TBJ138: Julie Landsman on being the first woman in the brass section of The Met, the teaching of Carmine Caruso and JFL. Legendary is a term that gets thrown around a lot. Sometimes, it is deserved. This is one of those times.
We're playing around with the show notes organization. Let us know your thoughts!
In this fun and lively discussion, we cover:
- Julie being on our initial "wish list" of guests
- Working with both Sam and Mark Gould in a quintet
- Trio with Dave Taylor and Gould
- Played Principal horn for the Met for 25 years
- Andrew Balio (née Anil) and the sheep
- Getting into The Met in 1985
- Working with a bunch of dudes
- First woman in the brass section at The Met
- Only a few of them welcomed her, most did not
- Her only defense was to outplay them
- Leading by example
- Challenges growing up that helped shape her abilities, drive, and approach
- Working to be heard and developing her own voice
- Disaster at the banjo
- Joe Greco was her band director and led her to the horn
- Carmine Caruso was brought in to help out her band program which continued to cement her approach and drive
- Howard Howard from The Met as another major influence
- Hearing Denis Brain recordings
- Caruso method, no-nonsense approach
- Paralysis through analysis
- The precision timing of movement
- A platform for your musicality
- The importance of repetition
- JFL
- Warburton Mouthpiece, JFL model is on the way
- Missing playing with The Met (she left in 2010)
- Taking a leave of absence when she turned 50
- The Rule of 80
- The experience of watching students succeed and perform with them
- Pilkington playing injured
- Starting to teach at the University of Houston and Rice when she played with the Houston Symphony
- Giving and getting with and from teaching
- Asking for help and giving help when it is needed
- Deciding at 13 to become Principal at The Met
- Moving to California to teach at USC
- Teaching on both coasts for two years before moving to Southern California permanently
- Take a chance, follow a dream
- Meeting Jens for the first time
LINKS:
Want to help the show? Here are some ways:
Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.
Julie's bio:
Principal horn with the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 25 years, Julie Landsman is a distinguished performing artist and educator. She received a bachelor of music degree from The Juilliard School in 1975 under the tutelage of James Chambers and Ranier De Intinis, and has served as a member of the Juilliard faculty since 1989.
A native of Brooklyn, New York, Landsman achieved her dream of becoming principal of the MET in 1985 and held that position until 2010. She has also shared her talent to many other ensembles within the city as a current member of the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra and having performed and recorded with the New York Philharmonic. Additionally, she has performed with numerous groups outside the city, including her co-principal position with the Houston Symphony, substitute principal position with the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra, and recent performances with The Philadelphia Orchestra as Associate principal horn, and the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, principal horn.
She has recorded for RCA, Deutsche Gramophone, CRI, Nonesuch and Vanguard labels, and is most famous for her performance of Wagner's "Ring" cycle as solo horn with the MET Opera under the direction of James Levine. Landsman has performed as chamber musician at many festivals and concert series, including the Marlboro Music Festival, Chamber Music Northwest, the Santa Fe Chamber Music Festival, Sarasota Music Festival, La Jolla Summerfest, the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center, Orcas Island Chamber Music Festival, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where she appeared as a guest artist with the Guarneri Quartet. In the summers she performs and teaches at the Music Academy of the West , the Sarasota Music Festival, and the Aspen Music Festival.
World renowned as a master teacher, Julie Landsman holds faculty positions at The Juilliard School and Bard College Conservatory, and teaches frequently as a guest at the Curtis Institute. She has presented master classes at such distinguished institutions as The Colburn School, Curtis Institute, Eastman School of Music, Mannes College of Music, Manhattan School of Music, USC Thornton School of Music, Cal State Long Beach, Rowan University, University of Oklahoma, and University of Southern Mississippi, to name a few. She is also a visiting master teacher at the New World Symphony in Miami. Her international presence includes master classes in Norway, Sweden, and Israel. In 2016 Landsman was an honored jury member at the ARD horn competition in Munich, Germany.
Her students hold positions in the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra, Philadelphia Orchestra, Los Angeles Philharmonic, San Francisco Opera and Ballet Orchestras, Washington National Opera Orchestra, Dallas Symphony, St. Louis Symphony, New Jersey Symphony, Colorado Symphony, and the American Brass Quintet. She recently received the "Pioneer Award" from the International Women's Brass Conference and was a featured artist at the International Horn Society Conference in 2012 and 2015.
Her recent series of Carmine Caruso lessons on YouTube have led to further fame and renown among today's generation of horn players. Landsman currently resides in Nyack, New York.
