 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: runner
Date: 2017-08-01 22:46
Hi all,
I'm attending a luncheon for music lovers (donors) of a major American orchestra. A trio from the orchestra is performing the Beethoven clarinet trio.
Afterwards audience members are allowed to ask any question of the trio.
What question might I pose to the clarinetist. The question should be of interest to non-clarinet members (the vast majority).
Any suggestions?
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2017-08-01 23:01
The invariable questions musicians don't mind answering, and audiences, lay included, like hearing include:
How/When did you first get started?
When did you know you wanted to be a professional musician?
Did you have other professional interests?
How were your teachers and which ones do you feel had the most [favorable] impact on you and why?
What are your favorite works and why?
What would you suggest others aspiring to fill your shoes some day do in their training?
Whose gear do you play and why?
What attracted you to your particular instrument?
If you could play another instrument what might it be?
If you had to do it all over again, might you have chosen another path?
Do you teach? Do you like teaching?
What are the most important lessons you try to convey to your students?
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I could go on all day. I'll let others take the wheel here and I'll add more if asked.
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Author: nellsonic
Date: 2017-08-01 23:30
If you personally don't have a question in mind of your own, either now or in the moment of opportunity, why not yield the time to someone who does? Usually there are more questions than time.
If you want to ask a clarinet specific question, go for it. It's not your job to entertain the audience, unless I'm misunderstanding and you are preparing to be an interviewer for the event. The clarinetist will likely be able to give you a succinct answer that will be useful to you without bringing things to a halt. S/he might also reframe it in a more general way to keep it engaging for the whole audience. An honest and heartfelt question is usually more engaging than a pro forma one that has been asked many times before.
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Author: RLarm
Date: 2017-08-01 23:48
Whiteplainsdave, I love your long list of possible questions. Personally, I do not feel comfortable about the equipment question. EVERYTHING else is an A Plus!!!
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Author: runner
Date: 2017-08-02 03:42
Thanks for the questions. All are good choices.
Now, forgive me please, I had attended the noon luncheon and asked my own question. I used my post to see if my question was out of line. I asked the clarinetist, Robert Wolfrey, "How old were you when you learned "Rhapsody In Blue, and who taught it to you?" His response gave us a clear picture of his background and development. When a woman at the next table yelled out for him to "play a few bars," he proceeded to knock it out of the park.
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Author: WhitePlainsDave
Date: 2017-08-02 04:04
That was a perfectly harmless question that sounded like (pun intended) it worked out just fine. I'm glad things went well--not the least bit bothered that my after the fact questions were simply a reality check for you.
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Author: runner
Date: 2017-08-02 22:11
As an "encore" to the Beethoven, and prior to my planned question, Robert and Carolyn (pianist) play a Benny Goodman number. Sorry I didn't know the name of the selection.
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Author: Sean.Perrin
Date: 2017-08-04 05:41
As someone with a lot of experience interviewing now, I would say don't ask them stuff that's available in their bio, or that they've likely answered a thousand times.
Ask them something fresh, unique, and insightful. And ask it in a way that elicits an interesting response.
Founder and host of the Clarineat Podcast: http://www.clarineat.com
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Author: runner
Date: 2017-08-04 06:31
Oddly, I asked a question to a Hall of Fame baseball player that I, believe, no one had ever asked him. Here goes... in one of my part time jobs working for the Indians I asked Bob Feller "'Have you seen the 'I Love Lucy Show'" in which Lucy is wearing your #19 Bob Feller jersey ? He replied "Lucille Ball?... I had dinner with her...She's a very nice woman." He was riding the elevator I was operating at the ball park. He never said if he saw that episode (sure he did).
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Author: GeorgeL ★2017
Date: 2017-08-04 06:54
How about something on the order of: "What do you tell talented students who ask your advice about pursing a career as a professional musician?
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Author: Tom Puwalski
Date: 2017-08-04 17:13
What do clarinetists eat? After that, ask them a question that you would like an answer to. If there is nothing you want to know, then sit down and don't ask anything.
Tom Puwalski
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Author: Bob Bernardo
Date: 2017-08-06 22:36
Joking here - Ask who Beethoven is?
OK, ask if he was doing deaf yet? People say he started going deaf as early as his first symphony. But I have no idea. I know that by the time he wrote his 6th symphony he was surely losing his hearing.
Designer of - Vintage 1940 Cicero Mouthpieces and the La Vecchia mouthpieces
Yamaha Artist 2015
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