Chris Dudley Teaser

Chris' interview is the longest in the set at a whopping 65 minutes.  In his interview we discussed his education, performing on two continents, his 20+ years with the Baltimore Symphony and performing on electronic instruments.

Stefan Teaser

Stefan Sanders is the former bass trombonist of the Buffalo Philharmonic.  After encountering complications with playing, Stefan left the orchestra to pursue is life long dream of becoming a conductor.  In this interview we discussed his musical training from the age of three years old through the Juilliard School and into his job in Buffalo.  We also discussed his issues with playing and the transition from trombone to conducting.

New Adventures: Kansas City

Sunday night I said goodbye to the paradise I called my home for 14 months.  Denver, flanked by two summers in Aspen, taught me some incredible lessons about music, the industry, myself, people and students.  I am very thankful for those musicians, band directors, and students that made my life interesting and possible while I lived in Colorado.

I left the Aspen Music Festival and School to drive 13 hours to Kansas City.  I will be attending the University of Missouri at Kansas City Conservatory of Music and Dance for a Doctorate in Musical Arts in trombone performance.  While I am here I will be playing with the conservatory ensembles and studying with Dr. JoDee Davis, as well as working as a professional musician and educator in the greater KC area.

After I get settled in Kansas City there are a few projects that I need to finish.  Discovering a Classical Musician went very well.  I obtained interviews from Warren Deck, John Rojak, Per Brevig, Stefan Saunders, and Chris Dudley.  These need to be compiled.  I still need to record A Quick Trip With Lots of Baggage for Inez McComas.  I will be archiving and updating the 160 Project. And of course working on my DMA.  I am extremely optimistic about this work and I look forward to presenting it to the world.

Last Week in Aspen and a Little Humor

The Aspen Music Festival and School has been a brass players wet dream with monumental works on virtually every concert.  The season has boasted four Mahler symphonies, Firebird, Rite of Spring, Pictures are an Exhibition, three Shostakovich symphonies, The Planets, Falstaff, West Side Story and a smorgasbord of Prokofiev writings. To top it all off the festivals theme of "Art Inspires Art" has lead to a number of Shakespeare interpretations.  The result has been an incredibly excited brass studio teetering on the edge of exhaustion.   This final week is no exception with the run of West Side Story, a program consisting entirely of Shostakovich pieces, and the epic Second Symphony of Mahler.

In a summer like this, humor is important.  There are awesome pieces of music with humor at their core.  One of my favorite being Strauss' Till Eulenspiegel.  However a friend of mine, Jason Stoll, introduced me to Dohnanyi.  Below is a variation set of a very familiar theme.  After you hit play you have three minutes to figure it out.  If you cannot, I guarantee you will die laughing.

Warren Deck Teaser

Warren Deck gave a 45 minute interview about his career for the Discovering a Classical Musician Project.  Warren's interview was incredible and covered topics from school, orchestra, working with composers, and working through injuries.  I cannot thank Warren enough for participating in the project.

Russians and Romeo

This is a huge week at the Aspen Music Festival and School.  Rehearsals are under way for two adaptations of Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet. The opera company is performing Bernstein's West Side Story and the Santa Fe Ballet will be performing Prokofiev's Romeo and Juliet.  And to top it off, I will be playing in the pit for both performances!

The Ballet will be performed Monday August 8th
The Opera will be performed August 18th and 20th.

If this epic tragedy is not enough for you emo kids about there, this week in low brass class we will be covering Shostakovich's Seventh Symphony.  The work represents the sedge of Leningrad during the second world war.  This oppressive work is scored for two trombone sections and is one of the loudest piece in the repertoire.

Awkward Daddy-o

In the last few days, I have come across some incredibly awkward moments in film and awkward sites on the web.  The family I am staying with was kind enough to introduce in to awkwardfamilyphotos.com.  The site is hilarious and sometimes boarders on the extreme.  However, there is a site dedicated to Awkward Classical Music Photos.

Ram-a-lama-ding-dong.

I am slated to play the last "opera" here at Aspen, West Side Story.  In preparation for the show I have been watching the DVD.  The movie does not follow the correct order of the show and opens up a lot of solos to cover for the extended dance sequences.  Add on the bad recording quality and following the book is pretty  difficult.  However, there are incredible uses of slang throughout the show.  I need your help to bring back....

Daddy-o

and

Ram-a-lama-ding-dong.

The shows are August 18th and 20th with a benefit on the 16th.  I hope to see you there!