The Cameron Leach Podcast

American violinist Andrew Sords maintains a massive career as both soloist and chamber musician, having performed on 4 continents, collaborated with over 300 orchestras, and appeared on innumerable recital series. He has been profiled by media outlets such as Sirius XM and NPR’s Morning Edition, and recently announced the release of his new contemporary editions company, Green Point Editions.

Dr. Andy Harnsberger is a touring marimba recitalist and clinician, as well as the Director of Percussion at Lee University. In addition to his teaching and performing, he is a widely respected composer in the percussion field whose works can be heard all over the world. He has appeared at universities all over the US, numerous PAS Day of Percussion events, and most recently was featured in a daytime showtime concert at PASIC 2019.

Kyle Peters is the Percussion Instructor at the Eastman Community Music School (ECMS) and a member of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra’s (RPO) percussion section. He has performed with the Orchestra of Northern New York, Finger Lakes Opera, and at the Skaneateles Music Festival, and his chamber music projects include the Leach|Peters Duo (percussion) and Morizio/Peters Duo (saxophone/percussion). He has earned degrees from the Crane School of Music at SUNY Potsdam and the Eastman School of Music.

Mike Geisz is a streaming video gamer, online content creator, multi-sport coach, and middle school physical education teacher in Central Ohio. He streams via Facebook Gaming under the name GutsyGeisz, where he is building a community around the game DayZ and others.

Ujjal Bhattacharyya is a percussionist currently finishing his Artist Diploma at Carnegie Mellon University. He is a graduate of Carnegie Mellon and Ithaca College, and has placed at many national and international percussion competitions. He has toured with the Heartland Marimba Ensemble and un/pitched Percussion Trio, and also remixes Raas music for competitive collegiate dance teams.

On this Q/A episode, Cameron answers listener-submitted questions from Instagram. Topics covered include endorsement deals, musical challenges after graduating, how to approach bookings, toilet paper shortage during the pandemic, structuring emails to professors, processes for learning several new pieces simultaneously, standard repertoire, possibly composing new music, and when to build your own website.

Sean Clark is a touring concert percussionist, educator, and rising star in the drum corps activity. He is a fellow member of Orphic Percussion, and the Percussion Caption Head of the Blue Devils B Drum & Bugle Corps. He earned a degree in music education from Fresno State, and is the Director of Percussion for Saratoga High School.

Bob Breithaupt is the Director of Percussion Studies at Capital University, where he has overseen the percussion program for the last 40+ years. Bob is the drummer for the Columbus Jazz Orchestra, Past President of the Percussive Arts Society, and a co-founder of one of the nation’s premier drum shops—Columbus Pro Percussion. He presents clinics all over the world, consults and advises in myriad roles for arts organizations, and has been a musical contractor for decades.

Drew Martin is a Columbus-based freelance musician, working as a percussionist, drummer, arranger, producer, copyist, and educator. His varied work finds him performing in an eclectic mix of groups, ranging from the Newark-Granville Symphony Orchestra to Rhythm X, musical theater companies to opera productions, and more. His recent releases, Modern + Art and the Quarantine Tapes, are available now.

Colleen Bernstein is a touring percussion artist whose work is profoundly intersectional, deeply musical, and highly collaborative. She performs internationally as a soloist and with various chamber projects, and actively pursues social justice through her work as an arts organizer. Colleen has earned degrees from the Eastman School of Music and the University of Michigan.