The illustrious and profound Steven Schick needs no introduction from us; we were all too eager to sit with him for an hour or so.

In this episode Steven answers several Facebook questions (Thanks to Fernando, Caleb, Diego, Theo, and Shaun for submissions!), his relationship with longtime friend David Lang, learning Ferneyhough and Xenakis, commissioning, our increasingly specialized field, and the pitfalls of "overtraining."

Watch here. Listen below.

If you cannot see the audio controls, your browser does not support the audio element

0:00 hello

1:33 wrapping up the semester 

3:10 facebook questions:

3:25 Fernando Meza: What, in your opinion, is the most valuable 

aspect of contemporary music in a society besieged by musical 

alternatives and how can we as practitioners, 

best contribute to its appreciation amongst non-musicians?

13:05 collaborations outside of music

14:15 The Schick Machine

15:16 Caleb Pickering: If you were to create an addendum to your book, 

The Percussionist's Art, what works, composers, or events 

would you add since it's original 2006 publication?

19:51 David Lang

25:33 Diego Becerra: Can you ask him about the relationship 

between the physical gesture and musical gesture in playing marimba?

28:35 Theodor Milkov: "Hi everyone. One question: when it comes to contemporary music, where is the red line between being precise and interpretation(self expression). Thank you for your time."

30:50 Xenakis and Ferneyhough

40:55 So...acting? Over trained, over technical

45:55 Keeping us with how much the percussion world asks of us.

54:34 Percussion becoming more specialized 

58:49 Shaun Tilburg: "What kind of preparation/practice would be helpful for someone just entering college that is positive they want to follow in your line of work. Polyrhythms, score study... acting?" 

1:00:02 Quote