Mirari UNMUTED

Tune in with Steph, Sarah, and Matt as they chat about the cultivation and development of good habits both within and outside the practice room and concert hall. 

Books Mentioned: 

-"The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People" by Stephen Covey

-"The Power of Habit" by Charles Duhigg

-"Mindset: The New Psychology of Success" by Carol Dweck

-"A Mind For Numbers: How to Excel at Math and Science (Even If You Flunked Algebra)" by Barbara Oakley

Do you struggle to practice? Do you often have a hard time planning your practice routines? Are you having difficulty with the idea of practicing the same way over and over? Well, do Jessie and Peyden have a solution for you! Give a listen as these two goof balls have a blast talking about ways that they practice and approach new music. Even stick around for a fun Q & A session that they play with each other. #MakingFunOfMatt 

On the final episode of our Inspiration Series, Steph gets a chance to interview her former teacher, John Stevens. John is a legend in the tuba community and shares stories and personal insight into his history of how he is where he is today. He also shares advice for future performers looking to pursue a career in music. 

*This episode may contain dates and events that have already happened as it was recorded during the summer of 2021*

As we continue our short Inspiration Series, Jessie speaks to her personal hero and former teacher, Jeff Nelsen. Jeff is the horn professor at Indiana University and horn player for the internationally renowned Canadian Brass. He is also the founder of the Fearless Performance training seminars that help musicians embrace their true musical freedom and expression on stage. 

*This episode was recorded in May of 2021, so some dates may have past since this conversation took place*

This is the second installment of our Inspiration Series. Today's episode with Dr. Karen Marston, Trombone Professor at Mt. San Antonio College. Sarah Paradis and Dr. Marston have a wonderful conversation about her rise to her current position, her position within ITF (International Trombone Festival), motherhood, and just dealing with a healthy work-life balance as mother, performer, and educator. 

We are beginning a short series on the people that inspire us. These people have helped shape and guide our practice, performance, and even life to where we are today. 

Our first episode in this series is with Tom Hooten (Principal Trumpet of the Los Angeles Philharmonic). Matt Vangjel sits down with this trumpet legend to discuss various topics on practice, life, and his musical journey to his current position in the L.A. Philharmonic. 

Jessie and Matt share stories and their thoughts on how you can increase your ability to tell a "story" through your playing, or how an ensemble can collectively present unified ideas through music. 

Sarah and Stephanie have a "Low Brass Party" as Sarah interviews Stephanie about their most recent recital and Stephanie's experiences as a member of the LGBTQI community. 

Are you preparing for a future college music audition? Have you just auditioned for one and what to figure out what went wrong? Are you just curious as to what college teachers think during your audition? Well, then do we have a podcast for you! 

Find out the answers to the questions you asked us - PART 2!! We will be lists of our favorite performers, method and etude books, solo repertoire, and ensembles that we love. The full lists will be uploaded to our Resources page at miraribrass.com - so stay tuned! 

Find out the important answers to your questions that you asked us on social media in a Two Part Episode! You can even hear Matt make fun of Peyden's "sign-off" if you stay all the way until the very end. LOL

Have you ever had a piece of music move you to tears? What about a piece of music that changed the way you thought about the world around you? Well, this week Mirari Brass sit down to talk about the various musical experiences and pieces that helped shape each of our musical decisions and what pieces changed the way we think about our field. 

Ever want to know or what the process is like to commission a new piece of music, especially for your chamber ensemble? Well, then we have the show for you! Check out this great interview by our own Jessie Thoman as she picks the compositional and commissioning minds of world-renown composers, Eric Nathan and Clint Needham! 

ericnathanmusic.com 

clintneedham.com

Join us as we pick the brain of our two composers who won our Call for Scores Competition. Aaron Gonzales and Ian Lester share how they came up with their newest compositions, and how they go about approaching composing for brass. 

Ever wonder how long it takes each member of a professional brass quintet to prepare for a concert? Or how can a group like that put together a performance of entirely new music even when they live all over the country? Well, we are here to answer some of those questions. The Mirari Brass sits down to discuss how we prepare for each of our performances, and even how new members, like Peyden, step into a group like this to perform a concert of all new music. Stay tuned all the way to the very end to see if Matt actually gets the tag line on the outro correct (here's a hint - he doesn't LOL). 

Do you ever feel like you just can't practice over a Holiday or Summer Break? Do you ever just feel like, "Oh well I will just catch up on my other activities instead?" Well, Mirari is here to help with that! We want to share some simple steps and thoughts that we use to stay motivated during the Holidays and Summer months so that you are always growing as a musician and keeping yourself ready for when that big audition or gig might come up! 

Do you struggle with maintaining balance between your professional practice/performance and your day-to-day work life? Well, we are here to share some of our personal strategies and thoughts on how to find that balance, and unique ways that those elements of our lives balance themselves out when used in the right perspective. 

We have all struggled at times to find motivation in various areas of our lives, and as a musician, we all know the struggles of staying motivated when things just don't seem to be going our way. Whether that is from the lack of performance opportunities, to feeling like you hit a "brick wall" in your practice sessions. Motivation can take a toll on all of us. Find out how the Mirari Brass Quintet deals with overcoming motivation in their own lives. 

Everyone has high and low points in our personal, professional, and spiritual lives. That journey is what makes us all "human." These obstacles don't have to change a trajectory on our lives or determine our overall happiness in live. Find out what "Ups" and "Downs" have effected the members of the Mirari Brass Quintet and see how we have taken those moments to propel ourselves and each other. 

Come check out a conversation with the two Moms in Mirari Brass as they chat with trumpet performer Jena Vangjel as they discuss what it is like to be a professional brass performer and dealing with the ins and outs of being pregnant and early stages of being a mom in this field. 

Get to know our "Low Note Master," Stephanie. Find out just how she balances work-life, home, teaching, and all of our amazing outdoor activities that she enjoys. 

Get to know more about the OTHER trumpeter in the Mirari Brass Quintet, Matt Vangjel. He is a "military brat," but now he calls Baton Rouge his home as he serves as the Associate Professor of Trumpet at LSU! Go Tigers. 

Get to no a little more about our low brass. Our tuba player, Stephanie, interviews our trombonist, Sarah Paradis, in this segment of Mirari UNMUTED! Hear how Sarah got to teaching at Boise State, all while doing DCI, having a family, and finally talking about how she is getting into Cross-Fit. 

Jessie shares so much about her love of Broadway and her how she feels and dives into the musical world. She shares a little about her time studying at Indiana University and how Mirari got its start. 

Get ready for the TRUMPET SHOW! Mirari Trumpeter Matt Vangjel interviews the newest member of Mirari and fellow trumpeter, Peyden Shelton. This episode lets you get to know a little bit more about Peyden and how he came to be in his current position at The University of Utah, and what brought him to be with Mirari. Hold on for a fun and entertaining time with both of our trumpeters. 

WELCOME to the 1st episode of Mirari Unmuted. We are so excited to be able to share this new venture with you, and potentially help inspire you to find your future in chamber music and the ever changing world of music performance. In this episode, we sit down to give you a brief rundown as to what you'll be expecting throughout each episode. You get to hear a little bit about each member, but you also get to know our personalities as well.

So sit back, relax, and get ready for a crazy listening adventure with the Mirari Brass Quintet's "Mirari Unmuted."