Crushing Classical

I found myself musing today about timeframes and focus and how PRODUCTIVITY interacts with CREATIVITY. There are ways to PUSH your projects forward, but perhaps there are also benefits to letting them EVOLVE and allowing yourself to be the whole rich being that you are.  It's going to sound at first like I'm just talking about oboe reeds- but there is more in this musing than that!  Than...

Today on the podcast, I talk with Alecia Lawyer, Founder, Artistic Director, Principal oboist of ROCO. She’s got the most exciting ideas about orchestral possibilities in the 21st century, and I wish more people were as innovative as she.    Named by Musical America as one of classical music’s Top 30 Influencers for 2015 and a Lorée oboe artist in 2019, Texas native, Alecia Lawyer, is the Founder,...

I gave a talk a couple of weeks ago that I'll share here - No Limits: How the Portfolio Career Expands Your Possibilities.  I also want to point out that if you don't know how to do a thing, there's almost certainly someone out there who DOES, and who can HELP you.  Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nice review!  You can join my email list  HERE ,...

Canadian violinist Mary-Elizabeth Brown enjoys parallel careers as a performer, pedagogue, entrepreneur and researcher. In recent seasons, she has appeared as an invited soloist with orchestra more than forty times in Europe, Asia, North and South America, as well as numerous chamber music festivals. Her recording of the last 3 Mozart Violin Concerti for Mozart Effect recordings released worldwide...

Ashley Killam (she/her) has built a multifaceted career as a passionate entrepreneur, non-profit director, freelancer, trumpet player, advocate, and researcher. Killam is the founder of AK Artist Management and is on a lifelong mission to create a more inclusive artistic space. A champion for creating change within musical programming, Killam launched the first-ever open-source resource for trumpe...

Recently I've started sharing little short stories and advices and ideas on social media each week. I think they might be enjoyable, and I hope they might be helpful!  This week: If you have a new idea, a project, an entrepreneurial spark? JUST START. Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nice review!  You can join my email list  HERE , so you never miss an epi...

Today you’ll hear my interview with JooWan Kim, Composer/Artistic Director of Ensemble Mik Nawooj. You’re going to want to check this ensemble out at their website - I can’t tear myself away from their songs and videos.    Led by composer/pianist, JooWan Kim, Hip Hop Orchestra Ensemble Mik Nawooj (EMN) creates Metamusic by sampling principles of Hip-Hop and Classical. Executed with resident MCs, a...

Y'all, it's been ONE YEAR since I published my book!  I'm STILL the happiest musician. Today I'm sharing a little bookiversary celebration and a reading from the introduction: The Party Game! Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nice review!  You can join my email list  HERE , so you never miss an episode! Or you could  hop on a short call with...

Adrian Gordon is an internationally performed composer and seasoned music educator. He is the author of the book Note to Self; A Music Director’s Guide for Transitioning to a New School and Building a Thriving Music Program. Adrian wrote Note to Self because though his undergraduate and graduate programs were musically and pedagogically extensive, he never felt as though they touched on those hard...

Recently I've started sharing little short stories and advice and ideas. I think they might be enjoyable, and I hope they might be helpful!  This week: It's a New Year! What does that mean for Crushing Classical? Or: What it feels like to start a new thing and why you should too. Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nice review!  You can join my email lis...

Have you ever wondered what it really takes to have a career as an internationally touring soloist?  Have you wondered if it is too late for YOU to create such a career? You will love hearing from my guest today,  Mary Elizabeth Bowden: International Trumpet Soloist  Classical Trumpeter Mary Elizabeth Bowden has built an in-demand career as a soloist, praised for her “splendid, brilliant” playing...

Recently I've started sharing little short stories and advices and ideas on social media each week. I think they might be enjoyable, and I hope they might be helpful!  This week: What does it mean to be a leader in the orchestra? What does it mean in life? Curious about The Invincible Oboist ?  Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nice review!  You can join my...

Improvisation can feel frightening to classical musicians, but my guest, Laura Nerenberg, is working to normalize it as a pedagogical tool.  She uses it with her own Suzuki violin students, and also teaches teachers how to incorporate it in their own studios. She's brilliant and I know you will love hearing her speak about this! You can find Laura at her website or follow her on Facebook Buil...

David Krauss is the prodigious host of Speaking Soundly, Co-Founder of ANM (Artful Narratives Media), and Principal Trumpet of the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra. As a soloist, he has performed with the All-Star Orchestra on their Emmy Award-winning PBS broadcast and was praised by the American Record Guide for his "singing tone, which is luxurious and inviting." He has performed as guest...

"Sometimes, the cheapest way to pay is with money."  I did not originate this quote, and a quick google does not illuminate it- but I USE this quote all the time, and talk about it in my business mastermind group and in my life FREQUENTLY. I wonder if it might be useful to you today, too!  Recently I've started sharing little short stories and advices and ideas on social media each...

My conversation with Eunbi Kim was absolutely fascinating. We talked about mentorship and motherhood and artistry, all of which things feel so closely related. There’s a myth out there about the self-centeredness of artists, about a certain kind of creator who reserves all of their best energy for their MUSIC, letting personal relationships fall by the wayside. I look at a work like Sunday in the...

Recently I’ve started sharing little short stories and advices and ideas on social media each week. I think they might be enjoyable, and I hope they might be helpful!  This week: What do gloves, oboe reeds, and your own pet peeves have in common?  Answer: The more clearly you identify the problem, the easier it is to solve!  Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nic...

Happy Thanksgiving 2022 to my listeners in the US! I am grateful for you. On today’s episode you’ll hear my interview with my brother, singer songwriter James Hearne, who recently sold his house and left his job and moved across the country to go all in on his music career as an adult. This interview is full of gems for the working musician.  how do you START trying to get work in a new place? how...

  Award winning pianist Donna Weng Friedman enjoys a varied career as a soloist, chamber musician, educator, curator, producer and app developer.   Her album Heritage and Harmony: Silver Linings, featuring exclusively AAPI/BIPOC artists, aims to promote understanding and tolerance and combat racism, with all proceeds donated to an organization that supports the AAPI community and fights against ra...

Recently I've started sharing little short stories and advices and ideas on social media each week. I think they might be enjoyable, and I hope they might be helpful!  This week: What do running, the oboe, and online business have in common?  Answer: They're all easier if you allow them to be!  Make sure you SUBSCRIBE to Crushing Classical, and maybe even leave a nice review!  You can jo...

Bill Lueth is a San Francisco Radio Hall of Fame inductee and currently the president of KDFC and vice president of USC Radio Group. During his 30 year career in both public and commercial radio, Bill has left a meaningful impact on the classical music community.  We talk about  - How his passion for classical music led to three decades in the radio industry - What the future of classical radio lo...

em2CONNECT is Emily Martin and Elizabeth McDonald. As ideators and performers, the two have sung and taught all over the world as solo opera singers and as members of the performing trio, Women on the Verge (WOV) — an international group of women dedicated to advocating for women- centered stories. em2CONNECT is also a small creative facilitation practice made up of the high- energy and ideas-driv...

Today you’ll hear my interview with Deb Stevenson: Oboist, teacher, musician contractor, and founding member of Rendezvous Arts.  The organization she created hosts events that offer  something for EVERYONE and is a triumph of win win for musicians, visual artists, and audiences alike.  Deb has had a career in music for 35 years. She has  seen all sides of the music profession - from orchestra to...

Daisy Press was raised on the buses, planes, hotels, and stages of a large-scale international rock ’n’ roll tour, on which both her parents performed for over 40 years. Since then, she has become a ferocious and ardent interpreter and creator of experimental classical (and non-classical) music in the United States and Europe.  In the modern classical genre, Daisy regularly performs as a soloist w...

Reach out to me to schedule a quick deep dive conversation  so I can keep this podcast relevant!  Ellen is a Professional Certified Coach, who has coached everyone from CEOs of multimillion dollar companies, to world renowned singers, to healthcare workers, to aspiring business owners — but what unites them all is their thought leadership and creative entrepreneurship. She works with people who se...