Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman Leah Roseman

This week’s featured guest is James McGowan, a solo and collaborative pianist at home in jazz, classical and improvised musics. The 14-member James McGowan Ensemble has just released its jazz-classical fusion album Reaching Out, the companion to the previous album Reaching In, and this episode features some of the music from this beautiful project as well as from his jazz-fusion group Modasaurus. Besides James’ work as a composer and pianist, he’s also a Theory Professor, and choral direcctor,  and has served as Carleton University Chair in Teaching Innovation in developing experiences in the arts on campus and in the community. James is so passionate about sharing his love of music and I trust you’ll find this an uplifting conversation.  Besides my role as a podcaster, I’m a violinist, and last year I founded an improvising chamber group with James, Collected Strands,  and we’ll soon be releasing a special podcast episode to celebrate the release of our upcoming album. 

Can you buy this independenat podcaster a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Thanks!

You can also watch this on YouTube or read the podcast, everything linked here to my website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/james-mcgowan

James McGowan website for all the music featured in this podcast, and his current projects: https://jamesmcgowan.ca/

photo: Kelly McDonald



Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(02:32) Modasaurus jazz ensemble, 4K album, fusing styles

(05:13) clip from Chaconne and Fugue 4K Modasaurus

(06:41) background and clip of Crazy Ceilidh

(09:27) music career advice

(11:42) Reaching Out and Reaching In, tribute to Chick Corea

(16:43) clip from Corean Poultry on Reaching Out

(18:05) intro and clip from Blue Lament, from Reaching Out

(21:10) intro and Elegy from Reaching Out

(26:44) James’ grad school experience, switching from Composition to Theory 

(29:31) please spread the word about this podcast!

(30:08) musical dialects, code switching, overtone series

(39:59) teaching music theory

(43:05) Reaching In, spoken word and different art forms

(46:56) Acceptance from Reaching In

(50:50) parenting and music, encouraging children in the Arts

(56:36) dealing with emotions through music

(59:00) voluteer work Discovery Course for Ottawa Mission and Lotus Center 

(01:03:27) teaching musicianship, singing, community music

(01:10) dealing with playing injuries, music education, voice and choral direction

(01:18:26) improvisation, Collected Strands


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This is a special re-release with cellist Rachel Mercer,  with added music from some of her recordings. This was orginally recorded and released in Season 2 of this podcast in 2022, and now in Season 4 2024, Rachel and I are including some tracks from some of her albums in the podcast version of this episode. See more below for some of the many topics covered!

The original video is on YouTube with the transcript, everything linked here: ⁠ https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/e9-s2-rachel-mercer⁠

We discussed the arc of her career so far as a chamber musician, soloist, and Principal Cellist of my orchestra, the National Arts Centre Orchestra of Canada. One of the musical selections added to this podcast is from the album “Our Strength, Our Song" with Rachel’s sister, the wonderful violinist Akemi Mercer-Niewöhner. We also talked about and many other chamber music collaborations and unique projects, as well as her way of approaching music. You’ll also hear some of Rachel’s memories of the late Yehonatan Berick who was an amazing violinist and pedagogue and was Rachel’s life partner. As well,  Rachel very generously made a special recording of the prelude from JS Bach's fifth solo suite for this episode in 2022,  and her heartfelt introduction to the power of this music is right after our conversation, so please keep listening till the end.

Rachel Mercer’s website: http://www.rachelmercercellist.com/

Support link to buy this independent podcaster a coffee: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Thanks!

Complete Catalog of Episodes: https://www.leahroseman.com/about

Newsletter sign-up: https://mailchi.mp/ebed4a237788/podcast-newsletter

Linktree: https://linktr.ee/leahroseman












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This week, I’m featuring a wonderful episode from the archive, with Linsey Pollak, which was recorded and released in Season 2 of this podcast, 2022. Linsey Pollak is an Australian musician who is known worldwide as a passionate and creative advocate for community music. His life has been full of unusual opportunities to explore different styles of music, and his inventiveness has spurred him to create countless instruments from found objects. In this episode you’ll get to hear him play 4 different instruments in different improvisatory styles, and I’m sure that everyone will be inspired by stories from his life, describing some of his incredibly unusual, fun and beautiful collaborations and creations.

I take care of all the many jobs of research, production, and publicity and I really do need the help of my listeners to keep this project going; please consider buying me a coffee through my support page which is linked to Paypal:

https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Thanks so much!

You can watch this on YouTube as well, and I've linked the transcript here too: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/linsey-pollak

Linsey Pollak website: https://linseypollak.com/

My complete catalog of episodes: https://www.leahroseman.com/about

Podcast newsletter sign-up: https://mailchi.mp/ebed4a237788/podcast-newsletter

photo credit: Beat Lehmann

Timestamps:

(00:00 Intro)

(01:58) gaida music

(05:10) Rafting trip, discovering Macedonian bagpipes, first trip to Macedonia

(11:35) trip to Greece to study klarino with Stavros Vasthekis

(13:15) discovering the Macedonian community in Australia, establishing Kulcha

(17:36) Linsey’s start making instruments, London and Early Music scene

(23:14) busking in Europe, learning Macedonian dance,

Živko Firfov Group, Destan Destanovski

(31:48) importance of humour in his solo shows

(33:17) duduk design and music

(39:57) Linsey’s early musical education and projects

(41:27) developing live looping in the early 90s, his solo shows

(50:30) rubber glove bagpipe

(54:36) Linsey’s current project going out to record in the forest with ambient sounds (his album of this music is on Bandcamp), also the frog sounds album

(56:53) Dva with Tunji Beier and now Beier-Griffin-Pollak trio with Philip Griffin

(58:23) Humarimba community music project

(01:09:16) Paranormal Music Society Romano Crivici and Blair Greenberg, and QWERTY with Peter Rowe

(01:13:47) MIDI wind controller Dangerous Song project with demonstration using animal sounds

(01:33:26) Linsey’s drive to create instruments and connect people, his creative process

(01:37:20) Linsey’s decision to stop touring outside of Australia

(01:40:07) Linsey’s advice




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This week’s episode is with the brilliant cello-piano ensemble, Cheng² Duo, with siblings Bryan and Silvie Cheng. They have performed to great acclaim worldwide and have released to date four fantastic albums, the most recent Portrait which was nominated for a JUNO award. Portrait features music by composers from diverse Asian heritages, and in this podcast, Bryan and Silvie reflect on some important personal experiences related to this. We are featuring some of the music from Portrait and some of their other projects in this episode, with their insights on championing living composers such as Paul Wiancko and  Dinuk Wijeratne and reaching new audiences. I asked them about their Carnegie Hall debut when Bryan had just started high school, and some of their individual experiences with concert preparation, touring, and finding a life-balance.  Some of what you’ll hear about are Bryan’s reflections on his  memorable childhood lessons with Yuli Turovsky, the incredible opportunity he’s had to play the Bonjour Strad, and his experiences with international competitions.  Silvie shared her reflections on her mentors and her life as a performer and educator in New York. Bryan and Silvie grew up in Ottawa, Canada where I live and it’s wonderful to see their careers expanding both individually and as a world-renowned chamber ensemble. Bryan spoke to us from his home in Berlin, and Silvie from her home in New York. 

Can you buy this independent podcaster a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Thanks!

 Like all my episodes, you can also watch this on my YouTube and it's linked with the transcript on my website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/cheng2-duo

https://www.cheng2duo.com/

Weekly newsletter sign-up: https://mailchi.mp/ebed4a237788/podcast-newsletter

Catalog of Episodes: https://www.leahroseman.com/about

photo: Andrej Grilc 

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(03:11) album Portrait, early pandemic in New York, Asian heritage, erhu

(12:33) Hua Yanjun Moon's Reflection upon a Spring

(20:26) anti-Asian harassment, making a difference in the world as musicians

(24:46) Paul Wiancko

(29:00) Paul Wiancko clip from Sonata 1, Part 1 

(28:59) concert presentation, connecting with the audience

(31:33) Carnegie Hall debut experience, importance of commissioning new music

(35:51) Yuli Turovsky

(40:48) Romance for Cello and Piano Scriabin from Russian Legends

(42:56) could you buy this independent podcaster a coffee?

(43:32) Brazilian composers,  Chiquinha Gonzaga, women composers, Silvie’s duo with violist Georgina Rossi

(45:24) Silvie’s work as a teaching artist Orto centre and Living Arts Collaborative

(50:36) family history, parents’ support

(54:08) Silvie’s mentors Jeffrey Cohen, Menahem Pressler

(57:21) learning music, comparing the analytical and intuitive

(01:01:25) Bonjour Strad cello

(01:03:07) Silvie coping with different pianos on tour, pianists’ psychology

(01:05:12) Bryan’s reflections on competitions

(01:08:46) pre-concert routines and mindset

(01:11:20) tour to India, Dinuk Wijeratne “Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling’

(01:14:27) excerpt from Dinuk Wijeratne “Portrait of an Imaginary Sibling’

(01:17:05) tour to India


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This podcast strives to inspire you through the personal stories of a diversity of musicians worldwide, with in-depth conversations and great music, that reveal the depth and breadth to a life in music. 

This week’s episode is with the wonderful harmonica player and composer Ariel Bart. I first started listening to her music with her debut album, “In Between” in which she presents a unique approach to the harmonica and all her albums feature her original music which is inspired by the European jazz tradition and the Middle-Eastern world. Ariel began playing the chromatic harmonica at the age of 7 and since then it’s been her primary instrument.  We’re including music from several of her albums. You’ll hear  about some of her inspiring mentors and collaborators and her positive experience at the New School University for Jazz and Contemporary Music in New York City, including working with Reggie Workman, Shai Maestro, and Jane Ira Bloom. We also talked about the music business, and her delight in using storytelling and film with her music.  Like all my episodes, you can also watch this on my YouTube channel and I’ve also linked the transcript to my website, everything linked together here: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/ariel-bart

Besides being the host, I take care of all the many jobs of research, production, and publicity for this podcast, and I really do need the help of my listeners to keep this project going; please consider buying me a coffee through my support page which is linked to Paypal: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman

Did you know that this podcast is in Season 4, and that I send out a weekly email newsletter where you can get access to Sneak Peeks of upcoming guests and be inspired by highlights from the archive? Sign-up here: https://mailchi.mp/ebed4a237788/podcast-newsletter

Ariel Bart website: https://www.arielbart.com/

Take a Ten Minute Break, solo Nine Souls video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=T8VnpGV2b58

Timestamps:

(00:00) Intro

(02:51) Ariel Bart’s harmonica journey and music education, starting to compose

(07:40) In Between

(13:16) Brendan Power, chromatic harmonica, playing technique

(18:15) harmonica improvisation

(20:03) Ariel’s influences and mentors, Jane Ira Bloom, New School in New York, Reggie Workman, effect of many influences

(28:36) please help this series keep going!

(29:13) making Teardrop narrative video, storytelling

(31:55) Teardrop

(35:18) The Trio Project 

(37:52) part two Listening to Shame from The Trio Project

(42:12) writing for film, collaborations cellists Mayu Shviro, Talia Erdal

(46:17) European contacts, the challenge of teaching

(48:56) the need to learn the business side of a music career

(52:32) clip from Deep Down with Omri Bar Giora

(53:23) creative process, the importance of collaboration

(54:56) the novelty of the harmonica for audiences, listening to singers

(56:01) Nine Souls film project Take a Ten Minute Break

(57:33) Nine Souls ensemble version from album Documentaries


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Dr. Gail Archer is a GRAMMY-nominated internationally touring concert organist and trail-blazer for women organists.  She has fantastic advice on not only approaching a career in music, but in living life to it’s fullest. We talked about learning languages, some fascinating history, the magic of choirs and much more. This episode features music from several of her acclaimed recordings, and we discuss women composers, and the challenges facing women organists. We also speak about Musforum the international network for wormen organists that she founed. Gail’s work highlighting composers from many Eastern European countries including Poland, Ukraine, Bulgaria and Russia was a big part of this conversation and you’ll hear some of this music as well as that of Fanny Mendelssohn, a discussion of the Bach revival and interesting details about J.S. Bach himself, and one of Gail’s recordings of one of his sublime Chorale preludes. I learned a lot about the history of the pipe organ and gained not only a better understanding of the instrument and it’s vast repertoire, but I also gained important insights into the work of choir directors. One of the main topics Gail addressed was how to build a robust career and live a full life, with sensivity, curiosity,  intelligence and determination. 

Gail Archer website: http://www.gailarcher.com/
Musforum network for women organists: https://musforum.org/
This is also available on YouTube, and the transcript is linked there as well: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/gail-archer 

I really do need the help of my listeners to keep this project going; please consider buying me a coffee through my support page which is linked to Paypal: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman
photo: Stephanie Berger

Timestamps: 

(00:00) Intro

(03:32) playing on different organs

(05:55) J.S. Bach Chorale preludes, Fritz organ

(08:30)  Chorale Prelude An Wasserflüssen Babylon, By the Waters of Babylon, from Gail Archer’s album "J. S. Bach The Transcendent Genius"

(13:02)  history of the organ

(26:17)Fanny Mendelssohn Prelude in G major from Gail Archer’s album “Mendelssohn in the Romantic Century”

(28:36) Musforum and sexist challenges facing women organists 

(36:47) please support this series!

(38:23) scene in England and Europe for women organists

(39:25) Eastern European organs, Chernivsti

(45:22) Chacona by Svitlana Osgtrova from album Chernivsti

(48:28) St. John Cantius in Chicago rescued organ from Canada, Polish album

(51:28) excerpt from Grazyna Baciewisz Esquisse on album Cantius

(51:53) interpreting repertoire, choosing registers, Messiaen, Bulgarian project

(58:08) Baroque performance practice

(01:00:01) choir director, the magic of choirs, building her career, Harriman institute at Columbia

(01:07:07) learning Russian and Italian

(01:10:02) choral director, priorities working with choirs

(01:15:10) books and history, Mendelssohn family, Clara Schumann, Bach revival

(01:24:02) advice, how Gail built her career


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