The Brass Junkies Episode 171: Nathaniel Silberschlag
Andrew Hitz
Between The Brass Junkies and The Entrepreneurial Musician I have done close to 400 interviews and this was one of my favorites.
Nathaniel Silberschlag is a true mensch. His energy and approach to both music and life left me in the kind of good mood that sticks around for a while afterwards. He is a gift.
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:
Being the 10th member of his family to go to Juilliard
The specialized horn he started playing on when he was three years old
How Julie Landsman told his parents she wasn’t available to teach him as a 12-year-old but gave him one Skype lesson and then was so impressed that she agreed to teach him anytime she came to DC
How Julie introduced him to Sylvia Alimena who he studied with through high school and was a major influence on his life
The one thing that each of his four private teachers all focused on
His use of specific images and colors to get a clear idea of what he’s trying to sound like
The importance of painting your picture away from the horn through things like singing
Jen Montone’s Process Cues
How his approach to sound has informed his teaching
The specific visualization he uses when performing Mozart concertos
How the best teachers teach you how to teach yourself (and how to be teachers)
The value of watching great teachers teach
The experience and pressure of trying to become a peer to brass legends who you’ve looked up to your entire life
What it was like to win the Kennedy Center Opera House audition even though he fully didn’t expect to win it at the age of 19
“I can only be the best me on a given day.”
How his dad was waiting for him in the car while he kept advancing through the Kennedy Center Opera House audition
All that he learned from sitting next to Geoffrey Pilkington including how and when to use your Assistant Principal
His experience of playing Mahler 5 in Carnegie Hall in his first full week as Principal Horn of the Cleveland Orchestra with almost everyone he knew in the audience while being sick