Ok, so admittedly this is a little strange. I started out intending to write a couple of articles along the lines of "how I got started" and "my thoughts on playing". Ideas like these are probably pretty self-congratulatory in the first place, so I decided instead to interview myself. Sounds odd, and perhaps it is, but one of my musical heroes, Glenn Gould, once wrote a piece entitled "Glenn Gould Interviews Glenn Gould About Glenn Gould". So, this is my take on that idea. If this strikes you as conceited and irritating, well, sorry. It isn't meant that way. Please take with a grain or two of your favorite kosher sea salt. I hope you may enjoy once you get past the strangeness. Here we go ...
Noted Journalist MattyJoe Tropman recently sat down with euphoniumist Matthew J. Tropman to discuss music, life, and many other issues. This interview was recorded at BaritoneStudios in Last Chance, Colorado this past August, 2007.
PART I -- LIFE AND TIMES
MattyJoe Tropman: Good afternoon Mr. Tropman, and thank you for taking the time to participate in this interview.
Matthew J. Tropman: Oh, it’s my pleasure, and thank you for asking.
MattyJoe: Right, well, first things first. Why did you pick the euphonium?
MJT: Yes, yes, very few people can say that a decision they made in 5th grade continues to be one of the most important turning points of his or her life. In my case, I wanted to play trumpet, but the sheet on which we indicated our preference for which instrument we wanted to try only listed “cornet”. To my 5th grade mind, I thought that was fishy, and the only cornet I knew was a brand of paper towel.
MattyJoe: So you started on euphonium straight away?
MJT: Yes, at Lawton Elementary School, at age 11.
MattyJoe: What kind of instrument?
MJT: A wonderful Conn 3-valve bell front model. It was actually some random luck, or should I say bad luck, that euphonium was even an option.
MattyJoe: How’s that?
MJT: Well, at that time, elementary school was K-6. The school’s policy was that they provided you an instrument in 5th grade, and you had to rent or buy one in 6th grade, except for the euphonium. Lawton only owned one euph., so it became available every other year. Our teacher, Mr. Long, almost forgot to show it to us, until one student asked about the strangely shaped case in the back of the room. Mr. Long deployed the Conn and played a few scales for us.
MattyJoe: How fascinating! You are such a fascinating, interesting person to interview!
MJT: Yes, that’s right. I do confess to feeling some odd kinship with you, MattyJoe.
MattyJoe: Hmm, well, I don’t really know what to say about that. Anyway, moving on, when did you really get serious about the euphonium?
MJT: To be quite honest, euphonium is more of something I never got around to quitting. It’s not as if one day I woke up and said “I want to get serious about this and do it for a living”. It’s been sort of like an arranged marriage; you know what they say… “you’ll grow to love each other” or something like that.
MattyJoe: But you’ve obviously stuck with it.
MJT: I kept getting opportunities that I felt I couldn’t turn down. I got a partial college scholarship for playing euph, and that seemed like something I had to take advantage of.
MattyJoe: Ok, fair enough, so when did you start getting any good?
MJT: Well, I do still keep a fingering chart on my stand (laughs). Seriously though, I’d have to say spending summers at Interlochen really took my playing to new heights. Or depths, you might say.
MattyJoe: And you studied with Luis Maldonado there?
MJT: That’s right, and Jerry Young. Luis was the only actually euphonium player I ever studied under for and extended period. That’s the case for a lot of euph players; we study under tuba or trombone players much of the time. Interlochen was eye opening beyond just the lessons though, hearing all of those great players from all over the world on a daily basis for eight weeks really makes you soak up a lot of music, whether you know it or not at the time. Three summers there was bound to have a lasting effect.
MattyJoe: And you went to undergrad at Michigan?
MJT: Yes, and I am originally from Ann Arbor, so I had some desire to get the hell out of town, but in the end I think it was a good decision.
MattyJoe: And you were a performance major?
MJT: Yes, which was stupid. I should’ve majored in education, as all euph players should, but I was too lazy to deal with all of the method and pedagogy classes. I also started out as a double major with philosophy, and I used to joke that I was trying NOT to get TWO jobs.
MattyJoe: How amusing!
MJT: Yes, that’s right.
MattyJoe: I guess you really would know what kind of sound a tree makes falling in the forest?
MJT: Oh, my, you’re too much.
MattyJoe: Indeed, one could even say… (cut off by MJT)
MJT: No, seriously, ask me another question. This interview is about me, right?
MattyJoe: Ahh, yes. (clears throat). Well then, what were some of your most memorable moments in college?
MJT: Well, my teacher, Fritz Kaenzig, encouraged me to enter a lot of competitions. Looking back, I’d have to say winning the Falcone competition the summer after my sophomore year was a big moment. I had placed second the two years prior and was getting a bit discouraged. I was definitely closest to quitting at that point.
MattyJoe: What would you have gone into?
MJT: Who knows, I was a stupid kid at the time. I liked voice and wanted to become a professional singer.
MattyJoe: Really?
MJT: Yes, really.
MattyJoe: What stopped you?
MJT: I couldn’t afford all the scarves and water bottles those singers carry around (laughs). No, seriously, I wasn’t good enough. I would have had to start much earlier. Back to the idea that euphonium was something I never got around to quitting. I’ve been close a lot, but there hasn’t been another really good option for me.
MattyJoe: But you went to grad school at Arizona State under Sam Pilafian. You must have been pretty serious about the instrument at that point.
MJT: Well yes, fair enough. I have been lucky to have a lot of great teachers, and Sam is terrific. Great musician, great ear, great motivator. I spent a lot of time with the horn on my face that year.
MattyJoe: So you only completed one year before joining the Marine Band.
MJT: Yes, I started in the Marine Band the following July, 1996. Seems like ages ago!
MattyJoe: What was the audition experience like?
MJT: It was odd. By that time, I was pretty used to auditions and competitions, but this was something different. I auditioned twice. I didn’t get advanced the first time, but they offered me the job the second time around. Auditioning can be a fickle business.
MattyJoe: Indeed it can. I recall once I was entering a journalism competition and … (cut off)
MJT: (interrupts) Who’s getting interviewed here, you or me?
MattyJoe: Ahh, yes, I forget myself. Do forgive me. How did you prepare for the Marine Band audition?
MJT: Horn on face, horn on face. I focused very heavily on excerpts, both those that were on the list, and everything else I could find. I had to work on sightreading a lot as well, since that’s never been a strongpoint of mine.
MattyJoe: Really? Back when I used to play I found sightreading quite simple.
MJT: You want a cookie?
MattyJoe: Mmm, yes, I’d love one, but that will have to wait. Can you sum up your experiences in the Marine Band?
MJT: No.
MattyJoe: ahh, ok, well, how about sharing a few highlights?
MJT: Hmm, let’s see. The process of enlisting in the Marine Corps itself was quite something. Everyone in the band has their own horror story of something happening during enlistment. Some folks were nearly shipped off to Parris Island, others asked to join up with another unit, and every single one of us harassed terribly by someone along the way. I nearly had to do a push up test, which I would’ve failed miserably.
MattyJoe: Really?
MJT: Yes, really. It’s a funny thing, trying to marry an arts organization with the Marine Corps, and the enlistment process brings all that out. Eventually I arrived in D.C. as a fresh-faced 23 year old with no prior job experience. Lucky for me I got to play right away. These days they train the newbies on military protocol, marching and the like for weeks, sometimes months, before they ever play a note. In my era, I showed up, they found me a uniform, and I was playing!
MattyJoe: And whose position did you take?
MJT: Mike Colburn had just been appointed conductor, so all the other euph players moved up a slot, and I came in as last chair.
MattyJoe: According to your bio, you soloed a lot with the band. How did that start?
MJT: What, I shouldn’t be soloing? What are you implying?
MattyJoe, No, no, I didn’t mean it like that. I should have phrased the question as how did your first solo appearance come about.
MJT: What, shouldn’t it have come about?
(silence)
MattyJoe: Ahh, let’s see… when did you first favor the band with your solo talents.
MJT: Ahh, yes, much better. I played “All Those Endearing Young Charms” in 1997. The neat thing about the premier military bands is that for the most part, they don’t hire soloists from outside. It’s not like Yefim Bronfmann is playing a Mozart piano concerto or anything like that. When they want a solo, they use someone in the band. It was lucky timing for me since Mike Colburn had been doing quite a few euph solos, but then moved to conducting.
MattyJoe: What other solos did you perform?
MJT: I had a chance to do a lot of stuff. After my first time around, I got to do the Ellerby Concerto the following season on our indoor series. That is one tough piece! I’m glad I got it out of the way as a youngster. I also did the Wilby concerto, and an assortment of flashy solos, and a few chamber music pieces.
MattyJoe: What was it like being a soloist on tour?
MJT: Great, lot’s of fun. I enjoyed that aspect as much as anything else, if not more. One night you’re playing at the Wapakoneta, OH civic center, and the next night Severance Hall. It was a challenge to stay ready, stay prepared, and play well no matter where, when or for whom.
MattyJoe: For whom the euphonium tolls?
MJT: Yeah, that’s just stupid.
MattyJoe: Ahhh, ok, well then, what was it like working at the White House?
MJT: I have to say, it was a memorable experience. It’s not so much that it’s so different from any other sort of work, but it’ll be nice to tell the grandkids about it someday.
MattyJoe: Grandkids?
MJT: Just a figure of speech.
MattyJoe: Yeah, I was going to say, I hear you have trouble just getting a second date!
MJT: Shut up! I am important! I used to work at the White House!
MattyJoe: Oh, whoops, did I ask that out loud? Sorry. Well, why don’t you give us a couple of good stories about your “important” work at the White House.
MJT: (glares at MattyJoe) Ahem, well, yes. OK. I was in the band during the Clinton and Dubya administrations. Let me think all the way back… yes. So, under Clinton, two memories stick out. One is that we played for the welcome home from campaigning party in 1996 where Bill’s famous video clip of hugging Monica Lewinsky was shot. Occasionally they play that clip with sound, in which case you can hear the band in the background.
MattyJoe: That’s not that interesting.
MJT: Well, OK. In 1997, remember we sent that rover to Mars to take pictures? Well, we were sitting on the South Balcony before our job started, and Clinton came out and showed us the first pictures, like, before pretty much everyone else on earth saw them. I thought that was cool, and I’m an amateur astronomer so it was especially neat.
MattyJoe: Astronomy, does that fit in well with your lucrative Philosophy hobby?
MJT: Damn you!
MattyJoe: Ahh, again with the thinking out loud. Sorry about that. What exactly constitutes an “amateur” interest in astronomy? I would think merely owning a pair of strong binoculars would do the trick.
MJT: (Silence)
MattyJoe: Well, anyway, how about some highlights from the George W. Bush years?
MJT: We filmed this PBS special called “Inside these walls” with Nell Carter, Toby Kieth singing with the band, and then Dubya had to read a narrated blurb at the end. Trouble was he couldn’t say “uplifting” and kept saying “upliftingly”. I’ve never heard of a speech impediment where someone turns words into adverbs that aren’t adverbs, but that’s what he kept doing. It took forever. Also, Toby Kieth couldn’t enter at the right time on “America the Beautiful” no matter how big the cue from the conductor. Just watch the conductor, we kept telling him, but it didn’t work out too well.
MattyJoe: Anything else?
MJT: Not a White House memory, but 9/11 was pretty horrible for everyone, and I lived about 2 miles from the Pentagon at that time. My house actually shook when the plane hit. It’s odd, I hadn’t been watching TV yet that day, and when I heard “boom” I casually looked around outside thinking an electrical substation had blown or something. But now hearing an explosion in a major city… I pretty much automatically wonder about terrorism.
MattyJoe: Well, the world is a different place now.
MJT: It sure is.
MattyJoe: What were some of the challenges of being in the Marine Band?
MJT: I definitely got worn down with the ceremonial duties. I know how important they are, and how necessary they are, it’s just I didn’t like doing them at all.
MattyJoe: Why not?
MJT: Well, I was a terrible marcher, and unfortunately the euphs are always front row center in marching formations, so that was a big problem. I also couldn’t find a way not to be bothered by standing completely motionless in a wool uniform in Arlington Cemetery for hours at a stretch. I certainly realize I was paid for my work, but at some point, I knew I wasn’t going to make a 20 year career out of the Marine Band.
MattyJoe: How do you feel now, having moved on?
MJT: Good, I think. There are a lot of things to miss about the Marine Band, especially all the great friends I made there, but in the end I think it was the right decision.
MattyJoe: And you concluded your service when?
MJT: July 10, 2002.
MattyJoe: Well, your post Marine Band career has certainly been interesting and varied. Tell us a bit about what you are doing now.
MJT: Yes, well I’ve obviously moved back to Michigan, and I live in Battle Creek and serve as the Executive Director of the Brass Band of Battle Creek, as well teach part time at Eastern Michigan University, and I’ll be going back for my second year of Doctoral study at the U. of M as well.
MattyJoe: Well, that sounds like a lot of stuff!
MJT: Keeps me busy.
MattyJoe: What’s this brass band all about?
MJT: Yes, it’s an unusual organization. We are a group of 31 professional brass and percussion players meeting in Battle Creek twice a year for concerts. This group is really dynamic; lot’s of great players from throughout the USA and several from Europe as well.
MattyJoe: And what sorts of concerts do you play?
MJT: What do you mean, what sort?
MattyJoe: Yes, well, classical, or what?
MJT: OK, now I get it. Well, we’re actually an all Haydn Brass Band. Very, very Unique.
MattyJoe: Very Unique? Isn’t that redundant? Don’t you mean something like “very original?”
MJT: Look, we’re not a damned all-Haydn Brass Band. It was a joke. We play brass band rep., transcriptions, and actually quite a lot of jazz. There are some amazing jazz players in that band; it’s really amazing to hear guys like Wycliffe Gordon on a regular basis. I’ll never play like that, but just having that sound in my ear is …. (cut off by MattyJoe)
MattyJoe: … Very very unique?
MJT: (soberly) Yes, I suppose you could say that.
MattyJoe: Yes, I think I did just say that!
MJT: Where did you say you got that journalism degree?
MattyJoe: Oh, Mr. Tropman, dear me, let’s do remember that you are the one being interviewed here.
MJT: Indeed, this is a very unique interview.
MattyJoe: Well, I’m afraid that actually brings our time here to a close, but we’ll pick up again next time with a discussion of pedagogy.
MJT: Great, one of my favorite subjects.
MattyJoe: Once again, it has been my pleasure having you here, Mr. Tropman
MJT: Once again? I don’t think you thanked me in the first place.
MattyJoe: Touché, touché. I just can’t wait to hear you pontificate about teaching.
MJT: Have you spoken with my agent? How much am I getting paid for this?
*** THEME MUSIC FADES IN ***
PART II -- Pontifications Upon the Particular Peculiarities of Euphonium Playing
MattyJoe Tropman: Matthew, I’d like to thank you again for joining us.
Matthew J. Tropman: Glad to be here, I wouldn’t have missed it.
MattyJoe: I gather not, especially after that tense conversation between your agent and our accounts payable office.
MJT: Yes, well, one does have to advocate for oneself from time to time, doesn’t one?
MattyJoe: If by “one”, you mean “your agent instead of you”, then I guess so.
MJT: Boy, aren’t we off to a good start.
MattyJoe: Touché, touché, or should I say touchy, touchy! In any case, here we are, so let’s get to it.
MJT: Touch me, touch me.
MattyJoe: My gracious sakes! So, how would you describe your overall approach to playing the euphonium.
MJT: Well, that’s pretty broad. I guess overall I’ve been lucky to have some great teachers through every phase of my development, and in general they have all come from the “Song and Wind” school, so although not a strict disciple of that school, it certainly has influenced me significantly.
MattyJoe: Yes, well, would you mind explaining a bit about this “Song and Wind” idea?
MJT: This was created by Mr. Arnold Jacobs, long-time tubist with the Chicago Symphony. Everyone should read his book of the same title; and there are lots and lots of other materials out there for us all to study.
MattyJoe: The Jacob’s book is entitled “This was created by Mr. Arnold Jacobs, long-time tubist with the Chicago Symphony.”
MJT: No, Jackass, it’s called “Song and Wind”. Stay with me here. In any case, “Song and Wind”, in my interpretation, basically encompasses the idea of playing a brass instrument as simply as possible from a mental and physical standpoint. Hear the music before and as you play it, order the wind that you need to make the notes sound properly, and get rid of the mental and physical garbage that often complicates this process.
MattyJoe: Pardon me, but isn’t that an oversimplification?
MJT: To some, maybe, and I don’t believe in any one philosophy as being perfect for everybody. But in brass playing especially, we often hear about ideas involving very specific muscular actions and controlling minute fibers with our minds, which is just so complicated. As brass players we spend such a vast amount of our lives thinking about playing, that some over analysis is bound to occur. In my view this leaks into pedagogy all too easily and complicates things for students and takes us away from a simple approach to playing.
MattyJoe: But playing a brass instrument is not simple, really, is it?
MJT: true enough, it ain’t easy, that’s for sure. However, even though playing is tough and some people aren’t cut out for it, the approach to making sound on a brass instrument can be kept simple, even though playing at a high level is certainly not simple at all.
MattyJoe: Can you give a practical example of “Song and Wind” ?
MJT: You know, MattyJoe, folks interested in this philosophy should probably do some reading from the original source on their own, rather than hearing it from me.
MattyJoe: Sure, well perhaps it’ll come up again through the course of our discussion.
MJT: I’ll have to check with my agent. How do I look, by the way, am I sounding good? Smart? Competent?
MattyJoe: Sure, Matt, you’re killing ‘em. You truly have a million watt smile. It’s just too bad the power is out upstairs.
MJT: Huh?
MattyJoe: Nothing, nothing. Let’s move on. So, you talked about the influence of this “Song and Wind” school on your playing. Sounds as though a lot of folks subscribe to that particular philosophy. Is there anything more specific that you do that may differ from other approaches?
MJT: Wow, funny you should ask, I was hoping you’d head in that direction. I feel as though we’ve known each other for years.
MattyJoe: Thank goodness it’s just a feeling! You were saying?
MJT: One thing I’ve found helpful in my own playing is a lot of low register work.
MattyJoe: Why is that?
MTJ: Well, I’ve always been taught that “tension is the enemy of beautiful sound”. In the low register, you’re apt to get no sound coming out of the instrument if you are tense, so it’s a self-policing way to work on relaxed blowing. Since it also takes a lot of air, it helps develop good wind habits too.
MattyJoe: So, low register is a “key” you might say?
MJT: Shall we just get all of the brass puns out of the way right now, Matty?
MattyJoe: Touché. OK, so, what else do you differently?
MJT: Not much, really. I probably use most of the same books and such that a lot of folks do.
MattyJoe: How about practice habits and techniques?
MJT: We’ve all been taught this, but I think that “divide and conquer” is the single best tool for learning repertoire.
MattyJoe: How do you mean?
MJT: Well, a new work can be daunting at first, and even as we start getting comfortable with the overall scope and contour through practice, the “devil in the details” still makes things tough for most of us. It’s really important to have the discipline to know what needs to be worked on, and to get right in there and dice it up for ease of learning.
MattyJoe: Sounds boring.
MJT: Yup, it can be. But that’s the thing. To really learn a work so you are comfortable in performance, you need to spend hours dealing with the minute stuff that can trip you up.
MattyJoe: Sounds like you think “overpreparation” is important, then.
MJT: Well, no. And this is a pet peeve of mine. People talk about “overpreparing” all the time, and say that you have to overprepare to be really ready to perform.
MattyJoe: What’s wrong with that?
MJT: You don’t really need to overprepare, you just need to prepare properly. Since a lot of us don’t put in the requisite amount of work to really learn something, we then say that overpreparation is required. I guess it’s a semantic distinction, but I think all this talk of overpreparation as necessary to success shows that, for the most part, the general mindset is not to prepare enough in the first place. True overpreparation almost never occurs, and is probably a hindrance when it does.
MattyJoe: Interesting. Anything more about the “divide and conquer” method?
MJT: Sure. We need to remember that we can remove elements of difficulty almost all of the time. If something is fast and tongued, don’t just slow it down, but remove the articulation as well. Play it out of time like a vocalise. This will train your ear and your air in a way that just slowing up the printed passage might not.
MattyJoe: Slowing up? Don’t you mean “slowing down”?
MJT: Down yours, Matty.
MattyJoe: Slowing up it is, then. So, besides slowing things “up”, what else in included with “divide and conquer” ideas we might not think about?
MJT: Rhythm is one; again, just get the notes, and train that ear. No reason to be doing math in your head right off the bat when correct pitches are most important in the early going – depending on the specific passage, of course. One of the worst things we can do is practice wrong notes, since in that case we have to un-learn before we can learn correctly. And, if we have tough rhythms, why not work out the rhythm on a single pitch to get the math right. In that case, I’d remove the pitch issues and focus only on the rhythm. Part of the process is figuring out which elements are challenging, and what is really causing things to be difficult. When we start working on a hard passage, we have to be able to take a step back and say “what are the elements of difficulty here?” Divide and conquer is a simple concept, but there are a lot more elements that we can remove and isolate than we might think. It’s just too easy to sweep the hard stuff under the rug, but when we perform, everyone can see that rug!
MattyJoe: Rug? Do you wear a hairpiece then?
MJT: No, you ass. It was an analogy. Keep asking me stuff like this and there’ll be Hell Toupee!
MattyJoe: Toupee, touché! Ahem, well that sounds like something to think about in practicing, with the rugs and the sweeping and all. How about broader issues like style, interpretation and all of that stuff?
MJT: What stuff?
MattyJoe: You know, sounding like a good musician.
MJT: That comes from good teachers, awareness, and of course listening.
MattyJoe: Listening. Can you elaborate?
MJT: Why, sure I can. I think that a lot of us, especially in euphonium, need to listen to more classical music. We play so many transcriptions and stuff from different genres, we need to take in as much music as we can all the time to develop our own sense of style. I do think that a lot of euph players, moreso than other instrumentalists I hate to say, don’t listen enough and sometimes render inappropriate or uninformed interpretations.
MattyJoe: That’s quite a charge!
MJT: Hey, euphists today are better than ever in raw talent and ability. But I think that we tend to listen to eachother, and our world can be a bit insular, even incestuous, where we are always comparing ourselves to other euph players, and who recorded what, and at what specific tempo and so forth. We should try to think of ourselves as musicians first and foremost, and let everything else follow.
MattyJoe: If you’re right, then why is this peculiar to euphonium players?
MJT: Well, we’re not the only guilty parties, but it’s maybe more the case that we’re worse about it. The thing is, we have to try harder than other instrumentalists to broaden our scope, because we rarely play in orchestra, and focus so heavily on solo works. I have to say to the euph world that if you know all of the works of Philip Sparke, but you don’t know all of the symphonies of Brahms, for example, then your perspective may be a bit skewed, and you are certainly missing out.
In the case of tuba, for example, all tubists are working on and thinking about orchestral repertoire all the time, even if it isn’t their sole focus. Just think about all the music they are exposed to that euph players wouldn’t be unless we seek it out. And even beyond orchestral repertoire, we simply must listen to as much music as we can, and this ends up being one of our greatest teachers. That includes stuff we like, and stuff we don’t. You can learn a lot from a recording you hate. But, if you hear something and basically have no opinion at all, then that is a big problem. Opinonless musicians are useless.
MattyJoe: Hmm. Interesting. Anything else about the euphonium culture you’d care to castigate?
MJT: Sure. And this is all tied together with the issue of broadening our scope. But I think that sound is another big issue.
MattyJoe: But the euphonium is the “beautiful sound maker” right? Sound should be easy!
MJT: Exactly, but that can be a sort of trap. Since the very name of our instrument involves the idea of beautiful sound, I think in some cases players have this single minded approach of “ohhh …. Listen to my chocolaty euphonium sound, isn’t it wonderful”.
MattyJoe: What’s wrong with that?
MJT: Well, maybe nothing. But if you play a euphonium decently, you ought to have a pretty good sound. At that point, let’s start talking about making really amazing phrases happen, and shaping things in a really effective and compelling way. Sure, we all have to work on a great sound, every musician does, but I find that in some cases we euph players are so concerned with getting this alleged perfect euphonium sound on each note, that we can lose the bigger picture of phrases and musical ideas. And of course this is to say nothing of the fact that we might consider going after a slightly different sound concept depending on repertoire and other musical circumstances.
MattyJoe: Well, since we’re supposedly still talking about pedagogy, how does one bring about this malleability of sound?
MJT: Again with the listening! Aren’t you listening? OK, for instance, even slight variations in articulation can change our “sound”, since sound means more than just “da noise out da bell”. I don’t think we can expect to achieve the color variations of, say, a violin, but I’d love to hear more players experimenting with some different colorations in their performances. Sure, euphonium sounds fantastic, but ironically I think this very fact sometimes limits us. It’s important to remember, although a tad bit sad, that 99 percent of the musical world, to say nothing of The World At Large, just doesn’t care about what euphonium players are doing. To me, that’s the greatest justification for experimentation we could ask for. Try something new and different. Maybe it will get some attention.
MattyJoe: Well, I see we’re thankfully just about out of time. Did you have anything else to add?
MJT: Sure, I’d like to talk about valve oil now. Valve oil is the single most menacing threat to our way of life as euphoniumists, and no subject could be more sobering or important for us to discuss in great detail. Let me begin by saying that back when I was a youth…
*** THEME MUSIC FADES IN ***
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