Manhattan School of Music

And so I dropped singer-songwriter stuff and went to opera.

From there, I went to Manhattan School of Music and I just started pursuing it full force.

The art form itself just grabbed me.

So as much as I loved performing, the art form itself was always what I loved.

And whatever I could do to serve it was what I wanted to pursue.

And so that's how it started.

I started out as me as a singer and went to Manhattan School of Music.

I did the young artist thing and I was in New York, was a broke singer in New York for so long and eventually found that like, well, I not to negate my own talent, I thought I was fine and talented, but there were so many talented people and so many phenomenal singers out there.

There is a gap as far as who gets represented, who gets programmed.

What are the traditions that we've been handed down as classical musicians? And I felt, especially during Trump's first election in 2016, I was in school at the time at Manhattan School of Music.

that there needed to be a space for us to grieve.

There needed to be a space for us to acknowledge the things, the rifts that were happening in our country.

So there will be a Beauford Delaney exhibit and there's always a Rothko as well, right? So that's going to be in the background of all of our inspiration.

Wonderful, wonderful.

Well, I want to leave you both with one question that I think takes us back to MSM, Manhattan School of Music.

As I mentioned earlier, I've been teaching a career readiness course there.

steve torre on trombone one of the greatest trombonists in jazz gary simoleon one of the greatest baritone players in jazz baritone saxophone players in jazz and on alto saxophone will be a young lady by the name of irena caracubo And she is now teaching out at Michigan State.

But I first met her at the Manhattan School of Music when I was conducting a big band.

And she is amazing.

She studied with Vince Herring.

What was that triggering point? Was it annoyance? Was it excitement? What was it? What triggered it?

Yeah, well, having been the starving artist, for one, Having my I was married at the time and my wife was is went to Manhattan School of Music.

She was a concert violinist.

So she did a lot of side gigs, working, doing weddings and corporate events, strolling violinist and put together quartets and such.

In fact, mental practice, sometimes called motor imagery, is already used in some stroke rehabilitation programs.

Now, I can tell you from personal experience, when I was at the Manhattan School of Music in New York City, I came down with mononucleosis and I had a solo piano recital scheduled and had to postpone it again and again.

Well, finally, I just decided to take the bull by the horns and I scheduled the recital.

But I was still pretty weak, and I couldn't practice very much.