Orchestrating Your Career

Weijun received his undergraduate degree in Composition from the Eastman School of Music and his doctorate from the University at Buffalo. Now working as a freelance composer of film and concert music in Los Angeles, his works have been performed by renowned orchestras and chamber ensembles across the United States and China. In this episode, Weijun shares his incredible musical journey from growi...

Jessica Wilkins got her undergraduate degree in Oboe Performance from the Eastman School of Music and her Masters from the University of Michigan. In the midst of her studies she started a sheet music business, and after graduating built up a freelance career in the Los Angeles area. After discovering how much she enjoyed coding, Jessica then shifted to a new career and now works full time as a so...

ELLEN’S EPISODE RESOURCES: Current Fav Composer: John Williams and Maria Schneider Current Fav Piece of Classical Music: Verdi’s La forza del destino Fav Movie Soundtrack: Jurassic Park Book Rec: The Music Lesson by Victor Wooten Musician You Admire: Wynton Marsalis Most Useful App on Phone: TonalEnergy tuner and metronome app Social Media Accounts to Check Out: Kayla Solomon @tpt_solo and Alana Y...

Shawn got his Bachelor’s degree in Popular Music/Keyboards at the University of Southern California, and now works as a Producer and a Music Director. Stacey got her Bachelor’s degree in Music Education with piano as her primary instrument from the Eastman School of Music, and then went on to get her Master’s and her Graduate Performance Diploma from the Longy School of Music in flute performance....

Annie Trimber is a social media manager, content creator, photographer and food stylist. She studied at Northwestern University, where she got a double major in flute performance and business and marketing. Annie began playing the flute at the age of 5, and had high career goals of a performance career in music. But that came to a screeching halt when she diagnosed with debilitating tendonitis in...

Dylan Price is a composer and pianist in Los Angeles who works as a freelance writer for Bleeding Fingers Music, a collective, co-founded by Hans Zimmer, of composers creating scores for film and television. Dylan has written music for shows including MasterChef on Fox and Foodtastic on Disney+, and regularly contributes to Sony Music Publishing’s Extreme Music library. He also serves as Piano Acc...

Dean Jamal Rossi was the Joan and Martin Messinger Dean of the Eastman School of Music from 2014-2024. He earned his Bachelor’s degrees in saxophone performance and music education from Ithaca College, his Master’s of Music from the University of Michigan, and Doctorate of Musical Arts from the Eastman School of Music. Dean Rossi was faced with his biggest professional decision when he decided to...

At the time of our interview, Fabian was Senior Manager of Youth Orchestra Los Angeles, also known as YOLA, the LA Philharmonic’s music education program. He now serves as YOLA’s Gift Planning Officer. He studied clarinet performance, getting his undergraduate degree at Florida State University and his masters at The University of Texas at Austin, and then went to Philadelphia to study with Ricard...

Jamal Moore is an internationally acclaimed singer, songwriter, and recording artist, known for his smooth, rich tone and his vocal versatility. He studied vocal performance at the Eastman School of Music, before building up a diverse career bridging the genres of classical and pop music. Throughout the interview Jamal shares his insights into some incredible experiences: how his vocal quintet cam...

Annie Ray is a the Orchestra Director and Performing Arts Department Manager at Annandale High School, and recipient of the 2024 Music Educator Award at this year’s Grammys. She studied at the University of North Texas, doing a double major with Harp Performance and Music Education and began teaching at Annandale High School in 2020. Throughout the interview she shares practical advice on how to a...

Molly McDonald is a violinist in the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra (RPO), and member of the Salaff Quartet. She did her undergraduate degree in violin performance at the Eastman School of Music and her masters at the Cleveland Institute of Music before winning a one year position with the RPO. Throughout the interview she shares her experiences from growing up performing folk music with her par...

David Young is the Assistant Principal Bassoonist of the NSO. He did his undergraduate degree at Northwestern University and then went to the University of Maryland to take part in the Woodwind Quintet Fellowship. He actually left his masters studies early to play with the Bergen Philharmonic Orchestra in Norway for a few months, and then spent four years in the United Stated President’s Own Marin...

Carrie Davids Morris is a violist, hair stylist and curl specialist based in Rochester, NY. After attending the Interlochen Arts Academy she received her bachelor’s in Viola performance from the Eastman School of Music and her masters at the Manhattan School of Music. As a performer and music educator, Carrie worked for three summers at Luzerne Music Center, taught as a viola professor at the Manh...

Thank you for watching! Resource links, timecodes, and some extra notes are below. Hope to see you on February 1st for the next episode! ORCHESTRATING YOUR CAREER YouTube: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCaCPf5xynqMHcFuQhCWrNCQ ⁠Instagram: ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.instagram.com/orchestratingyourcareer/ Facebook: ⁠⁠⁠⁠https://www.facebook.com/orchestratingyourcareer RACHEL’S EPISODE RESOURCES: ~ Curren...

Ben Roundtree is a music missionary living and working in Germany. He is the Co-Director of the brass ensemble eurobrass , handbell performer with the BellTree Duo, and also does composing, arranging, music publishing and more. Ben received both his bachelors and masters degrees in Tuba Performance from the University of Kentucky, and George Mason University, respectively. BEN’S EPISODE RESOURCES...

Emiko Edwards is a pianist who attended Juilliard Pre-College for three years, then got her undergraduate degree from the Juilliard School, her masters from the Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and doctorate from Temple University. She is a performer both here in the US and abroad, as well as an educator, teaching as adjunct professor at Saint Joseph’s University, head of the piano department...

Luci Disano is a clarinetist who has been a member of “The President’s Own” United States Marine Band since January of 2014, made her conducting debut in 2016, and also works as an arranger. She got her undergraduate degree from the Eastman School of Music, her masters from the University of Northern Colorado, and a doctorate of conducting from the University of Maryland. In this interview Luci sh...

Don Hoffman was a clarinetist (not retired) in the United States Army Band “Pershing's Own", and is a piano accompanist. He did his undergraduate degree at the Philadelphia College of Performing Arts, spent a year at the Franz Liszt Academy in Budapest, Hungary, and did his master’s degree at Temple University before going on to win a job in the Army Band. In this episode Don describes ho...

Emily Tsai is an oboist who did her undergraduate degree at the Eastman School of Music, then went to the University of Maryland School of Music to take part in their Woodwind Quintet Fellowship. She’s now a member of WindSync, the Assistant Principal of the Washington National Opera, and is back at the University of Maryland School of Music, this time as their oboe professor. I forgot to ask Emil...

Stanford Thompson is a trumpet player who studied at the Curtis Institute of Music, who pivoted from a performance pathway to found an El Sistema inspired program called Play On Philly. After over ten years serving as their Executive Director, he took another turn in his career to start up a new organization, Equity Arc. STAN’S EPISODE RESOURCES Fav Pieces of Classical Music: ⁠⁠Shostakovich 11⁠⁠ (...

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