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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.