Anthony Plog on Music

In his thirty-eight years with the Utah Symphony, Nick Norton experienced all aspects of what it means to be an orchestral trumpet player. He began his career with the orchestra as second trumpet and after nine years auditioned for, and won, the newly vacated position of principal trumpet. Towards the end of his tenure with the orchestra, he moved to become a sort of roving section player. But in addition to his life as a trumpet player, Nick has also had a very full life outside of music which, among other things, involved preserving Emigration Canyon in Salt Lake City in its pristine state for the future. He is not only a good friend of mine, he is also a hero to me, a person with great integrity and honor (and also a great sense of humor... I can't recall a phone conversation with him where I didn't laugh.)

We begin our conversation with Nick talking about his audition for second trumpet in the Utah Symphony, his experience in that position, and then his audition for principal trumpet nine years later. Nick did about nine mock auditions for friends beforehand, and he speaks about how his poor showing in his last mock audition, and what he learned from it, helped him win the position with the Utah Symphony. Since he has played all positions in the trumpet section, I asked him about the different roles or goals of each trumpet seat in the orchestra and how to work well with a section. Nick also played principal trumpet with the Malmö Symphony in Sweden for a short period of time, so we talk about the differences in brass playing between an American and Swedish orchestra.

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As a Contributing Listener of "Anthony Plog on Music," you'll have access to extra premium content and benefits including:

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Bill Williams is a musician who has had a stellar career as a symphony musician, chamber musician, and soloist. But in addition to his performing, he is also a consultant with a wide range of clients, including elite performers and institutions, focusing on the tools needed to perform well consistently. On his website The Path to Optimal Performance, Bill deals with subjects such as stress and performance, practice, centering, and mental rehearsal. A great deal of our conversation revolves around the concept of how to deal with the vitally important mental aspects of performance.

Would you like more inspirational stories, suggestions, insights, and a place to continue the conversations with other listeners? Visit anthonyplog-on-music.supercast.com to learn more!

As a Contributing Listener of "Anthony Plog on Music," you'll have access to extra premium content and benefits including:

• Extra Audio Content: Only available to Contributing Listeners.
• Podcast Reflections: Tony's written recaps and thoughts on past interviews, including valuable tips and suggestions for students.
• Ask Me Anything: Both as written messages and occasional member-only Zoom sessions.
• The Show's Discord Server: Where conversations about interviews, show suggestions, and questions happen. It's a great place to meet other listeners and chat about all things music!
• Can I just donate instead of subscribing? Absolutely!
• Cancel at anytime and easily resubscribe when you want all that extra content again.

Learn more about becoming a Contributing Listener @ anthonyplog-on-music.supercast.com!

In the Bonus Room we discuss Chad's book, "You Earned a Music Degree. Now What?" This is a book that offers many practical and usable suggestions for students graduating from college and wanting to pursue a career in music. It is indeed a working musicians field guide, and we cover many areas of the book. Students will find this part of the interview not only inspiring but very practical as well.

We begin Part 2 by talking about his time with the San Francisco Ballet and how conducting ballet is so different from conducting orchestras. From there we move on to the New World Symphony and the studying of scores in preparation for rehearsals and concerts, how much time is involved, and the strategy he has for score analysis.

Chad Goodman is, to quote Christina Wallace from Forbes Magazine, "an entrepreneur bringing innovation to classical music." In his young life, Chad has started his own ensemble, the Elevate Ensemble, worked with the San Francisco Symphony and San Francisco Ballet as a conductor, and is currently a Conducting Fellow of the New World Symphony. So how did he do all of this at such a young age? He gives a lot of clues and practical advice in his book: "You Earned a Music Degree. Now What?" It was a pleasure to speak with him about the many aspects of his career and life.

We begin by going back to the start of Chad's career, learning music and also learning the business of music. At a very young age, he founded the Elevate Ensemble. He talks about many of the different aspects of planning concerts, paying musicians, arranging concert venues, and the like. We trace his career to working with the San Francisco Symphony, assisting guest conductors, and how Manfred Honeck was such a profound influence on him.

In addition to their new jobs, Will and Carlos have had experiences performing with other major orchestras, such as the New York Philharmonic, the Philadelphia Orchestra, the St. Louis Symphony, and the London Symphony. Our talk then turns to the future, with Will talking about his work with the Vennture Mouthpiece company, and Carlos about training to become an Alexander Technique teacher.

We continue our conversation about experiences at Juilliard and then move on to their current jobs: Principal Trumpet with the Nashville Symphony and Principal Trombone with the New York City Ballet, and specifically what they experienced in their auditions for those two orchestras.

Trombonist Carlos Jiménez Fernández and Trumpeter William Leathers have already had exceptional lives as musicians, even though they just recently graduated with a Bachelor's degree from Juilliard. They already have great jobs as principal players (Will with the Nashville Symphony and Carlos with the New York City Ballet) and have also performed with groups such as the New York Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, and London Symphony. It was a joy to speak with them about their journey at this early stage of their career.

In Part 1, we begin our conversation by talking about how Will and Carlos got to Juilliard. Will started a GoFundMe project in Canada, raising over $70,000 to help pay for his tuition, and Carlos was able to get a scholarship. I ask about their audition to get into the school (an audition where very few people are accepted) and then we talk about their studies with their main teachers, Joe Alessi for Carlos and Chris Martin and Ray Mase for Will.

In addition to the classical jobs she plays, Amy has also done some very interesting non-classical jobs, so we go behind the scenes of her recording sessions for Kendrick Lamar and Dave Matthews. Amy also talks about what it was like to be on the session that was a tribute to Henry Mancini, which included session musicians such as John Williams, Herbie Hancock and Quincy Jones. I also ask her what it was like to record in India for a Bollywood film!

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We begin the Bonus Room with Amy talking about her 99-day trip around the United States visiting and photographing all the national parks during the first year of the Covid pandemic. Her life outside of music is as varied as her freelance life in Los Angeles, so we discuss other projects she's been involved in. We end this fascinating conversation with Amy talking about the house she bought in Sitka, Alaska... not a usual purchase for an LA freelancer!

Dorico
Professional music notation and composition software from Steinberg. Download a free 30-trial today!
Disclaimer: This post contains affiliate links. If you make a purchase, I may receive a commission at no extra cost to you.