The Brass Junkies

In this Listener's Choice episode, Andrew & Lance answer a frequently asked listener question regarding starting a brass group. We cover many areas, including: Start with why Gigging group or full-time endeavor Traditional brass quintet instrumentation? Skills developed via chamber music  The path if you want a gigging group Opportunities to play different musical roles The "who" decision "Good to...

Jennifer Marotta is an Adjunct Assistant Professor of Trumpet at the University of Southern California Thornton School of Music. An active freelance musician based in Los Angeles, she regularly performs with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, San Diego Symphony, Los Angeles Opera, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, Los Angeles Master Chorale, and the St. Louis Symphony. Marotta is c...

TBJ95: TEM Takeover! In this crossover episode, we hear Andrew in conversation with Jeff Conner from The Entrepreneurial Musician podcast. Jeff Conner has performed in over 30 countries on 4 continents with his brass quintet, Boston Brass. Jeff talks about how they went from a college group playing small gigs around the Boston area to an internationally touring, full-time ensemble. Topics Covered:...

Dr. Gail Robertson serves as Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium/Jazz at the University of Central Arkansas where she is tubist in the Pinnacle Brass and teaches the Jazz Ensemble II. She earned her B.A. degree from the University of Central Florida and an M.M. in Euphonium Performance from Indiana University while serving as graduate assistant to Harvey Phillips. She postponed her doctoral...

Euphonium and Tuba artist (and long-time buddy of Lance) Matt Tropman shares incredible stories of music, survival, and mayhem. Not necessarily in that order. Matt Tropman currently serves as Assistant Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at the University of Arizona and is an active freelancer, soloist, and chamber musician. His performances have been praised in numerous publications such as the New Y...

TBJ92: Jason Ayoub, Principal Horn in The US Navy Band on Dallas Brass, playing with Charlie Vernon and meeting a moose Chief Musician Jason Ayoub is the Principal Horn in the Navy Band and teaches at Towson University. Chief Musician Jason Ayoub, a native of El Paso, Texas, joined the Navy Band in 2006. He received his Bachelor of Music from the University of North Texas (UNT), where he studied w...

Canadian Tubist  Jarrett McCourt  is the Acting Principal Tuba of the Winnipeg Symphony Orchestra and the Tubist of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago. Prior to this, Jarrett was the Tuba Fellow of the New World Symphony in Miami Beach, Florida. Jarrett's playing has been called "magnificent" by the  Palm Beach Daily News  and "warm, romantic and seamless" by the  South Florida Classical Review . Jarr...

TBJ90: New Seraph Brass trumpeter Raquel Rodriquez on her new gig at UNT, traveling to the Lieksa Brass Week and recovering from a chop sunburn. Raquel Rodriquez is the newly appointed Assistant Professor of Trumpet at the University of North Texas (Fall of 2018). Prior to that, she was the Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Tennessee Tech University. Dr. Rodriquez maintains a versatile career as a...

TBJ89: David Gordon of the Seattle Symphony on Boston, Mahler and giving it your all. David Gordon, whose playing has been described as "spectacular" by the  Chicago Tribune , is Principal Trumpet of the Seattle Symphony and Chicago's Grant Park Symphony Orchestra. As a soloist, Gordon has appeared with the symphony orchestras of Seattle, Grant Park, and Charleston (with whom he performed as soloi...

TBJ88: St. Louis Symphony trumpeter Jeff Strong on preparation, playing with the Marine Band and having an air blowing epiphany. Jeffrey Strong of the St. Louis Symphony and formerly of the "President's Own" US Marine Band, joined Andrew & Lance to detail his current gig, playing Taps in inclement weather and what he learned from Chris Martin. In this fun and lively conversation, we cover: Blitzst...

TBJ87: Craig Knox of the Pittsburgh Symphony on premiering the Jennifer Higdon Tuba Concerto, European road stories and the joys of palinka. Craig Knox is Principal Tuba of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra and a founding member of the Center City Brass Quintet. With these ensembles and others, he has performed for audiences across the U.S., Europe, and Asia, and been heard on recordings, and radi...

TBJ86: Listener's Choice - The Falcone Festival Lance and Andrew take up another Listeners' Choice episode to talk about the history and development of the Falcone Festival at Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Twin Lake, Michigan. Form the website: The Leonard Falcone International Euphonium and Tuba Festival has gained recognition as the premier event of its kind. Born in 1986 as a competition for both...

TBJ85: Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra on audition prep, recording yourself and all things Canada. Tom McCaslin, Tubist with the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra,  Soloist, Teacher, and Clinician has been described by Fanfare Magazine as  "one of the contemporary tuba virtuosos" . Originally from Regina, Saskatchewan Tom's playing and teaching have taken him around the g...

TBJ84: Brass legend Mark Gould boldly goes where no other guests have gone before! Mark Gould, the former Principal trumpet of The Met, the mastermind behind Pink Baby Monster and author of the hilarious new book, "Orchestra Confidential" joins Andrew & Lance in an episode filled with laughs, stories and swear words. Like, a lot of swear words. WARNING: As mentioned in the above description, this...

TBJ83: Trombonist Donna Parkes of the Louisville Orchestra on having a "Yes!" attitude, sleeping bags and growing up in Australia Donna Parkes, Principal Trombone with Louisville Orchestra joins Andrew & Lance to detail her amazing career, from Australia to Kentucky, with stops in Chicago, Alaska and Doha, Qatar. In this fun and lively conversation, we cover: Playing Principal Trombone with Louisv...

TBJ82: Geoffrey Pilkington, Principal Horn for the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra on yoga, humility and the Long Call Geoffrey Pilkington, Principal Horn for the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra   joins Andrew & Lance to talk about working with Don Greene, dealing with the effects of a pinched nerve and gives us a great behind-the-scenes look at what goes into preparing for and playing t...

TBJ81: Matthew Murchison, Sexiest Euphonium Player in West Virginia on playing, writing and charting your own course in music Composer, tuba and euphonium soloist and all-around fellow knucklehead Matthew Murchison joins Andrew & Lance to discuss his bands Mainspring and the Matthew Murchison Mutiny, studies with Brian Bowman and being yourself as an artist. In this fun and lively conversation, we...

TBJ80: Philadelphia Orchestra Principal Horn Jennifer Montone on playing, meditating and telling your own story Jennifer Montone has played with the Philadelphia Orchestra for 11 years. Prior to that, she spent time in the Dallas, St. Louis and New Jersey Symphonies and teaches at both Curtis and Juilliard. In this fun and lively conversation, we cover: Playing at Tanglewood as a student in the Em...

TBJ79: Euphonium Ambassador Adam Frey on what it is like to be the Ambassador of Euphonium. Like that is a thing. Adam Frey has had a great career as a soloist, publisher, teacher and major proponent of the euphonium and has endured Lance's hump-busting for over twenty years. He is also the mastermind behind both the fantastic International Euphonium-Tuba (IET) Festival and euphonium.com. He curre...

TBJ78: Chip Crotts on playing trumpet with Ray Charles, prosthetic robot arms for musicians and his comeback from Bells Palsy Chip Crotts has played trumpet with an incredible array of stars, from Natalie Cole to Maynard Ferguson and has been involved with building an innovative program from the ground up at Georgia Tech. In this episode, we cover: The integration of music and technology at Georgi...

TBJ77: Tubist Deanna Swoboda on her gig at ASU, Brass Rap and the difference between entertainment and art Deanna Swoboda has been a longtime friend and colleague to both Andrew & Lance and has had a great career as a performer, teacher and leader from her days with Dallas Brass to her current gig at Arizona State University. In this episode, we cover: The value of studying music at the college le...

Washington National Opera/Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra trombonist Doug Rosenthal joins Andrew & Lance in a conversation ranging from the bass trumpet to dealing with the Valsalva maneuver and his experiences as an openly gay brass player.   Currently, in his 6th season with the Washington National Opera/Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra, Doug was actually speaking to us from Chicago, wh...

In this special Listener's Choice episode, Andrew & Lance talk about the ins and outs of auditioning for college as a brass player. This is the second time we've tried this format. Let us know what you think! In terms of structure, we decided to tackle the: 10 Top Brass College Audition Questions Researching schools and teachers What repertoire to prepare? Should you take a lesson with the teacher...

TBJ74: Amplituba and Mercury Orkestar Tubist Bill Pritchard on Getting Started with Electronics, Teaching at Five Different Colleges and Overcoming Adversity   Bill Pritchard is one of the busiest tuba players in Atlanta and is a leading figure in the movement to incorporate electronics with brass playing.   Some of the topics we cover include:  The challenges of giving Skype lessons His use of te...

TBJ73: Trombonist Weston Sprott on Performing with the Metropolitan Opera, the Diversity Issues Facing the Industry and Running Into One of His Heroes on the Streets of New York Weston Sprott is the Acting Principal Trombone of the Metropolitan Opera and has appeared with major orchestras all over the world. In this episode, we cover: His gig What the best subs have in common Coming up in TX Teach...