C'est La Vie

Hey fellow musicians, help me out and watch part of my Copland Concerto video??

Hey guys! I am a finalist for an Alberta music scholarship through the Alberta Music Education Foundation, and they also have a “People’s Choice” category for their finalists.

It’s just kind of extra on top of the scholarship decision, but I wouldn’t mind the votes!
You can click the link, and I submitted an excerpt from the Copland Concerto, which you could watch if you wanted! :D

Thanks, Guys!

# clarinet

# music

Clarinet Concertos with Wind Ensemble

Hey guys! Any suggestions of clarinet concertos that have wind ensemble accompaniment?
I need one for the fall :)
Thanks!

# clarinet

# concerto

# woodwind

I really miss playing flute.

Ohler vs Boehm Clarinets

Clarinet players!
What do you guys know about Boehm clarinet being played in Germany/Austria?
I have this idea in my head that it was controversial and if you wanted to study or work in Germany you had to play on Ohler system clarinets? Is this still true or is that a thing of the past?
Or do you guys know anything about them (other than like the specifics of the key system/mouthpiece stuff).

Sorting through audition recordings..

I’ve picked a Stravinsky which I’m SUPER pleased with, and I actually got two GREAT recordings of. I also picked a Mozart which I’m so happy with how it turned out, it’s not dazzling, but that piece brought way too many tears to even be okay.

I’ve listened to Brahms and Mendelssohn all through, and now I have to choose between 4 recordings of the Brahms and 6 of the Mendelssohn. The Brahms wasn’t perfect and I’m super picky about that one, but I think in reality whichever I pick will be a strong performance.
And Mendelssohn..I actually got a few decent ones. I could fool someone into thinking I was decent at that excerpt, but man. I’m so terrible.

Then using my Debussy from last year. omg who am I. But whatever, I sound super fly.

I can’t believe David Shifrin is actually going to like. Hear me play, indirectly. That’s fucking ridiculous.

Hey guys!
I’ve been doing a lot of recording of stuff lately, and I thought I’d share one with you!
It’s the exposition of the Brahms Clarinet Sonata in F Minor, op. 120

I’m working on this for a chamber project with a lovely pianist, and needed to record this for an audition.
Any feedback is SUPER appreciated! :)

Holy man. Let’s just take a second..

So I just finished competing in my second concerto competition this fall! :)
Hopefully it ends up as well as the first one! :) I feel good about my performance. I’d say a touch underprepared, but I played quite well still and I feel like my performance had a lot of character despite it maybe not being as clean as I’d have liked.

Now that I can put Weber aside for at least a month I was just thinking about what I need to change my focus on to now. I am an IDIOT and this year is SO PACKED WITH REPERTOIRE THAT I’M GOING TO DIE.

So this September to April I will have learned:

Copland’s Clarinet Concerto
Weber’s Clarinet Concerto No. 2
Mozart’s Clarinet Concerto (Exposition of each movement)
Saint-Saens’ Clarinet Sonata
Brahms Clarinet Sonatas No. 1 and No. 2
Brahms Trio in A minor
Stravinsky’s Three Pieces for Clarinet (Second Piece)

Excerpts:
Mendelssohn’s Sommernachtstraum
Beethoven Symphony 6
Brahms Symphony 3
Shostakovich Symphony 9
Bartok Miraculous Mandarin
Mahler Symphony 9 (Bassclarinet)
Copland El Salon Mexico (Eb Clarinet)
Ravel’s Bolero (Eb Clarinet)

As well as all of the repertoire for the University Wind Ensemble and Orchestra (omg L’apres midi, Brahms 1, Nielson Flute Concerto, Mozart Grand Mass..etc..) and for Wind Quintet.

I’m literally dying. So stupid. Never planning for this much repertoire ever again.

I wish I could smile when I play.

But..there is something in my mouth.
A clarinet.
Rude.

You all have no idea how much this is me practicing the Copland Concerto.

Literally.

Hello fellow musicians! I would REALLY REALLY appreciate if you took some time to listen to this track.

I’m preparing Copland’s Clarinet Concerto for a competition at the beginning of September. I have about five weeks left to finish preparing this piece and I could really use some feedback, seeing as my teacher has been out of the country all summer and I’ve only had one lesson on this piece.

I probably shouldn’t have recorded the whole thing at the end of my third hour of practicing..there were a few problems with my embouchure getting weak in a few places, (namely the cadenza..whooops). But I’d appreciate criticism/compliments so I know what I’m doing well and what I’m not.
Also, there was a bit of water in my Bb side key, so you’ll probably hear me trying to fix that a few times, sorry about that!

Again, I would really appreciate it! :D Any questions are also welcome! :D

My Mendelssohn Scherzo actually sounds like a machine gun today.

As opposed to a water pistol like it normally sounds.

# clarinet

# orchestra

# woodwind

Hey guys, I feel like I’ve been lacking on the posting of anything musical lately!
So here is recording my quintet did back in May of Poulenc’s Sextet for Winds and Piano.
This is the third and final movement (the first is on my tumblr somewhere.)

Enjoy!
I’d love responses and feedback! :)

When my teacher tells me to practice at least four hours a day.

This is a weird question..

But do any good music schools/conservatories in the States give a lot of funding to undergrads? ..like..international transfer student undergrads..?
That is such a huge stretch, but just curious.