8th Position

Today we’re joined by Mr. Wesley Shores (or @westhetrombonist on Instagram and many of you may know him)! As a recent graduate of the Schwob School of Music and in the process of applying to graduate schools, college is fresh on his mind and he’s able to give some excellent insight into how it helped him grow as a trombonist and person. We dive deep into topics of motivation and self-discovery, as well as discuss lighter topics of hobbies and fun stories from childhood. (And yes we did touch on some trombone pedagogy... we couldn’t help ourselves.) We hope you enjoy this interview!

Transition music: The Christmas Song, Nat King Cole, Wesley Shores 2020

Intro/Outro music: I Will Go Sailing No More, Randy Newman, Lawson Gardner

Instagram: @8thposition @dabaldwin903 @lawson.does.trombone

Kicking off the series with an interview with Mr. John Ilika, Principal Trombone of the North Carolina Symphony and trombone professor at UNC School of the Arts, where we both study with him privately. In this episode, Mr. Ilika recounts some of his early musical experiences, tells some cool stories about his time freelancing in Venezuela, and shares his strong feelings about how the pandemic has affected musicians and performers.

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Transition music: Sonata Vox Gabrieli, Stjepan Sulek, John Ilika & Ashley Clasen 2017

Intro/Outro music: I Will Go Sailing No More, Randy Newman, Lawson Gardner

Instagram: @8thposition @dabaldwin903 @lawson.does.trombone

For our second episode of season 4, we are bringing you a great interview with Tony Baker, Professor of Trombone at University of North Texas! Tony Baker is probably the most diverse and versatile trombonist out there being a great jazz musician, phenomenal orchestral musician, a beautiful soloist, and a well known teacher throughout the world of trombone. As a soloist, Mr. Baker has established an international reputation by performing in Birmingham, UK at ITF 2007, was a soloist at the 2000 Festival International D’Art Lyrique, and in the states he’s performed as a soloist with the United States Army Band “Pershing’s Own”, Ohio Valley Symphony, and many more. Currently as an orchestral player he is a member of the Dallas Opera Orchestra. In the world of jazz he’s performed with the Woody Herman Band and Jimmy Dorsey Orchestra. In this interview we truly learn the great story of Tony Baker as we go through his early life, collegiate life, his time learning to balance marriage with a career in music, and eventually how he landed his teaching positions.

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Transition Music: Georgia On My Mind, Hoagy Carmichael/Goff Richards, Tony Baker

Instagram: @8thposition @dbaldwin903 @_mehurst_

Exciting episode today, as we have an international guest on the podcast today, interviewing Ilan Morgenstern! Ilan has experienced such a spectacular orchestral and solo playing career. He has subbed with numerous top orchestras across the United States and even overseas in Israel such as Israel Philharmonic, Philadelphia Orchestra, Atlanta Symphony, Detroit Symphony, and many more. He has won many awards from internationally renowned competitions including the Jeju International Brass and Percussion Competition, Zellmer-Minnesota Orchestra Competition, and the National Repertory Orchestra’s Concerto Competition. His official positions in the past include San Antonio Symphony, Houston Grand Opera Orchestra, Jacksonville Symphony, and Kansas City Symphony. Originally from Rehovot, Israel, Ilan has unique stories about his time growing up in Israel, how he eventually moved to the United States for his bachelor’s and master’s degrees, and continue through his progression as one of the top bass trombonists in North America up until his present day position in the Vancouver Symphony.

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Transition Music #1: Ballade for Bass Trombone Strings and Harp, Eric Ewazen, featuring Ilan Morgenstern, Rachel Ferris and the San Antonio Symphony

Instagram: @8thposition @dbaldwin903 @_mehurst_

It’s time for our mid-season finale and today for our guest, we have one of the greatest bass trombonists out there, Mr. George Curran! Mr. Curran became the bass trombonist of the New York Philharmonic in 2013 and prior to that he was a member of Atlanta Symphony, and a fellow with the New World Symphony. Due to his terrific personality and incredible skills on the trombone, he has performed with numerous orchestras such as the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, San Francisco, Philadelphia, Detroit, Hong Kong Philharmonic, and many more. In addition to his impressive orchestral career, Mr. Curran is a renowned soloist performing solos in two International Trombone Festivals, being featured for the United States Air Force Band, and even the Jeju International Wind Ensemble Festival in South Korea. With such a great resume and history in the trombone world, we get right down to how he got into music by diving into the story of how he quit engineering to pursue music, how he transitioned from euphonium to bass trombone, how his orchestral career has progressed through the years and of course, we hit him with some rapid fire questions resulting in one of the most controversial responses yet!

Fun Fact: When I (Darien) was first trying to start this Podcast with Lawson, I was studying with Mr. Curran at the time and asked him if this podcast was a good idea and how we should go about it. He supported the idea fully and told me how to reach out to all these wonderful musicians for these interviews! Without Mr. Curran's support and advice, this Podcast wouldn't have been possible!

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Transition Music #1: Barnacle Bill, Steven Frank, United States Air Force Band featuring George Curran

Transition Music #2: Rolling Thunder March, Henry Fillmore, Schwob Wind Ensemble featuring George Curran

Instagram: @8thposition @dbaldwin903 @_mehurst_