Today’s episode features Connie Cai, who is a violinist and educator who specializes in improvisation theory. We jump into how she got into the violin, and the cultural differences in pedagogy between China and the United States according to her lived experiences. We then delve into the concept of improvisation, and how using improv principles can lead to more effective and deliberate practice. We continue to discuss how improvisation is a muscle that needs to be fine-tuned, and break down how to approach improvisation as instrumentalists. Connie concludes by sharing what is at the core of her love of teaching, expressing her optimistic take on the future of classical music, and establishing that encouragement and support are the keys to making improvisation more approachable and thus equitable.

Today’s episode features Jennie Yu, who went to school with me and is currently a paralegal who moonlights as an incredible stage manager! Jennie takes us through her SM origin story, breaks down the responsibilities that the role entails, and speaks to the importance of finding your place in theatre. We then get into the struggles of grappling with wanting to pursue the arts as children of immigrants who want more traditional and stable lives for us. We also talk about presenting ourselves as women in the arts in certain ways in order to be taken seriously, and we point out how the ways in which women are encultured as planners and empaths yield great stage managers, which is bittersweet in that their superpowers come from being master accommodators. We conclude by preaching for early exposure and accessibility in the arts, and daring to challenge the status quo by actively seeking diverse casts and crews.

I’m also attaching a link here to the off-Broadway show that Jennie is stage managing this weekend (7/20-7/24): https://ci.ovationtix.com/35658/production/1127713?performanceId=11102773

Today’s episode features Olivia Girdano, who was the Assistant Audio on the Tootsie tour with me! Olivia takes us through how she got into sound engineering and design, and the always exciting and changing responsibilities of being an audio engineer on tour. We then discuss the difficulty of walking the line as a young woman in an authority position who has to frequently teach and lead locals every week and thus navigate age/gender/power dynamics. We talk about how the push for arts equity is interconnected with reforming the education system as a whole, as well as funding the arts so that people from all backgrounds can pursue it without worrying about how they’re going to make a living wage. Lastly, we break down Christopher Tin’s “Mado Kara Mieru” to help demonstrate how sound designing is analogous to composing as an approach to building and layering musical elements in a compelling manner.

Today’s episode features Dominique Kempf, who is currently on the Tootsie tour with me as a cast member! We dive into her musical theater background, life on tour, and the challenges of being a woman in entertainment. We then talk about finding beauty in both of our supporting roles on tour, while still staying motivated. She then breaks down branding yourself as an actor, the audition process, and the differences between all the varying types of roles in a cast. Dominique emphasizes the challenges of being a woman of color in this industry, including grappling with her biracial identity while being pigeon-holed into certain roles. We then discuss the importance of owning our space as women and feeling empowered to speak up when we’re being mistreated. We end by speaking to the changes we want to see in musical theater, namely having more diverse creative teams, normalizing intimacy coaches, and being open to workshopping shows as a part of the rehearsal process.

Today’s episode features Laney Gold, who is currently in the cast on the national tour of the musical Tootsie! We delve into her journey including the discovery of her love for musical theater, the difficulties of touring, and trying to stay fresh and motivated as performers on the eight shows per week grind. We talk about the micro-inequalities actresses have to deal with, including the extra expenses that they’re expected to make. Laney then insightfully shares about her relationship with her faith and how it guides her pursuits, but also how selfless Christian values can inherently contradict a profession that is self-centered at its core. She then breaks down the musical theater rehearsal process. We end by bringing up the trends that we’re seeing on Broadway, and the importance of diverse casts in creating a new normal in terms of representation.

Today’s episode features Megan Trach, who is a flutist and piccoloist extraordinaire and is currently on the national tour of Fiddler on the Roof! We start off by going through their musical origin story, leading up to discovering their love of musical theatre and deciding to pursue it. We break down the concept of doubling as pit musicians, and bring to light the crazy demands and expectations of being a reed doubler on Broadway. We then get into the differences between pit playing and orchestral playing, primarily in terms of anxiety levels, and the cut-throat audition process. This leads to sharing our super chaotic stories of how we booked our tours, and being on this crazy journey together. We also reminisce about our Legally Blonde experience and how formative and special it was! We end by discussing the importance of leveraging our own positions to uplift women+ and people of color, and how this needs to be done by both people who are in managerial positions as well as those of us who are currently at the bottom of the totem pole.

Today’s episode features Michelle Hromin, who is an incredible contemporary clarinetist who played with me in the New York Youth Symphony! We start off by going through her musical timeline leading up to finding her place in the music world as a contemporary artist. I then expose myself as a brasshole who shares my beef with the clarinet, as we discuss the differences between clarinet and trumpet, and I end up submitting to clarinet’s redeeming arc. We then get into it by delving into the difficulties of being female musicians, specifically about how traditional patriarchal expectations that conflict with a performance career affect us, the gendered aspect of getting dress-coded, and how playing in a section as a woman feels like being put in a doubly submissive position. I share from my experience as a female section player on tour about how the gender, age, and power dynamics have been difficult and arguably oppressive at times. We then talk about accessibility as the key to classical music having a bright future, and how contemporary music can drive that change as it is music that is being composed today with the ability to make commentary on the world of today in a progressive and revolutionary manner. We conclude with Michelle sharing about her upcoming projects, including her pursuits in curating concerts and ensemble forming.

Today’s episode features Melinda Wisdom, who played with me in the California Youth Symphony when we were high schoolers! I am so excited to share this interview with you as she is my first female brass guest on this podcast, and we get into it! We start off by going through her musical timeline that consisted of constantly being put in her place and taken advantage of as a female trombonist, and her more recent process of healing her relationship with music. I also pull from a paper I wrote in college about brass sections being environments were masculinity contest cultures emerge, and how both men and women end up suffering. We also bring up the complexities that come with pursuing something that is considered so masculine, and how it has led to the realization that we need to unpack and dispose of our internalized sexism. We touch on the importance of representation in classical music, establishing support systems, and holding our male allies and peers accountable for their actions. We end on the idea of how owning your individuality when you perform with your own unique interpretations can make performance seem more palatable.

Today’s episode features Elliot Roman, who is a great friend of mine and is a composer, pianist, and flutist extraordinaire. For starters, he did me the great honor and favor of producing this podcast’s theme song, as he made my little trumpet lick come to life! We talk about his life-long pursuit of music, overcoming doubts, and our shared time in the New York Youth Symphony. He then breaks down his composition process and walks us through his most recent work that was debuted by the American String Quartet. We end on the importance of premiering new works which ensures classical music’s longevity as a living, breathing, and evolving art-form.

I had a blast doing this first interview with the one the only Theo Stevens. I first of all have to give them a massive shoutout because they helped my vision become a reality by creating this podcast’s incredible cover art. We go way way back all the way to middle school and they are such a joy to talk to and get nostalgic with. We delved into their musical upbringing leading up to their realization that they do not want to pursue a performance career despite the arts being a key part of their identity, with the added complexity of how exploring their own gender and sexuality informed that decision and continues to shape their nuanced relationship with performing. We also touch on wanting more new material in pursuing diversity in the arts. Lastly, we broke down how by using non-musical objects to make music, the band Superorganism is inviting non-musicians to join the party. Hope you enjoy!