The @Percussion Podcast

https://feed.podbean.com/atpercussion/feed.xml

Interviews, topics, and discussion

Episodes

Thursday Dec 30, 2021

@Percussion 311 - The Wave Quartet (Pt. 2)

Thursday Dec 30, 2021

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Hosts: Caleb Pickering, Karli Viña, and Ksenija Komljenović
Producer: Ksenija Komljenović
Guest: Wave Quartet (Bogdan Bacanu, Christoph Sietzen, Emiko Uchiyama, and Nico Gerstmayer)
http://wavequartet.com/home-en/

Watch here Listen below

Part 2:

01:08 Jesse Guo: How many gigs do you guys play per year?
01:57 Thomas Waller: What is the process individually and collectively to prepare for a performance?
02:50 Dmitry Konovalchuk: I am a huge fan of yours! How often do you rehearse? Do you have a leader in rehearsals?
06:30 Cosmin Dumitriu (Bucharest): What is your work ethic, how do you schedule your rehearsals?
08:15 Dmitry Konovalchuk: Do you sometimes get bored of performing one piece again and again?
09:41 Alexandra Pliundra: Do you have any habits/rituals before a concert and how many hours do you practice every day?
19:47 Linus Elias Gustavsson (Sweden): Will you and when will you be releasing the arrangement of Carmen?

22:41 Future projects

Thursday Dec 23, 2021

@Percussion 311 - The Wave Quartet (Pt. 1)

Thursday Dec 23, 2021

★ Support the show by becoming a patron: https://www.patreon.com/atpercussion

★ Follow us on:
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/atperc

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/atpercussion/

PodBean: https://atpercussion.podbean.com/

Watch here Listen below

00:11 Intro

01:42 Guest Introduction: Wave Quartet

02:42 Tell us a bit about how you formed the Wave Quartet, Bogdan.

05:22 How has the ensemble evolved throughout the years, Christoph?

10:38 How has the personality of the quartet changed throughout the years? Did the repertoire and kind of audience you have in mind change?

13:26. Nico, what has it been like to enter an established ensemble?

15:57 Tell us about your first concert experience with the Wave Quartet, Emiko. Did you feel you were at the beginning of something historical being created?

17:19 Ben’s story of meeting Emiko at UNT and question: How has studying with Keiko shaped your thoughts on playing the marimba?

21:55 Teaching at Anton Bruckner Private University and recruiting excellent students.

25:55 One year “confirmation period” at Anton Bruckner Private University.

28:46 What is the greatest challenge the ensemble has faced in its career?

36:50 Every great team consists of people who have different strengths to contribute, yet a strongly shared vision. How would you describe each member's strength?

42:17 When did you know Wave Quartet was going to take off?

51:20 Where does your love of chamber music come from?

46:50 Breaking out of the “percussion niche”

55:15 It takes a village to run a good ensemble. Who are some of the invisible members (non-performers) who are crucial to your quartet's operation?

01:01:23 How has your recording process changed between your first and last album?

01:04:53 Recording Carmen

01:07:00 Rehearsing in a castle

Part 2 release date: December 30, 2021

Thursday Dec 16, 2021

@Percussion - 310 Mallet Percussion Research with Frank Kumor

Thursday Dec 16, 2021

Hosts: Caleb Pickering, Karli Viña, and Ksenija Komljenović
Producer: Caleb Pickering
Guest: Frank Kumor

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0:00 Intro
1:55 History (Beethoven)
7:00 Frank Kumor
8:40 How did you arrive at Kutztown?
10:45 Ben really likes vintage keyboard instruments
11:50 Kutztown Center for Mallet Percussion Research
21:08 Dealing with vintage instruments
27:40 Grainger percussion ensemble
32:45 Gordon Peters Library
37:15 Transporting instruments
42:45 so...how many instruments does the center have?
45:54 King George and the Century of Progress
53:05 Unique instruments
1:03:38 New Building

Thursday Dec 09, 2021

@Percussion 309 - Boutique Mallet Making with Alex Georgiev

Thursday Dec 09, 2021

Hosts: Caleb Pickering, Ben Charles, and Ksenija Komljenović
Producer: Ksenija Komljenović
Guest: Alex Georgiev (Infinity Percussion) https://www.percussioninfinity.com/

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00:00 Intro
01:36 Music History for December 9: Death of Charles Rosen
03:51 Guest Introduction: Alex Georgiev
05:00 How Infinity Percussion came about
10:00 When did you realize the mallets were professional-quality, and not just a tiny project?
12:05 What are the most necessary skills (both musical and business-related) a person needs to have in order to run a boutique mallet-making company?
15:00 What is good networking?
19:41 What has been the most surprising/challenging facet of doing this line of work?
21:48 Describe the process of designing a mallet. How often do you communicate and check in with the artist/customer?
26:39 Have you ever had any projects go way off-track from the initial idea?
30:12. How do you find a balance between what the artist wants and what the general customers will purchase? How do you learn how to say ‘no’?
32:45 How long does it take to take a project from start to finish?
36:04 For those interested in creating their own instruments or implements - building marimbas or making mallets, for example - what kind of financial expense should they consider it will take to embark on this kind of journey?
45:24 How many people are behind Infinity Percussion?
46:56 You also teach and perform extensively - which already amounts to a busy schedule. How much time does it take to run Infinity Percussion?
50:10 Describing sound qualities is a challenge, even for musicians - we mostly borrow terminology from other senses. How do you ensure that you have an understanding with the customer (artist or buyer) about the qualities they are looking for?
54:14 How do you record sound files to showcase mallets when a microphone by default distorts all sounds?
57:34 Bartok Sonata with Martin Grubinger, Yuja Wang, and the Percussive Planet
1:02:12 Near future plans

Thursday Dec 02, 2021

@Percussion 308 - Making a Marimba Career with Manuel Leuenberger

Thursday Dec 02, 2021

Hosts: Caleb Pickering, Karli Viña, Ksenija Komljenović, and Ben Charles
Producer: Ben Charles
Guest: Manuel Leuenberger https://www.patreon.com/marimba_artist

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0:00 Introduction and welcome
2:24 Today in history, December 2: birthdate of composer Katherine Hoover, premiere of Carmen Jones on Broadway
6:05 Welcome Manuel Leuenberger!
8:45 “The business side” of being a career musician
17:04 Diversifying one’s portfolio
24:04 Investing in one’s self
25:36 Marimba and magic: Leigh Howard Stevens’s piece, Houdini’s Last Trick
26:45 Thoughts on interdisciplinary collaboration
29:58 Maintaining a Patreon page and projects
34:24 Gaining experience with recording projects
38:18 Manuel’s composition Anna and future composition plans
44:48 Manu’s plans to visit the US in March 2022
49:00 Combining marimba and organ
53:03 Instagram question from Jesse Guo: How do you decide what concerti to learn?

Thursday Nov 25, 2021

@Percussion - 307 Creative Work & Mental Health with Dale Trumbore

Thursday Nov 25, 2021

Hosts: Karli Viña, Ben Charles, and Caleb Pickering
Producer: Karli Viña
Guest: Dale Trumbore https://www.daletrumbore.com/

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Timestamps
0:00 Intro and Hello
1:30 Today in History: Rudolf the Red-nosed Reindeer hits the charts, Birthday of Andrew Carnegie
8:09 Welcome, Dale!
9:30 The inspiration for Dale’s book, Staying Composed
20:21 How to procrastinate better
26:38 Perfectionism
30:17 Coping with the pandemic/when work slows down
36:33 Self-identity
41:56 Promoting diversity
50:11 Career development
56:39 Upcoming projects
59:47 How to talk about money

Thursday Nov 18, 2021

@Percussion - 306 Developing Your Youtube Channel with Joe Porter

Thursday Nov 18, 2021

Hosts: Casey Cangelosi and Ksenija Komljenović
Producer: Ksenija Komljenović
Guest: Joe Porter https://joeporteronline.com/

Watch here Listen below

00:00 Intro
00:51 Music History: November 18 – what would you buy with $37,000?
04:00 Guest intro: Joe Porter
05:45 Joe’s back story
14:55 How did YouTube come about?
19:22 Creation of the super-popular sound effects videos (12 million to 90 million views each)
21:11 YouTube popularity and content made for kids
24:07 When did you start monetizing your work?
26:34 Cover songs revenue
28:30 Signing up for YouTube partnership
30:00 Viral videos, targeting
35:38 Actionable advice for developing a YouTube channel
39:03 Click-on rate and thumbnails
41:45 YouTube algorithms
46:52 How does online success impact the offline world?
49:02 How should someone approach using YouTube as a tool not to go viral, but to seek employment?
54:10 You would be surprised how many people do/do not have adequate performances up online
54:58 No matter what career you choose, it is going to be hard work
57:00 Ryan Carlisle from IG: Is it better to upload regularly or your best content?
58:05 Josh Jones from IG: How do you get so good at so many percussion instruments?
1:00:03 thomas.perc from IG: Where is a good place to start equipment-wise to record high quality audio/video performances?
1:02:44 Jesse Guo from IG: Is it possible to grow a significant audience without making content for the masses?

Thursday Nov 11, 2021

@Percussion - 305 The Youtube Effect with Boyce Jeffries

Thursday Nov 11, 2021

Hosts: Karli Viña, Casey Cangelosi, and Ben Charles
Producer: Karli Viña
Guest: Boyce Jeffries https://boycejeffriespercussion.com/

Watch here Listen below

Timestamps
0:00 Intro and Hello
2:06 Today in History: Britney Spear, World Premiere of Strauss’ Don Juan
6:38 Welcome, Boyce!
7:26 The YouTube Effect: What inspired it?
12:31 How did the pandemic alter your research?
16:27 YouTube as a career catalyst
19:25 Effects of YouTube on our consumption of media
22:56 YouTube’s effects on mental health
25:09 How video quality/presentation affects our perception
33:49 Have we arrived in a post-performance world?
38:40 Pros/Cons of recording vs. live performance
45:06 The “perfect abs” effect
51:32 Do you watch YouTube videos before learning a piece?
54:49 Boyce’s upcoming PN article on Christopher Deane’s Mourning Dove Sonnet
59:50 Jade Hails: What are the trends on YouTube that percussionists should invest time in?
1:08:59 Bryan Jeffs: During the course of your research, exactly how many versions of Third Construction did you watch?

Thursday Nov 04, 2021

@Percussion 304 -Composing for Percussion with Ben Wahlund

Thursday Nov 04, 2021

Hosts: Casey Cangelosi, Karli Viña, Ben Charles, and Ksenija Komljenović
Producer: Ben Charles

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0:41 Today in history, November 4 - Premieres of Brahms First Symphony, Smetana Má vlast, Chabrier España, Borodin Prince Igor, Sibelius Finlandia, and Revueltas Ventanas
4:01 Welcome Ben Wahlund!
4:43 Mile Marker Zero Project at PASIC, Room 105, Thursday, November 11, 3:00
5:07 Ben’s Key West residency and the resulting Mile Marker Zero Project
7:15 Challenges of writing for 4.3 octave marimba
13:33 Unique challenges in Ben’s new work Service Industry and other pieces from the new collection, early influences
22:26 Inspiration from Julie Spencer
30:40 The idea of “releasing compositions into the wild” and learning from performers’ interpretations
34:34 Ben’s snare drum writing
37:57 Ben’s piece for snare drum and percussion ensemble, Pegasus
42:12 Should all percussionists compose? Where should they start?
1:00:12 Question from from Dmitry Konovalchuk: What is the main idea of Hard Boiled Capitalism? Who are your influences?

Thursday Oct 28, 2021

@Percussion Podcast 303 - Composing a Career with Emmanuel Séjourné

Thursday Oct 28, 2021

Hosts: Casey Cangelosi, Karli Viña, Ben Charles, and Ksenija Komljenović
Producer: Casey Cangelosi
Guests: Emmanuel Séjourné http://www.emmanuelsejourne.com/
Anne-Julie Caron https://www.youtube.com/user/AnneJulieCaronOnline

Watch here Listen below

0:00 Intro and History - Afro American Symphony
2:40 Welcome Emmanuel Sejourne and Anne-Julie Caron
3:35 Background and career
6:10 Piano background
13:18 traditional tough teachers...
16:35 Percussion's current state. Limits and balance in repitoire
23:30 "Do You Have a Light?"
27:00 Practical career paths today?
33:37 Is there an aspect to a student's training that you feel is most important to their success?
35:17 When you adjudicate competitions, what do you see that makes a good performer?
37:33 Value of competitions?
41:35 Where does our repitoire need to go?
45:00 Social media questions:
Your favorite percussionist to collaborate with?
48:00 Do you compose behind the instrument?
49:22 Writing the marimba concerto and adding a 3rd movement?
50:33 Composing for vibraphone?
53:40 Who inspires you?
54:45 Composing routine?
56:36 Advice when starting to learn a new piece?
59:00 About "Martians Tribes"