KIPP JOHNSON: Blog Survey
In the three weeks left at EMF, what are you looking forward to the most?
I'm looking forward to the mock audition that the horn faculty are running. This is separate from the EMF mock audition, but the feedback and experience should be invaluable. Of course I also look forward to all the performance oppurtunities and individual instruction as well. In the near future, I will play 1st horn on the tchaikovsky piano concerto, so that's really exciting.
Who is your favorite staff/faculty member so far?
I'm thrilled to be studying with Thomas Jöstlein, he's a fantastic person with tremendous music insight. All the horn faculty are great and I hope to get more time learning from all of them. The conductors, José-Luis Novo and Scott Sandmeier are both terrific musicians as well, and I've learned a lot from them both in rehearsals and around the meal table.
Which, of the concerts you've attended, have you most enjoyed?
The chamber music recital with Thomas playing the mozart horn quintet has been my favorite so far. I didn't get to go to the Joshua Bell and Rosenkavlier EPO concert, but the dress rehearsal was awesome.
What is your favorite (non-music) way to pass the time between rehearsals?
Basketball and hanging out with the horn section. We've had some great discussions about all sorts of non-musical subjects, especially comparing things like food and accents from various parts of the country.
Name one new person you have met at EMF this year and what you like about them.
I met Adam Weber, a horn student at Boston University. We've had some great conversations becuause we are both upperclassmen at our respective universities and are confronted with many similar difficulties in playing the horn. He's also a great horn player and a lot of fun to collaborate with.
What section do you think your conductor spends the most time with?
They balance it out really well and are good at involving multiple sections at the same time. Much of the rehearsal time is spent trying to allow the musicians to hear what the other sections are doing, so its rare that one section is singled out, usually sections rehearse in groups of two or three. That being said, there is a general emphasis on the section leaders, so the solo and principal woodwinds and strings get most of the comments, then pass them along to their sections.
How is your private teacher here different from your teacher at home?
There are many differences, but the main distinction is in the teaching approach. At home, my teacher used a very disciplined approach with regulated practice times and techniques that focus on overcoming the technical challenges of the instrument. Here, Thomas is having me focus on the musical ideas I'm trying to convey rather than the physical processes required to play the horn. Its a difference in state-of-mind, and really attacking the issues of playing the instrument in two different ways. I feel fortunate to experiance both approaches because I believe there is much to be gained from both views, and a balance between them is required to be successful and musical.
What are your plans for tomorrow?
Tomorrow (saturday) I will go to the EPO dress rehearsal to hear brahms 3 and rachmoninoff piano concerto 2 since I don't have tickets to the concert. I have rehearsal for the EFO tomorrow afternoon, then I'll try to go to the concert in the evening if I can. The rest of the day will be spent practicing for my lesson monday and working on the mock audition repertoire.
I'm looking forward to the mock audition that the horn faculty are running. This is separate from the EMF mock audition, but the feedback and experience should be invaluable. Of course I also look forward to all the performance oppurtunities and individual instruction as well. In the near future, I will play 1st horn on the tchaikovsky piano concerto, so that's really exciting.
Who is your favorite staff/faculty member so far?
I'm thrilled to be studying with Thomas Jöstlein, he's a fantastic person with tremendous music insight. All the horn faculty are great and I hope to get more time learning from all of them. The conductors, José-Luis Novo and Scott Sandmeier are both terrific musicians as well, and I've learned a lot from them both in rehearsals and around the meal table.
Which, of the concerts you've attended, have you most enjoyed?
The chamber music recital with Thomas playing the mozart horn quintet has been my favorite so far. I didn't get to go to the Joshua Bell and Rosenkavlier EPO concert, but the dress rehearsal was awesome.
What is your favorite (non-music) way to pass the time between rehearsals?
Basketball and hanging out with the horn section. We've had some great discussions about all sorts of non-musical subjects, especially comparing things like food and accents from various parts of the country.
Name one new person you have met at EMF this year and what you like about them.
I met Adam Weber, a horn student at Boston University. We've had some great conversations becuause we are both upperclassmen at our respective universities and are confronted with many similar difficulties in playing the horn. He's also a great horn player and a lot of fun to collaborate with.
What section do you think your conductor spends the most time with?
They balance it out really well and are good at involving multiple sections at the same time. Much of the rehearsal time is spent trying to allow the musicians to hear what the other sections are doing, so its rare that one section is singled out, usually sections rehearse in groups of two or three. That being said, there is a general emphasis on the section leaders, so the solo and principal woodwinds and strings get most of the comments, then pass them along to their sections.
How is your private teacher here different from your teacher at home?
There are many differences, but the main distinction is in the teaching approach. At home, my teacher used a very disciplined approach with regulated practice times and techniques that focus on overcoming the technical challenges of the instrument. Here, Thomas is having me focus on the musical ideas I'm trying to convey rather than the physical processes required to play the horn. Its a difference in state-of-mind, and really attacking the issues of playing the instrument in two different ways. I feel fortunate to experiance both approaches because I believe there is much to be gained from both views, and a balance between them is required to be successful and musical.
What are your plans for tomorrow?
Tomorrow (saturday) I will go to the EPO dress rehearsal to hear brahms 3 and rachmoninoff piano concerto 2 since I don't have tickets to the concert. I have rehearsal for the EFO tomorrow afternoon, then I'll try to go to the concert in the evening if I can. The rest of the day will be spent practicing for my lesson monday and working on the mock audition repertoire.
posted by Eastern Music Festival Blog at
8:32 AM
