WEBVTT 00:00:01.070 --> 00:00:28.179 you Hi there, welcome to Notes from the Stage, 00:00:28.300 --> 00:00:30.219 a show from the musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic. 00:00:30.399 --> 00:00:31.960 We're the people playing our hearts out every 00:00:31.960 --> 00:00:34.840 week of the orchestra season. I'm Adam Zinatelli. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:36.740 Usually I play first trumpet in the Calgary Phil, 00:00:36.740 --> 00:00:38.679 but today I'm your host and I'm here with Matt 00:00:38.679 --> 00:00:40.600 Heller, bassist in the orchestra. Hi, Matt, how 00:00:40.600 --> 00:00:43.259 are you? I'm great. Great to be here with you, 00:00:43.259 --> 00:00:46.280 Adam. Yeah, thanks for making the time. You know, 00:00:46.280 --> 00:00:49.960 we're back to work now. We're all facing the 00:00:49.960 --> 00:00:52.479 realities of our schedule again, and it's nice 00:00:52.479 --> 00:00:54.640 to make time to sit down and have a chat instead 00:00:54.640 --> 00:00:56.719 of... looking at all these new folders coming 00:00:56.719 --> 00:00:59.759 in and, you know, back on the rehearsal schedule 00:00:59.759 --> 00:01:02.420 that we've got. And I have to say, Adam, I am 00:01:02.420 --> 00:01:05.980 very much admiring your practice and recording 00:01:05.980 --> 00:01:08.659 studio. This is a lovely space. Oh, thank you. 00:01:08.739 --> 00:01:11.439 Yes, we're recording in my home trumpet room, 00:01:11.840 --> 00:01:14.540 which I've somehow managed to also wrangle into 00:01:14.540 --> 00:01:18.730 a temporary podcast situation here. and it is 00:01:18.730 --> 00:01:22.189 the situation that we are all balancing several 00:01:22.189 --> 00:01:25.829 folders now on our on our music stands and doing 00:01:25.829 --> 00:01:28.870 triage on what needs the most attention but the 00:01:28.870 --> 00:01:31.349 programs once the fall starts they come fast 00:01:31.349 --> 00:01:32.989 and furious yeah you know actually this is a 00:01:32.989 --> 00:01:35.310 good thing to maybe mention like when when do 00:01:35.310 --> 00:01:37.810 we get our music for things i mean this is something 00:01:37.810 --> 00:01:39.750 that for a general audience they might not know 00:01:39.750 --> 00:01:42.409 this so let's say it's the beginning of the orchestra 00:01:42.409 --> 00:01:45.489 season great you know when do we know what we're 00:01:45.489 --> 00:01:48.599 going to be playing And when do we actually have 00:01:48.599 --> 00:01:50.840 access to the music for that so that we can start 00:01:50.840 --> 00:01:53.900 preparing? It might be a little different for 00:01:53.900 --> 00:01:56.700 you actually. I know in the past I've had this 00:01:56.700 --> 00:01:59.700 conversation with you and as the principal trumpet 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:03.219 you've gotten things that are from the end of 00:02:03.219 --> 00:02:06.579 the season. For string players we kind of take 00:02:06.579 --> 00:02:11.240 things, we go with the flow and as soon as they're 00:02:11.240 --> 00:02:15.219 bowed they get out to us usually three weeks 00:02:15.219 --> 00:02:18.659 or so before we're going to perform them okay 00:02:18.659 --> 00:02:21.680 yeah and for more information on the boeing process 00:02:21.680 --> 00:02:23.819 see episode one of this podcast where i talk 00:02:23.819 --> 00:02:26.659 to diana cohen i am glad you got into boeing's 00:02:26.659 --> 00:02:29.439 because this is our obsession playing players 00:02:29.439 --> 00:02:33.150 in boeing's yes we think about it a lot. Yeah 00:02:33.150 --> 00:02:35.930 where is for us the in the winds and brass where 00:02:35.930 --> 00:02:38.310 is just one player on a part you know the part 00:02:38.310 --> 00:02:40.310 is the part doesn't have to be prepared for us 00:02:40.310 --> 00:02:44.210 before we can start working on it yeah so depending 00:02:44.210 --> 00:02:46.030 on the music right if we're playing you know 00:02:46.030 --> 00:02:48.409 beidhoven symphony or something like that if 00:02:48.409 --> 00:02:49.949 it's something we have to practice well in advance 00:02:49.949 --> 00:02:52.150 we can get those parts you know anytime we've 00:02:52.150 --> 00:02:54.810 also got them a lot of the republic domain for 00:02:54.810 --> 00:02:56.870 something like beidhoven for example. But if 00:02:56.870 --> 00:02:58.849 it's something a little more off the beaten path 00:02:58.849 --> 00:03:02.629 or something brand new or something more popsy, 00:03:03.009 --> 00:03:05.189 usually those folders roll in about two weeks 00:03:05.189 --> 00:03:07.729 before the rehearsal starts. So sometimes we're 00:03:07.729 --> 00:03:10.370 quite limited in our time to prepare. It can 00:03:10.370 --> 00:03:14.030 be. Yeah, there are certain pieces that I really 00:03:14.030 --> 00:03:16.810 want to start working on as soon as I possibly 00:03:16.810 --> 00:03:21.349 can. And I've I've always looked to you as someone 00:03:21.349 --> 00:03:25.629 who's quite proactive, actually, and in. Seeking 00:03:25.629 --> 00:03:28.050 out what you need to seek out and getting those 00:03:28.050 --> 00:03:31.870 those parts. So yeah, you're my model. Oh, thanks, 00:03:31.990 --> 00:03:33.830 Matt. Yeah, for me, like, you know, there are 00:03:33.830 --> 00:03:35.629 things that I really do have to prepare in advance 00:03:35.629 --> 00:03:38.430 and I, you know, really go deep on. But a lot 00:03:38.430 --> 00:03:40.849 of the things are a bit like, you know, in auto 00:03:40.849 --> 00:03:43.889 manufacturing, how there's this idea and probably 00:03:43.889 --> 00:03:45.370 other sorts of manufacturing as well. There's 00:03:45.370 --> 00:03:48.629 this idea of on demand delivery where like shipments 00:03:48.629 --> 00:03:51.289 of parts come to the factory, like right when 00:03:51.289 --> 00:03:53.509 they're required to go on the assembly line. 00:03:53.680 --> 00:03:56.099 That way there are no warehouses, there's no 00:03:56.099 --> 00:03:59.379 storage. You don't have all those fees and all 00:03:59.379 --> 00:04:03.180 that overhead. But it does mean that things arriving 00:04:03.180 --> 00:04:06.740 at the set time is of mission -critical importance. 00:04:07.180 --> 00:04:09.719 That feels like such a good analogy for the orchestra 00:04:09.719 --> 00:04:13.300 because we are booked for these rehearsals and 00:04:13.300 --> 00:04:16.439 we have exactly the amount of time that we'll 00:04:16.439 --> 00:04:21.079 need and nothing can go wrong. No one can have... 00:04:20.920 --> 00:04:24.199 a wrong key of the part on their stand because 00:04:24.199 --> 00:04:27.579 then the whole machine falls apart. So it is 00:04:27.579 --> 00:04:31.660 very much a situation of everything falling into 00:04:31.660 --> 00:04:33.759 place perfectly. Yeah. Yeah. Sometimes you have 00:04:33.759 --> 00:04:36.360 to be an expert at music. That's a lifelong project. 00:04:36.379 --> 00:04:38.660 And sometimes you have to be an expert at music 00:04:38.660 --> 00:04:41.019 that you have to be great at for three days of 00:04:41.019 --> 00:04:44.259 your life. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So, Matt, you were 00:04:44.259 --> 00:04:47.019 busy this summer. You know, some people take 00:04:47.019 --> 00:04:49.180 big vacations when they're when we're off for 00:04:49.180 --> 00:04:51.649 the summer. I mean, travel vacations or just 00:04:51.649 --> 00:04:53.470 some time off their instruments. Some people 00:04:53.470 --> 00:04:55.449 are working pretty hard and you know we all have 00:04:55.449 --> 00:04:58.290 sort of a degree of discretion of how we're going 00:04:58.290 --> 00:05:01.730 to use our time but you have a summer gig. I 00:05:01.730 --> 00:05:06.230 do yeah I'm one of two members of our orchestra 00:05:06.230 --> 00:05:10.170 who are part of the colorado music festival the 00:05:10.170 --> 00:05:12.930 other one being david morris right david morrisy 00:05:12.930 --> 00:05:15.430 tell us is in the orchestra he's been in the 00:05:15.430 --> 00:05:18.629 orchestra a little longer than i have in colorado 00:05:18.629 --> 00:05:23.430 yes he started the gig in it's in boulder colorado 00:05:23.430 --> 00:05:26.790 and he started the gig maybe one or two years 00:05:26.790 --> 00:05:30.600 before i did. I joined the Calgary Philharmonic 00:05:30.600 --> 00:05:38.399 in 2007, and you were class of 2009? 2008, I 00:05:38.399 --> 00:05:40.920 won my audition. I started in 2009. I remember 00:05:40.920 --> 00:05:43.579 that audition, though, because it was late. They 00:05:43.579 --> 00:05:46.019 started late. I was taking a red eye home that 00:05:46.019 --> 00:05:48.339 night. And I was, you know, I was just, you know, 00:05:48.480 --> 00:05:50.120 vibrating with energy having won this audition. 00:05:50.199 --> 00:05:52.550 And I was in. in the line to board the plane, 00:05:52.870 --> 00:05:54.449 and I had a trumpet case on my back. And this 00:05:54.449 --> 00:05:57.089 guy says, hey, did you take the trumpet audition? 00:05:57.149 --> 00:06:00.449 I was like, yes, I did. He said, oh, I took the 00:06:00.449 --> 00:06:03.730 cello audition. And he said, how did you do? 00:06:03.810 --> 00:06:06.730 And I said, I won. How did you do? He said, I 00:06:06.730 --> 00:06:11.029 also won. Wow. It was it was big fun. Big fun. 00:06:11.149 --> 00:06:14.250 We both felt pretty pretty good that day. I actually 00:06:14.250 --> 00:06:17.449 have an airplane story after I won my audition, 00:06:17.689 --> 00:06:22.449 too, because I flew I was living in Miami Beach 00:06:22.449 --> 00:06:25.990 at the time and I flew back through Houston and 00:06:25.990 --> 00:06:29.949 the guy in the row behind me, this seems like 00:06:29.949 --> 00:06:32.529 an unbelievable coincidence, the guy in the row 00:06:32.529 --> 00:06:37.069 behind me was our former principal trumpet, guy 00:06:37.069 --> 00:06:39.870 named Howard Angstrom, and he was flying to Houston. 00:06:39.870 --> 00:06:42.170 Oh, that's so funny. On my same flight. Yeah, 00:06:42.170 --> 00:06:44.529 he's from, that's his hometown. I got to meet 00:06:44.529 --> 00:06:49.100 Howard, really, really sweet guy, and it would 00:06:49.100 --> 00:06:51.180 have been incredibly awkward if I had not won 00:06:51.180 --> 00:06:54.100 the audition. I think I was thinking that at 00:06:54.100 --> 00:06:56.439 the time, I was like, I'm really glad I won this 00:06:56.439 --> 00:06:59.300 audition because if I had not, I would have just 00:06:59.300 --> 00:07:02.000 pretended I was just like going to Calgary just 00:07:02.000 --> 00:07:03.980 to see the mountains. I would be like, yeah, 00:07:04.180 --> 00:07:07.360 I'm up from Miami Beach, not here for the orchestra, 00:07:07.620 --> 00:07:09.819 just doing a thing. No, definitely not. You know, 00:07:09.860 --> 00:07:12.000 I mean, this sort of brings another question 00:07:12.000 --> 00:07:13.660 to mind though, right? Like I play the trumpet, 00:07:14.100 --> 00:07:15.819 a smallish instrument, and sometimes we have 00:07:15.819 --> 00:07:18.620 to travel with, you know, a small herd of them, 00:07:18.680 --> 00:07:21.199 which becomes a challenge. But, you know, usually 00:07:21.199 --> 00:07:23.439 we can travel and put in the overhead compartment 00:07:23.439 --> 00:07:25.959 when you're flying with a double base. Like, 00:07:26.040 --> 00:07:29.680 what is involved with that? That has to be immensely 00:07:29.680 --> 00:07:34.379 stressful. Yes, my wife refers to it as the coffin. 00:07:34.939 --> 00:07:39.079 The coffin has a space in our garage at the moment. 00:07:39.379 --> 00:07:42.379 I haven't used the coffin in a while, but it's 00:07:42.379 --> 00:07:50.610 a big fiberglass white hard case. It does a beautiful 00:07:50.610 --> 00:07:54.310 job of protecting the instrument from stuff falling 00:07:54.310 --> 00:07:59.089 on it. So you can put it in the hold, it goes 00:07:59.089 --> 00:08:01.829 in the hold of the airplane, and pile as many 00:08:01.829 --> 00:08:05.129 suitcases on top of it as you want. You cannot 00:08:05.129 --> 00:08:10.269 drop it. It is not built to withstand drops from 00:08:10.269 --> 00:08:15.019 a height. I won't go into the story, but that 00:08:15.019 --> 00:08:18.860 does happen and it's not pretty. Yeah. And just 00:08:18.860 --> 00:08:21.699 point of reference, I think that a double bass 00:08:21.699 --> 00:08:24.620 is visible in a mirror. I think it's probably 00:08:24.620 --> 00:08:27.040 indifferent to garlic, but probably keep it away 00:08:27.040 --> 00:08:31.500 from running water. I haven't taken an audition 00:08:31.500 --> 00:08:35.230 in quite some time, but. Everyone I know and 00:08:35.230 --> 00:08:38.029 people who are on the circuit, who are taking 00:08:38.029 --> 00:08:41.230 auditions, do everything in their power to avoid 00:08:41.230 --> 00:08:44.529 being on flights. It's just, as I think is the 00:08:44.529 --> 00:08:47.590 case with flying without a double base, things 00:08:47.590 --> 00:08:50.850 were bad and things have somehow gotten worse. 00:08:52.110 --> 00:08:55.730 So flying with a double base was never fun. It 00:08:55.730 --> 00:08:59.389 has become steadily less fun. So people with 00:08:59.389 --> 00:09:02.350 bases... Put a lot of miles on their car and 00:09:02.350 --> 00:09:05.750 I as well playing in this festival in Boulder. 00:09:06.029 --> 00:09:10.210 I have gotten really well versed in the the route 00:09:10.210 --> 00:09:13.250 down to Boulder, Colorado. It's I know all the 00:09:13.250 --> 00:09:15.690 turns at this point. Yeah, I started doing that 00:09:15.690 --> 00:09:19.590 festival in 2015 and the very first time I actually 00:09:19.590 --> 00:09:23.870 did fly and then never again. So driving down, 00:09:23.909 --> 00:09:26.870 it's a beautiful drive. Boulder is a wonderful 00:09:26.870 --> 00:09:30.100 city. It's. it's in the foothills of the Rockies, 00:09:30.159 --> 00:09:34.379 the same as Calgary. But as I guess I'd say, 00:09:35.139 --> 00:09:37.620 similar to the orchestra, it's like kind of a 00:09:37.620 --> 00:09:39.399 parallel universe. And it's one of the things 00:09:39.399 --> 00:09:42.919 I love about that orchestra is I get to experience 00:09:42.919 --> 00:09:45.620 a different orchestra culture, a different group 00:09:45.620 --> 00:09:50.039 of people. You know, it's really cool how the 00:09:50.039 --> 00:09:52.360 personalities of an orchestra, you know, you 00:09:52.360 --> 00:09:54.500 don't stop and think of it. We're playing the 00:09:54.500 --> 00:09:56.840 same music by the same composers all the time, 00:09:56.879 --> 00:10:00.840 but the people around you on stage from the conductor 00:10:00.840 --> 00:10:03.679 to the principal trumpet player to a section 00:10:03.679 --> 00:10:06.940 string player can really influence the experience 00:10:06.940 --> 00:10:09.559 that we all have. And I think ultimately the 00:10:09.559 --> 00:10:11.720 experience that the audience has. You're absolutely 00:10:11.720 --> 00:10:14.879 right. Yeah. There have been some exciting developments 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:19.720 recently at CMF as well, right? Yeah. And I was 00:10:19.720 --> 00:10:22.559 just this past year, I was my first year being 00:10:22.559 --> 00:10:25.659 part of the orchestra committee. So do do do 00:10:25.659 --> 00:10:28.679 do tell tell the audience what what is the orchestra 00:10:28.679 --> 00:10:31.559 committee what do they do what is the orchestra 00:10:31.559 --> 00:10:34.879 committee experience like yeah orchestra committees 00:10:34.879 --> 00:10:38.039 almost all orchestras have them we're not in 00:10:38.039 --> 00:10:41.139 the brochure we don't you know get our names 00:10:41.139 --> 00:10:43.740 up on the awning or anything but it's a group 00:10:43.740 --> 00:10:46.000 of people from the orchestra it can be section 00:10:46.000 --> 00:10:50.100 string players principals whomever and they're 00:10:50.100 --> 00:10:52.539 they're elected by the the body of the orchestra 00:10:52.539 --> 00:10:54.960 right yeah and the orchestra by the players in 00:10:54.960 --> 00:10:57.600 the orchestra i should be clear exactly the orchestra 00:10:57.600 --> 00:11:00.519 elects these people they've decided you know 00:11:00.519 --> 00:11:03.379 these are the colleagues who kind of know what's 00:11:03.379 --> 00:11:07.700 what can represent everyone pretty well and it 00:11:07.700 --> 00:11:10.179 can be a challenge to represent everyone really 00:11:10.179 --> 00:11:13.940 well to be honest you know we're 66 musicians 00:11:13.940 --> 00:11:17.240 in the calgary fill give or take depending on 00:11:17.240 --> 00:11:22.169 vacancies um And 66 people can have a lot of 00:11:22.169 --> 00:11:25.629 opinions. But that's the role of the orchestra 00:11:25.629 --> 00:11:29.389 committee is to try and synthesize or filter 00:11:29.389 --> 00:11:33.629 or come up with what the consensus view and really 00:11:33.629 --> 00:11:36.129 represent those things to our administration, 00:11:36.269 --> 00:11:39.669 to the people upstairs. And in this case, Colorado 00:11:39.669 --> 00:11:42.950 Music Festival, this was a really exciting time 00:11:42.950 --> 00:11:45.110 to be on the orchestra committee because we were 00:11:45.110 --> 00:11:49.559 also negotiating the first ever and you can stop 00:11:49.559 --> 00:11:52.980 me and ask what this is, but the first ever collective 00:11:52.980 --> 00:11:57.539 bargaining agreement. What's that? A collective 00:11:57.539 --> 00:12:01.940 bargaining agreement is the document that captures 00:12:01.940 --> 00:12:05.659 all the rules and the working conditions. It 00:12:05.659 --> 00:12:09.490 also captures the pay scales and a lot of that 00:12:09.490 --> 00:12:12.769 information for what happens if we go into overtime. 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:16.250 If that rehearsal doesn't run absolutely perfectly 00:12:16.250 --> 00:12:18.769 and according to plan, what happens then? What 00:12:18.769 --> 00:12:21.629 are the work rules around when we can be scheduled? 00:12:21.909 --> 00:12:24.909 There's all kinds of things that go into collective 00:12:24.909 --> 00:12:27.230 bargaining. One of the most important things 00:12:27.230 --> 00:12:30.990 actually is hiring, hiring musicians and how 00:12:30.990 --> 00:12:33.610 we retain musicians through the tenure process. 00:12:33.929 --> 00:12:35.450 Yeah, that's really important stuff. And it's 00:12:35.450 --> 00:12:38.529 very much sort of in the orchestra consciousness 00:12:38.529 --> 00:12:42.330 these days as we become more aware of what are 00:12:42.330 --> 00:12:45.169 and are not good ways to do things. It's it's 00:12:45.169 --> 00:12:48.620 really true. And I think. Even over the course 00:12:48.620 --> 00:12:50.679 of this summer, I've had some really interesting 00:12:50.679 --> 00:12:53.279 conversations about what we can do better with 00:12:53.279 --> 00:12:56.639 the 10 year process and the hiring process. Well, 00:12:56.720 --> 00:12:59.899 that's a whole other big subject, but working 00:12:59.899 --> 00:13:02.240 on this new collective bargaining agreement, 00:13:02.720 --> 00:13:05.419 which the Colorado Music Festival has been in 00:13:05.419 --> 00:13:10.179 existence for 48 years. Wow, this was this was 00:13:10.179 --> 00:13:14.200 48th season and actually one of the. One of the 00:13:14.200 --> 00:13:16.759 people who founded the festival, a guy named 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:20.600 Chris Broccoli, was there. He's in his 90s and 00:13:20.600 --> 00:13:24.340 we celebrated his birthday. So really cool history, 00:13:24.539 --> 00:13:29.200 really cool place. But until now, until just 00:13:29.200 --> 00:13:32.799 this past year, there was no union representation, 00:13:33.139 --> 00:13:37.399 which was also part of this process, was to actually 00:13:37.399 --> 00:13:43.610 affiliate a local union and to have someone as 00:13:43.610 --> 00:13:47.450 part of that be our representative in the bargaining 00:13:47.450 --> 00:13:50.610 process. So I got to be on that committee. We 00:13:50.610 --> 00:13:53.110 were on a lot of Zoom meetings. We had a lot 00:13:53.110 --> 00:13:55.990 of, for orchestra players anyway, really interesting 00:13:55.990 --> 00:13:59.529 discussions about what we wanted for this orchestra, 00:13:59.710 --> 00:14:03.929 how we wanted this orchestra to, you know, what 00:14:03.929 --> 00:14:07.309 kind of workplace we wanted it to be. And I think 00:14:07.309 --> 00:14:10.519 we got a lot of really good things done. just 00:14:10.519 --> 00:14:13.980 in a lot of the bargaining process was just capturing 00:14:13.980 --> 00:14:18.360 what had been done before how already some things 00:14:18.360 --> 00:14:20.700 had been decided and there were precedents for 00:14:20.700 --> 00:14:23.500 how rehearsals would would run and things like 00:14:23.500 --> 00:14:27.899 that so just capturing them in language and also 00:14:27.899 --> 00:14:30.799 working on some areas that maybe we weren't entirely 00:14:30.799 --> 00:14:34.000 satisfied with sure sure so we here in the cpo 00:14:34.000 --> 00:14:37.039 are also union members we're unionized orchestra 00:14:37.039 --> 00:14:38.740 we're members of the american federation of musicians 00:14:38.740 --> 00:14:41.750 we have our own chapter here. And you, Matt, 00:14:41.870 --> 00:14:45.070 are currently the president. Yes, I've been the 00:14:45.070 --> 00:14:47.889 president of the Calgary Musicians Association 00:14:47.889 --> 00:14:52.269 since January of this year of 2024. And previous 00:14:52.269 --> 00:14:55.649 to that, I've been in different roles with the 00:14:55.649 --> 00:15:01.009 local union. It's local 547 for anyone who's 00:15:01.009 --> 00:15:04.149 keeping score. I've been part of our negotiations, 00:15:04.309 --> 00:15:08.309 which we do every three years or so, sometimes 00:15:08.570 --> 00:15:12.710 it can vary depending on what the needs and the 00:15:12.710 --> 00:15:15.789 contract are. But we have a tradition of three 00:15:15.789 --> 00:15:19.210 -year agreements in our orchestra, and there's 00:15:19.210 --> 00:15:21.629 something nice about that length, just to be 00:15:21.629 --> 00:15:24.629 able to have a length of time just long enough 00:15:24.629 --> 00:15:28.389 to plan and not too long so that everything can 00:15:28.389 --> 00:15:31.590 change. Yeah, yeah. Well, you know, Matt, I think 00:15:31.590 --> 00:15:33.769 I speak for all the members of the orchestra 00:15:33.769 --> 00:15:36.389 and other musicians in town who are, you know, 00:15:36.529 --> 00:15:39.279 members of the union to say thank you. for your 00:15:39.279 --> 00:15:42.940 work representing us and looking out for the 00:15:42.940 --> 00:15:45.320 musicians of this city so that we can do what 00:15:45.320 --> 00:15:49.419 we do. Oh, well, you're welcome. And I mean, 00:15:49.559 --> 00:15:53.100 it's an honor. It's really an honor to be able 00:15:53.100 --> 00:15:56.840 to represent and to fill a role like this, because 00:15:56.840 --> 00:16:00.200 we have so many musicians from different communities 00:16:00.200 --> 00:16:05.480 in our local, a little bit over 600 members of 00:16:05.480 --> 00:16:08.919 the local and I don't know how many musicians 00:16:08.919 --> 00:16:11.019 we have in Calgary, but it's a bigger number 00:16:11.019 --> 00:16:15.740 than that. And it feels like we're in a special 00:16:15.740 --> 00:16:18.899 place and we have a special role and purpose. 00:16:20.039 --> 00:16:22.700 Well, Matt, I know that when you're not practicing 00:16:22.700 --> 00:16:25.620 or performing or working behind the scenes for 00:16:25.620 --> 00:16:28.120 the musicians of this city and the musicians 00:16:28.120 --> 00:16:30.860 of CMF, I know that one thing you like to do 00:16:30.860 --> 00:16:35.000 is host play readings. Yes, actually, we had 00:16:35.000 --> 00:16:38.700 a play reading beginning of the summer. You and 00:16:38.700 --> 00:16:41.940 Catherine were over and we read the play The 00:16:41.940 --> 00:16:45.779 Importance of Being Earnest by Oscar Wilde. Actually, 00:16:46.460 --> 00:16:50.600 my parents were also in town and it was at least 00:16:50.600 --> 00:16:54.019 in part it was in honor of my dad's name is Ernest. 00:16:54.220 --> 00:16:58.659 He'd never read the play though and it's a funny 00:16:58.659 --> 00:17:02.840 sort of play because Very tongue -in -cheek the 00:17:02.840 --> 00:17:05.759 whole way and there's several characters. Well 00:17:05.759 --> 00:17:08.779 a couple characters Anyway, whose names are not 00:17:08.779 --> 00:17:11.200 earnest or at least they don't think they are. 00:17:11.200 --> 00:17:14.619 Yeah But they find it convenient to be named 00:17:14.619 --> 00:17:18.779 earnest at least to some it's really a play a 00:17:18.779 --> 00:17:22.759 lot about how we switch in different In different 00:17:22.759 --> 00:17:24.880 roles in our lives in different relationships 00:17:24.880 --> 00:17:28.430 and how we we can find it useful to our purposes 00:17:28.430 --> 00:17:30.529 to be different people in different settings. 00:17:31.569 --> 00:17:32.710 That's right. And, you know, at those readings, 00:17:32.710 --> 00:17:35.029 you know, I'm always excited when I get an invitation, 00:17:35.069 --> 00:17:38.309 but there are a few other familiar faces to long 00:17:38.309 --> 00:17:41.869 time CPO attendees that they might recognize 00:17:41.869 --> 00:17:43.609 that those who else who else tends to come to 00:17:43.609 --> 00:17:47.009 those Jeffrey Plotnick, formerly our principal 00:17:47.009 --> 00:17:49.710 second violinist. He makes a wonderful Malvolio. 00:17:50.359 --> 00:17:53.779 And he loves reading. Oh, it is such a delight 00:17:53.779 --> 00:17:57.579 to get him started. He actually hosted his own 00:17:57.579 --> 00:18:01.759 play reading not too long ago as well. His wife, 00:18:01.920 --> 00:18:05.559 Teresa, is also a beautiful actress, wonderful 00:18:05.559 --> 00:18:08.660 guest in one of these things. Our former principal 00:18:08.660 --> 00:18:14.619 violist, John Thompson, who's English, and he's 00:18:14.619 --> 00:18:20.019 great. His partner, Pippa Fitzgerald Finch, our 00:18:20.019 --> 00:18:21.759 principal flutist. It's sounding like all our 00:18:21.759 --> 00:18:23.380 former principals, our retired principals. Yeah, 00:18:23.460 --> 00:18:26.240 retired. It's sounding like all our retired principals 00:18:26.240 --> 00:18:28.900 just spend all their days play reading. I'm sure 00:18:28.900 --> 00:18:31.359 that's not the case, but I don't know. You kind 00:18:31.359 --> 00:18:32.880 of get that performing bug a little bit, and 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:35.839 it's fun. I can only imagine that when you're 00:18:35.839 --> 00:18:38.000 not doing it every week for work that you still 00:18:38.000 --> 00:18:40.839 want to do it sometimes for fun. Yeah, I first 00:18:40.839 --> 00:18:43.759 started doing these things or got switched on 00:18:43.759 --> 00:18:46.700 to these things when I was in school. I went 00:18:46.700 --> 00:18:50.410 to New England Conservatory in Boston and I had 00:18:50.410 --> 00:18:55.230 a solfege teacher named F. John Adams. One of 00:18:55.230 --> 00:18:58.470 the many people named John Adams in the musical 00:18:58.470 --> 00:19:00.809 community. That's right. But he would invite 00:19:00.809 --> 00:19:03.769 people over, his students, and we would read 00:19:03.769 --> 00:19:08.750 Greek tragedies. And the most pleasurable, enjoyable 00:19:08.750 --> 00:19:11.589 reading of a Greek tragedy I've ever been part 00:19:11.589 --> 00:19:14.750 of. And we would all, you know, As college student 00:19:14.750 --> 00:19:18.789 ages, you know, we were all in our early undergraduate 00:19:18.789 --> 00:19:22.750 years and just have a glass of wine and a wonderful 00:19:22.750 --> 00:19:27.529 conversation about endless topics. Yeah, I came 00:19:27.529 --> 00:19:30.789 away from having him as my solfège teacher. I 00:19:30.789 --> 00:19:34.750 like to think I improved my sight singing and 00:19:34.750 --> 00:19:38.390 my ear training and all that, but as as you do, 00:19:38.490 --> 00:19:41.589 I mostly just had a great time getting to know 00:19:41.589 --> 00:19:45.130 all these people and having wonderful conversations 00:19:45.130 --> 00:19:47.930 about music. But, Matt, your literary interests 00:19:47.930 --> 00:19:52.390 extend beyond the stage. I know that you particularly 00:19:52.390 --> 00:19:56.630 are an appreciator of Proust. Marcel Proust is 00:19:56.630 --> 00:20:00.730 my favorite author, and he has been my favorite 00:20:00.730 --> 00:20:04.160 author since probably those college days too. 00:20:04.559 --> 00:20:08.079 I probably attempted to read Swan's Way when 00:20:08.079 --> 00:20:12.220 I was in high school, but if you haven't, they're 00:20:12.220 --> 00:20:15.319 intimidating books. They're kind of doorstop 00:20:15.319 --> 00:20:21.720 books, and there are seven of them in the novel. 00:20:21.839 --> 00:20:25.000 The novel is translated as In Search of Lost 00:20:25.000 --> 00:20:29.009 Time often. It's a journey. It's like a life 00:20:29.009 --> 00:20:32.369 journey that you work your way through and you 00:20:32.369 --> 00:20:36.029 sometimes get lost and you sometimes feel a little 00:20:36.029 --> 00:20:40.690 alone. But Proust guides you through it and it's 00:20:40.690 --> 00:20:44.650 just wonderful. And there are passages and sentences 00:20:44.650 --> 00:20:46.990 that I think about all the time and I have to 00:20:46.990 --> 00:20:49.710 just race back to my bookshelf and find them. 00:20:49.910 --> 00:20:52.269 I don't read French, at least not very well, 00:20:52.289 --> 00:20:55.490 so I've never gotten to read it. in the original, 00:20:55.609 --> 00:20:59.029 but there are some beautiful translations. And 00:20:59.029 --> 00:21:01.769 it's one of those things that if you're a Proustian, 00:21:01.809 --> 00:21:04.329 if you're someone who loves Proust, you find 00:21:04.329 --> 00:21:08.150 your people, you find other Proustians. And you've 00:21:08.150 --> 00:21:10.630 read a bit of Proust, I know. I think I started 00:21:10.630 --> 00:21:14.210 Swan's Way at some point, but these days I have 00:21:14.210 --> 00:21:18.650 young children. So a large scale reading project 00:21:18.650 --> 00:21:22.609 like that seems, you know, beyond the scope of 00:21:22.609 --> 00:21:25.529 my calendar. That's okay. There will come a time. 00:21:25.690 --> 00:21:28.130 There will come a time. Maybe Bobby will want 00:21:28.130 --> 00:21:30.369 to read Proust at some point. Maybe. His French 00:21:30.369 --> 00:21:32.650 is already better than mine, so he can read it 00:21:32.650 --> 00:21:35.710 in the original. So Proust is known for A la 00:21:35.710 --> 00:21:37.730 recherche du temps perdu, but he's also known 00:21:37.730 --> 00:21:41.329 for having filled out a little survey at some 00:21:41.329 --> 00:21:43.950 point, you know, with something that you would 00:21:43.950 --> 00:21:45.730 do in a Paris salon. There would be a little 00:21:45.730 --> 00:21:47.930 book with questions and all guests would sort 00:21:47.930 --> 00:21:50.589 of make quick answers to those questions. And 00:21:50.589 --> 00:21:52.619 this sort of thing has come to be known as a 00:21:52.619 --> 00:21:54.720 Proust questionnaire. Yeah, and he was quite 00:21:54.720 --> 00:21:57.700 the bone. I mean, it's a funny thing about Proust 00:21:57.700 --> 00:22:01.900 is that he he spent most of his life procrastinating 00:22:01.900 --> 00:22:05.480 and putting off writing and just going to parties 00:22:05.480 --> 00:22:09.799 and being a social guy. And a lot of the novel 00:22:09.799 --> 00:22:13.059 is about that, about when will I ever get around 00:22:13.059 --> 00:22:16.140 to writing this book? Yeah, it's kind of the 00:22:16.140 --> 00:22:19.420 subtext of the novel is that he was something 00:22:19.420 --> 00:22:22.829 someone who as much as he wanted to be a writer, 00:22:22.930 --> 00:22:26.710 he would never get around to it until he did 00:22:26.710 --> 00:22:29.910 and he laid in his life. He didn't live a long 00:22:29.910 --> 00:22:33.410 life, unfortunately, but he wrote this huge, 00:22:33.430 --> 00:22:36.789 massive, and wonderful book. I think the funny 00:22:36.789 --> 00:22:39.009 thing about this questionnaire, too, is it wasn't 00:22:39.009 --> 00:22:43.650 only to Proust, but his answers to the questionnaire 00:22:43.650 --> 00:22:48.230 were so wonderful that he became so closely associated 00:22:48.230 --> 00:22:51.069 with the questionnaire that now it's called the 00:22:51.069 --> 00:22:53.029 Proust questionnaire. Matt, in honor of your 00:22:53.029 --> 00:22:55.150 love of Proust, I've got a little modified Proust 00:22:55.150 --> 00:22:58.190 questionnaire here for you. Oh, my gosh. That's 00:22:58.190 --> 00:22:59.730 wonderful. And very much in the spirit of that, 00:22:59.730 --> 00:23:01.609 you know, if you want to expound at length on 00:23:01.609 --> 00:23:03.750 any of these, that's great. But a one sentence 00:23:03.750 --> 00:23:07.289 answer is sort of in the spirit of the of the 00:23:07.289 --> 00:23:10.369 tradition here. So let's see. Where shall we 00:23:10.369 --> 00:23:15.349 start? What is your favorite music to play? I 00:23:15.349 --> 00:23:18.490 would say this is a tough one for any orchestra 00:23:18.490 --> 00:23:22.609 musician. I'm going to say Hector Berlioz's Symphony 00:23:22.609 --> 00:23:25.829 Fantastique. Maybe I'm just in the French mode 00:23:25.829 --> 00:23:29.230 right now, but it's such a wonderful, characterful 00:23:29.230 --> 00:23:34.470 piece. So many great, memorable passages and 00:23:34.470 --> 00:23:36.069 characters, yeah. Yeah, Symphony Fantastique 00:23:36.069 --> 00:23:38.230 is an amazing piece and it's got, you know, it's 00:23:38.230 --> 00:23:40.049 a lot of fun for me to play as well. But boy, 00:23:40.190 --> 00:23:41.789 you know, I'm always shocked every time we play 00:23:41.789 --> 00:23:45.339 it. Not only was it like a graduation piece for 00:23:45.339 --> 00:23:47.579 him when he was so young, but also it was written, 00:23:47.660 --> 00:23:49.839 I think, nine or ten years after Beethoven nine. 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:52.859 Like they're so close in time in a way that always 00:23:52.859 --> 00:23:56.299 shocks me. OK, what is your favorite music to 00:23:56.299 --> 00:24:02.619 listen to? Right now, I've been very into tango 00:24:02.619 --> 00:24:08.140 music, Piazzolla, so I'm really just loving that 00:24:08.140 --> 00:24:13.029 whole mood and that whole. drama of the tango. 00:24:13.430 --> 00:24:17.009 I'm not a dancer, but I also love watching people 00:24:17.009 --> 00:24:20.349 dance, and yeah, tango music is something that 00:24:20.349 --> 00:24:22.690 I've been very into lately. Great, that's very 00:24:22.690 --> 00:24:25.529 interesting. Okay, what is your favorite opera? 00:24:26.809 --> 00:24:33.890 Oh, I'm going to pick... These are such challenging 00:24:33.890 --> 00:24:36.269 questions for an orchestral musician because 00:24:36.269 --> 00:24:39.220 it's like, what am I playing right now? thinking 00:24:39.220 --> 00:24:42.059 about right now and what are the wonderful things 00:24:42.059 --> 00:24:44.339 that I've thought about and played in the past. 00:24:44.740 --> 00:24:47.900 But the opera that I think sticks with me the 00:24:47.900 --> 00:24:51.700 most is Der Rosenkavalier by Richard Strauss. 00:24:51.799 --> 00:24:56.039 It's very special. I love the character of the 00:24:56.039 --> 00:24:59.400 marshalling and the journey that that opera takes 00:24:59.400 --> 00:25:02.700 us through is wonderful. The trio at the end, 00:25:02.839 --> 00:25:05.180 that moment of apotheosis is such special, special 00:25:05.180 --> 00:25:07.839 music. Even when you just play the orchestral 00:25:07.839 --> 00:25:10.559 suite, when you get to that point, it's such 00:25:10.559 --> 00:25:13.490 magic. really in the opera when you go through 00:25:13.490 --> 00:25:15.450 this four -hour journey and then you get to this 00:25:15.450 --> 00:25:19.410 like exquisite exquisite music. It's a real experience. 00:25:19.569 --> 00:25:21.829 I can still remember the first time I heard that 00:25:21.829 --> 00:25:25.089 music of the trio at the end of the opera and 00:25:25.089 --> 00:25:29.130 just my jaw dropping and just I did not know 00:25:29.130 --> 00:25:35.029 music could be that otherworldly. What is your 00:25:35.029 --> 00:25:39.019 favorite cafe or restaurant in Calgary? Favorite 00:25:39.019 --> 00:25:42.539 cafe, I'm going to say Higher Ground in Kensington 00:25:42.539 --> 00:25:46.119 just because I lived a block away from that place 00:25:46.119 --> 00:25:48.859 and it was just such a wonderful meeting spot. 00:25:49.200 --> 00:25:53.180 It was my version of a Proustian salon where 00:25:53.180 --> 00:25:55.819 you could always go and you could always find 00:25:55.819 --> 00:25:58.299 someone you knew. Okay, and last question for 00:25:58.299 --> 00:26:00.960 you here, Matt. Who's someone in the orchestra 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:04.839 who's playing you admire? I'm going to say... 00:26:05.049 --> 00:26:08.470 Our principal viola, his name is Laurent Grier 00:26:08.470 --> 00:26:13.430 Kim, and I think he's such a dynamic player. 00:26:13.549 --> 00:26:18.470 He has so many great musical ideas, and it's 00:26:18.470 --> 00:26:21.930 a really cool thing when there's a prominent 00:26:21.930 --> 00:26:24.849 viola solo. It doesn't happen that often. Maybe 00:26:24.849 --> 00:26:27.450 it happens a little more often than a double 00:26:27.450 --> 00:26:31.440 bass solo, but... I always really look forward 00:26:31.440 --> 00:26:35.819 to getting to hear Laurent play a solo. And I 00:26:35.819 --> 00:26:40.099 also just really admire the way he leads the 00:26:40.099 --> 00:26:43.640 section. So go with Laurent. Fantastic. No, I 00:26:43.640 --> 00:26:46.660 agree. He's a great player. And I think to a 00:26:46.660 --> 00:26:49.640 lay person, it's very non -obvious sort of the 00:26:49.640 --> 00:26:52.190 influence that. you know the principal viola 00:26:52.190 --> 00:26:54.089 or the viola section can have on the orchestra 00:26:54.089 --> 00:26:56.230 because they play such a supporting role almost 00:26:56.230 --> 00:26:59.109 all the time the influence they can have on the 00:26:59.109 --> 00:27:01.910 whole ensemble and the way things feel and the 00:27:01.910 --> 00:27:04.809 way things uh how colorful things are in the 00:27:04.809 --> 00:27:07.589 orchestra they are much more of an influence 00:27:07.589 --> 00:27:10.710 on the whole group than than i think immediately 00:27:10.710 --> 00:27:14.109 meets the eye yeah and it's something i've been 00:27:14.109 --> 00:27:17.009 thinking about a lot lately the nature of leadership 00:27:17.009 --> 00:27:20.359 in the orchestra and how we're able to hand things 00:27:20.359 --> 00:27:23.779 off, you know, as a big chamber ensemble. And 00:27:23.779 --> 00:27:26.900 I love players like that who, you know, he's 00:27:26.900 --> 00:27:29.619 not leading my section, but I still look to him 00:27:29.619 --> 00:27:33.220 and I still find direction and inspiration in 00:27:33.220 --> 00:27:36.539 the way he plays things. And I think that's true 00:27:36.539 --> 00:27:39.079 of a lot of the players in our orchestra. I had 00:27:39.079 --> 00:27:41.839 to kind of scratch my head and think for a while 00:27:41.839 --> 00:27:43.299 when you asked me that question. I know, I know 00:27:43.299 --> 00:27:46.880 it's hard. I'm making everyone pick somebody. 00:27:48.099 --> 00:27:50.220 Well, I hope at some point you get a chance to 00:27:50.220 --> 00:27:52.839 talk to Laurent because I will definitely tune 00:27:52.839 --> 00:27:55.180 in for that too. Yeah, absolutely. Well, stay 00:27:55.180 --> 00:27:57.519 tuned. Laurent, if you're hearing this, send 00:27:57.519 --> 00:27:59.740 me a note. All right. Well, thank you so much, 00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:01.859 Matt. This has been such great fun sitting down 00:28:01.859 --> 00:28:04.039 and talking with you. It's been a real pleasure. 00:28:04.240 --> 00:28:07.720 Thank you. Notes from the stage is an independent 00:28:07.720 --> 00:28:09.480 production of the Calgary Philharmonic Players 00:28:09.480 --> 00:28:12.000 Association. The opinions expressed here are 00:28:12.000 --> 00:28:13.980 our own and do not reflect those of the Calgary 00:28:13.980 --> 00:28:16.529 Philharmonic Orchestra. Our thanks to Nathan 00:28:16.529 --> 00:28:19.289 Chandler for his technical expertise. The music 00:28:19.289 --> 00:28:21.549 you heard in this episode was Kicho by Astor 00:28:21.549 --> 00:28:23.710 Piazzolla, performed by Matt Heller and pianist 00:28:23.710 --> 00:28:26.450 Charles Forman, and the Intermezzo by Enrique 00:28:26.450 --> 00:28:28.789 Granados, performed by Matt Heller and pianist 00:28:28.789 --> 00:28:31.789 Kathleen Van Moerik, both at this summer's Mountain 00:28:31.789 --> 00:28:33.990 View International Festival of Song and Chamber 00:28:33.990 --> 00:28:36.430 Music. Let us know what you think of the show 00:28:36.430 --> 00:28:39.109 and check out our concert calendar at CalgaryFilmmusicians 00:28:39.109 --> 00:28:41.609 .ca to see what we're all up to outside of our 00:28:41.609 --> 00:28:44.690 regular performances at the CPO. On our next 00:28:44.690 --> 00:28:46.569 episode in two weeks, I'll be talking with Principal 00:28:46.569 --> 00:28:48.490 Trombone, Jim Scott. Talk to you soon!