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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: May, 2018
May 29, 2018

TBJ86: Listener's Choice - The Falcone Festival

Lance and Andrew take up another Listeners' Choice episode to talk about the history and development of the Falcone Festival at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan.

Form the website:

The Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival has gained recognition as the premier event of its kind. Born in 1986 as a competition for both student and artist level euphonium performers, the event evolved into a true festival in 1991 when its sponsoring committee expanded its offerings to include lessons, ensembles, seminars, and clinics with some of the world's greatest euphonium virtuosi. The sponsoring committee again expanded the festival 1996 to include a full range of festival activities for tuba.

Student and artist level competitions remain integral to the Festival. The competition has a truly international flavor, with contestants attending from countries around the world.

The Falcone Festival is held each summer, over a four day period, and has been housed since its inception at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan. In addition to the competition aspect of the Festival, participants are offered the opportunity to attend master classes and recitals provided by internationally recognized euphonium/tuba artists. For more information about Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp, please visit their web site at www.bluelake.org.

In this episode, we discuss:

  • Andrew’s medication
  • Lance’s summer plans
  • Jimmy Kimmel and Bill Simmons
  • Boston Brass Portuguese cell phone story
  • Falcone Festival
  • Lance winning the 1st contest in the student level
  • Judging the competition and judging in general

LINKS:

Falcone Festival

Want to help the show? Here are some ways:

  • Help others find the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes.
  • Show us some love on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
  • Help us pay the bills (and get regular bonus episodes!) by becoming a Patreon patron.
  • Show some love to our sponsors: The brass program at The Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University and Parker Mouthpieces (including the Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke models.)
  • Tell your friends!

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

May 15, 2018

TBJ85: Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on audition prep, recording yourself and all things Canada.

Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra, Soloist, Teacher, and Clinician has been described by Fanfare Magazine as “one of the contemporary tuba virtuosos”. Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan Tom’s playing and teaching have taken him around the globe. He has performed and taught in Canada, the United States, Switzerland, Portugal, Finland, New Zealand and Australia.

As an orchestral musician he has performed with the Minnesota Orchestra, the Detroit Symphony, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, the North Carolina Symphony, the Regina Symphony, the Winnipeg Symphony, the New Mexico Symphony, the Orquestra Sinfónica do Porto Casa da Música (Portugal), the Lahti Symphony (Finland) and was acting Principal Tuba in the Auckland Philharmonia (New Zealand).  In the summers he teaches at the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, NC, where he serves Principal Tuba with the EMF Festival Orchestra under the direction of Gerard Schwarz.

  • The Boston Brass “I Left My Pants in Sarnia, Canada” story
  • New gig in Calgary
  • Canada jokes!
  • Audition preparation
  • How he developed his ears with the help of Sam (Pilafian) and then on his own
  • Put a premium on recording himself (84 hours worth!)
  • Trust in your own abilities
  • Use physicality to override thought, play your way out of it
  • Audition prep with Sam at Tanglewood
  • Systematic
  • Used a randomizer app, put excerpts in and created rounds for himself
  • Daily round of most likely candidates
  • Day of audition, puts himself in a cocoon, noise-cancelling headphones
  • Listened to Bill Simmons podcast and pop music to keep his head clear
  • Studying with Sam Pilafian at Arizona State University
  • Travelin’ Light
  • Studying jazz
  • Boston Symphony audition
  • The support within Sam’s teaching studio
  • Recording solos with Sam as producer
  • Christmas his first year at ASU story, audition prep, followed by turkey prep
  • Teaching at East Carolina University
  • Looking for the quality of person more than quality of player
  • Teaching studio curation
  • The importance of the Studio Class hour, setting the expectations
  • Studying with Roger Bobo in Switzerland
  • The Dog Whisperer
  • “Sack of nicknick” story at Banff
  • Lance’s spot-on Jens impression
  • Andrew’s Banff story with Joe Alessi in Jens’ Porsche
  • Sweat out the bad

LINKS:

Want to help the show? Here are some ways:

  • Help others find the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes.
  • Show us some love on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
  • Help us pay the bills (and get regular bonus episodes!) by becoming a Patreon patron.
  • Show some love to our sponsors: The brass program at The Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University and Parker Mouthpieces (including the Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke models.)
  • Tell your friends!

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

May 1, 2018

TBJ84: Brass legend Mark Gould boldly goes where no other guests have gone before!

Mark Gould, the former Principal trumpet of The Met, the mastermind behind Pink Baby Monster and author of the hilarious new book, "Orchestra Confidential" joins Andrew & Lance in an episode filled with laughs, stories and swear words. Like, a lot of swear words.

WARNING: As mentioned in the above description, this interview is more "adult" than our usual fare. If you are sensitive to this sort of thing, maybe sit this one out. You've been warned.

In this fun and lively conversation, we cover:

  • The first time Gould conducted The Boston Brass Kenton Christmas Carol show
  • How his new book "Orchestra Confidential" came to be
  • Pink Baby Monster, Elixirs and the Banff stories
  • Reagan masks and inflatables in the "Desert Jews" show at ITG
  • Pink Baby Monster's origin on 9/9/01, starting as a song and growing into a group after 9/11
  • Making a hip-hop record w/Brian McWhorter
  • Pink Baby Monster being covered in the Daily News
  • How he got banned from ITG
  • What a Conductor Can’t Say
  • Snobbery in jazz music
  • Training young musicians
  • Project-based training with a deadline
  • What he would do if starting out today
  • Collaboration wish list (David Lynch)
  • Harry Watters
  • PBM, “Conducting the National Brass Ensemble Album” video
  • Masterclasses
  • Heavy valve caps make all the difference
  • Q: How high can you play? A: Exactly
  • Playing with Jim Pandolfi in The Met

LINKS:

 

Mark's new book, Orchestra Confidential

Pink Baby Monster YouTube channel

Juilliard bio

Mannes bio

Harry Watters TBJ episode

Ken Watters TBJ episode

Want to help the show? Here are some ways:

  • Help others find the show by leaving a rating and review on iTunes.
  • Show us some love on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
  • Help us pay the bills (and get regular bonus episodes!) by becoming a Patreon patron.
  • Show some love to our sponsors: The brass program at The Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University and Parker Mouthpieces (including the Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke models.)
  • Tell your friends!

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

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