Veronica Thomas: Violinist, Educator, General Director and her fascinating personal story!
Conversations with Musicians, with Leah Roseman
07/17/22
•39m
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Violinist Veronica Thomas talks about her diverse career, her musical training, her inspiring mother Belva Boroditsky Thomas, and the wonderful work the Centre Préville is doing, including their uniquely flexible and high-quality video-conferencing platform and the incredible arts outreach they've been doing with remote Indigenous communities and more. She is General Director of the Préville Fine Arts Centre which her mother started in 1974. https://centrepreville.org/
The video version of this conversation is linked here along with the transcript and bonus episode: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/e6-s1-veronica-thomas
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Her mother's memoir is available in print or here: https://books.google.ca/books?id=7D48...
This was recorded June 10, 2021.
Previous Episode
Mark Ferguson is a jazz pianist, trombonist, composer, arranger, producer and music educator. In this episode you get to hear him perform 3 of his original compositions on piano. We talk about his mentors, perspectives on music education and the interesting twists and turns in his varied career. He’s performed with many of the world’s great artists including Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Gil Evans, Aretha Franklin, Rob McConnell and the Boss Brass, Holly Cole and Manteca,. Mark Ferguson website: http://markferguson.ca/music/
All these episodes are available in video format as well, and the transcripts are gradually being published to my blog: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/mark-ferguson-jazz-pianist-trombonist-composer-arranger-producer-and-music-educator
Please help me keep this going! https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman
photo credit: Claude Brazeau
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(00:56) how we met
(02:29) Mark’s early education and gigs
(08:32) lessons with Jerry Johnson and playing gigs with Ella Fitzgerald, Tony Bennett, Rosemary Clooney, Rita Moreno
(11:06) lessons with Rob McConnell, arranging, valve trombone
(14:37) Mark’s composition “F Sharp”
(20:55) jazz harmony, different roles as rhythm player in the band and horn player
(22:40) Miguel De Armas
(23:13) Manteca, Colleen Allen, Matt Zimbel
(26:29) teaching at McGill University
(27:52) Classical and jazz worlds James McGowan
(30:37) Kellylee Evans, Ella Fitzgerald, jazz
(31:18) teaching orchestration and theory
(33:04) learning tunes and Hugh O’Connor
(35:19) learning lyrics and Ben Webster story
(37:00) transposition
(39:21) importance of keyboard skills
(40:15) Voicing chords
(42:00) arranging
(43:09) staying in shape as a trombonist
(43:45) pandemic experience, performing on Syncspace live
(44:45) teaching online
(46:32) variety in rhythm, keeping the groove
(50:21) working with high school students, jazz history
(52:19) Mark’s composition “Home”
(59:51) performance skills
(01:01:42) Mark’s new solo album plans
(01:03:03) different sides of Mark’s personality as a trombone player and pianist, big band versus small ensemble
(01:04:16) jazz audience, advantages of knowing jazz harmony, Alexander Shelley
(01:07:04) Mark’s early days as a jazz pianist, career choices
(01:08:42) advice for young players
(01:10:04) Vista Trio, playing with others to keep in shape
(01:11:37) difference between composition and improvisation
(01:12:14) staying healthy
(01:14:37) Mark’s composition “Take the O Train”
Next Episode
The incredibly charming American musician Janie Rothfield is a great traditional fiddler, banjo player, educator, composer, and so much fun to talk to! This episode features quite a bit of music on both fiddle and banjo. The conversation delved into the best ways to teach music, learn tunes, play with ease, accompany dancers and most importantly find connection with others through music! We talked about her childhood, learning violin in one of the first Suzuki classes in the United States with Louise Behrend, figure skating, learning the banjo, moving to Scotland, playing at music festivals, and why she started her unique “Janie’s Jumpstart Weekend Camps”. Janie records and tours with many bands and teaches both fiddle and clawhammer banjo. This episode is available as a video, and the transcript will later be published to my website as well: https://www.leahroseman.com/episodes/janie-rothfield-traditional-american-fiddler-banjo-player-composer-and-educator
I’ve also included timestamps below. Janie's website: https://janierothfield.com/ photo credit: Clara Williams
Buy me a coffee? Please help this podcast keep going! https://ko-fi.com/leahroseman
Timestamps:
(00:00) Intro
(01:36) New Jordon on fiddle by Uncle Norm Edmonds
(04:04) groove and rhythmic drive and variety
(05:34) Suzuki lessons, Louise Behrand
(09:09) Janie’s Jumpstart Weekend camps, how they got started
(11:08) pivoting during pandemic
(12:38) Contra dances
(15:30) Allan Carr
(17:01) Janie’s childhood figure skating, dancing
(18:56) early career, balancing parenting, Little Missy with Shona Carr
(21:35) Hen’s Teeth duo with Nathan Bontrager, and the Idumea string quartet with Ewan McDonald and Becka Wolfe
(26:21) meeting Allan in Scotland
(27:24) how Janie teaches music
(33:11) different influences in old-time music
(34:50) festivals Clifftop and Fire in the Mountain
(36:28) how to memorize tunes
(38:53) cross-tuning, variety in interpretation with Candy Girl
(45:15) old-time history Jimmy McConn, Paul David Smith, Owen “Snake” Chapman and a simple approach to learning
(46:53) history of enslaved blues fiddlers, wondering about the connection with old-time dances during the time of slavery, Julie Lyonn Lieberman research, Béla Fleck
(48:26) Shetland rhythms, different fiddling traditions, story of Albany radio station being heard in Shetland and influencing the music of Peerie Willie Johnson
50:15 benefit of playing for dancers, Alexis Chartrand
51:55 Janie’s sister musician Suzy Thompson, folk influences from their mother
52:59 learning the banjo
54:27 Johnny Don’t Come Home Drunk on banjo
57:33 difference with bluegrass and old-time, story about Blaine Sprouse
01:01:12 Candy Girl on the banjo
01:03:34 learning the guitar, Allan Carr’s approach
01:04:27 Brendan Power harmonica player
01:07:55 fiddlesticks, Colin Currie Nicole Lizée, foot percussion
01:11:38 Jane’s tune “Harry Garrison” on fiddle
01:15:04 discussion about Jane’s outgoing and upbeat personality and how it’s impacted her career and music, her advice for inviting collaborations
01:22:37 Jane’s tune “The Mist”
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