The Brass Junkies Episode 54: Charles Lazarus of the Minnesota Orchestra

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Charles Lazarus is one of the most crazy talented musicians I've ever worked with. Classical, jazz, pop. The guy can do it all. And not just kind of do it. It's really impressive what he does.

This episode ranges from talking about the very painful lockout of the Minnesota Orchestra from just a couple of years ago to some fun Dallas Brass road stories.

Episode Description:

"Charles Lazarus, 4th/utility trumpet in the Minnesota Orchestra joins Andrew & Lance in an interview to discuss everything from producing concerts to Gestalt dream analysis. Charles has grown beyond the typical role of orchestra member to someone who produces concerts for the orchestra on a regular basis. We talk about the long and painful lockout experienced by the Minnesota Orchestra, the ideas of Michael Kiser, and (believe it or not) Esquivel. Charles also explains the importance of clarifying your goals, and the importance of tenacity, access and influence. 

Additionally, we hear some legendary stories from Charles’ time in Dallas Brass including a standoff with the cops and a story about 'The Nub.'"

Links:
Charles' website
Charles' Minnesota Orchestra bio page
New album! Lovejoy

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We are proud to announce we have a new sponsor for the The Brass Junkies! The Brass Area of the Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University in Pittsburgh PA is our new partner (and Lance has been teaching euphonium there since 2000). If you are interested in learning more about the program, visit the site HERE!

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation at https://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Last but not least, we are now on Instagram! Follow us at instagram.com/pray4jens/ TODAY!

Produced by Joey Santillo

The Brass Junkies: Tage Larsen of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra

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Tage Larsen, 4th/utility trumpet with The Chicago Symphony sat down with me & Lance for a fascinating look at his highly successful (and highly diverse) career.

I played for one season with Tage in the Dallas Brass and can't even begin to describe how much I learned from him. He is such an efficient player and sounds totally fluent in more styles than I can count.

As I shared in the interview, I remember my third day on the job with Dallas Brass when we had been having intensive rehearsals and my chops were toast. I was a very inefficient player at that age because I could get away with it. I vividly remember Tage playing the intro to Mahler 7 about five minutes into his warmup on that third day and it looking as if he was playing a long tone. My face was toast and his tone was still silk. I learned an awful lot in that moment.

Tage spent time in The Marine Band, Dallas Brass and the St. Louis Symphony before his current position and he explores what he likes about playing 4th/utility. We also get into the role of classical music in society and the notion that we should have sincerity in all that we do. Shockingly, he only uses one mouthpiece. That's what he said anyway.

Links:

Tage's DePaul School of Music Page

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation at https://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer of FredBrass

The Brass Junkies: Chris Castellanos

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We finally had a chance to sit down with our former colleague from Boston Brass, Chris Castellanos! When we caught up to him he was in Flower Mound, Texas with Boston Brass.

Chris had a long run in Dallas Brass before joining Boston Brass and also performed Phantom of the Opera over 1,000 times in Las Vegas before that show closed a few years ago. He's had an incredible career for someone who has yet to turn 40.

My favorite part of the interview was when we scared him by telling him we wanted back in the band...

Links:

www.chriscastellanos.com
www.bostonbrass.com
YouTube Channel

You can help offset the costs of producing the show by making a small donation athttps://www.patreon.com/thebrassjunkies. Your support is greatly appreciated!

Produced by Austin Boyer of FredBrass