TBJ205: Remembering Floyd Cooley - Brass Legacy Project

The music world lost a giant last month when Floyd Cooley, former Principal Tuba of the San Francisco Symphony, passed away.

For the latest installment of the Brass Legacy Project I invited six former students of Floyd's to share stories of him as a player, teacher and person:

• Kevin Harrison - Axiom Brass

• Daryl Johnson - Louisville Symphony Orchestra (retired)

• Pete Link - Kyoto Symphony Orchestra

• Mike Roylance - Boston Symphony Orchestra

• William Russell - Boston Brass

• Jerome Stover - Sam Houston State University

I never had the privilege of meeting Floyd which I regret. But after being a fly on the wall for this conversation, I feel like I got to know him a little bit and that is a gift.

Thanks to all six of them for joining me on The Brass Junkies on short notice.

You can find this and every TBJ episode on YouTube, wherever you listen to podcasts or via Pedal Note Media.

Now I'm going to go listen to Floyd's Nielsen 5 recording with San Francisco and Blomstedt for about the 600th time in my life...

---

Inside the Practice Room with Sergio Carolino

Want to take your practicing to the next level?

What better way to do that than by learning from the best players in the world exactly what they do day in and day out in the practice room.

Don’t miss this opportunity to hear international tuba superstar Sergio Carolino do a deep dive into the practicing routine that made him a legend.

---

Use offer code “sergio” to get $10 off for a limited time only!

---

Here’s an excerpt from Sergio Carolino’s Inside the Practice Room where he demonstrates how he practices extreme dynamics by using scales and arpeggios:

Topics Sergio Covers:

• How his approach in the practice room has shifted over the years from tuba technique to musical storytelling

• Why he programs the pieces he chooses to perform

• Why the piece of metal is always going to win and how that affects his approach to playing and practicing

• Demonstrating how he approaches practicing scales and arpeggios

• Why he doesn’t play exercises (and why he doesn’t use the term either)

• The two physical things he asks all students to do when playing the tuba

• Treating the air like a bow playing a string instrument

---

Use offer code “sergio” to get $10 off for a limited time only!

---

Quotes from Sergio Carolino’s Inside the Practice Room:

• “I work mostly on scales and arpeggios. I work on dynamics a lot, like extreme dynamics. I try to go real extreme… it might seem that it's very mechanical, but I try to be always musical. So I try to use scales, arpeggios, all this technical stuff in a musical context that I'm going use in real life.”

Also Available from Hitz Academy:

Jeff Nelsen of Canadian Brass

Don’t miss this deep dive by Jeff Nelsen of Canadian Brass into his daily practicing routine!

Take me inside Jeff’s practice room!

TBJ186: Beth Wiese

This conversation with Dr. Bethany Wiese, Professor of Tuba and Euphonium at Appalachian State University, was incredibly engaging.

We had a deep conversation about things like how applying restrictions to the creative process can actually free you up to be more creative, the value of being “intelligently unpredictable” and separating the output of you as a musician with you as a person.

It’s a wonderful and thought-provoking conversation.

You can watch the episode on YouTube below or head over to Pedal Note Media for all of the links to where to find it.

Enjoy!

---

TBJ184: Sergio Carolino

We finally got around to interviewing the legend that is Sergio Carolino. He is a truly special musician and one hell of a human being.

This was one of those interviews that left me energized. Sergio is so kind and so generous. I really appreciate his approach to his craft and his outlook on life.

And he had a very special relationship with Sam Pilafian, which he told us about.

You can watch the episode on YouTube below or head over to Pedal Note Media for all of the links to where to find it.

Enjoy!

---

On This Episode of The Brass Junkies:

• Why he feels the need to have something extra creatively on top of his orchestra gig

• What drives him to have so many projects

• His desire to keep tuba music moving forward as an artform

• Why he doesn’t make music for ego but in pursuit of excellence

• The 10 albums that Sergio has completely finished that he hasn’t released yet!

• How he still can’t believe that he gets to play recitals with people like Gene Pokorny and Dan Perantoni

• The first time he met Sam Pilafian and how blown away he was by one of his idols talking to him like they had known each other for years

• How his first tuba influences were Sam Pilafian, Kirk Joseph and Bob Stewart and not the classical guys

• The trouble he ran into at conservatory when he showed up and sounded like the jazz guys he grew up listening to

• How if you imitate the sound and the phrasing then the intonation and rhythm fall into line

• How lucky he was to get recordings of some of the giants of the tuba world at an early age

• Why he thinks about fretless bass even when he’s playing classical solos

• The curiosity that drives him

• His original plan to pursue a career as a caricature artist

• How he created his own musical opportunities with the other people in his village beginning at age 13 or 14

• Why he stays away from negative people

• The many ways that any of us can make the world, and the musical world, a better place

• The importance of being around musicians who are better than you

• The musicians he would most love to collaborate with (he doesn’t hesitate with his answer)

• His passion for learning styles of music which are new to him (and why the key to all of it is learning the phrasing)

• The low point he reached 6 or 7 years ago that almost led him to quitting the orchestra and moving to Nepal and the advice that Gene Pokorny that renewed his love of tuba playing

• How we are only here for a few years before moving on and why we need to make the most of our time

---

The Brass Junkies Episode 179: Chris Lee of the National Arts Centre Orchestra

Canadian tuba virtuoso Chris Lee joined us for TBJ179!

Chris and I go back 30 years (how are we that old??) We met as students at the Empire Brass Seminar at Tanglewood. As you’ll hear, that program had a profound impact on both of our careers.

And his stories about attending recording sessions with both Empire Brass and Canadian Brass are amazing! I had no idea he had experienced either of those things. Truly incredible behind the scenes look, especially at such a young age!

It was also wild to hear him talk about being one of the people premiering the brand new Wynton Marsalis Tuba Concerto. Exciting stuff!

You can watch the episode on YouTube below or head over to Pedal Note Media for all of the links to where to find it.

Enjoy!

---

On This Episode of The Brass Junkies:

• Getting to be in the recording studio with both Empire Brass and Canadian Brass and what he learned from each experience

• Intonation is a social skill

• The need to fit in most of the time and stick out occasionally as an orchestral tuba player

• The life and legacy of Dennis Miller

• Playing on Charles Dutiot’s final recording with the Montreal Symphony Orchestra courtesy of Dennis Miller

• The brand new Wynton Marsalis Tuba Concerto that he is performing in June 17th with the National Arts Center Orchestra (which will be live stream!)

• Multiphonics and how he practices it

• His process for when he first looks at a piece of music

• The lessons he learned from mentor Dan Perantoni

• How a great teacher can have a different view of your limitations than you do

• The value in not teaching every first year student the same

---

Inside the Practice Room with Patrick Sheridan

What better way to improve in the practice room than by joining the best musicians in the world while they practice?

Join tuba superstar Patrick Sheridan for an intimate look into how he approaches practicing!

During this workshop Patrick described in detail the very intentional process he uses every day in the practice room: 

• The routine he starts every day with

• The he leaves time at the end of his routine for fun which he calls “playing in the sandbox”

• His relatively random post-routine practice schedule that he refers to as “random acts of music” and how he regularly finds the time to practice even when he is very busy

• The dangers of practicing self-hatred and judgement in the practice room rather than practicing music

• He chooses at least one thing each week that he is intentionally trying to move forward in a measurable way

• Why he regularly asks himself “Could I have played that with any less tension? Was there any tension at all?”

• His “Practicing in Trios” concept and how he applies that to everything he learns

• The need to develop a love for repitition

• Why copying someone else’s practice schedule is idiotic (Spoiler: You need to come up with what works best for you!)

• Patrick’s mental approach that there’s nothing difficult in music - just familiar and unfamiliar

• The tools he uses to help him practice on a daily basis

• How he deals with both boredom and frustration in the practice room

Purchase long-term access to this workshop for only $29!

Winning the Audition with Carol Jantsch

Learn the audition preparation strategies that won Carol Jantsch the audition for Principal Tuba of the Philadelphia Orchestra at the age of 20 in this Winning the Audition workshop.

Purchase long-term access to this through the Hitz Academy archives for only $19!

The Brass Junkies: Michael Nickens aka Doc Nix

Listen via

iTunes
Spotify
Soundcloud
Stitcher

TBJ117: Mike Nickens, Director of "The Green Machine" pep band at George Mason University on being unapologetic about who he is and leading by example (while carrying a scepter). He has built a gig for himself which allows him to be fully him while enabling his students to do the same.

Don’t miss this one! Doc is one of my dearest friends and he has blazed a creative path across the music business that is a great model for us all.

Summed up, the dude is a badass!

You can check out the complete show notes including all of the links mentioned during TBJ117 over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 111: Tim Buzbee

Listen via

iTunes
Spotify
Soundcloud
Stitcher

TBJ111: Tim Buzbee on learning The Furies overnight, winning gigs in 8 countries and being put in a piece of metal

I had met Tim before but never really hung out with him. He is a riot!

The title of the episode is not an exaggeration. The dude has literally won auditions in eight countries! His wife won’t even let him take any more because she knows he’ll win and she’s sick of moving!

We talk about how a boy from a small town in Texas ends up a tuba superstar on the international stage. And we laugh a lot.

You can check out the complete show notes including all links mentioned during TBJ110 over at Pedal Note Media.

The Brass Junkies 109: Richard White

TBJ109: Richard A. White, RAW Tuba on his life, his gig and his upcoming documentary

For episode 109 of The Brass Junkies we had a truly inspiring conversation with tuba player Richard White. Richard is the subject of a brand new documentary and his story will leave you on the verge of tears. His journey from homeless four-year-old in Baltimore to the first African-American with a doctorate in tuba is almost too much to believe.

He is an incredible musician, teacher and human and we were honored to have him join us.

This one will leave a mark!

You can check out the complete show notes including all links mentioned during TBJ109 over at Pedal Note Media.