Andrew Bain, principal horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic, talks to Sarah Willis live in Berlin about sports, students and Star Wars. With wonderful surprise guests, this is a Horn Hangout not to be missed!
Transcript
Auto-generated from the live stream, expect the occasional robot mishearing.
[Music] Oh hi everybody hi out there I know so many people watching all over the world welcome to the horn hangout that’s fantastic you’re here and I am so happy and proud to introduce you to my special guest today oh no not him my special guest a new vein welcome andrew is the first with us today Sara said they hope something it was expected to keep his head out of the shot for the beginning so what do you think of our strong trooper he’s cool he they look a bit different than you one since you yeah since you’ve been on
Star Wars the store troops stormtroopers that look a little bit different yeah a lot cooler before but you know what I’m just what do you think you guys I think maybe we’ll just put them on the side cause it’s a little bit scary we don’t want to scare anybody at home there we go you know okay how many big fella yeah that’s right and keep him here good would we like to read like too surprising were you surprised to see him
I was very surprised you should have seen him arriving at the Philemon II Andrew and I have been having rehearsal this morning with Sir Simon and I was sneakily secretly checking my phone to see when the storm trooper was arriving because he wouldn’t fit in my car so a friend of mine told me I had to go and pick him up and send a selfie them squashed up oh my god and then we boarded in the backstage of the
Philemon either the backstage porters are like anyway you want to get out of what the same sit in your car though that I think about about putting on the top the rent that that might have been a bit dangerous yeah anyway welcome thank you very much finally this I think our third attempt we got there eventually we got first time you didn’t first time
I was all second time Jasper on or you could that’s why I just was sick times he got second you couldn’t counter and you mammalian jet-lagged like hell little bit little bit you’re right last night last night we’re supposed to be if afternoon but it became quickly last night flight from hell yeah it wasn’t great no names but yeah we’re here so that’s good we’re here and that’s good and thank you for joining us now we have people all over the place
Peters koala he’s actually called Pete this koala I think the core I like it was a present from Peter Peter laughs who’s watching oh yeah could I please get I think can I Pete are you watching you’re always like the friend of mine and so yes and Eddie says I shouldn’t use my phone during rehearsal and I never do today other than exception because the
Stormtrooper was on the way so Luis is watching from Mel I saw I saw good evening to you all so many people my goodness and Nicole wanted to know what the intro music is can someone write that for these people people that have heard you in Colorado and Mike from Boulder played in your local Colorado music so not my luck and you’ve done so much you know when
I I just I I know you well like I thought I did but when I got to looking you up yesterday afternoon it came in so many orchestras I really yes you have you been all over the place I mean you’ve been first one of here we better start at the beginning though something isn’t it because we’re going to get onto all the whole nerdy stuff and
Star Wars because a lot of people want to know about that but you’ve started the horn and this is really interesting because you started the horn after you were you would started to sing yeah I added as a little kid growing up in Adelaide I used to play a lot of cricket and Australian football in the recess and lunch breaks and
I was by nature quite competitive and that led to a lot of yelling for some reason and I developed nodules on my vocal cords and I was probably eight or nine from all about yelling or a lot of yelling yeah so my parents decided to take me to doctor and the doctor said you need to fix this you know you’ve got like six months to get these nodules sorted out otherwise we’re going to have to operate and of course the idea of yet operating on your vocal cords is not so great even for a little kid so my parents took me to a a singing
Teacher and she taught me to sing out not shout and again a little rule for kindergarten yeah I think I’ll do sure yeah so so I learnt singing and learnt how to take my voice and and use the techniques that are involved in seeing and that progressed I was studying piano at the same time as well and that was sort of the beginning of my musical journey but
I’m very very very grateful to mrs. K for her wonderful teaching and I learned a lot at that time so when you start at the horn how did all this help all this singing out not shouting your principal horn you have to shout well yeah but is the the interesting thing I think it helped she helped me a lot with with understanding how to breathe even even at that age how to breathe and how to support and then and just to understand that that the air is the same as singing as we’re horn the air is a thing that that supports the sound and to
Actually go past this area and not rely on your vocal chords to sing and it’s the same with horn playing if you can you can get the air into the horn without sort of blocking it up and restricting it here but it also leads to it - my favorite story that are displayed everyone knows how to listen to me get to hear the famous
Sara Willis Puss in Boots story and so like this one here we go because it was it’s obvious so it locks itself in a goose I think we can ask him now he does not go to Saul we better try and find another name mate ok so we I I went to a masterclass of yours in Melbourne where you’re working with
Julia Brooke on low register stuff and and we you trying to get techniques to the hood it to open up a throat and one of these things was ah ah and it’s great and every time I teach this in a lesson the reaction is always the same what the hell were you talking about but Vicky was doing she was playing
I remembered you yeah she was she was playing like that yeah so I was just trying to free up this which you probably did naturally having had the singing lessons yeah I think I think you’re on yes somebody who didn’t know how the best way is getting into me yeah oh yeah hello and it’s terrific but but we so we went through this master closet and later that evening we were back at
Saul’s house and Saul had just bought a straight new 3d TV and the movie that he has the plasticine evening at was one quartet plasticine being that’s the cue for an amazing photo Jakob so we went back to sources a lovely dinner and a little bit of wine maybe maybe maybe and we put on the one movie that he had in 3d which was
Puss in Boots and the opening scene of that of course is the cat comes out and he says I bought in balls and it was exactly the same sound that you had to get Julia to make so now I actually have in my studio at colburn I have a poster of Puss in Boots and half of the people who come and think that
I’m advertising a film that I played on but I never play the next Cup and others know this story and so then we go through the story and it makes so much difference between terrific okay everybody at home try this now hold in whoa yeah does it work it does get out beautifully open your food is what you think so there we go that’s
Andrew babe tip of the day well the first tip of the day and the end of course my tip of the day is stolen from someone else so that’s what that’s what I didn’t think it was amazing we were all sitting on that couch and all of a sudden put some boots come out said that we were like that’s a good that is it so
I hope you saw the plasticine photo that plasticine it was a very nice evening of Jenna Breen with was with us and she she decides she made an who first she made you with her own hair and then she made me I look like the most jolly ugly thing ever and she made Saul and then she made herself so that was a very nice hotel and
I actually have that photo in my horn case because they’re amazing a really lovely evening so and so you took up the horn age hang on and twelve cool twelve and loved it straightaway decide you give your horn player but you would actually done a lot of sport how did you and you grew up with a mum who was a competitive sports woman yeah my mum played basketball for
Australia and all across and we I have three brothers and we all grew up playing a whole variety of sports and you can imagine in the backyard at home it was a lot of competition and the general carry on that that four boys do in there and all under the age of about twelve but yeah but it a lot earlier a lot of similarities
I find between sporting having a sporting background and music the discipline is the same of me if you wanna be a successful sports person you’ve got to get a practice and you’ve got to take lessons and you sort of apply information and feedback to the Center for music and how did you think I mean this is skipping quite a few years now
B when did you get your first job I was 24 I think waiting for this one thing I’ve always been amazed we’ve played a lot together and I’m always just amazed at your focus you you have you you go you go and then you’re there and that’s something you see the top sports people doing is that something you’ve learned a lot you learn while doing all these sports at home and being with it you know your mum was a competitive sports woman so she’d obviously she’d learned all that already or is it something you learned along the way it’s a bit of both
I think I think yeah it’s interesting I think that’s something I’ve got better at I have done a lot of work and I also did a lot of reading on on you know focusing and dealing with nerves and all these sorts of things and we’ve done a lot of work with John Green on his stuff John Green if any of you are wondering
John Green is a fantastic he was a sports therapist and he’s now only doing musicians nice or though he still sports yes because rings what he has from the sports people to the musicians of the media I’m mighty mi6 he’s crazy but he yeah I mean Don had several medal winners in the last Olympic section that he worked directly with and you know he’s applied he’s approached and from sport into music which is terrific but
I think it’s it’s something that it’s the same as playing a horn or or doing anything at a high level you’ve got to take a lot of information and filter out what’s not useful for you and what is useful and put that into into your plan so I’ve sort of worked out from what works for me and
I understand I understand how my brain works and I’m not actually the most focused person all the time I can focus when I need to but when I when I don’t absolutely need to I can be really unfocused as you’ve seen in today you weren’t unfocused you were just jet lag yeah well a little bit of it but it’s um it’s something that
I feel lovely it’ll uh says Andrews focus is second to none here here oh please Oh checks in the mail checks in the mail piece yes I got it but yeah it’s something that it’s it’s important to experiment with and it’s important to develop as you go it’s one of those areas I think that that goes with as you improve as a horn player these areas will improve but if you don’t work on them then you can be a great horn player in the practice room but in the concert so when you’re under pressure in the audition it doesn’t follow through and
I think there’s several people who actually many people who have this problem idiot that is so much work on the physical side of horn playing and then they get into an audition and they wonder why they can’t produce that again there’s there’s a huge side of what we do that’s mental that you you need to practice and you need to develop as much as the physical you’re the professor at the colburn school music in
Los Angeles how do you work on that with your students that’s a good question or do we need a whole nother hangout just for that well probably we could it it’s something that we talk about a lot often in in our studio classes and I encourage the students to do a lot of reading I think one of the most important things at least in in our studio is that
I encourage the students and that they’re in an environment where they’re really encouraged to get a lot of information from a lot of different sources not just from me I’m sort of the point person that helped them process a lot of the information they’re bringing in but but we’re also very fortunate : we get some wonderful people such as
Sarah willows to come in and give classes checks in the mail we had the well you you this last year you and Stefan were both were both in and as terrific classes and what comes out of those classes is is a lot of questions actually and and you get to tight you get to do all the questions when we’ve left and yeah well
I come in and I say what you know and and so some of it is made sort of helping them to understand and other other other times that it’s just merely a matter of just encourage them to think through the information kim has asked what’s your favorite book by Don green Don Green’s done a fantastic hangout you can see it at the its online we do that at the
IHS which we’ll get onto in a minute but oh and handsome Tim is already or did banks have some Tim and you put a link it actually now but he said what is your favorite Kim and said what is your favorite book if you have favorable yeah the one I find the most useful is performance success yeah and that gives you structure and the nice thing about that is is it it’s written in in segments yeah and you can jump to the segments that are that are relative to you the important thing with with
Don stuff is that you that you do take the performance skills test so you actually find out what you’re strong at and what you’re not at I find it it’s something like you see it’s like it’s like sport at least for me you know you got to do it you don’t always feel like it oh it’s really feel like but you know you’ve got to do it and it’s the same with this mental training stuff
I will want to practice your order to our sort of exactly what you said so I’m really happy you said that it is something you have to have to do and if it’s even a few extra minutes to take Don Greene’s performance test then yeah I went online of our car I want to do all that but you but we need to we need to do things like that find out what’s the best way for you his way is not necessarily best for everyone you know there’s all sorts of fantastic people
Dinka Vlad curvature all sorts of people out there yeah there are a lot of people and I think when I first I hope Tom doesn’t see it when I first read Dom that stuff I was a I was actually living in Germany and I thought okay someone put me onto it I said our case is American you know hyped up thing is like you know you just it’s this mythical thing of mental rehearsal and all this little stuff and
I read it and the further that I read into it I realized that actually with a lot of that with a lot of mental training so it’s there are a lot of skills that you can learn but if you if you find something that works for you then that’s more valuable than whether it’s actually 100% spot-on or not it’s you’ve got a you’ve got a sort of experiment with with what what things can help help you in your performance and that’s our job as teachers if as much stuff as we can out there and so that the students can decide yeah what’s best for you
Your students love you and I’m going to now show we’re going to run a film for you that they’ve made for you these are your students and they they love you ready [Music] you hello Virginia and her how’s it going a big big - Shanghai I just want to say thank you for everything you’ve done and making all my dreams a reality
I don’t miss you so much thanks for a great occasion Oh [Music] good night sander Alex tyre in Chicago right now hope you have a great day we miss you may the force be with [Music] there’s no laughter a big round of applause for the Colburn horn students from all over the world and a thank you to
Amy Basler who put that server who else wonderful Annie we love you thank you so much thanks Annie for putting this together she would do anyone I cannae I didn’t have the time and I said to Annie I need a video and she said I’m on it so messages went out to your students from really and they put that together for you very touching very very touching they love you they say you’re an absolutely amazing teacher and speaking of you and
Annie you two are the dream team Andrew I must say we’ll go down in history as the co-host of what in my opinion and I can probably think you agree or agree with me what the best yhs of all time if I may put be so bold to put it out there it was incredible Los Angeles 2015 it was amazing was the
Hollywood of horn players every corner you went round there was another horn star there you and Annie organized that and we loved it but it must have almost killed you well I mean the person that needs to take all the credit is Annie Annie did I mean it was three years of work and she she organized every detail
I just I had the easy job I get to you know pick who I wanted to come on not happy easy job because we had a dream horn quartet I think we’ve even got some pictures of it now we had you had to play the Schumann concert took and play for us one in the orchestra and play till orange beagle and what was ahead and even when all sorts of other stuff camera goes that’s right all week but we had a wonderful home quartet with
Stefan door yourself Tim Jones and I tagged along the end and what a pretty dress I thought well that no one can hear me that I can at least wear a nice dress but we needed we needed a rose a nice before oh and there’s some great pictures yeah come you got him fantastic ones in there and it was it was the most incredible time really so thank you for me and from
I think everybody watching if any of you were there write in and tell us because it was just incredible okay so well our goal from the beginning was just to make it a spectacular event that anyone who came was going to have a great time and they did I I think we achieve that sir so that was good and
I think the good thing was that even the people who not only the people that are attending but that the artists as well had a good time we live so there’s something for everyone and we got to see a little bit of LA I got to see more of LA than I had in the entire time all the day after finish you have to take me in and really would he’ll sign and hike through the woods you poor thing you’re half dead and we made you take a light thing and some and we walk down
Hollywood that’s the Avenue of the stars we will parcel the Star Wars people in like 45 degrees outside in the rain Chewbacca suits and yeah it’s a crazy place la it is it really is very good so not only your students arm around it from from Colburn you you’ve reached a lot of people who have been gone out into the world and have gotten jobs all over all over the place and
I’m just going to do this now because I don’t want to forget to do it I think we we have second video if I may before we get on to the really nitty-gritty of the photos we have a second video of you and your some of your students and your friends come around the world [Music] hello for inspiring us all the way over here in
Hawaii we hope you come visit us soon I am generating from castle gravity thank you so much for being such an amazing teacher and mentor you are such an inspiration to us as a person and of the whole player you’ve always encouraged us to be the best we can and lead by example with such an amazing work ethic and of course it will always remember the good old times of the semi car and visit the
Paragon hey Andrew g’day from Melbourne we just want to say thank you so much for your time and effort or for the posture previous really looking forward to seeing you when you’re back here and hopefully maybe tuck in a snack on the bar [Music] every greeting from Down Under from your friends we’ve been to the orchestra and the
Melbourne and because of you we are where we are today we’d like to present you with wonderful award [Music] we love he’ll enter award to 2017 and in the field of one he came second all the best boyfriend okay so no way we can top that now here I just had I would been bursting to show you this and
I don’t have to I had to get that out right really so we had Honolulu we had castle and Melbourne your to two students from Melbourne said and then of course peek down from Queensland and saw and fuzz starring Sabah a hot bag in the corner there being yoga so yeah put together by an Ebola it’s incredible what came in we had to divide them up into two because they were just so many haven’t seen anything that funny for a long time well what should begin when the hang out though but
I hope you guys enjoy that and thank you to all of you that sent in searching your things I think we need to get to some questions now we did so do some serious stuff if I have forgotten if I haven’t seen any questions we’ve got a new chat today and they’re going past really quickly so do write them in again and
I think it’s high time that you had to answer some proper questions and lot of me thinking of got you focus off of this girl how she how’s your handicap doesn’t my handicap is my great I actually played a little bit recently and I shot a 69 the other day which to anyone who doesn’t play golf has no idea what they mean
I have an absolute no idea what anything you know what that mean you guys know that is the first time I’ve broken pie event I’m Cindy Williams is watching South Carolina hi Cindy and she I actually saw questions she wanted to know how you how you managed warming with with jet lag whether you stayed she said how do you stay so grounded well we don’t we don’t stay grounded do we we have friends like
Solan in Star Wars costume what about your warmup or like when I’m jet-lagged I think it’s descent my warmup doesn’t really change because it’s based on the philosophy for me that that my whole mechanism is based on on the use of ear so no matter how much tops feel I know that after 10 to 15 minutes they’re going to be back to somewhere near normal so
I just want to set up my mechanism so that it’s the same every day so it’s really simply based on breathing efficiently and relaxed and releasing the air in a in a productive way and and then not worrying about how I feel and not worrying about how it sounds to begin with actually is a really important thing because the first thing when your tops don’t feel good the first thing you want to do is play until they sort of feel okay
I know that’s going to happen eventually I just want to make sure that I don’t set up something that’s not going to be efficient later in the day when I actually really needed what about getting off a plane after hours and hours and hours you have a lot of water yeah I should I should drink some more water but it’s when
I thought things we were supposed to calm down rascai just wants to be teaching you’re supposed to be teaching may I introduce Stefan drop weird your students let me get the door so to speak I’m the come on in welcome welcome run away you’re supposed to be teaching a maze you’re supposed to be having a lesson may
I introduce Anais and stuff on door yeah welcome actually we were working she ran away because you didn’t want to do any more orchestra except with me because I hit her well we’re going to send that guy in to come and look after you yes not Andrew mr. storm too unfair we were just saying can you get any any audio on this you guys because
I might if I stand really close I can also do like oh you should and tell us Stefan wasn’t it amazing at IHS 2015 an absolute vault imagine and is better to speak like this together so sexual harrasment think yeah it was absolutely fantastic and thank you Andres for making this work at this time and I hope we can host an event in
Berlin so you organized I knew you was going to say that I was going to be a helpful hanging right okay you’ve heard it from the horse’s mouth IHS in Berlin and Stefan is organizing right okay we’re off thank you for stopping by oh thank you go go and play some external offices hi Howard it’s crazy here today
Andrew it’s just crazy oh my goodness and yes everyone just hanging out is crazy that’s a cool soul says it really is crazy we are going to now get on to the serious things but it’s lovely that Stefan stop by it doesn’t usually hit his students I’m just have to say it’s the door let me get the door that was very clever by the way did you think of that before you said it it was very yeah oh you guys saw him behind us the whole time
I didn’t see him everyone in the chat saw him running around behind us but I didn’t okay right yes Wellington is said um this is the highlight of my life thank you everyone well there you go right so let me get the door we’re going to give out two questions dave has asked us and who find a challenge to play in the studios with a guy
ER or does he switch to a con or con style horn just before we answer that we explained that you are not only pitiful Horn of the Los Angeles Philharmonic but you are now doing masses of the studio work in LA so a lot of the studio okay your biggest film some of them some films I’m very
I’m really lucky I get to I get to do some really cool projects in the studios and and mix that in with the with the work at the Philharmonic generally the the horns the home that I use in in their studios I use a like on the on the Star Wars films I apply a and in the
Philharmonic a Lucas haunt Lucas guy huh I made by damn verdict in which is a beautiful but it’s the guys in the studios are phenomenal players and phenomenal musicians and it’s a very interesting blend of the eight days we have some eight these we have a few guys style haunting in the in the studio but from what
I can hear it sounds it blends well and works actually everyone has to blend to you so basically I’m lucky like they all have to blend to you Tracy wants to know what it’s like playing at a Dudamel so we’ll jump in and out of all of your various jobs we’ve done the students and we will get onto
Dudamel and tell me what it’s like playing under my father we already quoted and didn’t we it’s creating crazy this case amazing it’s great he’s he’s a I mean firstly he’s a really nice human being and I think what I’ve sort of learned over the years is that the best conductors they’re actually nice people and Gustav is a genuine genuinely nice person and your horn players that agree with you on that one but
I agree yeah yeah I mean I mean he always used to be like battles between the first horns and the conductor O’Dare Clevenger’s and great stories to do my external master oh yeah but I mean he is a phenomenal musician and one of the one of his gifts is is he’s a wonderful communicator on the podium and he can he can explain what he wants to an orchestra and everyone will buy into that image or that direction and it’s a it’s a real rare gift that he has
I think and also when he when he picks up a microphone and he’s talking to the audience you really feel as though he’s having a one-on-one conversation with you even though he’s speaking to sometimes mm sometimes 20,000 people but he it’s it’s a lot of fun and it’s always different yeah he really is good can you shout out to mr. curry my teacher please
Lilia leo hello Mr curry Leo’s teachers right the terror Minsky Horn camp in Poland want to know how do you stay focused when different voices in your head appear during the performance I know just what you mean by that you know the voice that’s saying right pick up your horn put your first mouth down you know the automatic stuff and the other voices that are going oh my god never saw you look as if you would know he was a very little yeah
I have those voices a lot and but I have a name for mine is Bob Bob Bob and I say to Bob when the voices come in to my head cause normally it’s like it’s one of two things it’s normally most of the time it’s genius is going really well it’s a bad time you it’s about to go not so well said
Bob to see ya but Bob bobs okay because what I say to Bob is Bob you can just sit on my shoulder and we’re not going to talk now we have a conversation after the conflict and so Bob sits on my shoulder and I get that thought out of my head and it is now on yeah exactly and then and that enables me to get back to work but it’s an important thing and this is
I learnt this through what Don green talks about yes and it’s something that works for me very well it’s important that you don’t have a backwards and forwards conversation with that voice which can happen and just tell them okay thanks for your input you’re going to sit here and I’ll talk to you later on I’ve got work to do that’s great why
I want it maybe I should use name I don’t if I want to call mine Bob but I don’t know what Bob’s quick to say there’s so many people writing hahaha this is hysterical and I can’t really I can’t find a good question there are masses of good questions just all laughing everyone so that I Dan vidi can is watching desk
I decided hi dad Tracy watched the Hollywood horn hangout video that was that was a good one with them with Jim Thatcher and lesson Brian O’Connor that was I was really happy we got that with another kinda theses book also so well he was fine actually yeah it went so quickly anyway James REM said is there still is there still the
Los Angeles horn club like the group who made the famous angel recording years ago not as such but it is something that after IHS in LA we basically had an evening was sort of like a reviving everyone can work yeah incredibly hired the Los Angeles theater in downtown and had a wonderful evening we had a me at a little great meet-and-greet or a like a meeting at my place party barbecue whatever
II want to call it a few months ago with a bunch of what is what it said say either a snag snag on a barbecue a snag is a sausage shelter yeah so we didn’t try to stay fit barbecues I’m kind of stag on the bone because but yeah it’s definitely something that Annie and I have talked about and it would be great to to revise something like that in law censors there are so many wonderful horn players even an
Ebola cab yeah Cindy asks when doing studio work and are they still at the same time what’s a typical day like I mean do you have to prep for the next crazy day of the hours you have to recover that’s a lot of playing you know you go into the studios and it’s something fun like John Williams yeah it’s the sometimes the scary thing with the studios is he never well you really know what coming with
John Williams we get the music a few days before so you can you can look and and you know see what you’re in for but normally with John stuff it’s going to be heavy going particularly the Star Wars thinks I was just in London and I’ve heard the LSO do an hour for a kid’s concert an hour of the the famous hits you know everything
I was Superman and all of it he read as a lost art and and Tim said Jim Jones it was just that Tim wasn’t playing it was it was the rest of the section it was that they said it was ridiculous thing ever played it was painful Kim said the last time he’d done one he needed like a week to recover
Sarah and we do at the Hollywood Bowl LFL does a John Williams evening every year and it’s like that it is this it I mean it’s fantastic and it’s a lot of fun goes on for it’s hard work but yet the normal studio schedule you’ll turn up to the studio and you may or may not get you might be incredibly difficult it might be really really straightforward and and everything in between we’ve added two sessions last week that
I had no idea what the movie was and went in and looks okay and there are a couple of cues there were two pages of music just sitting in the middle upper register on your face and you just have to find a way of getting around it but it one of the important things I think in it’s part of having a routine of a planned warm-up routine is making sure you walk down yeah and that helps you in your recovery for the next day the other good useful thing to have on hand is
Advil or Advil yeah advil is a man absolutely aspirin that just to keep the swelling at bay next thing you guys do you find that happens a lot that I don’t guess I don’t play enough not other anything else you know a lot but occasionally like if we’re doing I’m doing something huge in the studio’s the danger in the studio’s is you don’t have a choice how to pace it in the in the orchestra you can you can in rehearsal you can you can taste things but when you do when the red lights aren’t they want to take do you have to be there so
And they can often ask for three or four over and over and over and you never know when it’s because I’m sorry my lips hurt yeah and you don’t you can’t say I’m sorry you know we’ve just been sitting around playing nothing for two hours and now you want us to play top bees 45 times it’s just how it works so it’s just handy to sort of have those things drinking plenty of water but
Lou divided building in Medinah versus Paul from North Caiaphas enjoy the interview immensely is there a recording of the shoe man during the Eleazar I don’t think so sadly I’ve been maybe would not a public confession if you live watch a couple of the hangouts from there the theme music we uh I was asking the only thing
I could remember that we played what do you Tracey house what do you like best about studio playing when Alex love is watching hi Alex I only miss that studio playing just I mean when you do something causes and I solar there’s a nice horn section thing just knowing that that’s going to be heard by a lot of people and that it’s going to it’s going to enhance a statement of the year says the guy who played the killers on
Star Wars but that it’s going to enhance it a movie I think it’s one of the great things of that John Williams however he has an incredible ability to enhance what’s going on today picture of you and him on your Facebook page know it I think yes it is but you were when you recorded forward a Wellington horn has a fast head sorry to keep asking about
Star Wars but were you a fan of the movies before playing on the recording I mean yeah yeah I I certainly was i watch them as a kid and and it actually what was one of the John Williams music is one of the reasons I stayed playing horn it was it’s just all this has nothing to gain enough in film is his upper horn and actually making when
I first joined the Philharmonic he’s actually quite good Francis Gustavo and so he was waiting around backstage after rehearsal I ran into him and actually to certain stories I wanted to introduce myself my name’s Andrew on a new horn player here and I just just wanted to let you know that you know what an inspiration that your music has been to me for many years and he was such a gracious gracious man and a lovely man and now it’s thrilling to get the works amazing sorry
I am listening but I have one year here and I have another your eye on the chat mark Bain is just written in hi Andrew which one of your brothers is your favorite what well the one the one that’s listening at the moment which is Mark and have fun because whether she won’t your favorite at the moment like that are arising in and my dear out how many do takes in a soundtrack recording you when you never know right yeah it can it can vary this there are some takes where they’ll do it one take normally it’s normally two just in case something’s not quite
Right but the I mean I can tell you a story about the the final scene from Star Wars Force awakens we recorded that thing quite early in the process and then John actually changed the orchestration underneath the one horn solid and actually what not underneath all those just involves work but leading into that so it can’t later in the process it came back on
I saw it on the stand I was like we have to do this again and John actually call me into the studio and I said energy don’t worry it’s okay we’ve got it we’ve got the horn solo but we just we just fixing the in and out so but we probably recorded the first one maybe half a dozen times and this time for some reason it was just he was just tweaking the different what was going on in the string and
I must have played that’s all about a dozen times every time perfect of course Sarah of course Andrew but yes so you know you never really never really know you never really Leah wants to know how you get into studio playing we just asked or does a go with being principal horn of the early for them on it
I think in that case I think it may have been in fact that I had that job and because you are you are we in town and I know in London it’s a total Club you know they’re the same people to do it every time and and they don’t really nobody likes new people really coming in for that you were the new boy in here and
I think I mean I think I probably jump the queue definitely by the nature the fact that I had the job in the Philharmonic and but it’s it’s a process where I mean there are many really wonderful horn players in LA and you know people go through the process of although work as a freelancer for for sort of demos and sort of smaller stuff and gradually work their way into the
Rebecca does are having a young player break into the West Coast recording fee and I guess that’s a really tough thing yeah I don’t anymore so I can ask you yeah it’s a really good question and I I yeah I mean I I’m not really the best person to ask because I because I sort of jumped jumped in
I think but I think you know being in LA and to get a phone call it says hello will you come and play Star Wars yeah get an email actually yeah yeah get an email and they they say you know these dates and what would you know and you know what it is you’re not you don’t you’re not booked just for a studio but you know you know you put by the composer and then in the title and but when
Star Wars first came out it was under a different name so Virginia was John William while he was John Williams and then it was quite a lot of dates and then I was like what you know this is you and I’d spoken with Tim Jones about the fact that they were recording that Star Wars so I was like well
I wonder what this film is interesting because it seems to be around the same time as the earlier it Star Wars three years yes outrageous you guys stole Larry pinched yeah yeah so you know some some some of the bigger movies will go under a name that’s not that’s not the name of the film but yeah that’s sort of how that works but yeah breaking into the scene
I would just if you’re just being in LA and making contacts with people you know if I come and I can try and break into the scene I don’t think I could play loud enough you guys incredibly play for ages and ages and ages it’s yeah sometimes and then sometimes you sit around for ages and as you notice oh nothing the
Lord of the Rings was apparently one that there was nothing but long notes and that but they didn’t do that they did that in well one were in that London and New Zealand what’s been your I mean Star Wars is the most prominent thing probably but they’re only you are John Williams’s first horn for now what if
I may say so when I when I can make the decisions it oh you want you mean you cancel sometimes on John ways well not on canceling genres but sometimes that this is though that I mean because I’ve a schedule with the Philharmonic sometimes there are dates yeah that will clash okay for us when you’re not fair
I think Dave even plays and Steve Beck now both were really great you know agree they weren’t they of the IHS I don’t think Davis I think Steve was a good question here from Vivian is there any difference mentally between playing in a studio and in the orchestra that isn’t really good yeah it’s a good question yeah um yeah there is actually
I think in in the orchestra I find for me I don’t know it’s like for you I spend the rehearsal period in an orchestra planning my my map of how to mentally get through the piece when I need to focus and when I’m literally laying the coffee break well she you see yeah that’s good because I’m limited in my abilities
I need this is logic planning as I care multitasking of yes whereas in the studios you need to be able to really switch it on switch off and you don’t know when it’s going to be so giving it is two different sorts of of focus the advantage in the studios if something doesn’t go hundred percent right and do it again so not too many times not so many tires because sense yeah what’s expensive and it’s also it becomes very expensive you because you don’t get caught but it’s yeah it is a different thing
I think you can plan the symphonies you can plan your mental ups and down and I think it’s important I’ve learnt from me over time I need the doubt I need to actually build in the down side of the concentration because if I try and concert we might be when you get bars rest but then you won’t count but that’s why you have me because
I’m sitting there next to counter yeah but I’ve learnt to almost learn how to count and switch off at the same time almost that’s clever but yeah but sometimes I will sit there and I’ll count I’ll have 32 bars rest no sing good u-233 and unless there’s something missing but no that’s in rehearsal normally but you never know yeah gosh thanks
Andy you’re so inspiring and that night are Lucar thank you though this really fantastic that you’re all writing in I’ve seen some wonderful teeth also some great friends on the chat as well we’d love to if anybody feel like doing any selfies we would love that we’re going to we’re going to get go back with we’re going to get our stormtrooper back at the end so we’re going to put him in we’re gonna have a selfie session okay me and drew strong trooper and you in front of your computer screen okay can we do that at the end good for love it what do you
See where you’re all we’ve got um we with this tell is motor dieting it’s just really good wonderful we do this what did you ask me when you came in here well it’s a real torture now because we’ve got our you mean you can’t be a talk show if you don’t heal your own month so now yet it you may have one and we can koala bear in honor of your
Australian your Australian roots you seen these yes well which is supposed to be cake but we have gotten a pretty cool there’s a Star Wars napkins I was going to get a whole thing of masks and sword and lightsabers and everything but he was so big I in the end I gave up and we just really did screen out he’s pretty impressive so when
I said it beginning you played in so many different orbiters I mean also the styles of orchestras you know your very first job was in Adelaide Adelaide but then you went to Munich yeah you played in the woods full corps commander which Lauren cornica so you spent time in Munich as well yeah what horn were you playing on then
I was playing on a one a tree under one a tree yeah and and then you went back to Australia yep back to the Opera Sydney and then which is really optimal how long were you there for I was there about 18 months Oh Saul Saul was in the orchestra at that time he says I was here for five minutes okay but it was a little bit longer than that he dismissed you when you know that’s true but then he had you again in them
I dragged him down to milk that’s right yeah that’s right then you went to Melbourne and then you went well I went back to me from Sydney I went back to Brisbane so Adelaide and then I went to Brisbane it was 20 Brisbane and then about then mean ik and then Sydney Brisbane and then Melbourne and then
Ellis ha and not only that there’s all this chamber music stuff you do as well I’m Tom from like figures after you’ve changed anything when you play here in the Berlin fillin I did I play a 103 let’s give it a change before but we don’t want to do any more shame as advertising than we have done already yeah come in
I appreciate that I mean it makes it makes all IV view well it makes it makes it he’s got mean it sounds it sounds great with the section of all the same it sounds terrific and and it is easier for me to adjust to the orchestra because this does sound I mean playing in an American audition in coming here the sound is different the concept of senator will be different
I think one of the advantages of being Australian and ask not really having a tradition of German or American or English style it’s it’s a bit of a mixed pot and who are the biggest influence I mean you had no very obviously but you know when you’re study in Australia and you were like you studied at a time when there wasn’t all this amazing information online that we have today where we can just you know soak up other cultures on
YouTube or wherever corn hangouts so where were you getting all your inspiration from so I studied with a student of Allen man Patrick Breslin and Adelaide he was a wonderful musician and very very nice man Peter love said you were in Brisbane for 10 minutes yep yeah and then I study with Geoff Collinson who was first on the
Opera and Geoff was a student effect MacDonald and I was further study with Hector and studied with real Sambas when I was in in Germany but I think I think the Australian style is is everyone sort of had a little bit information from everywhere and so you learn to be flexible and there’s no sort of really traditional way of of playing which has helped helped me a lot when
I came to Germany and then I was here for two and a half years so I’d sort of understood how the German style worked and how people wanted things to sound and then once I finished there and went back to Australia I was playing in a festival in Colorado for about ten years every summer and playing obviously with
American players so that there’s another sort of input of information so that’s why in my teaching I encouraged the students to get a wide breadth of information and we listened gives students listen to lots of digital concert hall and it’s many different recordings and so so great its flexibility yeah yeah yeah no I I think you offer your students a really great pallet of anything it’s so important today
I mean I can’t say it often enough area for that yeah yeah so we’ve heard that already but you just cannot have enough information these that you know these days of all the different cultures and I’ve noticed the Australians are very good at that probably can do so miles and miles away yeah but you have a really good knowledge of different styles and what’s going on in the world so good on your mind my work good on your might and right well we’ve been going on for almost an hour can you believe that one popular in pop and the
Australians have to go to bed this is one little thing I’d like to show you this we have one tiny little video level I know and when you’re when you’re when you’re here we go we have to get up on the iPhone again when you’re traveling and doing all your stuff the most important thing for you is your family and they wanted to say hello okay well so
Jakob can you show us safe travels say Happy Father’s Day everyone looking forward to seeing you soon right hi Andrew this is Jill from Hobart in Tasmania just sitting here with your new little niece Juliet so sorry can you say hi get out Andrew just wanted to send you a quick message and a hello from everyone here in the main house holding a delayed also wanted to say a proud we are of such a fantastic career you’ve had so far and can’t wait to see what’s in store so just have to say congratulations on your biggest achievement which is being my dodgy
Big Brother hey Andrew Jews from Minnesota the land of 10,000 lakes I was I was a substitute I thought I was known touch that and put all that together we can little extra you have an amazing family but it’s so loving we wanted to do we wanted to surprise you and say oh so much for coming on the horn hangout and there are so many people out there who just love you and you’re just such a gift for our whole world okay well
I’m not not as much a gift as you are Sarah if it wasn’t for you we wouldn’t have all of this stuff to be able to celebrate thank you yeah thank you so much thank you to all of you for watching I think we’re going to get a selfie organized I can see Jorge behind the camera going oh no what am
I going to do so we’re going to get our friend back in here I say thank you very much for watching any messages you have for Andrew write them in the chat he’ll get a copy of the chat thanks for joining in get your selfie cameras ready now okay which one are we looking in this clong okay are we ready so everyone we’re going to smile for you and you’re all standing in front of the screens with your selfie cameras the crazier the better no rude ones oh yeah it’s late at night in
Australia oh never knows Peter I behave yourself yep for baby self ready one two three cheese what a way to finish bye bye nice to see you Andy thank you so much thank you bye guys see you next time have a great summer [Music]
Horn Hangouts are created by Sarah Willis of the Berlin Philharmonic. Brassbanned is a proud long-time collaborator and streaming partner.
