WEBVTT 00:00:31.500 --> 00:00:33.500 Hi there and welcome to Notes from the Stage, 00:00:33.659 --> 00:00:35.719 a show from the musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic. 00:00:35.899 --> 00:00:37.500 We're the people playing our hearts out every 00:00:37.500 --> 00:00:40.679 week of the orchestra season. I'm Adam Zanatelli. 00:00:40.780 --> 00:00:42.960 Usually I play first trumpet in the Calgary Philharmonic, 00:00:43.000 --> 00:00:45.079 but today I'm your host and I'm here with Chris 00:00:45.079 --> 00:00:47.619 Leslie, Assistant Principal Trombone of the CPO. 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:49.539 Wahoo! Thanks for having me, Adam. Hey, thanks 00:00:49.539 --> 00:00:52.000 for coming on the show, Chris. How's this season 00:00:52.000 --> 00:00:53.840 been going for you so far? It's pretty good. 00:00:53.899 --> 00:00:56.689 No complaints so far. Yeah, it's been a busy 00:00:56.689 --> 00:00:59.049 start to the season between, you know, the Bruckner 00:00:59.049 --> 00:01:02.390 and then the sci -fi Star Wars show. And then 00:01:02.390 --> 00:01:05.290 this opera, it's just, you know, night rehearsals, 00:01:05.409 --> 00:01:07.489 night performances. It's really exciting. It 00:01:07.489 --> 00:01:09.250 takes a lot of time. Yeah, you know, actually, 00:01:09.469 --> 00:01:12.530 to dive right into one one little bit of reality 00:01:12.530 --> 00:01:15.230 for us, sometimes, you know, when it's an orchestra 00:01:15.230 --> 00:01:17.310 concert, usually we're rehearsing during the 00:01:17.310 --> 00:01:19.909 daytimes, you know, during working hours. But 00:01:19.909 --> 00:01:22.920 sometimes we're working a lot of evenings. Be 00:01:22.920 --> 00:01:24.680 it at the opera which happens in the evening 00:01:24.680 --> 00:01:27.540 a lot or any CPO concert that involves the chorus 00:01:27.540 --> 00:01:29.819 because the CPO chorus is made of volunteers 00:01:29.819 --> 00:01:33.099 Yeah, you know people who have you know day jobs 00:01:33.099 --> 00:01:35.280 or other stuff to do so when we're rehearsing 00:01:35.280 --> 00:01:37.400 with the choir We're rehearsing in the evenings. 00:01:37.439 --> 00:01:40.500 Yeah, and we can get the the really infamously 00:01:40.500 --> 00:01:43.439 long day of having a 10 to noon rehearsal 10 00:01:43.439 --> 00:01:47.400 to noon 30 rehearsal Followed by a 7 to 10 rehearsal 00:01:47.400 --> 00:01:50.040 at night. Yes, just I think we're all expert 00:01:50.040 --> 00:01:53.340 nappers at this point. I have Mike my Procedure 00:01:53.340 --> 00:01:57.280 down 3 to 5 p .m. Nap time. Oh spoken spoken 00:01:57.280 --> 00:01:59.719 by someone who does not have children No, not 00:01:59.719 --> 00:02:03.769 at all. Yeah, those split days are tough Are 00:02:03.769 --> 00:02:05.730 tough for a lot of reasons, but especially when 00:02:05.730 --> 00:02:08.650 you've got at -home responsibilities and kids 00:02:08.650 --> 00:02:11.370 to deal with After school and activities and 00:02:11.370 --> 00:02:13.930 things it becomes a real challenge real fast 00:02:13.930 --> 00:02:16.610 I think at the opera the reason for the evening 00:02:16.610 --> 00:02:18.969 rehearsals is might also be because of their 00:02:18.969 --> 00:02:21.270 chorus Yeah, I would think probably the opera 00:02:21.270 --> 00:02:23.960 chorus. Yeah But that's sort of you know that 00:02:23.960 --> 00:02:25.800 that all comes with the job and it's all part 00:02:25.800 --> 00:02:27.439 of what we do But you know when we're doing an 00:02:27.439 --> 00:02:30.439 opera run for example or any concerts that are 00:02:30.439 --> 00:02:32.620 overlapping with other concerts Sometimes we'll 00:02:32.620 --> 00:02:36.460 be away from home, you know Yeah, we four or 00:02:36.460 --> 00:02:39.819 five evenings a week, you know, sometimes Tuesday 00:02:39.819 --> 00:02:42.819 through Saturday. Oh and It's not all bad, though. 00:02:42.819 --> 00:02:45.180 I mean, playing trombone, like we just got out 00:02:45.180 --> 00:02:48.639 of the Don Giovanni like last month and it's 00:02:48.639 --> 00:02:51.060 about a three hour opera. The trombones only 00:02:51.060 --> 00:02:55.300 play the last 15, 20 minutes of it. So we actually 00:02:55.300 --> 00:02:58.419 arrive at intermission. The opera starts at seven 00:02:58.419 --> 00:03:01.219 thirty and we'll all be there by about nine o 00:03:01.219 --> 00:03:03.919 'clock. Enter intermission and then we just kind 00:03:03.919 --> 00:03:06.060 of sit, enjoy the music, enjoy the performance 00:03:06.060 --> 00:03:08.939 until we play our first notes probably at about 00:03:08.939 --> 00:03:11.360 nine thirty. Which is, you know, it's part of 00:03:11.360 --> 00:03:13.479 the job of playing trombone. And you could say 00:03:13.479 --> 00:03:15.439 that it's like, oh, like you're not playing as 00:03:15.439 --> 00:03:17.020 much as everyone else, but really you have to 00:03:17.020 --> 00:03:19.979 be totally in it up until your first few notes. 00:03:19.979 --> 00:03:22.580 And like, you don't get testing notes. Like if 00:03:22.580 --> 00:03:25.439 you're entering. So our first entrance is like 00:03:25.439 --> 00:03:28.180 a B flat major chord or something, or maybe it's 00:03:28.180 --> 00:03:30.319 a D minor chord. I should probably know that, 00:03:30.379 --> 00:03:32.219 but you know, you enter on it and it's like, 00:03:32.259 --> 00:03:33.719 you just gotta be right in tune immediately. 00:03:33.719 --> 00:03:36.139 As you hit it, you don't have the choice of like 00:03:36.139 --> 00:03:38.280 fishing for tuning a, the tuning a that happened. 00:03:38.780 --> 00:03:41.680 An hour ago is no longer useful. Totally irrelevant. 00:03:42.240 --> 00:03:43.659 That's not that's not that's not the A we're 00:03:43.659 --> 00:03:46.080 at anymore. I mean it is but Oh, yeah, I mean 00:03:46.080 --> 00:03:48.439 things always drift a little bit be it just from 00:03:48.439 --> 00:03:51.240 playing You know the instruments warm up or there's 00:03:51.240 --> 00:03:53.240 a cold breeze and part of the power Yeah, like, 00:03:53.780 --> 00:03:55.879 you know all these things affect the pitch. So 00:03:55.879 --> 00:03:57.379 yeah Yeah, by the time you're actually playing 00:03:57.379 --> 00:03:59.860 that tuning a from the beginning is not really 00:03:59.860 --> 00:04:02.240 relevant anymore But Mozart knew what he was 00:04:02.240 --> 00:04:07.199 doing And in that particular piece well No spoilers 00:04:07.199 --> 00:04:10.900 for Don Giovanni, but go back to Jim Scott's 00:04:10.900 --> 00:04:12.819 episode of this podcast where he talks about 00:04:12.819 --> 00:04:16.300 the trombone being a traditional funeral instrument. 00:04:16.779 --> 00:04:19.560 Yeah, it's like, I mean, he's like entering through 00:04:19.560 --> 00:04:21.779 the gates of hell, basically, or something like 00:04:21.779 --> 00:04:25.819 that. Oh, spoilers. Oops. Oh, it's been written 00:04:25.819 --> 00:04:28.740 for what, 300 years? I think they can. Yeah. 00:04:29.259 --> 00:04:32.139 No, 200. Well, yeah, but the story is. Yeah. 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:35.019 Yeah. But yeah, it's totally like we come out. 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:38.439 as Don Giovanni is receiving his punishment for, 00:04:38.439 --> 00:04:41.540 you know, all of everything he's done. The punishment 00:04:41.540 --> 00:04:46.079 is not a trombone section. We really appreciate 00:04:46.079 --> 00:04:48.759 our trombone section and they do not feel like 00:04:48.759 --> 00:04:51.240 a punishment to us in the orchestra. So, Chris, 00:04:51.300 --> 00:04:53.180 in your job, you have to be a bit of a chameleon 00:04:53.180 --> 00:04:55.019 sometimes because usually you're playing second 00:04:55.019 --> 00:04:58.399 trombone, but your duties require you to step 00:04:58.399 --> 00:05:00.990 up and play first sometimes as well. yeah and 00:05:00.990 --> 00:05:03.589 even within second trombone i will i promise 00:05:03.589 --> 00:05:06.709 i'll get into that but especially even with second 00:05:06.709 --> 00:05:08.310 trombone there's so many different jobs a lot 00:05:08.310 --> 00:05:10.089 of times with second trombone you're playing 00:05:10.089 --> 00:05:12.769 either in unisons or really close to the first 00:05:12.769 --> 00:05:15.329 trombones you can play unisons with um first 00:05:15.329 --> 00:05:18.370 trombone or harmony or octaves and a lot of times 00:05:18.370 --> 00:05:19.870 you're just glued to whatever the first trombones 00:05:19.870 --> 00:05:22.230 player is doing but sometimes the first trombones 00:05:22.230 --> 00:05:25.470 not playing and the second trombone has to lead 00:05:25.470 --> 00:05:28.069 the rest of the low brass and other times the 00:05:28.069 --> 00:05:30.629 pairings actually happen where it's first in 00:05:30.629 --> 00:05:33.810 bass trombone and second trombone in tuba. Off 00:05:33.810 --> 00:05:35.509 the top of my head Rachmaninoff will do that 00:05:35.509 --> 00:05:37.930 a lot for us. So yeah that's a little bit of 00:05:37.930 --> 00:05:40.370 the role of second trombone so it's a total chameleon 00:05:40.370 --> 00:05:43.230 and one of the things I love about playing second 00:05:43.230 --> 00:05:46.069 trombone is I get to make the assumption that 00:05:46.069 --> 00:05:48.430 if anything's out of tune it's probably my fault 00:05:48.430 --> 00:05:52.170 which you know is a great deal of power. If anything 00:05:52.170 --> 00:05:56.230 if a chord's not settling right at the start 00:05:56.540 --> 00:05:58.759 You know i can sure i can change the placement 00:05:58.759 --> 00:06:00.740 of my pitch but i can also change the color of 00:06:00.740 --> 00:06:03.720 my note and if you brighten up a note it makes 00:06:03.720 --> 00:06:05.759 it more assertive and can act as glue to bring 00:06:05.759 --> 00:06:08.620 people together or if you want to darken a note 00:06:08.620 --> 00:06:10.480 if i have a really stinky note in a chord and 00:06:10.480 --> 00:06:13.079 it's just not going to resonate i can i can back 00:06:13.079 --> 00:06:14.839 off on the resonance of the note and it allows 00:06:14.839 --> 00:06:18.139 the the chord to ring better so that's what i 00:06:18.139 --> 00:06:20.579 love about second trumpet playing is is being 00:06:20.579 --> 00:06:24.540 inside of these chords and i I have a friend 00:06:24.540 --> 00:06:26.060 who's a trombone player that'll go to our shows 00:06:26.060 --> 00:06:28.500 and she always tells me if I did a good job and 00:06:28.500 --> 00:06:31.120 she said Trombone sounded great. Jim sounded 00:06:31.120 --> 00:06:33.220 great. I didn't hear you and I'm like, yes, I 00:06:33.220 --> 00:06:36.920 did my job The ultimate support role. Yes, the 00:06:36.920 --> 00:06:39.240 ultimate support role. Yeah, but but I totally 00:06:39.240 --> 00:06:43.100 hear you. It's really interesting how pitch and 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:46.519 color Work together to make blend and resonance 00:06:46.519 --> 00:06:49.439 and like if the colors wrong the pitch will never 00:06:49.439 --> 00:06:51.779 sound Yeah, if the pitch is wrong, the color 00:06:51.779 --> 00:06:53.920 will never sound right you there. They're so 00:06:53.920 --> 00:06:57.480 linked together Yeah, it's tune ability and then 00:06:57.480 --> 00:06:59.860 to continuous to what your original question 00:06:59.860 --> 00:07:03.379 is Yes playing assistant principal trombone sometimes 00:07:03.379 --> 00:07:06.379 requires me to step up to first So like last 00:07:06.379 --> 00:07:08.540 year my major experience with that was playing 00:07:08.540 --> 00:07:10.399 nutcracker because we do the one trombone version 00:07:10.399 --> 00:07:13.160 of nutcracker And then this year it was the Ravel 00:07:13.160 --> 00:07:16.480 piano concerto, which is a beautiful but kooky 00:07:16.480 --> 00:07:18.660 little work with only one trombone and one trumpet. 00:07:18.920 --> 00:07:22.360 And it has so many chamber music qualities. And 00:07:22.360 --> 00:07:25.560 this was further enforced by doing it conductorless 00:07:25.560 --> 00:07:28.740 or the pianist was conducting. So it's a really 00:07:28.740 --> 00:07:31.240 good challenge for me. Like I haven't had that 00:07:31.240 --> 00:07:33.920 role at all this year, let alone being conductorless, 00:07:34.000 --> 00:07:36.980 but really having to play more in a principal 00:07:36.980 --> 00:07:39.600 role. And a lot of it, yeah, I was kind of playing 00:07:39.600 --> 00:07:42.639 like large second trumpet and I was trying to 00:07:42.639 --> 00:07:45.620 fulfill that role but it's a total different 00:07:45.620 --> 00:07:48.639 mentality like not waiting for you know so much 00:07:48.639 --> 00:07:51.360 of playing in the section is like I'm going to 00:07:51.360 --> 00:07:54.040 play the note when Jim plays the note yeah my 00:07:54.040 --> 00:07:56.680 job Jim starts the note I will be there with 00:07:56.680 --> 00:08:00.060 him I don't need to have total independence I 00:08:00.060 --> 00:08:02.399 just need to be glued to him but when there's 00:08:02.399 --> 00:08:04.519 when there's no Jim to look after me no first 00:08:04.519 --> 00:08:06.699 trombone player for me to follow It's really 00:08:06.699 --> 00:08:09.300 a mind shift to say, OK, like I have to up my 00:08:09.300 --> 00:08:12.240 assertion a little bit, which is a total different 00:08:12.240 --> 00:08:14.579 skill set, really. Yeah, totally. And it's fun. 00:08:14.699 --> 00:08:17.939 It's also fun to play, you know, with you playing 00:08:17.939 --> 00:08:19.720 first beside me. I play with Jim all the time 00:08:19.720 --> 00:08:24.220 and Jim's great. But this idea that by playing 00:08:24.220 --> 00:08:27.579 with a different person, you get new ideas and 00:08:27.579 --> 00:08:30.079 different things, you know, like you and Jim 00:08:30.079 --> 00:08:31.980 sound different. No two players sound the same. 00:08:32.019 --> 00:08:34.840 So like when we come in on something together 00:08:34.840 --> 00:08:37.629 like the solution to make that work. Like we 00:08:37.629 --> 00:08:41.129 were talking about pitch and color, right? That 00:08:41.129 --> 00:08:43.570 equation of color especially is always going 00:08:43.570 --> 00:08:47.850 to be different with a different player. So it's 00:08:47.850 --> 00:08:51.629 an exciting change of pace to, you know, kind 00:08:51.629 --> 00:08:53.970 of solve the same equations with a different 00:08:53.970 --> 00:08:59.230 partner. Exactly. And I also found with that 00:08:59.230 --> 00:09:02.059 I was paying attention to you in a totally different 00:09:02.059 --> 00:09:04.440 way. Because in the brass section, yeah, we're 00:09:04.440 --> 00:09:06.480 always all listening for the first trumpet because 00:09:06.480 --> 00:09:09.860 it's where we're going to get the style and articulations 00:09:09.860 --> 00:09:12.779 and so much that comes top down from the first 00:09:12.779 --> 00:09:15.679 trumpet. But being the only other directional 00:09:15.679 --> 00:09:19.200 brass with the first trumpet, it feels very different. 00:09:19.460 --> 00:09:22.539 It felt like there's a little bit back and forth 00:09:22.539 --> 00:09:26.059 even more, but also the level of detail that 00:09:26.059 --> 00:09:28.379 I was able to understand from hearing from you. 00:09:28.379 --> 00:09:32.580 being that close is really exciting. And intimidating, 00:09:32.820 --> 00:09:36.340 but really exciting. Well, it was fun. I really 00:09:36.340 --> 00:09:39.460 enjoyed it. Yeah. Yeah, it was fun. So, Chris, 00:09:39.500 --> 00:09:41.980 you're a man of many places. Yeah. You grew up 00:09:41.980 --> 00:09:43.860 sort of all over the place, right? Oh, yeah. 00:09:43.879 --> 00:09:47.559 It's a journey. So I was born in Florida, actually. 00:09:47.860 --> 00:09:49.879 We lived there for six months after I was born. 00:09:50.019 --> 00:09:51.940 My parents lived there for 20 years before I 00:09:51.940 --> 00:09:55.299 was born, actually. But after I was born, six 00:09:55.299 --> 00:09:58.000 months in Florida. After that about nine months 00:09:58.000 --> 00:10:00.639 in Connecticut, and then we moved to Maine and 00:10:00.639 --> 00:10:05.159 then from there Probably in a total aggregate 00:10:05.159 --> 00:10:07.159 up until now. I mean, we've always had a house 00:10:07.159 --> 00:10:10.539 in Maine since then So we lived in Maine up until 00:10:10.539 --> 00:10:12.779 grade two for me. Then we lived in Puerto Rico. 00:10:12.779 --> 00:10:15.100 I was exciting I became completely fluent in 00:10:15.100 --> 00:10:18.000 Spanish Puerto Rico for two years so grade two 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:19.559 and three in Puerto Rico that's actually where 00:10:19.559 --> 00:10:23.139 I started cello lessons and this is kind of a 00:10:23.139 --> 00:10:25.960 fun this is a fun story my cello teacher did 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:28.820 not speak English and my Spanish wasn't good 00:10:28.820 --> 00:10:31.879 enough to get along so we my whole entire lessons 00:10:31.879 --> 00:10:35.740 were in solfege um it's like he would or uh yeah 00:10:35.740 --> 00:10:37.460 he would just sing what he wanted me to play 00:10:37.460 --> 00:10:39.779 in solfege we'd talk about it it was just a bunch 00:10:39.779 --> 00:10:42.299 of playing back and forth and yeah cool that's 00:10:42.299 --> 00:10:45.320 so interesting sorry just a sidebar This is a 00:10:45.320 --> 00:10:47.500 general audience podcast. Can you quickly explain 00:10:47.500 --> 00:10:50.179 what Solfege is? Yeah. Um, I mean, probably the 00:10:50.179 --> 00:10:53.500 most accessible access point for Solfege is, 00:10:53.500 --> 00:10:58.080 uh, the doe, a deer, a female deer, gray, a drop 00:10:58.080 --> 00:11:01.460 of golden sun from Sound of Music. Um, but that's 00:11:01.460 --> 00:11:03.440 not for the, for the listening audience. You 00:11:03.440 --> 00:11:06.120 couldn't see the hands that we're going, that 00:11:06.120 --> 00:11:09.639 we're going. Yeah, exactly. Um, yeah. So Solfege 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:12.159 is like the doe, ray, me, fa, sol, uh, tee doe, 00:11:12.159 --> 00:11:15.090 um, or see doe if you're using fixed doe. not 00:11:15.090 --> 00:11:18.710 to go too far into it, but basically each note 00:11:18.710 --> 00:11:23.230 out of the 12 note scale that we kind of 12 equal 00:11:23.230 --> 00:11:25.330 divisions of the octave that we use has its own 00:11:25.330 --> 00:11:28.950 syllable. And so if I'm speaking with someone 00:11:28.950 --> 00:11:30.970 that doesn't speak the same language as me, doesn't 00:11:30.970 --> 00:11:36.389 do ABCD, then generally you can agree on la si 00:11:36.389 --> 00:11:39.850 do re, which is kind of cool. Cool. That's awesome. 00:11:40.169 --> 00:11:42.169 Yeah. And my mom started me on piano lessons 00:11:42.169 --> 00:11:44.809 too. So I ended up quitting cello eventually, 00:11:45.049 --> 00:11:47.169 ended up quitting piano eventually. But after 00:11:47.169 --> 00:11:49.830 Puerto Rico, we came back to Maine, lived in 00:11:49.830 --> 00:11:54.269 Maine for another five years. And then we went 00:11:54.269 --> 00:11:56.669 to San Diego. So I went to high school in San 00:11:56.669 --> 00:11:58.909 Diego. That's the first time I heard a symphony 00:11:58.909 --> 00:12:00.889 was the San Diego Symphony. Oh, cool. I heard 00:12:00.889 --> 00:12:04.090 their Star Wars pop show, which was pretty awesome. 00:12:04.740 --> 00:12:06.799 And that was great. And I was like, this is cool. 00:12:06.799 --> 00:12:09.360 I want to go again. So then I went and saw Tchaikovsky 00:12:09.360 --> 00:12:12.620 six and the bass trombonist at the time, Michael 00:12:12.620 --> 00:12:16.299 Pretty was like a complete beast of a bass trombonist. 00:12:16.519 --> 00:12:18.539 He played like this, like I'm pretty sure it 00:12:18.539 --> 00:12:21.179 was like a ultra heavy, like solid sterling silver 00:12:21.179 --> 00:12:24.360 bell, like 11 inch bell, just like a mean instrument. 00:12:24.700 --> 00:12:26.919 But I remember feeling every single note that 00:12:26.919 --> 00:12:28.919 he played in my chest. I was like, I want to 00:12:28.919 --> 00:12:32.879 do that. Well, it was awesome. So yeah, Tchaikovsky 00:12:32.879 --> 00:12:35.980 6 is kind of what did it there. And then I went 00:12:35.980 --> 00:12:38.080 to school in Boston after being in high school 00:12:38.080 --> 00:12:40.399 in San Diego went back to school in Boston. My 00:12:40.399 --> 00:12:43.399 parents eventually moved back to Maine and now 00:12:43.399 --> 00:12:46.120 they're retired between Maine and Florida. From 00:12:46.120 --> 00:12:47.860 school in Boston, I went to school in Toronto. 00:12:48.019 --> 00:12:50.419 I went to the Boston Conservatory in Boston and 00:12:50.419 --> 00:12:52.740 I went to the Royal Conservatory or Glenn Gould 00:12:52.740 --> 00:12:54.840 School, which is where Adam also went. That's 00:12:54.840 --> 00:12:57.200 my alma mater as well. We've got a pretty good 00:12:57.200 --> 00:12:59.460 crop of former Glenn Gould students in the orchestra 00:12:59.460 --> 00:13:02.610 now. We just hired a violinist from Yes, Jung 00:13:02.610 --> 00:13:06.029 Ah and I were in school together. Oh cool, I 00:13:06.029 --> 00:13:08.250 didn't realize that. So what was it like going 00:13:08.250 --> 00:13:11.190 to Toronto? How was Glenn Gould for you? You 00:13:11.190 --> 00:13:15.250 know, I really liked this school. I wasn't super 00:13:15.250 --> 00:13:18.570 aware of Canadian music culture or Canadian schools 00:13:18.570 --> 00:13:22.070 or anything really, except for I was finishing 00:13:22.070 --> 00:13:24.889 undergrad and I wanted to do a grad school. I 00:13:24.889 --> 00:13:28.120 wanted to add more training on. So I was just 00:13:28.120 --> 00:13:30.059 kind of exploring different teachers, and I listened 00:13:30.059 --> 00:13:32.379 to Gord Wolf's solo album, I think it's called 00:13:32.379 --> 00:13:35.460 Reflections. Yep, Gord with Vanessa Lee, who 00:13:35.460 --> 00:13:37.419 I played with when I was in Toronto, great pianist, 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:39.580 wonderful person to work with. And Gord is awesome 00:13:39.580 --> 00:13:42.279 too, yeah, absolutely. Yeah, Gord Wolf, principal 00:13:42.279 --> 00:13:46.539 trombone of the Toronto Symphony. So I took a 00:13:46.539 --> 00:13:49.000 lesson with them, then I auditioned at the school, 00:13:49.200 --> 00:13:51.679 ended up going to the school. It was just a great 00:13:51.679 --> 00:13:54.080 time. I feel like he was a major contrast to 00:13:54.080 --> 00:13:56.259 my previous teacher, who was Norman Bolter, of 00:13:56.259 --> 00:13:59.080 the Boston Symphony. Norman Bolter is very right 00:13:59.080 --> 00:14:01.720 -brained, right? Left -brained? Which one's the...? 00:14:01.720 --> 00:14:07.679 I never remember. It's the more creative, maybe 00:14:07.679 --> 00:14:11.419 out there, intuitive... I think it's right -brained. 00:14:11.519 --> 00:14:14.519 And then Gord's a lot more methodical, left -brained, 00:14:14.519 --> 00:14:16.240 so I kind of felt like I got a good balance from 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:18.580 that. That's great. Different sides of the spectrum. 00:14:19.110 --> 00:14:20.889 I think that there's a lot of value in having 00:14:20.889 --> 00:14:23.830 teachers with different approaches and different 00:14:23.830 --> 00:14:25.389 styles. I know that was something that I really 00:14:25.389 --> 00:14:28.590 benefited from in my undergrad and in grad school 00:14:28.590 --> 00:14:32.029 because I had teachers who thought about things 00:14:32.029 --> 00:14:34.990 and approached things in totally different ways. 00:14:35.110 --> 00:14:38.970 So it really let me kind of triangulate on what 00:14:38.970 --> 00:14:42.289 works for me. Oh, yeah. So a really great example 00:14:42.289 --> 00:14:44.450 of that is I was at a master class with Norman, 00:14:44.830 --> 00:14:47.720 probably my second year with him. and we were 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:50.879 talking about articulation and it just in a side 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:52.659 of the master class he was like you want to know 00:14:52.659 --> 00:14:55.779 about articulation go uh look at some tree bark 00:14:55.779 --> 00:14:57.559 go feel some tree bark and see what it tells 00:14:57.559 --> 00:15:00.419 you about articulation so that's what i did and 00:15:00.419 --> 00:15:03.100 i was like wow like these big oak ridges on an 00:15:03.100 --> 00:15:06.279 oak tree tell you a lot about really beautiful 00:15:06.279 --> 00:15:09.299 sustained um articulate to nodo playing that 00:15:09.299 --> 00:15:12.019 we would do in an orchestra so like that was 00:15:12.019 --> 00:15:15.600 my style of learning in undergrad cool and then 00:15:15.600 --> 00:15:18.720 um Then I got to grad school with Gord and he 00:15:18.720 --> 00:15:20.820 talks about articulation. He's just like, play 00:15:20.820 --> 00:15:22.799 the note long and tongue the crap out of it. 00:15:22.960 --> 00:15:25.360 And you're like, OK, well, that works, too. Yeah. 00:15:25.360 --> 00:15:27.860 And, you know, there's no there's no wrong way 00:15:27.860 --> 00:15:30.700 to talk about it. Right. I think the great players 00:15:30.700 --> 00:15:33.299 and great teachers are so often talking about 00:15:33.299 --> 00:15:37.059 the same things in different ways because we've 00:15:37.059 --> 00:15:39.500 all sort of had to arrive at our understanding 00:15:39.500 --> 00:15:43.039 of how we do what we do in our own way. And. 00:15:43.230 --> 00:15:45.490 that's shaped by our personalities, by our learning 00:15:45.490 --> 00:15:49.309 styles, by our teachers, by the world around 00:15:49.309 --> 00:15:54.169 us. So it's really an interesting way to think 00:15:54.169 --> 00:15:57.289 about what we do to remember that, oh, there 00:15:57.289 --> 00:16:00.629 are so many different paths to doing something 00:16:00.629 --> 00:16:03.470 great. Yeah. And two people could be playing 00:16:03.470 --> 00:16:05.870 next to each other. I mean, I think a terrific 00:16:05.870 --> 00:16:09.690 example of this is I think Dave and Jim, the 00:16:09.690 --> 00:16:13.059 other two trombone players, first in bass trombone. 00:16:13.259 --> 00:16:14.759 Incredible players. They've been playing next 00:16:14.759 --> 00:16:18.399 to each other for 40 years, right? Over 40 years. 00:16:18.659 --> 00:16:20.960 I would say that their approaches are pretty 00:16:20.960 --> 00:16:24.240 different. Their mentalities as musicians are 00:16:24.240 --> 00:16:27.059 pretty different on different ends of spectrums, 00:16:27.340 --> 00:16:31.480 but they sound beautiful together. One of the 00:16:31.480 --> 00:16:33.700 beautiful things about music is that you can 00:16:33.700 --> 00:16:35.740 have a different approach and still reach a similar 00:16:35.740 --> 00:16:38.980 place. Just what's going through your head and 00:16:39.129 --> 00:16:40.610 Like the way you're approaching the instrument 00:16:40.610 --> 00:16:42.450 the way you're practicing might be totally different 00:16:42.450 --> 00:16:44.769 than the person sitting next to you and that 00:16:44.769 --> 00:16:47.629 really doesn't Indicate whether or not you're 00:16:47.629 --> 00:16:49.690 going to play well together. Yeah, which is really 00:16:49.690 --> 00:16:52.529 beautiful Yeah, I think if you're you know proficient 00:16:52.529 --> 00:16:55.070 and musical and you show up with open ears and 00:16:55.070 --> 00:16:58.129 an open mind I think you can collaborate with 00:16:58.129 --> 00:17:01.570 just about anyone and I think that the the diversity 00:17:01.570 --> 00:17:05.710 of approaches Technically musically sonically 00:17:05.710 --> 00:17:08.829 anything like that. I think that that adds richness 00:17:09.369 --> 00:17:11.950 Yeah, to to what we're doing. I think that if 00:17:11.950 --> 00:17:14.789 everyone if you had an orchestra that was all 00:17:14.789 --> 00:17:16.470 let's say there was one person who could play 00:17:16.470 --> 00:17:18.809 every instrument and they all did like overdubs 00:17:18.809 --> 00:17:22.009 of putting everything all together. I think it 00:17:22.009 --> 00:17:25.190 has a certain sort of uncanny sound, right? Uncanny, 00:17:25.410 --> 00:17:28.869 you know, because because it's the conversation 00:17:28.869 --> 00:17:33.470 that we're having as we collaborate. The conversation 00:17:33.470 --> 00:17:35.630 sometimes we have verbally, but just in the way 00:17:35.630 --> 00:17:38.680 we listen to each other. And the way one person 00:17:38.680 --> 00:17:41.799 phrases something affects the way other people 00:17:41.799 --> 00:17:45.799 think about it. That that interplay is something 00:17:45.799 --> 00:17:48.720 that breeds life into what we're doing. And we 00:17:48.720 --> 00:17:51.400 have to do that every single time we sit down 00:17:51.400 --> 00:17:54.180 together in a rehearsal or a concert. There's 00:17:54.180 --> 00:17:57.920 no other way to do it. Yeah, exactly. You have 00:17:57.920 --> 00:18:01.019 to be the diversity of ideas and the diversity 00:18:01.019 --> 00:18:03.660 of approaches is absolutely necessary. And it's 00:18:03.660 --> 00:18:06.700 reflected in the orchestra itself. I mean, I 00:18:06.700 --> 00:18:09.819 was listening to a Sibelius one that's on our 00:18:09.819 --> 00:18:12.500 season. Sibelius has this really cool thing where 00:18:12.500 --> 00:18:14.440 he'll combine instruments that you don't typically 00:18:14.440 --> 00:18:16.859 hear in other composers. And one of the combinations 00:18:16.859 --> 00:18:19.259 I heard is bassoon and flute, like a bassoon 00:18:19.259 --> 00:18:21.839 and flute, just an octaves. And like, how beautiful 00:18:21.839 --> 00:18:23.359 is that? They're very different instruments. 00:18:23.500 --> 00:18:25.900 I mean, the sounds produced in a different way, 00:18:26.220 --> 00:18:28.440 they're different materials, different registers, 00:18:28.779 --> 00:18:30.380 they have different strong suits as instruments 00:18:30.380 --> 00:18:33.940 too. But when a composer like Sibelius has that 00:18:33.940 --> 00:18:37.259 vision to have that really kind of wacky but 00:18:37.259 --> 00:18:39.180 just beautiful and they bring out the best in 00:18:39.180 --> 00:18:41.819 each other like yeah it's one plus one equals 00:18:41.819 --> 00:18:44.099 five instead of one plus one equals two totally 00:18:44.099 --> 00:18:46.039 yeah Sibelius first symphony is such a great 00:18:46.039 --> 00:18:49.160 piece i always look forward to playing it Sibelius 00:18:49.160 --> 00:18:51.960 has such a fingerprint in terms of orchestration 00:18:51.960 --> 00:18:55.859 and color it's so distinctive he often writes 00:18:55.859 --> 00:18:59.920 these like long octaves in first and second trumpet 00:19:00.329 --> 00:19:02.390 Like overpass it would be like eight or twelve 00:19:02.390 --> 00:19:06.750 bars of just this quiet octave and there's just 00:19:06.750 --> 00:19:09.230 something about the way he places it and the 00:19:09.230 --> 00:19:11.170 way that it plays against the other material 00:19:11.170 --> 00:19:13.769 that is so distinctive because like Everyone 00:19:13.769 --> 00:19:16.490 writes octaves for Trump. Like it's not that's 00:19:16.490 --> 00:19:18.430 that's not anything. Yeah, they've been doing 00:19:18.430 --> 00:19:21.789 that since yeah, yeah since Mozart before so 00:19:21.789 --> 00:19:25.730 It feels like a magic trick when you play this 00:19:25.730 --> 00:19:28.549 Octave and it's such a distinctive sound in this 00:19:28.549 --> 00:19:31.039 context Yeah. You know, it couldn't be anyone 00:19:31.039 --> 00:19:33.759 else. The alchemy that happens when you put all 00:19:33.759 --> 00:19:37.160 these things together is is just fascinating. 00:19:37.640 --> 00:19:40.480 Yeah. Makes me really happy. And it's all about 00:19:40.480 --> 00:19:42.920 that's the beauty of the orchestra is bringing 00:19:42.920 --> 00:19:48.019 out the best in each other. The brass scene in 00:19:48.019 --> 00:19:50.599 any city is made up not just of the professional 00:19:50.599 --> 00:19:53.339 players, but also of the amateur players in town, 00:19:53.640 --> 00:19:55.900 the people who do it because they love it, the 00:19:55.900 --> 00:19:57.680 people who are playing community bands, the people 00:19:57.680 --> 00:20:01.539 who are uh coming to so many concerts the people 00:20:01.539 --> 00:20:04.920 who are teaching maybe teaching in band classes 00:20:04.920 --> 00:20:06.880 but also making sure that they're getting out 00:20:06.880 --> 00:20:09.519 there and doing a lot of playing themselves too 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:11.380 different instruments have different opportunities 00:20:11.380 --> 00:20:13.519 to sort of celebrate these communities and the 00:20:13.519 --> 00:20:15.839 trombone community is lucky to have two events 00:20:15.839 --> 00:20:19.240 annually there's of course slide into spring 00:20:19.240 --> 00:20:23.000 which has been going for what years decades yeah 00:20:23.000 --> 00:20:26.299 yep yep here in calgary and coming up this week 00:20:27.019 --> 00:20:30.420 Jingle Bones! Jingle Bones! For the second time, 00:20:30.579 --> 00:20:33.279 the second annual Jingle Bones. Alright. Oh yeah. 00:20:33.880 --> 00:20:36.059 I sort of brought Jingle Bones to the city last 00:20:36.059 --> 00:20:39.400 year, going to school in Toronto. Jingle Bones 00:20:39.400 --> 00:20:42.220 is a huge endeavor in Toronto, a huge event, 00:20:42.579 --> 00:20:44.660 much in anticipation. I suppose I should say 00:20:44.660 --> 00:20:47.200 what Jingle Bones is. So Jingle Bones, in the 00:20:47.200 --> 00:20:49.759 simplest terms, is the trombone players of the 00:20:49.759 --> 00:20:52.720 city will rent out a bar for the night, or in 00:20:52.720 --> 00:20:55.579 our case we rent out the Ironwood in Inglewood. 00:20:56.559 --> 00:21:00.299 massive credit is due to Dave Reed. So all that 00:21:00.299 --> 00:21:03.259 I did last year, last year was my first season. 00:21:03.359 --> 00:21:06.240 I started last September, September, 2023, right? 00:21:06.559 --> 00:21:10.140 And like my second week, I asked Dave and Jim 00:21:10.140 --> 00:21:12.420 and I was like, hey, guys, when's Jingle Bones? 00:21:12.460 --> 00:21:16.660 And they said, what's a Jingle Bone? And then 00:21:16.660 --> 00:21:19.579 I was like, well, in Toronto, they do Jingle 00:21:19.579 --> 00:21:22.029 Bones. you know, we've rent out a bar for the 00:21:22.029 --> 00:21:23.890 night, we all got to play together and invite 00:21:23.890 --> 00:21:26.829 all the trombone players, you know, professionals, 00:21:27.130 --> 00:21:29.890 amateurs in betweens, you know, the university 00:21:29.890 --> 00:21:32.069 students, the university students will come out. 00:21:32.170 --> 00:21:34.670 And they're like, Okay, I guess we can do that. 00:21:34.910 --> 00:21:36.430 Kind of went on the back burner a month later, 00:21:36.430 --> 00:21:38.109 I was like, Okay, so we're gonna do a jingle 00:21:38.109 --> 00:21:40.369 bones. And then they're like, Sure, we can do 00:21:40.369 --> 00:21:44.470 it. And Dave actually, Dave has a personal relationship 00:21:44.470 --> 00:21:47.549 with Patrick McIntyre, the owner for ironwood. 00:21:47.710 --> 00:21:50.309 And Dave was the one that set up using Ironwood 00:21:50.309 --> 00:21:52.809 as location. So a massive thank you to Dave. 00:21:53.289 --> 00:21:55.750 And then Dave also knows everyone in town. So 00:21:55.750 --> 00:21:57.970 he compiled the mailing list, the email list 00:21:57.970 --> 00:22:02.009 for all the trombone players, and is hugely instrumental 00:22:02.009 --> 00:22:05.210 to getting the event going. All that I really 00:22:05.210 --> 00:22:08.589 did was say we should do this thing. And then 00:22:08.589 --> 00:22:11.269 I mean, you give Dave an opportunity to play 00:22:11.269 --> 00:22:13.450 trombone and drink a beer and like he sets it 00:22:13.450 --> 00:22:18.490 up. And we have a bunch of books to read the 00:22:18.490 --> 00:22:22.410 music from. So I print out these books that probably 00:22:22.410 --> 00:22:24.710 have about 50 different Christmas charts in them. 00:22:25.769 --> 00:22:28.190 And in Toronto, they have like these legendary 00:22:28.190 --> 00:22:30.789 Jingle Bones books that's probably existed for 00:22:30.789 --> 00:22:34.250 like 100 years. Yeah, they're like tablets. Yeah, 00:22:34.450 --> 00:22:37.160 exactly. and everything's out of order it's like 00:22:37.160 --> 00:22:39.440 you want to find the third page to the nutcracker 00:22:39.440 --> 00:22:42.240 well it's stuffed in the that's stuffed in someone 00:22:42.240 --> 00:22:45.619 else's book yeah so we will we'll have a it's 00:22:45.619 --> 00:22:48.039 kind of a trombone christmas party it's a good 00:22:48.039 --> 00:22:51.640 time wonderful so when is it this year so this 00:22:51.640 --> 00:22:56.079 year it's next monday december 16th at the ironwood 00:22:56.079 --> 00:22:59.880 um so patrick the owner is very kind and welcoming 00:22:59.880 --> 00:23:02.519 us back after last year after what we did last 00:23:02.519 --> 00:23:05.650 year last year we had 45 trombone players. Wow. 00:23:05.829 --> 00:23:09.190 That was the record. So my happy moment was, 00:23:09.710 --> 00:23:12.269 was we had all 45 of us playing on stage was 00:23:12.269 --> 00:23:14.589 meant that the audience was two people. So I 00:23:14.589 --> 00:23:16.630 decided to make the audience three people. And 00:23:16.630 --> 00:23:19.470 I went back and listened. And there's a very 00:23:19.470 --> 00:23:22.509 specific moment that I love so much, where we're 00:23:22.509 --> 00:23:24.609 playing something was like Silent Night. And 00:23:24.609 --> 00:23:27.390 there's a key change. And right before an E flat, 00:23:27.630 --> 00:23:31.460 Dave Reed shouted out E flat. And someone played 00:23:31.460 --> 00:23:33.480 in the natural. It was very funny. Beautiful. 00:23:33.819 --> 00:23:37.579 Very, very good time. Now, the Ironwood Stage 00:23:37.579 --> 00:23:41.019 and Grill in Inglewood is a beloved venue here 00:23:41.019 --> 00:23:43.380 in Calgary. For a long time, they played host 00:23:43.380 --> 00:23:45.779 to the Primetime Big Band, now the 9th Avenue 00:23:45.779 --> 00:23:48.539 Big Band for Big Band Brunches and all sorts 00:23:48.539 --> 00:23:51.980 of performances. Many visiting artists coming 00:23:51.980 --> 00:23:54.259 through town would play at the Ironwood. It's 00:23:54.259 --> 00:23:56.339 a great place, a real gem of Calgary's music 00:23:56.339 --> 00:23:58.920 scene. It's really classy venue. It's just cool. 00:23:59.079 --> 00:24:02.319 It's got like that. old stagey vibe, and there's 00:24:02.319 --> 00:24:04.279 all these big round tables you can set out, you 00:24:04.279 --> 00:24:07.519 make friends. Yeah. Mm -hmm. Yeah, it's lovely 00:24:07.519 --> 00:24:09.859 in there. And that's where Jingle Bones is going 00:24:09.859 --> 00:24:13.299 to be, and you can find all the information for 00:24:13.299 --> 00:24:15.220 the details of Jingle Bones. I'm going to put 00:24:15.220 --> 00:24:18.839 a link to a Facebook event in the show notes 00:24:18.839 --> 00:24:21.440 of this show, so you can check it out there. 00:24:21.680 --> 00:24:23.980 find all the details. So a cool thing that we're 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:25.819 doing for Jingle Bones this year that we're starting, 00:24:26.279 --> 00:24:28.079 it was actually Patrick's idea, the owner of 00:24:28.079 --> 00:24:31.480 Ironwood's idea, is to take a donation to support 00:24:31.480 --> 00:24:34.200 Derek Stoll, who's been quite ill lately. So 00:24:34.200 --> 00:24:36.660 that's great. That's nice to have. Yeah, it's 00:24:36.660 --> 00:24:40.279 nice to have a charitable effect to a otherwise 00:24:40.279 --> 00:24:43.420 very silly event. Yeah. And you know, when the 00:24:43.420 --> 00:24:44.880 when the whole community is coming together, 00:24:45.359 --> 00:24:47.500 it's nice to have a chance to support one of 00:24:47.500 --> 00:24:49.930 your own. Yeah, and I should also mention so 00:24:49.930 --> 00:24:53.470 last year Jingle Bones was kind of like a trombone 00:24:53.470 --> 00:24:56.390 only private function. And we kind of had our 00:24:56.390 --> 00:24:59.309 email chain going around. But this year, it will 00:24:59.309 --> 00:25:01.490 be open to the public, which is kind of awesome. 00:25:02.029 --> 00:25:04.069 Don't expect this is not a professional performance. 00:25:04.329 --> 00:25:07.009 I will personally not be playing at my professional 00:25:07.009 --> 00:25:10.329 best. I'll be degrading as the night goes on. 00:25:10.329 --> 00:25:12.670 But it's a it's a good time. And it's a it's 00:25:12.670 --> 00:25:14.730 a really good hang. And where else are you going 00:25:14.730 --> 00:25:17.329 to hear like 40 or 50 trombone players playing 00:25:17.329 --> 00:25:20.789 Christmas tunes. Probably nowhere else. Not in 00:25:20.789 --> 00:25:22.549 Calgary at least. Keep it safely confined to 00:25:22.549 --> 00:25:27.009 Jingle Bones. Exactly. I think it is an 18 plus 00:25:27.009 --> 00:25:30.289 event. It's interesting to think about who is 00:25:30.289 --> 00:25:35.589 an event for. Jingle Bones very clearly is for 00:25:35.589 --> 00:25:38.029 the players and it's for the community. People 00:25:38.029 --> 00:25:40.250 listening are going to have a great time, but 00:25:40.250 --> 00:25:44.569 it's not a serious concert experience in scare 00:25:44.569 --> 00:25:47.900 quotes. where like, you know, at a CPO concert, 00:25:48.619 --> 00:25:51.420 we're there on stage to perform at the highest 00:25:51.420 --> 00:25:54.420 possible level for the benefit of the audience. 00:25:54.460 --> 00:25:57.559 Yeah, like that's the point. Right. And I think 00:25:57.559 --> 00:26:00.960 that it's always interesting to consider who 00:26:00.960 --> 00:26:04.319 an event is for, because most most events are 00:26:04.319 --> 00:26:06.640 not like CPO concerts. No, and they don't have 00:26:06.640 --> 00:26:08.740 to be. They shouldn't be. Yeah, exactly. Like 00:26:08.740 --> 00:26:11.500 if you, you know, I have I have young kids, they're 00:26:11.500 --> 00:26:13.900 not old enough to be in school band programs 00:26:13.900 --> 00:26:17.450 yet. But they probably will be. And when I go 00:26:17.450 --> 00:26:20.089 to those concerts, is that supposed to be at 00:26:20.089 --> 00:26:22.029 the highest possible level for the benefit of 00:26:22.029 --> 00:26:25.930 the audience? No, no, it's for the kids. The 00:26:25.930 --> 00:26:28.609 point is the performing and the learning and 00:26:28.609 --> 00:26:32.349 the doing of it. That's the point. Frankly, most 00:26:32.349 --> 00:26:36.269 events are like that. And I would even say that 00:26:36.269 --> 00:26:39.710 a small portion of a Calgary flow performance 00:26:39.710 --> 00:26:44.420 is like that, where I'd say 99 % of it. Yeah, 00:26:44.539 --> 00:26:46.839 it's a performance for the audience for the audience's 00:26:46.839 --> 00:26:50.099 enjoyment. And that's why we do it. But there's 00:26:50.099 --> 00:26:54.019 a really kind of small, beautiful 1 % where we're 00:26:54.019 --> 00:26:58.279 doing it. And we are developing together as part 00:26:58.279 --> 00:27:00.380 of it. And we're building our own community in 00:27:00.380 --> 00:27:02.839 that. Yeah, I totally agree. I think that that 00:27:02.839 --> 00:27:05.819 goes hand in hand with with what we do. I think 00:27:05.819 --> 00:27:07.440 that we're there to make the greatest performance. 00:27:07.500 --> 00:27:10.000 And that's really the point of our concerts. 00:27:10.329 --> 00:27:13.549 But you can't help but develop as a player. You 00:27:13.549 --> 00:27:16.250 can't help but develop as a section, as a community 00:27:16.250 --> 00:27:19.210 of players on stage, working together all the 00:27:19.210 --> 00:27:21.910 time and sort of passing through the crucible 00:27:21.910 --> 00:27:26.170 of these often high stress, difficult concerts 00:27:26.170 --> 00:27:30.430 that we play. So I think it's wonderful that, 00:27:30.430 --> 00:27:33.650 yeah, the point on paper is one thing, but you 00:27:33.650 --> 00:27:36.599 can have a whole range of benefits. Aside from 00:27:36.599 --> 00:27:38.660 that, I think things get really interesting when 00:27:38.660 --> 00:27:40.599 you're talking about things like youth orchestras. 00:27:40.680 --> 00:27:43.740 Yeah. And like real development programs, because 00:27:43.740 --> 00:27:46.559 in a youth orchestra, like I played in Toronto 00:27:46.559 --> 00:27:48.039 Symphony Youth Orchestra when I was growing up, 00:27:49.000 --> 00:27:51.299 and a lot of the players in that orchestra were 00:27:51.299 --> 00:27:53.740 taking music and their instruments really seriously. 00:27:54.299 --> 00:27:57.359 They were thinking about, you know, maybe pursuing 00:27:57.359 --> 00:27:59.599 a career in it or certainly exploring, well, 00:27:59.599 --> 00:28:03.039 what am I capable of doing in this pursuit? And 00:28:03.039 --> 00:28:06.109 at that point, you have to start thinking a bit 00:28:06.109 --> 00:28:09.430 more seriously. It's not necessarily for the 00:28:09.430 --> 00:28:12.190 enjoyment and personal development of a kid, 00:28:12.690 --> 00:28:16.029 like a sixth grade band concert is. The flavor 00:28:16.029 --> 00:28:18.509 changes a little bit. And when someone in a youth 00:28:18.509 --> 00:28:20.690 orchestra decides that they want to pursue a 00:28:20.690 --> 00:28:23.630 career doing something, the flavor of that event 00:28:23.630 --> 00:28:25.730 really changes for them. Oh, it's so exciting. 00:28:26.289 --> 00:28:29.150 I mean, it's really... I haven't played in many 00:28:29.150 --> 00:28:31.309 youth orchestras, but like at Glenn Gould School, 00:28:31.410 --> 00:28:33.769 the Royal Conservatory Orchestra, which is the 00:28:33.769 --> 00:28:35.769 school's orchestra. They do like four concerts 00:28:35.769 --> 00:28:38.710 a year. And yeah, it's primarily an educational 00:28:38.710 --> 00:28:41.509 endeavor. Sure, we're in a degree -granting program 00:28:41.509 --> 00:28:45.029 and we're there to improve and develop ourselves 00:28:45.029 --> 00:28:47.849 as musicians. But like, holy smokes, I remember 00:28:47.849 --> 00:28:49.849 there's been some concerts where people have 00:28:49.849 --> 00:28:52.049 had solos where I've been like, holy smokes, 00:28:52.089 --> 00:28:54.740 that's insane playing, which is... kind of one 00:28:54.740 --> 00:28:56.299 of the cool things about training orchestras, 00:28:56.380 --> 00:28:58.960 youth orchestras is that as it crosses that cusp, 00:28:59.019 --> 00:29:02.099 it gets really excited, exciting when a section 00:29:02.099 --> 00:29:05.019 or the whole orchestra soloist pops out of being 00:29:05.019 --> 00:29:07.740 a student and like realizes like grows their 00:29:07.740 --> 00:29:10.740 wings, you know? Yeah, totally, totally. It can 00:29:10.740 --> 00:29:14.559 be really magical. Well, before we wrap up, Chris, 00:29:14.700 --> 00:29:16.500 I wanted to ask you, you've been in the orchestra 00:29:16.500 --> 00:29:19.279 for over a year now, you're surrounded by all 00:29:19.279 --> 00:29:21.160 these players on stage and you've gotten to know 00:29:21.160 --> 00:29:23.319 a lot of people's playing pretty well by now. 00:29:23.609 --> 00:29:27.009 Who's someone who's playing you, Admire? Oh, 00:29:27.329 --> 00:29:31.990 man. I really I mean, so many different people, 00:29:32.109 --> 00:29:34.109 right? I don't think I'll keep it to one. But 00:29:34.109 --> 00:29:38.250 to start, I think first of Alex Cohen, his musicianship 00:29:38.250 --> 00:29:41.119 like. that guy is always connecting with people 00:29:41.119 --> 00:29:43.960 and like he's connected with me i'm only a second 00:29:43.960 --> 00:29:45.420 trombone player and he'll connect with me if 00:29:45.420 --> 00:29:47.160 he knows it's only second trombone that's playing 00:29:47.160 --> 00:29:49.460 with him or only second and bass his connection 00:29:49.460 --> 00:29:51.819 across the orchestra is insane and that's alex 00:29:51.819 --> 00:29:53.579 cohen a principal timpanist in the orchestra 00:29:53.579 --> 00:29:57.700 yeah absolute beast and then honestly so much 00:29:57.700 --> 00:30:00.200 admiration just for my section um it's a lot 00:30:00.200 --> 00:30:03.279 of it's a good time especially for uh tom mccaslin 00:30:03.279 --> 00:30:06.559 like holy smokes man that guy i i feel like he 00:30:06.559 --> 00:30:09.900 has this effect on the orchestra when we're playing, 00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:12.700 actually just from the first tuning A, well I'll 00:30:12.700 --> 00:30:15.259 be playing the tuning A, Tom comes in for his 00:30:15.259 --> 00:30:19.099 A and everything just lines up. I mean one yes 00:30:19.099 --> 00:30:22.119 because it's a tuba but his sound has such a 00:30:22.119 --> 00:30:24.740 warm welcoming aspect to it that just makes you 00:30:24.740 --> 00:30:28.839 want to align with it. Anyone else? I mean honestly 00:30:28.839 --> 00:30:33.099 everyone. That's kind of a weak answer is it? 00:30:33.279 --> 00:30:35.460 No it's a great answer. It's a great answer. 00:30:36.619 --> 00:30:42.000 Oh, and do you know what? I absolutely love David 00:30:42.000 --> 00:30:45.440 Sessman's vibrato, the assistant principal oboe 00:30:45.440 --> 00:30:48.039 in English horn. His vibrato, it's just like, 00:30:48.140 --> 00:30:51.500 it has like this very like operatic quality that 00:30:51.500 --> 00:30:53.500 I don't think you hear in a ton of oboe players. 00:30:53.960 --> 00:30:57.000 It's so operatic and vocal and I love listening 00:30:57.000 --> 00:30:58.900 to his vibrato. Anytime he gets a solo where 00:30:58.900 --> 00:31:01.259 he can start on a long note and just do like 00:31:01.259 --> 00:31:03.730 the vibrato on it, it's just beautiful. Oh yeah, 00:31:03.769 --> 00:31:05.890 like when we played Ravel Piano Concerto. Yeah! 00:31:06.509 --> 00:31:11.549 Holy smokes! Yeah, what a treat. What a treat. 00:31:12.789 --> 00:31:14.329 Well Chris, thanks so much for coming on the 00:31:14.329 --> 00:31:16.029 show, this has been a lot of fun. Yeah, thanks 00:31:16.029 --> 00:31:19.829 for having me on, Adam. Notes from the Stage 00:31:19.829 --> 00:31:22.029 is an independent production of the Calgary Philharmonic 00:31:22.029 --> 00:31:24.849 Players Association. The opinions expressed here 00:31:24.849 --> 00:31:26.890 are our own and do not reflect those of the Calgary 00:31:26.890 --> 00:31:29.329 Philharmonic Orchestra. Our thanks to Nathan 00:31:29.329 --> 00:31:32.049 Chandler for his technical expertise. The music 00:31:32.049 --> 00:31:33.829 you heard on this episode was from the first 00:31:33.829 --> 00:31:36.769 trombone quartet by Saskia Upon, performed by 00:31:36.769 --> 00:31:39.269 the quartet Sass Rocket and the Splattertones, 00:31:39.569 --> 00:31:42.430 led here by Chris Leslie. On our next episode 00:31:42.430 --> 00:31:44.250 in two weeks, I'll be talking with Principal 00:31:44.250 --> 00:31:46.269 Horn, Nicky Labonte. Talk to you soon!