We've heard quite a bit
about "borders" this past week, what with the awful deeds being done in Gaza and Israel. I have my own thoughts and opinions on what is going on there, but it's prudent to keep them to myself for the time being and focus on the business at hand which is my podcasts and emails.
Today I want to talk about borders, not just the political boundaries, but musical
borders.
What are borders but mere lines imagined by politicians to separate and divide human beings?
And just as borders between states and countries are rather arbitrary, so are the borders we put on certain instruments, even entire
genres of music.
Paul Merkelo stopped in to the Trumpet Dynamics Central Headquarters to discuss his collaboration with the great Wynton Marsalis on a brand new concerto written for trumpet that is making waves in the trumpet world and beyond.
Wynton's new concerto not only pushes the finest players to their utmost limits as performers, but it transcends many of the arbitrary boundaries that have been placed upon the trumpet, and even ethnic and national identities related to music.
Paul was honored by being asked to help bring this piece into the public consciousness, and in this
episode, he shares his experience of being included in the esteemed group of trumpeters who are premiering the piece around the world.
The interview includes a detailed description of the process of preparing and allowing to see the light of day a piece of music that we expect will be part of the standard trumpet repertoire, regularly called upon by orchestras the
world over, in due time.
We even managed to sneak in a hat tip to elephant sounds and horse whinnies, so you're going to want to hang out until the very end of the episode!
What you'll hear in this episode:
-How Paul was chosen to premiere Wynton's concerto in Canada...03:30
-The moment Paul stepped on stage to premiere the piece...06:30
-"Like jumping out of an airplane"...13:20
-We've got to build the repertoire by crossing musical borders...15:45
-You can't simply play with technical precision; you must play musically...18:30
-The "perfect" performance redefined...23:25
-The very long
process of preparing for The Day of the performance...28:10
-Balancing the prep and practice with family and obligations to the day job...36:45
-Efforts to get the word out about the concerto...40:30
-How to make an elephant call with a
trumpet...46:30
-Plus whatever your discerning ears deem worthy of your time and interest...
You can listen to my conversation with Paul Merkelo at this link: https://trumpetdynamics.com/merkelo
And if you're a trumpeter on the lookout for a new method book, check out the offering of the show's sponsor.