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The Brass Junkies

The Brass Junkies, hosted by former Boston Brass tuba player Andrew Hitz and a rotating cast of characters, features interviews with the best and brightest brass players in the world. Subject matter includes everything from the serious to the ridiculous, just like the music business.
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Now displaying: December, 2017
Dec 19, 2017
TBJ74: Amplituba and Mercury Orkestar Tubist Bill Pritchard on Getting Started with Electronics, Teaching at Five Different Colleges and Overcoming Adversity
 
Bill Pritchard is one of the busiest tuba players in Atlanta and is a leading figure in the movement to incorporate electronics with brass playing.
 
Some of the topics we cover include: 
  • The challenges of giving Skype lessons
  • His use of technology in lessons
  • What to do if the chaps are at the cleaners (don't ask)
  • The simplest setup to start messing with electronics (mic, cable, digital effects/multi-effects unit, into a keyboard or bass amp)
  • Why delay and chorus effects are a good place to start
  • How to get started with looping pedals
  • How he sets up his musical improvs
  • His influences including Reggie Watts, Matt Owen and David Wolf from Drums & Tuba
  • How David Vining and Jan Kagarice helping him overcome challenges
  • Playing with a drummer and a theremin at an Invent Room Pop gig and creating Amplituba
  • Blow into the small end
 
LINKS:
 
CHECK OUT THE HOGTOWN BRASS HOLIDAY ALBUM!!!
 
Buy it HERE!
 
Stream it on Apple Music, Spotify or at the Hogtown Brass website.

Want to help the show? Take a minute to leave us a rating and a review on iTunes.

The Brass Area of the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh PA is our new partner (and Lance has been teaching euphonium there since 2000). If you are interested in learning more about the program, visit the site HERE!

Check out Parker Mouthpieces fine offerings (including the Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke models) by clicking PARKER!

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation at https://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Last but not least, we are now on Instagram! Follow us at instagram.com/pray4jens/ TODAY!

Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.

Dec 5, 2017

TBJ73: Trombonist Weston Sprott on Performing with the Metropolitan Opera, the Diversity Issues Facing the Industry and Running Into One of His Heroes on the Streets of New York

Weston Sprott is the Acting Principal Trombone of the Metropolitan Opera and has appeared with major orchestras all over the world.

In this episode, we cover:

  • His gig
  • What the best subs have in common
  • Coming up in TX
  • Teaching
  • Best student characteristics- “They do what I tell them to do”
  • The acidic, dry and awesome John Rojak
  • His website and resources
  • Diversity issues in classical music
  • Meeting Wynton Marsalis
  • The McGurk Effect
  • The Sphinx Organization

LINKS:

From his website:

Weston Sprott enjoys an exciting career that includes orchestral, chamber, and solo performances, as well as numerous educational and outreach efforts. He is currently  Acting Principal Trombone of New York’s Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, of which he has been a member since 2005. He has been recognized as “an excellent trombonist” with a “sense of style and phrasing [that] takes a backseat to no one”.  

Sprott performs frequently with the Philadelphia Orchestra, recently held a position with the Zurich Opera/Philharmonia, and has appeared with numerous other major orchestras, including the New York Philharmonic, Atlanta Symphony, and Oslo Philharmonic. He previously held principal positions with the Pennsylvania Ballet Orchestra and the Delaware Symphony Orchestra. His chamber music and festival engagements include the Stellenbosch International Chamber Music Fesitval (SICMF), Classical Tahoe, Festival Napa Valley, Walla Chamber Music Festival, Chineke!, PRIZM Ensemble, and numerous others.
 
As a soloist, Sprott has been featured regularly throughout the United States, Europe, South Africa, and Asia. He made his Carnegie solo debut performing Lars-Erik Larsson’s Concertino for Trombone in 2007 and was a featured soloist with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center is 2017. Sprott’s debut album, Act I, was released in 2010 and hailed by the American Record Guide as “an outstanding recording” that “feels the emotion of every note and phrase”.
 
A dedicated and tireless teacher, Sprott maintains teaching studios at several New York area institutions. He currently heads the brass department at Mannes College and holds faculty positions at Bard College, Rutgers University, and Juilliard Pre-College. He also regularly serves on the faculties of SICMF, PRIZM, Curtis Institute of Music’s Summerfest, National Youth Orchestra-USA (NYO-USA) and NYO2. He has previously held faculty positions at Juilliard's Music Advancement Program and Purchase College. 
 
He recently appeared in Ben Niles’ documentary film Some Kind of Spark, which highlights the impact of music education in the lives of students as they attend Juilliard’s Music Advancement Program. Other documentary film credits include A Wayfarer's Journey:Listening to Mahler, and Rittenhouse Square. His thoughts are also quoted in Rhythms of the Game, a book by former New York Yankees star Bernie Williams. He also works regularly with organizations like Play On Philly and Music Kitchen, and has sponsored educational opportunities and solicited instrument donations for disadvantaged students. His philanthropic spirit was recently recognized in an article by the Wall Street Journal, and he was the recipient of the Atlanta Symphony Talent Development Program Aspire Award. Weston is an active speaker and collaborator as an advocate for diversity and inclusion efforts in classical music.

Weston Sprott is an artist/clinician for the Antoine Courtois Instrument Company. He performs exclusively on Courtois trombones and plays the Legend AC420BHW "New Yorker Model" trombone. Performances and interviews with Mr. Sprott have been seen and heard on PBS' Great Performances, NPR's Performance Today, MSNBC, and Sirius Satellite Radio. 
 

 
 
CHECK OUT THE HOGTOWN BRASS HOLIDAY ALBUM!!!
 
Buy it HERE
 
Stream it on Apple Music, Spotify or at the Hogtown Brass website:
 

Want to help the show? Take a minute to leave us a rating and a review on iTunes.

The Brass Area of the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh PA is our new partner (and Lance has been teaching euphonium there since 2000). If you are interested in learning more about the program, visit the site HERE!

Check out Parker Mouthpieces fine offerings (including the Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke models) by clicking PARKER!

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation at https://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Last but not least, we are now on Instagram! Follow us at instagram.com/pray4jens/ TODAY!

Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.

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