Finally, An Update!

It has been an amazing, if somewhat emotional, three months since I shared the news of my appointment at Vanderbilt.     As soon as I clicked 'publish' on the post I knew it would be a crazy few weeks, and I decided that I wouldn't try to update the blog any more until things calmed down and I had plenty of extra time.   I wanted to dedicate my time to family vacations we had scheduled, spending time with and saying goodbye to our friends, and savoring every last bit of my remaining time in the orchestra.    I honestly didn't think it would be this long until I had some extra time, but I'm able now to update you all on what has happened since then.   First, though, we have to jump back to the beginning of 2012.

At the time I accepted my new position at the Blair School of Music, I was at the end of one of the busiest periods of time I've ever experienced.    The first three months of 2012 looked like this:

- New Year's Concert

- VPO Block with Gergiev

- Tour to Oman with Gergiev (big 1st trombone solo with 24-hrs notice when Ian Bousfield falls ill)

- Live Austria-wide radio broadcast with the Vienna Trombone Ensemble (buy their CD!!!!)
- Fly to the US with Kristi and Eli

- Masterclasses at Wheaton College, Illinois

- Masterclass at Roosevelt University, Chicago

- Solo recital/masterclass at Univ. of Wisconsin - Whitewater

- Return to Tennessee for family visit

- Solo recital/masterclass at Univ. of Southern Mississippi

- Masterclasses at Univ. of North Texas

- Concerto performance with North Texas Symphonic Band

- Audition for professorship at Vanderbilt University

- Fly to Vienna, leaving Kristi and Eli in the US

- VPO Block with Maazel (includes bass trumpet on "the Ring without Words")

- Tour with Maazel: 

          - Oslo

          - Stockholm

          - Helsinki

          - Aalborg

          - Copenhagen

          - New York City (Carnegie)

- Fly to Tennessee for family time and to pick up Kristi and Eli

- Return to Vienna

The New Year's Concert live broadcast in Austria

In Oslo, Norway.   My 40th country!

Now, on top of all this was my normal opera schedule (about 20 performances), and the ever-present back story of my decision to leave the orchestra.  I do not regret for one second the way things turned out, and I am totally happy and at peace with my decision to move to Nashville, but anyone would have to admit that any life/career decision of this magnitude carries with it significant stress and emotional weight.

I am not writing this so that everyone will feel sorry for me, or to sort of brag about how busy I was.   After all, every item on the list (with the possible exception of the trans-Atlantic flights) was very enjoyable, and I'm glad I did all of it.  I am writing this so that 'future me' can look back and remember this hectic yet wonderful season of my life, and also so that you can maybe understand why, at the end of all that, I needed a BREAK!!!

Thankfully, we had already planned a late-March family vacation to Spain and Portugal well before I even applied for the Vanderbilt job.   We decided last Fall to make traveling around Europe a greater priority in 2012, and our many trips have turned out to be a very nice farewell tour!   You can read more about Spain & Portugal at the Vienna Wilsons.

With Kristi & Eli in Granada, Spain

It was really nice to be able to take a couple weeks to relax, unwind, and reflect on the new direction our lives has taken.   I think it was good that we took some time to step away from all the craziness to truly absorb what had taken place and mentally prepare ourselves for what lay ahead.   It also helped cleanse my musical palate and clear my head from a work point of view, so that I could step right back into some great music in the month of April.   It was important to me that I perform well in my final months, especially since two of them were going to be as principal trombonist!   More on that in the next post.

I'll close out this post by saying a huge "Thank You" to all of you who messaged me with words of encouragement and support after my big announcement.   I was truly overwhelmed by the positive reception with which my post was met.    It seems it generated quite a bit of interest... the post had 1,200 views in the first 48 hours, and Back Row Perspectives was viewed well over 5,000 times in the month of March!!  

As I sit here in late June, having finished my final VPO concert in Vienna and only two months from flying to Nashville for good, I feel the exact same way I felt three months ago: sad to be leaving, but mostly just grateful for the time I've had here and excited for what the future will bring.  The moving company is coming to pick up our belongings on Monday, and next Thursday I will perform my 557th (and final) opera in the Wiener Staatsoper.   It has all come so very fast, but I have had musical and personal experiences in the past months that I will always treasure.    I'm just glad I have some time to jot them down now!   Stay tuned.

A Major Announcement

It's been an intense few weeks since my last post... and at the end of it all, I have some major news to share with you.   OK... here we go!      

It gives me great pleasure to announce I have accepted a position as Associate Professor of Trombone at Vanderbilt University's Blair School of Music! 

That's right!  We will be moving back to Tennessee in August, and I will begin teaching during the Fall 2012 semester.

I realize this comes as a shock to many of you, and I know I have some explaining to do, but first I just want to say how honored I am to have been offered this fantastic opportunity and how excited we are about our future in Nashville.

Of course this means I will be leaving the Vienna Philharmonic/Staatsoper, which was not a decision that was reached lightly.    There have been many sleepless nights and tearful conversations over the past few weeks, but in the end I felt the opportunity to return to our home state to teach and perform music at one of America's top universities was too good to pass up.


Those that know me best know that amidst the triumphs and joys of the last 5 years (which will surely rank among the best years of my life), there have been immense struggles as well.    Like many aspects of life, this experience has been a lesson in the age-old dictum that there are two sides to every story.

On one hand, I have had the honor and privilege to perform with not one but two of the world's greatest orchestras, in the world's greatest concert halls, under the world's greatest conductors.   I have lived for 5 years in one the world's most beautiful cities, traveled to nearly 40 countries, learned a foreign language, and built life-long friendships, both inside and outside the orchestra.    And above all of those things stands the most amazing part of this experience:  the music.    The quality and quantity of music I have heard since September 2007 has enriched my life in a way that I could've never imagined.

On the other hand, the demands of the orchestra's rigorous work/touring schedule have made it quite a challenge to fulfill my most important roles... husband and father.  I am on the road an average of two months per year.   In 2011, I was in Vienna only 7 months out of the year.   At the end of this season, we will have lived in Vienna for about 260 weeks;  I have spent 48 of those weeks away from my wife and son.   This is a very heavy price to pay for all the great things I mentioned above, and I have increasingly viewed the touring aspect of my job as a burden rather than a perk.   I love my job, but I love my family infinitely more.   I want to be around for my wife... I want to watch my son (and any future sons/daughters) grow up.  Not even the Vienna Philharmonic is more important than that.

Also, Vienna is not my home... Tennessee is!   There is no way to fully describe in a blog post what it's like to live an ocean away from the people and places you hold most dear.   For some people, it works.   I realize that geographic proximity to loved ones is not a priority for everyone.   For us, it is a big deal, and we are elated beyond words that we will be close to family once more!

We're so happy to return to the Volunteer State!

There is one more major reason I have made this decision.   Those that have known me for a long time know that up until the point I got the job in Vienna, my goal was to someday teach trombone at the university level.   Though I have obviously enjoyed it immensely, I never planned on being a full-time orchestral musician.    In my first lesson with Vern Kagarice at North Texas, we sat down and had a conversation about my career goals.   I told him in that lesson, "I would like to do a job just like yours."   I said the same thing to Don Hough years earlier at the University of Tennessee.

I have a passion for performance and a passion for teaching, and I always felt a university position would allow me the best opportunity to do both those things on a high level.   My feelings on that subject haven't changed over the years.  What has changed is that I'm now actually qualified for such a position!!   In other words, I feel that I have taken a very circuitous route to achieving what has been my end goal since 2002.

I'm looking forward to interacting with students, impacting their lives through the wonderful gift of music, and sharing what I've learned and experienced in Vienna.    I am excited to rediscover the things that defined my pre-Vienna career (solo playing, jazz, and chamber music) through the lens of the last 5 years.   I can't wait to build new friendships and make music with my colleagues at Vanderbilt, especially in the context of the Blair faculty brass quintet, which will be a major part of my existence there.

Though my first priority will be my students at Blair, I plan to actively pursue a more active solo career.   My recent solo performances in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Texas (sorry for the lack of posts, but it's been a little crazy) were the most fun I've had making music in a long time, and I commented to someone afterwards that it could be addictive.    I plan on concertizing lots in Nashville and around the Southeast, as well as hopefully national and international conferences.

I don't want to completely say 'goodbye' to my orchestral life.   It is my hope that I'll have opportunities over the years to perform with symphony orchestras, even if not in a full-time capacity.    I am not so naive as to think I won't miss the Vienna Philharmonic... of course I will!   But I'm not planning on severing all ties.   I want to come back occasionally to listen, absorb, and maintain the professional and personal relationships I have in Europe.   And if they wanted me to sit in on something, I probably would.  :)

As I near the end of this journey, I find myself reflecting on all that has happened since 2007.   I still don't know if it has sunk in yet what I've actually done, but I think it's beginning to.    I find myself filled not with regret or sadness, but rather overcome with feelings of gratitude and fulfillment.

I am so thankful to God for the blessings He has poured out on my family, and for this experience which has changed my life and the lives of everyone around me.

I am so thankful to my wonderful wife, whose support, determination, and courage have made everything in the last five years possible, from beginning to end.   She was ready to move to Vienna in 2007 even before I was, and she never once asked to leave.  I brought the Vanderbilt idea to her, and she was willing to do whatever I thought best.   Kristi, you are awesome.

I am so thankful to the Vienna Philharmonic/State Opera for taking a chance on me, then completely accepting me, and then understanding and respecting my decision to leave.    I have been overwhelmed by the decency, empathy, and professionalism with which my decision has been met.   My colleagues have all echoed my feelings in the last week: sad that I'm going, but happy for the opportunity I've been given.   I owe a special thanks to Ian Bousfield, without whom I would never have shown up in Vienna in the first place, and whose guidance and friendship have meant the world to me.

And finally, I am so grateful to Dean Mark Wait and the Blair search committee for this amazing life-changing chance.   I enthusiastically look forward to the coming years!!  

Blair's state-of-the-art Ingram Center for the Performing Arts

36 Hours in Arabia

It's time for a pop quiz!    Who can tell me (without using Google) which country the following flag represents?

Not sure???   Here's a clue:  its capital city is Musqat.

Still don't know?

Well, of course I'm referring to the well-known and not at all obscure Sultanate of Oman!

What's that, you say?? You've never even heard of Oman?   Neither had I until recently, when I decided to learn the flags of the world.   Do you want to know how I remembered this one?   Whenever I saw the distinctive curved dagger in the corner, I would think, "Oh, MAN! I'll never get this one!  Oh-man = OMAN!"   I obviously never thought I would EVER have a chance to visit this little-known nation on the eastern end of the Arabian Peninsula, but this week it became my foreign country number 37!

The Philharmonic had originally planned a two-day stay in Abu Dhabi, where I've visited already twice, but the plans fell through somehow and instead we helped break in the brand new Royal Opera House of Musqat with a program of Russian music under the baton of Valery Gergiev.   Sultan Qaboos, the leader of Oman since the 1970s, has a reputation for being dedicated to a policy of modernization and tolerance, quite similar to his neighbors in the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, and Bahrain.  He owns a humongous yacht, several elaborate palaces, and is reputedly a huge classical music fan.   Naturally.

I mainly want to let the photos tell the story, but I have to lay a little groundwork first.   You see, this Gergiev 'block' got underway last week with another two-day tour to Germany.   We visited Hannover and Cologne (Kölsch and a meterwurst highly recommended by the way), returned to Wien to perform our normal weekend subscription concerts, and then immediately following Sunday's concert rushed to the airport and took off towards the desert.   

With the time difference, we arrived in Musqat at around 12:30 AM on Monday.   Airports don't tend to be fully staffed at that time of night, as we soon found out.   There were 2 windows open at immigration and it was very slow going.   Immigration took about 2 minutes per person, times 100 people... let's just say we were there for a while.  

Not what you want to see at 1AM

At least Sultan Qaboos was there to greet us!

We finally made it to our hotel around 2:45 AM, and I crashed hard.    The next morning I awoke to see this outside my balcony: 

That's a pleasant surprise if I ever saw one!

Not sure what that island is, but it's HUGE

The Arabian Riviera??

Some beautiful foothills in the distance

I didn't make it out of bed in time for breakfast, but I did manage to drag myself downstairs for a wonderful buffet lunch with some colleagues.    Much hummus was consumed.    In the afternoon I did some practice and then decided to do a bit of walking around.

I can't imagine a more stark contrast to Vienna in January

Seems like all the buildings are white... suppose it helps with the heat

I spent some time reading in the hotel garden

The Sultan Qaboos Grand Mosque (2nd largest in the world)

The concert went really well, and I was blown away by the over-the-top splendor of the hall.   The acoustics were not very well suited to our orchestra, but it worked out okay in the end.   

We did a couple pieces I had never heard of, but that I was really glad to be introduced to.  First was Rimsky-Korsakov's Invisible City of Kitezh Suite, which is a real gem in my opinion.   Second was a brilliant and fun jazz-influenced piece by Rhodin Shchedrin entitled Concerto No. 1 "Naughty Limericks".    And we were again treated to a rousing performance of Tchaikovsky's Piano Concerto No. 1 by the 2011 Tchaikovsky Competition winner Daniil Trifonov.   The guy is 20 years old and makes the most amazing music.   Really inspiring stuff.

The Royal Opera House Musqat after the concert

On the way back to Vienna we were treated to some breathtaking views, particularly over southwest Iran and southern Iraq.

The Omani landscape just after take-off

Gorgeous mountain ranges in Iran

If you'd like to see even more photos, check out this album.

New Year's Concert Thoughts (plus Videos!)

On Sunday I had the privilege to take part in the Vienna Philharmonic's annual New Year's Concert for 2012.    What a blast!!!    I thought the concert went really well, and judging from the flurry of calls, emails, and Facebook messages I've received over the past 24 hours, it seems like lots of other people really enjoyed the broadcast.  

I thought I would share some thoughts about the concert, as well as some YouTube videos I found of my favorite selections.

- I thought the program was fantastic all-around.   There was lots of variety, which is really something when you're speaking about a New Year's Concert where it's normally waltz after waltz after polka after polka... ad nauseum.   Tchaikovsky was included this year, and the Vienna Boys' Choir made a couple appearances.     There was a noticeable up-tic in the amount of stuff for the trombones this year, including probably my favorite piece on the program, Josef Hellmesberger's Danse Diabolique.   This wonderful little piece, written by a former concertmaster of the Vienna Philharmonic, served as a great fast and furious (not to mention virtuosic) opener to the second half.   And we get to play real loud.  Here's a video:



- The flowers were amazing this year.   I'm sure they featured prominently in the broadcast, but in person there is the added bonus that the entire Golden Hall smells awesome!

- I've been asked by lots of people in years past, "Do you get to meet Julie Andrews?"   No... she records all her little featur-ettes well in advance, and doesn't even show up at the concert.   Well, apparently this year was different because I look up to the balcony in the second half, and who do I see but Maria v. Trapp herself!   Pretty cool she came, though I almost missed an entrance or two looking up to see if she was enjoying herself.

- A major feature of any New Year's Concert is the Austrian attempt at 'having ze fun'.   It usually involves a cleverly-titled polka and a bit of schtick.   In my first New Year's Concert, the entire orchestra gradually exited to stage while performing Haydn's Farewell Symphony.   The year before that, the orchestra played the Sport Polka while wearing soccer scarves before they were given a red card by the conductor.    In 2010, it was the popping of corks and spraying of fake bubbles during the Champagne Polka.    This year, we had two nice bits of 'ze humor', JA??   Enjoy:





- You might've noticed some really unique overhead shots in the broadcast.   There was a new cable cam that ran diagonally from the back left corner of the hall all the way up behind the organ.   Looks like it got some really cool shots... though it does draw attention to my (ever so slightly) receding hairline/high forehead.

- I realized this year that the Strauss family is not that complicated.  First, you've got the DAD: Johann Senior (composed the Radetzky March and forbade his kids to go into music).  Then you've got THREE SONS: Johann Junior (the Blue Danube), Josef (Waltz of the Spheres), and Eduard.    Eduard did something that was apparently pretty common back in the day... he ripped off Bizet and put his most famous melodies from Carmen into a Quadrille.   What's a quadrille, you ask?   This is:



- I was asked by a friend if it was really hot in the hall or if Jansons was just a prolific sweater.   The answer is YES to both.   Jansons (and funnily enough his student Andris Nelsons) both are EXTREME sweaters.   They are usually dripping by the end of concerts.   They are the only conductors I've ever seen go through multiple shirts in one performance.   Must be a Latvian thing...

By the way, I thought Jansons did a great job.   He picked a really good program and conducted it very well the whole week.

- Some of you might not know that the PBS broadcast in America is only the 2nd half of the concert.   My favorite waltz of the concert was on the first half, and was *gasp* NOT by the Strauss family, but rather Karl Michael Ziehrer (sounds like Tseerer).  It's called Wiener Bürger (Viennese Citizens):



- My favorite polka of the concert was also on the first half.   It's called Entweder-Oder, which means "Either-Or".



- During the intermission of the live broadcast, ORF (Austrian TV) played this awesome video which features the city of Vienna and a chamber ensemble made up of VPO members.   It's 23 minutes long, but nevertheless VERY HIGHLY recommended.



Thanks to everyone for all the nice comments and well-wishes you've sent me in response to the concert.  Thanks for watching, and please tune in again next year.   I don't know who will be playing 2nd trombone in 2013... possibly me again... but theoretically we will have a new colleague from our audition in March (replacing the retiring Karl Jeitler), and he/she would be in the rotation to play on New Year's.   Guess we'll see!

I wish all of you the best in 2012.   I hope it is a happy and blessed year for all BRP readers!
PROSIT NEUJAHR!!!