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Music Majors Unplugged | Career Advice for Aspiring Musicians
In today's episode, we talk with Erik Rohde about conducting and education! Erik Rohde maintains a diverse career as a conductor, violinist, and educator, and has performed in recitals and festivals across the United States and in Europe and Asia. He is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Northern Iowa and the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Winona Symphony Orchestra (MN). Prior to his appointment at the University of Northern Iowa, Rohde served as the Director of String Activities and Orchestra at Indiana State University where he conducted the Indiana State University Symphony Orchestra and taught violin, chamber music, and Suzuki pedagogy. In Indiana, he also founded the Salomon Chamber Orchestra, an orchestra dedicated to promoting the works of living composers and of Haydn and his contemporaries. Having grown up in Rochester, Rohde is particularly excited to return to his hometown to conduct the orchestra that includes former teachers, classmates, and colleagues. He began his musical studies with Linda Thompson on the violin at the age of 4 and first heard the Rochester Symphony at one of their annual educational concerts a few years later. Having begun his musical journey in Rochester, this is an exciting chance to return and make music in a new way in a community that he loves and one that helped shape the early part of his musical journey. A committed advocate for contemporary music, he has premiered and commissioned many new works by both established and young composers, and is constantly seeking to discover new compositional voices. In addition to regularly bringing new orchestral works to programs each season, he is the violinist of the new music duo sonic apricity, which is dedicated to uncovering and commissioning new works by living composers for violin and viola. The duo released their first recording on the Navona label in December of 2022. At Indiana State University, he helped to host the annual Contemporary Music Festival – now running for over 50 years. He has worked with Joan Tower, Augusta Read Thomas, Libby Larsen, Chen Yi, Meira Warshauer, Elliott Miles McKinley, Christopher Walczak, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Pierre Jalbert, James Dillon, David Dzubay, Marc Mellits, Carter Pann, Narong Prangcharoen and countless others. In 2019, he released two recordings with composer Elliott Miles McKinley, conducting his percussion concerto Four Grooves and performing on his eighth string quartet. In his native Minnesota, Rohde has served as the Music Director of the Buffalo Community Orchestra, conductor and violinist for the Contemporary Music Workshop, Camarata Suzuki orchestra conductor for the MacPhail Center for Music, String Ensemble conductor at the Trinity School, and first violinist of the Cantiamo and Enkidu String Quartets. Rohde holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where he studied with conductors Mark Russell Smith, Kathy Saltzman Romey, and Craig Kirchhoff and violin pedagogue Mark Bjork. He also holds degrees in Violin Performance and Biomedical Engineering. Rohde lives in Cedar Falls, IA with his wife Erin and their children. Betwixt Bach: Suite for Solo Violin (2021) Performed by Erik Rohde
Music Majors Unplugged | Career Advice for Aspiring Musicians
In today's episode, we talk with Erik Rohde about conducting and education! Erik Rohde maintains a diverse career as a conductor, violinist, and educator, and has performed in recitals and festivals across the United States and in Europe and Asia. He is the Director of Orchestral Activities at the University of Northern Iowa and the Artistic Director and Conductor of the Winona Symphony Orchestra (MN). Prior to his appointment at the University of Northern Iowa, Rohde served as the Director of String Activities and Orchestra at Indiana State University where he conducted the Indiana State University Symphony Orchestra and taught violin, chamber music, and Suzuki pedagogy. In Indiana, he also founded the Salomon Chamber Orchestra, an orchestra dedicated to promoting the works of living composers and of Haydn and his contemporaries. Having grown up in Rochester, Rohde is particularly excited to return to his hometown to conduct the orchestra that includes former teachers, classmates, and colleagues. He began his musical studies with Linda Thompson on the violin at the age of 4 and first heard the Rochester Symphony at one of their annual educational concerts a few years later. Having begun his musical journey in Rochester, this is an exciting chance to return and make music in a new way in a community that he loves and one that helped shape the early part of his musical journey. A committed advocate for contemporary music, he has premiered and commissioned many new works by both established and young composers, and is constantly seeking to discover new compositional voices. In addition to regularly bringing new orchestral works to programs each season, he is the violinist of the new music duo sonic apricity, which is dedicated to uncovering and commissioning new works by living composers for violin and viola. The duo released their first recording on the Navona label in December of 2022. At Indiana State University, he helped to host the annual Contemporary Music Festival – now running for over 50 years. He has worked with Joan Tower, Augusta Read Thomas, Libby Larsen, Chen Yi, Meira Warshauer, Elliott Miles McKinley, Christopher Walczak, Michael-Thomas Foumai, Pierre Jalbert, James Dillon, David Dzubay, Marc Mellits, Carter Pann, Narong Prangcharoen and countless others. In 2019, he released two recordings with composer Elliott Miles McKinley, conducting his percussion concerto Four Grooves and performing on his eighth string quartet. In his native Minnesota, Rohde has served as the Music Director of the Buffalo Community Orchestra, conductor and violinist for the Contemporary Music Workshop, Camarata Suzuki orchestra conductor for the MacPhail Center for Music, String Ensemble conductor at the Trinity School, and first violinist of the Cantiamo and Enkidu String Quartets. Rohde holds a Doctorate of Musical Arts in Conducting from the University of Minnesota – Twin Cities, where he studied with conductors Mark Russell Smith, Kathy Saltzman Romey, and Craig Kirchhoff and violin pedagogue Mark Bjork. He also holds degrees in Violin Performance and Biomedical Engineering. Rohde lives in Cedar Falls, IA with his wife Erin and their children. Betwixt Bach: Suite for Solo Violin (2021) Performed by Erik Rohde
Marc Mellits is a composer who creates short visceral works often comprised of contrasting sections. He is influenced by minimalist and rock music and often composes for amplified instruments. Mellits also directs and plays keyboards in his own ensemble, the Mellits Consort.
Our sponsor: Houghton Hornswww.houghtonhorns.comTommy Dobbswww.tommydobbspercussion.comDr. Tommy Dobbs is the Instructor of Music - Percussion at the University of Arkansas - Fort Smith, Treasurer for the Arkansas Chapter of the Percussive Arts Society (PAS), and a member of the PAS University Pedagogy Committee. He received his Doctor of Music and Master’s of Music degrees in Percussion Performance from the Florida State University, and his Bachelor’s degree in Percussion Performance from the University of North Florida.An active performer and educator, Tommy has performed recitals and given master classes at universities and secondary schools throughout the United States and abroad. Tommy is currently the Principal Percussionist for the Fort Smith Symphony; a member of Duo Breedlove, an Arkansas based saxophone and percussion duo; and a member of Wind and Wood, an Arkansas based clarinet and percussion duo. During the 2019/2020 season, he looks forward to Presenting a clinic entitled "Accessory After The Fact: How To Prevent Criminal Sounds Within Your Percussion Section" at The Midwest Clinic in Chicago as well as several College Music Society and NACWPI Conference Performance and, by the summer 2020, the release of a solo album of all commissioned works and a duo album with Dr. Andrew DeBoer (Clarinet). All recordings will be engineered by Garnet House Productions and released on their label. He has performed and presented at conferences such as The College Music Society (International, National, and Regional), the National Association of College Wind and Percussion Instructors Conferences (International and National), the Percussive Arts Society International Convention, Various Day of Percussion Conferences, The World Saxophone Congress in Croatia, the International Navy Saxophone Symposium, Various College Band Directors National Association Regional Conferences, and various American Bandmasters Association Regional and National Conferences. Currently, he is a member of the College Music Society (CMS), the Arkansas School Band and Orchestra Association (ASBOA), NACWPI, and the Percussive Arts Society (PAS).Previous appointment include: serving as Acting Principal Percussionist for the Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra (Florida) and Principal Timpanist for Sinfonia Gulf Coast (Florida) in 2013/2014 as well as section percussion/assistant timpani for the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra, Georgia Coastal Symphony, Tallahassee Symphony Orchestra, Tallahassee Ballet, and Sinfonia Gulf Coast.An active champion of new music, he has premiered and/or commissioned works by Per Andreasson, Adam Silverman, John Psathas, Ivan Trevino, Marc Mellits, Nathan Daughtrey, Brett Dietz, Luis Rivera, Benjamin Fraley, Jamie Whitmarsh, Frank Pesci, William Funk, and Michael Taylor.As a professor, Tommy’s students have been accepted to reputable music programs across the United States, including Florida State University, The Eastman School of Music, the University of North Texas, University of Texas in Austin, University of South Carolina, and the University of North Florida. His students have also held positions in various All-County, All-Region, and All-State Bands as well as attended festivals such as the Eastern Music Festival, the Leigh Howard Stevens Marimba Seminar, and the Bob Becker Xylophone Soloist Seminar. Recent student successes include Justin Ball, UAFS Senior Percussionist, placing 1st in the Great Plains International Marimba Competition and Christopher Ha, UAFS Alumni (15') appointed as the Assistant Director of Bands at Kimmons Junior High in Fort Smith, Arkansas.Support the show (https://thatsnotspit.com/support/)
The long-awaited release from the chamber ensemble Duo Sequenza, YES…IT’S A THING!, includes works by five critically acclaimed contemporary composers. David Noon is one of the most prolific composers in the U.S.; Jerry Owen’s numerous achievements include two Pulitzer Prize nominations; Jorge Muñiz has had his music performed by chamber ensembles, chorales, and orchestras throughout the world; Marc Mellits is one of the leading American composers of his generation and one of the most performed and recorded living composers in the United States; and Amin Sharifi’s recent works have been performed in the United States, Europe, and his native Iran. Purchase the music (without talk) at: http://www.classicals avings.com/store/p896/Yes...It%27s_a_Thing%21.htmlYour purchase helps to support our show! Classical Music Discoveries is sponsored by La Musica International Chamber Music Festival and Uber. @khedgecock #ClassicalMusicDiscoveries #KeepClassicalMusicAlive #LaMusicaFestival #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofVenice #CMDParisPhilharmonicinOrléans #CMDGermanOperaCompanyofBerlin #CMDGrandOperaCompanyofBarcelonaSpain #ClassicalMusicLivesOn #Uber Please consider supporting our show, thank you! http://www.classicalsavings.com/donate.html staff@classicalmusicdiscoveries.com
Today's guest in this third episode of the Fischoff Effect series is Matt Landry from the Akropolis Reed Quintet. In this series, I bring you five former winners of the Fischoff competition to talk about their experience preparing for and competing at Fischoff, and about the wonderful adventures and opportunities that have followed their win! My guests this week are Blaise Magniere from the Avalon String Quartet, Dorival Puccini from Axiom Brass, Matt Landry from the Akropolis Reed Quintet , Christopher Whitley from the Thalea String Quartet, and Lydia Reah from the former Kairos String Quartet! Whether you are a musician about to compete at the competition, or a music lover looking for a fresh approach to practicing and preparing for a concert, make sure to subscribe and tune in everyday, because those conversations are bursting with inspiration and EXTREMELY useful information! Each group has a unique and motivating story and my guests are so generous with their insightful tips and advice! About Fischoff Founded in 1973 in South Bend, Indiana, the Fischoff National Chamber Music Competition has grown to become the largest chamber music competition in the world, attracting the finest and most talented young musicians from around the globe. and is one of the most prestigious classical music prizes attainable today. Since its founding, more than 6,000 musicians have participated, many of whom have gone on to distinguished careers in music performance and education. Fischoff is also deeply committed to music education and partners with competition alumni to bring free, innovative Arts-in-Education programs directly to children in their own schools and community centers. Since 1995, nearly 50,000 children, youth and adults have received free educational programming of the highest order. Website: http://www.fischoff.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TheFischoff Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fischoffchambermusic/ Meet the Akropolis Reed Quintet – 2012 Senior Wind Division Silver Medal, 2014 Senior Wind Division Gold Medal, & 2015 Fischoff Educator Award Kari Landry, clarinet | Andrew Koeppe, bass clarinet | Ryan Reynolds, bassoon | Matt Landry, saxophone | Tim Gocklin, oboe https://akropolisquintet.org/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/akropolisquintet/ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/akropolis5tet/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCGAiaA8x7b3W_OpBKgg7eXg Hailed for their “imagination, infallible musicality, and huge vitality” (Fanfare Magazine), Akropolis was founded in 2009 at the University of Michigan and has won seven national chamber music prizes since 2011, including the 2014 Fischoff Gold Medal and the 2015 Fischoff Educator Award. Akropolis is an alumnus of APAP's prestigious Young Performer's Career Advancement Program and is generously supported by grants from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA), Michigan Council for Arts and Cultural Affairs, CultureSource, Paul M. Angell Family Foundation, Aaron Copland Fund for Music, Chamber Music America, Alice M. Ditson Fund, Amphion Foundation, High Wire Lab, and Quicken Loans. Celebrating their 10th anniversary, Akropolis' 19/20 season features 10 commissions for the ensemble including the first concerto for reed quintet and wind band by Roshanne Etezady, a chamber concerto by Jenni Brandon with guest bassoonist Monica Ellis of Imani Winds, a work for reed quintet and rideable percussion bicycle by Steven Snowden, and more. The season also features a 10-show, choreographed and staged production with BodyVox Dance in Portland, OR and Akropolis' 3rd annual Together We Sound festival in Detroit featuring a multimedia collaboration with Detroit projection artist, L05 (Carlos Garcia). Akropolis' recent and upcoming appearances includes stops at Caramoor, Chamber Music Northwest, the Oneppo Series at Yale University, the Chautauqua Institution, Artist Series of Sarasota, Chamber Music Abu Dhabi, Chamber Music Columbus, and more. Akropolis has been awarded a juried showcase at APAP (YPCA), Chamber Music America twice, Performing Arts Exchange, Western Arts Alliance, and the Mid-Atlantic Performing Arts Market. With three studio albums, including its March 2017 release of The Space Between Us, called “pure gold” by the San Francisco Chronicle, Akropolis has recorded 17 original reed quintet works. Akropolis' 2018 Together We Sound festival featured an improvisatory new work with YAK and a concert with acclaimed soprano Shara Nova. Akropolis premiered the first work for reed quintet and string quartet by David Schiff with the Dover Quartet in 2015 and has performed with artists like the Miró Quartet and renowned clarinetist David Shifrin. Akropolis has even performed with HarperCollins published author and scientist, Vic Strecher. In April 2017, Akropolis' residency in Abu Dhabi featured a performance of Marc Mellits' Splinter with original Arabic poetry performed by Khalifa University students, written around Mellits' music. Establishing Akropolis WORKS in 2016, Akropolis' members teach an annual 7-week music business mini-course at the University of Michigan as well as two semester-long courses at Michigan State University. They have delivered WORKS lectures to university musicians around the United States on marketing, financial planning, brand identity, and more. Equally committed to students K-12, Akropolis reached over 10,000 K-12 students in 2018. They conduct an annual school year long residency with students at three Detroit high schools including chamber music and music composition. Winner of a coveted Chamber Music America Classical Commissioning Grant, Akropolis has premiered more than 50 works from composers in 7 countries and was selected to adjudicate and premiere the 2018 Barlow Prize funded by the Barlow Endowment, the first time the prize was given for a reed quintet work. Akropolis' members are the first of any reed quintet to judge major chamber music competitions including the Fischoff (2018) and Chamber Music Yellow Springs (2019) competitions. Akropolis produces a YouTube Web Premiere Series with more than 50,000 views, showcasing new works, arrangements, and composer interviews for a live Internet audience. In 2012 Akropolis created Akropolis Collection and has now sold over 400 original and arranged sheet music works to more than 100 new and established reed quintets. Akropolis regularly appears in unconventional settings, including performances in office spaces in Detroit as part of its Corporate-to-Corner Tour in January 2017. In May 2016 Akropolis conducted a live recording session featuring audience participation for John Steinmetz's Sorrow and Celebration for reed quintet and audience, which Akropolis commissioned in 2014. Akropolis presents its annual Together We Sound festival in Detroit each June, bringing together multidisciplinary collaborators, new works, and educational outreach to increase arts access throughout the city. Akropolis is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization generously supported by individuals around the world. All Akropolis events include informative musical introductions and a chance to greet the artists. Originating at the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor, Akropolis remains its founding members: Tim Gocklin (oboe), Kari Landry (clarinet), Matt Landry (saxophone), Andrew Koeppe (bass clarinet), and Ryan Reynolds (bassoon). Akropolis is represented exclusively by Ariel Artists. Contact Matthew Kulas at matthew@arielartists.com for booking. If you enjoyed the show, please leave a review on iTunes! I truly appreciate your support! Visit www.mindoverfinger.com for information about past and future podcasts, and for more resources on mindful practice. THANK YOU: Most sincere thank you to composer Jim Stephenson who graciously provided the show's musical theme! Concerto #1 for Trumpet and Chamber Orchestra – Movement 2: Allegro con Brio, performed by Jeffrey Work, trumpet, and the Lake Forest Symphony, conducted by Jim Stephenson. Also a huge thank you to my producer, Bella Kelly! MIND OVER FINGER: www.mindoverfinger.com https://www.facebook.com/mindoverfinger/ https://www.instagram.com/mindoverfinger/ Join the Mind Over Finger Tribe here! https://www.facebook.com/groups/mindoverfingertribe/
On this episode we catch up on our spring break activities and upcoming live shows. For our interview we welcome Jacqueline Leclair, Associate Professor of Oboe at McGill University's Schulich School of Music. Learn more about Jacqueline at https://www.nuoboe.net/ This episode is brought to you by Jende Reed Knives (www.jendeindustries.com), Jennet Ingle Reeds(jennetingle.com/about-jennet-ingle-reeds/), MKL Reeds (MKLReeds.com), and Oboe Chicago (www.oboechicago.com). Thank you to our amazing sponsors! In this episode: -PARKING VIOLATION (1999) by Marc Mellits (https://www.marcmellits.com/parking-violation) -Jacqueline LeClair, Luciano Berio, Sequenza VIIa (1969/2000) Analysis, The Double Reed, Vol 33 No 2
This week, I talk with COMPOSER Marc Mellits about his 1 track, STRING QUARTET No. 3, TAPAS
Program: Robert Schumann: Adagio and Allegro, op.70 Arvo Part: Fratres Luigi Boccherini (arr. Katims): Sonata No. 6 in A Major, G4 Robert Schumann: Märchenbilder, Op.113 Henri Vieuxtemps: Élégie, Op.30 Aurelien Pederzoli, viola Chicago-based violist Aurelian Pederzoli trained from a young age on the violin and his talent and skill earned him wide acclaim from critics and the public alike. But something was missing. Artistic frustrations with the violin led him to pick up the viola and, to his surprise, his authentic musical voice emerged. “The sonority of the viola just seems to resonate with the fibers of my being,” Pederzoli says, “and I love the viola’s repertoire and the very communal role it plays in ensembles.” A finalist in the 2015 International Hugo Kauder Competition for Viola at Yale University, Pederzoli merges a deep reservoir of musicality with wide-eyed curiosity about his instrument as a soloist and chamber ensemble player, and as a teacher at the New Music School in Chicago. He is a member of the innovative Black Oak Ensemble which pairs classical works with music from around the world, a frequent collaborator with the Lincoln Trio, and he has toured internationally with blues harmonica virtuoso Corky Siegel. A deft collaborator, Pederzoli works with other musicians of many stripes, including members of eighth black bird, bassist Matt Ulery, composer/pianist Fernando Otero, members of the Vermeer Quartet, pianist H.J Lim, accordionist Julien Labro, violinist Rachel Kolly d'Alba, pianist Christian Chamorel, violinist Daniel Rowland, violist David Aaron Carpenter, and composer/saxophonist Miguel Zenon. He also works with many of the leading composers of our time, Recent project have included Lee Hyla, Hans Thomalla, Gunter Schuller, and Robert Dillon, and he has premiered and recorded works by Augusta Read Thomas, Bernard Rands, Mason Bates, Shulamit Ran, Sarah Ritch, Jennifer Higdon, Marc Mellitts, Nico Muhly and others. Aurelian Pederzoli was born in France and graduated from the Paris Conservatory before moving to Chicago. He studies viola with Frank Babbitt and Li Kuo Chang. His violin teachers included Jean Lenert, Shmuel Ashkenasi, and Veda Reynolds. In 2008, Pederzoli cofounded Anaphora Ensemble to explore and present adventurous music in Chicago. Pederzoli was a founding member of the Spektral Quartet in 2010 and played with the ensemble until 2014. His work appears on recordings from Azica, Parlour Tapes+, Cedille, Southport, and Aparte labels. A new string trio recording with Desirée Ruhstrat, violin, and David Cunliffe, cello, of music by Conrad Tao, Jennifer Higdon, David Ludwig, and Marc Mellits, is forthcoming in 2016. Matthew Hagle, piano Pianist Matthew Hagle is a musician of great versatility and depth, whose performances are a rare mixture of musical understanding, imaginative programming, pianistic mastery and beauty of sound. In solo recitals he often explores the boundaries of the piano repertoire, using thoughtful programming and committed performance to integrate newer repertoire and lesser-known older works with the traditional canon. At the moment, he is working on a more conventional project: performing the 32 Beethoven Sonatas in a series of live radio recitals. Mr.
Blame it on Aaron Copland's Appalachian Spring or perhaps the ridiculous virtuosity that is characteristic of so much bluegrass playing. In the past decade, growing numbers of classical musicians have been mixing it up with fiddlers, banjo players and mandolin pluckers. Yo-Yo Ma has worked with bluegrass players in the Goat Rodeo Sessions; mandolin wizard Chris Thile has played his own concerto with several American orchestras and released an album of Bach partitas. The latest group to explore this hybrid is the Jake Schepps Quintet, a string band whose members are steeped in bluegrass spontaneity but whose repertoire – yes, repertoire – is by composers from the modern classical tradition. They include Matt McBane, Marc Mellits, Gyan Riley, and Matt Flinner. Led by Schepps, a Colorado-based banjoist, the group came to WQXR to play three pieces from "Entwined," their debut album. "Most of the instruments in the string band aren't foreign" to classical composers, said Schepps, in an interview with host Terrance McKnight. "Most classical composers have written for violin, guitar, and bass, and a mandolin is tuned like a violin so it's familiar territory." The quintet's set began with Flatiron VII: Planetary Tuners by Mellits, a Chicago-based composer whose works have been performed by the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and Kronos Quartet, among other groups. Schepps has been at the forefront of melding bluegrass with other genres for several years. He previously recorded an album of Béla Bartok's music arranged for a string band, "An Evening In The Village," and says he wants to play the music of Henry Purcell for a future project. "I fell in love with his three and four-part fantasias," he said. "I love Baroque music and Bach. I'm always curious for places that I can take string band instruments into new terrain." Schepps added that it's a "lateral step" to transfer pieces from Purcell's viola da gambas to the five-string banjo. The quintet's next selection is the album's title track, by Matt McBane, a Brooklyn violinist and composer who directs the Carlsbad Music Festival in California and whose music has been played by a number of new-music groups. Flinner, who plays mandolin in the quintet, composed the last selection in the set, called Migrations. He tells McKnight that his challenge "was trying, as a bluegrass musician, to write across that line in a long-form manner. Classical music goes so many different directions these days. One thing that we could use more of is more American roots elements added to that. Bluegrass is a uniquely American art form. It feels like it's getting more respect." Schepps added: "My hope is that a classical audience will come to find something interesting about bluegrass." Listen to the full interview and performances at the top of this page. Jake Schepps Quintet Personnel: Jake Schepps: five-string banjoMatt Flinner: mandolinRyan Drickey: violinJordan Tice: acoustic guitarAndrew Small: double bass Videos: Kim Nowacki; Audio: Irene Trudel; Production: Brian Wise; Interview: Terrance McKnight; Production Assistance: Rebecca Stein
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