I’m a massive podcast junkie (not surprisingly, considering that I produce my own podcast), listening to shows covering a wide range of topics, usually for several hours each day. I think that this new method of content distribution is so cool, and it always surprises me when I discover how in the dark many people still are about podcasting.

For example, I was recently in a room of music education majors. They were all griping about having to put together a podcast. Of all things! What possible use could this skill have in a future music education career? I can’t help but recall a recent post about this group of 6th graders–maybe they could teach the college students a thing or two about podcasting!

All ranting aside, I love this technology. If you haven’t given podcasting a try yet, then check out one of these below, or give my podcast Contrabass Conversations a listen if you’re looking for a weekly dose of double bass content!

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I’m really excited to get a chance to feature double bassist Anthony Stoops on  the Contrabass Conversations podcast this weekend.  Anthony is professor of double bass and chair of the strings department at the University on Oklahoma, and he also performs as a member of the Bad Boyz of Bass.  Anthony won the International Society of Bassists solo division in 1995, and he is an active composer and arranger.

Anthony also spent his formative years studying with several of the most prominent double bass pedagogues, including Jeff Bradetich, Diana Gannett, and Stuart Sankey.  We had a chance to chat about all three of these teachers along with a variety of other topics, and we will be featuring the first half of this interview along with some recordings of Anthony performing his own compositions and arrangements.

Lear more about Anthony at www.anthonystoops.com, and check out this weekend’s episode here or at the Contrabass Conversations website.  Better yet, you can subscribe to the podcast (and no, you don’t have to own an iPod to listen to a podcast!) and get these episodes downloaded automatically for free.

Photo credit: Jules Irish

Drew McManus, the perceptive mind behind the great orchestra management blog Adaptistration and chief architect for the Inside the Arts blog network, recently appeared on WNYC’s Soundcheck alongside Norman Lebrecht, author of Who Killed Classical Music? and other such analytical works on the classical music world. Both McManus and Lebrecht offered their perspective on the New York Philharmonic’s recent visit to North Korea, which marks the largest contingent of Americans to visit this military dictatorship in over 50 years. This visit has garnered much controversy in the press, with arguments both in favor of and against this visit being put forth from figures both inside and outside the world of music.

Check out the interview through this link to Drew’s Adaptistration post.

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ClassicalMusicNews.tv blogger (and regular Contrabass Conversations collaborator) John Grillo recently put out a post featuring the sensational young conductor Gustavo Dudamel.  John features a great video highlight from 60 Minutes.  Check it out! 

More on Gustavo Dudamel >>

John sees this exciting young conductor as a real beacon for the future of classical music, writing:

Given the current state of classical music looking for leaders and vision in the 21st century, Dudamel fits the bill perfectly.  He has the charisma and personality that if marketed properly, could make his orchestras a total sensation.  He will make classical music concerts extremely exciting.  This will be infectious to the public at large.  Instead of orchestra concerts being the same mundane thing, he will bring an energy that the audience can feed on.  This is what music is all about, stirring emotions and feeling better than when you entered the concert hall.  I look forward very much to the day I can play under his baton.

Read John’s complete post here.

Now this is why I love blogging! This comment on my Advice for Aspiring Music Majors article comes in from Hartt School of Music student Nathan Clark. Nathan studies with Robert Black (my ISB board colleague) and offers up his own perspective on pursuing a career as a music major. Check out the article that Nathan references here (along with some other excellent comments from readers over the past few years).

Nathan writes:

I really appreciate that there is someone out there that is willing to try and explain the truth about the music world and open it for discussion. I am a student of Robert Black’s at the Hartt School in my Junior year of my bachelor’s degree. I love performing music but I know it is a very rough world. All I wish is to make some way of living by playing any music. Personally, I don’t want to be in one of those top 10 orchestras.

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