A Guideline for Students to Be Better Prepared When Pursuing a Career As a Clarinet College Professor, Clarinet Orchestral Player, Or Soloist
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A Guideline For Students To Be Better Prepared When Pursuing A Career As A Clarinet College Professor, Clarinet Orchestral Player, Or Soloist by Elisa Montoya Sánchez, BM, MM A DMA Document In Music Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of Texas Tech University in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of DOCTOR OF MUSICAL ARTS Approved Dr. David Shea Chair of Committee Amy Anderson David Dees Dr. Mark Sheridan Dean of the Graduate School May, 2020 Copyright 2020, Elisa Montoya Sánchez Texas Tech University, Elisa Montoya Sánchez, May 2020 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I acknowledge and thank Dr. David Shea, my clarinet professor and doctoral committee chairperson for his continuous support, motivation, enthusiasm, and advice, and professors Amy Anderson and David Dees for being part of my committee. I would also like to express my sincere gratitude to all and each of the outstanding musicians that were willing to participate in this project: Dr. Dianne Barger, Dr. Gregory Barret, Dr. John Cipolla, Eli Eban, Dr. Denise Gainey, Dr. Kimberly Luevano, Robert Spring, Dr. Stephanie Zelnick, Jonathan Cohen, Paul Demers, Jose González Granero, Richie Hawley, Ricardo Morales, Michael Wayne, Brad Whitfield, Stephen Williamson, Nicolas Baldeyrou, Jose Luis Estellés, Carlos Ferreira, Alexander Fiterstein, Olli Leppaniemi, Olivier Patey, Sang Yoon Kim. Knowing how busy their lives are, my sincere thanks for taking the time helping me make this project a reality. I would also like to thank them for sharing their knowledge and experience, for being a fountain of inspiration. ii Texas Tech University, Elisa Montoya Sánchez, May 2020 TABLE OF CONTENTS ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .......................................................................................................... ii ABSTRACT ................................................................................................................................... iv INTRODUCTION.......................................................................................................................... 1 CHAPTER I: COLLEGE PROFESSOR .................................................................................... 4 BIOGRAPHIES ............................................................................................................................... 4 INTERVIEWS ............................................................................................................................... 12 CONCLUSIONS ............................................................................................................................ 63 CHAPTER II: ORCHESTRAL PLAYER ................................................................................ 66 BIOGRAPHIES ............................................................................................................................. 66 INTERVIEWS ............................................................................................................................... 74 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 128 CHAPTER III: SOLOIST ........................................................................................................ 132 BIOGRAPHIES ........................................................................................................................... 132 INTERVIEWS ............................................................................................................................. 143 CONCLUSIONS .......................................................................................................................... 183 GENERAL CONCLUSIONS ................................................................................................... 187 BIBLIOGRAPHY ...................................................................................................................... 189 iii Texas Tech University, Elisa Montoya Sánchez, May 2020 ABSTRACT This doctoral project will present a list of steps and different methodologies of preparation that students could follow in order to be better prepared when seeking a job in music. Although music offers many different paths, only three will be subject of study in this project: college clarinet professor, orchestral clarinet player, and soloist. The method of research used in this study is the interview. A different questionnaire has been applied for each path, having a total of three different questionnaires, one per path. Within each area, the same questions were asked to each person interviewed with the intention of discovering if there is a method that works for everyone, or if on the contrary, it varies from one person to the next. Having a compilation of different methods of successful experiences may be useful and inspiring for future students. iv Texas Tech University, Elisa Montoya Sánchez, May 2020 INTRODUCTION “I wish I would have known about that earlier in my career”, a thought that many musicians have likely considered many times in their career. The purpose of the document is to present a list of steps and different methodologies of preparation that students could follow in order to be better prepared when seeking a job in music. Although music offers many different paths, only three will be subject of study in this project: college clarinet professor, orchestral clarinet player, and soloist. The method of research used in this study is the interview. A different questionnaire has been applied for each path, having a total of three different questionnaires, one per path. Within each area, the same questions were asked to each person interviewed with the intention of discovering if there is a method that works for everyone, or if on the contrary, it varies from one person to the next. Having a compilation of different methods of successful experiences may be useful and inspiring for future students. This document is divided into three main chapters: college clarinet professor, orchestra clarinet player, and soloist. Within each chapter, a brief biography of all the participants has been provided, followed by the questionnaire, and conclusions drawn from the information collected. From the interviews, different advice and perspectives were extracted regarding specific matters pertaining to different career paths of professional clarinetists. For purposes of clarity the answers gathered from the interviews are compiled together after each individual question. Each candidate was given a list of questions and their responses were collected in different formats: conversations via phone call or skype, via email, or with voice files. 1 Texas Tech University, Elisa Montoya Sánchez, May 2020 Eight successful clarinet college professors were selected, from different parts of the United States, to participate in the first phase of this project: Dr. Dianne Barger (University of Nebraska), Dr. Gregory Barret (University of Northern Illinois), Dr. John Cipolla (University of Western Kentucky), Eli Eban (Indiana University), Dr. Denise Gainey (University of Alabama), Dr. Kim Luevano (University of North Texas), Dr. Robert Spring (Arizona State University), and Dr. Stephanie Zelnick (University of Kansas). In phase two, the interviews with the orchestral musicians, a number of outstanding orchestral clarinetists in the United States and Canada were identified based on their reputation and experience. The clarinetists selected were: Jonathan Cohen (Auckland Symphony Orchestra), Paul Demers (Philadelphia Orchestra), Jose González Granero (San Francisco Opera), Richie Hawley (former principal of Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra), Ricardo Morales (Philadelphia Orchestra), Michael Wayne (Boston Symphony Orchestra), and Brad Whitfield (Alabama Symphony Orchestra). The last chapter focuses on prominent soloists, both established and upcoming, who have been successful in developing a career as a soloist. The clarinetist interviewed were Nicolas Baldeyrou (France), Jose Luis Estellés (Spain), Carlos Ferreira (Portugal), Alexander Fiterstein (Belorussia), Olli Leppaniemi (Finland), Olivier Patey (France), Sang Yoon Kim (South Korean). “Winning the audition”, a book by Jason Heath, was the inspiration for this project. In this book different outstanding bass players were interviewed in order to learn from their success and experience. This document is based on this idea but expands the scope to accommodate different career paths within the profession. It was important for 2 Texas Tech University, Elisa Montoya Sánchez, May 2020 this project to have conversations with clarinetists who have exceled in their field and who are highly respected performers in the clarinet world. The format of this project was based on conversations with clarinetists in order to get current perspectives on how to achieve success as a clarinetist in the current professional environment. There are other books and resources that offer advice and information, but the focus of this project was to ascertain the most current thinking and perspective of present-day professional clarinetists. 3 Texas Tech University, Elisa Montoya Sánchez, May 2020 CHAPTER I COLLEGE PROFESSOR BIOGRAPHIES Dianne Barger Diane Barger is professor of clarinet and member of the Moran Woodwind Quintet at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln since 1994. In addition to her work as a collegiate educator, Barger actively works with pre-college clarinetists and is involved in mentoring her cadre of clarinet instructors at Cornerstone Academy of Clarinet,