WEBVTT 00:00:01.639 --> 00:00:34.170 ["Pomp and Circumstance"] Hi there, and welcome 00:00:34.170 --> 00:00:35.929 to Notes from the Stage, a show from the musicians 00:00:35.929 --> 00:00:37.630 of the Calgary Philharmonic. We're the people 00:00:37.630 --> 00:00:39.469 playing our hearts out every week of the orchestra 00:00:39.469 --> 00:00:42.289 season. I'm Adams Innatelli. Usually I play first 00:00:42.289 --> 00:00:44.070 trumpet in the Calgary Phil, but today I'm your 00:00:44.070 --> 00:00:46.530 host, and I'm here with John Yeoh, brand new 00:00:46.530 --> 00:00:48.990 assistant principal double bass of the CPO. Hi, 00:00:49.130 --> 00:00:51.210 John! Hello, hello! How are you doing? Good, 00:00:51.429 --> 00:00:54.200 very good. How about you? very well thanks so 00:00:54.200 --> 00:00:56.619 i say you're the new assistant principal double 00:00:56.619 --> 00:00:58.560 base which is true but you're not new to the 00:00:58.560 --> 00:01:03.439 cpo that's correct yes i was a section base before 00:01:03.439 --> 00:01:06.879 and there many uh trials and tribulations, I've 00:01:06.879 --> 00:01:10.480 eventually gotten a promotion, I guess. That's 00:01:10.480 --> 00:01:12.739 right. But not not like in most businesses, when 00:01:12.739 --> 00:01:14.719 you get a promotion through good, you know, doing 00:01:14.719 --> 00:01:17.280 a good job, presumably, or the Peter principle, 00:01:17.319 --> 00:01:19.959 depending on your job, you have to go basically 00:01:19.959 --> 00:01:22.900 from scratch. Yeah, pretty much. So that was 00:01:22.900 --> 00:01:26.200 a lot of fun. So, yeah, just for people who don't 00:01:26.200 --> 00:01:28.319 know the business, what does that mean? Like 00:01:28.319 --> 00:01:31.480 when you're already in an orchestra and you want 00:01:31.480 --> 00:01:33.700 to move to a different position within that orchestra. 00:01:34.159 --> 00:01:36.859 When that happens essentially you have to you 00:01:36.859 --> 00:01:39.459 compete with the exact same applicant pool from 00:01:39.459 --> 00:01:42.599 whoever else outside would be Applying for the 00:01:42.599 --> 00:01:46.140 job. So So an open audition open to anyone just 00:01:46.140 --> 00:01:48.400 like just like any other job in the orchestra. 00:01:48.439 --> 00:01:53.379 Mm -hmm I do get to Bypass the first round but 00:01:53.379 --> 00:01:56.620 aside from that my audition the screen stayed 00:01:56.620 --> 00:02:00.719 up the entire time so people listening did not 00:02:00.719 --> 00:02:05.370 know who I was and Thankfully, they ended up 00:02:05.370 --> 00:02:07.329 picking me. Yeah, that's great. You know, I think 00:02:07.329 --> 00:02:10.189 the screen staying up is great for a lot of reasons. 00:02:10.590 --> 00:02:12.669 You know, you want to have the fairest possible 00:02:12.669 --> 00:02:16.229 audition, but also when you win an audition with 00:02:16.229 --> 00:02:18.909 the screen up, you know that you've won it with 00:02:18.909 --> 00:02:21.449 your playing. Yeah, absolutely. And like I wouldn't 00:02:21.449 --> 00:02:24.830 have it any other way. Obviously, like it's also 00:02:24.830 --> 00:02:26.729 like a really good feeling to be like, yeah, 00:02:26.889 --> 00:02:29.229 I was the one that played really well that day 00:02:29.229 --> 00:02:31.810 and was the one that was chosen. Like it's a 00:02:31.810 --> 00:02:35.590 very gratifying. Sensation. Yeah, and when you're 00:02:35.590 --> 00:02:38.189 in the job, you know It gives you a different 00:02:38.189 --> 00:02:40.370 sense of confidence because you know that yeah, 00:02:40.370 --> 00:02:42.490 they picked you based on your playing They picked 00:02:42.490 --> 00:02:45.050 you based on the decisions that you made for 00:02:45.050 --> 00:02:48.909 that audition So you have more confidence in 00:02:48.909 --> 00:02:51.509 your choices? Mm -hmm So I think the other interesting 00:02:51.509 --> 00:02:53.550 part of auditioning for a job within your own 00:02:53.550 --> 00:02:56.289 orchestra Is that you're letting go of any influence 00:02:56.289 --> 00:02:58.469 that you might have in the process, right? Yeah, 00:02:58.629 --> 00:03:00.710 normally like, you know musicians love to be 00:03:00.710 --> 00:03:03.379 a critical and they love to be on the panel oftentimes 00:03:03.379 --> 00:03:06.400 and they love to give their own opinions. And 00:03:06.400 --> 00:03:08.080 yeah, when you're actually auditioning for it, 00:03:08.080 --> 00:03:12.500 you're the one who's being opined on. Yeah, that's 00:03:12.500 --> 00:03:14.379 right. And, you know, if you hadn't won the audition, 00:03:14.699 --> 00:03:16.539 you're going to be working next to someone who 00:03:16.539 --> 00:03:19.240 you had no input in choosing. Right. And if you 00:03:19.240 --> 00:03:21.020 had if you hadn't taken the audition, you probably 00:03:21.020 --> 00:03:22.919 would have been on that panel. Yeah. So you would 00:03:22.919 --> 00:03:25.819 have had some input into the higher. Yeah. Yeah. 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:29.099 I mean, this was like the third time that I auditioned 00:03:29.099 --> 00:03:32.129 for that same spot. I auditioned three trumpet 00:03:32.129 --> 00:03:35.430 auditions. Really? Yeah. Yeah. So you know how 00:03:35.430 --> 00:03:38.610 fun it is to bash your head on the same. Yeah, 00:03:38.669 --> 00:03:42.250 yeah, yeah. And like live with like a small amount 00:03:42.250 --> 00:03:45.069 of music for the better part of I don't know. 00:03:45.069 --> 00:03:47.310 Like for me, I think it was like one and a half 00:03:47.310 --> 00:03:50.430 years. It felt really long. Mm hmm. Really took 00:03:50.430 --> 00:03:54.110 up a lot of all my free time, really, because 00:03:54.110 --> 00:03:58.830 you got to practice. But I feel through all that, 00:03:58.830 --> 00:04:01.400 like it started to each audition kind of really 00:04:01.400 --> 00:04:05.020 felt like a marked like signpost of progress 00:04:05.020 --> 00:04:08.159 for me. Yeah, it was. I haven't really experienced 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:10.800 that that much in music. We're like, oh, I am 00:04:10.800 --> 00:04:13.599 actually getting better. That's weird and kind 00:04:13.599 --> 00:04:15.960 of cool. That's so funny. You know, how long 00:04:15.960 --> 00:04:19.040 have you been in the job now in in the CPL? Yeah, 00:04:19.160 --> 00:04:22.959 I joined in 2020, actually. Oh, right before 00:04:22.959 --> 00:04:26.410 the shutdown. Yes. So I got. really lucky with 00:04:26.410 --> 00:04:28.709 the audition timing because the audition i think 00:04:28.709 --> 00:04:32.730 was november 2019 and then yeah a couple months 00:04:32.730 --> 00:04:36.089 later stuff was kind of crazy yeah but boy you 00:04:36.089 --> 00:04:38.949 know you talk about uh trying to have that experience 00:04:38.949 --> 00:04:42.230 of like oh i'm better now it will come that started 00:04:42.230 --> 00:04:44.970 for me a whole you know around like 11 12 years 00:04:44.970 --> 00:04:47.230 on the job things started coming around and i 00:04:47.230 --> 00:04:49.370 was like i remember this being hard or i remember 00:04:49.370 --> 00:04:52.269 this passage being a challenge and like you know 00:04:52.269 --> 00:04:54.569 then i'm preparing it again and it's like oh 00:04:54.569 --> 00:04:56.930 This isn't like a nightmare challenge anymore. 00:04:57.050 --> 00:04:58.769 This is an opportunity for me to do something 00:04:58.769 --> 00:05:02.569 beautiful. So I think give it a little more time 00:05:02.569 --> 00:05:04.129 and I think you'll see those parts coming back 00:05:04.129 --> 00:05:06.170 on your stand and have some different feelings 00:05:06.170 --> 00:05:07.970 about them. I mean, I think I'm already starting 00:05:07.970 --> 00:05:10.370 to notice that as well, like possibly because 00:05:10.370 --> 00:05:13.870 I was in audition shape. Like, I definitely started 00:05:13.870 --> 00:05:17.290 to notice that, like the contributions that I 00:05:17.290 --> 00:05:19.959 was making, it was starting to. like little micro 00:05:19.959 --> 00:05:22.160 influences within the section and you know how 00:05:22.160 --> 00:05:24.160 that kind of blossoms out in the orchestra the 00:05:24.160 --> 00:05:28.360 whole microcosm of what we do you know but it 00:05:28.360 --> 00:05:30.500 was like oh that's kind of cool and i don't know 00:05:30.500 --> 00:05:32.420 especially for bass it's such like a rhythmically 00:05:32.420 --> 00:05:34.740 driven instrument and i started really noticing 00:05:34.740 --> 00:05:36.579 especially when i was sitting front stand which 00:05:36.579 --> 00:05:41.180 i'm now always sitting all the time um just like 00:05:41.180 --> 00:05:43.680 the little tiny like especially with bass it's 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:46.899 such a slow moving instrument and like you know 00:05:46.899 --> 00:05:50.560 bases are always late so if we just a little 00:05:50.560 --> 00:05:53.079 tiny fraction play more ahead of the beat i'm 00:05:53.079 --> 00:05:55.060 noticing a huge difference already and just like 00:05:55.060 --> 00:05:58.019 keeping things moving because large masses like 00:05:58.019 --> 00:06:01.259 an orchestra often like to slow down and drag 00:06:01.259 --> 00:06:03.680 yeah yeah i i think to the lay person it might 00:06:03.680 --> 00:06:05.740 not be clear how much the bass section is driving 00:06:05.740 --> 00:06:10.160 the bus yeah it's it's terrifying especially 00:06:10.160 --> 00:06:12.699 now that i'm sitting front desk yeah yeah yeah 00:06:12.699 --> 00:06:14.959 boy oh boy yeah but yeah the the bass instruments 00:06:14.959 --> 00:06:16.920 across the orchestra i'm thinking of tuba as 00:06:16.920 --> 00:06:19.579 well and tom caslin is so good at this of like 00:06:19.579 --> 00:06:21.959 really having this propulsive sense of rhythm 00:06:22.160 --> 00:06:25.759 That like unifies and drives the whole ensemble. 00:06:25.759 --> 00:06:28.860 Yeah, totally like for me before when I was sitting 00:06:28.860 --> 00:06:31.699 section a lot of times I mean, okay, this might 00:06:31.699 --> 00:06:33.519 sound bad, but sometimes you feel like you can 00:06:33.519 --> 00:06:36.600 coast, you know, like you you don't have to a 00:06:36.600 --> 00:06:38.620 lot of times Yeah, you're like committing musically, 00:06:38.720 --> 00:06:40.639 but you don't have to make the decisions and 00:06:40.639 --> 00:06:43.100 put in as much charge I feel ever even though 00:06:43.100 --> 00:06:45.360 everyone every section player always has their 00:06:45.360 --> 00:06:47.959 level of decision -making as well but but it's 00:06:47.959 --> 00:06:50.519 also a section players job to Contribute to the 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:53.500 unity of the sex exactly exactly and now that 00:06:53.500 --> 00:06:56.800 I'm leading a lot more. It's Sometimes you'll 00:06:56.800 --> 00:06:58.779 feel like when I'm coming in on an entrance. 00:06:58.779 --> 00:07:00.819 It almost feels like like you're naked, you know, 00:07:01.079 --> 00:07:04.240 like I know that I'm sure you know Yeah, I mean 00:07:04.240 --> 00:07:06.339 you got all these big solos all the time and 00:07:06.339 --> 00:07:09.720 whatnot and having a place all the things it's 00:07:09.720 --> 00:07:12.399 just Just like coming in and making sure you're 00:07:12.399 --> 00:07:15.259 on time or like you're driving driving things 00:07:15.259 --> 00:07:17.560 along for me is what I really find it's like 00:07:17.629 --> 00:07:19.269 Especially again, like what I was saying with 00:07:19.269 --> 00:07:22.889 bass, oftentimes we're late. Oftentimes we play 00:07:22.889 --> 00:07:25.709 later than what I'd like in general, I guess. 00:07:25.970 --> 00:07:27.949 When you have to lead and you have to start before 00:07:27.949 --> 00:07:30.670 anyone else, like by three milliseconds, it's 00:07:30.670 --> 00:07:32.129 still really terrifying because you're like, 00:07:32.250 --> 00:07:35.750 oh god, it's only me for that. My new show of 00:07:35.750 --> 00:07:38.649 a second yeah the tip of the spear yeah exactly 00:07:38.649 --> 00:07:40.649 exactly yeah and like that's not something to 00:07:40.649 --> 00:07:43.389 say that like the section principle comes in 00:07:43.389 --> 00:07:45.529 early and then everyone comes in after them it's 00:07:45.529 --> 00:07:48.629 like such a micro micro scale yeah you're just. 00:07:49.050 --> 00:07:51.149 Dictating in such a way that everyone else can 00:07:51.149 --> 00:07:53.550 fly in formation with you exactly yeah and now 00:07:53.550 --> 00:07:57.050 i have to be like really aware of how i move 00:07:57.050 --> 00:08:03.079 as well and like. I'm really high. I hate counting 00:08:03.079 --> 00:08:04.800 rest. I'm not good at counting rest. I'm the 00:08:04.800 --> 00:08:06.160 sort of person that I'm terrible at counting 00:08:06.160 --> 00:08:08.579 right to use. And yeah, I written a ton of cues 00:08:08.579 --> 00:08:11.660 as well. Yeah. And and yeah, when it comes to 00:08:11.660 --> 00:08:13.920 that now, it's like, I'm so conscious of when 00:08:13.920 --> 00:08:15.860 I get ready, because it's like, if I screw up, 00:08:15.959 --> 00:08:17.959 everyone's going to like, look at me. Yeah. Yeah. 00:08:18.120 --> 00:08:19.699 If I screw up, they might come in at the wrong 00:08:19.699 --> 00:08:21.980 place, too. It was just a just be a bad time. 00:08:22.420 --> 00:08:25.000 Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. So I'm really trying to. not 00:08:25.000 --> 00:08:28.660 be as much of a space cadet. Here's a good opportunity 00:08:28.660 --> 00:08:30.540 for me to say thank you to my colleagues who 00:08:30.540 --> 00:08:32.879 sit near me, who saved my butt on rest counting 00:08:32.879 --> 00:08:36.080 frequently. Yes, me too, honestly. Thanks. The 00:08:36.080 --> 00:08:37.639 problem is sometimes you're listening. It's like 00:08:37.639 --> 00:08:39.279 someone's doing something really beautiful. You're 00:08:39.279 --> 00:08:43.139 like, oh, yeah, that. Yeah. It's like, oh, no. 00:08:44.700 --> 00:08:46.940 Yeah, yeah. That's something else that gets easier 00:08:46.940 --> 00:08:48.480 when you've been on the job longer and you know 00:08:48.480 --> 00:08:51.279 the tunes better. Yes. Yeah. The worst, the worst 00:08:51.279 --> 00:08:52.899 rest to count are the first movement of Beethoven 00:08:52.899 --> 00:08:55.830 five. Terrible rests to count. Yeah, it is this 00:08:55.830 --> 00:08:58.269 in one it's fast. It's lots of stuff stops Is 00:08:58.269 --> 00:09:01.629 there a beat of prep or is that a downbeat of 00:09:01.629 --> 00:09:04.129 a silent bar after a fermata? Yeah, especially 00:09:04.129 --> 00:09:05.889 like the pending like every conductor does it 00:09:05.889 --> 00:09:08.210 differently. Yeah. Yeah that one I know well 00:09:08.210 --> 00:09:09.610 enough that I don't have to count the rest. Yeah, 00:09:09.610 --> 00:09:12.789 that's good Yeah, I think I'm getting there Which 00:09:12.789 --> 00:09:15.529 is good because we're playing that soon while 00:09:15.529 --> 00:09:16.850 you're looking forward to Beethoven five this 00:09:16.850 --> 00:09:20.830 week. Yes like Beethoven five is one of those 00:09:21.000 --> 00:09:24.039 I mean, I know a lot of instruments have like 00:09:24.039 --> 00:09:28.320 big excerpts with Beethoven five For bass the 00:09:28.320 --> 00:09:31.879 third movement in particular is like the excerpt 00:09:31.879 --> 00:09:35.840 Like if you see a list or an audition that doesn't 00:09:35.840 --> 00:09:39.299 have that on the list. It's like what? Like that's 00:09:39.299 --> 00:09:41.360 it's like it's like a really hipster thing to 00:09:41.360 --> 00:09:45.279 do You know, so like every bass player knows 00:09:45.279 --> 00:09:48.399 it and For good reason. It's really hard. It's 00:09:48.399 --> 00:09:50.460 also really fun. It's just a great piece of music 00:09:50.350 --> 00:09:53.149 And on that program is also Mozart 40, which 00:09:53.149 --> 00:09:55.929 is another beefy bass thing. Yeah. Nice, nice 00:09:55.929 --> 00:09:58.370 light week for you. Yeah, exactly. Yeah. On the 00:09:58.370 --> 00:10:01.190 plus side, those are both on the audition. So 00:10:01.190 --> 00:10:04.730 I'm still relatively fresh, relatively prepared. 00:10:05.090 --> 00:10:06.769 Yeah, that's great. You know, my favorite part 00:10:06.769 --> 00:10:08.610 of Mozart 40, there's no trumpets in Mozart 40, 00:10:08.690 --> 00:10:11.710 but I always love going out in the hall, especially 00:10:11.710 --> 00:10:13.950 in a concert and listening to it, because in 00:10:13.950 --> 00:10:16.269 the fourth movement, I think is right at the 00:10:16.269 --> 00:10:20.029 beginning of the development. There's this wild 00:10:20.029 --> 00:10:23.950 and crazy few bars. There's a 12 -tone row that 00:10:23.950 --> 00:10:27.389 Mozart writes in there, and it is shocking in 00:10:27.389 --> 00:10:32.950 this very virtuosically tonal language of Mozart. 00:10:33.370 --> 00:10:36.750 All of a sudden, there's this totally abstract 00:10:36.750 --> 00:10:43.840 setting of the rhythm of the... It's shocking. 00:10:44.139 --> 00:10:46.240 Yeah, it's a shocking moment. I always love to 00:10:46.240 --> 00:10:48.879 see how an audience react, you know, because 00:10:48.879 --> 00:10:52.220 some people are like deeply stunned by this because 00:10:52.220 --> 00:10:56.539 it's wild music and some people I feel. Don't 00:10:56.539 --> 00:10:58.460 even I think they think that they heard something 00:10:58.460 --> 00:11:00.799 wrong and they're like, was that a mistake? What 00:11:00.799 --> 00:11:03.299 just happened? But you know, like that's the 00:11:03.299 --> 00:11:05.549 technique that in the. First half of the 20th 00:11:05.549 --> 00:11:08.289 century would drive much of music and first half 00:11:08.289 --> 00:11:10.789 and beyond of 20th century. So What could Mozart 00:11:10.789 --> 00:11:13.090 have done if he had more years? Yeah, seriously. 00:11:13.210 --> 00:11:15.590 Yeah Yeah, the part that you're speaking in particular 00:11:15.590 --> 00:11:17.769 like I guess I don't I never really realized 00:11:17.769 --> 00:11:20.190 how weird and off the cuff it is Yeah, you know, 00:11:20.370 --> 00:11:23.929 it's like, oh, this is pretty discordant and 00:11:23.929 --> 00:11:26.590 I mean that that whole movement is super metal. 00:11:27.110 --> 00:11:30.169 Yeah But especially that part that you're talking 00:11:30.169 --> 00:11:32.710 about. Yeah. Yeah What a great program really 00:11:32.710 --> 00:11:36.860 looking forward to it. Yeah Absolutely So John 00:11:36.860 --> 00:11:41.200 you are a real rarity in that you are from Calgary. 00:11:41.500 --> 00:11:44.379 Yes, and you live and work in Calgary Yeah, I'm 00:11:44.379 --> 00:11:47.399 super lucky and I feel like a lot of I don't 00:11:47.399 --> 00:11:49.679 know. I guess like cuz I've grown up here I've 00:11:49.679 --> 00:11:52.720 known so many people who have gone away and come 00:11:52.720 --> 00:11:56.120 back not just in music but just in general Yeah, 00:11:56.120 --> 00:11:58.740 it's a pretty place. It's really nice has a lot 00:11:58.740 --> 00:12:02.029 like good balance of Of chill, but also is like 00:12:02.029 --> 00:12:05.429 a proper city. Yeah. Yeah. So. So where did you 00:12:05.429 --> 00:12:08.450 go when you left town? I did my undergrad at 00:12:08.450 --> 00:12:10.149 University of Calgary. So I first started off 00:12:10.149 --> 00:12:13.090 playing bass with Sheila Garrett, one of our 00:12:13.090 --> 00:12:15.750 our beloved subs now. She used to be the assistant 00:12:15.750 --> 00:12:18.070 principal bass. Now you're in her chair. That's 00:12:18.070 --> 00:12:21.389 true. Yes. Yeah. And a big smile came across 00:12:21.389 --> 00:12:23.129 John's face there. I don't know if he had clocked 00:12:23.129 --> 00:12:27.370 that yet. Yeah. So I said I started off with 00:12:27.370 --> 00:12:30.860 her and then for my undergrad, I I studied at 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:32.620 the University of Calgary with Chuck Garrett, 00:12:32.899 --> 00:12:35.139 so her husband, the previous principal base of 00:12:35.139 --> 00:12:39.299 the CPO. And then from there, after my undergrad, 00:12:39.519 --> 00:12:43.259 I won my assistant principal spot with the National 00:12:43.259 --> 00:12:46.100 Ballet of Canada Orchestra, which I still am 00:12:46.100 --> 00:12:47.759 a part of. And that's in Toronto. Yes, that's 00:12:47.759 --> 00:12:50.139 in Toronto. I started going out there for like 00:12:50.139 --> 00:12:52.279 four months out of the year. And I would come 00:12:52.279 --> 00:12:53.799 back here because I don't really want to pay 00:12:53.799 --> 00:12:56.779 Toronto rent on a one, four months of salary. 00:12:56.940 --> 00:13:00.080 Yeah. Yeah. OK, this is Where things kind of 00:13:00.080 --> 00:13:04.440 get hairy, so I took Like a little bit of a little 00:13:04.440 --> 00:13:06.539 bit of a break off the ballet so I could go to 00:13:06.539 --> 00:13:10.620 school in boston for my masters Um, I did like 00:13:10.620 --> 00:13:14.580 one year of that of actually being in boston 00:13:14.580 --> 00:13:17.740 at boston university Um, yeah, I studied with 00:13:17.740 --> 00:13:21.460 ed barker there. He's the now former principal 00:13:21.460 --> 00:13:26.120 base of the bso and then I took so I took a break 00:13:26.120 --> 00:13:29.159 off the ballet and so I took a break off of My 00:13:29.159 --> 00:13:34.840 grad school to sub with Montreal and I was living 00:13:34.840 --> 00:13:37.080 with my sister in Montreal there too and then 00:13:37.080 --> 00:13:38.679 the pandemic happened and kind of wrapped up 00:13:38.679 --> 00:13:40.639 all my loose ends and I was like oh wow that 00:13:40.639 --> 00:13:42.320 worked out really well for me yeah seems like 00:13:42.320 --> 00:13:43.820 it would have been really confusing to deal with 00:13:43.820 --> 00:13:45.399 otherwise yeah and you had just won this job 00:13:45.399 --> 00:13:48.879 in Calgary yeah exactly exactly and so yeah and 00:13:48.879 --> 00:13:53.340 then. Didn't play very much for a while because 00:13:53.340 --> 00:13:56.299 nothing happened for a while. Yeah. Yeah. Well, 00:13:56.320 --> 00:13:58.139 I played a lot of video games. Maybe not so much 00:13:58.139 --> 00:14:00.720 base. What did you play? What? What? What's the 00:14:00.720 --> 00:14:02.539 most memorable game you played during times? 00:14:03.100 --> 00:14:05.759 Well, definitely Breath of the Wild, Zelda, because 00:14:05.759 --> 00:14:08.360 I haven't like really sunk my teeth into a video 00:14:08.360 --> 00:14:11.139 game at that point in a really long time, like 00:14:11.139 --> 00:14:14.100 since I was like in high school and then so. 00:14:14.440 --> 00:14:16.720 kind of being forced well actually okay when 00:14:16.720 --> 00:14:18.919 the pandemic hit i was like hyper motivated i 00:14:18.919 --> 00:14:20.659 was like okay i'm still technically doing my 00:14:20.659 --> 00:14:22.740 master so i'm like gonna prepare my master's 00:14:22.740 --> 00:14:26.779 recital and uh i was practicing a lot of hours 00:14:26.779 --> 00:14:29.840 every day um the neighbors in montreal really 00:14:29.840 --> 00:14:36.600 hated that but then yeah i mean i i burnt out 00:14:36.600 --> 00:14:39.620 really really hard because that was not sustainable 00:14:39.620 --> 00:14:43.509 yeah Intensity and then yeah, and so I eventually 00:14:43.509 --> 00:14:46.750 started playing my sister was a genius and got 00:14:46.750 --> 00:14:48.889 a Nintendo switch before the pandemic happened 00:14:48.889 --> 00:14:52.009 and so yeah when she was like she was still working 00:14:52.009 --> 00:14:55.740 remotely because she could and So yeah, I was 00:14:55.740 --> 00:14:58.240 like playing Breath of the Wild for like 10 hours 00:14:58.240 --> 00:15:02.000 a day. So the point that like every day without 00:15:02.000 --> 00:15:03.659 fail, I would have a headache because I haven't 00:15:03.659 --> 00:15:07.879 really moved. It was kind of kind of bad when 00:15:07.879 --> 00:15:09.580 you look at it. But at the same time, it kind 00:15:09.580 --> 00:15:11.360 of like brought it back in for me. And it was 00:15:11.360 --> 00:15:13.159 kind of really, I don't know. It was nice to 00:15:13.159 --> 00:15:15.759 be a kid again. Yeah. Oh, yeah. You know, for 00:15:15.759 --> 00:15:17.519 sure. Although that was a little extreme. Yeah. 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:20.379 Yeah. Well, it was an extreme time. Truly. Yeah. 00:15:20.440 --> 00:15:23.279 I found for me like I ended up hitting a rhythm 00:15:23.279 --> 00:15:25.360 of like one month of practicing, one month off, 00:15:25.440 --> 00:15:27.419 one month of practicing, one month off. And I 00:15:27.419 --> 00:15:30.600 found that that let me stay fresh. And it also 00:15:30.600 --> 00:15:33.659 let me sort of practice things that I usually 00:15:33.659 --> 00:15:36.059 can't, right? Because usually we have weekly 00:15:36.059 --> 00:15:38.700 deadlines of things we have to sound good on. 00:15:38.860 --> 00:15:41.639 And it's hard to take the time to like really 00:15:41.639 --> 00:15:44.360 slow down and like work on basic things in your 00:15:44.360 --> 00:15:47.970 playing, you know, that Don't really get you 00:15:47.970 --> 00:15:51.470 in performance shape, but form such a healthy 00:15:51.470 --> 00:15:54.110 foundation of what we got to do all the time, 00:15:54.110 --> 00:15:57.129 right? So I found that one month on one month 00:15:57.129 --> 00:15:59.409 off was a rhythm that let me do that. It let 00:15:59.409 --> 00:16:02.490 me work on the basics in a way that I still am 00:16:02.490 --> 00:16:04.649 reaping benefits from, and will continue to, 00:16:05.049 --> 00:16:08.629 without getting, you know, burnt out or super 00:16:08.629 --> 00:16:10.509 bored or anything like that. That's really smart. 00:16:10.509 --> 00:16:13.350 That was handy. Next pandemic, I'll make sure 00:16:13.350 --> 00:16:18.059 to do that. sitting around all that time must 00:16:18.059 --> 00:16:19.039 have been a big change for you because you're 00:16:19.039 --> 00:16:22.740 a really active guy. Yes. Well, kind of. I mean, 00:16:22.759 --> 00:16:25.000 I really like picking heavy things up and putting 00:16:25.000 --> 00:16:29.539 them back down repeatedly. That's one of my great 00:16:29.539 --> 00:16:34.100 joys in life for me. I don't know. Yeah, I started 00:16:34.100 --> 00:16:37.720 lifting weights in my undergrad and kind of I've 00:16:37.720 --> 00:16:40.759 always liked athletic endeavors before before 00:16:40.759 --> 00:16:42.679 even picking up base like in high school. Actually, 00:16:42.679 --> 00:16:45.279 I wanted to I was like making a beeline towards 00:16:45.279 --> 00:16:48.139 like a kinesiology program and then I picked 00:16:48.139 --> 00:16:49.480 up base and I was like, no, I'm not going to 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:51.399 do any of that anymore because I like this too 00:16:51.399 --> 00:16:53.940 much. What what got you into the kinesiology 00:16:53.940 --> 00:16:55.600 stream? Was there a particular sport or activity 00:16:55.600 --> 00:16:59.000 that you were into then? I mean, in high school, 00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:01.120 my main sport was wrestling, but I don't think 00:17:01.120 --> 00:17:03.259 I was particularly good at it. It was just I 00:17:03.259 --> 00:17:06.740 like athletic endeavors. The human body. I mean, 00:17:06.799 --> 00:17:09.259 it still fascinates me immensely. That's a huge 00:17:09.259 --> 00:17:12.000 part of what we do. Yes, very much so. We. think 00:17:12.000 --> 00:17:15.059 about that sort of stuff all the time. Yeah, 00:17:15.059 --> 00:17:16.900 I mean, like, once I picked up bass, it was like, 00:17:17.220 --> 00:17:19.799 I don't know, this is too much fun. And I can't 00:17:19.799 --> 00:17:22.180 imagine doing anything else. Yeah, otherwise, 00:17:22.180 --> 00:17:25.480 you know. Yeah. So I started I've always kind 00:17:25.480 --> 00:17:29.660 of been like active ish. And then I think kind 00:17:29.660 --> 00:17:31.500 of around the pandemic is when I actually like 00:17:31.500 --> 00:17:33.500 straight up started into powerlifting. And a 00:17:33.500 --> 00:17:35.019 little bit before then, like in grad school is 00:17:35.019 --> 00:17:37.759 when I I was always kind of like messing around 00:17:37.759 --> 00:17:40.660 with my like Lifting weight programming and now 00:17:40.660 --> 00:17:43.380 I'm kind of uh, I don't know I think one of my 00:17:43.380 --> 00:17:45.180 regrets is like when I started I wish I actually 00:17:45.180 --> 00:17:48.059 just stuck with a program instead of just like 00:17:48.059 --> 00:17:51.599 faffing about and like not really really progressing 00:17:51.599 --> 00:17:54.119 just kind of I was always like if I like lift 00:17:54.119 --> 00:17:57.619 and work out my back a lot then my Then my chest 00:17:57.619 --> 00:17:59.359 won't like pull my shoulders forward and I can 00:17:59.359 --> 00:18:01.059 play bass better sort of thing Sure, which I 00:18:01.059 --> 00:18:04.180 think by and large has been pretty true Honestly, 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:07.119 but also now like for the past like I don't know 00:18:07.150 --> 00:18:10.250 For five years ish, I've been like dedicated 00:18:10.250 --> 00:18:13.890 to powerlifting, which is squats, bench and deadlift, 00:18:13.910 --> 00:18:17.730 and you compete with those three lifts, essentially. 00:18:17.890 --> 00:18:20.450 So I've been doing a lot of bench pressing and 00:18:20.450 --> 00:18:24.490 like base has still been pretty OK. Like I haven't 00:18:24.490 --> 00:18:27.130 I've never really had any like playing related 00:18:27.130 --> 00:18:31.150 issues like cool switches. Yeah, I like not being 00:18:31.150 --> 00:18:34.450 hurt. Yeah, boy, it's the best. Yeah. Yeah. Huge 00:18:34.450 --> 00:18:37.390 fan. Something about. Lifting as well. It's just 00:18:37.390 --> 00:18:43.990 like it's such a measurable way of progress like 00:18:43.990 --> 00:18:45.930 Kind of going back to what we were talking about 00:18:45.930 --> 00:18:48.269 like with the auditions like it was like kind 00:18:48.269 --> 00:18:50.130 of signposts when I was like Oh, I'm better than 00:18:50.130 --> 00:18:52.490 I was before and that audition. I was better 00:18:52.490 --> 00:18:55.589 than I was that time. That's still very like 00:18:55.589 --> 00:18:58.230 subjective But when it comes to like lifting 00:18:58.230 --> 00:19:00.609 weights, it's like number goes up. You are stronger. 00:19:00.710 --> 00:19:03.970 Yeah It's super measurable super defined and 00:19:03.970 --> 00:19:06.349 definitive and it's like Yeah, I don't know. 00:19:06.349 --> 00:19:08.630 It's it's it's a really good feeling to know 00:19:08.630 --> 00:19:10.769 that you're actually making progress to whatever 00:19:10.769 --> 00:19:13.349 goals you are Yeah, it's such a thing. It's such 00:19:13.349 --> 00:19:16.670 a controlled system then it's very honest. Yes, 00:19:16.670 --> 00:19:20.150 it's very much so and At the same time, there's 00:19:20.150 --> 00:19:22.329 so many like other variables like, you know, 00:19:22.390 --> 00:19:25.910 like your body doesn't know the difference between 00:19:25.910 --> 00:19:28.890 X amount X X pounds and Y pounds. It only knows 00:19:28.890 --> 00:19:30.950 I'm working this hard versus I'm working this 00:19:30.950 --> 00:19:34.880 hard. Yeah, but on a day -to -day basis X and 00:19:34.880 --> 00:19:37.099 Y might feel the exact same, you know, like, 00:19:37.240 --> 00:19:39.279 yep. I don't know. It's just kind of interesting 00:19:39.279 --> 00:19:42.259 I think it's trying to like lifting has kind 00:19:42.259 --> 00:19:44.500 of taught me to go with the flow because I can't 00:19:44.500 --> 00:19:46.339 really control how my body's gonna feel that 00:19:46.339 --> 00:19:48.539 day There's obviously things I can control like 00:19:48.539 --> 00:19:51.200 am I eating? Well, I may sleeping well, but by 00:19:51.200 --> 00:19:55.220 and large it's Like, you know, I can't force 00:19:55.220 --> 00:19:57.319 things and it's kind of the same thing for bass 00:19:57.319 --> 00:20:00.519 to like If you force a sound on bass or if you 00:20:00.519 --> 00:20:02.839 force a sound on any instrument, it doesn't sound 00:20:02.839 --> 00:20:05.430 good Yeah, you know, it's needs to come come 00:20:05.430 --> 00:20:08.390 out organically sort of thing. So, yeah. Yeah, 00:20:08.390 --> 00:20:10.369 there's so much in common between, you know, 00:20:10.410 --> 00:20:13.329 I feel like there are so many sports athletic 00:20:13.329 --> 00:20:15.670 endeavors in general that you can make so many 00:20:15.670 --> 00:20:17.750 comparisons to playing playing an instrument 00:20:17.750 --> 00:20:20.710 with that. It's great to be able to take the 00:20:20.710 --> 00:20:22.890 lessons from one and apply it to another. Yeah, 00:20:22.910 --> 00:20:26.490 absolutely. Yeah. And it's it's funny, too, because 00:20:26.490 --> 00:20:29.109 I in the small like powerlifting community that 00:20:29.109 --> 00:20:31.720 I. I'm not super huge big part of it because 00:20:31.720 --> 00:20:35.099 I have a home gym. But whenever I like take part 00:20:35.099 --> 00:20:38.759 into it, it's kind of funny as a musician to 00:20:38.759 --> 00:20:40.900 see someone like do their first meet and they're 00:20:40.900 --> 00:20:43.779 like really nervous. And like for me, it's like, 00:20:43.900 --> 00:20:47.460 oh, but it's like I the first time that I competed, 00:20:47.680 --> 00:20:51.579 I likened it to like a professional orchestral 00:20:51.579 --> 00:20:54.500 audition. but fun and everyone's cheering you 00:20:54.500 --> 00:20:56.319 on and you don't have to worry about these tiny 00:20:56.319 --> 00:20:58.859 little muscles and wondering if these they're 00:20:58.859 --> 00:21:00.339 like going to work the same way. You only have 00:21:00.339 --> 00:21:02.140 to worry about like the big muscles and just 00:21:02.140 --> 00:21:04.880 like move as much as you can. Yeah. Yeah. And 00:21:04.880 --> 00:21:07.539 it was very, very freeing. So I mean, like, you 00:21:07.539 --> 00:21:09.440 know, I can obviously empathize that people are 00:21:09.440 --> 00:21:10.740 nervous, but at the same time, I'm like, but 00:21:10.740 --> 00:21:13.339 this is so fun. Yeah. It's such like a good vibe. 00:21:14.200 --> 00:21:16.180 Like in an audition, the panel is definitely 00:21:16.180 --> 00:21:17.839 cheering you on, but they're not going to be 00:21:17.839 --> 00:21:23.279 like vocally. Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, in an audition, 00:21:23.819 --> 00:21:26.180 everyone wants every candidate to play their 00:21:26.180 --> 00:21:28.400 best, right? Absolutely. Yeah, yeah. Yeah. And 00:21:28.400 --> 00:21:30.460 it's easy to forget that when you're when you're 00:21:30.460 --> 00:21:32.559 taking an audition, you have those awful audition. 00:21:32.920 --> 00:21:36.819 Oh, yeah. Yeah. But yeah, like the supportive 00:21:36.819 --> 00:21:39.160 nature of that community reminds me of, you know, 00:21:39.220 --> 00:21:41.339 a good day at work. Mm hmm. Absolutely. When 00:21:41.339 --> 00:21:44.160 the people around you in the orchestra are we're 00:21:44.160 --> 00:21:46.519 all hoping. That everyone plays well. We're hoping 00:21:46.519 --> 00:21:48.319 that everyone has a good time on stage because 00:21:48.319 --> 00:21:50.720 when, when things are going well is when we make 00:21:50.720 --> 00:21:54.319 the most joyful music, right? And we can have 00:21:54.319 --> 00:21:56.359 the best experience doing it and make the best 00:21:56.359 --> 00:22:00.119 product. I think. Yeah, I agree. Talking about, 00:22:00.119 --> 00:22:03.740 you know, the different styles of support, right? 00:22:03.779 --> 00:22:05.900 Like when we're in a rehearsal or in, especially 00:22:05.900 --> 00:22:07.700 in a concert, right? Like we're not talking to 00:22:07.700 --> 00:22:10.240 each other. It's a really sort of strange state 00:22:10.240 --> 00:22:12.619 when you think about it, because there are solitary 00:22:12.619 --> 00:22:15.660 activities and there are. communal activities, 00:22:16.119 --> 00:22:17.940 things, shared experiences with people. When 00:22:17.940 --> 00:22:20.700 we're playing a concert on stage, you know, we 00:22:20.700 --> 00:22:24.119 might be sitting next to these people in a very 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:27.940 intense environment doing a thing together for 00:22:27.940 --> 00:22:31.279 a couple of hours. But when we're doing it, we 00:22:31.279 --> 00:22:34.200 don't speak to each other. Yeah. Right. All that 00:22:34.200 --> 00:22:36.460 communication and all that support is nonverbal. 00:22:36.500 --> 00:22:41.960 Right. Like I. You know, when I'm. Not sure about 00:22:41.960 --> 00:22:44.700 account and Miranda kind of nudges me it gives 00:22:44.700 --> 00:22:47.200 me on her hand the information that I need that's 00:22:47.200 --> 00:22:49.299 one kind of support and I really appreciate it 00:22:49.299 --> 00:22:51.539 but also like when you're playing and when you 00:22:51.539 --> 00:22:55.059 go for something. And people come with you that 00:22:55.059 --> 00:22:58.500 feels like support as well and when someone goes 00:22:58.500 --> 00:23:01.480 for it and you support them you know that they're 00:23:01.480 --> 00:23:04.700 feeling that as well and like it's such an interesting 00:23:04.700 --> 00:23:10.220 combination of I think of like a shared. Experience 00:23:10.220 --> 00:23:12.559 and an individual experience because it because 00:23:12.559 --> 00:23:16.140 the communication is so limited Yeah, very much. 00:23:16.140 --> 00:23:18.519 So yeah, but I mean at the same time I guess 00:23:18.519 --> 00:23:21.359 like yeah musicians are expert communicators 00:23:21.359 --> 00:23:25.000 in nonverbal Yeah forms, you know, like oftentimes 00:23:25.000 --> 00:23:26.460 like just like looking across the orchestra and 00:23:26.460 --> 00:23:29.619 you just like You you barely like lock eyes with 00:23:29.619 --> 00:23:32.240 anyone and it's like oh, this is where the magic's 00:23:32.240 --> 00:23:34.000 happening Yeah, you know, yeah and when stuff 00:23:34.000 --> 00:23:36.750 like that happens, it's It's incredible. It's 00:23:36.750 --> 00:23:40.569 such a rush to perform in that way. One of my 00:23:40.569 --> 00:23:45.049 favorite ways, or this is a little more humorous, 00:23:45.750 --> 00:23:50.430 but bass solos are so rare. Sometimes in our 00:23:50.430 --> 00:23:53.029 part, we'll have something marked as solo, and 00:23:53.029 --> 00:23:56.390 it's literally just a single pitch. But I love 00:23:56.390 --> 00:23:59.430 when the section rub on our basses. Yeah, yeah, 00:23:59.430 --> 00:24:02.400 yeah. A little applause. Well done. It's both 00:24:02.400 --> 00:24:07.440 hilarious and it's like almost facetious. I don't 00:24:07.440 --> 00:24:09.880 know brings up brings a smile to me every time 00:24:09.880 --> 00:24:12.240 yeah absolutely absolutely and I think little 00:24:12.240 --> 00:24:14.539 things show up for all the instruments like that 00:24:14.539 --> 00:24:16.819 yeah exactly you know of course a nod a wink 00:24:16.819 --> 00:24:19.500 the shuffling of a foot yeah exactly well done 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:21.660 yeah we can only play the solos that are given 00:24:21.660 --> 00:24:25.420 to us exactly that's right well I mean you could 00:24:25.420 --> 00:24:26.960 play other solos that aren't given to you but 00:24:26.960 --> 00:24:29.799 well yeah less generally frowned upon in classical 00:24:29.799 --> 00:24:34.769 music yeah exactly indeed Well, John, in your 00:24:34.769 --> 00:24:36.569 years here at the CPO, you heard a lot of great 00:24:36.569 --> 00:24:39.410 playing on stage. Who are some people whose playing 00:24:39.410 --> 00:24:44.869 really inspires you? Yeah. First of all, definitely 00:24:44.869 --> 00:24:47.849 my section mates. I mean, they all have so many 00:24:47.849 --> 00:24:51.230 different qualities. And I think the beauty of 00:24:51.230 --> 00:24:54.970 an orchestra and, of course, the section is we 00:24:54.970 --> 00:24:57.480 all kind of fill in each other's... I don't want 00:24:57.480 --> 00:24:59.539 to say weaknesses. I don't know how many weaknesses 00:24:59.539 --> 00:25:03.140 we have, but like whatever like slight dips in 00:25:03.140 --> 00:25:05.740 our like musician profiles, you know. Yeah, I 00:25:05.740 --> 00:25:07.920 like to think that the the different strengths 00:25:07.920 --> 00:25:10.140 complement each other. Yes, that's a much better 00:25:10.140 --> 00:25:13.059 and positive way of saying it because everyone 00:25:13.059 --> 00:25:14.700 has things they're stronger at and things that 00:25:14.700 --> 00:25:16.700 are more difficult for them. We all do. No one 00:25:16.700 --> 00:25:19.500 is a perfectly perfectly even player. Yeah, of 00:25:19.500 --> 00:25:22.859 course. Yeah, definitely in my section. Obviously 00:25:22.859 --> 00:25:26.539 you, Adam. You're out there killing it all the 00:25:26.539 --> 00:25:29.779 time on these super exposed parts also I think 00:25:29.779 --> 00:25:33.019 like David Sussman has a really really beautiful 00:25:33.019 --> 00:25:35.579 rich sound and whenever he plays a solo I'm just 00:25:35.579 --> 00:25:38.700 like, oh my god, that's like it's so lush, you 00:25:38.700 --> 00:25:42.700 know and just how he phrases things it's Like 00:25:42.700 --> 00:25:44.900 I feel like his sound like really builds upon 00:25:44.900 --> 00:25:47.740 his Like his sound just really develops in such 00:25:47.740 --> 00:25:50.599 a way. It's so it's so beautiful. It's very expressive 00:25:50.599 --> 00:25:55.009 and also Where we are situated on the stage, 00:25:55.230 --> 00:25:58.630 basses are very close to harp. So Emily Melendez, 00:25:59.009 --> 00:26:00.950 like whenever there's a big harp thing, like 00:26:00.950 --> 00:26:04.009 I always have an idea of what the harp is going 00:26:04.009 --> 00:26:06.269 to sound like, obviously. Whenever she plays, 00:26:06.349 --> 00:26:08.049 it's always like, and I've told her this before 00:26:08.049 --> 00:26:11.410 as well, it's like at least like 30 % more rich 00:26:11.410 --> 00:26:15.650 than I was expecting it to be. Yeah. Yeah. I've 00:26:15.650 --> 00:26:17.609 loved hearing Emily play as well. You know, one 00:26:17.609 --> 00:26:19.109 of the one of the newer players in the orchestra 00:26:19.109 --> 00:26:21.519 and the CPO just got a new harp. Partway through 00:26:21.519 --> 00:26:23.539 last season, we're hearing this brand new instrument 00:26:23.539 --> 00:26:27.480 as well. But let's face it, Emily's the one making 00:26:27.480 --> 00:26:30.680 it special. Yeah, I think Emily has such a great 00:26:30.680 --> 00:26:32.740 sense of ensemble playing and she has incredible 00:26:32.740 --> 00:26:35.900 time. Yeah, so that's great to hear because the 00:26:35.900 --> 00:26:37.980 harp is such an rhythmically incisive instrument. 00:26:38.059 --> 00:26:40.680 Very much so. That we can really all appreciate 00:26:40.680 --> 00:26:44.779 and like stick to that as a real source of pulse. 00:26:45.160 --> 00:26:48.779 Yeah. Great. Well, Don, thank you so much. It's 00:26:48.779 --> 00:26:50.940 great to be playing with you again as the season 00:26:50.940 --> 00:26:52.859 starts. It's great to see you in your new chair, 00:26:52.940 --> 00:26:55.500 and it's great to chat with you. Yeah, thanks, 00:26:55.579 --> 00:27:00.220 Adam. Notes from the Stage is an independent 00:27:00.220 --> 00:27:02.000 production of the Calgary Philharmonic Players 00:27:02.000 --> 00:27:04.720 Association. The opinions expressed here are 00:27:04.720 --> 00:27:06.940 our own and do not reflect those of the Calgary 00:27:06.940 --> 00:27:09.619 Philharmonic Orchestra. Our thanks to Nathan 00:27:09.619 --> 00:27:12.650 Chandler for his technical expertise. The music 00:27:12.650 --> 00:27:15.029 in this episode was the Courante from Bach's 00:27:15.029 --> 00:27:17.970 5th Cello Suite and Cesar Frank's Violin Sonata, 00:27:18.230 --> 00:27:20.750 here performed on bass by Jonathan Yeo and pianist 00:27:20.750 --> 00:27:23.990 Akiko Tominaga. On our next episode in two weeks, 00:27:24.150 --> 00:27:25.930 I'll be talking with violinist Danielle Green, 00:27:26.130 --> 00:27:28.589 who joins the CPO this season. Talk to you soon!