TromboneLessons.com Video Podcast

Richard Stout, for those that don’t know, is the 2nd Trombonist with the Cleveland Orchestra. He also teaches at The Cleveland Institute of Music (www.cim.edu). Recently, he was on tour with the Cleveland Orchestra and they stopped in Columbus, GA!

After a breathtakingly beautiful concert (including Mr. Stout on euphonium playing the Bydlo solo from “Pictures at an Exhibition”!), it was our great treat to watch Rick do a master class at Columbus State University. He was hosted by Brad Palmer and his AMAZING studio. (You can find out more about Dr. Palmer, Columbus State, and the Schwob School of Music here: http://music.colstate.edu)

Mr. Stout filled the room with resonance whilst also filling it with wisdom. I think you will all really, really enjoy hearing him perform and speak. Personally, I caught a few golden nuggets in this master class that I plan on implementing immediately. Thanks for sharing with us all, Rick.

Also in this episode, we provide a few PSA’s on behalf of some friends. It allows us to stay in touch and keep everyone informed about the many cool things happening in Trombonia. We appreciate the emails, announcements, bulletins, fliers, and updates….

Enjoy. Peace. Thanks. Write.

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Yippee, it’s time to clean the slide! This can be a messy and ugly proposition. It is necessary, however. I recommend doing it regularly for a lot of reasons.

This video shows how I like to go about keeping the slide clean. PLEASE use a lot of care when cleaning the slide. The metal is more delicate than you might imagine.

As always, if you have questions about this Episode, please contact us: tom@trombonelessons.com

PS- a message from our friend Abbie Conant: A friend of a friend is starting a Brass Ensemble in Tasmania. I know that some of our viewers live there, so I thought I’d pass this along. If you or someone you know would like to be in a Brass Ensemble in Tasmania, please contact Miss Jessica Borton via email: baschawolf@netspace.net.au

She’s also in need of some music for her band’s library and other resources, so if you can help her I’m sure she would appreciate it.

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Welcome back, ladies and gentlemen!

In this Episode, I’m pleased to introduce my friends from the US Air Force Reserve Band’s Brass Quintet. The players are:

Michael Richter, trumpet

Thomas Salyers, trumpet

Michael Pekarek, horn

John Caputo, trombone (and euphonium)

Michael Andrew, tuba

These guys are great! They have a new CD out, too. More info about the CD and the US Air Force Reserve Band can be found at their website: http://www.band.afrc.af.mil

A career as a military musician can be a really wonderful experience. If you have any questions about it, I would encourage you to contact these gentlemen. They are marvelous performers and seem to have a lot of fun doing their jobs. I’m sure they’d be happy to talk to you about their careers as military musicians. I speak from experience when I say that playing in a military band can be an awesome thing!

BTW- I just received word from Colin that he has been invited to the Final round for the Principal Trombone job with the Boston Symphony! I know we all join in wishing him the best of luck. Although, as I was recently reminded….luck comes to the well-prepared mind:-) You’re an inspiration to us all, Colin. Bravo.

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Snow day in Atlanta, so I invited some friends over to the house to try out the Griego Mouthpieces that were sent to me by Jeff Taylor. Thanks, Jeff! Man, we had fun and I really love the feel and sound of the Deco Silver 5. Bravo. I plan on trying them all and letting folks around here do the same. If you are going to be in the area (Atlanta, GA) and want to try them, contact me via email and LET’S PLAY: tom@trombonelessons.com

I love trying new stuff, especially when it’s of such high quality as these mouthpieces. Jeff can be contacted for more info at this address: jefftaylor@griegomouthpieces.com

The Griego website is here: http://www.griegomouthpieces.com

So, Bill brought his contra, I grabbed an alto, Tom swapped the tuba for a Conn 88H, and Brent held court on his bass trombone…..and we had ourselves a “hang”. A really fun afternoon it was.

Also in this episode, I answer some accumulating Viewer Mails. Thanks for all of those and don’t fret if I haven’t gotten to yours yet. We’ll strive hard to get to them all, promise.

Please enjoy this episode and let us know your thoughts. As always and forever, peace.

Let’s all go practice now. We gotta keep getting better to make more and more Trombone Love for this crazy world of ours, right? Collectively, we can make some noise!

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In this episode, we bring you some Holiday Cheer from the Country Walk neighborhood in Powder Springs, Georgia, USA.

When I was in the Navy Band, our drum major, Jeff Myers, had a wonderful tradition of marching ’round Capitol Hill in Washington, DC playing Christmas Carols with a brass group. It was always the highlight of everyone’s Holiday Season.

When Katlyn and I moved to Atlanta, we decided to keep the tradition alive……this year was the 5th Annual Brass Caroling at Country Walk. It was a real joy and I thank all the wonderful musicians that joined in the merriment. You guys are the best!

Also in this Episode is a great tip for you bass trombonists that suffer pain in your hand, shoulder, etc. Lee Watts shows us his remedy for holding the tortuous beast known as the Bass Trombone. It’s a little stocking-stuffer tidbit for you:-)

Thanks, Lee! You can check out Lee’s website at: http://wattsbone.com/

Also, thanks to the talented Tim Redman for the still photos. He’s pretty awesome with a camera, check him out at Flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trombontim/

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays everybody.

By the way…….still no sign of my taped interview with Joe Robinson. ARGH!! Would y’all mind saying a little prayer and/or rubbing your good luck charm that I might find that thing? Much appreciated.

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If my voice annoys you, you’re gonna hate this one. Sorry. One full hour of me blabbing about warming up and other esoteric concepts. My only regret on this episode is that the camera wasn’t zoomed in on the 12-year-old girl that raised her hand HIGH (and PROUD) when I asked “who considers their practice time the best time of the day?”. This one’s for you, my dear! You rock.

Thanks to all the great people at Slippery Rock University! What a scene they’ve got going on up there in the beautiful countryside….Brian Meixner, Steve Hawk, David Glover, Jeremy Long. That’s an amazing faculty from what I witnessed. The students, too, were killin’ me with their enthusiasm and skill level. It was a fun day this year for Trombone Day at The Rock. Thanks, guys, for the terrific “hang”. Visit Slippery Rock’s website here:

http://academics.sru.edu/music/index.html

More to come. I love y’all more every day….the emails are much appreciated! The kindness is wonderful. The arguments are insightful. The inquiries are delightful. The criticisms? I take those to heart, too. You guys are tough, smart, fun, and good. What can I say? Thanks for keeping it real.

Think I’ll shoot for 4 more Episodes before the New Year:-)

Then, I don’t know how we’ll keep this ball rolling. I beg for your input, please. One thing’s for sure, we need more viewer interaction. We’ll be diving into that realm hardcore, that’s my New Year’s resolution!

Happy Holidays and Peace to us all…..Trombone Love. It’s more contagious than the dreaded Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. Just ask Wes!

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***PARENTAL WARNING: The “F” word makes an appearance in this episode. It is barely audible and flies by, but you should be aware that it’s here. No, it wasn’t from my lips***

In this Episode:

1) I send a big “THANK YOU!” to North Hills High School, my Alma Mater and still the best band in the land. THE BEST. David, thanks! Areta, I love you. On behalf of all present and former students, thanks for sticking it out for so many years and with such passion. We hope your impending retirement is filled with fun! To Paul, thanks for the uplifting talk and the great company. It was very good to see you after too many years.

2) I send another big “THANK YOU!” to Dr. Brian Meixner and all the fun people at Slippery Rock University (http://academics.sru.edu/music/index.html). Trombone Day at The Rock was a wonderful event! We’ll soon have an Episode with some highlights for you. Suffice it to say that the people, the campus, and the sounds were all of the highest order. Thanks so much Brian.

3) I eat a big dose of humble pie served up by “joe”. Um…….thanks, joe:-)

4) I think out loud with the talented musicians of the GYSO Brass Band.

Comments are welcome. If you have a different take on the matter and/or some expertise to share, we sure would love to hear it. If you’re bored enough to watch this entire Episode, perhaps you’re bored enough to send your comments to:

tom@trombonelessons.com

PS- As Thanksgiving approaches for those of us in the United States, I know that this year I am thankful for many, many things. Family, friends, health, memories, dreams, the gift of Music……..and these Podcasts. To all of you, thanks! Bryce and Ella have a Holiday Greeting for the viewers of the Podcast. Happy Holidays everyone everywhere:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9509924750

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Our friend Mark Williamson is the esteemed guest on this Episode. You hear him in the opening credits of every Episode playing on “Tom’s Bag O Bones” with me and Wes Funderburk.

Mark is one talented fellow……a former Euphonium player with the US Air Force Band in Washington, DC, he is now a law partner at Alston&Bird here in Atlanta. He also makes great music on piano, trombone (all styles, including tasty jazz), and E-flat alto Horn. He is the Principal Horn player for the Georgia Brass Band.

For this year’s talent show at the law firm (all to benefit the charities of United Way), Mark arranged and wrote some trios for brass with added percussion. Joining him in this performance clip are Tom Hooten (trumpet), Stuart Gerber (percussion) and Colin Williams (trombone).

After viewing this Episode and hearing what Mark has to say about these pieces, we invite you to download them in PDF format for your enjoyment! Just our little way of saying THANKS EVERYBODY!

Hope you enjoy meeting Mark……..

Peace:-)

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It is my extreme pleasure to introduce my friend Newell Sheridan, of www.sheridanbrass.com

Newell is a purveyor of some very high quality trombones and equipment. Here, he talks about the Shires Trombones and the process of finding the horn that’s JUST right for you.

I hope you enjoy meeting him! You can contact him by visiting his website, sheridanbrass.com, or:

E-mail: nsherida@bellsouth.net Phone: 205-978-3773

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GYSO is the Georgia Youth Symphony Orchestra. It is the youth-affiliate of the Cobb Symphony Orchestra. It consists of a number of musical ensembles: 2 full orchestras, woodwind chamber groups, percussion ensemble, and…….a REAL Brass Band (directed by yours truly and employing the British-style instrumentation with cornets, E-flat horns, baritones, euphoniums, trombones, E-flat and B-flat tubas, plus percussion).

The GYSO Brass Band is open, by audition, to any players aged 21-under. We have featured the brass band in earlier Episodes of the podcasts, including a performance with Chris Martin (Episode 29) and a 3-part series about a newly commissioned work by Jen Mitchell.

Here is a video I helped put together about the GYSO program. If you are a young musician in the area, you should really consider checking out what GYSO has to offer. For more info, see their website: www.georgiayouthsymphony.org

If you want info specifically about the Brass Band, please contact me directly at: tom@trombonelessons.com

Thanks, all!

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Hello friends! Welcome back for more Trombone Love.

We have some timely announcements and Trombone News items in this Episode, then a visit from Scott Leamon, manufacturer’s rep. for Eastman Trombones. Scott’s email address:

SLeamon@eastmanstrings.com

He was kind enough to bring 3 Eastman trombones to “the lair” where Wes Funderburk, Hollie Lawing, and myself put them to the test. We were impressed! It was a very enjoyable and informative afternoon. We hope you enjoy it.

If you’d like to know more about the Eastman Trombones, you can visit their website: http://www.eastmanwinds.com/

If you decide you’d like to order one, we recommend doing business with Carere Music. They are very good friends of the Podcasts and they run a shop “by the pros for the pros” here in Atlanta. Their website: http://www.careremusic.com/

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