Temple Music Prep
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
Temple University’s Music Preparatory Division, or “Temple Music Prep” for short, is a program located in the heart of center city, Philadelphia, that provides high quality, non-credit music and dance instruction, and related activities to the Community on behalf of the Boyer College of Music and Dance, and Temple University at-large. World-renowned violinists Sarah Chang and Elena Urioste, as well as several members of the Philadelphia Orchestra share something in common: they were all participants of Temple Music Prep. I also started my own professional career right after graduating...
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Jeff Russo, Composer, Songwriter, and founding member of Tonic
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
Jeff Russo was one of the two founding members of the rock band “Tonic”, perhaps best known for their number one hit in the 90s, “If You Could Only See”. Nowadays, Jeff is in demand as a TV and film composer, having scored music for hit shows like “Fargo”, “American Gothic”, and can currently be heard on the new FX Marvel series, “Legion”. Welcome to A Musical Life. I’m Hugh Sung. Jeff Russo is a two-time GRAMMY® and Emmy-nominated musician who taught himself to play the guitar as a child before going on to become one of the founding members of the multi-platinum...
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David Hart, Guitarist and Entrepreneur
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
David Hart is the developer of the G4 Guitar Method, a method based on his two decades of teaching and opening schools throughout Australia. David’s G4 method not only teaches students the 7 essential skills of guitar playing - it also teaches teachers how to become entrepreneurs and open their own schools, as evidenced by the 50 franchises of the G4 Guitar method around the world. For most musicians, “sales” is a dirty word. “Art” and “business” are concepts that mix about as well as water and oil in their minds. But for David Hart, the business of music education is all about...
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Carol Jantsch, Principal Tubist of The Philadelphia Orchestra
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
Carol Jantsch became the first female tuba player to win a major symphony orchestra position while she was still a senior attending the University of Michigan back in 2006. In addition to her duties as principal tuba of the Philadelphia Orchestra, Carol has been active as a tuba soloist, appearing in recital and in concerto settings with orchestras and ensembles around the world, and now has started her own tuba cover band called “Tubular”. Carol Jantsch is a stunning virtuoso musician, which is perhaps even more remarkable for the fact that she performs on an instrument that isn’t...
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Sara Davis Buechner
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
Sara Davis Buechner has been hailed by The New York Times for her “intelligence, integrity and all-encompassing technical prowess”. As one of the leading keyboard artists of our time, Sara has an active repertoire of over 100 piano concertos and has appeared with prominent orchestras all over the world. Sara was recently appointed to the piano faculty at Temple University's Boyer College of Music and Dance, in Philadelphia. Sara Davis Buechner first came to prominence as David Buechner, winning the gold medal in the 1984 Gina Bachauer International Piano Competition, and a Bronze Medal in...
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Sam Rao, Developer of Practicia
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
Sam Rao is a multi-discipline musician, entrepreneur, and developer of Practicia, an innovative app platform that helps students and teachers make practicing more fun and productive. As a musician, Sam studied composition and conducting at Oberlin Conservatory and the Aspen Festival. As an entrepreneur, he co-founded his own music school which grew to be one of the largest in Northern Ohio. Everyone knows that practice makes perfect, and no doubt you’ve heard the old adage, “how do you get to Carnegie Hall? Practice, practice, practice”. Ah, but practicing a musical instrument can be the...
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Roger Ideishi, Occupational Therapist and Arts Advocate
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
Roger Ideishi is the Director of Occupational Therapy at Temple University in Philadelphia. He has worked to provide community access and opportunities for children with diverse sensory and cognitive abilities. Roger has worked with such arts organizations as the Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Pittsburgh Symphony, the Philadelphia Ballet Company and The Philadelphia Orchestra to help them build meaningful learning experiences for special needs children and their families. In many art performance experiences, such as the theater, the ballet, or a classical concert, there is an...
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Eleanor Sokoloff, Legendary Piano Pedagogue
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
Eleanor Sokoloff has been teaching piano at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 1936. At the ripe young age of 102, she shows no sign of slowing down. Some of her most esteemed students have included the likes of Keith Jarrett, Lambert Orkis, Susan Starr, Leon McCawley, Meng-Chieh Liu, and countless others. This year, Eleanor Sokoloff will be turning 103 years old, and remarkably, she is still teaching piano at The Curtis Institute of Music and pouring tea at one of Curtis’ most beloved weekly Wednesday tea time traditions. This interview was originally recorded 2 ½ years...
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Steven Hackman, Composer, Conductor, Arranger, and Producer
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
Steven Hackman is one of the most exciting hybrid classical and pop artists on the scene today. Steve has worked extensively with the hit classical crossover group, Time for Three, writing several of their unique arrangements, and is currently the Creative Director of FUSE at the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Music Director of the 'Mash-Up' series at the Colorado Music Festival, and founder and creative director of his own music brand :STEREO HIDEOUT: I first met Steve as a young conducting student at the esteemed Curtis Institute of Music, studying under the legendary maestro Otto...
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Chad Seiter, Movie, TV and Videogame Composer
A Musical Life with Hugh Sung
Chad Seiter has composed and produced original music for several major Hollywood franchises such as Star Trek, Fringe, and Lost. He is also Composer, Music Director and Associate Executive Producer for Pokémon: Symphonic Evolutions and The Legend of Zelda: Symphony of the Goddesses touring concert series performing symphonic arrangements of classic Nintendo scores with hundreds of the world’s leading orchestras. Chad Seiter is one of those composers lucky enough to create music that encompasses his passions for movies, TV and video games. Chad started his career as an assistant to Academy...
info_outlineEleanor Sokoloff has been teaching piano at The Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia since 1936. At the ripe young age of 102, she shows no sign of slowing down. Some of her most esteemed students have included the likes of Keith Jarrett, Lambert Orkis, Susan Starr, Leon McCawley, Meng-Chieh Liu, and countless others.
This year, Eleanor Sokoloff will be turning 103 years old, and remarkably, she is still teaching piano at The Curtis Institute of Music and pouring tea at one of Curtis’ most beloved weekly Wednesday tea time traditions. This interview was originally recorded 2 ½ years ago as a 2 part video that was significantly edited down for time purposes, but thanks to the long form medium of podcasts, I thought it would be fitting to provide the full version of this wonderful interview with one of the most important piano teachers of our time. By the way, Mrs. Sokoloff was my piano teacher when I was 8 years old, and thanks to her I was able to enroll at Curtis under her tutelage at the age of 13. I should mention that at the time of this interview, there was a construction crew doing some repairs in an adjacent apartment, so I apologize for the drill and hammer sounds you’ll hear at times.