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Upcoming Events

  1. Session 2: The Next Steps: Developing A Career

    January 21 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

  2. Session 2: Innovation & Improvisation

    January 26 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm

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About Winter Blues Buster with Carl Topilow
Get a personal view of Carl Topilow’s career while opening a door into his extraordinary musical world. In each session, Carl will share stories of his experiences and best practices combined with his unique sense of humor and riveting talent on the clarinet.

About Winter Blues Buster with Michael Shirtz
Join FSO Chorale Director Michael Shirtz as he reflects on the 100th birthday (Dec. 6, 2020) of Dave Brubeck: jazz pianist, composer, and incomparable ambassador of cool. As a jazz pianist and composer, Shirtz has remained deeply influenced by the innovation of Brubeck’s keyboard styles and is prepared to take us on a wide-ranging conversation through Brubeck’s incredible career which spanned musical genres, decades, and continents. Guest musicians from the Michael Shirtz Quartet (MSQ) will join in on some of the discussions.

Once you register for Carl Topilow’s or Michael Shirtz’s Winter Blues Buster Series, you will receive an email on the day of each event in the series that includes a link to the ZOOM meeting to attend the virtual event.

REGISTER FOR SERIES

WINTER BLUES BUSTER SERIES

  • Date
  • Event
  • Description
    • Date
      January 21, 2021
      7:00 pm
    • Event
      Session 2: The Next Steps: Developing A Career
      $0
    • Description
      Interactive ZOOM Sessions with Maestro Carl Topilow
      Carl shares his personal experiences as an emerging conductor through hard work, belief in his abilities, determination, and capitalizing on opportunities. From assembling concerts, finding openings for conductor positions, propelling his career through success in the Baltimore Symphony’s Conducting Competition, to the founding of the Cleveland Pops Orchestra. LEARN MORE
    • Date
      January 26, 2021
      7:00 pm
    • Event
      Session 2: Innovation & Improvisation
      $0
    • Description
      Interactive ZOOM Sessions with Chorale Director Michael Shirtz
      Explore Brubeck’s musical genius with Shirtz and MSQ drummer Reggie Jackson as they discuss the famous Dave Brubeck Quartet and the songs and sounds that made them so popular in the 50s, 60s, and into the 70s. LEARN MORE
    • Date
      February 4, 2021
      7:00 pm
    • Event
      Session 3: Winning A Job and Keeping It!
      $0
    • Description
      Interactive ZOOM Sessions with Maestro Carl Topilow
      How do you sell yourself once you have been selected to audition for the position? How do you make a positive impression on the committee, the musicians, the board, the staff, and the audience? How do you survive and thrive past the honeymoon period? Carl answers these questions interspersed with his personal experiences demonstrating the special ways he learned how to stand out. LEARN MORE
    • Date
      February 9, 2021
      7:00 pm
    • Event
      Session 3: The Classic Quartet
      $0
    • Description
      Interactive ZOOM Sessions with Chorale Director Michael Shirtz
      Continued discussion about the Dave Brubeck Quartet with Shirtz and MSQ saxophonist George Michael. Examine the breakthrough album “Time Out” and the partnerships between Brubeck and his musicians. LEARN MORE
    • Date
      February 23, 2021
      7:00 pm
    • Event
      Session 4: From Jazz To Classical Composer
      $0
    • Description
      Interactive ZOOM Sessions with Chorale Director Michael Shirtz
      Shirtz provides an overview into Brubeck’s work as a composer of jazz, to his creations in American pop and classical music that spans all genres, including orchestral and choral works. LEARN MORE
    • Date
      March 9, 2021
      7:00 pm
    • Event
      Session 5: Mike's Favorite Recordings
      $0
    • Description
      Interactive ZOOM Sessions with Chorale Director Michael Shirtz
      Shirtz shares his favorite recordings, videos, and performances of Brubeck and where to find them. Includes an invitation for participants to discuss their favorites with the group. LEARN MORE
    • Date
      March 18, 2021
      7:00 pm
    • Event
      Session 6: On The Podium: Ways To Musical Integrity
      $0
    • Description
      Interactive ZOOM Sessions with Maestro Carl Topilow
      Experience the gestures which Carl has initiated and developed to use in his conducting and teaching to remove the awkwardness in a conductor’s approach, while proving to be an efficient manner of connecting with an orchestra, and enabling him to avoid the injuries which plague many conductors. LEARN MORE
    • Date
      March 23, 2021
      7:00 pm
    • Event
      Session 6: The Journey
      $0
    • Description
      Interactive ZOOM Sessions with Chorale Director Michael Shirtz
      Finale on Brubeck’s 100 years in becoming a leading jazz icon and an American legend, including the impact his music encouraged Shirtz and his career. LEARN MORE