Music Speaks

We sat down with my friend Nick Harriau to break down some of his favorite Wierd Al' Songs!

Alfred Matthew "Weird Al" Yankovic (born October 23, 1959) is an American singer, songwriter, musician, record producer, satirist, actor, music video director, and author who is known for humorous songs that make light of pop culture and often parody specific songs by contemporary musical acts. He also performs original songs that are style pastiches of the work of other acts and polka medleys of several popular songs, most of which feature his trademark accordion.

Please go check it out!

Here is the links to Nick's picks:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/4kv4B5oRqzMdoZFGjdFRtK

https://youtu.be/a-lnPk5SFrk

Ashley Killam (she/her) is a trumpet player, educator, drill designer, entrepreneur, and international speaker. Ashley works as the founder and owner of Diversify the Stand and the General Manager for Rising Tide Music Press and has spent her post-school years researching and presenting across the country.

Dr. Carrie Blosser is a trumpet performer and music educator. Her experiences range from being a high school band director, a chamber musician, the director of a community band program, and teaching a studio of 60 students. Dr. Blosser is a passionate advocate for diversity in music leading to the creation and Co-Founder of Diversify the Stand. We aim to Diversify the Music Stand by listening, learning, and promoting diverse musical voices through our podcast, book club, and commissioning projects.

Please go check it out!

We sit down with return guest Tyler Suarez to discuss his three favorite composers: Trent Rezner, Phillip Glass, and David Byrne.

To wrap up the weird times we lived through in 2020, Tyler's new EP "Weird Times" comes out on December 31st.

Please go check it out!

Here is a link to his picks on Spotify:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/11joU0rplWHxX0HD0NzplY

Hunter and Shaun talk through the Proust Questionnaire (Music Edition). Check it Out!

Our guest today is Aleyna Ashenfarb. She finished her (B.M. Music Education and Trumpet Performance at Ithaca College and has studied abroad in Vienna, Austria through the IES Abroad Music History and Performance Program one summer. She has taken trumpet lessons with Rudolf Amon, a member of the Vienna State Opera Orchestra.

We sat down with Aleyna to discuss her playlist and test her knowledge of trumpet orchestral excerpts.

To hear her picks, here is a Spotify Playlist: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/70uZA55svPJsFvOgfHX2bG

Jake Gunnar Walsh is a composer, performer, and educator from Chepachet, Rhode Island.  A recent graduate of Indiana University Jacobs School of Music, he earned a double Masters Degree in Oboe Performance and Music Composition studying oboe with Linda Strommen and Roger Roe, and composition with Claude Baker and David Dzubay.  Jake graduated from Ithaca College in 2015 with a double B.M. degree in Oboe Performance and Music Composition, studying oboe with Paige Morgan, and composition with Dana Wilson and Jorge Villavicencio Grossmann.  Jake is passionate about premiering and commissioning new works for the Oboe and English Horn, and specializes in the performance of contemporary music.  Equally dedicated to the art of music education, Jake has taught as an Associate Instructor for the Department of Music Theory at Indiana University, led a series of masterclasses on Oboe Extended Technique and Contemporary Performance Practice, and has taught private oboe and composition extensively.  Jacob has been on faculty teaching Music Composition and Music Theory at the Ithaca College Summer Music Academy since 2016, and has been the Composer in Residence at the Luzerne Music Center since 2019.  Jake is currently serving as Assistant Professor of Oboe at Ithaca College and teaches as a Part Time Lecturer for the Department of Music Theory, History, and Composition.

I (Shaun) sat down with Jake to talk to him  about his top 10 songs. I also asked him to name contemporary composers as drinks of alcohol.

To listen to his picks, here is a Spotify Playlist and two YouTube Links:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3ROPZjf2PVGBEENV3ogX3s

https://youtu.be/8vcOvPnl7wE

https://youtu.be/SKVixOWiwzM

Shaun and Hunter sat down with Ciara Solby, a Master in Music clarinet student at Western Michigan University. Ciara discusses her first semester as a grad student discussing the conditions ensembles and lessons have gone under during the pandemic. We also test her orchestral knowledge on clarinet, Go check it out now!

In this hilarious and insightful interview, Hunter and I sat down with the members of the Liminal Space Ensemble.

Nicole Murray - Director of Marketing and Development

Hope Wilk - Artistic Director

Evan Courtin - Director of Education/community engagement and Composer in residence

Juan Herrera - Director of Operations and Commissions

Go check them out!

We sat down with Valerie Nuzzolo (3rd Timer), to discuss her new top ten playlist and testing her clarinet knowledge.

We sat down with returning guests Jeannette-Marie Lewis and Michael Stern to discuss the works of Jacob Collier.

According to Wikipedia:

Jacob Collier (/ˈkɒliər/[3] born 2 August 1994) is an English musician. His music incorporates elements from many musical genres, and often features extreme use of reharmonisation.

In 2012, his split-screen video covers of popular songs, such as Stevie Wonder's "Don't You Worry 'bout a Thing", began to go viral on YouTube. In 2014, Collier signed to Quincy Jones' management company and began working on his one-man, audio-visual live performance vehicle, designed and built at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.[4]

In 2016, Collier released his debut album, In My Room, which he recorded, arranged, performed and produced himself in the small back room of his family home in Finchley, north London.[5] In 2017, Collier was awarded Grammy Awards for his arrangements of "Flintstones" and "You And I".[6]

In 2018, Collier began working on Djesse, a four-volume, 50-song album featuring more than two dozen artists and ensembles. The first volume, which features the Metropole Orkest, Djesse Vol. 1, was released in December 2018. The second, Djesse Vol. 2, uses more acoustic instrumentation, and was released in July 2019. In 2020, Collier won Grammy Awards for his arrangements of "All Night Long" from Djesse Vol. 1 and "Moon River" from Djesse Vol. 2, respectively. The third volume, Djesse Vol. 3, which Collier describes as being based in electronic sounds, was released on 14 August 2020.[7]