Bente Illevold: Euphonium Virtuoso
Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman
05/19/25
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I’m excited to feature Bente Illevold, the internationally renowned Norwegian euphonium player who has carved out a unique career path as a euphonium virtuoso. During this podcast, you’ll be hearing clips from some of her albums and live performances, and in the complete show notes on my website you’ll find the links to these specific albums and videos. I first heard about Bente from Katherine Needleman, when she asked Bente to premiere a newly commissioned concert piece for euphonium and piano by Kyrese Washington. Bente will be playing the American premiere of this new work at the International Women’s Brass Conference right after the release of this podcast, and the clip you’re going to hear is from the world premiere performance earlier this spring. Bente talked to me about her exciting new Rendalen Low Brass Seminar and ways to address the problems around inclusivity in the low brass world. She also spoke more broadly about music pedagogy and the importance of careful listening and self-reflection, and she stressed the need for authencity in engaging with our listeners. Video and transcript and all suggested episodes
Other suggested episodes: Katherine Needleman
Hillary Simms (the rest in the show notes on my website linked above, since I ran out of allowed words here!)
(00:00) Intro
(02:11) Euphonium’s place in the brass world, Kyrese Washington commission from Katherine Needleman
(06:02) International Women’s Brass Conference
(07:57) clip of Sonatine de Larmes by Kyrese Washington from live performance in Oslo, with pianist Monica Tomescu-Rohd
(09:53) euphonium repertoire
(12:30) lack of inclusivity in the low brass world, taking risks
(15:45) collaborations with percussionist Anders Kregnes Hansen, Stig Nordhagen
(18:46) clip from 2nd movement of Baut by Stig Nordhagen
(20:14) problems with lack of community engagement with the arts
(27:29) Music education and advice
(36:58) why Bente loves Marcus Paus’ Notturno Lockdown Lullaby
(42:12) live performance of Marcus Paus’ Notturno Lockdown Lullaby
(45:16) Bente’s approach to writing music, perfectionism in Classical music
(56:48) other episodes linked, ways to support this series
(57:52) about Elbaus’ DSDHT Euphonium with fixed media, with audio clip
(01:00:22) touring, Northern Lights duo with David Earll, Rendalen Low Brass Seminar
(01:09:08) clip of live performance Northern Lights duo (link in show notes)
(01:10:59) lack of inclusion in low brass community, Katherine Needleman, commission from Kyrese Washington
(01:23:13) advice how to keep improving
Previous Episode
Martha Anne Toll is a novelist and literary and cultural critic, also a violist whose classical music training informs her artistic practice. She recently published her second novel, Duet for One, a beautiful love story based on the lives of musicians.his book is also about the death of a mother, and releasing this conversation on Mother's Day (in our countries) has a particular resonance for those of us whose mothers have died, and Martha and I talked about processing our own grief. We focused on both this book and her novel Three Muses, which I also recommend. You’ll hear about her high and low points as a violist, different ways she has helped with programs related to social justice, and her involvement in the literary world including supporting less-represented authors. We also talked about the classical music world and living true to your values. Martha Toll comes to writing professionally after a career dedicated to social justice, and she shared some great perspectives on both pursuits.
I've linked Martha's list of book and author suggestions in the complete show notes on my website, where you'll also find other episodes linked that you'll like, the transcript and the video!
Can you buy this independent podcaster a coffee? Thanks!
(00:00) Intro
(02:34) viola teachers Max Aronoff, Raphael Hillyer
(07:46)novel Duet for One
(09:24) Martha’s parents, book critic, getting published
(11:59) Duet for One
(15:30) excerpt from Duet for One
(18:59) music in the book, continuing to play viola
(24:58) Three Muses, grooming and exploitation
(28:23)Dr. Henri Parens Holocaust survivor, cousin Ellen
(31:17) Three Muses with excerpt
(34:08) other episodes, ways to support this podcast
(34:49 dealing with rejection and grief
(40:05) law school, work in social justice
(46:09) suggested authors (books listed in show notes)
(51:34) characters to meet from her books, joyful family Thanksgiving traditions
(57:37) Martha’s Substack newsletter
(01:00:53) artists’ residencies
Next Episode
This week's episode is a highlight from the archive, originally aired in 2023: I was so honoured to have this opportunity to talk with the inspiring Destiny Muhammad, who is a California-based jazz harpist and composer. You’ll get to hear inspiring stories from her life as well as her music. She had a dream to play the harp but didn’t have the opportunity until she was 30 years old. She speaks openly about the challenges in the 1980s due to the crack cocaine trade, her success as a barber, her determination and mentors including John Handy, and her unique perspectives in celebrating the legacies of Dorothy Ashby and Alice Coltrane. I’m sure you’ll be inspired by Destiny’s stories and music! The video and transcript are linked here
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