Interview Guests – Page 131

221: Brandon McLean on audition strategies

Pittsburgh Symphony associate principal bassist Brandon McLean

Today’s show features Brandon McLean, who just won the associate principal bass position for the Pittsburgh Symphony. Brandon has most recently served as principal bass of the Colorado Symphony, and prior to that he held positions in the Vancouver Symphony and the Florida Orchestra. Originally from Seattle, Brandon did his undergrad at the University of North Texas, his masters at the Boston Conservatory, and studied at Carnegie Mellon after that with Pittsburgh Symphony principal bassist Jeff Turner. He played in the New World Symphony before landing his first gig with the Florida Orchestra.

We dig into the details of the audition process, like how Brandon starts preparing long-term for the audition and how that preparation changes as the audition approaches, Brandon’s technique routine, which he keeps up throughout the audition process, the benefits of getting to practice in a large space like a concert hall, and routines in the days prior to the audition. We also feature excerpts of Brandon performing the Dave Anderson Duets with Brendan Kane.

Books mentioned:

Interview Highlights

Audition Preparation Strategies

the process starts right after finding out what the list is
looks at what are the more problematic excerpts for him and begins by spending time on those
about 5 weeks out, he starts to get more disciplined
for a long time did the system of ranking what the more difficult excerpts are and spending the most time on those, but he found that then the audition would come up and they’d ask for the excerpts that he didn’t spend as much time on
breaks up practice session into 10 minute increments; practices for an hour or an hour-and-a-half in a couple of different segments in the day
keeps himself disciplined to no more than 10 minutes on a specific excerpt
breaks up the last as many ways as possible:
- top to bottom
- bottom to top
- skip and do every 3rd excerpt
2-3 weeks out, he shortens that 10 minutes per excerpt to 3-4 minutes per except so that he’s hitting everything briefly just about every day
Brandon generally runs things at 75% tempo most of the time
he can generally play this under tempo—it’s getting them up to tempo that’s the real issue
there’s some point between that 75% and 100% tempo that he can usually solve most of the technical problems
problems associated with fast excerpts were dealt with away from those excerpts – dealing with technical studies that helped
during audition prep, Brandon still spends at least 30-45 minutes still doing scales and technical exercises
he cuts that down when getting really close to the audition

Brandon’s Technique Routine

pick a scale
slow bow practice (whole notes) using Intonia software
then does a different scale with half notes, quarter notes, etc – gets himself playing pretty quickly
do something similar with arpeggios after that
right hand practice
- string crossings
- spiccato
- exercises to get his right hand moving a little quicker

Playing in a Large Space and Recording

the benefits of getting to practice in a large space (concert hall) – he didn’t get this until later in life
getting over the idea that he doesn’t really know what he sounds like objectively (similar to getting over the way your voice sounds when you play back a recording)
the angle that you play the bass – no one else will ever hear your bass playing from that angle—it’s such a specific thing
things started to turn on the audition front for Brandon when he started to get really serious about recording himself
Brandon had a pretty steady path of progress in auditioning – not advancing, then getting to semis, then making finals, then runner-up for a bunch of auditions
Brandon realized at a certain point that he just wasn’t a very natural audition taker
- had to start treat audition taking as his job
- dealing with the mental discipline of audition taking was something that took him a while to get a grasp of
Don Greene books helpful in terms of centering, etc.
Brandon has gotten away from thinking that he just needed to have a really good day to win an audition
after teaching students and observing them nervous and not nervous, he has concluded that there isn’t nearly as much difference in the two states as the students think
When he wasn’t doing well in auditions, he had actually lost those auditions months in advance

Routines as the Audition Approaches

usually flies in the day before – flying in too early usually psyched him out
it’s amazing what tiny things can seep into your mind during an audition
when he goes, he generally doesn’t talk to people at the audition
running is helpful
doesn’t try to change anything lifestyle-wise coming up to the audition – changes only cause problems

Links from Listener Feedback:

220: Gabe Katz on switching from music performance to education

Double bassist and orchestra director Gabe Katz

It is my pleasure to present this interview with Gabe Katz. Gabe and I have had so many commonalities in our career trajectory, and we have both ended up finding a really satisfying musical niche in the world of secondary school orchestral conducting. Now, by the time you’re listening to this, I will have moved on from this career, but of the past seven years this is what I did, and this is what Gabe has also started doing these last couple of years.

Prior to his current job teaching orchestra at the high school level in suburban Houston, Gabe held two overseas jobs: one in Durbin, South Africa, and one in Guangzhou Orchestra in China. He also worked in Singapore and in Macao. He ended up meeting up with Hal Robinson while in China and ultimately moving back to the US to study in Hal’s private studio and take auditions.

We cover the thought process that took him from the performance world into the education world, going back to school at Duquesne in Pittsburgh and his experience taking music education courses at an older age, and the unexpected joys and satisfactions of teaching in the public schools.

Interview Highlights

started college at Oberlin with Scott Haigh
transferred in undergrad to SUNY Purchase and studied with Tim Cobb
MM Carnegie Mellon with Jeff Turner
Summer Festivals:
- principal bass of NRO
- Music Academy of the West
- others
Manhattan School of Music for Performers Diploma – worked with Tim Cobb again
driving all over the place doing freelance gigs, making it to semi-finals for some auditions, but started scouring the Internet for overseas opportunities
got an orchestra job in Durbin, South Africa
got a job as principal bass of the Guangzhou Orchestra in China
also worked in Singapore and Macao
meeting up with Hal Robinson while in China and ultimately coming back to the United States to study privately with him
was thinking about going back to school – deciding between doctorate or getting certified to teach – postbox programs
ended up doing a post baccalaureate program at Duquesne with Steve Benham, who is President-Elect of the American String Teachers Association
Gabe’s goal was to get a high school orchestra teaching job
Gabe ended up getting a high school orchestra director job in suburban Houston – a plum gig for sure!
the high level of high school students in this area – comparable to an undergrad population at many music schools
getting into conducting – the high level of satisfaction that results from studying scores, planning rehearsals, picking repertoire
Gabe knows that he’s changing lives every day in this new gig – there’s a positivity and excitement to it which he’s feeling that you’ll pick up on as you listen
his 20-year-old self would have thought that he was a “sellout”
Orin O’Brein: “You’re never done learning.” – music is a journey, a lifelong learning path
conducting is a culmination of everything you’ve ever learned (Gabe says this and I totally feel that as well!)
how Duquesne keeps its music education program elite
The University of Michigan string teaching legacy – Steve Culver, Bob Gillespie, Bob Phillips, Steve Benham
most Bachelors of Music programs train you to:
- A: Work at Starbucks
- B: Win an orchestra job
Hal: “You’re offering yourself as a product.”

219: Gjorgji Cincievski on arranging, multi-meter, and life in paradise

Malta Philharmonic principal bassist Gjorgji Cincievski

Today we’re chatting with Gjorgji Cincievski, who is the principal bass of the Malta Philharmonic and has been putting out some very cool arrangements for Hoffmeister, including an arrangement of Bach’s Goldberg Variations for violin, viola, and double bass. You’ll be hearing excerpts from this piece on Gjorgji’s new recording throughout the episode, and we have a link in the show notes where you can get a copy of the recording and of the sheet music, as well as several other arrangements by Gjorgji.

Gjorgji will also be hosting the Malta Double Bass Summer Camp from August 22 – 28. Check out more details about this camp here.

Interview Highlights

growing up in Macedonia
the polyrhythms that are a part of folksongs in this country
life in Malta
publications for Hoffmeister
trio arrangement of the Goldberg Variations, for violin, viola, and double bass
many other arrangement projects on the horizon for Hoffmeister

218: Arnold Schnitzer on dirty jobs, ergonomic basses, and maker competitions

Double bass luthier Arnold Schnitzer

Today we feature double bass luthier Arnold Schnitzer. Arnold has had an interesting career path, from gigging around the East Coast as a youth to entering the corporate world and finally finding his way to the word of instrument repair. We talk about a wide range of topics, including information versus knowledge, wisdom, and street smarts, and the perils and pitfalls of the information age.

We also dig into Mike Rowe‘s Dirty Jobs (there’s a great interview with him on the Tim Ferriss podcast) – this all starts about 20 minutes into the actual interview – and training people for the jobs that actually exist, and the “in-between” jobs. This is quite a conversation—be sure to check this out. There’s a lot of food for thought here.

We also get deep into instrument construction, setup, maker competitions, wolf tones, and the Oberlin Bass Workshop, which Arnold serves on the faculty for and which sounds like a very cool event. I know that you’re really going to enjoy this conversation with the always interesting Arnold Schnitzer!

Interview Highlights

Early Years

born in Miami Beach (South Beach), FL
moved up to Far Rockaway, NJ when he was young – dad was in construction
dad got them a boat but Arnold and siblings had to figure out money for gas and fix it up
his story of getting this Bohemian bass in his late 30s while working corporate recruiting gig and making good money but hating the job and basically just figuring out on his own (consulting people along the way) how to take this old beater bass apart and totally reconstruct it

Information versus Knowledge

we talk about information vs. knowledge/wisdom/street smarts – this is an illuminating discussion
Arnold is a jazz musician from way back, and he sees instrument repair as a constant improvisation
we talk about Mike Rowe of Dirty Jobs (there’s a great interview with him on the Tim Ferriss podcast) – this all starts about 20 minutes into the actual interview
- alternate paths to going to college for x, y, z – people getting trained for the jobs that actually exist
- traditional jobs are disappearing
- the in-between jobs are the ones that aren’t going away – electrician, plumber, instrument repair, air conditioning service – and these can pay really well!
- training people for jobs that have gone out of vogue
being a luthier does involve working with your hands, but it really involves working with your brain – problem solving with your command center

The Future of Employment

looking at predictions of jobs in the future and the rise of the worker less economy, think twice about going to college and racking up $100,000 in student loans
musicians are the most conservative people on the planet… especially rock & rollers

Double Bass Setup and Construction

ergonomic contrabass – thought it up while on painkillers
wolf tones on the bass
- all basses will have some wolfiness
clarity mainly comes from setup rather than construction
- what brands of strings can help with clarity
- other adjustments that can be made to help with clarity
thoughts on maker competitions – judges are looking at basses through the eyes of the violin world
motto of Oberlin Bass Society: “everyone teaches, everyone learns”

217: Jerry Fuller on early music, creativity, and business world lessons

Double bassist and early music specialist Jerry Fuller

Today’s episode features double bassist Jerry Fuller. I’ve known Jerry for well over a decade at this point and have found him to be such an interesting person. Jerry is best known in the music world for his work in period performance—in fact, he won an award for historically informed performance from the International Society of Bassists in 2015, and he is also a former ISB board member.