Jon Lewis and Bill Booth are two of the top brass players in the Hollywood film recording scene. For many years, they have recorded with the top Hollywood film composers, and in our conversation we discuss the many aspects of what it means to be a first call player in the Hollywood studio scene.

In Part 1 of our conversation, Jon and Bill take us through the process of being a studio musician, including how sessions are arranged, finances managed, the importance of being a great sight reader, what a studio contractor does, and their experiences recording the Matrix movies.

After playing with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, David moved to the Detroit Symphony where he was principal horn. During his time in Detroit, he was a founding member of the rock group, “Symphonic Metamorphosis”, had an interesting recording experience with Marvin Gay, and continued his interesting relationship with Arthur Fielder. He then won his dream job with the San Fransisco Symphony and worked with music directors Seiji Ozawa, Edo de Waart, Herbert Blomstedt, and Michael Tilson Thomas.

David Krehbiel has had an extraordinary career and life as one of the great horn players of his time. Joining the Chicago Symphony as associate first horn and sitting next to his teacher Phillip Farkas, he later became principal horn of the Detroit Symphony and ended his career as principal of the San Francisco Symphony. His autobiography, Through the Door: A Horn Player’s Journey, was recently released, and in our conversation David recounts many of the interesting (and funny) stories from the book. In addition to all of his experiences as an orchestral and chamber player, David was also Chair of the Brass Department at the San Francisco Conservatory of Music.

In the Bonus Room, Allan and Ray talk about their many years of teaching, primarily at Yale (Allan) and Juilliard (Ray) and the different approaches of those two great schools. They also offer their thoughts on today’s students versus students from when they first began teaching and what's changed and what hasn't.

Allan and Ray were there at the beginning of playing Renaissance and Baroque music on authentic instruments in the United States. Our conversation goes into the movement's history and then follows up with some thoughts about authentic and modern performance practices.

Ray Mase and Allan Dean are legends in the world of trumpet and brass. They are both foundational figures of the brass quintet genre, were part of the start of the early music scene in the United States performing on period instruments, and were both members of the astounding Summit Brass. Their teaching careers led them to the highly respected music schools at Yale (Allan) and Julliard (Ray).

In Part 1 of my conversation with Allan and Ray, we discuss the beginning of the brass quintet movement in the United States, and the role that the American and New York Brass Quintets played in this movement. We end by sharing some funny stories of our time together with the Summit Brass.

In the Bonus Room, we discuss major orchestras that David has conducted featuring film music. David also talks about his father Alfred Newman’s legacy at Fox Studios. To close up the session, we discuss his most recent project, a weekly Zoom seminar which takes a deep dive into Benjamin Britten’s Peter Grimes and Stephen Sondheim’s  Sweeney Todd.

In Part 2 of our conversation, David speaks in detail about the process of writing music for film from the first contact with the director to the final recording session. He explains why he can't afford to be "mentally blocked" and why he has had to push himself mentally and physically to the limit to finish a score before the first recording session.

Hollywood film composer David Newman has written music for over 100 feature films, including movies as wide-ranging as Throw Momma from the Train, War of the Roses, American Beauty, Hoffa, and Ice Age. In addition, he has conducted major orchestras such as the New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Philadelphia Orchestra, and Los Angeles Philharmonic in concerts featuring a presentation of films such as Star Wars and West Side Story. He began his career as a violinist, and later switched to composing and conducting. His father was the legendary Hollywood composer Alfred Newman.

In Part 1 of our conversation, David tells how he went from being a violinist to a film composer and how that transition took place. He also describes his father, Alfred Newman, and how music was originally introduced into films. And finally, at the end of our conversation, we discuss recording sessions for three films: Throw Momma from the Train, Breaking Away, and Star Trek I.