Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman

Kelly Thoma is a Greek musician who plays the Cretan lyra player and this episode has beautiful music and a wide-ranging conversation including Kelly’s personal story of becoming a musician after training as a dancer, Cretan culture, the influence of Ross Daly and the Labyrinth Musical Workshop which he founded in 1982. Kelly speaks so eloquently about her love of music and collaboration; I really appreciate this opportunity to have in-depth conversations with my musical guests; please use the timestamps if you want to jump to any topics or music, but I hope you’ll take the time to listen to the whole episode on your favourite podcast player or the video on my YouTube. Show notes and transcript linked here as well: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/kelly-thoma Please support this series! I really do need my listensers' help and every dollar is appreciated: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:12) Crete, the lyra, Ross Daly (12:13) lyra duo Kelly with Ross “Anamkhara” (18:49) how Kelly discovered the music of Ross Daly and changed her life (33:24) learning and teaching music (43:34)cellist Mayu Shviro (44:43) duo with Mayu Shviro “Kontylies” (51:04) Mayu Shviro (53:29) “Flutter” Kelly Thoma quartet  from the album Anamkhara. Mayu Shviro, Paavlos Spyropoulos, Kirill Osherov (57:28) TOKSO quartet (01:01:18) TOKSO compilation video clip (01:06:24) different bowed instruments I’ve featured on this series (01:07:52) Cretan culture, history, food, language (01:18:28) tours to Australia, Linsey Pollak, Tunji Beier, Philip Griffin  (01:28:52) the pandemic, teaching online (01:33:27) the importance of performing and why Kelly stopped studying dance  (01:40:42) the importance of performing for music students (01:45:41) Labyrinth Musical Workshop opportunites to study in Crete --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/leah-roseman/message

It’s hard to sum up how important Verna Gillis has been for music lovers. First of all, she is an ethnomusicologist who  recorded traditional music  around the world including in Kashmir, Afghanistan, Iran, Haiti, the Dominican Republic, Peru, Surinam, Ghana, and the United States. This episode will bring you along on some of these journeys.  25 of these recordings are available through Smithsonian Folkways and Lyrichord, and I’m very grateful to Smithsonian Folkways for allowing us to use some of these tracks for this specific episode. The albums that this music comes from are linked here in the show notes, where you'll find the video version, transcript, and photo gallery from Verna's career: ⁠https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/verna-gillis⁠ In 1979 Verna  opened Soundscape, the first multi-cultural performance space in New York City, which put on hundreds of performances over 5 years. You’ll also hear Verna reminisce about her work on career development with phenomenal international musicians including Youssou N’dour from Senegal, Salif Keita from Mali, and Carlinhos Brown from Brazil. As a producer, Verna was twice nominated for a GRAMMY award for two of the albums  she produced with Roswell Rudd. She’s also a writer and spoken word performer. We’ve  included in this episode one of her recent spoken word videos with British musician Jennifer Maidman. There’s so much more in this episode, and I hope a wide audience will be inspired by Verna Gillis’ reflections on her remarkable life in music.   --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/leah-roseman/message

I’m joined by my colleague in Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra, violinist Frédéric Moisan. Originally from the Breton town of Saint-Brieuc in France, he immigrated to Finland and then Canada. In this wide-ranging conversation we talked about wind-surfing,family, languages, different cultures’ approaches to education, the challenges of playing the violin, the original version of the Sibelius violin concerto (which was the subject of Fred’s Doctoral Dissertation), life balance, and fly fishing. We talked about the differences between being a freelancer to being an orchestra member; Fred has great advice for colleagues and students preparing auditions, and you can find these various topics in the timestamps. Like all my episodes, this is available as both a video on my YouTube, and a podcast wherever you listen to podcasts; the transcript is also linked on my website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/frdric-moisan Finally, do check out the link to my Ko-fi page in the description, since I really need my listeners’ support to keep this project going!  https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (02:12) growing up in Brittany, studies in France, the Conservatoire system (09:52) moving to Finland (20:45) violin studies with Anne-Marie De Boisgisson, windsurfing, education systems (29:07) please help me keep this series going: Ko-fi support page linked! (29:35) Anne-Marie De Boisgisson (30:26) different education systems Finland, France, Canada (37:20) Fred’s parents, grandparents, the loss of his mother (48:05) reflections on parenting and balancing life, bringing up multi-lingual children (54:25) differences between freelancing and having an orchestra job (01:00:31) orchestra auditions (01:05:06) violin practice routines (01:09:00) Sibelius violin concerto original version (01:14:50) performing as a soloist with orchestra (01:17:02) goals and aspirations for music students (01:24:24) Breton language and culture (01:27:33) fly-fishing and the benefit of hobbies --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/leah-roseman/message

 Daniel Ramjattan is a phenomenal classical guitarist and this episode features some of his performances as well as many valuable insights in his work as a performance coach and educator,  and from his reflections on the significant challenges he has overcome in his life and career. Like all my episodes, this is available on your favourite podcast player, a video on YouTube, and the transcript, all linked to my website https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/daniel-ramjattan I’m an independent podcaster and I need my listeners’ help to keep this series going.  ⁠https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman⁠ I really value this long-form conversations that allow for depth, and you can use the detailed timestamps if you prefer to jump to any topics or musical selection. https://www.danielramjattan.com/ Timestamps:  (00:00) Intro (02:05) big personal and financial challenges  (07:44) Trinidad Tobago culture and family (11:46) Segovia (14:56) intro to Catharsis by Raphael Weinroth-Browne (16:37) “Ire” from Catharis by Raphael Weinroth-Browne from Daniel’s album “Inspirations” (16:40)I need my listeners’ help:  Please offer me a tip on Ko-fi!  (21:53) Segovia, Flamenco (23:43)John Williams (24:29) Julian Bream, intro to Leo Brouwer Sonata (28:00) Toccata de Pasquini, Leo Brouwer Sonata  (33:04) Performance Anxiety, Madeline Bruser, Gerald Klickstein (35:14) financial barriers “Life doesn’t have to be this hard”, studies with Bruce Holtzman, Lorenzo Micheli, Patrick Roux (45:46) Busking, connecting with different audiences (53:30) intro to Naoko Tsujita’s piece (56:17) Naoko Tsujita Gamelan Suite, Second Movement from Daniel’s album “Inspirations” (59:02) the Carillon, Naoko Tsujita (01:03:00) Performance Anxiety, beta blockers, exposure treatment (01:11:48) Improvisation to help with anxiety (01:16:45) controlling performance contexts, mindset, Performance Anxiety (01:19:56) Buddhism, martial arts, controlling emotions (01:29:03) teaching performance anxiety skills (01:40:07) final reflections on life and gratitude mindset --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/leah-roseman/message

Elizabeth Pallett is a wonderful British lute player.  Her love of Renaissance music and history is infectious and she has generously provided this episode with several of her beautifully produced YouTube videos; her channel Luteweb is linked below, as well as her duo Amarylli with soprano Hannah Grove. We talk about the history of the evolution of plucked instruments in Europe, and many fascinating historical figures including Dowland and Shakespeare. Liz  plays various lutes and plucked instruments and teaches at the Birmingham Conservatoire as well as  online with students worldwide. Like all my episodes, you can listen to this on your favourite podcast player, watch the YouTube on my channel, and read the transcript; everything is linked on my website https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/elizabeth-pallett I have also included detailed timestamps below.  I really do need my listners' help to keep this going! Please take a look at my Ko-fi page: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Below are the links for Elizabeth Pallett, her website and YouTube channels: https://luteweb.com/ https://www.youtube.com/@luteweb https://www.youtube.com/@amarylli1745 https://twitter.com/luteweb Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:57) Her musical education, growing up on a farm (00:04:16) Julian Bream’s influence (00:05:52) introduction to the lute (00:09:17) Fantasia by Francesco Da Milano Libro Terzo 1562 (00:11:14) evolution of the lute from the oud (00:18:49) Calata Ala Spagnola by Joan Ambrosio Dalza  (00:21:48) the gittern (00:25:27) please help me keep this series going by supporting me through my Ko-fi page! (00:25:52) Tastar de corde, improvisatory music (00:28:01) historical context of the music, Aurelio Brandolini (00:33:58) the gittern and the origins of the guitar (00:36:35) lute tablature manuscripts, Capirola lute book (00:39:05) Ricercar Terzo by Vincenzo Capirola  (00:43:55) baroque guitar (00:46:18) Jácaras by Gaspar Sanz on baroque guitar (00:46:28) why Liz cuts her nails (00:54:54) teaching lute online and Luteweb videos (00:58:46) lute repertoire, Bach lautenwerck, why the lute fell out of favour (01:03:44) women lute players and composers (01:06:12) teaching online and sharing the love of the past and the lute (01:08:21) Recercar probably by Marco Dall’Aquila (01:10:23) teaching at the Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (01:12:43) the joy of playing figured bass (01:15:32) Amarylli, soprano Hannah Grove, creative programming (01:18:32) “Weep Ye No More Fountains” by John Dowland with Hannah Grove (01:21:08) controversy around Edward de Vere being the author of the writer who had the pen name Shakespeare (01:28:11) John Dowland (01:38:55)  Eward de Vere, Marco Dall’Aquila (01:40:34) finding time to practice, balancing family life (01:42:01) bringing undiscovered music to light --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/leah-roseman/message

Netflix’s hit series "Dead to Me" (which I love), the Academy Award nominated short My Year of Dicks, and many other projects including You’re the Worst and Brockmire. In this wide-ranging conversation punctuated by music used with permission, we talked about many things including Adam’s many musical influences growing up in New York City, his work for the Fred Rogers Institute and his reflections as a parent. He has wonderful advice for composers interested into breaking into the film industry and shared some of his creative process with us. Adam is a warm and engaging musician with a real love for music across many genres; he shares how he pivoted from working as a performer to composing full-time, and we explored many of his diverse projects. Like all my episodes, this is available as a podcast on your favourite podcast player, a video on YouTube, and the transcript; everything is linked to my website: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/adam-blau I have included detailed timestamps if you want to jump to the music or any specific topics. Please help me keep this series going! You can give me a virtual tip or consider becoming a monthly supporter starting at $3 Canadian and get access to unique perks: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Adam Blau website: https://www.adamblau.com/ Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:56) “Dead to Me”, Liz Feldman (08:14) intro to piano suite clip (08:59) clip of piano suite of themes from Adam’s “Dead to Me” score (10:48) Adam’s childhood musical influences (13:24) Center for the Performing Arts on Long Island (15:16) collaborations Rachel Axler, Jordana Williams, Liz Feldman (17:13) Village Harmony Rebecca Russell (19:49) NYC musical influences, Larry Holdridge (22:47) Yale (26:08) jazz piano (28:44) assisstant to Chris Beck, John Swihart and getting started as a film composer (34:09) Rarified Air podcast, music production libraries (41:30) writing music for podcasts (44:51) “My Year of Dicks” animated short, Pamela Ribon (48:17) intro to sound design montage clip, creative process (52:31) sound design montage clip (55:57) the 24 Hour Musical Theater Challenge, Rachel Axler (01:01:32) Fred Rogers Institute Everyday Grooves, Everbody Counts 2020 census (01:09:17) song “Tell Me What You Love About Me” from Fred Rogers Institute Everyday Grooves (used with permission for this specific podcast) (01:11:14) Adam as a singer and player, “You’re the Worst” (01:14:00) parenting and music education (01:16:51) mentoring composers, advice for the film industry photo of Adam Blau: Ari Scott --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/leah-roseman/message

Gertrude Létourneau, known to some as Trudy, is a flutist, pianist, singer and a therapeutic musician. During this episode, she tells many moving stories of the residents she has worked with in her many years working at Pearly Health. During the episode she frequently breaks into song and plays a variety of flutes as well as paints a vivid picture of the fulfilling role she plays working with veterans. We also spoke about her mentors Peter Wiegold, Jeffrey Gilbert, and Marie-Claire Séguin. This was an episode very much about going out your comfort zone, connecting with your audience, and learning to slow down and enjoy every day. Video and Transcript link: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/gertrude-trudy-letourneau Gertrude's website: https://gertrudeletourneau.com/ photo credit: Dave Poulin Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (03:02) how Gertrude got into this work as a therapeutic musician at Perley Health, Performance and Communication Skills at Guildhall with Peter Wiegold (08:12) making music with the residents, sing-along culture, Kohai Educational Center working kids with learning disabilities (12:20) learning the repertoire, playing by ear, choosing themes, different aspects of the work at Perley Health (16:01) difference between Music Therapist and Therapeutic Musician (17:44) story about Lili Marlene and World War II veteran (20:55) PTSD story (25:56) J’attendrai ton retour with story (28:53) developing as a singer, coaching with Marie-Claire Séguin, finalist in Ma première Place des Arts competition (34:05) Audience engagement, talking to the audience and building bridges (38:52) Jeffrey Gilbert (41:58) childhood music and decision to pursue the flute (46:35) dealing with grief and loss (52:54) planning repertoire around themes (55:36) coping with the COVID Pandemic in long-term care, online concerts with Concerts in Care and the Music Performance Trust Fund (01:01:03) living in the moment, Québecois culture and La Bolduc, a musician’s last gig (01:06:50) lessons learned (01:16:33) Let Me Call You Sweetheart, creative challenges and going out of your comfort zone --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leah-roseman/message

Adam Hurt is an acclaimed clawhammer banjo player and one of my favourite performers in any style and I was absolutely delighted that he agreed not only to speak to me at length about his life and teaching of traditional music, but also perform for this episode some of my favourite music. His albums of gourd banjo music “Earth Tones” and “Back to the Earth” are beloved by a wide range of listeners, I think partly because the sound colour of the instrument is much more mellow than other banjos. You’ll hear him play and talk about the fascinating history of both his gourd banjo and one of his favourite antique instruments. He’s also a fine old-time fiddler, and although he grew up with classical musician parents, his father a violinist with the Minnesota orchestra, Adam’s life-changing musical moment was with a wonderful and dedicated school teacher.  The video version of this episode along with the transcript: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/adam-hurt Buy me a coffee? https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Adam Hurt website: https://www.adamhurt.com/ If you enjoyed this episode you may be interested in some of my episodes with other traditional musicians, including Janie Rothfield and Alexis Chartrand. I continue to feature many players of plucked instruments with some nice surprises coming your way in Season 3. If you subscribe to my newsletter through my website https://www.leahroseman.com/contact, you’ll get exclusive sneak peeks for upcoming episodes. Timestamps (00:00:00) Cold open and intro (00:02:17) antique Dobson banjo, restoration by Will Seeders Mosheim (00:07:43) intro to “Fortune” played on the Dobson banjo (00:11:06) Adam’s early music education, difficulty reading music (00:15:26) Don Payden first Old-Time teacher, learning by ear, mandolin with Brian Wicklund, clawhammer with Marianne Kovatch (00:27:58) tone production on the banjo (00:35:39) Ricky Skaggs collaboration on album Back to the Earth (00:39:11) gourd banjo, performance of “Josie-O” (00:45:05) history of this David Hyatt gourd banjo and the recording of Eartht Tones album (00:50:04) African origins of the banjo, racist history (00:53:47) tablature, Walt Koken story, Adam’s teaching (00:59:21) Clifftop (01:04:53) Adam’s father, learning fiddle (01:09:22) open A tuning, performance of Patty on the Pike on fiddle (01:14:17) dancing and old-time, Adam’s experience of learning flatfoot syle (01:16:42) album Fine Times at our House (01:18:32) why we love Bandcamp (01:22:20) the hawk story (01:28:51) Adam’s teaching strategies (01:36:53) intro to performance of Snowdrop on the antique Dobson banjo --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leah-roseman/message

Ineke Vando orn is a wonderfully expressive prizewinning jazz vocalist, author, composer and educator. We talked about overcoming voice problems, the craft of writing lyrics, teaching vocal improvisation, her book “Singing from the Inside Out”, and many of her fascinating creative collaborations.During the recording of this episode Ineke performed 3 times, and also check out the timestamps below for the many topics we covered. The link for both the video and the transcript is here: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/ineke-vandoorn Be sure to check out my episode with Ineke’s partner guitarist Marc Van Vugt. Ineke's website: https://www.inekevandoorn.com/ photo: Jiri Büller Timestamps (00:00) Cold open and Intro (01:34) early days with Marc van Vugt (03:29) voice problems (05:57) process for writing book “Singing From the Inside Out” (14:33) song “Holysloot” by Ineke Vandoorn (19:57) singing workshops (21:00) project with Cecilia Moisio “I Can See Myself Through Your Eyes” (29:00) criticism and performance anxiety (35:04) song “Tea”by Marc van Vugt with lyrics by Ineke Vandoorn (41:02) use of DigiTech400 Vocal pedal (42:50) Paris, Van Doesburg house residency, challenges of self-promotion as an independant jazz artist (45:35) coaching students about different practical skills (48:51) teaching improvisation (50:30) the importance and lack of government support for music (52:09) pitch memory, singing a cappella, Voice Lab group (54:54) family music, early years (56:15) coming into her own as a singer, support of Don Thompson, going to Banff (59:17) mentoring younger women (01:00:39) writing lyrics in English and Dutch (01:10:01) Flora Purim, gaining confidence as a performer (01:12:36) “Alice in Space” opera with Ingmar Heytze and Marc van Vugt (01:14:39) free improv vocal solo (01:19:39) collaboraing with recorder player Saskia Coolen (01:22:34) reflections on turning 60 (01:24:18) project with Jasper van ’t Hof (01:27:29) album “Crossing Canada” (01:28:28) balancing time between teaching at ArtEZ, performing and creating (01:30:58) plans for a new book about vocal improvisation --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leah-roseman/message

Ali Omar El-Farouk is an Egyptian and Canadian oud guitar player, composer and teacher. Ali plays his oud and three other instruments during this fascinating conversation in which we talked about learning from a place of joy, connecting across cultures through music, languages, architecture, Istanbul, Spain, Umm Kulthum, Nubian music, jazz, and lots more. The link for the video version and transcript: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/ali-omar-el-farouk Support this series through my Ko-fi page! https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman photo: Joshua Hansen Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:50) Ali’s background in architectural engineering, coming to Montreal to study jazz (00:02:57) early music lessons piano and guitar (00:07:55) about the oud, with improvisation (00:16:50) Ali’s time in Spain studying flamenco and introduction to “Nostalgia Esperanzadora” (00:29:31) Ali’s composition “Nostalgia Esperanzadora” for oud and flamenco guitar (00:38:21) vibrato and different expressive techniques on the oud, about the risha and different types of plectrums (00:46:28) Arab architecture, Alhambra, traveling in Southern Spain (00:52:20) learning Spanish, Turkish and communicating through music (00:55:29) bringing musicians to Egypt, Mike de Masi, Thomas Durant, Freddy Rizk, Hamza El Din, Nubian music (01:02:47) Umm Kulthum (01:09:13) Ali’s musicial influences, learning Arabic music, Anouar Brahem, Simon Shaheen (01:14:55) 2011 pro-democracy protests in Cairo (01:21:07) different Arabic dialects, Arabic community in Montreal (01:24:25) Turkey, trip to Istanbul (01:29:45) album Ela Mataa, Joseph Khoury (01:36:12) demonstration of frame drum and history of the frame drum (01:41:08) Montreal jazz scene (01:44:48) teaching (01:47:21) Joseph Tawadros, Cengiz Sarikus (01:49:26) intro to Naima by John Coltrane on electric guitar (01:53:38) Ali’s advice about practicing and learning music --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leah-roseman/message

Multi-instrumentalist Colleen Allen is a versatile and expressive performer based in Toronto, Canada. In this conversation, we talked about her perspectives on evaluating priorities, rising to new challenges, collaboration, teaching improvisation, and the physical challenges of playing so many different instruments. Colleen’s candid warmth and love of music really shine through in this wide-ranging conversation. Please help me keep this podcast going: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman  Video and Transcript: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/colleen-allen photo: Jean-François Gratton  clip of Manteca playing "Mind Monday" used with permission, writer/composer Doug Wilde and Matt Zimbel album available: https://mantecamusic.bandcamp.com/album/monday-night-at-the-mensa-disco  Timestamps: (00:00) Intro (01:34) women in jazz, role models and mentors (11:38) Gloucester high school (13:26) the challenges of learning music (17:18) teaching improvisation (22:07) Women’s Blues Revue, Toronto Blues Society (25:38) learning different instruments, ergonomics and keeping fit (31:19) alto sax “If I Were a Bell” by Miles Davis (34:02) playing in big bands, playing different instruments in Manteca (35:40) clip of band Manteca playing “Mind Monday” writer/composer Doug Wilde and Matt Zimbel (37:19) Accordion, working with actors, different ways of memorizing music (44:07) stage fright, dealing with nerves, challenge state, breathwork (47:52) writing arrangements, Toronto Sax Quartet, Molly Johnson (53:19) life on tour (54:43) Jazz scene in Toronto (56:09) Cirque du Soleil Pomp Duck and Circumstance (01:01:02) solo albums Flashlight and Colleen Allen, Marc Jordan, process of recording (01:06:49) evolution of vibrato in jazz (01:08:33) pandemic, livestreams, Syncspace, Adrian Cho (01:12:40) stopping teaching, assessing priorities (01:15:33) jazz flute demo, Moe Koffman, Manteca Offspring project, Jake Koffman (01:18:50) Oliver Schroer (01:21:44) Soulpepper theatre, learning leadership (01:23:49) student days, how things are evolving in a positive way, the life of a musician --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leah-roseman/message

I was honoured to speak with the inspiring singer, composer, choir leader, pianist and cultural activist Polina Shepherd. In this episode you’ll hear Polina’s stories from growing up in Tartarstan, in the former Soviet Union, finding a bridge to her Jewish identity through Klezmer music, collaborating with her mentors, founding Yiddish and Russian choirs in the U.K., and many other creative projects. During the episode she sings songs from different traditions, including one of her compositions, and is such a warm and engaging speaker I trust a wide audience will find inspiration and food for thought in her perspectives on education, mentorship, creativity, health, identity, connection and collaboration. The link for both the podcast and video is linked with the full transcript: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/polina-shepherd  Her website https://www.polinashepherd.co.uk/ If you are specifically interested in Klezmer music, you may be interested in previous episodes with Alicia Svigals, Josh “Socalled” Dolgin, and Marilyn Lerner. Please encourage me to keep this series going. Unique perks available! https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman photo credit: Shendl Copitman Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:27) connecting through music, COVID, Sing With Me workshops (00:05:14) Polina’s childhood, family music-making (00:07:16) intro to Russian Romance by Lermontov and Shashina (00:10:14) Polina’s musical training and voice (00:12:16) Tomsk, Kazan, growing up in Tartarstan, Jewish community, perestroika (00:16:27) Yiddish song, Polina sings “A Frisher Vind” Dovid Hofshsteyn poetry (00:21:31) secular Yiddish culture, song cycle with poems of Troim Katz Handler (00:24:11) falling in love with Merlin Shepherd, experience of immigration to the UK (00:28:17) first trip to US, Lorin Sklamberg, Adrienne Cooper, Zalmen Mlotek (00:31:07) 150 Voices with Lorin Sklamberg, part in “The Crown” (00:35:09) The Caravan Orchestra and Choir, teaching improvisation, working with youth (00:40:39) Tartarstan cultural influences (00:42:40) Polina’s advice for musicians, collaboration (00:48:13) memorisation, playing by ear (00:49:15) advice for health for singers and everyone else (00:52:48) accompanying silent films (00:57:43) collaboration with dance, community outreach (00:59:22) Polina’s way of manifesting projects, starting her choirs, Jackie Fuller (01:04:12) working with community choirs (01:06:55) learning from Adrienne Cooper, Zalmen Mlotek, Lorin Sklamberg, Frank London, Merlin Shepherd, Psoy Korolenko (01:13:37) Niggun Koyach (01:16:14) Polina’s reflections and advice --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leah-roseman/message

This is a special bonus Catch-Up episode with singer-songwriter Megan Jerome. Today is also the release of my conversation with her husband, the jazz drummer Mike Essoudry. In this short episode, you’ll hear how Megan fell in love with Mike, as well as about the creation of her new album “Love” with the Together Ensemble including two songs from the album, “Hot Pink Heart”, and “Isn’t Life Grand”. She also talked about some valuable mentorship that helped her secure funding for the album. Megan’s original episode as well as this catch-up bonus are linked together with the video and podcast versions, and the transcripts: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/megan-jerome-e10-s2 Mike Essoudry, podcast, video and transcript: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/mike-essoudry-drummer Support this podcast and get access to unique perks! https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman photo: JC Batista Timestamps (00:00) Intro (01:34) how Megan and Mike Essoudry fell in love (03:56) “Isn’t Life Grand” Megan Jerome and the Together Ensemble (08:37) Megan’s new album “Love”, release plan, funding Canada Council and City of Ottawa (14:30) Vel Omazic and Canada Music Incubators (17:34) “Hot Pink Heart” Megan Jerome and the Together Ensemble --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leah-roseman/message

This episode features the fantastic drummer Mike Essoudry, who is a busy performer and composer in Ottawa, Canada,  playing with many projects in the funk, jazz, and improvised music scene. He’s in the  funk group Gephilte with a previous guest of this series,  Josh “Socalled” Dolgin, and in the Together Ensemble with his partner Megan Jerome. Today also marks the release of my bonus catch-up episode with Megan, in which she shares how she and Mike fell in love as well as her new album and great advice about an important aspect of the music business as an independant artist. Her episodes are linked here: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/megan-jerome-e10-s2This episode was unique in that Mike was sitting at his drumset  during the entire episode and we talked in detail about the history of the drumset and evolution of different styles of drumming. Mike demonstrated lots of intricate grooves and finished the episode with a cool little solo. He also shared stories from his childhood and talked about how in his youth he built his drums and an intricate treehouse in a park. Transcript and Video: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/mike-essoudry-drummer  Mike's website: https://mikeessoudrymusic.com/home Support this podcast with a tip, or consider becoming a monthly supporter with access to perks: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman photo: JC Batista Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:02:12) drum set history with demonstrations: bass drum, ride cymbal, Zildjian, Ludwig, Beatles, speed-metal (00:12:51) tom-toms with demonstration (00:16:54) brushes, cajon sticks, mallets (00:20:26) the importance of drummers learning harmony and melody (00:23:30) counting, knowing the tune (00:27:03) Latin grooves (00:32:32) drum solos, not losing the count, the advantage of having someone play with your solo (00:36:09) poly-rhythms and groupings (00:42:39) Mike’s book of beats and teaching, playing by ear and reading (00:46:22) Foley artists, history of radio, silent movies, sound effects (00:49:14) hand percussion, playing without shoes (00:51:27) Mike’s childhood, rock drumming, blues (00:55:31) drum pads substitute for drums (00:57:45) marching bands, New Orleans, different traditions from around the world, Balkan music (01:03:48) Mike’s parents, hand percussion on the drum set (demonstration) (01:11:44) Mike’s father’s immigration story from Moroccon Jewish community, how his parents met (01:17:37) carpentry skills, classic Lego, treehouse story, building his drum set (01:23:53) visual and intuitive learning style (01:26:24) Atlantis Jazz Ensemble, Alouette Space Agency (01:31:24) solo drum project, balancing earning money with carpentry and writing and playing music (01:34:39) how Mike practices and the importance of keeping your ears in shape, pushing boundaries like immitating machine beats --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leah-roseman/message

Renée Yoxon is a trans non-binary singer, songwriter, jazz musician, and trans voice teacher. In this episode, Renee shares some beautiful and inspiring performances from their albums, as well as stories from life as a disabled person and how their disability and chronic pain has guided the direction of their career. We talk about their musical development, and their experiences both bad and good as they navigated their musical education (after finishing a degree in physics!). Renée explains the kind of work they do with trans vocal exploration and we dive into all kinds of topics in the usual tangential style of this series. The transcript and video are linked here: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/rene-yoxon Please consider supporting this series and get access to some cool and unique perks: https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman Renée Yoxon website: https://www.reneeyoxon.com/ photo: Laurence Philomène podcast theme music: Nick Kold Timestamps: (00:00:00) Intro (00:01:21) Renée’s physics degree, start in school band, Jazz Works camp (00:04:19) free improv group, intergenerational friendships (00:06:38) intro to “Willow Weep for Me” by Ann Ronell (00:08:53) “Willow Weep for Me” with René Gely (00:13:57) piano, ukulele (00:15:26) “Beautiful Alchemy”, film with Teagan Lance and album (00:17:14) “Terrible Alchemy” (00:23:19) Blossom Dearie (00:23:52) worldless improv (00:24:37) studies in New York, living as a disabled person, vocal technique (00:29:33) singing in rock band “Gorgeous George”, care of the voice and endurance training (00:32:20) trans voice aleration, TikTok success, pitch lowering, taking risks and learning to be silly (00:40:14) gender presentation and gender identity (00:42:35) ways we can alter the voice (00:45:09) different languages in terms of vocal alteration, vocal fry and gendered cutural coding for vocal characteristics (00:47:52) TikTok (00:49:22) teaching Trans Voice Alteration to other teachers (00:51:45) the importance of teaching business skills to musicians, University of Limerick, Edel Meade (00:55:58) Banff, McGill, growing up in Ottawa, the importance of mentors, Mark Ferguson, René Gely (01:00:29) social anxiety, speaking in public with a different voice or new language (01:02:38) different people who take Renée’s courses on voice alteration (01:03:18) songwriting, Aoife McAtamney Pink Breath (01:04:27) “Drinking Coffee” (01:08:58) songs “The Bad Years” about their chronic illness (01:10:27) Kazaa music sharing, learning jazz repertoire (01:12:53) Renée’s perspective on the music industry as a disabled person, and experiences at McGill university with lack of accessibility (01:17:46) Mx non-binary honorific, the importance of pronouns (01:20:32) disability rights, more about their McGill experience (01:22:45) Montreal --- Send in a voice message: https://anchor.fm/leah-roseman/message