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Coming of Age Under the Spotlight, Does an Orchestra Gig Crush the Entrepreneurial Soul?, The True Universal Language, and Much more with Chris Coletti!

Body + Mind + Spirit = Mastery. Now available is a collection of excerpts from some of the most popular episodes of the Trumpet Dynamics podcast featuring the likes of Chris Coletti, Sergei Nakariakov, Manny Laureano, and more.

It's a FREE download available right now on brassmastery.com!

The great Chris Coletti joined me for a chat on the Trumpet Dynamics podcast way back in 2021. We talked about his maturing as a musician and as an individual while under the white hot lights of the Canadian Brass.

It's interesting how our maturity as people affects our maturity as musicians. That really is the essence of what this podcast is about.

At any rate, I realized I didn't take many notes when this episode was released years ago, so this will have to do.

Enjoy it!

Transcript
JN:

My guest is former member of the Canadian Brass, long time member

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of the Canadian Brass, won the

gig when he was a very young man.

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He became not so young throughout the

years, and I just always enjoy having him

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on the show because he brings a level of

depth, and it's not just about trumpet,

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although he's a Of course, a very fine

trumpeter, but he also just has a very

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well rounded worldview that he brings

to his game, not just as a trumpeter,

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just his overall outlook on life, very

well rounded, very centered experience,

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getting to know him and we'll get to know

him a little bit better in this call.

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media: So welcome to the show.

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Chris Coletti.

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Chris Coletti: Hello, everybody.

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And for those of you that can't see me,

I am blushing through my tanned cheeks.

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Tanned cheeks.

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So you actually get some

sun in upstate New York.

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It's 50 and cloudy today,

but yes, sometimes.

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So now that you took the face

mask off, now you can get a

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tan for your whole face, huh?

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media: Yeah.

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I said cheeks.

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I meant forehead.

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All right.

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I actually spoke with Chris in the fall

of:

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job with Canadian Brass, like full time.

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Had you actually left or were

you like on your way out?

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Let's say October of 2019.

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Yeah, that was, oh, I'd

have to double check.

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That was like the month that I actually

played one of my last shows in Montreal.

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So yeah, so it was right

at the cusp, right there.

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So you had made the announcement,

and then you just had a couple

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of obligations to fulfill.

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Yeah, a couple of fun shows, yep.

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I want to know the difference

between pre Canadian brass.

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What was your outlook on

life as a trumpet player?

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What were your ambitions as a

musician when you took that gig,

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and then how did those change over

time going into your new endeavors?

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Yeah, that's a great question.

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And actually, those are exactly

the things that changed the most.

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So as a student, and I think this

is probably typical, those of you

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that are maybe students or remember

what it was like to be a music

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student, but my goals were almost

singularly to be in an orchestra.

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Because I love, I still love the rep.

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And I think that was what drove it.

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And also in school, at least then,

it was presented as the only path.

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And then There were other things you

can do, but they were not, there weren't

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prescribed paths to, to actually, I

don't even know if that counts as a

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path, but it was a thing to do, like

winning a job was like a rite of

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passage, and I love love, loved it.

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And so I never had even dreamed big enough

when I was really young, actually, this

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is an odd aside here, but it relates.

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It's, I wrote, like, when I was,

I think I was maybe, 10 years old.

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I wrote like a kid's book.

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It was a part of a school project.

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And maybe I was a little older, 11 or 12.

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And at the end of the book, I

signed my name and I said, Chris

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Coletti is a trumpet player.

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I already had it in the bio, right?

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Chris Coletti is a trumpet player.

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And which is one day to be a famous

soloist or something like that.

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So I guess that was like a way of dating

that I really wanted to do to dream big.

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Then I didn't know about

really orchestras yet.

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And I don't even think I really

knew what being a soloist was.

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I think I just wanted to be, Center

stage or something like that.

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But who knows that?

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And I actually, my mom has a gift.

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She gave it to me cause now I

have young kids and it's like

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perfect for their age to read.

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It's like about this little

fire dog and printed it.

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So it looks published and

maybe I will publish it.

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Actually.

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It's cool to have that.

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I spelled the word congratulations wrong.

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It's cute.

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Was that too old to misspell that?

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I don't know.

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So I think when I was really young

soloist, but really when I got serious,

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it became being in an orchestra.

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I'm specifically a

principal trumpet player.

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I love playing principal trumpet.

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To this day, I think it's the

greatest joy, I think, is playing

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principal in an orchestra.

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I love it.

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And I did a lot of chamber music,

of course, when I was in school,

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and I loved that, but I never

really saw the path for that.

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And I was a little bit burned out

with the excerpts at the same time

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when I was finishing up my master's.

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I finished my master's at Juilliard.

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and I studied with Gould and he was

incredible because he helped me with that.

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He was like, it's okay.

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It's all right to feel like F all this

and let's, just do whatever you want.

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I remember my greatest fear, because

I think fear would be lying to not

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mention the fears I had at that point,

was that I was just going to like

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graduate because I was thinking about

doing a PhD or something like that.

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Mostly because I didn't know what

I was going to do if I didn't.

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Have something lined up.

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And he was like, what

are you worried about?

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You're going to just stop practicing and

just drink and, do other things all day.

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And I was like, yeah, that's

exactly what I'm worried about.

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He was like, stop.

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Just do it.

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And it was just so freeing to hear him

say that, and he's that's just part

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of, you gotta go through that stage.

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It's fine.

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And so I loosened up a little bit, and

I don't even know if this is really

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true, but the way he tells the story,

actually, he has a new book, by the way.

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Those listening, you

should definitely read it.

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It's absolutely fantastic.

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It's called Gould on Music.

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And he just hits the nail on the

head on so many aspects of music.

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It's not just for trumpeters, but

as a trumpet player, obviously it's

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very special to read his perspective.

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Cause he's a legend as

a teacher and a player.

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But anyway in the book, he tells the story

that I have, I was going through all this

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and then I took an audition, didn't even

tell him I was taking it in his words, I

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didn't even practice, I still don't even

know if that's true and then I won it.

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And that was the one in Huntsville,

Alabama, where I still play.

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And again, I don't know if that's

exactly how it went down, but.

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It's true that I had this mental

breakthrough that I was like, it's okay.

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You don't have to have

everything perfectly lined up.

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Just go out there and maybe you'll

do nothing for a little bit.

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Despite my fears, I wound

up having that job lined up.

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But then after a year I got into

canning brass and my perspective

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changed because suddenly I was in a

different league other than when I was

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a preteen I hadn't even dreamed of.

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And so it was extremely

intimidating, but obviously the

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growth that I got to experience

from that experience was immense.

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And I think that the exposure is

the obvious benefit of all that,

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but the growth was the part that

I think changed me the most being

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around musicians of that level.

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And then the biggest thing was

playing for audiences that actually

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knew who we were and expected

to see us and to see our music.

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And it was like really being in a

band and having fans of you, right?

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Even if they weren't

necessarily fans of me.

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And so that was amazing, and that became

a I got hooked on that aspect of it.

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And I'm pretty confident that

I'll never get to experience that

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again unless I rejoin that group

or another group like it one day.

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But there aren't many that are that, that

have a fan base that are that dedicated.

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And so it's a different

satisfaction at the end of a

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concert when you know you nailed it.

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I just played Firebird, like

the chamber music version,

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and it was just a total blast.

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I was at 100 percent peak

enjoyment the entire concert.

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But afterwards, the glory is

not quite the same, right?

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Because there's a couple people

that were like, Oh, that,

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the trumpet sounded awesome.

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And I'm like, oh, know,

that's really nice to hear.

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As opposed to every single person wants

your autograph, every single person

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remembers the thing that you did best.

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And you agree with that.

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Some of them are just blanket.

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Nice job comments.

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That was exciting.

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And it made it feel like, wow, there's

some direct relationship between the type

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of work I do in the practice room, which

can be tedious and somebody noticing

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that it's it often felt in school.

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It's just to get the job and it's

details that no one cares about

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other than that moment in the

audition, which is frustrating.

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It doesn't even feel like

an artistic endeavor.

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It feels figure skating.

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So that was the big change, I would say.

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That perspective shift.

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And also the goals and realizing

that, you could think that big.

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So you have a certain level of

anonymity outside of the Canadian brass.

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In a way.

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And it's, there's

something nice about that.

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You probably don't remember this, but

think you and I first met in:

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And you guys were in Korea.

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And we had made arrangements.

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For you guys to do like a little

masterclass or something with the army

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band where I was stationed at the time.

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Cause I've seen the

Canadian brass many times.

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I'm a long time, big time fan

boy concerts in the States.

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They're everybody wants to come

meet you guys and get autographs

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and take pictures and whatever.

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Korea was insane.

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Everybody in the auditorium was

lined up, there was a line about

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a mile long, just to shake hands.

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You don't see that in the United States.

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You guys were complete rock stars.

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Yeah, it feels like you're the Beatles or

something, they're like tearing at you.

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They had bodyguards escorting

us to get to the table to sign.

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If not at that concert,

it was on that tour.

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And that's something that I think anyone

that's Performed in Asia can probably

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relate to it, because part of it's that

you're a foreign group, that you've come

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all these miles and it is a rare event.

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We're not playing there.

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Every, even in this United States is huge.

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So we played most of our

concerts here, but it still felt

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like, we were always on tour.

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We were, it was only a matter of

time that we played in your city,

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but, we only played in Korea.

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I was in the group 10 years,

I think, two or three times.

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And then novelty.

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Yeah.

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We had a lot of big posters

whenever you're playing a concert.

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But when in, in Asia.

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Especially, in Europe too, but in

Asia, like the billboards that I

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see us on, we're just enormous.

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Like the size of an entire building.

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It's wow, that's my face is

bigger than five of my cars.

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That's just my face.

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And there's four others, huge billboards.

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Yeah, it was a thrill.

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And it, and that of course, hypes

up the audience too, because

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they're, they see that billboard.

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And then they're like, oh my

God, this is the real you.

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And they only knew you from YouTube.

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YouTube counts as TV.

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They see you on YouTube, but

then they see you in real life.

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It's I've had fans before I joined Candy

Brass that saw me playing an etude on

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YouTube that had enough video views that

it legitimized me on some level that is.

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And they were like genuinely

excited to see me in real life.

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And it was an eye opener.

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Like it's a powerful medium.

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Get us up to speed.

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What have you been up to since

leaving the fame and the glory?

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Touring with the Canadian brass

in the last couple of years.

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The biggest thing is I have two young

kids, so my, yeah, I have, my oldest

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is about to be four in the fall and my

youngest is going to be two in the summer.

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That was a, the biggest

reason it got crazy.

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to do that type of touring with, it was

already crazy with one kid, but then

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I started teaching at Ithaca College.

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And for a year I did both and

that was absolutely insanity.

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For example, the Christmas season.

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So between Thanksgiving and

actual Christmas is when we had

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the most concerts in a week.

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And I, I remember this particular tour,

we had, I think, three nights where

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we didn't actually have a performance,

and it wasn't a travel day, there was

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enough time that, that was just three

actual nights that were literally off,

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we were just going to sit in a hotel.

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Those nights were the nights that

I and also the other players that

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had university gigs, flew home.

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And taught all the students, all

their lessons each one of those days.

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And then after all that,

I came back just in time.

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We listened to juries and then I got

to see my family and it was like,

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okay, this is not really going to work.

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I didn't know what to do yet.

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But then when my second son was on his

way, it was like, okay, this is clearly

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not going to be an okay way to live.

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We're all going to lose our mind.

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It was a thrill to be able to

do that, but I missed my family.

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And I think it wasn't fair for my

wife and certainly not for my kids.

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Then I went to, now I'm teaching

that was a one year position, but

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now I'm actually on the tenure

track at Ithaca and it's great.

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I love it here.

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I love living here.

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I love the school, all my students.

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And so that's my the bulk of my thing

performance wise, The timing of it all

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happened to be right before the pandemic.

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So it wasn't like I really missed,

I think I missed five concerts

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since leaving Canadian Brass,

maybe, it was really bizarre.

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I did a few recordings with them since

then one was remote, a few were in person,

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but it wasn't really the current members

even, it was just, it was just a project

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and those are all, I can't say much,

it's all still under the radar, but.

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So I've still done a few things like that,

but of course, a ton of virtual gigs.

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I did a couple of, I

played for a toy company.

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I played for court, like a bunch of

random stuff that you could do remotely.

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And only recently have

concerts started picking up.

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I still am playing at

Huntsville of course.

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And they didn't actually

close their season down.

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They took a lot of safety measures and.

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And they have a really huge concert hall.

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So it was possible to do this.

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And of course things were never as strict

in Alabama as it was in other States.

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For better or for worse, once I

was vaccinated, I started going

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down there to perform as well.

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So that's been nice.

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And also I'm teaching at Raphael

Mendez Institute, although

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we're not doing it this year.

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We're going to do a free concert

because it was just, I think everyone

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zoomed out and we're going to do a

free events, a couple of classes and

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a concert, and then do it in person,

which is in Denver next summer.

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Everybody's zoomed out.

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I love that.

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Oh my gosh.

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I know I am.

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Not that this is fun,

but yeah, going to class.

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What is it like teaching

at Ithaca College?

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It's fantastic.

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It's nice to be settled in a

place and to have the students.

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I see them, every week, if not every day.

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The pandemic changed things a little

bit, so it has this I feel like I,

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I can be a force in their lives,

hopefully for positive for the better.

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And, I taught a long time adjunct,

but it wasn't, which I loved to

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obviously, which is what made me

realize I wanted to try something

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like this, but didn't have the same.

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I wasn't as involved.

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Obviously, you come in.

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Teach a lesson and then you peace out.

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And so it's, I love that.

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I love the colleagues.

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They happen to be, this is the only place

I've ever worked full time like this.

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So I don't know, maybe this is

normal, but I don't, it doesn't seem

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like this is normal, but they're

like ridiculous musicians as well.

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And so I've been collaborating with some

of them actually tonight and recording

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a piece by Lily Boulanger, actually

Nadia Boulanger's sister, who was an

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amazing composer in her own right.

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And this is a piece called Nocturne.

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It's one of two pieces

for violin and piano.

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And I've transcribed it for trumpet.

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And I did it at a little concert a year

ago, but I'm going to actually record

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it with one of the piano faculty.

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And he's like a star, it's

just unbelievable resources.

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So that's exciting.

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And then of course, it's nice to

have access to world class hall and

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recording equipment and all that,

so there's waterfalls everywhere.

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So it's a really beautiful place as well.

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I feel really I feel like I'm trying

to sell you the sign here and you too.

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Can, No, it really is

an unusually nice place.

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I feel so lucky and.

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It's equidistant between my parents

and my wife's, and so there's a lot of

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things, it's just really serendipitous.

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And where's your wife from?

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She's from Lake George, and I'm from New

York City, and so we're four hours from

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both, which is maybe it'd be nice to be a

little closer, but it's literally halfway.

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Your students, what cause you said

something when you were in Juilliard

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and you went to Manhattan, right?

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Yeah, my undercarriage.

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And you said, basically,

it's this is the plan.

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There's orchestras, and then

there's flipping burgers.

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Your students, what are

some of their ambitions?

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What are their, some of their aspirations?

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What do they want to do with music?

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That's what I think is so exciting

is that so it's not a conservatory.

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The school started as a conservatory,

but then became A liberal arts college.

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So it's got that route, but

it's not a conservatory now.

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So it has some of that model,

but again, it's liberal arts.

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So the students have a broader range

of interests, which is incredible.

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So we have some students,

our biggest program, our most

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famous program is the music ed.

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So a lot of them want to be band

directors and it's, one of the top.

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Programs in the country and, virtually

every single one of them gets a

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great job right out of school.

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So that's exciting because they have

their heads on straight and they

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tend to be really great players.

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So that's what's to me.

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And again, I could be remembering this

totally wrong when I was a student and

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it's probably again, me projecting my own

shortcomings as a human at that age, but

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it felt like there was a lot of it didn't

feel like we were as mature as they are.

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It feels like I'm with.

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mature, smart, thoughtful kids.

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It's pretty, pretty great.

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And then we have students that want to be

their sound recording technology majors.

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And that's another

really exciting program.

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And so there I think in other

schools that have something like

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it, that's their focus, but here

they, Have to have an instrument.

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So the trumpet students that are doing

that program, they are already doing

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recordings that are not like a trumpet

and piano necessarily all sorts of

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stuff, electronic stuff, although they

have to record orchestras and they have.

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So they just have this like amazing

knowledge that they bring to the studio.

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And also just bring to lessons and

the kind of rep that we do together.

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I don't have to give them a Sonata that's

from the, the quote unquote standard rep.

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I don't really know if

that matters to them.

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In fact, I'm pretty sure it doesn't.

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And then of course we have performance

majors, which is what I was as a student,

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they're aspiring from anything between

being a lot of them want to be in

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military bands or orchestras, which I

think is probably there's not much else

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anyway, and those are tough gigs to win,

but actually a few of my students have

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already gotten jobs like that, which is.

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a thrill, of course.

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Some of them want to be conductors.

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So it really is a range.

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And that's what I think is a stark

contrast to what it was like being

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in a conservatory, where everyone

wanted to be in an orchestra.

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I've spoken to a lot of people

over the years, and that's

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just a bit of a complaint with

universities or conservatories.

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They don't really have any, I think I

spoke with David Cutler a while ago.

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Basically, he was in a doctoral program.

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:

His instructor said something like,

just, Just practice, and you'll be fine.

369

:

That's not exactly sound career advice.

370

:

It's not, and it's hard to say much

else, because on the other hand, it's

371

:

not really clear what they should do,

as you would know, probably maybe even

372

:

better than I do, when you're trying to

I should say this, if you're trying to be

373

:

a musician, you don't have to even agree.

374

:

You are an entrepreneur.

375

:

That's your job now.

376

:

You happen to be selling a product

that you're playing, but you are

377

:

not just going to get That's it.

378

:

Good and be found.

379

:

That's just not how it works.

380

:

You have to make

opportunities for yourself.

381

:

And the irony of all

that is that by making.

382

:

opportunities for yourself, you're

more likely to be invited by a

383

:

cooler opportunity than you could

even have created yourself anyway.

384

:

And that's actually what happened to me.

385

:

I was like, I'm screwed.

386

:

There's nothing to do.

387

:

I can keep auditioning for

the, the Met and wait until

388

:

I'm in my forties to win it.

389

:

Has had, like Ray Rickamini came to

Juilliard and talked about that story

390

:

and then he quit the trumpet and he

lived in his car for a couple of years.

391

:

Oh my gosh, it was an amazing

story, but you don't want to

392

:

necessarily aspire to that type of.

393

:

struggles to get the dream gig.

394

:

So instead I started a brass group and

it lasted a couple of months before I

395

:

got in Canadian, but there was something

about having projects in the pipeline.

396

:

Brandon Ridenour was a great example.

397

:

He, that guy just does everything.

398

:

He's just doing stuff.

399

:

And it's a thrill to work

with somebody like that.

400

:

You don't even have to be into music.

401

:

Just somebody that's getting stuff done.

402

:

You want to become friends with

those people, especially if

403

:

you're not one of those people.

404

:

But obviously if you are one of

those people, you're more likely

405

:

to be invited into the circle.

406

:

By making projects happen, you wind

up finding other, becoming part

407

:

of other opportunities as well.

408

:

So that's what I think they need to learn.

409

:

And that's hopefully what they

are learning in school right now.

410

:

You can maybe speak to this because this

is something that I've always theorized

411

:

about or something I've always wondered

about because I don't have any experience

412

:

as I've played with orchestras as a.

413

:

I've been on the sub list and done

like Star Wars and Indiana Jones, but

414

:

I've never had a full time gig with

an orchestra and I want to get your

415

:

perspective on this because you, and you

touched on this because you said that a

416

:

musician, especially at the conservatory

level, you are an entrepreneur.

417

:

You have a lot of the

qualities of an entrepreneur.

418

:

You have to be a self starter.

419

:

You're waking yourself up at

five o'clock in the morning and

420

:

practicing, and then you're working

on becoming a good human being.

421

:

And that's just part of it.

422

:

And then let's say you win a

job and then you get tenured and

423

:

this is just my perspective and

I want to get your take on this.

424

:

Five years into it and it's just a job and

you're not an entrepreneur and everything

425

:

that you've done to get to that gig, that

holy grail, which is the orchestra job.

426

:

All of a sudden now you're just

the low man on the totem pole.

427

:

You're not able to exercise or

flex those entrepreneurial muscles.

428

:

Is there any truth to what I've just said?

429

:

I should first say that the orchestra

job I have is, you, is unique in

430

:

that it's, we travel to play there.

431

:

It's almost like a festival orchestra.

432

:

It's not full time.

433

:

We are Most of the people in the group

travel to be there, either drive or fly.

434

:

So it's always exciting when we're there.

435

:

It doesn't feel like, oh

man, here we go again.

436

:

It doesn't feel like that.

437

:

There's not enough concerts.

438

:

And it's also, we're all

traveling to be there.

439

:

It's actually feels like a

little bit of a vacation.

440

:

So I'm a little, I don't have that.

441

:

I've never experienced that myself.

442

:

And I know that is definitely

443

:

something that some orchestral musicians

go through, but the orchestral musicians

444

:

that I know, that are in the big work,

the big top five orchestras, somebody

445

:

like Joe Alessi, I know pretty well.

446

:

And, he's one of the greatest brass

entrepreneurs of all time, works

447

:

his butt off and he's built a brand

and he's, He's got his old online

448

:

school, that's fantastic, and he's

also teaching at Juilliard, and he,

449

:

so he's not typical in that way.

450

:

He's got a ton of soul cities.

451

:

Phil Smith is also that way.

452

:

I could see that could be a trap,

but when it comes down to it, I don't

453

:

personally know anybody that was so

disillusioned by the idea of the job,

454

:

Being so amazing that at that point,

then their life would be easier.

455

:

And then that's that they can stop doing

all the stuff that got them to that point.

456

:

I don't know those people, although

I've heard the stories, so I don't know.

457

:

I'm like, I'm tempted to buy into

that and I'm sure that happens, but

458

:

the ones that I know don't let up the

stuff that got them to that position.

459

:

And I think that's the, not only.

460

:

Obviously, that's how they're getting

to have the success that continues

461

:

beyond just getting the gig, but I

think that's what makes life exciting.

462

:

That's what life's all about.

463

:

There is no arrival, like we were, this is

one of the things, I'll give you a teaser.

464

:

Those that are not going to

listen to the bonus stuff, but

465

:

that's what we were talking about.

466

:

There's no real arrivals in life.

467

:

It's just change that's unraveling.

468

:

I think the big secret is that you can

actually influence the direction that

469

:

it unravels, and you can decide to

or not fight the things that are like

470

:

where gravity is pulling you or not.

471

:

Some people are just like hands

on, they're going to fight to get

472

:

exactly what they want, and others

are the exact opposite, super passive.

473

:

But I think the middle ground is

really the magic, where you could

474

:

like, it's like driving a Mario Kart,

where like you hit you, you could

475

:

drive the race and not hit anything and

not crash, and it'll do really well.

476

:

But if you also See in the distance,

those like little ramps that

477

:

accelerate you for a couple of seconds.

478

:

You can aim for those,

you're allowed to do that.

479

:

It's not worth turning around

going backwards to hit that.

480

:

If you see it coming, just aim for it.

481

:

Slightly adjusted direction hit that

and then those that's what I think the

482

:

people that really seem to be Getting the

most out of life as well as getting the

483

:

traditional success financially career

fame, whatever it is that they like.

484

:

Okay, so you did canadian

brass for 10 years.

485

:

Yeah, let's say it's year seven What

motivates you to keep getting better?

486

:

What keeps it fresh and exciting for you?

487

:

Yeah, that's great.

488

:

So a group like that is The advantage

of, psychologically is that you don't

489

:

ever first of all you're, it's more

obvious that you're an entrepreneur and

490

:

part of that process of making sure that

you still have something to do, and the

491

:

challenge for us, this is probably unique

for a group that's been around a long

492

:

time and it's already pretty successful,

but before I was even born but.

493

:

It's okay we know we can't keep

doing what we've been doing.

494

:

Like you can't just keep

playing the same rap.

495

:

But the audience expects

that's what it is.

496

:

You can't just show up, like you can't

put on Sesame Street and see that the

497

:

entire cast has been replaced and that

the show is a completely different form.

498

:

It would be like that's

not Sesame Street anymore.

499

:

So it has to be incremental.

500

:

It has to be careful, but it also

has to be innovative and exciting.

501

:

Cause that's what made the group

famous in the first place was that

502

:

they were innovative and exciting.

503

:

So that was the type of challenge that.

504

:

I don't know if, again, if

there's an arrival point ah, we

505

:

figured it out, we should do this.

506

:

It was constant experimentation.

507

:

How much is too much new stuff?

508

:

How much is too little?

509

:

And everything was on the table.

510

:

Like we thought maybe we shouldn't do

two hour concerts with a intermission.

511

:

Maybe we should just do a one

hour show, no intermission.

512

:

Maybe we should just do a 45

minute show, like super short.

513

:

We've done that where we did a super short

show and like for us and for the way the

514

:

react, we're used to exciting reactions.

515

:

In 10 years, I don't think we ever

didn't get a standing ovation.

516

:

It's just the show's built for that,

and that 45 minute show was on fire.

517

:

Every single person was blight.

518

:

Alone away included.

519

:

We were like, this is crazy.

520

:

We're used to an excited

audience, but that didn't catch

521

:

on, which was surprising, right?

522

:

You'd think that's something

that's except, but the world

523

:

is not ready for short shows.

524

:

So everything was on the table.

525

:

So there was really, it was

actually harder to just relax

526

:

because you knew, you had to do it.

527

:

And having a fan base that's waiting,

exciting to see what you're going to do

528

:

next, that was a really amazing motivator.

529

:

And they're still there.

530

:

They're still doing it.

531

:

For somebody that doesn't have

that that same situation, maybe

532

:

more likely you're in a group where

you don't have an audience yet.

533

:

And it's the same kind of thing.

534

:

You want to pick good questions

that are intriguing to you.

535

:

What do we have to do to, and

then X you can fill in the blank.

536

:

Some groups want to say, what does it

take for us to be able to play literally

537

:

whatever we want, but still get shows?

538

:

That's a different question than

what does it take for us to be a

539

:

touring ensemble with a hundred shows

a year that pay well, and that's

540

:

like a good income, that's the mic.

541

:

There's going to have

very different answers.

542

:

And so if you're clear on what you

really want about it, then it's

543

:

actually harder to not just obsess

over answering that question.

544

:

If it's a good question.

545

:

So I hope that's a good answer because it

really didn't ever feel let's just relax.

546

:

The other thing is like

the playing aspect of it.

547

:

What made you not want to stop improving?

548

:

And I think that yeah.

549

:

Part of it's lined with an assumption that

after you get really, professional, you're

550

:

you've figured it all out on the trumpet.

551

:

I have certainly not figured

it all out on the trumpet.

552

:

I always felt like I

had a ton of weaknesses.

553

:

And the nice thing about being in a

chamber group, you could design the

554

:

rap and the show, and you're sharing

with a partner, that's awesome.

555

:

Everyone I've played with in

that group is a total star.

556

:

You work with each other's strengths.

557

:

Everyone has weaknesses and you

work with each other's strengths

558

:

so that you sound amazing.

559

:

That, that's the point you want

everyone in the group to sound amazing.

560

:

It's harder in an orchestra.

561

:

You can't hide as much, although the rep's

not as hard, so you can still hide any

562

:

weaknesses you might have, but you don't

really have as much choice in how you

563

:

play it, what you play, stuff like that.

564

:

So I.

565

:

I still feel like I'm, hacking away

at things that I'm not good at.

566

:

I'm comfortable doing those

things that I'm weak at on stage,

567

:

but I'm not excited about it.

568

:

I'm excited about doing the

stuff that I sound great on.

569

:

I know it'll go great even if I don't

practice, but then there's other stuff

570

:

that I'm like, if I haven't been working

on that, this is not going to be exciting.

571

:

It'll probably be okay.

572

:

But so that's the other motivator.

573

:

What are you?

574

:

What is that fear?

575

:

I don't know.

576

:

It's just obsession, the Canadian brass.

577

:

And we're just, I.

578

:

I guess we're just talking about the

Canadian brass a lot in this interview,

579

:

but I know that they have, you guys

didn't tour as much as probably your

580

:

predecessors, I think the eighties

and the nineties when I got to

581

:

know them, they were just crazy.

582

:

I think probably 300 days a year they

were on the road, but you still had

583

:

periods of time you would have little

pockets of the year where you were.

584

:

Really busy.

585

:

And I was just wondering what are some

of the things that you did to keep your

586

:

motivation level But also your health

because obviously traveling a lot is

587

:

takes its toll on your health what

were some of the things that you did

588

:

to just stay alert stay alive and Able

to perform at a peak level night in and

589

:

night out Yeah, that's a good question.

590

:

It was pretty regular.

591

:

We probably had 75 like concerts and then

maybe more events that were sprinkled out.

592

:

So it was pretty much the whole

time, maybe the summers we had

593

:

off, but we usually recorded.

594

:

So it didn't feel so much like

chunks, but so part of it was

595

:

just, we had so many concerts.

596

:

It was just, yeah, you're right.

597

:

In the heyday, it was

maybe a lot more than that.

598

:

But the other thing was that

they were also doing the original

599

:

members that were there for that

were like, yeah, that was too much.

600

:

Like we were trying to build a career.

601

:

Yeah.

602

:

I think 100 was the number, some would

say 65, some would say 100 was like the

603

:

magic number, so it was a good number.

604

:

So in that sense, it wasn't that hard

to stay in shape, because we were

605

:

just playing hard music all the time.

606

:

But yeah, when we were touring,

obviously the show, to me, at least

607

:

for me, some players were different.

608

:

I didn't like to, I couldn't practice the

day of the show, I would just be shot.

609

:

But so the type of things that I learned

was how to practice without ever playing

610

:

a piece, learning by ear, learning by

singing working on musicianship skills.

611

:

These are not new things, but maybe

it's encouraging to hear somebody

612

:

that's been doing this professional.

613

:

I remember hearing Dave Taylor that.

614

:

He's a soloist was telling us that he had

a recital and somebody had written a new

615

:

piece for him and he and his career was

always crazy and I always admired it when

616

:

I was an undergrad having him as a brass

quintet coach and he'd say oh yeah I got a

617

:

brass quintet in France tomorrow but then

next week I got one in Italy and then on

618

:

Thursday I've got a I'm playing with an

orchestra, in the Philadelphia orchestra,

619

:

then we're going on tour to Japan.

620

:

And it was like, man,

what the hell is this guy?

621

:

He's got a trio in France,

got a quintet in Spain.

622

:

It's go jumping all over the place.

623

:

And he learned a piece, learned

a brand new world premier

624

:

commission on the flight.

625

:

to the concert for a recital.

626

:

So I was like, okay, that's, that's

maybe too much, it's possible.

627

:

So that type of work was really

essential and you really couldn't

628

:

practice that much before a concert.

629

:

But in terms of non trumpet stuff, I've

always found meditation to be hugely

630

:

important and i've not been like super on

top of it necessarily all the time, but

631

:

when I was performing a lot it was in a

very Definitely part of my daily life.

632

:

Physical fitness at one point, I obsessed.

633

:

I got into triathlons that I can't

afford that amount of time commitment

634

:

now with kids, but I really liked

it and I missed some of that.

635

:

And then for my mind, I always

liked to be learning a new skill.

636

:

And especially something that I didn't

feel was that came naturally to me.

637

:

And for a long time, that was Japanese.

638

:

I loved Japanese.

639

:

I don't know why, honestly.

640

:

Since I was really young, I

didn't even know what Japan was.

641

:

I wanted to learn it.

642

:

And then I finally started studying it.

643

:

And I went to Japan.

644

:

My wife is, she's actually genetically

Korean, but her parents are from Japan.

645

:

So she's culturally Japanese.

646

:

She's American, but.

647

:

So she speaks Japanese.

648

:

Beca being useful, but I remember

reading an article that this is a

649

:

long way around the answer here, but

there was an article that I read that

650

:

was very compelling that was called,

Why you shouldn't learn Japanese.

651

:

And he goes on to explain how it is

an amazing language and it's worth

652

:

it if you really love it, but when

it comes down to it, out of all the

653

:

languages that are exists for an

English speaker that's native English,

654

:

it takes the longest to learn.

655

:

They've got many alphabets, you've got

to learn all these Chinese characters,

656

:

reading it's nearly impossible.

657

:

It's all this stuff and basically once

you're done, the only thing you can

658

:

do is use it in one small country.

659

:

And it's damn it, you're right, that's

a huge amount of time you're not getting

660

:

back if you don't really want to do it.

661

:

And so from there, I realized,

what is a universal language?

662

:

Because everyone says music

is, but it really isn't.

663

:

You got to learn, if you've never heard,

the Beijing opera, you're going to be

664

:

shocked, it's not the same aesthetics.

665

:

It takes some understanding to

be able to appreciate it deeply.

666

:

So I realized that language

was probably most likely math.

667

:

And, if there was an alien civilization

that, if they had anything similar to

668

:

human expression, math would be the one.

669

:

So I, so that was something I spent

a lot of time on the road doing was,

670

:

using Khan Academy, I started taking

calculus and, physics classes because I

671

:

was horrible at those things in school.

672

:

And I also just didn't really care about

it then, but now I'm fascinated by it.

673

:

And the fact that.

674

:

Math is able to literally explain

everything, to me, is, and this is

675

:

coming from a novice, maybe that's not

really true, but on the surface level,

676

:

it's basically, some physicists, even

for argument's sake, even believe that

677

:

it's possible that math is, it's not

just a description of nature, but it is

678

:

the fundamental nature, and maybe, Maybe

that isn't the case, but the fact that's

679

:

even a contender is fascinating to me.

680

:

It's certainly not English, or any other

language that humans have invented.

681

:

Math is a language that we discovered.

682

:

That's pretty cool.

683

:

That was the three things.

684

:

So physical fitness, singing, rhythm

exercise meditation, and math.

685

:

So you have used algebra

since high school.

686

:

I actually took algebra.

687

:

I never took calculus outside

of just studying it on my own.

688

:

So that was like, it was a mental leap.

689

:

And what's cool, remember that movie

Arrival, when these aliens come, and

690

:

the whole idea, so this is aliens

visit Earth, totally peacefully, but

691

:

no one knows what's going to happen, of

course, the first thing they want to do

692

:

is nuke it, because they won't leave.

693

:

Finally, they send, it's so cute, they

send a theoretical physicist, and an

694

:

interpreter, those are the two people

from society they decide to send in to

695

:

talk to these aliens, and they discover

that they have a way of language,

696

:

that actually, once they are able to

share that way of communicating, With

697

:

the human race, like all languages,

it changes the way you think.

698

:

By learning a new language,

it changes the way you think.

699

:

So humans are able to change the way they

think and then become a peaceful world.

700

:

It's a bit of a stretch, but I

definitely noticed that anyone that

701

:

studied another language, you have,

it changes the way you think, right?

702

:

The whole language changes the

way you look at the whole world.

703

:

So that, for me, that's worth it.

704

:

Living here in Vietnam, the Vietnamese.

705

:

Language is extremely difficult.

706

:

And you mentioned Japanese.

707

:

It was very difficult.

708

:

Vietnamese is just, I haven't

really dove headlong into trying to

709

:

learn it, but people who have tried

to learn it, they'll say, if you

710

:

get one, just the slightest tone.

711

:

Incorrect.

712

:

They can't understand you.

713

:

If someone's from Vietnam going

to the United States and they're

714

:

trying to learn English, you can

get what they're trying to say.

715

:

And you can you can get

what they're saying.

716

:

But if you just miss the slightest

tone, they'll just look at you like

717

:

a calf looking at a brand new gate.

718

:

They don't know what to do.

719

:

I've always wanted to go to Vietnam, and

one of my heroes is, I'm gonna pronounce

720

:

this wrong, but Thich Nhat Hanh, who

I've been reading a ton of recently.

721

:

What's his name?

722

:

Thich Nhat Hanh, he's like a,

he's this Zen monk from Vietnam.

723

:

He got a Nobel Peace Prize, I think he

was nominated by Martin Luther King.

724

:

I should look him up.

725

:

Oh my goodness, I am shocked

you don't know who he is!

726

:

Nah, I'm only kidding.

727

:

No, but he is, he's amazing.

728

:

He's got like 150 books

or something crazy.

729

:

Tell me the name one more time.

730

:

Thich Nhat Hanh.

731

:

Yeah, I'm gonna, I'm gonna type it out.

732

:

I'll spell it out.

733

:

T Oh, chat's disabled.

734

:

T yeah.

735

:

T H I C H.

736

:

Yeah.

737

:

N A H T.

738

:

Or maybe an N H A T.

739

:

Yeah.

740

:

And then H A N H.

741

:

H If I got that I don't know,

I should get something spelled.

742

:

A H N H?

743

:

The last name, the last

so it's three words.

744

:

Let's call my executive secretary.

745

:

Basmati, how do you pronounce that?

746

:

Tik nyat an.

747

:

Yeah, the first word means teacher.

748

:

Okay, so it's Nhat An.

749

:

That's interesting because I'm

working with a, I'm working

750

:

with a pianist here in Vietnam.

751

:

He's a really good pianist.

752

:

And that's his name, Nhat An.

753

:

Oh, really?

754

:

Yeah.

755

:

And not Nhat An means

something weird, too.

756

:

Not something weird, but something funny.

757

:

When you, does she know what it means?

758

:

No, she's Iranian.

759

:

No, I don't know what it means.

760

:

Okay.

761

:

Anyway, our pianist friend.

762

:

Who i'm collaborating

with that's his name.

763

:

He's a very good pianist Yeah I'm, I

mean in vietnam, you're either chung

764

:

chan Anyway thank you executive secretary

basmati for you for your contributions to

765

:

our interview Yes, and by the way, I don't

know if this changes the pronunciation.

766

:

It's h a n H A N H.

767

:

I think you may have just written H A N H.

768

:

Oh, that's H A N H.

769

:

H A N.

770

:

H A N.

771

:

H A N.

772

:

Not H A N.

773

:

Not H A N.

774

:

Not H A N.

775

:

It's it's written H A N H, but it's

actually pronounced as H A N G.

776

:

If I were to say that in a

Vietnamese restaurant, they

777

:

would bring me a cheeseburger.

778

:

So all right, Chris, we are

sadly running short on time.

779

:

Chris is sounds like he's got.

780

:

His fourth Red Bull.

781

:

What are you talking about?

782

:

Sadly, I'm so happy this ended 11

o'clock in the morning over there.

783

:

And it's 10 p.

784

:

m.

785

:

over here and I'm fading.

786

:

And so sadly, we're out of time.

787

:

But Chris, I have this is like

the this is this whole interview

788

:

has been the fireworks show.

789

:

And this question is the grand finale.

790

:

Are you ready?

791

:

Yes.

792

:

I want you to imagine and

close your eyes if you want to.

793

:

But I want you to imagine with all

of your experience thus far, that

794

:

You have a complete blank slate.

795

:

You have a blank check and you

can start any group that you want.

796

:

It can be any instruments.

797

:

It can be any number of musicians.

798

:

It can be students.

799

:

It can be professionals, whatever.

800

:

What does this group look like?

801

:

What are they playing?

802

:

Where are they playing?

803

:

Who are they playing for?

804

:

The where is easy.

805

:

Definitely outer space.

806

:

I like space.

807

:

Let's see who I think Jeff Bezos.

808

:

I'm just proud of him because I'm

sure he's excited that he's going to

809

:

get to fulfill his life long dream.

810

:

It's nice to see, good for him, but I

don't know if he'd be the guy I chose.

811

:

I'm not sure.

812

:

I think that it's always hard to answer.

813

:

Any question that's contruly open

ended, but I would say that I would

814

:

prefer it to be a really random,

like really bizarre mixture, not

815

:

typical mixture of instruments.

816

:

Definitely some strings.

817

:

What kind of strings?

818

:

Eastern?

819

:

Western?

820

:

I do love, I was gonna say probably sitar.

821

:

Also the Iranian setar.

822

:

I love Iranian classical music.

823

:

So yeah, why not?

824

:

But that's, I think the

direction I would probably go.

825

:

I also love Western string instruments.

826

:

I love violins.

827

:

The instrument I started on it, I love it.

828

:

And something like that, and

I don't have exact things.

829

:

And then, the musicians would be

hopefully people that are, cool with that.

830

:

That's it.

831

:

All right.

832

:

Can you tell us your

website one more time?

833

:

So the one that is most useful

is my blog, trumpetchrisblog.

834

:

com.

835

:

Okay.

836

:

That's where I post stuff,

advice for musicians.

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