Divergent Paths with Dan Dunford

Dan Dunford is an NYC-based freelancer who is fascinated by the directions people take to find work and legitimacy in the music world of today. Every other week he talks to people creating their own path, as well as some amazing music.

Episode 17 - Bronx Mezzo-Soprano Linda Collazo 04/20/2022

Episode 17 - Bronx Mezzo-Soprano Linda Collazo Back from Covid and stronger than ever! (?) This week’s guest is mezzo soprano and fellow denizen of the South Bronx Linda Collazo. I was super happy to catch her in between engagements because she is busy as hell. We talk about her background and development as a singer, the never ending struggle for motivation, and take a lengthy detour to talk about the difficulty of balancing outreach in tough neighborhoods like the ones we hail from. Linda is great and to check out some of her past work and her upcoming performances, hit up lindacollazo.com. /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/22849364

Episode 16 - Violinist/Composer Leonor Falcón 04/06/2022

Episode 16 - Violinist/Composer Leonor Falcón This week, my friend Leonor Falcón joins the podcast to talk about her journry from Venezuala to New York, her journey from classical violin to jazz/avant-garde, and her new album, Imaga Mondo, Vol.2. We also hear a few contributions from her 1 year old son, and talk about pregnancy and motherhood as a working musician, an issue that often gets overlooked. Check it out. She's awesome. leonorfalcon.com falcongumbarecords.bandcamp.com/album/imaga-mondo-vol-ii /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/22697078

Episode 15 - Creatives Care 03/16/2022

Episode 15 - Creatives Care Mental health care is so vital in today's world. But there are very specific obstacles that musicians and artists face when trying to get help for themselves. Enter Creatives Care, an organization, whose mission is connecting artists with affordable mental health care providers with experience and/or interest in serving artists. The 3 founders, Dr. Alana Mendelsohn, Columbia neurobiologist and psychiatrist, Eric Kohlmann, venture capitalist and entrepreneur, and Catherine Hancock, Marketing Expert and former opera singer, all join me to have a great conversation about the importance of mental health care for artists, how their organization works, and how to take advantage of the service they are offering. creativescare.org /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/22464344

Episode 14 - Film Composer/Arranger Bethany Brinton 03/03/2022

Episode 14 - Film Composer/Arranger Bethany Brinton This week, I have a fun and a little loopy (on my side) conversation with film composer/arranger Bethany Brinton. We talk about her background, her process and projects, and a load of movies and movie music. Bethany does her own composing and writing for film and television but also works on concert productions of some of the greatest film scores in history. She is absolutely great! Take a listen! bethanybrinton.com /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/22319297

Episode 13 - Violist/Singer/Songwriter Sarah Elizabeth Haines 02/16/2022

Episode 13 - Violist/Singer/Songwriter Sarah Elizabeth Haines This week, I'm excited to share a really lovely interview with the extremely talented Sarah Elizabeth Haines. We talk about playing in rock bands, touring with the most popular musical on the planet (Hamilton), and the vulnerability of songwriting. In addition, we cover Sarah's brand new album, Castaway, available on February 25th, 2022. This was a really fun talk. Sarah is a delight! sehaines.com sehainesmusic.bandcamp.com /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/22116422

Episode 12 - Percussionist Mariana Ramírez 02/02/2022

Episode 12 - Percussionist Mariana Ramírez It was such a pleasure to share a fun chat with the extra-talented percussionist Mariana Ramírez. We talk about her background in Mexico, her transition to the city, her flexibility across styles, and her time on Six The Musical on Broadway. Get into it because she is great! marianapercussion.com /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/21993392

Episode 11 - Press Start Orchestra 01/19/2022

Episode 11 - Press Start Orchestra So happy to have some friends from a relatively new organization called Press Start Orchestra. Press Start is dedicated to taking the worlds of gaming/video game music and classical music and bringing them and their respective communities togther with both digital projects and in-person performances. Zach Nicely, Clyde Daley, Ash Turner, and Dmitry Laping (all from the leadership team) were able to sit down for an extremely fun and laugh-filled chat about what we love about video games and music. CHECK IT OUT! psorch.org /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/21819101

Episode 10 - Brass Out Loud 12/22/2021

Episode 10 - Brass Out Loud This week, trumpeters Melissa Muñoz and Kate Amrine and hornist Rebecca Karu, founders of the excellent non-profit Brass Out Loud join the show to talk about the origins of thir diversity-championing organization, their goals for brass/music education and their 2022 Brass Workshop. brassoutloud.com brassoutloud.com/workshopregistration brassoutloud.com/support /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/21567593

Episode 9 - Flautist Gina Izzo 12/08/2021

Episode 9 - Flautist Gina Izzo This week, the multi-faceted and multi-talented Gina Izzo hops on to talk about experimental, improvisational, and electronic flute performance, her project ladyybirdd, her mentorship organization bespoken, and much more! ginaizzo.com ladyybirdd.com righteousgirls.com bespoken.org /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/21415676

Episode 8 - Organist Janet Yieh 11/24/2021

Episode 8 - Organist Janet Yieh Say hello to Janet Yieh! She is a fantastic musician and an assistant organist at Trinity Church Wall Street in New York City. We had fun talking about the organ, sacred music, and the organization she co-founded, Amplify Women Composers, among many other things. It's really good. CHECK IT OUT. janetyieh.com amplifyfemalecomposers.org /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/21269039

Episode 7 - Mozart for Munchkins 11/10/2021

Episode 7 - Mozart for Munchkins This week, so excited to feature the early education program/organization Mozart for Munchkins. Listen to my interview with founder Sara Sherman and Creative Director Peter DelGrosso to talk about their approach to bringing music to very young children, how they run their organization, musical concepts, and building engaging programs with great musicians that appeal to early ages! It was also fascinating to hear about how they peresevered through the pandemic. Really good stuff here. mozartformunchkins.com littlemozartfoundation.org /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/21111809

Episode 6 - Goodbye New York: A New Musical 10/27/2021

Episode 6 - Goodbye New York: A New Musical Goodbye New York is a new musical with music by Andrew Beall, book by David Don Miller, and lyrics by Evan McCormack. Andy and David were able to sit down with me and we had a really nice talk. Learned so much about some things I really just don't know much about. Also I feel like I’m in the middle of a good run where I’m getting my interview legs back so to speak. And also excellent guests (obviously). Anyway, I hope you enjoy! /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/20953712

Episode 5 - Pianist Erika Dohi 10/13/2021

Episode 5 - Pianist Erika Dohi Pianist Erika Dohi is this week's guest. We talk about her journey from Osaka to NYC, improvisation, new music, and her fantastic album. I, Castorpollux (out on 37d03d Records). Check out erikadohi.com and get the album at erikadohi.bandcamp.com /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/20799902

Episode 4 - An American Trombonist in China - Greg Hotrum 09/29/2021

Episode 4 - An American Trombonist in China - Greg Hotrum Greg Hotrum is probably not a name that you recognize but he is an old trombonist friend who spent 2008 to 2018 living, teaching, performing, and conducting in China. He hangs out to talk about his experiences and all the things he learned from 10 years in a beautiful and unique culture. Take a listen. /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/20639096

Episode 3 - New York Bass Trombonist James Rogers 09/15/2021

Episode 3 - New York Bass Trombonist James Rogers This week, I talk to New York freelancer James Rogers about struggling to find a footing in 2008 recession New York, about the decisions to be made between artistic fulfillment and paying one's bills, the pitfalls and learning curve of subbing on Broadway, and the difference that exists when you finally get your own show. /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/20481728

Episode 2 - Bass Trombonist Jennifer Wharton 09/01/2021

Episode 2 - Bass Trombonist Jennifer Wharton Broadway veteran Jennifer Wharton (Beautiful, King Kong, West Side Story) joins the show to talk about her unusual road to success from the West Coast to NYC, about Broadway pit life, about her group Bonegasm, and even about kicking around the house with ANOTHER world class trombonist. We really spread out have a fun conversation. Check out Jen's music at jenniferwharton.bandcamp.com and her upcoming events and merch at jenniferwharton.com Support Divergent Paths! Anything and everything helps. Buy a sitcker!! patreon.com/divergentpathspod /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/20330174

Episode 1 - Calliope Brass 08/18/2021

Episode 1 - Calliope Brass It's OFFICIAL RE-LAUNCH DAY. Welcome to all new episodes of Divergent Paths. I'm so excited to be making new things. This week my first guest (and also a return guest from the initial run) with a brand new episode is Calliope Brass, an ensemble of incredible women who have worked their butts off to create an original group in an overcrowded world of brass ensembles. They do incredible work in education and performance and we talk about building an identity, both creative and business. CHECK IT OUT! /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/20177642

Retro Re-Release #2 - Bass Trombonist David Taylor - Part 2 08/11/2021

Retro Re-Release #2 - Bass Trombonist David Taylor - Part 2 This week is Part 2 of my 2016 interview with bass trombone legend David Taylor. We jump in on his recording projects, teaching philosophies and artistic influence. As always, Dave is excellent. Check out my Patreon for more stuff and to *bats eyelashes* support the show :) : patreon.com/divergentpathspod /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/20093537

Retro Re-Release #1 - Bass Trombonist David Taylor - Part 1 07/30/2021

Retro Re-Release #1 - Bass Trombonist David Taylor - Part 1 It's a Pre-Launch Party! While the official re-launch of Divergent Paths won't come until later this month, we are having previews. Or a soft open. Or whatever you want to call it. Originally from ewarly 2016, this interview is from my first run of Divergent Paths. And it is great. David Taylor is one of the most legendary bass trombonists to ever pick up the instrument. He's played with everyone from Sinatra to Boulez to Duke Ellington to Thad Jones to the New York Philharmonic. And given solo recitals all around the world. And commissioned hundreds of pieces while pushing the envelope of trombone playing every chance he gets. Give it a listen. And come back next week for Part 2! /episode/index/show/divergentpathspod/id/19975574

Divergent Paths with Dan Dunford

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