B4 The Stage

Drew Forde is a violist also best known as ThatViolaKid. He runs an improv comedy podcast that talks about music (faking notes podcast). In asking Drew for tips on podcasts, listen along to their conversation about creating connections with people, speaking to your audience, putting the social back into social media and more.

In this episode, we talked about:

1️⃣  Finding your "why"

2️⃣  Conveyance of stories to your audience

3️⃣  Tips on how to start and develop your podcast

4️⃣  The next stops in the classical music world

5️⃣  Kindness and giving to others OR listening and getting to know your community (This was for Drew's story about DMV)

| MENTIONED |

Faking Notes podcast found on all podcast streaming services

Instagram

Facebook

twitter

Drew's website:http://thatviolakid.com/

| RESOURCES |

Japanese concept Ikigai

Atomic Habits by James Clear

How to win friends and influence people by Dale Carnegie

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

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Youtube 

follow on IG:

@B4thestage + @gracesviolin

Podcast edited byGalle Studios

Taylor Rossi is a Boston based flutist and website designer for Nicole Riccardo Media, a digital marketing company for musicians and creatives. In this episode, we talked about:

1️⃣  Being able to show your authentic self and help others find you through a website

2️⃣ How to decide if hiring a website designer is a good fit for you

3️⃣  How to write effectively on a website

4️⃣  The importance of establishing your website early

| MENTIONED |

Nicole Riccardo Media Website

Taylor's Instagram

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

Website

Youtube 

follow on IG:

@B4thestage + @gracesviolin

Podcast edited byGalle Studios

Hyunji Yi is a professional cellist based out of LA working as an educator and performer. She talks about growing up in a family that encouraged music making, her experience in college, and her pathway to teaching. In this episode, we talked about:

1️⃣  Tips on how to start your own studio as a student

2️⃣  The gift that teaching gives us

3️⃣ The importance of asking questions

|MENTIONED|

Hyunji'sInstagram

Hyunji's Youtube channel 

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

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Youtube 

follow on IG:

@B4thestage + @gracesviolin

Podcast edited byGalle Studios

Alice Ping is a violist graduated from Juilliard currently based in LA. She has done freelancing work on movies, scores, shows, and more. In this episode, Alice shares about her experiences with navigating chronic diseases, all the while debunking myths about being afraid to share about our health to others. In this episode, we talked about:

1️⃣  Alice's first signs of having chronic diseases

2️⃣  Why she shares about health journey online

3️⃣  Her exploration of physical exercise and reclaiming control of her body

4️⃣  Shifts in mindsets to find a happy place with career and personal health

5️⃣  How making youtube videos boosts Alice's creativity and motivation

| MENTIONED |

Instagram

Alice's website

youtube channel

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

Website

Youtube 

follow on IG:

@B4thestage + @gracesviolin

Podcast edited byGalle Studios

This episode was recorded in early spring of 2021, just getting to release it now. I hope you will enjoy the episode!  Jeff Counts is the general manager of the Grand Teton Music Festival, located in Jackson Hole. What makes Grand Teton a festival like no other is their fresh cycles of new musicians each week. Jeff brings to light how managing a 7-8 week-long festival comes to life through diligent planning during its surrounding months. Jeff sheds insight on how you can best succeed by believing in what you do and making your pitch memorable. In this episode we talked about: The complexities of running a music festival you may not expect Being able to address and validate concerns on a large scale The importance of preparation and polish that makes your project memorable 

|MENTIONED|

Ghost Light Podcast 

Grand Teton Music Festival

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

Website

Youtube 

follow on IG:@B4thestage +@gracesviolin

In this episode Gina Morgano, a singer located in NYC. She currently runs the podcast The Practice Parlour where she interviews musicians to discover the practices that shape their lives and art.

In this episode, we talked about:

1️⃣ Her musical journey & creating your own opportunities and events

2️⃣ Starting the Practice Parlour & becoming an entrepreneur

3️⃣ Mindset hurdles musicians work through

| MENTIONED |
Gina's Instagram
Gina's Podcast: The Practice Parlour
Waitlist for The Practice Society

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

Website

Youtube 

follow on IG:@B4thestage +@gracesviolin

A musician who "effortlessly weaves between genres and brings as much rock and roll to the violin as she does classical precision and refinement to rock and roll," Grace Youn has established herself as one of today's most versatile violinists. A native of Tacoma, Washington, Grace began violin studies at age 7. Grace's performances have taken her across the United States, with shows in Seattle, Denver, New York, San Francisco, Los Angeles, Santa Fe, Honolulu, Chicago, Formula 1, and the South by Southwest music festival in Austin. She has performed solo with Conspirare, the Balcones Community Orchestra, Montecito International Music Festival Orchestra, Austin Civic Orchestra, the University of Puget Sound Orchestra and Wind Ensemble, and the Tacoma Youth Symphony. She was a prize winner in the Texas Rising Stars Competition, the Beatrice Hermann Young Artist Competition, the International Rockin' Fiddle Challenge, and the Music Teachers National Association Young Artist Competition and has performed at music festivals all over the United States. In 2011, Grace launched her YouTube channel, grace plays violin, where she explores various musical genres, combining classical traditions and techniques with other musical styles. Her videos have accumulated thousands of subscribers and millions of views. Grace's work has also been featured in film, TV, music recordings, and live shows of touring music artists internationally. She is working on her debut EP to be released later in 2021. Grace earned her Artist Diploma and Master of Music degree from the University of Texas - Austin and her Bachelor of Music degree in Performance from the University of Puget Sound. Her primary teachers include Brian Lewis and Dr. Maria Sampen. A dedicated teacher, Grace is on faculty at Huston-Tillotson University and Austin Suzuki Music School, and teaches masterclasses around the United States.

Grace Youn's Instagram

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

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Youtube 

follow on IG:@B4thestage +@gracesviolin

About 8VA Music Consultancy: If you are a musician, you know the musical notation "8va" as "all' ottava", meaning "at the octave". This symbol, without a second thought, makes us play a note an octave higher. For the company, the name 8VA (pronounced āt vē ā) is more than a wink to fellow musicians. We only take on musicians, organizations, and projects we believe in, and by pitching their amazing work correctly, we elevate the work's impact. Our name is also about holding ourselves to a higher standard and about working harder (and smarter) to exceed our client’s goals. Formerly the New York branch of Inverne Price Music Consultancy, our team has worked on behalf of top soloists, conductors, composers, orchestras, music festivals, and other related organizations since the firm’s founding in 2012. With backgrounds in non-profit executive leadership, marketing, advertising, the record industry, public relations - and most importantly, with a deep passion for music, 8VA Music Consultancy is uniquely positioned to take your career or organization - well - up an octave.

8vamusicconsultancy.com

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

Website

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follow on IG:@B4thestage +@gracesviolin

Cellist Ken James Kubota has shattered perceptions of the typical classical music career. While he is celebrated by The New York Times for "dynamic” and “polished” musicianship, most know Kubota as a YouTuber, social media personality, and for pioneering his unique style of strumming the cello like a guitar. As an artist, many know him as one-third of the band Empire Wild, a group now represented by the Concert Artists Guild after receiving their 2020 Ambassador Prize. On social media, his audience numbers in the tens of thousands and continues to rise—he was selected as an Educational Partner by social media platform TikTok, creating fun and instructional videos on playing the cello. Kubota continues to grow a following as the founder and producer of JHMJams, a biweekly video series of pop improvisations by classical and jazz musicians. Described in National Sawdust Log as an “online powerhouse” of classical music’s online ecosystem, JHM has earned additional recognition from Glamour, The Violin Channel, The Strad, and Classic FM. The channel is known for enlisting a brand new ensemble of musicians for each video; its roster numbers 300 and counting. Also found on Instagram and Facebook, the series has amassed over 5 million views on YouTube since 2016. Mr. Kubota holds degrees from The Juilliard School (B.M., M.M.), and serves on faculty at the Peabody Preparatory under Johns Hopkins University, Suzuki Music Schools of Westport and Orange in Connecticut, and Lucy Moses School in NYC. Richard Aaron, Anthony Elliott, and Alice Ann O’Neill are his primary teachers, though he is grateful to all of the luminaries who have shared their ancient secrets of cello and music: Yo-Yo Ma, Frans Helmerson, Peter Stumpf, and members of the Guarneri, Juilliard, Cleveland, Emerson, Cavani, and St. Lawrence String Quartets. Ken is based in New York City, where he continues to film JHMJams in his Harlem living room.  

Follow and listen to his journey onInstagram andYouTube andTiktok 

His website

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

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follow on IG:@B4thestage +@gracesviolin

Violinist Sarah Jane Kenner currently resides in New York City. After beginning her musical studies in her native New Rochelle, New York, Ms. Kenner earned a Bachelor's Degree in Violin Performance from Temple University's Boyer College of Music in Philadelphia, a Master's degree from the Manhattan School of Music, and a Graduate Diploma in Historical Performance from the Juilliard School.  As a period violinist, Ms. Kenner has been hailed as a "fireworks soloist,"  and has performed throughout the US and internationally as a chamber musician, orchestral player, and soloist. In 2018, she made her Lincoln Center debut as a soloist with Juilliard415, Juilliard’s period-instrument ensemble. Ms. Kenner also served as concertmaster and principal second violinist of Juilliard415, and joined them on tours throughout the U.S., Europe, India, and New Zealand. Recent and upcoming engagements include performances with The English Concert, Trinity Wall Street, New York Baroque Incorporated, and The Sebastians, amongst others.

She is also a member of the orchestra at Teatro Nuovo, a summer opera festival which presents 19th-century Bel Canto opera with a historically informed approach. Other festival appearances include BachFest Leipzig with members of Juilliard415 and Bach Collegium Japan, and with members of Les Arts Florissants at the Festival Dans les Jardins de William Christie in Thiré, France.

Currently, Ms. Kenner is working on a recording project centered around the violin sonatas of Giovanni Antonio Pandolf Mealli. Ms. Kenner has studied with Cynthia Roberts, Elizabeth Blumenstock, Rachel Podger, Robert Mealy, and Leah Nelson. Ms. Kenner is also a 2018-2019 Mercury/Juilliard fellow and an American Fellow of The English Concert. As a modern violinist, Ms. Kenner has led and/or held principal positions in several ensembles, including the Manhattan School of Music Chamber Sinfonia, Texas Music Festival Orchestra, and Temple University Symphony Orchestra. Her principal teachers were Hirono Oka and Lucie Robert. Ms. Kenner has played in masterclasses for notable artists including Arnold Steinhardt, Glenn Dicterow, and Koichiro Harada. Ms. Kenner also studied at the Aspen, Bowdoin, Texas, and Duxbury Music Festivals. She currently performs regularly in New York City and Westchester County. In her spare time, Ms. Kenner maintains a strong interest in cooking, baking, and writing, all of which are documented on her recipe and music blog, "The Hungry Musician."

Personal website
Hungry Musician website
Hungry Musician Instagram

Find your host, Grace Lamb, on social media:

Website

Youtube

follow on IG:@B4thestage +@gracesviolin