Life in the Pit

Sachio Nang played in the pit for all of his musicals in his Chicago area high school, including Rent, Les Misérables School Version, 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Little Mermaid, and Little Shop of Horrors.  On the latter, he asked for the experience of leading the pit orchestra as a keyboardist conductor for the show, and this was a group of hired professionals...being led by a 17-...

Shelagh Abate is a Broadway veteran who plays the French horn.  She has opened the productions for Disney's Frozen, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Honeymoon in Vegas, Anastasia, Evita, Fiddler on the Roof, South Pacific, and other shows as a principal and a sub.  We talk about "snow calls".  Shelagh talks about the need for a well-stocked tool kit for a pit musician, and how even in Broad...

Regular listeners of this podcast first heard Andy Mock's voice on the bonus episode on CTG's Wizard of Oz that followed Episode 26.  Andy has worked with a number of theatres and schools in the Greensboro area, and we have a fun conversation talking about some of the things that distinguishes a great accompanist aside from piano technique and music reading. Follow the podcast on Instagram, Facebo...

It's our first full Broadway episode, and the guest is trombonist Andrea Neumann.  For much of two decades, she has been a very active musician in the NYC area, playing for the Brooklyn Orchestra, Empire Band, Westchester Symphonic Orchestra, the American Symphony Orchestra, and so much more.  She has also played the trombone book in the Broadway productions of Aladdin, The King and I, Amelie, and...

Modern keyboardists in theatre can't just turn on their instrument and play the book.  There are often several hours needed for preparing the keyboard for the sequence of sounds and effects needed for a show.  Those effects have gotten more and more elaborate  John Eldridge is the owner of  Stage Sounds , a company that specializes in over 100 shows of downloadable preprogrammed keyboard files for...

If you've never played a keyboard for a modern musical, you may be wondering what the big deal is with programming.  If you HAVE played keyboard for a modern musical, then you know!  John Eldridge of Boston, MA definitely knows.  After spending hours preparing his keyboard for an upcoming show, he got the idea to save and rent his work to save future keyboardists the huge opportunity cost that is...

Ingrid Keller is the executive director of the Western Piedmont Symphony Orchestra .  Prior to this, she grew up acting in theatre, playing roles such as Eponine in Les Misérables, Vivienne in Legally Blonde, and Snoopy in You're a Good Man Charlie Brown.  She studied in London, and has lived in Seoul.  Her theatrical background and diverse experience with culture has influenced her programming fo...

Playing on national tours for 25 years in shows such as White Christmas, Bombay Dreams, High School Musical, Miss Saigon, and more including a Japanese tour of Rent should all be enough to discuss in one episode.  That's a full career as a touring percussionist with some major shows. However, he's also worked extensively as an actor/singer, a choreographer (or "moveography" as he calls it) and dir...

Mike Lasley is an instructor at NC A&T University, and is educated as a percussionist.  In theatre, he most often serves as a music director and/or a keyboardist.  He has also been on stage as a lead actor.  Finally, he has gained experience as a member of the board of directors for High Point Community Theatre, and offers insight into the what a board does and how that shapes his perspective as a...

Christina Lowder is a percussionist near Greensboro, NC who plays a lot of shows for the renowned theatre program at Elon University in addition to other venues.  She talks about being a woman on an instrument historically stereotyped for guys, shares a story about being sick and not sure if she'll make it to the end of a show (a story that will get reprised from a different perspective in Episode...

Eric Eakes plays the viola, and is a doctoral student at the University of Miami.  In addition to playing for shows and other performances, he also is the personnel manager for the Henry Mancini Institute Orchestra.  We talk about that job and being a theatre musician in South Florida. Follow the podcast on Instagram, Facebook, or Twitter @LifeInThePitPod.  Visit  www.davidlanemusic.com/podcast  f...

The fourth and final (at least for now) installment of Ask The Music Director, where we answered questions you asked of music directors.  We have music directors representing schools, community theatre, touring shows, and Broadway productions in this series, representing NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC, Cleveland, Kansas City, Greensboro, and Tennessee. The questions answered in this part are: “What do y...

John de Haas has worked at Walt Disney World as a musician for 20 years and counting.  He talks about about what it's like to work there, and how one might go about getting a job there or elsewhere in the company.  He also has played keyboards on the Mamma Mia national tour, worked with kids in Orlando area schools, music directed regional theatre in central Florida, and composed and premiered mul...

Life in the Pit gets way outside the pit itself this week, but this still is potentially of great value to either established pit musicians or especially music students.  Kini Slaughter plays the flute and understands the world of the performing musician, but a few years ago she turned to making a career on the administrative side of the arts.  This is one of the longer episodes, but one where a l...

We continue to answer the questions that several of you asked for music directors, and I got several across the country to answer.  We have music directors representing schools, community theatre, touring shows, and Broadway productions in this series, representing NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC, Cleveland, Kansas City, Greensboro, and Tennessee. The questions answered in this part are: “What are some s...

Several of you asked questions for music directors, and I got several across the country to answer.  We have music directors representing schools, community theatre, touring shows, and Broadway productions in this series, representing NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC, Cleveland, Kansas City, Greensboro, and Tennessee. The questions answered in this part are: “I see the music director as a mediator, keepin...

Several of you asked questions for music directors, and I got several across the country to answer.  We have music directors representing schools, community theatre, touring shows, and Broadway productions in this series, representing NYC, Chicago, Boston, DC, Cleveland, Kansas City, Greensboro, and Tennessee. The questions answered in this part are: “Why do music directors often replace the indic...

Taiki Azuma is in the midst of pursuing his DMA in saxophone performance.  He plays all the reeds but, like many things he does, it's because it aligns with his goal of becoming a professor.  We talk about some of his academic activities and goals, but of course...we also talk about his experiences in the pit! You can follow the podcast at Instagram or Twitter @LifeInThePitPod.  Please leave a rat...

Brass players tend to focus on a section.  They might play French horn.  They might play trombone, and possibly be fluent on tenor and bass versions, in addition to euphonium.  They might play trumpet, and be comfortable with flugelhorn, cornet, piccolo trumpet, and other similar instruments.  Then there's tuba which might pair with trombone or euphonium.  But Harlan Feinstein plays all of them. ...

Valerie Maze has an extensive amount of experience with regional theatre houses, opera companies, and in the academic world.  Not long ago, she was the staff theatre music director for Elon University.  Much of her work has been in her current residence of Chicago.  We talk about the opportunities within the arts scene of the Windy City, along with the world of theatre and opera, the benefits of a...

Doug Rowe is a young percussionist, drummer, and a passionate educator.  We talk about his experience with music, teaching, and his personal health journey. Doug is an active performer in many professional groups. He has served as a percussion section member of the Union Symphony Orchestra for the past 8 years. He serves as a substitute percussionist with the Salisbury Symphony, Hendersonville Sym...

This is a follow-up to Episode 26, where I talked to Al Stephens about his work on the enormous annual production of The Wizard of Oz, as presented by The Community Theatre of Greensboro in NC.  This episode features reflections from other players in keeping the machine going.  Jennifer Blevins has been the stage manager for many years, keeping a cast of 100 in the right place at the right time. ...

The Community Theatre of Greensboro has, prior to this year, presented a huge production with a cast of 100 of The Wizard of Oz every year since 1995.  Just under half of those productions have been music directed by Al Stephens, owner of Moore Music in Greensboro and an established regional conductor.  We talk about his life, but also what it's like to deal with a production that is way larger th...

Virginia Masius is a versatile bassist who plays with the Greensboro and Salisbury Symphony orchestras, loves to play jazz, and plays funky blues with The Ladies Auxillary , and it is her love of versatility that makes the Pit her happy place! Please share this episode with your friends, and please offer a rating and review for the podcast.  Thank you! You can follow the podcast at Instagram or Tw...

Aaron Gandy is my first NYC resident as a guest.  He has had a fun career that included a national bus tour playing for My Fair Lady.  He spent 9 years as an assistant music director for The Lion King on Broadway, and he has several interesting stories about what it was like on that production, including the very high standards required for the actors!  He worked with Glenn Close on Busker Alley. ...