's date in 1885. Salzedo transformed the harp into a virtuoso instrument, developing new techniques showcased in his own compositions and that others like Stravinsky, Schoenberg, and Britten adopted in theirs.In 1921, Salzedo and Edgard Varese co-founded the International Composers Guild, promoting works by progressive composers like Bartok and Honegger. Salzedo's compositions for harp include both transcriptions as well as original works like Scintillation, probably his most famous piece, and Four Preludes to the Afternoon of a Telephone, based on the phone numbers of four of his students. He taught at the Curtis Institute and the Juilliard School, and offered summer courses in Camden, Maine. Hundreds of Salzedo pupils filled harp positions with major orchestras around the world. Salzedo himself entered the Paris Conservatory at 9 and won the premiere prize in harp and piano when he was 16. He came to America in 1909 at the invitation of Arturo Toscanini, who wanted him as harpist at the Metropolitan Opera, and — curious to note — Salzedo died in the summer of 1961, at 76, while adjudicating Metropolitan Opera regional auditions in Maine.Music Played in Today's ProgramCarlos Salzedo (1885-1961): Scintillation; Carlos Sazledo, harp; Mercury LP MG-80003

Steak and Butter Gal Heals Herself and Starts a Healing Gang: Scott and Bella discuss their health journeys and the benefits of a Carnivore Diet. Bella, a Juilliard-trained pianist with 451,000 Instagram followers, shares her experience with pancreatic cancer in her family, which led her to prioritize health. She transitioned from a vegan diet to a strict carnivore diet, which cured her autoimmune psoriasis. Scott, a 47-year-old fitness enthusiast and founder, emphasizes the importance of a clean, unprocessed diet and the benefits of beef tallow for skin health. They also discuss the community aspect of the carnivore lifestyle and upcoming events like the Carnivore Cruise and various meetups. Scott and Bella discuss various carnivore diet related topics, including a meat crust pizza made from chicken, which Bella shares on her YouTube channel with 452,000 subscribers. Steak and Butter Gal also mentions their husband's upcoming cookbook. Meatatarian: "A Sane, Rational Person Who Only Wants To Eat Meat." ~ Dr. Anthony Chaffee MDYour Co-Host Today: ​Bella aka @SteakandButterGal is a 6 year carnivore and she has a masters of music degree in piano performance from Juilliard. Steak and Butter Gal, aka Bella, is a classically trained concert pianist and the founder of The Steak & Butter Gang. She graduated from The Juilliard School's Graduate Program with a Master of Music Degree (MM). Having been active in the educational and competitive spheres of performance since the age of five, she has experienced the correlation between nutrition and cognitive function firsthand. Bella has healed her autoimmune and health issues with the Carnivore Diet. Today, she continues to advocate the power of Carnivore through her Youtube Channel and The Steak & Butter Gang Carnivore Community.Today's Top 3 Takeaways: Prioritize your health above all else, meat heals my friends! Carnivore Lifestyle choices for defeating autoimmune conditions like Psoriasis. Healthy Carivore Community support with the Steak and Butter Gang.Today's Guest Co-Host Links: http://sbgmeatup.com/https://sbg-s-meat-up.mn.co/https://www.instagram.com/steakandbuttergal/Recipes from Bella's Cafe: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL4Llwc8xrYQW_wvRlSLrtPL9ViNu5uSol Mentioned Influencers: Hack Your Health Conference - https://hackyourhealth.com/ Meat Stock 2025 - https://www.lowcarbevents.com/event/meatstock-2025/ Kelly Hogan - https://www.instagram.com/kelly_hogan91/ Dr. Anthony Chaffee - https://www.howtocarnivore.com/Dr. Lisa Wiedeman - https://www.instagram.com/carnivoredoctor/Doctor Kiltz -

Born in the Pinar del Río province of Cuba, Steinway Artist, Grammy Nominated, and 2014 Jalc Millennium Swing Award! recipient pianist and composer Elio Villafranca was classically trained in percussion and composition at the Instituto Superior de Arte in Havana, Cuba. Since he arrived in the U.S. in mid-1995, Elio Villafranca has been at the forefront of the latest generation of remarkable pianists, composers, and bandleaders. NYC Jazz Record selected his concert Letters to Mother Africa as Best Concerts in 2016. In 2015, Mr. Villafranca was among the 5 pianists hand-picked by Chick Corea to perform at the first Chick Corea Jazz Festival, curated by Chick himself at JALC. Elio Villafranca's new album Caribbean Tinge (Motema), received a 2014 Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik Nomination by the German Records Critics Award, as well has been selected by JazzTimes and DownBeat magazines for a feature on their very competitive section Editor's Pick. He also received a 2010 Grammy Nomination in the Best Latin Jazz Album of the Year category. In 2008 The Jazz Corner nominated Elio Villafranca as pianist of the year. That year, Mr. Villafranca was also honored by BMI with the BMI Jazz Guaranty Award. He received the first NFA/Heineken Green Ribbon Master Artist Music Grant for the creation of his Concerto for Mariachi, for Afro-Cuban Percussion and Symphony Orchestra. Finally, his first album, Incantations/ Encantaciones, featuring Pat Martino, Terell Stafford, and Dafnis Prieto was ranked amongst the 50 best jazz albums of the year by JazzTimes magazine in 2003. Over the years Elio Villafranca has recorded and performed nationally and internationally as a leader, featuring jazz master artists such as Pat Martino, Terell Stafford, Billy Hart, Paquito D'Rivera, Eric Alexander, Lewis Nash, David Murray, and Wynton Marsalis among others. As a sideman, Elio Villafranca has collaborated with leading jazz and Latin jazz artists including: Chick Corea, Jon Faddis, Billy Harper, Sonny Fortune, Giovanni Hidalgo, Miguel Zenón, and Johnny Pacheco among others. This year, in 2017 Elio Villafranca received The Sunshine Award, founded in 1989 to recognize excellence in the performing arts, education, science and sports of the various Caribbean countries, South America, Central America, and Africa. He is based in New York City and he is a faculty member of Temple University, Philadelphia, The Juilliard School of Music, New York University, and Manhattan School of Music in NYC.

Today's guest, Madeline Jazz Harvey, is an Associate Professor at Colorado State University, is a dance educator, choreographer, and performer specializing in classical and contemporary ballet. Her twenty-year performance career includes dancing with Charlotte Ballet, Carolina Ballet Theatre, and Impact Dance Company. She attended summer intensive programs on full scholarship at Chautauqua Institution, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, and The Juilliard School.Madeline holds a BA and Professional Training Certificate in Dance from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and an MFA in Choreography from Jacksonville University. Human connection and vulnerability drive her practice. Her creative research investigates play as a paradigm for choreographic process. In 2007, she was the youngest recipient of the New York Choreographic Institute Fellowship Award. She has premiered over 50 original works. She is credited with the development of ShapeX, a wellness program for children with Type II Diabetes. Currently, she is the Principal Investigator for an ongoing research study, Movement Through Parenthood, examining the efficacy of an original EA based dance intervention for improving emotional availability and wellbeing from pregnancy through postpartum. In our conversation Madeline - despite still recovering from the flu - shares the value of collegiate summer dance programs, building creative research, and collaboration as a gateway to learn and opportunity.Takeaways from our conversation:-look for dance experiences that help you take creative risk-collaboration on all levels will strengthen your practice-bring your artistic self into all areas of your lifeLearn more about Madeline at https://madelinejazzharvey.weebly.com/and CSU's dance program at: https://dance.colostate.edu/Check out Dance Lab: https://dance.colostate.edu/dance-lab/Learn more about dance training and career planning: https://www.theballerinatist.com/

"Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey with special guest, Robert Battle, choreographer, artistic director and newly appointed resident choreographer for the Paul Taylor Dance Company.In this episode of "Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey, host Joanne Carey interviews Robert Battle. Together they discuss Robert's journey from his early beginnings in dance in Miami, his experiences at Juilliard, and his time as artistic director of the iconic Alvin Ailey Dance Theater. Robert shares insights on the importance of mentorship, the creative process in choreography, and the significance of celebrating humanity through art. The conversation highlights the challenges and triumphs of a career in dance, emphasizing the value of connection and community in the arts.Robert Battle's journey to the top of the modern dance world began in the Liberty City neighborhood of Miami, Florida where he showed artistic talent early and studied dance at a high school arts magnet program. From there he attended Miami's New World School of the Arts and then the dance program at The Juilliard School where he met his mentor Carolyn Adams. He danced with Parsons Dance from 1994 to 2001, and set his choreography on that company starting in 1998. Mr. Battle founded his own Battleworks Dance Company in 2002 which performed extensively at venues including The Joyce Theater, American Dance Festival, and Jacob's Pillow. A frequent choreographer and artist in residence at Ailey Ailey American Dance Theater since 1999, he set many of his works on the Ailey Company and Ailey II. In July 2011 he was personally selected by Judith Jamison to become Artistic Director of Ailey, making him only the third person to head the Company since it was founded in 1958. During his 12 years as Artistic Director he expanded the Ailey repertory with works by artists as diverse as Kyle Abraham, Mauro Bigonzetti, Ronald K. Brown, Rennie Harris, and Paul Taylor. He also instituted the New Directions Choreography Lab to help develop the next generation of choreographers. He stepped down from the position in 2023.For more information about Robert Battle and the Paul Taylor Dance Companyhttps://paultaylordance.org/“Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey wherever you listen to your podcasts. ⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://dancetalkwithjoannecarey.com/Follow Joanne on Instagram @westfieldschoolofdanceTune in. Follow. Like us. And Share.Please leave a review!“Dance Talk” ® with Joanne Carey"Where the Dance World Connects, the Conversations Inspire, and Where We Are Keeping Them Real."

In this episode, we sit down with the incredibly talented James Martinez (Dexter: Original Sin, House of Cards, Breaking Bad, Love, Victor), who takes us on a deeply personal and inspiring journey through his life and career. From growing up in Jackson Heights, NY, to his Colombian mother’s resilience after his father’s passing, James shares how a dedicated teacher encouraged him to apply to the prestigious Juilliard School—a move that changed everything. He also takes us back to his early days as a teenage impersonator in NYC comedy clubs, long before he found himself on set with Hollywood’s biggest names. We also dive into how James balances marriage, fatherhood, and an intense acting career, plus what it was like working alongside icons like Giancarlo Esposito, Patrick Dempsey, and Christian Slater. And in an exclusive, James gives us a sneak peek at his latest project—a "Freestyle" play with his friend/mentor David Zayas.

From Carnegie Hall to theDooWop Cafe – Meet Phyllis Allyn Some talents are undeniable from an early age, and Phyllis Allyn is no exception. At just five years old, she discovered her passion for singing, setting the stage for a lifetime of musical excellence. A graduate of the prestigious Juilliard School, Phyllis has graced legendary venues like Carnegie Hall, Carl Fischer Hall, and Town Hall with her piano performances. But her musical journey didn't stop there.Today, Phyllis continues to share her love of music as a DJ on DooWop Radio, keeping the spirit of classic tunes alive for a new generation. In this episode  she shares stories from her remarkable career, from classical piano to broadcasting and beyond. Phyllis Allyn is Someone You Should Know. Click here to buy the Rik Anthony a cold one.Show Links:Click here to go to Phyllis'  Facebook Fan PageClick here to go to Phyllis' YouTube ChannelClick here to go to the Doo Wop CafeCD PRICE:$20.00 plus $3.00 postageFor orders, you can reach Phyllis on Facebook or  doowopcafe.org orHarmonypba@yahoo.comAll music used with permission from the artistSomeone You Should Know 2025 // CatGotYourTongueStudios 2025Feedback: Send us a text.How to Contact Us:Official Website: https://Someoneyoushouldknowpodcast.comGmail: Someoneyoushouldknowpodcast@gmail.comTwitter: @RIKANTHONY1Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/rikanthonyInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/someoneyoushouldknowpodcast/LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/rik-anthony2019/TikTok: @SomeoneYouShouldKnow2023YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@someoneyoushouldknowpodcastThank you for listening!Theme music "Welcome to the Show" by Kevin MacLeod was used per the standard license agreement.

John talks with Vielka Kelly-Weiss — trained opera singer, founder of Vielka's Young Singers Academy and the Vielka Method™, creator of Club V More, former faculty at NYU, global K-12 music specialist at the Juilliard School, host of Voice with Vielka Podcast, voice teacher, performance coach, wife, and mom. Listen to this episode to learn more: [00:00] - Intro [01:54] - Vielka's bio [03:14] - Warming up your voice before speaking [04:06] - Best time of day for speaking and vocal performance [05:17] - Vielka's journey into opera singing  [08:08] - Number of operas that Vielka has performed [10:17] - Why Vielka chose New York City for her career [11:44] - Vielka's transition from performing to teaching [14:08] - Busting myths about music [20:13] - How consistent work can surpass natural ‘talent' [23:46] - The importance of vocal training [28:04] - The importance of having a coach to be great in any field [31:00] - Helping speakers and singers improve their performance [38:42] - Importance of strong communication skills, especially in podcast NOTABLE QUOTES: “Hard work and putting in the reps actually doesn't take very long to surpass a natural gift.” “If you can talk, you can sing.” “I would say, especially for my speakers who are professional speakers, that you want to speak like you sing. And for singers, you want to sing like you speak.” “Anyone who's ever done anything great has had a coach. You cannot get to the next level, or five or 10 levels beyond that, without help, without a coach.” “There's no such thing as a child prodigy—if you do a little investigating, you'll see that Mozart and all the child prodigies were surrounded by it, immersed in it, and put in the work.” “Every overnight success has poured hundreds and thousands of hours into whatever the craft happens to be.” “We need repetition to learn. We need immersion. We need repetition.” USEFUL RESOURCES: https://www.vielka.com/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/vielkakw/ https://www.instagram.com/vielka.nyc/ https://www.facebook.com/vielka.nyc https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDzJNXcl7v8eLPQDqvfkYWA Voice with Vielka Podcast (https://www.vielka.com/podcast.html)  CONNECT WITH JOHN Website - https://iamjohnhulen.com    Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen    Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen    X - https://x.com/johnhulen    LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen    YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA    EPISODE CREDITS Intro and Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/ 

Today on Countermelody the first of two (for now) episodes celebrating the creators of George Gershwin's legendary (and controversial) opera Porgy and Bess. Today we explore the fascinating life (and scant recorded legacy) of Anne Wiggins Brown, who was born in Baltimore on August 09, 1912, and died in Oslo on March 13, 2009. Like Muriel Smith, who a few years later created the title role of Carmen Jones on Broadway, Brown was still a student at the time she created the role of Bess. In Brown's case, she was enrolled at the Juilliard School, one of the very first Black students admitted to the venerable institution. She was possessed of an admirable musical pedigree on her mother's side; her father was a doctor and the family was raised in relative privilege in Baltimore. This, however, did not mean that all doors were open to the young would-be singer, who found her way by sheer determination and willpower. These same traits led to her being cast in the female lead of Gershwin's Broadway opera, as well as a close working relationship with the composer, who expanded the role from a secondary part to having her name included in the title. Brown sang more than 500 performances of Bess around the world, but in 1948 chose to settle in Norway, where she married Thorleif Schjelderup, an Olympic skier who also became an author an environmentalist. Though she occasionally returned to the United States, Norway remained her home until her death at the age of 96. Brown's career included significant concertizing and operatic appearances throughout the world. Eventually severe asthma led to her sudden retirement from the stage in 1955. She often decried the ugly spectre of racism, which she felt also curtailed and restricted her career. After her retirement, she became a noted voice teacher and stage director, leading several noteworthy productions of Porgy in the 1960s. This episode includes the vast majority of her slim recorded output, which include various excerpts from Porgy (in effect the very first Original Cast Album), as well as a collection of rare Norwegian recordings of spirituals, folk songs, and art songs in which she reveals a strong, true voice and a deeply musical sensibility, showing herself to be yet another artist whose artistic significance matches her historical importance. The episode opens with a heartfelt (and heartbroken) tribute to the great Roberta Flack, who died in the morning hours of February 24th. Countermelody is a podcast devoted to the glory and the power of the human voice raised in song. Singer and vocal aficionado Daniel Gundlach explores great singers of the past and present focusing in particular on those who are less well-remembered today than they should be. Daniel's lifetime in music as a professional countertenor, pianist, vocal coach, voice teacher, and journalist yields an exciting array of anecdotes, impressions, and “inside stories.” At Countermelody's core is the celebration of great singers of all stripes, their instruments, and the connection they make to the words they sing. By clicking on the following link (https://linktr.ee/CountermelodyPodcast) you can find the dedicated Countermelody website which contains additional content including artist photos and episode setlists. The link will also take you to Countermelody's Patreon page, where you can pledge your monthly or yearly support at whatever level you can afford.  

Grammy Award, Rock & Roll Hall of Fame ~My Tribute Chris Jasper. I am a Major Fan of this Award-Winning Talented Vocalist, Musician, Family Man, Man of Faith!Rest on Power!Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductee, CHRIS JASPER, an integral member of THE ISLEY BROTHERS during the 1970s and 1980s—their gold and platinum years—from the 3+3 (1973) to Between the Sheets (1983) albums. These were the years when THE ISLEY BROTHERS were a self-produced, self-contained group. If you are familiar with THE ISLEY BROTHERS, then you have heard the music of CHRIS JASPER, who was primarily responsible for writing and producing all of THE ISLEY BROTHERS music during this time, including such beautiful love songs as “For The Love of You” and “Between the Sheets” and uptempo funk such as “Fight the Power.” His arrangements and instrumentation as a classically-trained musician, and his expertise on the keyboards and synthesizers, are the foundation of the legendary “Isley Brothers Sound.”Re-recorded elements of "That Lady" are incorporated in "i", the lead single of Kendrick Lamar's 2015 album To Pimp a Butterfly. The song won the awards for Best Rap Performance and Best Rap Song at the 2015 Grammy Awards.Marvin and Ernie Isley joined CHRIS and formed ISLEY-JASPER-ISLEY. Without this crucial musical component, They were no longer a self-produced, self-contained group. BUT they topped the charts with Chris singing lead vocals on “Caravan of Love” (1985)  It was also used in commercials as part of a Dodge Caravan advertising campaign. He was also awarded a CEBA Award For Excellence for a Miller Brewing Company commercial. His music has also been used in radio and television commercials,  He continues to write songs and produce his own R&B/Gospel music (www.goldcitymusic.com).His music has been covered and sampled by hundreds of new and established recording artists, including Whitney Houston, Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Gwen Stefani, Fantasia, Will Smith, Alliyah, Queen Latifah, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac, Natalie Cole, and the list goes on and on. In 1992, CHRIS along with the other members of THE ISLEY BROTHERS, was inducted into the ROCK & ROLL HALL OF FAME.Chris studied music composition at the Juilliard School of Music & received a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree in music composition from C.W. Post College in New York, where he studied under noted jazz pianist and composer, Dr. Billy Taylor. He received a J.D. degree from Concord University School of Law.Chris formed his own record label, Gold City Records, and released two albums as a CBS-associated label. His debut single as a solo artist, “Superbad” reached #1 on the R&B charts & has worked with such notable artists as Chaka Khan, writing and producing a song for her CK album (“Make It Last”).In 2016, Chris was awarded the National R&B Society Lifetime Achievement Award, Songwriters Hall of Fame. He's received numerous ASCAP awards.. Chris lives in New York with his wife of 50 years, Margie, and his three sons, Christopher, Nicholas and Michael. - chrisjasper.com© 2025 Building Abundant Success!!2025 All Rights ReservedJoin Me on ~ iHeart Media @ https://tinyurl.com/iHeartBASSpot Me on Spotify: https://tinyurl.com/yxuy23baAudacy:  https://tinyurl.com/BASAud

Born in Kingston, Jamaica, Russell Hall migrated to the United States in 2007 where his double bass studies progressed quickly through the rigorous programs of The Dillard Center for the Arts and The Juilliard School. Russell deeply understands the jazz tradition, having studied with many of the double bass world's most renowned artists including Ron Carter and Ben Wolfe. Still, he is also an artist looking forward with his own distinct approach to the double bass.   As a first-call bassist in New York City, Russell has performed with some of the biggest names in music including Joey Alexander, Wayne Shorter, Wynton Marsalis, Branford Marsalis, Jon Batiste, Roy Hargrove, Kathleen Battle, Christian McBride, Emmet Cohen, Russell Malone, George Coleman and many more.  Well known for his work with the Emmet Cohen Trio alongside drummer Kyle Poole, Russell also leads his own bands, including Bessie and the Rainbowkids to much critical acclaim.  Russell Hall joined the Discover Double Bass faculty as a jazz bass specialist in 2022 where he presented his course, Bessie's Bass Busters.  Russell Hall is well known as a member of the Emmet Cohen Trio and bassist for the wildly popular ‘Live From Emmet's Place' series. In this video, he was joined by non-other than the great Christian McBride for a tasteful double bass duo.

Broadway Drumming 101 is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.In this episode of Broadway Drumming 101, I chat with the legendary Jonathan Haas about his incredible journey from studying liberal arts to becoming a virtuoso timpanist and professional musician. We talk about his groundbreaking work in Broadway and orchestral music, his passion for drumming, and his thoughts on navigating the challenges of the entertainment industry.Highlights from the Episode:* Jonathan's Journey: How he transitioned from liberal arts to music and became a timpanist with the St. Louis Symphony before moving to New York to study at Juilliard.* NYU Broadway Percussion Seminar: The creation of a one-of-a-kind program that brought over 400 students from around the world to learn from Broadway professionals, observe live pits, and engage with union leaders.* Broadway Experiences: Jonathan shares stories about his early days as a sub on Broadway, a memorable sword accident during Pirates of Penzance, and the lessons he learned.* Making Connections: Why being a good person and building relationships is essential for success in the music industry.* The Role of Luck and Hard Work: Jonathan reflects on serendipity, the reality of hard work, and balancing dreams with practical goals.Key Takeaways:* Aspiring percussionists need to sound exactly like the person they're subbing for—the best compliment is being mistaken for the regular.* Always respond promptly to emails and calls, and don't take on tasks you're not ready for.* Hard work, connections, and adaptability are crucial in building a sustainable career in entertainment.Subscribe and Don't Miss Out!Make sure to subscribe to Broadway Drumming 101 on your favorite podcast platform and turn on notifications to be the first to hear this inspiring episode with Jonathan Haas!Virtuoso timpanist Jonathan Haas has raised the status of the timpani to that of a solo instrument throughout his unique career that has spanned more than twenty years. From classical concertos to jazz and rock & roll, from symphonic masterpieces to the most experimental compositions of living composers, Haas has championed, commissioned, unearthed and celebrated music for his instrument, becoming, as Ovation magazine hailed him, "The Paganini of the timpani."His concerts on the world's most prestigious musical stages and his ground-breaking recordings have delighted critics and listeners on both sides of the ocean. The New York Times wrote, "Wherever one finds a percussion instrument waiting to be rubbed, shook, struck or strummed, [Haas] is probably nearby, ready to fulfill his duties with consummate expertise... he is a masterful young percussionist."Most recently, Haas has garnered widespread praise and attention for his performances of Philip Glass' Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, a piece conceived by Haas and completed because of his quest to spotlight the timpani. The Concerto Fantasy features not only two timpanists, but also 14 timpani, all placed downstage in front of the orchestra. In 2000, Haas performed the world premiere of the piece with the American Symphony, and he has subsequently performed it at Carnegie Hall and in Phoenix, New Jersey, Baltimore, Pasadena, Long Beach (California), St. Louis and Mexico City. Haas also performed the European premiere with the BBC Symphony in London, the world premiere of a chamber orchestra version with the Iris Chamber Orchestra in Memphis, the Czechoslovakian premiere with the Prague Symphony Orchestra at the International Music Prague Spring Festival, the Norwegian premiere with the Bergen Philharmonic, and he will perform the Australian premiere with the Sydney Symphony and the Turkish premiere with the Istanbul Philharmonic.Haas' successful efforts to expand the timpani repertoire have led him to commission and premiere more than 25 works by composers in addition to Philip Glass such as Stephen Albert, Marius Constant, Irwin Bazelon, Eric Ewazen, Thomas Hamilton, Robert Hall Lewis, Jean Piche, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Andrew Thomas, and many others.Haas built the world's largest timpani and debuted it in 2003 at the Aspen Music Festival. This unprecendented, incredible instrument -- nearly 6' wide and nearly 4' tall – beats the world's second-largest timpani — a 48-incher used by Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra — by almost half.Haas' recordings include the trail-blazing 18th Century Concertos for Timpani and Orchestra and Johnny H. and the Prisoners of Swing, both on Sunset Records. The latter was named for his jazz group and features innovative renderings of jazz compositions featuring "hot timpani" in front of a full jazz ensemble. His rediscovery of Duke Ellington's brilliant composition for jazz timpani, "Tympaturbably Blue," is included on this recording, as are other jazz standards played on a set of ten kettledrums.Demonstrating a remarkable versatility as a musician, Haas has performed and recorded with Emerson, Lake and Palmer, played on the Grammy Award-winning recording Zappa's Universe, recorded with Aerosmith, Michael Bolton, Black Sabbath, and explored heavy metal with his rock group Clozshave.The rarest of modern virtuosi, Haas embarked on his career as a solo timpanist by performing the only solo timpani recital ever presented at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1980. As an orchestral soloist, he made his debut with the New York Chamber Orchestra under Maxim Shostakovich and his European solo debut with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. He made his French debut performing Andrez Panufnick's Concerto for Percussion, Timpani and Orchestra with the Orchestra de la Garde Republicaine. He was the soloist in the Druschetsky Concerto for Eight Timpani, Oboe and Orchestra with the Aspen Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed as a solo timpanist for the Distinguished Artists Recital Series at New York's 92nd Street ‘Y' and as a guest artist with the Lincoln Center Chamber Society, the Chamber Music at the ‘Y' Series, and the Newport Chamber Music Festival. He has championed new music by presenting adventuresome programming such as The Music of Frank Zappa, showcasing the music of Edgar Varese and Frank Zappa, under the auspices of Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series.Haas is the principal timpanist of the New York Chamber Orchestra, the Aspen Chamber Orchestra and EOS Ensemble, principal percussionist of the American Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the American Composers Orchestra. He performs with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, New York Pops, and New Jersey Symphony and has performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Haas received his Master's Degree from the Juilliard School as a student of Saul Goodman. An inspiring teacher, he has been the director of the Peabody Conservatory Percussion Studio for twenty years and a faculty artist of the Aspen Music School, and he conducts the percussion ensembles at both schools. He has presented master classes throughout the United States and internationally at the Toho Gauken, Hanoi Conservatory, Paris Conservatory, and the Graz Percussion School. Sharing his enthusiasm for music with young people, he has presented over two hundred concert-demonstrations with his "Drumfire" program, under the auspices of the Lincoln Center Institute, the New York Chamber Symphony's Sidney Wolff Children's Concert Series, and the Aspen Festival Young Person's Concert Series.As active an entrepreneur as he is an artist, Haas heads Sunset Records, Kettles and Company, and Gemini Music Productions which contracts musicians for Lincoln Center, New York Pops, and many other organizations. He also works closely with percussion industry manufacturers Pearl/Adams, Promark and Zildjian, among others.Clayton Craddock founded Broadway Drumming 101, an in-depth online platform offering specialized mentorship and a carefully curated collection of resources tailored for aspiring and professional musicians.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. As a skilled sub, he's contributed his talents to Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, Hadestown (tour), and many more. He has also appeared on major shows, including The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Borle, Norm Lewis, Deniece Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton proudly endorses Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.Learn more about Clayton Craddock here: www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

Get ready for an exciting upcoming episode of Broadway Drumming 101! I'll be talking with the legendary timpanist Jonathan Haas about his groundbreaking work with the NYU Broadway Percussion Seminar. Jonathan shares how the program started, its impact on over 400 students worldwide, and how it gave young musicians a real taste of Broadway—playing with top percussionists, sitting in active pits, learning about unions at Local 802, and getting advice from icons like contractor John Miller.We'll also dive into how a simple lunchroom conversation sparked the creation of the NYU Broadway Orchestra Program. You won't want to miss these incredible behind-the-scenes stories about Broadway music education and what it takes to succeed.Subscribe now to Broadway Drumming 101 on your favorite platform and turn on notifications so you'll be the first to know when this episode drops!Virtuoso timpanist Jonathan Haas has raised the status of the timpani to that of a solo instrument throughout his unique career that has spanned more than twenty years. From classical concertos to jazz and rock & roll, from symphonic masterpieces to the most experimental compositions of living composers, Haas has championed, commissioned, unearthed and celebrated music for his instrument, becoming, as Ovation magazine hailed him, "The Paganini of the timpani."His concerts on the world's most prestigious musical stages and his ground-breaking recordings have delighted critics and listeners on both sides of the ocean. The New York Times wrote, "Wherever one finds a percussion instrument waiting to be rubbed, shook, struck or strummed, [Haas] is probably nearby, ready to fulfill his duties with consummate expertise... he is a masterful young percussionist."Most recently, Haas has garnered widespread praise and attention for his performances of Philip Glass' Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, a piece conceived by Haas and completed because of his quest to spotlight the timpani. The Concerto Fantasy features not only two timpanists, but also 14 timpani, all placed downstage in front of the orchestra. In 2000, Haas performed the world premiere of the piece with the American Symphony, and he has subsequently performed it at Carnegie Hall and in Phoenix, New Jersey, Baltimore, Pasadena, Long Beach (California), St. Louis and Mexico City. Haas also performed the European premiere with the BBC Symphony in London, the world premiere of a chamber orchestra version with the Iris Chamber Orchestra in Memphis, the Czechoslovakian premiere with the Prague Symphony Orchestra at the International Music Prague Spring Festival, the Norwegian premiere with the Bergen Philharmonic, and he will perform the Australian premiere with the Sydney Symphony and the Turkish premiere with the Istanbul Philharmonic.Haas' successful efforts to expand the timpani repertoire have led him to commission and premiere more than 25 works by composers in addition to Philip Glass such as Stephen Albert, Marius Constant, Irwin Bazelon, Eric Ewazen, Thomas Hamilton, Robert Hall Lewis, Jean Piche, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Andrew Thomas, and many others.Haas built the world's largest timpani and debuted it in 2003 at the Aspen Music Festival. This unprecendented, incredible instrument -- nearly 6' wide and nearly 4' tall – beats the world's second-largest timpani — a 48-incher used by Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra — by almost half.Haas' recordings include the trail-blazing 18th Century Concertos for Timpani and Orchestra and Johnny H. and the Prisoners of Swing, both on Sunset Records. The latter was named for his jazz group and features innovative renderings of jazz compositions featuring "hot timpani" in front of a full jazz ensemble. His rediscovery of Duke Ellington's brilliant composition for jazz timpani, "Tympaturbably Blue," is included on this recording, as are other jazz standards played on a set of ten kettledrums.Demonstrating a remarkable versatility as a musician, Haas has performed and recorded with Emerson, Lake and Palmer, played on the Grammy Award-winning recording Zappa's Universe, recorded with Aerosmith, Michael Bolton, Black Sabbath, and explored heavy metal with his rock group Clozshave.The rarest of modern virtuosi, Haas embarked on his career as a solo timpanist by performing the only solo timpani recital ever presented at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1980. As an orchestral soloist, he made his debut with the New York Chamber Orchestra under Maxim Shostakovich and his European solo debut with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. He made his French debut performing Andrez Panufnick's Concerto for Percussion, Timpani and Orchestra with the Orchestra de la Garde Republicaine. He was the soloist in the Druschetsky Concerto for Eight Timpani, Oboe and Orchestra with the Aspen Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed as a solo timpanist for the Distinguished Artists Recital Series at New York's 92nd Street ‘Y' and as a guest artist with the Lincoln Center Chamber Society, the Chamber Music at the ‘Y' Series, and the Newport Chamber Music Festival. He has championed new music by presenting adventuresome programming such as The Music of Frank Zappa, showcasing the music of Edgar Varese and Frank Zappa, under the auspices of Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series.Haas is the principal timpanist of the New York Chamber Orchestra, the Aspen Chamber Orchestra and EOS Ensemble, principal percussionist of the American Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the American Composers Orchestra. He performs with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, New York Pops, and New Jersey Symphony and has performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Haas received his Master's Degree from the Juilliard School as a student of Saul Goodman. An inspiring teacher, he has been the director of the Peabody Conservatory Percussion Studio for twenty years and a faculty artist of the Aspen Music School, and he conducts the percussion ensembles at both schools. He has presented master classes throughout the United States and internationally at the Toho Gauken, Hanoi Conservatory, Paris Conservatory, and the Graz Percussion School. Sharing his enthusiasm for music with young people, he has presented over two hundred concert-demonstrations with his "Drumfire" program, under the auspices of the Lincoln Center Institute, the New York Chamber Symphony's Sidney Wolff Children's Concert Series, and the Aspen Festival Young Person's Concert Series.As active an entrepreneur as he is an artist, Haas heads Sunset Records, Kettles and Company, and Gemini Music Productions which contracts musicians for Lincoln Center, New York Pops, and many other organizations. He also works closely with percussion industry manufacturers Pearl/Adams, Promark and Zildjian, among others.Clayton Craddock founded Broadway Drumming 101, an in-depth online platform offering specialized mentorship and a carefully curated collection of resources tailored for aspiring and professional musicians.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. As a skilled sub, he's contributed his talents to Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, Hadestown (tour), and many more. He has also appeared on major shows, including The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Borle, Norm Lewis, Deniece Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton proudly endorses Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.Learn more about Clayton Craddock here: www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

In this episode of Broadway Drumming 101, I sit down with Jonathan Haas, a percussion legend who revolutionized the timpani and built an extraordinary career performing with major orchestras, rock bands, and jazz icons. We talk about what it really takes to make it on Broadway—the hard work, the unexpected breaks, and the reality of starting at the bottom. Jonathan shares real-world advice and stories from his career, giving you a no-nonsense look at the industry. If you're serious about breaking into Broadway or curious about what it takes to succeed as a musician, you have to listen to this episode!Virtuoso timpanist Jonathan Haas has raised the status of the timpani to that of a solo instrument throughout his unique career that has spanned more than twenty years. From classical concertos to jazz and rock & roll, from symphonic masterpieces to the most experimental compositions of living composers, Haas has championed, commissioned, unearthed and celebrated music for his instrument, becoming, as Ovation magazine hailed him, "The Paganini of the timpani."His concerts on the world's most prestigious musical stages and his ground-breaking recordings have delighted critics and listeners on both sides of the ocean. The New York Times wrote, "Wherever one finds a percussion instrument waiting to be rubbed, shook, struck or strummed, [Haas] is probably nearby, ready to fulfill his duties with consummate expertise... he is a masterful young percussionist."Most recently, Haas has garnered widespread praise and attention for his performances of Philip Glass' Concerto Fantasy for Two Timpanists and Orchestra, a piece conceived by Haas and completed because of his quest to spotlight the timpani. The Concerto Fantasy features not only two timpanists, but also 14 timpani, all placed downstage in front of the orchestra. In 2000, Haas performed the world premiere of the piece with the American Symphony, and he has subsequently performed it at Carnegie Hall and in Phoenix, New Jersey, Baltimore, Pasadena, Long Beach (California), St. Louis and Mexico City. Haas also performed the European premiere with the BBC Symphony in London, the world premiere of a chamber orchestra version with the Iris Chamber Orchestra in Memphis, the Czechoslovakian premiere with the Prague Symphony Orchestra at the International Music Prague Spring Festival, the Norwegian premiere with the Bergen Philharmonic, and he will perform the Australian premiere with the Sydney Symphony and the Turkish premiere with the Istanbul Philharmonic.Haas' successful efforts to expand the timpani repertoire have led him to commission and premiere more than 25 works by composers in addition to Philip Glass such as Stephen Albert, Marius Constant, Irwin Bazelon, Eric Ewazen, Thomas Hamilton, Robert Hall Lewis, Jean Piche, Karlheinz Stockhausen, Andrew Thomas, and many others.Haas built the world's largest timpani and debuted it in 2003 at the Aspen Music Festival. This unprecendented, incredible instrument -- nearly 6' wide and nearly 4' tall – beats the world's second-largest timpani — a 48-incher used by Amsterdam's Concertgebouw Orchestra — by almost half.Haas' recordings include the trail-blazing 18th Century Concertos for Timpani and Orchestra and Johnny H. and the Prisoners of Swing, both on Sunset Records. The latter was named for his jazz group and features innovative renderings of jazz compositions featuring "hot timpani" in front of a full jazz ensemble. His rediscovery of Duke Ellington's brilliant composition for jazz timpani, "Tympaturbably Blue," is included on this recording, as are other jazz standards played on a set of ten kettledrums.Demonstrating a remarkable versatility as a musician, Haas has performed and recorded with Emerson, Lake and Palmer, played on the Grammy Award-winning recording Zappa's Universe, recorded with Aerosmith, Michael Bolton, Black Sabbath, and explored heavy metal with his rock group Clozshave.The rarest of modern virtuosi, Haas embarked on his career as a solo timpanist by performing the only solo timpani recital ever presented at Carnegie Recital Hall in 1980. As an orchestral soloist, he made his debut with the New York Chamber Orchestra under Maxim Shostakovich and his European solo debut with the Bournemouth Sinfonietta. He made his French debut performing Andrez Panufnick's Concerto for Percussion, Timpani and Orchestra with the Orchestra de la Garde Republicaine. He was the soloist in the Druschetsky Concerto for Eight Timpani, Oboe and Orchestra with the Aspen Chamber Orchestra. He has also performed as a solo timpanist for the Distinguished Artists Recital Series at New York's 92nd Street ‘Y' and as a guest artist with the Lincoln Center Chamber Society, the Chamber Music at the ‘Y' Series, and the Newport Chamber Music Festival. He has championed new music by presenting adventuresome programming such as The Music of Frank Zappa, showcasing the music of Edgar Varese and Frank Zappa, under the auspices of Lincoln Center's Great Performers Series.Haas is the principal timpanist of the New York Chamber Orchestra, the Aspen Chamber Orchestra and EOS Ensemble, principal percussionist of the American Symphony Orchestra, and a member of the American Composers Orchestra. He performs with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Mostly Mozart Festival Orchestra, New York Pops, and New Jersey Symphony and has performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic, the Stuttgart Chamber Orchestra and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra.A graduate of Washington University in St. Louis, Haas received his Master's Degree from the Juilliard School as a student of Saul Goodman. An inspiring teacher, he has been the director of the Peabody Conservatory Percussion Studio for twenty years and a faculty artist of the Aspen Music School, and he conducts the percussion ensembles at both schools. He has presented master classes throughout the United States and internationally at the Toho Gauken, Hanoi Conservatory, Paris Conservatory, and the Graz Percussion School. Sharing his enthusiasm for music with young people, he has presented over two hundred concert-demonstrations with his "Drumfire" program, under the auspices of the Lincoln Center Institute, the New York Chamber Symphony's Sidney Wolff Children's Concert Series, and the Aspen Festival Young Person's Concert Series.As active an entrepreneur as he is an artist, Haas heads Sunset Records, Kettles and Company, and Gemini Music Productions which contracts musicians for Lincoln Center, New York Pops, and many other organizations. He also works closely with percussion industry manufacturers Pearl/Adams, Promark and Zildjian, among others.Clayton Craddock founded Broadway Drumming 101, an in-depth online platform offering specialized mentorship and a carefully curated collection of resources tailored for aspiring and professional musicians.Clayton's Broadway and Off-Broadway credits include tick, tick…BOOM!, Altar Boyz, Memphis The Musical, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar and Grill, Ain't Too Proud – The Life and Times of The Temptations, Cats: The Jellicle Ball, and The Hippest Trip: The Soul Train Musical. As a skilled sub, he's contributed his talents to Motown, Evita, Cats, Avenue Q, The Color Purple, Rent, SpongeBob SquarePants: The Musical, Hadestown (tour), and many more. He has also appeared on major shows, including The View, Good Morning America, Jimmy Fallon, The Today Show, and the TONY Awards, and performed with legends like The Stylistics, The Delfonics, Mario Cantone, Laura Benanti, Kristin Chenoweth, Kerry Butler, Christian Borle, Norm Lewis, Deniece Williams, Chuck Berry, and Ben E. King.Clayton proudly endorses Ahead Drum Cases, Paiste Cymbals, Innovative Percussion drumsticks, and Empire Ears.Learn more about Clayton Craddock here: www.claytoncraddock.com Get full access to Broadway Drumming 101 at broadwaydrumming101.substack.com/subscribe

Keith David sits down with me to talk about his fatherhood journey. He shares the many lessons that his kids have taught him especially the value of acceptance. We talk about the values he looked to instill in them as well. After that we talk about one of his recent projects, From Scratch. In addition we talk about his creative process when it comes to acting. Lastly, we finish the interview with the Fatherhood Quick Five.  About Keith David  Keith David is a classically trained actor, Emmy Award winner and Tony Award nominee. Keith was born and raised in New York City. In addition, Keith is a graduate of the New York High School of the Performing Arts and the Juilliard School. His expansive film credits include 21 Bridges, Night School, Disney's The Princess and the Frog, Requiem for a Dream, Men at Work, They Live, Crash, There's Something About Mary, The Thing, Platoon and many others. Make sure you follow Keith on Twitter at @ImKeithDavid and Instagram at @silverthroat.  BetterHelp Is This Week's Sponsor  BetterHelp was founded in 2013 to remove the traditional barriers to therapy and make mental health care more accessible to everyone. Today, it is the world's largest therapy service — providing professional, affordable, and personalized therapy in a convenient online format. BetterHelp's network of more than 30,000 licensed therapists has helped over 5 million people worldwide take ownership of their mental health and work towards their personal goals. As the unmet need for mental health services continues to grow, BetterHelp is committed to expanding access to therapy globally. Plus for my readers and podcast listeners when you use the special link at betterhelp.com/artoffatherhood you can get 10% off your first month.  About The Art of Fatherhood Podcast  The Art of Fatherhood Podcast follows the journey of fatherhood. Your host, Art Eddy talks with fantastic dads from all around the world where they share their thoughts on fatherhood. You get a unique perspective on fatherhood from guests like Bob Odenkirk, Hank Azaria, Joe Montana, Kevin Smith, Danny Trejo, Jerry Rice, Jeff Foxworthy, Patrick Warburton, Jeff Kinney, Paul Sun-Hyung Lee, Kyle Busch, Dennis Quaid, Dwight Freeney and many more.

Episode Summary: Christina Ricucci, a dynamic artist who blends singing, songwriting, acting, dancing, and choreography. Christina shares her journey from starting dance at age two to competing and training rigorously, achieving national titles, and landing performances featured in Disney projects. She reflects on how Lyme disease, diagnosed in her teenage years, drastically shifted her career, leading her to explore music and acting. This illness ultimately led to the release of her first self-written single, Ophelia, marking a creative milestone. Now teaching dance, choreographing, and producing music, Christina offers valuable advice for aspiring artists, highlighting the importance of adaptability, passion, and creative exploration. This episode is filled with insights for anyone navigating creative careers and personal transformation. Show Notes: (00:00) - Introduction to the podcast and guest, Christina Ricucci (02:00) - Christina's early start in dance and first performances (05:00) - Transition from dance to music and songwriting (08:30) - How Lyme disease impacted Christina's career and forced a pivot (12:00) - Embracing other creative outlets: music, acting, and songwriting (15:30) - The current role of dance in Christina's life: teaching and choreography (18:00) - Advice for young dancers exploring multiple creative avenues (22:00) - Q&A with Business of Dance mentees (40:00) - Christina recommends summer programs and intensives for dancers (44:00) - Reflecting on competitive dance and ballet training (49:00) - Christina shares memories from Showstoppers and other dance competitions (51:00) - Final thoughts from Christina on following your passion and embracing creativity (53:00) - Closing remarks and sign-off Biography: Christina Ricucci is an alternative singer-songwriter, actress, and dancer/choreographer based in Los Angeles, CA. She draws inspiration from life experiences, pain, love, happiness, poetry, and, of course, art, in her creative endeavors. As a dancer and choreographer, Christina has trained extensively in ballet, contemporary, jazz, lyrical, tap, hip hop, and musical theater. She has furthered her training at intensives with prestigious institutions such as The Juilliard School, Nederlands Dans Theater, Cedar Lake Contemporary Ballet, American Ballet Theater, Hubbard Street Dance, Complexions Contemporary Ballet, Martha Graham, Limon, and Batsheva/Gaga. Christina has choreographed award-winning pieces and has taught dance workshops and choreography across the country. Christina is an 8-time National Champion soloist and has toured the U.S. and Canada as a demonstrator with both the JUMP and NUVO Dance Conventions. She was awarded the prestigious National Title of “Best Dancer” from the Dance Awards, the Hope Award from YAGP, and was a Gold Medalist at the World Ballet Competition. She has also appeared on the covers of Dance Spirit magazine as their Cover Model Winner and Inside Dance magazine. Christina's dance career led to her first acting job at age 12, when she was cast as a ballerina in a Disney project. After enduring several years of Lyme Disease treatment, she expanded her creative pursuits to include acting and music. She has won “Best Actress” awards at multiple film festivals. In 2019, Christina was the featured vocalist on Nowhere Near, an international award-winning soundtrack. Her music weaves dark pop with contemporary production, and her upcoming project includes the release of her first single, Ophelia, inspired by John Everett Millais' painting based on Shakespeare's Ophelia. The debut EP is expected to be released in late 2024. Connect on Social Media: https://www.instagram.com/christinaricucci https://www.facebook.com/christina.ricucci

Damian Woetzel’s rise to the top of the ballet world seems straightforward. From his childhood in Boston he demonstrated an aptitude for ballet; by his late teens, he was touring nationally as part of the Los Angeles Ballet; and in the mid-1980s, at 18, he eschewed college to pursue a career as a dancer in New York City. Over the following two decades, Woetzel climbed the New York City Ballet’s ranks, first becoming a principal dancer, then a household name. In his mid-30s, with the prospect of retirement looming, Woetzel decided to exit the ballet orbit and head up to Cambridge, Massachusetts, where he graduated from Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government in 2007 with an M.P.A., a distinction that, a decade later, led to him becoming The Juilliard School’s seventh president. On this episode of Table for Two, Woetzel joins host Bruce Bozzi to discuss his early years in New York, former U.S. Representative Gabrielle Gifford’s role in motivating him to return to school, and his plan for leading an arts conservatory into the modern age.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

The Cello Sherpa Podcast Host, Joel Dallow, interviews cellist Richard Aaron. Richard joined the faculty of the San Francisco Conservatory in the fall of 2024. He shares his incredible journey from landing an orchestra position at the age of 18, to becoming one of the most sought after teachers of our generation! Having been on faculty at the University of Michigan, the Juilliard School, the Cleveland Institute of Music and the New England Conservatory., Richard shares the keys to success on the cello, what he looks for in potential students, and much more.For more information on Richard: https://sfcm.edu/study/faculty/richard-aaronIf you are looking for in person/virtual cello lessons, or orchestral repertoire audition coachings, check out http://www.theCelloSherpa.comFollow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, YouTube and Bluesky @theCelloSherpaFor more information on our sponsor: www.CLEAResources.com 

As a standout New York City Ballet dancer from the 1980s through the early 2000s, Damian Woetzel featured in acclaimed productions ranging from Jerome Robbins’s "West Side Story Suite" to George Balanchine’s "Swan Lake." But which ballet was his favorite? Find out on this week’s bonus episode of Table for Two, in which the current Juilliard School president joins host Bruce Bozzi to discuss his biggest pet peeve, the best advice he’s ever received, and his favorite New York City activity.See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Damian Woetzel, president of The Juilliard School, talks about his commitment to making Juilliard more accessible and affordable, including an education program the school runs for younger students who come from backgrounds that are underrepresented in classical music.