Viewing: Conductors - View all posts

October 28, 2022 This episode is about two years overdue!  It is a tribute to my late undergrad percussion professor, Joseph Goebel (11/8/39-10/26/20) who passed away on October 26, 2020.  He was truly, one-of-a-kind!  This episode features me and my memories of The Chief.  It begins with the first time that I met him, at my undergrad percussion audition.  Through a series of vignettes I attempt to paint the picture of studying with and observing Joe.  I talk about his studio, what was meaningful to him…

May 29, 2022 I'm very happy to welcome my good friend, drummer, author, educator and historian, Daniel Glass back to the podcast!  Today we do a deep-dive into his brand new burnin' album, The Daniel Glass Trio: BAM!

For more about Daniel, the trio, the album, etc.. please visit him at https://danielglass.com/

March 25, 2022  This short edition of Backstage at The Enharmonic features a recorded phone conversation that I had with the legendary big band drummer, Harold Jones.  He was helping me prepare for a university-level master class.  We dicusss: learning brushes, warming-up, plastic brushes, preparing to play new material with a big band, and more!

[This phone conversation was placed on February 7, 2020, exactly one month before the world shut-down.  Just something to keep in mind as we are referencing his…

Friday, June 18, 2021 My next guest is certified super-star, Dame Evelyn Glennie!  I've been following and admiring her career for 20+ years now.  Through video conferencing technology I was able to chat with Evelyn based in London, from my home studio in Philadelphia. In today's segment, Dame Evelyn discusses her earliest music lessons in school, learning percussion with none of the traditional method books, the most important lessons that she learned from her two most influential teachers (Ron Forbes and…

February 3, 2020 At long last I had a chance to chat with Susie Benchasil Seiter!  We've been trying to schedule this interview since late 2018 and I'm thrilled that it finally worked out.  The scheduling difficulties can be attributed to the fact that Susie is one of the hardest working musicians in show biz!  She's a conductor, orchestrator and mom of two beautiful baby boys. I had the opportunity to work with Susie a few times during the Evanescence/Lindsey Stirling world tour in 2018, and I've been a…

October 17, 2016 Live from the Chicagoland area I had a chance to chat with Rich Daniels, saxophonist, conductor and composer.  Rich is the founder and leader of The City Lights Orchestra, and is the conductor for the Jerry Garcia Symphonic Celebration tours, which is where I first met Rich two years ago, working as a percussionist in the east coast leg of the tour.   In this edition of Backstage at The Enharmonic Rich talks about the lasting influence of orchestral LP's that he listened to as a child, his…

September 6, 2016: If you've ever played in a middle school or high school jazz band or have seen the movies The Majestic, National Treasure, Remember the Titans, Armageddon, Star Trek: Nemesis, The Incredibles, Snakes on a Plane, Race to Witch Mountain, Con Air, Attack of the Killer Tomatoes or have watched Animaniacs, Pinky and the Brain, or Tom and Jerry on TV then you've heard my guest Gordon Goodwin's music!

This interview is fun, action packed and has some unexpected twists and turns, just like…

July 5, 2016:  My next guest and I have known each other for nearly a quarter century, the internationally acclaimed conductor Donald Nally. Having performed in many of his choirs while an undergraduate student at West Chester University in the mid 90’s, and playing and arranging percussion for him outside of the academic setting, my musical life has been incredibly enriched. 

In this episode we learn about Donald’s love-affair with the saxophone, the effect that great (and not-so-great) teachers had on his…

June 20, 2016 This episode of Backstage at The Enharmonic features the multifaceted Jeffrey R. Smith.  We learn about Jeff's early days at home in New Jersey taking piano lessons, singing with the Philadelphia Boys Choir, his years on Broadway right after college and even a little bit about his short lived trombone playing days in high school.

An alumnus of Philadelphia Boys Choir & Chorale, Smith stepped into the position of Music Director in 2004 and has since led the choir on concert tours throughout…