Could you describe what you do as a musician in plain words that are understandable to a non-musician?
I am a professional trumpet player and trumpet teacher. I specialize in performing on period instruments with various historically informed ensembles in Europe.
When and how did you decide to become a professional musician?
I do remember well my very first notes and the feeling that I was onto something I would do all my life.
Did you understand what you signed up for back then?
I just knew I was signing up for the same instrument my idol Miles Davis played.
Did it turn out the way you had imagined?
Absolutely not. I was on for jazz and improvised music, and ended up as a specialist in early music... Very happy with the choices I made anyway.
Do you still listen to music for leisure these days?
Yes, every day unless I cannot.
What are some works of music that are in your personal sacred shrine?
Les Mirroirs from Ravel
Le Prélude à l’après-midi d’un Faune from Debussy
The B minor Mass from Bach
What are some recordings that you were inspired by, and why?
Niklas Eklund’s baroque trumpet recordings on Naxos for the purity and the soft sizzle so well captured in his wonderful tone.
Glenn Gould’s Goldberg Variations (1981) for his cult of clarity and details... fascinating recording.
How important is the presentation of sound to you in a recording? Do you believe a recording can be either “musical” or “sterile”?
Absolutely. My engagement is very much dependent on these qualities.
I find myself being caught by renditions of the first category, and very easily distracted when listening to recordings from the second.
How does audio playback gear, especially headphones, influence the way you perceive recordings, and music in general? Does it inform your own performance? Have Hifiman headphones brought any revelations to your creative work?
These headphones (HE1000 Stealth and HE6se) brought my attention to so many details I was ignoring from recordings I thought I knew so well.. I became attuned to subtleties, which became my eventual addiction to seek out.
What was your proudest work or moment you could share with us? Proudest recording?
I like a recording I am in of the Psalmi Vespertini II from Zelenka; I thought the sound was very well captured in this old church in Prague.
Gershwin’s songs with Claron McFadden and Anima Eterna gave me pleasure too, sounds good, and is nicely balanced, I believe.
Do you have any upcoming performances or albums you’d like to share with us and our audience?
I am writing this on the train to Leipzig, where I will join Ton Koopman and the Amsterdam Baroque orchestra for the closing concert of the International Bach Festival in which we will be performing the B minor Mass in the St. Thomas Church, the church where Bach himself was musical director from 1723 until his death in 1750. Needless to say, this will be a very special concert and I feel privileged for the opportunity.
The Mass in B minor as the closing concert of the Bach Festival with the B minor Mass in the St-Thomas church... That for sure is a performance I am looking forward to and feel very privileged to be part of.
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