New Beginnings Podcast

Hello Everyone!  Welcome back to NBP!   On this episode I'm interviewing the renown Brooklyn-based composer, Christopher Cerrone.  He has written and been commissioned by some of the world's finest ensembles from the Los Angeles Philharmonic to the Chicago Symphony to the Detroit Symphony.  Chris and I cover a WIDE array of topics, but really highlight the experience of living as a full-time composer and musician.  It was a great pleasure to speak to Chris and I look forward to hearing more from him! 

Ivan Trevino is one of the most popular and innovative composers in the percussive field today.  His music such as "Into the Air" and "Catching Shadows" has touched the hearts and souls of many musicians around the world and had a large part in my upbringing as a percussionist.  Ivan is also a member of other ensembles such as the rock-cello group "Break of Reality" and the vox-rock group "the Big Trouble."  It was a real pleasure talking and fighting through zoom issues with Ivan and I hope our conversation inspires you to achieve more! Check out Ivan's Music at: ivandrums.com

"Make Good Art" is the commencement speech written by Neil Gaiman for the May 17, 2012 commencement ceremony at The University of the Arts.   Recording myself reading has been really helpful in making my voice bearable personally and I was inspired from Josh Quillen's readings from his podcast.  This speech really touched me as it touches on a lot of things we struggle through today, especially from an arts perspective.  I hope you enjoy the speech, it's not perfect but I'm feeling myself get better at talking under pressure. Make Good Art.

Ksenija Komljenovíc is currently the Assistant Professor of Percussion at Texas A&M Corpus Christi and is an active player and educator in the percussion field.  Ksenija and I had a very insightful conversation covering many different topics, however technical difficulties caused half of the episode to be lost.  BUT, the first half of the conversation was saved and I hope you find it insightful!   Checkout Ksenija on her website at: https://www.ksenijakomljenovic.com/ and on her social media @ksenijakomljenovic Thanks for the great conversation Ksenija, looking forward to talking with you again!

Josh Jones is currently the Principal Percussionist of the Kansas City, he was previously the Principal Percussionist of the Calgary Philharmonic and held positions and fellowships in various orchestras in the United States and Canada.  I had an amazing conversation with Josh that varied from how to handle our time as musicians to how to narrow down a pathway to a career in the arts.  Josh is a fun and pure soul whose story has inspired me greatly!  Thank you for giving a hour of your time to talk with me Josh, looking forward to talking with you again!

Josh Quillen is a member of So Percussion, and is an active steel band player in the percussion community.  Josh gratefully gave a hour of his time to have a conversation with me about many different things from how to deal with identity issues to strange audition experiences.  Thanks Josh for being my first guest!

Hi Everyone! This is the first episode of the New Beginnings Podcast.  In this episode I ramble and stutter through a 10 minute monologue about the goals and purpose of this podcast, I hope you enjoy!