Take a listen to this fascinating episode where Suzanne talks about her experiences of being a freelance musician, venturing into the world of holistic wellness for musicians, and preparing for her retirement from her freelance career.

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Suzanne's Bio:

Suzanne Chasalow has been 3rd horn with the Santa Rosa, CA Symphony since the 1997-98 season, was a former member of the Bay Area Women’s Philharmonic, plays chamber music and has played with many of the orchestras in the San Francisco Bay Area and in New England. A graduate of the Oberlin Conservatory with an MM from the Cincinnati Conservatory, Suzanne freelanced in Boston for 11 years, including being a founding member of Boston Brass from 1984-94.

In addition to performing and teaching, Suzanne has certifications in holistic nutrition, NIA, and Music Together, and is currently getting accreditation as a leadership coach as well. She created and leads a transformational workshop entitled “It’s Time to Step Into the Limelight” to help women musicians reignite unbridled passion, joy and freedom in their playing and their lives.

In her free time she finds joy in dancing, practicing yoga, being in nature, cooking, and spending time with her 23 year old twins.

In this episode, Allison tells us the story of how she began her college career in accounting, and found her path to become a college professor and freelance performer. Her approach to her students is a refreshing view, and a big step in helping solve the toxicity in the music world.

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Allison's BioAllison McSwain is an active performer and educator in the upstate of South Carolina, where she serves as Applied Lecturer of Trumpet at Clemson University and Trumpet Instructor for Spartanburg School District 5. She is principal solo cornet with the Foothills Brass Band and 2nd trumpet with the South Carolina Ballet Orchestra; she also regularly substitutes with area orchestras. After earning degrees in accounting, Allison went on to earn her MM and DMA degrees. Prior to becoming a full-time musician, she built a 12-year career in higher education recruitment, admissions, advising, and learning support. Allison's favorite activities (besides playing trumpet) are trying new restaurants, reading, visiting friends, and hanging out with her spouse and three rowdy dogs.

Mary Pat has some amazing takes on how we can live our lives for our own happiness. Listen as she takes us through her experience of being a burnt out music educator, and finding her place in the corporate travel world.

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Mary Pat's Bio:

Mary Pat Robey is a corporate travel and events specialist based in the Chicago area. Before transitioning into a corporate job, she taught middle school general music and guitar. Mary Pat earned a bachelor’s degree in Music Education from Illinois State University, where she studied voice and horn. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, practicing yoga, reading, and hanging out with her cats. 

Jenny takes us through her story of switching to the data science field. Through an entry level position, a new degree, and certifications, she has found her way at Microsoft. But, this has not stopped her from gaining professional musical experiences as well. Take a listen as she shows us how she balances her job at Microsoft, her gigs, and being a mom.

Google Form: https://forms.gle/PhnJsHCBpLDigsfM8

About Jenny

Jenny Ney is a data specialist and former professional French horn player whose career spans Broadway orchestras, Carnegie Hall, and the world of cloud data platforms. As a musician, she was praised for her “heroic” and “graceful” playing and performed at venues including Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and Radio City Music Hall. She has appeared with ensembles such as the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the New York City Ballet, the Harrisburg Symphony, the Stamford Symphony, the Sarasota Orchestra, the American Classical Orchestra, the West Point Band, and the Radio City Orchestra, and has performed in numerous Broadway and television productions.

Jenny trained in both performance and arts outreach as a fellow of Ensemble Connect, the highly selective program of Carnegie Hall, The Juilliard School, and the Weill Music Institute in partnership with the New York City Department of Education. She earned a Bachelor’s degree and Performer’s Certificate from the Eastman School of Music and a Master’s degree from The Juilliard School.

After years as a performing musician, Jenny transitioned into technology and now works as a Solution Engineer at Microsoft, helping organizations modernize their data platforms and adopt cloud technologies. With expertise in data engineering, governance, and DevOps automation, she has led large-scale cloud modernization efforts and built enterprise lakehouse environments that enable secure analytics and AI workloads. Jenny holds certifications as an Azure Data Engineer, Data Scientist, and Databricks Data Engineer Associate, and earned a Master of Applied Data Science from the University of Michigan.

She now lives in Connecticut with her two children, a dog, and an ever-growing collection of fish.

Podcast host of "The Rogue Academic" Lexie Signor takes us through an exciting conversation. She does not shy away from saying the quiet part out loud, and through her story, we discuss many of the issues in higher ed, as well as how she's fought against the system.

Google Form: https://forms.gle/VdJCqPDVwGqQu7AM9

Lexie's website: https://lexiethetrumpeter.com/

Lexie's Bio: Dr. Lexie Signor is one of the most in-demand, versatile, and technically dazzling trumpet players in the Midwest; between her work as a classical soloist, a brilliantly dynamic lead player, or spinning gorgeous nostalgic melodies from days gone by she is undeniably one of the most formidable players performing for audiences across the country today. When she's not touring with acts such as Adele, Keith Urban, The DIVA Jazz Orchestra, or Wayne Newton, she keeps a full docket as a one-woman-wrecking crew of studio know-how laying down tracks for up and coming artists such as the Grammy Nominated New York Chillharmonic, Latin-Jazz Grammy Nominated La Orquestra Sinfonietta, Gospel singer Joy Westbrook, Nashville guitarist Sadie Johnson, and Grammy Nominee Pepe Rivero.

Listen to Erin's story as she talks about how she's constantly redefining what balance looks like, working in software, playing on Broadway, playing in Calliope Brass, and she has also hosted her own podcast called Doublers!

Google Form: https://forms.gle/5DMPJGXXfiJCJzhp8

IG: https://www.instagram.com/erinplayshorn

Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/erinozolins/

Calliope Brass IG: https://www.instagram.com/calliopebrass/?hl=en

Calliope TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@calliopebrass

Websites: Erin's Horn Website | Calliope Brass | Doublers Podcast

Laura has always been heavily involved in music, both on the performance side and the education side. Until, one day in 2019, Laura decided to prioritize her happiness, her family, and her mental health. That has led to a series of decisions that have formed the life she lives now. Take a listen to this inspiring story of how Laura found a world she can live in that ticks all of the boxes.

Google Form: https://forms.gle/MEhhHYQARCqpmhYcA

Laura's Bio:

Laura Young is an educator and performer based in Lake Tapps, Washington. In her musical life, she has played trumpet with a wide range of ensembles locally and abroad, most notably Macklemore and Ryan Lewis, Emerald Ballet Theater Orchestra, Orquesta Cambalache, and both as a player and director with Sound Wave, the official band of the Seattle Sounders FC. Laura spent ten years teaching general music in the White River school district, where she cultivated a music community that prided itself in inclusivity, creativity, and growth through visionary teamwork. Her unique approach to elementary music and program building earned her recognition as Washington Music Educators Association’s Elementary Music Teacher of the Year in 2014. She presented workshops on improvisation, music literacy, and program development, and her groups performed at conferences and sporting events throughout the South Puget Sound. 

In 2019, Laura chose to leave music education to pursue a new path: outdoor education. She left the music classroom for one without walls, taking children out into the grass and forest to learn instead. Since then, she has developed a school garden and curricula that leverage community connections and Indigenous teachings to create a unique blend of science and social/emotional learning. In 2024, she was awarded the Pierce Conservation District’s Educator of the Year award in recognition of these efforts. She currently performs with the Rainier Symphony Orchestra and maintains a small private trumpet studio while also tending several gardens and doing all the sports with her kids.

If you would like to be on the show, fill out this Google Form: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfPrU0pPHOcYAW2-juTDLi5f9C9-xq04E58INvM8cNz-zgMOg/viewform?usp=sharing&ouid=103514879413514765577

Episode 8:

Take a listen this week to Mirella's incredibly inspiring story! She takes us through getting her degrees, establishing a very wonderful freelancing career, and deciding to move to the music ed world.

Mirella's Bio:A former musical road warrior of the southern midwest, Mirella Gable embraced her musical education roots in 2024 and now works full time as a beginning band director in southern coastal Delaware. In the summer, Mirella enjoys performing with the Lake Placid Sinfonietta in the glorious Adirondack paradise with her husband, hornist James Rester. She holds degrees from Wichita State University (M.M. in Horn Performance), and the Eastman School of Music (B.M. in Applied Horn and Music Education), where she earned a Performer’s Certificate

Check out this episode with Lindsay, where she talks about her experience of finding her place in music. From music education, to grad school, to almost not taking the audition where she won her job, her story is packed full of relatable experiences.

Read her full bio below

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Bio: Lindsay Ring is proud to play euphonium in the United States Army Field Band, the army's premier touring ensemble. The band has already taken her from coast to coast and internationally to Switzerland and Finland. Lindsay has competed and placed in many solo and chamber competitions including the Leonard Falcone International Tuba Euphonium Competition, the Susan Slaughter Solo Competition, and the Music International Grand Prix competition, and was a featured soloist at last MWRTEC.

Burnout is a recurring issue than many musicians deal with at least once in their career. In this Episode, Ben and I talk about why burnout is so common, how burnout is built into the systems of music school and music careers, and some ways we can fight against that.

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