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 Kevin
Good has served in the Trumpet section of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra
since 1979. Prior to his appointment with the DSO he taught trumpet,
music theory, and jazz at Southern Methodist University in Dallas,
Texas. He also taught trumpet at the University of Windsor, Wayne State
University and the University of Michigan. He
began trumpet studies in the fifth grade and went on to receive his
Bachelor’s degree from Baldwin-Wallace College in 1975 and his Master’s
degree in 1977 from Northwestern University.
More...
Transcript Recorded: 02-07-2006
- 07:01:01
PM
MyAuditions: Greetings and welcome to MyAuditions February celebrity chat. Our
featured artist this evening is with Kevin Good, Second
Trumpet with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra since 1979.
Prior to his appointment with the DSO he taught trumpet,
music theory, and jazz at Southern Methodist University in
Dallas, Texas. He also taught trumpet at the University of
Windsor, Wayne State University and the University of
Michigan.
MyAuditions: This
is a moderated chat and all comments are pre-screened and
will be pre-approved by Mr. Good prior to public
display on this forum.
MyAuditions:
Welcome Kevin.
Kevin Good: Hello Yes, I'm here.
MyAuditions: Thank
you for joining us this evening. Kevin, please tell our
audience what your favorite symphonic work to perform is?
Kevin Good: I really like Lutoslowsky.
MyAuditions: Why
is that?
Kevin Good: I
guess it's a combination of excitement, pulse, a bunch of
things....it SWINGS.
MyAuditions: LOL.
The forum is now open to our audience. Please feel free to
post your question for Kevin.
<Peter>: How so?
Kevin Good: It's
not complicated...very tonal, but it drives
<Peter>: Hi Kevin.
Very exciting that you are here! What do you attribute to
your longevity with the DSO to be?
Kevin Good: Well,
it's a great group, and the whole "work life" is really
pretty pleasant.
<Chops>: What do
you attribute to your success?
Kevin Good: I had
some great teachers, great fellow players, and luck.
<Peter>: When was
the last time Detroit had an opening in the trumpet section?
Kevin Good: The
last opening was about 9 yrs ago - asst principal... we
hired Steve Anderson.
<Socrates>: Hi Mr.
Good, you have been a second player since you began in the
DSO, can you give some thoughts on what skills it takes to
be a successful second trumpeter?
Kevin Good: Well.
the most important thing is to realize what the job IS and
what it is NOT. My job is to follow the lead player.... to
blend.... to fit in....to tune.
Kevin Good: Of
course you could ask how much music making is involved with
that and I would say, sometimes very little, in terms
of expression. My job satisfaction comes from being
essentially "invisible." That is.... matching so well we
sound like one player. That's clearly NOT for some players.
<hUmPreY>: Whom
did you study with?
Kevin Good: Jim
Darling, Mary Squire, Vince Chicowicz, Don Green.
<hUmPreY>: Which
teacher was your greatest influence?
Kevin Good: All of
them
<Peter>: Has there
been a time where you stepped into the principal role?
Kevin Good: Once
Ramon was out with back surgery, and Al Belknap had some
other health issue. I had to play "Pictures" with about a
week's notice.
Michael Drapkin:
Now that you are in a major orchestra, do you have any
loftier goals for yourself and your role in the music world?
A lot of my friends in orchestras eventually just look at it
as a job --employment.
Kevin Good: Well,
it is a job but a really wonderful one. The business side of
the job is what gets people tired. I do have some outside
things that I'm involved with, some in music, some
elsewhere.
Kevin Good:
Shortly after moving to Detroit some of us started a chamber
group and that keeps me somewhere between busy and burned
out
<hUmPreY>: Yes,
what do you do to keep your perspective on your job so it
isn't just a job?
Kevin Good: I just
focus on the music. That keeps me sane. Given the culture of
our country, there is sooo much negative stuff you could
focus on and most of it MUST be addressed. It's pretty easy
to get jaded but that fix doesn't help anything.
Michael Drapkin:
Are you satisfied with what you are doing in your role as
section trumpet player in the orchestra? Are you living the
dream, so to speak?
Kevin Good: Yes.
There are always things you'd change.
MyAuditions: Like
what?
Kevin Good: Our
country is vastly different from Europe in terms of support
for the arts. We live in a totally consumptive society that
places little value on substance. I don't mean to preach,
but it makes the job of any person connected with the arts
MUCH harder. I'd like to change public awareness and/or
appreciation of ALL art forms.
<Peter>: Prior to
the DSO, did you hold any other orchestral positions?
Kevin Good: Fort
Worth Symphony, second trumpet.
Michael Drapkin:
Given that there are so few jobs like yours in our country
(only 23 full-time full year orchestras in the US according
to the ASOL) do you still encourage your students to try to
become symphony orchestra musicians? Are you frank with them
about their prospects? How do you feel about educating
students that have no chance of working in their intended
field?
Kevin Good: If a
kid really needs to perform, he/she will pursue it. I'm not
trying to be vague, but there are students who "need" to
perform. You can sort of tell. They're not always the most
talented ones either. I see it as my job to tell them how I
think they will do. That's part of what they come to me for.
I do not encourage students to all become symphonic players.
I try to find out their strengths and their motivation and I
tell them about how broad the job scene is in music.
Kevin Good: Doing
what I do is not for everybody. My job would drive some
players crazy but making music is something I try to
emphasize whether they end up playing or teaching, it will
still apply.
<Peter>: How do
you differentiate between the students with equal talent,
the ones you think will make it?
Kevin Good: The
ones that work their asses off usually find their place.
<23456>: What's
the best part of you job... and the worst?
Kevin Good:
Touring, great music, and the colleagues. Those are the best
parts. The "Music Business", bad conductors, bad music. Need
I say more?
<23456>: How often
do you tour and where?
Kevin Good: We're
not touring much now. We're between music directors, but
that will change within a year or two.
MyAuditions: Has
this affected the orchestra's sound at all being in between
conductors? Sound, stylistically?
Kevin Good: Not
really-rehearsals are different, but the players know what
to do.
<Harry>: Hi,
what's the strangest place, hall or country you've played
in?
Kevin Good:
There's a hall in Barcelona that's pretty bizarre, Berlin is
wonderful, and Birmingham (England) was a converted venue
for show horses.
<Rusty>: Could you
talk a little about the equipment you use.
Kevin Good: I use
a Yamaha heavy wall C with a Bach 229 bell.1sttpt:
What does your first player play on? And how did you come up
with that combination? It sounds like the best of both
worlds.
<Rusty>: Does your
section use similar equipment....here in Cleveland. It’s
Bach or nothing.
Kevin Good: No, we
don't use the same stuff. I think Ramon uses a Blackburn,
Steve uses various Bach's and Billy uses Bach, Schilke, and
some tunable bell stuff similar to mine.
1sttpt: When did
you come up with the idea to put the 229 bell on the Yamaha
and who did it for you. I have always thought of trying
something out like that. But I never pulled the trigger on
it.
Kevin Good: I
really did not like to response of the Bach's I was
using....the sound was good but the response was really
uneven. I played some prototype Yamahas at the factory in GR
and liked the response. I wasn't crazy about the sound. I
have a great repairman, Kevin Powers, and we just sort of
tried a few things. It has more resistance than a Bach, but
it's more even overall.
<Madmaestro>: I
love the sound of Viennese trumpets in an orchestra (lived
there for a while) have you played that unique instrument?
Kevin Good: We
tried for awhile, when Gunter Herbig was MD. The sound
quality was indeed different, and my section was not in
agreement about the question as to whether we should use
them. Long story short... we don’t use them any more.
Kevin Good: I'll
try to answer some of these questions a little better in the
archives, so check back in a few weeks.
<23456>: I'm in
high school and our section gets along very well....too well
sometimes as we cut up and have fun. Do you get along with
your section? I heard of a trombone player in some big
orchestra who never talked to a colleague for years!
Kevin Good:
Hmm...it might not be possible for me to answer that without
getting sued, or fired, or both. Yes, we screw around, but
we also take the job very seriously. There's really not much
time to play, given the amount of rehearsal we have and how
much music flies across the stand.
<Madmaestro>: Do
you socialize with other sections? A good online friend of
mine is your principal cellist Robert DeMaine. Hoping so
much to hear your band some day.
Kevin Good: Yes.
This is a pretty social group. I'm sort of out of the loop.
Four teenagers don’t leave much free time.
<Rusty>: Any
retirements down the road in the trumpet section?
Kevin Good: Well,
in about 2117, I might be done paying college tuition.
MyAuditions: We
have time for one last question.
<23456>: What do
you like to do in spare time... or is music, music, music?
Kevin Good: Mostly
music, but I'm a hard core "motorhead." Restoring an old
Jag....working with my brother's formula car.
<23456>: Thanks
Kevin!
Kevin Good: Thank
you all and over and out.
MyAuditions: That
is the last question for this evenings celebrity chat.
MyAuditions would very much like to thank Kevin
Good, trumpeter with the Detroit Symphony Orchestra for
taking the time this evening to chat with us. A transcript
of this evening's chat will be made available to members in
the coming days. Look for the link “Event Transcripts” on
the celebrity chat main page if you wish to access it.
MyAuditions: Also,
please make sure that you check our schedule for next
month's featured celebrity chat with Drew McManus, musician,
manager, and cultural entrepreneur. This event is scheduled
for Monday, March 6, 2006 at 7pm Eastern Time. We hope to
see you there! Thank you again Kevin and thank you members.
This concludes this evening’s program. Good night. |
