Hi there, and welcome to Notes from the Stage,
a show from the musicians of the Calgary Philharmonic.
We're the people playing our hearts out every
week of the orchestra's season. I'm Adam Zanatelli.
Usually I play first trumpet in the CPO, but
today I'm your host and I'm here with Alex Cohen,
principal timpanist in the orchestra. Hi, Alex.
Hey, Adam. Nice to be here with you. Well, Alex,
it's always a treat to chat with you and we often
are working so closely together in the orchestra
that we have a lot of work stuff to chat about
most of the time. But it's nice to get together
with you outside of work sometimes as well. For
sure, even from the first couple of weeks with
this orchestra, it was one of the big joys for
me to get to work closely with you, especially
in the classical repertoire, where we are really
on the same part most of the time. And I remember
those first couple of years when we were getting
together and actually going through the repertoire
in the practice room ahead of time together and
getting on the same page. And it's been really
fun from the get -go. Yeah, I remember one of
the very first things I was thinking about this
today. getting ready for this interview, one
of the very first things we played together was
the Handle Fireworks. And, you know, the timpani
really is fourth trumpet in that music. So we
got to really figure these things out right off
the bat. That was week one for me. Yeah. Oh,
wow. Boy, how long have you been in the orchestra
now, Alex? This is about 14 years. I arrived
in 2011 in February on a minus 35 day. And you
were coming from San Diego, right? Yeah, by way
of Cleveland. But yeah, that was a big shock.
You know, I was thinking Fahrenheit then and
I left San Diego in December and it was about
80 degrees Fahrenheit and I got here and it was
minus 35 was more than 100 degree swing. It was
a bit of a shock. But yeah, no, it's been wonderful.
It's been a great 14 years and and I'm really
happy to be here. So excellent. Well, we're really
happy to have you. You know. I think that a lot
of people don't really understand the job of
the timpanist in the orchestra. And I'm not sure
how complete of an understanding I have even,
but I think that what I do as principal trumpet
is really straightforward, right? Like I play
the trumpet solos, you know, everyone hears everything
that I do, you know, it sort of does what it
says on the tin. But for the timpanist, like
I think, you know, everyone sees the instrument
is of course very visually striking and playing
the instrument is very visually striking. Striking.
I didn't even mean to make that joke. That's
great. Reliable, Adam. I am. But I don't want
to put words into your mouth. So much of your
job, I think, is not obvious to a casual listener
in terms of what you're actually contributing
to the orchestra and how integral a part of the
orchestra you are. Can you tell us a bit about
what your job actually is? Yeah. So I think of
my job. as a few things. One is to be kind of
a rhythmic backbone in the low end in the bass
register of the orchestra. Part of the job that
really is fun for me and I think is really an
integral part is to be a colorist and the timpani
is an instrument that has such a wide range of
different sounds that we can make and so that's
a really big part is finding those colors that
really add texture to the orchestra. So that's
really fun. One thing that probably audience
members notice is that I have a whole range of
different timpani mallets in my case or cases
that stay on stage with me during concert. And
I'll usually start a week with something like,
I don't know, 30 or 40 pairs of sticks on the
case. and figuring out what colors I wanna use.
And each different mallet has a different palette
of sounds that it can make. But also, of course,
the way that you strike the instrument with the
mallet can change the color of sound that comes
out. So yeah, usually by the time the concert
comes around, maybe I only have 20 pairs of sticks
there. But yeah, so that's a big part. Early
in my time here, there was a very, very strong
connection between myself and Roberto, our former
music director, and I think he kind of thought
of my position as the instrument by which tempo
and particularly tempo changes could be affected.
If he felt the orchestra was slowing down, he'd
almost always look at me and say, you know, with
his eyes, let's push. So yeah, that's in a nutshell,
I think that's kind of more or less what the
way I see it. It's also one of the things I love
about the timpani as being distinct from the
rest of the percussion section. And it's one
of the main reasons that I gravitated towards
the timpani is that almost every work for orchestra
includes the timpani. This goes back as far as
Bach handle, you know, early pieces for orchestra
already have timpani. And percussion didn't come
into the repertoire until, well, you know, widespread
use until I'd say the, the late, uh, late classical
early romantic, even, even composers like Beethoven
and Brahms didn't write much for percussion.
Uh, but that's where I have these meaty, beautiful
timpani parts. And so that was something that
really, I thought, Oh, if I'm going to have a
life as a musician, I really want to play all
that stuff. So there's a level of consistency
of the role of the timpani player in the orchestra
that extends across the repertoire in a different
way than it does for percussion. And I really
appreciate having that role in all the different
Schumann, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Mozart, Brahms,
Beethoven, all of these wonderful composers that
I really love to be able to play. Yeah. And I
know that every time a Beethoven piano concerto
rolls around, it's going to be a good week for
you. That's your absolute favorite to play. Oh,
I love it. Yeah. I mean, it's one of the things
that's really nice about the earlier, earlier
stuff, especially the early classical and the
lighter, lighter classical repertoire is it's
not so technically demanding and that lack of
technical demand makes for a really open blank
slate. for expression. Yeah. And, um, you know,
there aren't the constraints of difficulty on
the instrument so much so you can really just
focus your energy on making the phrases you want
and shaping things in, in, in a nice way. And,
um, yeah, of course that's, that's a lot of stuff
that we enjoy playing together. Yeah. I mean,
those trumpet parts have, you know, the same
sort of low degree of difficulty. I mean, it's
hard in a different way. You don't want to step
on it. You can certainly ruin a concert. Sure.
Uh, but. When we're playing, we played Mozart
mass earlier this season and like it's so much
fun playing that stuff with you because it's
like all phrasing all the time. We try stuff,
you know, we'll play something one way and we'll
look at each other and be like, yeah, you know,
and we sort of figured out how to communicate
all that stuff. And it's so much fun. It is fun
because we all I think every musician spends
so much time trying to get good at their instrument,
trying to understand the music that they're going
to be playing. But when it comes to the actual
moment, what you want to be in is that state
of just like being creative and being responsive
and really making something come alive. And it
always feels like that playing classical repertoire
with you, Alex. Likewise. Yeah. It's a real treat.
One of the things that, well, so I studied the
Cleveland Institute of Music. I grew up in Cleveland
and studied at the Institute there and my teacher,
Paul Jančić, who was the principal timpanist
of the Cleveland Orchestra for roughly 40 years.
in one of my first lessons with him, he said,
you're a tympanist or you're going to be a tympanist
or something like that. But he said, don't think
of yourself as a tympanist. Think of yourself
as a musician that plays tympani. And that's
really stuck with me because executing the parts
on paper is, it can be hard, but it's, it's kind
of irrelevant. The, the meaning in the music
is between the notes and how you shape them.
And again, what colors you create and I feel
like, you know, you can, I can make as we all
can, a range of colors from sublime, calm, gentle
to really scary. I mean, there's, there's all
sorts of places we can put the audience members
the way we can, we can make them feel. And, uh,
that's what makes it fun for me and working with,
with my colleagues. The timpani is often featured
as, you know, you have lots of small solos all
over the repertoire, but most of the time I sort
of think of you as like the ultimate accompanist,
right? Because what you do makes everyone else
sound so much better, right? And that way that
you can nudge the time or bring us all together,
even in the most gentle flowing things, there's
always this incisiveness. to the sound of the
timpani that makes everything come together in
a beautiful way. And I think that that speaks
also to the great ears that you have, that you
bring to work all the time. I think that honestly,
I think you're a great timpanist, but yeah, I
think you're an amazing musician. And that's
the thing that every day at work, when I see
you over there, eyes out across the orchestra
and ears out across the orchestra, certainly.
That's the magic that I think you're able to
bring to things and I really appreciate seeing
that week in week out. Yeah, that's really what
makes it fun is being able to connect to different
people across the stage. Not too long ago, we
played the Enigma variations and everyone knows
Nimrod, the beautiful slow movement, but it occurred
to me and I talked to you about this afterwards.
The best part. of Nimrod is, you know, they get
the big statement of the theme and all that stuff.
And then there's this middle section. And when
it pivots into that middle section, you just
play this. And it's just right. It's absolutely
magic the way it pivots the whole color of the
orchestra into this new thing. It's understated.
It's great writing. You play it so well. And
like I just think that I think that to a lot
of people who don't play in an orchestra. The
expressive power that the timpani has is often
overlooked. I just think you'd work such magic
over there. Oh, thanks, Adam. Yeah, it's feel
privileged to to do this for a living. So and
especially with such a wonderful group of people,
I think we're so lucky here. It struck me from
from day one just how much and I remember you
speaking to Heather about this. And of course,
she's one of the that makes this working environment
a family. I'm speaking of Heather Wooten, who's
retiring soon, unfortunately. I mean, congratulations
to her. For sure, unfortunately for us. It's
such a wonderful group of people and of all the
orchestras I've worked with, it is the most community
-based. workplace. It's the nicest working environment
I've worked in. You know, I don't know exactly
what to attribute it to. Sometimes I wonder if
it has to do with the lockout that happened a
couple decades ago that people really banded
together and supported each other. I don't know
if it's that or if it's just they were uniquely
wonderful group of people. I don't know. But
yeah, I noticed that very early and I've really
appreciated it across generations. I remember
being welcomed into the homes of colleagues in
my first years, who were about to retire. And
I just always felt really welcomed here. And
so it makes it a joy to play on the stage. That's
great. But your whole job is not on the stage,
Alex, because like with many instruments in the
orchestra, not only do you have to play the instrument,
but you have a lot of invisible work as well.
And some of that Like, you know, double replayers
get their little woodworking hobby along with
their main job. But I know you do a lot of your
own instrument maintenance, which is something
that's like a constant concern with timpani.
And again, that's not obvious. I think most people
think it's a drum. What do you need to maintain?
But I know you also do a lot of work on your
own mallets. Do you make some of your own mallets?
So typically I buy the mallets and essentially
they're... They're usually they consist of a
shaft made of either bamboo lathed wood carbon
fiber or graphite and then on the end of it there's
a little ball that's usually made of wood or
leather or very hard compressed felt and then
on top of that there's typically an outer covering
that's sewn from something either the really
hard ones have billiard felt sewn as an exterior
covering. Most of them are felt, wool felt that
comes from Germany. I don't make the sticks from
scratch, but the felt wears out. And so that's
a big part of my job is, we call it wrapping
the mallets. So re -sewing the felt coverings
that go on. And it's a really cool part of the
job because first of all, I like making things
with my hands. It's fun to do that. But it's
also cool because it gives another layer of artistic
control where sometimes a conductor will say,
oh, that's almost the right color, but could
it be just 10 % brighter? And so I'll often go
home and cut out some felt and sew a new covering
and change the mallet just a touch. Well, if
it's beyond a change I can just make with my
technique. I can create a different mallet that
will get the different sound that I'm looking
for. So that's a piece of it. Other pieces, yeah,
basically the timpani, they're a machine. And
unlike a piano or brass or string instruments
where there are professionals in each city to
maintain those instruments, that's part of my
job. So I spend probably 100 to 150 hours a year
taking instruments apart, cleaning them, regreasing
them, putting new drum heads, adjusting things.
There's a process we call clearing the heads
where you make sure that all the screws that
hold the drum head on have about the same pitch.
So you get an even pitch. So when a head isn't
cleared, if you strike the drum in different
places, it will sound different pitches. That's
right. And you'll also get um, an inconsistent
pitch when you strike it in one place, it might
rise or fall. Um, and that's a, that's a really
tricky part of the job. That's, uh, that's the
part that, that probably stresses me out the
most. Um, because you can have great technique
and, and just feel like a million bucks with
your playing. And if the drums aren't cooperating,
it kind of doesn't matter. You can sound like
garbage. Yeah. The other thing that, that is
a big part of the job that people might not realize
and and it's probably part of the job for many
of us in the orchestra, I know it is for you,
is score study. You know, especially with my
instrument, a lot of the material I play isn't
that technically difficult, but it is really
important that it come at just the right time
and that it be just the right sounds. So a big
part of my work is score study, making sure that
all the information of who I play with on each
entrance is in my part. and important things
that come before or after that make sure I don't
get lost. Yeah, so there's a lot of that that
goes into the job as well. So Alex, what's it
like playing with your sister? Man, it is so
awesome. I never thought that we would play in
the orchestra. I actually never even dreamed
of it. For those listening, we're talking about
our concertmaster, Diana Cohen. Yeah, so Diana
and I have have been quite close for most of
our life, but yeah, I never, I never really,
it was never a goal to get into the same orchestra.
It was never really on my radar. It's, it's such
a hard thing. Yeah. For people that have family
that are also musicians or spouses or whatever,
to get a job in the same orchestra is nearly
impossible. You know, we do have a couple of
members, well, a handful of members that, uh,
in the orchestra that are married and, and a
couple that actually one jobs in the orchestra
after they had been an item. Yeah, it's really,
it's a hard thing to achieve. And so I never
really dreamt of it, but it's been absolutely
wonderful on stage and off. You know, I really
respect my sister as a musician. She's always
been incredible, hard worker and a huge talent.
And so it's, it's really fun to get to play with
her, but it's also awesome. You know, we live
pretty far from where we grew up in Cleveland.
So it's really awesome to have. our family have
centered in Calgary. Yeah, so it's really fun.
It's fun when the music making is great. We get
to look across the stage and play together. From
where I sit on stage, you know, I can see you
and I can see Diana. And when I'm ever sort of
not sure where things are going or what we're
trying to do, I can often kind of like intercept
messages happening non -verbally between you.
Sort of like, and I realized that when you two
are on the same page about something, it's so
easy to attach myself to that, right? And I think
a lot of people in the orchestra are, you know,
consciously are not able to latch on to that.
So I think it's sort of an amplification of just
the idea that when you play with people for a
long period of time, you get so tuned in to how
they work and what they're trying to do. And
that's how an orchestra gels over time. you two
have like a free 20 years of that, that we all
benefit from, I think. Yeah, but those connections,
of course, it's special when it's a sibling,
but those connections exist throughout the orchestra.
And one of the people I've had the most fun playing
with here was Sam Locke, who I'm so happy for
him that he got a job with the National Arts
Center Orchestra as principal bass there. But
the bass and the timpani played together a lot.
And we were just looking at each other all the
time and playing things together. And again,
that non -verbal communication is so much fun.
And you really can, yeah, you can, it's amazing
how much you can get on the same page without
saying a word. And I have to say, it's really
interesting to see how the culture of communication
musically has changed over the years here. So
in my early years, when Roberto was music director,
he's an incredibly strong technician, conductor,
and he has extremely strong ideas that he brings
to the music. So during those years, it was very
much, and correct me if you have a different
interpretation, but everybody look at Roberto,
everybody get all their information from Roberto,
and It worked. I mean, he really knew how to
use his hands to communicate what he needed to.
Our current music director, Runa Bergman, has
a very different approach. It is a very collaborative
approach, and I feel we've been invited to collaborate
with our colleagues in a different way. So in
places where in the past, perhaps I would have
always looked to the podium for a cue or information
about the character of an entrance. Now we find
ourselves looking around the orchestra to the
colleagues that we're playing with more and It's
really changed the orchestra in an interesting
way and it will also be interesting to see How
that evolves as we move into the next phase as
we get a new music director soon But yeah, it's
it's interesting how these things ebb and flow
Yeah, and I think that the contrast makes us
better as well, right we become more well -rounded
musicians, more well -rounded ensemble players,
as we develop these skill sets, where if you're
always playing with the same conductor, you don't
necessarily work all those muscles. Yeah, it's
really fun when we get different people on the
podium and we get to be pushed in different ways.
I think it's really healthy for an orchestra.
One other forum in which you get to collaborate
with your sister Diana is Chamberfest. Which
I know started in Cleveland and now it has a
Calgary counterpart. Yeah, so Chamberfest Cleveland
started around the same time that I joined the
orchestra here, 2011, within a year or so of
that. And Chamberfest West, I think was a dream
of Diana's for quite a few years, but it really
kind of started to take shape during the pandemic
when most of our avenues for performing were
gone. And Diana and her husband Roman, who's
an absolutely wonderful concert pianist, they
started playing concerts in their front yard
with a little electronic keyboard. And at first
it was just a few people sitting in the front
yard listening and by the end of the pandemic,
they sometimes had a hundred or more people in
their front yard or in the street. Actually,
it was kind of funny. Sometimes cars would come
and not be able to pass the street because it
was full of people sitting in lawn chairs listening
to concerts. But it really was wonderful. And
they really galvanized a community in their neighborhood
around chamber music. But also the greater Calgary
music lovers community really seemed to believe
in Diana and Roman's vision of bringing a top
-level chamber music festival to Calgary in the
summer. So I think this is this is the third
or fourth year that they will be holding the
festival and this year it's July 14th to 19th
both in Cleveland and here they always do a themed
festival and this year the theme is Lost and
Found which I think is kind of funny but it's
always interesting to see the way that they pull
various repertoire in and create programs that
really work with the theme they're working with.
And so this year it's July 14th to 19th. There
will be concerts at the Bella Concert Hall at
Mount Royal, the National Music Center, the Rosé
Center at the University of Calgary, the Grand
Theatre and at the Fairmount Palace or Hotel.
This is also the second year that they're going
to be holding an outdoor concert at C -Space
in Mardaloupe. And last year that was so fun.
There was a big crowd out on the grass with their
glasses of wine and their lawn chairs and just
really enjoying how beautiful Calgary can be
in the summer and some wonderful music to go
along with it. So that's going to be the second
year that that happens and it's really a wonderful
way to kick off a festival. So that's really
cool. Awesome. Where can people go to find out
more about Chamberfest West this year? chamberfestwestyyc
.com is the website, and you can see all of the
concerts there. Sublime soundscapes, grand adventures,
signs and souvenirs, making waves, rise and shine,
and distinctive voices, and that's the one that
I'll be performing on this summer. I'm really
excited to be playing a piece that I played at
Chamberfest. Cleveland a few years ago which
is called Thunder by a Hungarian composer Peter
Ötvös and it's a really cool piece for one timpano
and it uses the instrument in a in an unpitched
fashion so it's kind of cool it's graphic notation
work with where he writes gestures and I use
the pedal of the timpano to adjust the tension
on the drum head as I normally would with with
any other music but this music doesn't have any
fixed pitches so it's all just gestural and it's
it's really fun it's kind of wild piece for for
just me and one drum Cool. Yeah, I know I know
Peter at Voshe. He wrote a cool trumpet concerto
called Jetstream. Cool. Yeah Yeah, that'll be
I'm looking forward to that concert. I hope I
can make it awesome. I don't look at my calendar
Get my tickets now. Yeah for sure at chamberfestwestyyc
.com. That's right and one of the really cool
things about chamberfest on both sides of the
border is that they always find cool venues and
the programming is always incredible and Well,
and the musicians are always such a delight.
I get to play with absolutely wonderful people,
but they also tend to get a really excited following.
And so those tickets do often sell out. So for
those who might be looking to attend this summer,
I definitely would recommend getting on it. But
your summers are busy, Alex. Aside from Chamberfest,
you're also involved with spin. Yeah, I am so
excited about SPIN. SPIN is the Summer Percussion
Institute, which takes place at Mount Royal University.
This will be the third summer of SPIN and it's
a one week long camp for percussionists or people
that are percussion curious, ranging from middle
school through high school age. and I've teamed
up with some really wonderful colleagues in the
percussion community here, Nia DeVitsas, Sean
Buckley, Chris Size, and Malcolm Lim. And the
five of us together have put together this camp,
which has really been very gratifying. We've
had some wonderful kids and they learned so much.
And of course we learn a lot by helping to mentor
them. Yeah, it's really cool. I feel like I feel
really proud to have been part of creating an
atmosphere where kids can come and learn very
high level skills in just a very casual, very
accepting environment. And it's really cool to
see the kids skills grow, to see them building
friendships, to see them building confidence
around music. and building skills through music
that will serve them in many parts of their lives.
And so I'm really excited about that. And if
anyone wants to support music education and percussion
education, please do reach out to the Mount Royal
University Music Department. And we would love
to have your support in helping young percussionists
get all the wonderful skills that hopefully we're
helping them cultivate. So my son is a budding
percussionist himself with a little too young
to be doing this camp But for the last couple
of years I've brought him to the end of week
concert that's been and it's always been really
inspiring for him not only to hear You know people
playing percussion together, which is great.
But also for him to see young people not that
much older than him doing well and enjoying what
they're doing so I can I can see the the snowballing
of of the good stuff that's happening at spin
we're going to be so happy to have him. He's
getting close to the age that fits in our framework.
And that'll be really fun. And what are the dates
for spin this summer? This summer, it is July
21st to 25th. And yeah, typically Monday to Friday,
basically, or something like that. Yeah. Great.
Yeah. Alex, you're one of the most avid outdoors
people I know. And not only do I know that you're
out there doing amazing stuff all the time, I
know that you're also one of the big enablers
for people coming into the orchestra who are
interested in getting into that stuff. And on
top of that, I'm always very glad to hear how
safety -minded you are. Yeah, so I feel so grateful
to have landed in this part of the world where
we have these beautiful rocky mountains nearby.
It was really a dream of mine to live in the
West after I did a few summers at the Aspen Music
Festival as a college student. And so yeah, when
I landed here in Calgary, I was literally over
the moon. Yeah, mainly, you know, I'd say my
primary passion outside of music is backcountry
skiing. And we really are in a wonderful place
in the world for that. So that's really fun.
Yeah. And the summer hiking and biking and We're
really fortunate here and, and it's cool because
we have an unusual schedule here and it's not
always ideal for our family lives. But one of
the things that's really cool about it is that
we get days off when some other people don't.
Of course we don't get days off when others do,
but we get a chance to go out and recreate in
the mountains at times that other people are
at work. So. That's really cool, especially as
a backcountry skier when you're always searching
for fresh powder. It's nice to be able to go
out there and not be competing with others for
the same ski line. Well, and even for safety
to not have people skiing above you and potentially
creating danger for you. But it is really cool
that we have a community in the orchestra of
people that many of them are interested in some
of these same things that I am. and it's fun
to be able to take new members out and recreate
in the mountains together and maybe expose them
to cool things about living in Calgary that they
wouldn't otherwise be able to. Yeah, so during
the winter, I certainly, if I can be out in those
mountains once a week or so, getting some skiing
in, I'm really happy about that. Awesome. I know,
well, one thing we have in common is a love for
riding bikes. And I really like in the summer
here, we have these beautiful pathways and it's
so fun to get on my bike and just ride for an
hour or two in the afternoon. And, and it's such
a beautiful place to be. And I really appreciate
the investment that, that our local government
has put into that bike infrastructure. Cause
it's nice to be able to. go ride your bike and
not worry about getting hit by a car or something
like that. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, for sure. Well,
Alex, in your 14 years here, you've heard a lot
of great playing on stage. I want to know who
inspires you. There are so many people who I
have so much respect for on our stage. I mean,
almost everyone uprooted their life from somewhere
around the world. Not everybody, we have some
really wonderful local Calgary talent in our
orchestra, which is awesome. But we have such
a wonderful group of people and I have respect
for every single one of them. There are a couple
people, of course I know you ask this question
every time. Yeah, I know. The cat's out of the
bag now. People can prepare to answer this question.
Been thinking about it. But yeah, there are so
many wonderful people. And in general, the people
I enjoy playing with the most and the people
that are most fun for me to play with. are what
we were talking about before, where I know I
can look over and catch their eye and we can
play a phrase together and kind of make some
magic together, which is really fun. I want to
give a special little acknowledgement for two
people who this season have been thrust into
the spotlight. And I'm speaking of Jocelyn Cahoon
and David Sussman, our assistant principal clarinet
and oboe. Those two who have been each playing
in this orchestra for decades have stepped into
principal roles and just absolutely done a wonderful
job week in week out. And I know how difficult
it can be to step into a different role when
you're not used to the demands of that job. And
I know even just technically it changes your
playing. perhaps higher in the register. You're
just doing different things with the instrument
projecting more than you might in a second clarinet
or second oboe roll. And I'm just so proud of
the work that both of those two have done over
the course of this season. They've just played
with such wonderful artistry and it's really
inspiring to see some folks, especially Jocelyn's
retiring at the end of this season, absolutely
playing at an incredibly high level. in a role
that they're not typically doing. So that's really
awesome. That's great. And I think we'll be hearing
from Jocelyn on the next episode of this show.
Awesome. So you can all tune back in for that
in two weeks. Awesome. So one very last question.
Are you OK with how things went with the spouses
episode that came out? Absolutely. I thought
that was such a great idea. And I know my wife,
Tiffany, had such a good time recording that.
Yeah, yeah, that was really fun. Oh, I'm really
glad about that, Alex. I too, seeing that recording
coming up on the calendar was a little bit nervous
about it, but I think it turned out pretty well.
Yeah, I think they had fun. Great, Alex. Well,
thanks so much for sitting down with me. It's
always great to chat with you. Likewise, Adam,
and thanks for the work you're doing with this.
I hope that it's really fun for our audience
members to get a window into what our private
lives and... the things they don't see on stage
include. So, thanks. Great, thanks Alex. You
can watch all of these full performances on Chamberfest
Cleveland's YouTube channel. On our next episode
in two weeks, I'll be talking with Assistant
Principal Clarinet, Jocelyn Calhoun. Talk to
you soon!