Shows
Pretend ProblemsStool Sample on a BusThis week, Kelsey talks about trying caffeine again and what went wrong with her IBS over 10 years ago when she tried before, Chad shares a wild story about his massage therapist and his tattoos, and they argue about which pet causes more issues. Plus, fantastic listener questions including how to handle a long distance relationship, Chad causing a listener's Alexa confusion, and a crazy Mary Kay Letourneau coincidence. Write into pretendproblemspodcast@gmail.com with your dating and relationship advice questions and we'll answer them on the show! Subscribe to the podcast, and give it a 5-star rating and review to...
2025-09-1048 min
Classical SchmassicalCareer Diversity, Physical Health, and DJ Violin: A Conversation with Asher LaubSend us a textJoin me in conversation with Asher Laub about his career path as a multidisciplinary musician, shaped by changing goals, influences, and even his physical health. ____________________________________Guest BioAsher began classical violin training at the tender age of 2 and had already performed with the Buffalo philharmonic by age 13. Asher’s expertise in improvisation across multiple genres has led him to a career as a soloist in demand,performing at venues such as Madison Square Garden,Hammerstein Hall, Lincoln Center, the Jacob JavitzCenter and across fo...
2023-09-1145 minClassical SchmassicalIconic Composers and those who write about them: a Conversation with Emi FergusonSend us a textJoin me in conversation with Emi Ferguson about her work as a flutist, composer, and most recently, author, with the release of her new book Iconic Composers.____________________________________Guest BioEmi is very proud to be named a 2023 Avery Fisher Career Grant awardee, and can be heard live in concerts and festivals around the world as a soloist and with groups including AMOC*, the New York New Music Ensemble, the Handel and Haydn Society, and the Manhattan Chamber Players. She has spoken and performed at several TEDX events and...
2023-06-1746 minClassical SchmassicalNote to Self: Music Education and Building Community with Adrian GordonSend us a textJoin Murph and Alexa as they talk with composer, educator, and publisher Adrian Gordon about his career and new book, Note to Self: A Music Director’s Guide for Transitioning to a New School and Building a Thriving Music Program___________________________________Adrian Gordon is an internationally performed composer and seasoned music educator.After 17 years of teaching music in the classroom in South Florida and going through four music director job transitions in two different schools, as well as general music, choir, and two string orchestra positions, Adrian realized there was a...
2023-03-0543 minClassical SchmassicalArtistry with Joshua RomanSend us a textJoin me (new host Murphy Severtson!) as I talk with Joshua Roman on what it means to be a soloist, artistry, collaboration, and chronic health._________________________________Joshua Roman is a cellist, composer and curator whose performances embrace musical styles from Bach to Radiohead. Before setting off on his unique path as a soloist, Roman was the Seattle Symphony’s principal cellist - a job he began at just 22 years of age. He has since become renowned for his genre-bending repertoire and wide-ranging collaborations. He was also named a TED Senior Fe...
2023-01-1158 minClassical SchmassicalA Musical Mosaic: Individuality within a Composers CollectiveSend us a textJoin me as I talk with the members of the newly formed Mosaic Composers Collective, of which I am a member! Collective Mission Statement:Mosaic Composers Collective, featuring Kevin Arthur Jr., Aidan Arbona, Naamia Rivera, Murphy Severtson, Alexa Letourneau, and Athos Maelstrom, is a gathering of composers in pursuit of an intimate – yet fearless – sound exploration of humanity’s many colorful spheres. Centered in curiosity, the Collective strives to create and curate that which challenges the world around them. Artist Bios:New York-based composer and cellis...
2022-12-1558 minClassical SchmassicalPercussion, Collaboration, and Crossing GenresSend us a textJoin me as I talk with Robert Dillon of Third Coast Percussion about his work as a percussionist, composer, and ensemble member, including working with Philip Glass and their exciting upcoming season, both in Chicago and around the world. _________________________________Robert Dillon is an Ensemble Member and Development Director of Third Coast Percussion. He has also performed as a substitute with the Chicago, Boston, and San Diego Symphony Orchestras, and served as principal percussionist in the Madison Symphony Orchestra from 2007-2008. A passionate educator, he previously served as chair of p...
2022-10-0244 minClassical SchmassicalArts Admin, Accessibility in Orchestra, and Community EngagementSend us a textJoin me as I talk with arts administrator Christina Salerno about her artistic practice!Guest Bio:Appointed the Executive Director of Illinois Philharmonic Orchestra in January 2017, Ms. Salerno joined the symphonic world having spent seven years as Executive Director of Salt Creek Ballet (SCB). While at SCB, Ms. Salerno led a campaign to build all new sets and costumes for the company’s annual production of The Nutcracker and successfully brought live orchestral accompaniment back to the production. Her passion for increasing the visibility and capacity of arts organizations has le...
2022-04-3031 minClassical SchmassicalComposing, Concert Programs, and the Latin American BaroqueSend us a textJoin me as I talk with composer Reinaldo Moya about his artistic practice!Guest Bio:Reinaldo Moya is a graduate of Venezuela’s El Sistema music education system. He is the recipient of the Charles Ives Fellowship from the American Academy of Arts and Letter, the McKnight Composers Fellowship, the Van Lier Fellowship, and the Aaron Copland Award. He was the winner of the Ellis-Beauregard Foundation Composer Award, leading to the commissioning of his Piano Concerto for Joyce Yang and the Bangor Symphony Orchestra.As the Composer-Residence at Th...
2022-04-0244 minClassical SchmassicalRadical AcceptanceSend us a textJoin us as Joy Guidry and I talk about their new album, identity in music, and how to fix the problems with the music community as a whole. Guest Bio:Radical self-love, compassion, laughter, and the drive to amplify Black artmakers and noisemakers comprise the core of NYC-based bassoonist and composer Joy Guidry’s work. Their performances have been hailed by The San Diego Tribune as “lyrical and haunting…hair-raising and unsettling.” A versatile improviser and a composer of experimental, daring new works that embody a deep love of storytell...
2022-03-0657 minClassical SchmassicalHow To OperaSend us a textJoin me as I chat with Wang Lu and Kelly Rourke about what it means to write an opera, as well as their most recent project, "The Beekeper."Guest Biographies: Composer and pianist Wang Lu writes music that reflects a very natural identification with influences from traditional Chinese music, urban environmental sounds, linguistic intonation and contours, and freely improvised traditions, through the prism of contemporary instrumental techniques and new sonic possibilities.She is currently the David S. Josephson Assistant Professor of Music at Brown University, after...
2022-02-2645 minClassical SchmassicalConduct Yourself AccordinglySend us a textJoin me as I chat with Lidiya Yankovskaya about her work as the first female conductor of a multi-million dollar opera company!https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassicalGuest Bio: Russian-American conductor Lidiya Yankovskaya is a fiercely committed advocate for Russian masterpieces, operatic rarities, and contemporary works on the leading edge of classical music. She has conducted more than 40 world premieres, including 16 operas, and her strength as a visionary collaborator has guided new perspectives on staged and symphonic repertoire from Carmen and Queen of Spades to Price and Prokofiev. A...
2021-12-1230 minClassical SchmassicalViolinequalitySend us a textJoin me for a discussion with violinist Caitlin Edwards as we discuss her career as a violinist, the relationship and intersection between Classical and Black music, and her recent grant from 3arts Entertainment.Guest Bio:Caitlin Edwards is a classically trained violinist, arranger, recording artist, and teacher based in Chicago. She has performed with the Sphinx Symphony Orchestra, Nairobi Philharmonic, Grant Park Festival Orchestra, and Chicago Sinfonietta. She’s played and recorded with artists such as John Legend, Ms. Lauryn Hill, Common, and with PJ Morton’s on his “Gumbo Album”...
2021-10-3131 minClassical SchmassicalNavigating Your MusicSend us a textElijah Daniel Smith and I discuss compositional process, pedagogical development, and his upcoming piece for the Chicago Symphony's Homecoming concert. Guest Bio:Described by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra as a “rising star”, composer Elijah Daniel Smith is quickly establishing himself as one of today’s leading young composers. From orchestral compositions to multimedia and interdisciplinary collaborations, Elijah’s affinity for dense and complex textures, rhythmic ambiguity and fluidity, and rich gravitational harmonies shines through in all of his creations. Elijah’s music has been premiered and performed by world renowned ensembles s...
2021-10-3144 minClassical SchmassicalCelebrating 55 Years of the AACMSend us a textJoin me in conversation with powerhouse musicians Renee Baker, Adegoke Steve Colson, and Vanessa Rose discussing the upcoming anniversary concert, put on by the AACM, ACF, and Great Black Music Ensemble. Guest Bios:A visual artist, filmmaker, composer, violinist and re-contextualist, Renée C. Baker is an multi-disciplined engineer. She utilizes movement, film projections of real and imaginary objects, vignettes and sounds to create an exquisite arena of surrealist activity.Steve Colson – aka Adegoke – pianist and composer, has performed internationally as a leader of jazz ensembles ranging from t...
2021-10-3045 minClassical SchmassicalPlay It Like You Mean ItSend us a textToday on Classical Schmassical, internationallly renowned pianist and commercial musician Emile Pandolfi talks about his career, making his start, and bringing emotion into your playing, as well as his newly released book, "Play it Like You Mean It."Guest Bio:With over 30 recordings in his discography, Emile Pandolfi ranks among America’s most popular piano artists. With the majority of his performance repertoire being lush, intricate arrangements of Broadway and standards that form the canon of "The Great American Songbook," his influences are, in fact, more classical than pop. It is...
2021-10-2439 minClassical SchmassicalTrombone in a MillionSend us a textJoin me for a short and sweet episode of Classical Schmassical, where I talk to Lena Smith about trombone, mental health, personal identity, and belonging in the music world. Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassical
2021-09-1925 minClassical SchmassicalThe GLORY of ComposingSend us a textClassical Schmassical returns with an incredible discussion featuring Marcus Norris, new composer in residence with the Chicago Philharmonic. Guest Bio: Marcus Norris’ first foray into making music came in the form of producing rap beats on pirated software, installed on a Windows 98 computer that he Macgyvered together from spare parts while laying on the floor of his childhood bedroom. Though he came to composing concert music later, he transferred that same imagination and ingenuity to writing music of all kinds. Marcus has been called a “New Musical Talent in our Midst” by Chic...
2021-09-0554 minClassical SchmassicalThe Guitarist Was Not the ImposterSend us a textJoin me as I talk with multi-instrumentalist and musical theater performer Meghan Doyle about guitar in different contexts, gear setup in a big city context, and dealing with imposter syndrome. Guest Bio: Meghan Doyle is a New Jersey based multi-instrumentalist. She is primarily a guitarist but also plays drumset, bass, a little bit of keys, and the occasional bit of banjo, mandolin, lap steel, and trombone. She also has a wealth of experience in both live audio and recording, and a bit of experience in theatrical lighting and production. Recent credits incl...
2021-06-1357 minClassical SchmassicalKeeping ScoreSend us a textOn today's episode of Classical Schmassical, I'm joined by score-maker James Creed as we talk about a composer's role in music through notation, performance, score, and compositional voice. Resources mentioned:Piano Studies 1-6 Bandcamp: https://jamesmcreed.bandcamp.com/album/piano-studies-1-6James' Scores: https://jamescreedmusic.wixsite.com/website/scoresTalk with Lola de la Mata and Joanna Ward on open/text notation: https://www.mixcloud.com/Feminist_Library/lola-de-la-mata-and-joanna-ward-discuss-open-scores-and-sound-through-a-feminist-lens/James is a score-maker and guitarist currently based in London, UK. Subscribe to...
2021-06-0653 minClassical SchmassicalClassical Schmassical: Now With Double the Flutist-Composers!Send us a textJoin me as I talk with astrid [Seamus] hubbard flynn about being a composer-flutist and incorporating equity into artistic practice as white musicians. Resources mentioned: Alex Temple's article Composers Performers and Consent: https://nmbx.newmusicusa.org/composers-performers-and-consent/Resmaa Menakem's book My Grandmother’s Hands: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781942094470Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassicalGuest Bio: astrid hubbard flyn...
2021-05-3046 minClassical SchmassicalElectronic Music? It's Electrifying!Send us a textJoin me for a discussion on electronic music, education within the classical canon, and allyship in musical practice with Jonathan Baldwin. Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassicalGuest Bio:Jonathan Baldwin is an electronics and woodwind musician based out of Dayton, Ohio. Holding a BM in Music Education from Wright state university where he studied Saxophone with John Toerner, and Bassoon w...
2021-05-1659 minClassical SchmassicalDuck, Duck... Guitar?Send us a textGuitarist and composer Duck Armstrong joins me today to discuss guitar, genre, accessibility, and the way that art is all a social construct, and what that means for us as artists. Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassicalGuest Bio:Duck Armstrong (they/them) is a multimedia artist currently in Dallas, Texas. They frequently explore visual art and music through use of i...
2021-04-251h 07Classical SchmassicalFrustrations of Voice and Voicing Your FrustrationsSend us a textSoprano Jessica Lewis joins for a talk about effective use of the voice and the opera industry at large on today's episode of Classical Schmassical. Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassicalGuest Bio:Jessica Lewis is a young American soprano astounding audiences with her shimmering and agile coloratura. She is currently a young artist performing as Violetta in Vincerò Academy’s La T...
2021-04-181h 05Classical SchmassicalSo Many Interests, So Little TimeSend us a textOn today's episode of Classical Schmassical, Mark Mathison talks about being a multi-instrumentalist with degrees in bassoon performance and physics, and how such diverse interests can find balance in his life. Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassicalGuest Bio:Mark Mathison is a multi-instrumentalist composer from Minneapolis. He received his B.M. in Instrumental Performance along with a B.S. in P...
2021-04-111h 08Classical SchmassicalIt's Trumpet TimeSend us a textIn this episode, Connor Johnson talks about trumpet, composing, and accessing new genres of music! Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassicalGuest bio:Hi, I’m Connor Johnson and I’m a trumpet player and composer from Michigan. I’m currently finishing up my undergrad at Michigan State University, where I’ve really grown to love playing and writing new music.
2021-03-281h 22Classical SchmassicalTheoretical MusingsSend us a textSam Moffett discusses theory, pedagogy, and the ways education shapes young musicians in today's episode of Classical Schmassical!Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassical
2021-03-2056 minClassical SchmassicalzFestival zFriendsSend us a textIn this episode, Shoshana Klein, one of the two directors of zFestival arts organization, chats about building community, running a festival with only two months notice, and perfectionism in the music education system.Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassicalGuest bio:Shoshana Klein is an oboist and arts administrator currently(ish) pursuing her master’s degree at McGill University. She received her...
2021-03-1652 minClassical SchmassicalDouble Bass, Double TroubleSend us a textFrom double bass extended techniques to how new music can fit in to the orchestral audition circuit, Dean Mason and Ian Fales share their thoughts on the music of the past and present.Subscribe to Classical Schmassical: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCKHLhYNkfCuZs6lu-7a3-wQJoin the Discord: https://discord.gg/Qc7mnVbBFollow Classical Schmassical: https://www.facebook.com/ClassicalSchmassicalGuest Bios:Dean Mason is a composer and bassist from South Jersey. As a composer, he has created pieces ranging from solo...
2021-03-061h 15
Beyond FearEpisode 11: ”Do Women Do Those Things?!”The image that comes to mind when we think about a person who commits a sexual offense is more often than not, male. While it is true that the vast majority of sexual harm around the world is committed by men, women can – and do – commit crimes. In this episode of Beyond Fear, Alissa interviews Alexa about her expertise on female sexual offending. Alexa sheds light on this important, understudied and often misunderstood issue.
The names that come to mind when we think about women who sexuall offend are those that have become household names: Mary Kay Leto...
2020-10-0747 min