Classical Schmassical
Alexa Letourneau, Composer
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Top 10 Classical Schmassical Episodes
Goodpods has curated a list of the 10 best Classical Schmassical episodes, ranked by the number of listens and likes each episode have garnered from our listeners. If you are listening to Classical Schmassical for the first time, there's no better place to start than with one of these standout episodes. If you are a fan of the show, vote for your favorite Classical Schmassical episode by adding your comments to the episode page.
It's Trumpet Time
Classical Schmassical
03/28/21 • 82 min
In this episode, Connor Johnson talks about trumpet, composing, and accessing new genres of music!
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Guest bio:
Hi, I’m Connor Johnson and I’m a trumpet player and composer from Michigan. I’m currently finishing up my undergrad at Michigan State University, where I’ve really grown to love playing and writing new music.
Theoretical Musings
Classical Schmassical
03/20/21 • 56 min
Sam Moffett discusses theory, pedagogy, and the ways education shapes young musicians in today's episode of Classical Schmassical!
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Percussion, Collaboration, and Crossing Genres
Classical Schmassical
10/02/22 • 44 min
Join me as I talk with Robert Dillon of Third Coast Percussion about his work as a percussionist, composer, and ensemble member, including working with Philip Glass and their exciting upcoming season, both in Chicago and around the world.
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Robert Dillon is an Ensemble Member and Development Director of Third Coast Percussion. He has also performed as a substitute with the Chicago, Boston, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, and served as principal percussionist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2008. A passionate educator, he previously served as chair of percussion studies at Merit School of Music and a percussion instructor at Loyola University Chicago.
Robert Dillon is an Ensemble Member and Development Director of Third Coast Percussion. He has also performed as a substitute with the Chicago, Boston, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, and served as principal percussionist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2008. A passionate educator, he previously served as chair of percussion studies at Merit School of Music and a percussion instructor at Loyola University Chicago.
Robert has appeared numerous times on the Chicago Symphony’s contemporary music series, MusicNow, as well as the University of Chicago’s Contempo series, and was a member of the unique, international 12-percussionist Ensemble XII, which grew out of Pierre Boulez’s Lucerne Festival Academy (Switzerland). Robert was a member of the Civic Orchestra of Chicago, and participated in programs at the Tanglewood Music Center, Spoleto Festival USA, National Repertory Orchestra, and Pacific Music Festival (Sapporo, Japan).
In addition to Third Coast recordings, Robert can be heard as a soloist on Innova Records (Christopher Adler—Ecstatic Volutions in a Neon Haze), and a performer on Naxos Records (American Music for Percussion, Volume 1) and Parlour Tapes+ (Katherine Young – Diligence is to Magic as Progress is to Flight). He has performed as a soloist in America, Switzerland, and Jordan.
Robert holds a Bachelor of Music from Northwestern University and a Master of Music from the New England Conservatory, where he received the John Cage Award for Outstanding Contribution to Contemporary Music Performance. His teachers include Michael Burritt, James Ross and Will Hudgins.
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Third Coast Percussion is a Grammy Award winning percussion quartet hailing from Chicago.
Founded in 2005, Third Coast Percussion has performed hundreds of concerts across the country, presents an annual concert season at home in Chicago, teaches musicians of all ages and experience levels, and has commissioned dozens of new works by composers including Glenn Kotche, Philip Glass, Devonté Hynes, Chris Cerrone, Augusta Read Thomas, Donnacha Dennehy, and David T. Little.
The mission of Third Coast Percussion is to inspire and educate through the creation of exciting and unexpected musical experiences.
Third Coast Percussion's vision is a world-wide audience that embraces creativity, curiosity, and community through music.
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Violinequality
Classical Schmassical
10/31/21 • 31 min
Join me for a discussion with violinist Caitlin Edwards as we discuss her career as a violinist, the relationship and intersection between Classical and Black music, and her recent grant from 3arts Entertainment.
Guest Bio:
Caitlin Edwards is a classically trained violinist, arranger, recording artist, and teacher based in Chicago. She has performed with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, Nairobi Philharmonic, Grant Park Festival Orchestra, and Chicago Sinfonietta. She’s played and recorded with artists such as John Legend, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Common, and with PJ Morton’s on his “Gumbo Album”, for which she received a Grammy Certificate. She also recorded for the Disney movie score, The Lion King, at Sony Studios. For a more detailed list of Caitlin’s work please check out her professional biography and collaborations on her website, https://www.caitlinedwards.com/.
MISSION
Music is a gift, a force that transcends all of our differences. Music is healing to a broken soul, clarity in the midst of confusion, life to those who seek it. It is my mission to share my gift to all. I will help educate and inspire the next generation of young Black musicians. My dream is to see the normalization of Black voices and faces in traditionally monopolized spaces through increased visibility and disruption of the status quo in classical music. Ultimately, I want people to see themselves in my music, connect, and heal in their own way.
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Play It Like You Mean It
Classical Schmassical
10/24/21 • 39 min
Today on Classical Schmassical, internationallly renowned pianist and commercial musician Emile Pandolfi talks about his career, making his start, and bringing emotion into your playing, as well as his newly released book, "Play it Like You Mean It."
Guest Bio:
With over 30 recordings in his discography, Emile Pandolfi ranks among America’s most popular piano artists. With the majority of his performance repertoire being lush, intricate arrangements of Broadway and standards that form the canon of "The Great American Songbook," his influences are, in fact, more classical than pop. It is this subjective layering of classical style that Pandolfi infuses onto the broad palette of selections—from his beloved Chopin, to Andrew Lloyd Webber, to "Once Upon a December," from Anastasia—performed in his live concerts and recordings that resonates with audiences everywhere.
For more information on Emile and his music, visit his website at: https://www.emilepandolfi.com/ and check out his youtube channel, with many wonderful arrangements, at: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8V0lD8nqBEjw5QfQmELdjA
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Trombone in a Million
Classical Schmassical
09/19/21 • 25 min
Join me for a short and sweet episode of Classical Schmassical, where I talk to Lena Smith about trombone, mental health, personal identity, and belonging in the music world.
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The GLORY of Composing
Classical Schmassical
09/05/21 • 54 min
Classical Schmassical returns with an incredible discussion featuring Marcus Norris, new composer in residence with the Chicago Philharmonic.
Guest Bio: Marcus Norris’ first foray into making music came in the form of producing rap beats on pirated software, installed on a Windows 98 computer that he Macgyvered together from spare parts while laying on the floor of his childhood bedroom. Though he came to composing concert music later, he transferred that same imagination and ingenuity to writing music of all kinds. Marcus has been called a “New Musical Talent in our Midst” by Chicago’s N’digo Magazine, and has made a number of achievements, including being selected as an inaugural Composer-in-Residence for the Chicago Philharmonic from 2021-24, being awarded the prestigious Cota-Robles fellowship for pursuing his PhD at UCLA, being chosen in 2020 for the LA Philharmonic’s National Composers Intensive, and in 2017 winning 1st prize in the Southeastern Composers League Competition. His violin concerto “GLORY” opened to three sold-out performances when premiered by the Jackson Symphony Orchestra in 2019, and then was subsequently performed in Guangzhou, China later that year. His Dance Suite “I Tried So Hard for You” premiered in Havana in 2018, closely following the Russian String Orchestra premiere of “My Idols Are Dead” in Moscow. In 2020 he founded South Side Symphony – the only orchestra that would perform “Back That Thang Up” on the same concert as Beethoven.
For more information on Marcus and his music visit www.MarcusNorris.com and www.SouthSideSymphony.org .
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The Guitarist Was Not the Imposter
Classical Schmassical
06/13/21 • 57 min
Join me as I talk with multi-instrumentalist and musical theater performer Meghan Doyle about guitar in different contexts, gear setup in a big city context, and dealing with imposter syndrome.
Guest Bio: Meghan Doyle is a New Jersey based multi-instrumentalist. She is primarily a guitarist but also plays drumset, bass, a little bit of keys, and the occasional bit of banjo, mandolin, lap steel, and trombone. She also has a wealth of experience in both live audio and recording, and a bit of experience in theatrical lighting and production. Recent credits include: Legally Blonde (National Tour), Fun Home (Arden Theater Company), Michelle Foster’s Broadway 2020, The Picher Project (A New Musical: Concert Edition), Bridesmaids: a Dance Narrative, and Various 54 Below and Green Room 42 Credits. Upcoming projects include Get Happy!: A Judy Garland Tribute at Papermill Playhouse, and Sweet Seasons: Michelle Foster’s Carole King tribute in Haddonfield, NJ. Meghan has three cats and an awesome wife.
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Keeping Score
Classical Schmassical
06/06/21 • 53 min
On today's episode of Classical Schmassical, I'm joined by score-maker James Creed as we talk about a composer's role in music through notation, performance, score, and compositional voice.
Resources mentioned:
Piano Studies 1-6 Bandcamp:
https://jamesmcreed.bandcamp.com/album/piano-studies-1-6
James' Scores: https://jamescreedmusic.wixsite.com/website/scores
Talk with Lola de la Mata and Joanna Ward on open/text notation: https://www.mixcloud.com/Feminist_Library/lola-de-la-mata-and-joanna-ward-discuss-open-scores-and-sound-through-a-feminist-lens/
James is a score-maker and guitarist currently based in London, UK.
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So Many Interests, So Little Time
Classical Schmassical
04/10/21 • 68 min
On today's episode of Classical Schmassical, Mark Mathison talks about being a multi-instrumentalist with degrees in bassoon performance and physics, and how such diverse interests can find balance in his life.
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Guest Bio:
Mark Mathison is a multi-instrumentalist composer from Minneapolis. He received his B.M. in Instrumental Performance along with a B.S. in Physics from Illinois Wesleyan University in the spring of 2020. As a composer, he primarily focuses on the intersection of music with the physical world, both acoustically and electronically, as well as the approachability of new music outside of the classically-trained context. He also strives to promote access to education, as well as inclusivity and intersectionality in the fields of music and science.
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FAQ
How many episodes does Classical Schmassical have?
Classical Schmassical currently has 28 episodes available.
What topics does Classical Schmassical cover?
The podcast is about Classical, Music, Podcasts, Classical Music and Music Commentary.
What is the most popular episode on Classical Schmassical?
The episode title 'Iconic Composers and those who write about them: a Conversation with Emi Ferguson' is the most popular.
What is the average episode length on Classical Schmassical?
The average episode length on Classical Schmassical is 51 minutes.
How often are episodes of Classical Schmassical released?
Episodes of Classical Schmassical are typically released every 13 days, 23 hours.
When was the first episode of Classical Schmassical?
The first episode of Classical Schmassical was released on Mar 6, 2021.
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