Welcome to the Claret Ninja podcast. My name is Jay Hassler. As always, I'm doing my best to bring you the finest in
clarinet information and entertainment. Today on the podcast, we have the person you're listening to right now. His name
is Julian Bliss. Uh he is a fantastic clarinet player. You probably have heard of him. Uh his career started when he
was very young and has done nothing but go up. and uh he has recorded these two
concertos, the Lindberg and the Aaho. These are pieces I didn't know, but I
was glad to get to know through these recordings. Uh they're terrific pieces, and unlike most of the clarinet
literature that we know, uh you're going to love it. These recordings are on Signnum Records. I'm going to have links
to those, of course, in the description, the show notes, all that. And I'm also
going to have links to myself. If you're an adult Clanet player looking to put your learning on the fast track, the
Planet Ninja Dojo is the place for you. Got a couple different uh classes that
meet and we do some incredible learning on the planet and have a great time doing it. So, check that out. I'll leave
links for that. So, I just want to say thank you Signum Records uh for allowing
me to play this music on this podcast. I'm not playing very much of it because I want you to go get this music for
yourself, but you will get to hear some of the components of these pieces and the clan plane that we talk about as
we're going to talk about it all. I hope you love it and if you do like, subscribe, the whole thing. If you don't
like and subscribe, you know, whether you like it or not, I'm happy to have you here. So, in any case, here we go.
Julian Bliss, take it away. Julian Bliss, thanks for being here. How are you? I'm very well. How are you?
I'm good. The other day I was on Facebook and I saw that you had released a brand new recording. Can you tell us
what's on this recording? So this recording is a little well actually quite different to the one that
that came out previously and these are two incredible conertos
um firstly by Magnus Lindberg and then KVIO and both Finnish composers both written
similar sort of time. Uh and interestingly at one point they both studied with the same um same composer
as well. So it's interesting finding the similarities but also the differences between the two works and I sort of
consciously wanted to do something different to my last album. I mean the
the previous one was um music by Claraara and Robert Schuman. So very
lyrical. Yes. It's all about the line making a lovely sound, legato, um really
sort of I I I hasten to say like simple melodies because they're not. But um you
you're sort of reduced to the to the the most basic things in some ways, you
know, make a nice sound, nice legato and and and create something from such a beautiful melody. And these are this
recording is is quite different. Um there are those elements though. Um certainly in the slower sections where
it's incredibly beautiful lyrical playing, but yeah, there's some times where you're also flying around the
instrument and doing all sorts of uh interesting things. So, it was a lot of fun to record actually.
There's nothing simple about what is on this this new record. It's very engaging, but it's not like you get a
melody that's eight measures long that goes up to the dominant and then comes back down to the tonic and it feels it
feels wrapped up like that. None of it. For me, I'd never heard either one of these pieces to listen to a piece as for the first time.
But we don't often get to do that, right? Like hear a piece for the first time. And uh I was really struck by how
virtuastic these pieces are. I mean, my first question easy. Was this was this all recorded over the stretch of a
couple days? Did you worked both of these pieces to that point in a to play? Like that's a lot of it seems like a lot
of work. Um yes, it is. It it is a lot of work but um we had I seem to remember it was
about 2 and 1/2 days um possibly three but I think it was
about just say 2 and 1/2 days of recording. So that's there's a lot to a lot of music to get
in in in amongst that time and even the recording process I found over
the years you have to be in in the right mindset for it and I mean imagine you
have to be playing your your best playing for let's say six 7 hours a day
and every note that you play has the potential to make it onto the record.
So, of course, not everything's going to be perfect. There will be some takes that you use and some you don't. But at
least in in your mind, you have to think about the long game first of all. Uh it's very very different to a
performance where you can put all of the energy into a 27minute thing. Um but I
find it really rewarding and a huge amount of fun. Um but yes, I mean it was
it was a lot of work and credit to the orchestra. I mean, they are simply
incredible. And I knew I knew they were before going into this, but there are some orchestras that would need a lot of
rehearsal. And they just they just played it. It they just played it. And
maybe one or two things we we changed here along the way, but it was amazing and and made made my my job even easier
in some ways. Well, one of the things that was really obvious listening to the recording was the role of the orchestra
was significantly different than we're used to in Vber and Mozart and and even in Copeland, which is, you know, still
relatively new in comparison. Like, yeah, the the orchestra was playing much more of a partnership role than a background role.
So, definitely. Yeah. Uh it's a in both um conertos a very big
orchestra. I mean, we're talking full brass section, full percussion section. Uh and I guess the most unusual is that
the clarinets in the orchestra um which normally you wouldn't have for for a
clarinet conerto but yes first of all it adds a a different flavor and
opportunity for much more maybe not much more but more interplay from from the
orchestra to the soloist and and more conversation if you like. Well, no. I I
don't mean to cut you off, but I totally That was one of the things that was most notable to me is how uh an orchestra
member would join in on your line, change the color of it, and then come out. And then it was very much used to
influence how the clarinet was sounding. And, you know, it did it did a lot to change the color that you were able to
to get from the piece in general. It was very very exciting to hear all that. Yeah. And they're they're both very well
I mean of course very well written um in as much as there are times where you are
amongst the sound of the collective sound and there are other times where you you cut through in a in a a solo
line.
and And with a big orchestra, you have to be very careful that the soloist isn't just covered all the time. But
actually the Lindberg, it was written Carrie Cricu, he he said to Magnus that
he wanted something with a big orchestra that was a lot of power and you know because often we do have smaller forces
and we're at the front and he wanted something big and powerful which I I'm very happy about because I love that
sound and and love that sort of the expanse of the orchestra at these huge
moments but then also can reduce down and we have this really really delicate
um couple of sections that are entirely different and it gives a real a real
nice balance if you like. Well, one of the things that I heard and I think I heard it in both pieces that
I've never heard in a clar before is a gong.
Was
there a go? But yeah, right. Like like what? I remember the the the one particular
spot in the AO going into the fourth section. So after the I just kind of
gissandoy motif down and then there's a huge um gong tam hit and uh then the
brass come in and I remember every time saying can we have that louder
can we do it and finally I said okay can we do one more and the brass and the percussion I want everything you've got
just the full power and they did one and I said yes that's perfect I want
I wanted the power. I mean, it completely filled the room and more. Um,
but yeah, I I sort of really embrace that and I love I I mean, thinking about it, when it comes to orchestral
repertoire, I always gravitate to the the larger pieces, you know, this Mara
for example, um, where it's huge orchestra and you can create such an
amazing sound. Um, yeah, I always sort of gravitate to those pieces. So maybe these these two concerto suit me well.
They definitely feature what you can do on the clarinet incredibly well. I mean the these ask a lot of the clarinetist,
right? There's there's I wouldn't say it's like full-on extended techniques, but you're definitely doing tremolos
that that make the instrument sound slightly out of tune, you know, and then I think I heard multifonics or growling
or flutter tonging or other things. Can you talk talk to us about what what it asked you to do that is Mozart didn't?
Yeah. So, the Aaho probably has more of those extended techniques than the
Lindberg. In the Lindberg, there's there's a couple couple of multifonics. Um, and before the cadenza also
gissando, it says gissando with your teeth on the reed, which is enough to make anyone shiver. But when you can get
it right, and it's always a bit of a risk in performance, when you can get it right, it's a really cool effect. Um,
but I in the Aaho there's a whole movement that is essentially just
multifonics and various tremolos and and and sounds and it's very shimmery, very
mysterious. Um, and that's well for those of us that that use
multifonics, we know they can be quite fickle at times and sometimes they work lovely and another time seemingly
nothing has changed, but they just decide they don't want to work anymore. So to string a whole movement together
of multifonics is has its challenges, but you know that that's the beauty of of recording. You can you can put it
together with a couple of takes. But yeah, there are I think some some
composers can overuse extended techniques because they're there. And I think these two
conertos are very clever that it's it's not a oh look look at this extended
technique. Check this out. It's it's solely used as a color or as a a certain
tombra. And yeah, I don't think they're overused at all. And really, I think they add to the add to the pieces and
the effect.
What is that?
So, I totally agree. That was one of the things that was very notable is that they were they serve to they serve the
piece rather than check this cool stuff out you can do on the clarinet. I feel like a lot of times if the piece is
straight up 20th century, they're they're it's like a a circus act. that
this had elements of a circus act because the clan plane was so good and so difficult. But like like I I was
listening to it thinking I don't know if I can ever play something like that. That's hard. The extended techniques were definitely put in there in a way
that that added to the piece without even I mean I would say without even distracting. I mean yeah it it
definitely felt very integrated in the piece. I'm sure you would agree some multifonics come out so much louder than other ones.
Was that did that present a particular challenge in this piece? Um a little a little bit. Yes. Um, and
adjusting of ino there's suggested fingerings for for each of the multifonics. And sometimes I adjusted
one ever so slightly to try and make the the sound match the note before the or the multifonic before in this case. Um,
and to really try and get a a phrase or that it sounds like two individual
instruments playing at the same time. Um, but that was a lot of a lot of practice,
a lot of probably annoying my neighbors in the beginning, squawking around on the instrument. Actually, I I remember
the week the weekend before the recording. Um, I was actually in Nashville uh officiating my one of my
best friends weddings of all things. Um, I mean that just kind master ceremonies
if you like. And I said, "I I have I'm sorry. I have to find time to practice." I didn't on the wedding day, but the the
days leading up. And my friend said, "Well, you can practice at our house. We've got some people over, but you
know, you can go into the other room and practice." So, I was in there for maybe 3 hours. And I walked out. He said,
"What were you doing?" There's all these sounds and squeaks and squawks and this
and that and flying around. And I could only imagine what his guests thought.
Well, here's what I'm imagining. I don't I don't you know, you're not you didn't you're younger than me and I I grew up
in America. You did not. So, this may not have the cultural impact for you. Do you know the movie uh Ferris Buer's Day
Off? Yes. Yeah. Okay. So, all I'm imagining is, you know, your friend is saying, "Oh, my friend Julian Bliss, he's a
worldrenowned clarinet player. He's fantastic. He's going to be practicing later." Yeah. And then you go in there and do that and then you come out and
you say, "Never had one lesson." Exactly.
So, I apologize. I apologize to him about that. But yeah, needs must. Needs
must. Yes. Getting into the like the pieces themselves, like getting into the nuts and bolts of playing them, there seemed
to be, and I want you to talk about whether you know how it was done, whether it was time signature changes or
just different groupings. The thing that really stood out from a musicianship standpoint was how clearly you were able
to switch from duples to triples to sometimes fives or sixes or different things. And I'm wondering if if you
could share with us how you got good at that. It just sounds so beautiful how I can hear the subdivisions in your
playing in a way that really helps clarify and and help the listener get an expectation of what's coming, what just
happened because there's a lot of there's a lot of notes and they're going by very very fast. But it was so organized like is do you have any
secrets you can share with us and particularly me cuz I want to know them. I think and and this is not just for
these these two pieces but any any player our tendency and and what I tend to hear
quite a lot is is exactly that the relationships between tempos
are are not always completely solid. So I mean let let's take Mozart clarinet contra the first couple of couple of
lines um or first couple of bars tend to have longer notes in them than the the
preceding few or the next few. So what tends to happen is people take their time on them and as soon as they get to
the 16th notes then they rush and and the tempo moves on. And
it's often I'm thinking Mozart again. Often you have a a long note held straight into a run of 16th notes and
then you you rush. So a very simple thing I I do is always I look at least a
bar ahead. And if I'm playing let's say a whole note and the next bar 16th
notes, as I'm playing that I will have 16th notes running through my head. So by the time you get there you know
exactly the tempo that it needs to be. Um, and you can sort of just very kind
of graciously step onto that rather than stumbling in. Um, and I think of course
practice with a metronome is very important. Very, very important. And I think even pieces that we know very
well, it's good once in a while to go back and put a metronome on um, and even
play the quote unquote easy stuff at the same tempo. I think what a lot of us do
when we're young is that we we play the easy parts faster and then we slow down
for the hard parts and and then the relationship between the tempos is is between the bars even is not it's not
crystal clear. Um what I did with this piece in particular and it gets more
complicated when you have changing meters um and you have to be
completely solid. I mean, we have a a whole symphony orchestra behind you that
are relying on maybe we all meet on the down beat of one bar or halfway through another one or someone's joining you.
So, if you're rushing or pulling back, it's going to be a mess. Um, so you have
to try and be as solid as you possibly can. So, what I
did actually was the Aaho that has the third movement, a lot of changing meters.
Heat. Heat.
is I created a click track. Um, so a metronome that that follows the the
meter changes. And I first practiced it. I mean, at first glance, I looked at it
and got the notes under my fingers very, very slowly. And I emphasized that.
A lot of us do not practice as slow as we should. um slow enough that you can
play every single note and focus on even the legato between each of those notes
in the run. And some people might at this point think, okay, well, if you're talking,
let's say, the legato between two 16th notes at the beginning of a phrase, when you're going at, let's say, 200 BPM or
whatever it is, no one's going to notice that. So, it doesn't it doesn't really matter. And that's where I challenge people because I say it does matter
because these tiny tiny little details add up and give a whole completely
different sense to the to the and feeling to the end result. And to me it
sounds overall smoother. It sounds like each note is is not perfect but has its
own individual place. So, so I realize this is a very long answer and I'm not even finished yet, but I think practice
incredibly slowly and focus on the joins between each note to make it as perfect as you can. And then go up one click on
the metronome and you do it all over again. This will take a lot of time, a lot of time, whether it's Verber,
Mozart, Crusel, Lindberg, AO, whatever it is. But then over time I start
speeding it up until I'm at, you know, 50 60% and I can play it all the way through, no mistakes. And then you go up
to there 70 80. And one thing I I do, it's actually fairly recently once I get
to, let's say, 100% of the tempo that's written. I will also practice it beyond
that. So I'll also practice it 105 and 110% um of the the the stated tempo so that
you have a bit of flexibility. So if everyone's very excited and we've just come back from a coffee break and you
know we're all got a lot of energy and it goes a little bit faster then you can also do that and it feels very natural.
In the end for me I think what's very important is to let the the technical
aspects of your playing almost be subconscious.
And what I mean by that is that you practice it so so indepth and so slowly and intricately
that it's just in your in your fingers as we would say and you don't have to think
about the the runs or I need to do this fingering here this fingering there or or this legato or this much air for this
note whatever it may be and it buys you freedom because if you're not bound by
thinking about the technical aspects of what you're playing. You can think about musicality and shapes and lines and
phrases and dynamics and oh that's a nice sound that the the the strings made
on this bar or I like the shape that the winds played this phrase. I'm going to try and copy that. Um and I think that
really gives a completely different feeling to the playing overall. Um,
so I I realize I've taken your question and now I sort of digress, but I think it, you know, all relates to to the end
result. Um, and yeah, it does get difficult with with mix meter things,
but I found sort of creating my own click track, um, my own metronome, if you like, has been has been very useful
for that. Actually, one of the things that I think when I when I think about your career is how
you've gotten to play so many of these pieces so many times and that that's a real like I get I get jealous about that
cuz you know I've played some concerteros but I only get to play them every once in a while and I don't it's not a it's not a regular thing where I
can walk on stage and have had this experience 15 times, 20 times, however many times. I you've probably played a
lot of these caceros many more times than that of just like this. this is just another day when I'm playing this
and what did I hear last time? What am I going to focus on? Like to actually have an iteration of your version of this on
stage with an orchestra. Um, do you find that your performances uh change based on of of course they do?
Let me ask how they change uh as you play the pieces more frequently like times 1 through 5 versus times 5 through
20 like it must it it must change. Yeah, certainly. Um, and and before
that, I mean, it's interesting what you were what you're saying and and it's certainly how I think about it. And I
had the opportunity when I was very young and studying to and we we all we
all have this opportunity when we're studying that we have the time, you have
the time to learn music very very in-depth. You can spend 6 months
learning a conerto of course amongst other things. But you can really take your time. That time is doesn't really
exist anymore when you are um when you're doing it and and and out there playing. You get a new conerto and you
have to learn it quite quickly in amongst also playing other concerts. So,
I feel very fortunate that I that I took the time and was encouraged to take the time to learn these pieces um incredibly
in depth when I was when I was young. And now the the the closest thing I can
liken it to is it's sort of it's like speaking a language. And so if I say
okay tonight it's Mozart clarinet conerto. Ah, fine. I know that it it feels like part of you and you don't of
course there are times where you you you're always honing and making it better. It's not like this is done and it's perfect and I'm not going to work
on this anymore. But sort of the the nuts and bolts of what we're doing it it's just like speaking a language. And
that then allows your mind to focus on arguably what what some people could
think is the most important thing which is musicality and and and the emotion of of what you're doing. And yeah, of
course, my my playing changes, I mean, subtly, of course, every single time I
play a concerto. And it can be the smallest thing. Um, the way the
orchestra shape the phrase that I'm then going to play or uh the attack or if
there's pizzicart, the sort of attack on the piticarta that they use, all of these very very small detail, even even
the intonation of the orchestra. I mean certain places in in Europe you're 442
444 sometimes um it happens and then a lot of other
places you're 440 which gives a different sound actually um to to the
whole orchestra. So even that can affect and honestly there are even times when I think to
myself during a performance oh actually I might maybe I'll try this maybe I'll
try and do a little crescendo here and grow to this note and do this and do that and there are times when I try
these things and I think oh that that actually was all right and other times I think no that didn't that didn't really
work I won't do that again um now they're not big enough that the audience are going to go hey I noticed I noticed
that shape to this note was different. I mean, someone might and that's that's fine. But I think when you do these
things in performance, it also makes it exciting. Now, of course, I preface this
or I my my caution is that you have to still remain in the confines of what
you're doing. You can't suddenly go and do some crazy stuff because you'll then make everyone else, the orchestra and
the conductor, very nervous. But slight musical changes then can inspire them to
do something different and the audience can always pick up on that. Um yes there are always you have to keep in mind what
the composer wanted and and but I think you can have a lot of flexibility on stage to to experiment and try different
things. Um and that's that's sort of what keeps it alive and keeps it
interesting and exciting. It's fun to hear somebody talk about keeping a a a
concert, a classical performance sort of spontaneous in the same way that a jazz performance might. Not the same, not by
the same metrics, but you know, the same idea of like it's not like we practice this and we're going to go and and
present this exactly like we practiced it. You shouldn't. And I think some people
try to, and I can understand why. A lot of people don't like the additional
jeopardy of of putting things in on stage. I mean, some people are are are terrified to be on stage to begin with,
which is a real a real thing and can be incredibly debilitating and um and that
can affect your performance very negatively. Um but I think if you can
get to that point and have a bit of flexibility in your playing and and a bit of um spontaneity, it can really
make it can really really make a difference. I' I've told you this before. I've I've played your your your video of when you
were were very little playing the clarinet uh on TV and uh my daughter's very interested in playing the clarinet.
Uh you've inspired her. Maybe I had something to do with it, too, but it could be you. Um and uh I'm having a
hard time finding the right clarinet for her. I I want her to have an Eflat clarinet, but I can't afford to buy What
did you start on? Did you start on an E flat or what was that that you were playing when you were little? So, it was a a C clarinet actually. Um
entirely plastic. Even even the keys made of plastic and very uh very clever
design actually because all the keys just snap on and off the body and they
are designed for kids virtually indestructible and uses an E flat I
believe an E flat clarinet mouthpiece. So you have a real mouthpiece, a real read on the top. You can learn that
feeling, the sensation, but the instrument itself is incredibly light. Also a simplified system. Um, and had
that instrument not been available, there's no way I could have started on the clarinet. It was just far too big.
So I'm very happy that that was there. And yeah, I was shown variety of different instruments. I I
didn't really know what I wanted to play. Um, and yeah, I was shown some
some I was more interested in than others. Um, but then one day I was shown
this this seclinet and almost immediately was hooked and I was like,
"Yeah, that's that's the one. That's it right there." It seems like a an incredible uh incredibly quick journey
from you being five or six playing the clarinet on a national television show
to being 11 or 12 and playing the mess in front of the queen, right? That that
that's an unusual trajectory, right? Yeah, you could say that. I was very fortunate the the the place my mom took
me in my local town, the music school, um a guy called David Johnston, um was a
clarinetist. And so he became my clarinet teacher. So I had private lessons from day one. And I mean he was
fantastic, fantastic teacher. And I think I wanted to play all the time. I
I don't often admit this, but I really didn't enjoy regular school. Um, it
wasn't my favorite thing in the world. I did it because I had to. Um, but playing
music, I that's what I wanted to do. And so, I think I ended up having quite a few lessons per week, maybe a couple a
week, because he was 5 minutes down the road from where we lived, and that's all I wanted to do. So, um I think my mom
said once you've done your homework then then you can do that. Um it's like the the thing I really wanted. But I think
that really made a difference. Of course, I mean having private lessons from the off and really learning the
instrument. But yeah, I just always enjoyed it and
yeah, it was just what I always what I wanted to do. A couple questions on the nuts and bolts of this. I I can't remember. I believe
I've asked you this before and I don't I don't I don't recall. Do you have perfect pitch? Yes. Yeah. And and did did were you aware
from the beginning you had perfect pitch? Did that connect up? Um I don't think so. I don't think so. I
I seem to remember sort of realizing when I was sort of doing the
examinations that we have. So we in England we have this uh there's a couple actually um there's the associated board
the Royal Schools of Music ABSM and they do um exams. So there's grades one
through eight and then there's a few diplomas. So, it's sort of a a nice uh benchmark of where you're at. So, grade
one, you play a couple of notes, maybe a, you know, whatever it is, a four note scale and and a tune or two. By grade
eight, you're playing uh a multitude of scales, arpeggios, you you get the idea,
and you set pieces from a list. Um, and so, yeah, I started on them. Started on them very quickly. And I remember it was
one of those where the music theory test and the especially the oral tests where
they would play a melody and you you'd have to sing it back. I remember finding them very easy and and then I think the
realization of what this thing was. I just thought I was good at it. I think
um yeah then sort of realized I have perfect pitch which has been useful.
I had a student uh a number of years ago I was teaching privately and she was a lovely wonderful kid. She wasn't good at
the clarinet. She had perfect pitch and I didn't I couldn't figure out
I this is going to sound like I'm being a jerk. I couldn't figure out the results of her clar playing couldn't be
helped by her perfect pitch. And it really led me to believe that at least in this small sample size,
that doesn't just necessarily mean things are going to be easy, right? It's just a tool like everything else. But like as somebody who's worked
really hard, you know, I've tried really hard, I think successfully so to learn, learn music. I wish I had perfect pitch
because that would that would make so many things so much easier for me, right? But but I but I've got a lot of
other tools and things in place to allow that to happen. And this 14-year-old did not. Right.
Sure. So yeah. So, it's always interesting to me to consider, you know, yeah, of course, it has to be a sorry,
has to be a combination of things. And yeah, it can be a tool that can help. Um, I found especially when it comes to
intonation, um, I find very sensitive to it and and will really
hone in on it. Actually, another time I remember realizing that my mind was was
sort of in a perfect pitch but didn't attribute it to this was of course starting on a C clarinet learned my
scales on a C clarinet and then when I was about I think I was about six or so
and I moved to a B flat clarinet and it really confused me that the note I was
playing now wasn't the note I was hearing and I had to in some ways
relearn my scales because I was used to, okay, I play this note, I hear this one,
and now it wasn't that anymore. And and as as a six-year-old, it was quite confusing for a bit. So maybe that was
another time I realized that something was different. I also want to know you
your your memory and your musical memory specifically is unusually powerful and I
am curious to know when that became something that you were aware of or you know when did that become something or
when did it kick in? Did were you able to remember stuff for a long time right from day one or did that something that
could develop as you progressed or how did that go? I guess so. And it it would be a good question for my my first
teacher because I mean I remember years and years ago sort of coming across
these videos that are now on YouTube. You know, some of I'm playing young on TV or in there's one in my school
uniform and I'm playing from memory. And so it must have been something that I
was taught very early on. I didn't think anything of it. I didn't think
I mean I remember doing some of those TV shows and at no point did I think oh what what happens if I forget what I'm
doing? I mean we're so naive when you're what five or
rightly so. Um and I never remember being worried about it. And I think
actually on the the the TV show where I played Summertime, I came in half a bar early and I I just carried on. I
probably had no idea I even I even did it. But I think it was something that was probably taught to me just from the
off and then became just part of of what I part of my playing and and became
quite natural. Um so yeah, I mean that's credit to my credit to my first teacher.
When somebody has like you a skill that seems amplified when you were learning,
did it ever come that your musical memory and your perfect pitch allowed you to circumvent learning some other
foundational skill on the clarinet or as a musician? Uh, no. I there's always you've always
got to the foundations the fundamentals are everything everything of your playing. And
yes, I was one of those students, as I think most are, that didn't find
practicing scales and long tones the most exciting thing and atudes and I
wanted to play the music and I remember I remember clearly the moment of
realization and I went for a lesson with Sabina Mer
who I mean I studied ended up studying with her for a number of years. I think it was six or seven years if I remember
correctly and just the most amazing person, the most
amazing clarinetist and even as a kid I always admired her playing greatly. I I
just wondered how it was possible you could do that on the instrument. And I remember I went for a lesson with
her and I realized over the course of this hour, hour and a half that there was a
level of detail to playing that I simply had no idea existed.
And I thought I was say on my way. I I I didn't of course didn't think I was a a
great clonetist, but you know, if you gave me a piece of music, I could learn it. I could perform it. I thought I was doing okay, but I I it was a big shock
because I wanted to I wouldn't say wanted to play like Sabina, but have a
in a in a similar way if if that makes sense. Not copy, but um and I realized where she was was
light years ahead of where I was. And that was very very hard very hard to
take actually. Um and I remember after that thinking oo okay this is this is
this is going to be really difficult. Um she agreed to be my teacher but on the provision that I went back to basics
and I remember for weeks all I did was long notes and legato intervals. And at
the time as a well when I started with her let's say 12 13 year old I it drove me crazy. I didn't want to do I'll be
honest I didn't I wanted to play music. I wanted to learn okay let's get stuck in on whatever it is Mozart Copeland
it's rather than sit there and for 3 hours a day just do long tones.
But then I really started to pay attention to my sound to every aspect of
my playing. And then it almost became addictive. And what I mean by that is
no, that that join could be better. Do it again. And then I'd do it again over and over and over and over again. And I
really got stuck into the details. The thing is for all of us though
in life, we want to see results very quickly. And in music that just doesn't exist. It
will take you years. Yeah. you might notice um things becoming easier in a
couple of weeks or months, but for it really to take effect to change your technique or to implement these things
can take a long long time. But I think I'm very glad that I did that and I went
back to the basics and really really focused on those things because I think it's made me the player I am today and
or the player I want to be if you like. Um, so yeah, I always stress to to
students as much as I can to to spend the time. And I know I know what it feels like as a student because that was
me. I I was that person that didn't want to practice those things. But if you
want to have the freedom and you want to be able to play whatever you want, then
you've got to do it. So yeah, it there are no shortcuts, unfortunately.
Have I ever told you my story about my love for Sabina Myers playing? I had a cassette,
okay, of her playing Vapor One and Vapor 2, I think. I can't or maybe it was just Ver one. I can't remember. But I I was I was
a kid in Alaska and I put that cassette in the the hi-fi and I I I learned Vapor
One by ear, just rewinding, rewinding, rewinding, rewinding. And so, uh, my
college audition tape was Verber One and it was me flat out copying everything
she did, but it was like my, you know, I mean, I I had a great teacher, you know, but but but this was like it was very
self-directed this this this concept of the performance. And I I found when I
moved into the apartment I live in now, I found my audition tape and I and I and I I found a cassette
player, which was sign that was very hard. But I listened to it and I thought, "Oh my god, that's that's I
mean it was but it kind of blew me away that I sounded like that in high school." But it also blew me away that I
could hear still what I meant to do, like what I meant to be. Copy. It wasn't obviously it was a pretty scattered
version of it. But it was really really powerful to sit and listen to her play that thousands of times ultimately just
phrase by phrase going over it and and learning it without looking at the music which took forever. It took it took it
took a long long time. It's quite something. It was it was my uh it was my first attempt and maybe
most powerful attempt to combine what I was trying to do as a jazz player and and sort of say okay what if I
approach this like I'm learning to tune obviously it's a long tune but like but like what would that experience be like?
Yeah, it was very very powerful. And she through I mean through all I mean I haven't listened to all of her
recordings with that intensity but she's she is so fantastic as a player. I've never met her. It's I like her. I love
her playing so much. And I don't know how you feel about this, but I I rarely I go to concerts, but oftentimes
concerts people, you know, put me on the list. She was playing in Carnegie Hall. I guess it must have been 15 years ago
now. I bought a ticket. I bought a ticket to go hear her play. And it was it was it was so good. It was so
amazing. And so, I mean, everything about her struck me as, you know, refined, elegant. Her playing, her
presentation, everything about her was just first rate. It was just really really amazing.
Yeah, she is she's a I say rare person. Um, she can play the instrument
like nobody else in my opinion. She can also teach the instrument, sort of like
nobody else. Um, she's also one of the nicest people I've
ever met. And in some ways, I spent so much time over there, she sort of became like a
second mother to me. And you know, those are your really formative years, those sort of 12 to 16ish. There's there's a
lot a lot going on there. And I spent a lot of time with her and her family. And
I look back and even in the at the time, you don't realize everything you're being taught. And sometimes years later,
you'll remember. You think, "Oh, yeah." But even just how to be as a person, how
to interact with other musicians, how to conduct yourself around
organizations or promoters or all of these things. How to deal with adversity, how to if you get called to
go and play a conerto tonight, how do you do that? All of these things she taught me. And I I just I have no no
words really to describe the impact she had on me. And I mean, this year actually is it's it's her last her last
year of playing. She's playing her last concert in December. Um, and
yeah, I think and she still, of course, she still plays better than than
everyone else. And she's decided I think that I think she has has grandkids and
horses and things. You know what? She's she's done the talking. She's done the playing and now it's time to do something else. And I I also really
admire that to have that that decision. She's very strong strong person to
think, "No, now's the time. I'm going to leave this. So many musicians, I think, just keep
going, keep going, keep going, keep going until the till the very end. And sorry, it's got a bit dark, isn't it?
But you know what I mean. It is difficult when you've committed your life to get that good at something,
you know, and it's difficult to then maintain enough of a life to have other
stuff to want to do, I think, quite honestly. And it sounds like she's done that. I mean, when I think about her, I
think about the strength of her as a person to go through what she went with the orchestra, what she went through with the orchestra and being a female in
that orchestra and and what she she persevered and did it. I I'm literally thousands of miles away
from it. And it was I was not a fully formed person when it was happening with her, but but what what a testament to uh
strength and perseverance and belief in oneself and so many wonderful things to model as a person.
Definitely. Yeah. Yeah. And you know, and I' I've never spoken one word to her, and I I wish that I was able to see
how she does things cuz it's obviously uh she's able to deal with things and
navigate things that are extraordinary on the clarinet and as a human being.
Yeah. If I could if I could be even half as as
all of those qualities that she has, I'll be I'll be happy. I mean, it's it's quite something. and yeah, I haven't
seen her for a number of years and I really want to go and it has never it hasn't worked out for the last, you
know, I'll be in England or in Germany and she'll be elsewhere and but it might get a bit easier now. Um, but it's also
it's interesting what you said to have other things because I think that's very very important that we all have other
things in in life that we enjoy doing that give you a bit of perspective that that take your interest sometimes. Yes,
of course, we're all we're very I'm very focused on on the clarinet and that's
that's my career. That's my my goal. That's what I I want to do. But it's very important sometimes to have a
vacation and go and do something else or whatever it may be, your hobby to sort
of allow your mind a bit of time. And I think it also makes you a better person. I totally agree. I I tell my daughter
all the time who's eight, Amelia, I am the luckiest person in the world because everything I do I want to do.
Yeah. And my problem is I don't have enough time to do all of it. During different parts of my career, certain things have
been amplified more than other things in terms of like, you know, how much performing I'm doing, how much teaching I'm doing, where and when I'm doing all
these things. And then the introduction of a child then takes center stage of everything and everything gets pushed to the side. And, you know, but but it is
it is wild to me the the 20-year-old version of me would have never considered these things that we're
talking about. It was just I was singularly focused. And I'm I'm glad that as time went on, I realized that
this can't be everything, you know. And the the other flip side of it for me that is also fascinating and a huge part
of my life is the adult the adult learner of the clarinet. They've lived a large part of their life. Oftent times
they've retired from whatever successful career they've had and then the clarinet is becoming part of their life or a
bigger part of their life. It's wonderful to have a thing that you know that every day you can go find yourself
and find yourself as compared to yesterday or the day before, but also be thinking of what I what do I want tomorrow or the next day or the next
day. What are my goals? There's a continuum that that we can see kind of magically with the clarinet. That's a
pretty wonderful thing. I guess it's true with every instrument, but we're not talking about those instruments because they're dumb. We're talking
about the uh so well and it's it's it's very important. I I I admire and I think it's fantastic
the people that either play music as a hobby when they're young or through life or they
say like you say after they've retired they think you know what I'm going to learn an instrument. I think that's fantastic and like you say it gives them
an escape from whatever else is is going on in the world and um something to
focus on and to and to to build on and it really does work your mind in a very
different way to a lot of other things. So I think it's fantastic and I I always enjoy seeing people excited about
playing music. I think and I think sometimes when we're young and we're studying music, we get some people
think, well, oh, if I'm going to do music, then it's either has to be my job or or not at all. I think a lot of
people forget this this middle ground where if you want to do it as a hobby
and get better for yourself and and play because you enjoy it and maybe have a
group, whatever it is, fantastic. That's incredible. And that really sort of
shows the power of music to me. It's always a reminder to me and a welcome reminder when I'm working with
people that don't play professionally and don't have a want to play professionally. They want to play because they like it that that's why I
should play the clarinet too, right? because it became a different thing uh along it was I' I've I've fixed it but
it became a thing where at a certain point I had to really realize sometimes I don't like doing this and and it's and
and it was never the clarinet it was the the situations I was in that I didn't like and and but whenever I was opening
my clarinet case and I was thinking when is this going to end like whatever you know well that's not good that's pretty
far away from where this started for me and for all of us I think and when I see people who only open the case cuz they
want to I think that's nice. That is a nice thing. Um
well and inevitably if they say this the hobby becomes your
career yes it will take on a very different uh it will look very different and take on different feelings and
different responsibilities. Um and there are a lot of a lot of additional elements to having a career as a
musician than just the playing of the instrument. I always joke I say if I could just play concerts every day then
every day of the week I would and that would be lovely but that's not the reality of it. Um there's a lot of other
things. So it is interesting and you're right to to always have that reminder of why you do it. We
take it for granted. I think I certainly did not consciously but
because it becomes your your normal. And I'm not saying I I don't think, you
know, being able to travel and play, I don't I don't think I'm incredibly fortunate because I I certainly do. But
to be able to play it, it's just your normal. And during co when that was all
gone, it was a big shock. And I remember the first concert back on stage was
really surprisingly emotional for me. And I didn't really understand in the
moment walking on trying to process all these things and also play what was why
or why why it was emotional. But afterwards I think having not performed
for a while and then being back on stage really gave me a newfound appreciation
for for what it was that I was doing. Um and made me realize how how lucky I am
and you know be be thankful for it. It's nice to have a time to reset. I
mean, I think co co obviously was a whole thing to say the least. You can't say those words.
We could. Well, but um I I had a bit of a thing with the first performance, but that
that I did after after after that whole time. But strangely enough, the moment I remember was the first time I'd gotten
on the train to go downtown. And and I remember standing on the platform, you know, mask
on, the whole thing, and thinking to myself, man, I can't I I can't believe this is happening. Like, I can't I can't
believe things are I'm having an experience that's normal, that feels normal to me. And and uh but
it didn't it was not the same normal. It didn't feel the same. I I it didn't feel like, oh, we just it's like it never
stopped. Like I never stopped getting on the train. I knew it had been a year kind of since I'd been on the train. A lot of things happened during during
that time. uh some of which personally speaking weren't good, although I've turned them into good
things. But what it really got me into was having an online presence, which is a big part of my life now.
Yeah. And I I didn't know how to use a computer other than how to check email. And now, you know, I can edit videos. I
can record things. I've got 17,000 microphones. Like, you know what's even more interesting than mouthpieces is
microphones. Oh, don't don't get me started. I was looking at microphones actually this
morning. I don't need anymore, but I want more.
Actually, I um looking at a old it's a Coohl's 4038. So, it's an old ribbon
mic. Well, they still make them actually um but they were the BBC, British Broadcasting Corporation. Um used these
Coohl's for many, many years. And you get a really I've always found ribbons
in now, now you've started me. Now we're on people listening go what are they talking about? Um, I found ribbon
microphones give a really lovely warm sound to the instrument. Actually, this this last recording, the Aro and
Lindberg, see bringing it back around. Um, the the solo spot, one of the solo spot mics was a Cooh's 4038 uh ribbon
and then we of course we had a a pair on me and then lots of microphones around including the spatial audio. Um, so with
certain headphones you can and and certain systems you can put the headphones on and as you move your head
the image will change as if you're looking at at an orchestra and that's cool. Um, so there was microphones
everywhere. But anyway, I'm I'm I'm in deep with the microphones and
and I I certainly don't need more, but need and want.
Yeah, I I I got you on that. I mean, I had to like stop myself from watching microphone reviews on YouTube because I
wanted so many of them and I probably got like six or seven and I I I need one
really. The first the first one I had was more than enough. But like mouthpieces, you know, like you wanted
something to be different today, you know, and and and it might only matter to you, but it's what it is. I remember
asking uh his name is Mike Hatch who's the engineer for this recording and
actually engineered all of my recordings on Signum Records. He is
one of the best just incredible person and incredible engineer. And it was
during co I phoned him. I said, "Mike, I I want to buy a microphone so I can do some recording at home. What would you
what would you recommend?" And his answer made me laugh. cuz well it depends what are you recording it's like
well you know cuz if you're doing contemporary music or if you're doing brahms or this or that then you might
want a slightly different flavor and also where are you recording because here one microphone might work well but
in another space you might so I have lots of microphones I that doesn't help
me but fine I'll um and it's yeah it's true you can lots
of small little tweaks that I mean it's the Same though, the same we were
talking about earlier. If there was two versions of of a recording and one spot
microphone was changed, okay, in the whole grand picture, a lot
of people might not be able to notice the difference, but it's those really small details that when you add them up
make quite a big difference. And that's how I justified buying lots of microphones.
Yeah. I mean, I' I've got microphones I can just grab like they're everywhere. But I I also think it's important for us
musicians that are that are going to record to have some understanding of what's going on. I know a lot of
musicians that turn up to recording session, they don't even and maybe it's
fine. They don't care about the microphones, don't care about the spacing or whatever. But I've always thought it's it's interesting to know
why why have you chosen these microphones or or what sort of sound are you going for? Because you then can hone
the sort of sound you want in a recording. Um I think that's interesting. I want to further that a little bit
because I think when somebody's placing a microphone, they're trying to get the best sound of your clarinet. Yes.
Right. And we as a player, our ears are never where
that microphone is. Right. our ears are always on our head which is behind the clarinet and I'm curious to know in your
experience has that sort of like feed the change of that feedback loop and and like hearing yourself like playing
through headphones while you're actually playing the clarinet but hearing the microphone sound rather than the sound
that you normally hear when you play the clarinet. Have you had any any thoughts or ideas associated with that sort of
change in perception? Well, it yeah, it is interesting. And of course, I mean,
you you could further further that, excuse me, that the audience are also not sitting as close as a microphone is
as well. So, I mean, and and look, it's not as simple as the the sound that you
hear of me on the album is from one microphone. No, it's probably from the ones that are further away up high, the
space pale or the the array up there, and a little touch of the spot microphone. But yes, it certainly does
change your and to be able to hear yourself uh through headphones can
I would say change your sound, but it gives you a different perspective on on what you think you sound like. And it
was interesting actually switching instruments, um, different brand, different model, everything, getting a
new instrument and hearing the first recording on it because it's slightly different to the sound I hear in my own
mind. Um, and also then the the placement of the microphone and and the
things you can do afterwards. You can change the sound vastly by adding things
on afterwards. And you can hear those recordings where that's been done and it sounds very I
don't know I can always hear it say what you there's a load of EQ on this or there's loads of this or loads of reverb or whatever it is. So we'd like to try
and get as as neutral as possible across the board for everything. I feel like you could change something
1% either way and that's fine. But you can hear when somebody's changed it so that it actually isn't the sound that
came out. I find actually this what I realized we digress. We're really getting into the
weeds now, but I I find a lot of a lot of clarinetists want a dark sound and
they use that terminology, a dark sound. And so what I've heard a lot of people will do is in recordings or in even in
videos you put up online that you can affect, you can change the sound and add some things. First of all, they they put
on a lot of reverb, which okay, just sounds like you're in a in a massive
cathedral, but also they remove a huge amount of the the high-end. So, your
whole sound very muffled, but this in in a lot of people's eyes gives them that
dark, warm sound, but it has none of the sparkle and the harmonics that we also
need. And I think, yeah, you can you can adjust something slightly, but you're always going to sound like you. And if
you try and do too much, then you're just going to ruin it. So, if you want to make, let's say, quote unquote, a
darker sound or a warmer sound or a more focused sound, that starts with you. You
will make the biggest difference to that. Then, of course, the instrument you play, the equipment, the read, the
mouthpiece, all of this stuff. um that has a in my opinion a smaller impact.
But yeah, sorry I realize this is sort of that's going down down a tangent.
This is all fantastic and it gives me the opportunity to pivot to the question we all want to know. What mouthpiece are
you playing on? What reads do you play on? What instrument are you playing on? Now this is for clarinetist really only.
Anyone who's not a clarinetist just click off now. No, they might find it interesting hopefully. Um, it's interesting you you
likening u microphone collection to mouthpiece collection. I'm I'm not like
that actually. I like to have one mouthpiece that I play and I don't
change. When it when it's worn out, I will change it, but I I'm one of those I I just play the same thing every time.
Um, so I have a Vandor uh BD4 Black Diamond 4 and it's the I play the 13
series which is 440 pitch instead of the the regular slightly higher pitch. And
some of that is the way I play in terms of my innate intonation if you like with
an instrument. But actually I found there was a a very very subtle sound difference also with the 13 series
compared to the regular. So, for me and my the way I play and my setup, I found that the 13 works works the best. Um, as
for reads, just Vandor and traditional blue box. Um, there was a time it was
solely strength fives. Most of the time now it's fours,
the harder of the fours in the box. Uh, and sometimes five. So, I'd probably say I mean, let's say four and a half. Um,
and liature. I've been playing the Vandor and carbon fiber liature for what
since it came out now and yeah really really really like it. Um and I think
it's important I mean those all of all of the above I just mentioned are so the
mouthpieces are so they're great. They're fantastic. I also know that if
something happened to that um mouthpiece I could pick up another one and it would
play 90 something% the same as the one I had before. They're they're incredibly consistent.
Incredibly consistent. Dorne does something amazing. I I have nothing but admiration for that
for the for them. And what a lot of people don't realize it's it's still familyowned and and operated. And
Bernard, Mr. Bernard Vandoran is in the factory every day. And they are
focused on on having things to be the highest quality possible and made in France. And it shows really. And yes, of
course, there are lots of lots of different options out there, different brands, different models, and and I
think that's also nice. It's it's good to have. Um, but for me, yeah, that setup has for quite a while now actually
been the been my go-to. And I think I also there was a time when I had this
one-off mouthpiece that was it was nice and then something happened to it and it broke and I I didn't have another one
and it was really difficult. Um, so having something that,
yeah, is is replaceable. Uh, and you can do work to them as well. You know, of course, you can you can have
customizations done to them as well. Um, and that's a good little tip for any
clarinetist, saxophone players. Always have a spare mouthpiece and ligature. There we go. There's a little tip for
the day. I could not agree in your case. Yeah. No, in in the case, right? And also, I'll go one step further. buy the
the cheapest two two read guard, you know, just two reads that lives in your
case. So, in case your reads disappear that you leave them at home, you've got everything that you need. You've got
everything in the case prepared for, you know, Armageddon, right? Yeah. I always when I'm traveling, yes,
I have boxes of reads in the suitcase, but we'll always split it between that and my clarinet case because there have
been many times my suitcase go walk about and it ends up the other end of
the world actually a few times. But then, you know, you've always got reads you can always go and do the concert.
Whether you dressed correctly is another thing. Um, well, what mouthpiece did you play
before the BD4? Because that that's a relatively recent mouthpiece. What what
mouth pieces have you used in your life for that? The longest um the one I used for the longest time was an M30 which I
which I also really liked. Um I I can grab one that's it's it's within reach. I got one right here. Yeah.
Um and sort of in between. So I did an M30 and then I had a mouthpiece that was made by
Zenna, which was a very very big and popular company uh in Germany. And yeah,
they they made me a couple of mouthpieces with some dimensions that I sent to them and I I I quite liked. Um,
but then yeah, when they came out with the BD4, I think for a long time my Zenna was it had become it was very old
and very worn out and it needed to be replaced for a long time, but I just
couldn't find anything that gave me every aspect of what I wanted in playing as I
wanted it. And then the BD4 came out and honestly I tried it like well this okay this is great. I let's go let's go and
play a concert this right now. I I had the same response for the BD4. I I I got it and I was like holy crap.
Like this is this is really good. Does the playing on the lower pitch on the 13
give you trouble in Europe? I mean it would seem like that would that that's counter to what might be helpful to you.
So you must there must be a characteristic in the sound that you're you're very interested in in the 13 versus the non-13 because I feel like
that that's not helping you in and that in that in that specific way. Right. Well, the the first reason I tried the
13 series is that no matter which mouthpiece I've tried instrument, I
always tend to play on the sharper side. And I've come to a point now in my life
where I just accept it. That's just the way maybe it's something the ambiter the air production something I tend to be
often I will play half a millimeter it's not much half a millimeter to millimeter longer barrel
than most other people would on the same instrument. So that was my first reason for trying the 13. Then the the sound
the ever so subtle sound difference was just a benefit for me. So actually I don't find any issues playing in Europe
because because of because of me I'm the problem. I'm the whole problem. There you go.
I'm not gonna at this point not gonna relearn. And it hasn't it's not an issue really. It's just, you know, everyone
plays slightly differently and needs slightly different things. So, yeah, with this new instrument, um, most of
the time, I mean, I have 64 mm barrels up to 66, even 67s, but um, and also the
instrument itself can can dictate the the intonation. But yeah, I've always
tended to play slightly on the the sharper side. I feel most comfortable at
442. Um, you know, if there's a piano playing at 440, it of course it's it's
doable, but I always found felt most comfortable at at 442. And also the
sound of 442 I quite like as well. Now we're really into the weeds, aren't we? Jesus. Well, but but let's go further. I feel
like our clarinet internally plays in tune better at 441
442. Yes. Like if you're trying to play at 440, the the idiosyncrasies get more
pronounced. Yeah, for sure. Yeah, I I agree. I It just Yeah, everything seems to just be
the world's better place at 442. Well, now speaking of speaking of
instruments, what instrument are you playing these days? So, I have a buffet uh Deine.
Okay. um which is based on this sort of RC bore. And I mean I tried everything.
I tried every instrument out there and I kept coming back to two of the buffets,
the Leond and the Deine, which in some ways is surprising because they're both from different bore families. Um,
and it was the sound of the Deavine that I just I loved and yeah, immediately
immediately got one and and started playing it straight away and never looked back really.
Um, and now I'm interested, you know, maybe to look at some of the alternative woods. The Mopane wood, um, the Leons
made out of that wood are very, very beautiful and a very nice sound. So, and
here's the thing with Buffet. A lot of people think, well, they they have and they do a vast amount of models
of of instrument. and having been to the factory and worked with the people there, some
incredibly incredible minds and
you can find something that will work for you that you will love in the Buffet family. I'm I'm almost certain of it.
And some of these changes are very slight to to give a new model or or a
different take on it or a different wood. And it's really enjoyable to work with such masters of the instrument. Um,
and yeah, it makes it such a fascinating process to visit and to to even see the factory for a start, but then also to
work with the engineers and the designers on on things is they're they're real real real craftsmen of what
they do. Well, the margins that that are used in mouthpieces, reads, clarinets, we're
talking millimeters like like fractions of millimeters. Yeah. At times. And it's it's real. I mean, if
you like we measure all of our mouthpieces in millimeters. If you take your read and take just a little bit off, it make it it's a huge, you know,
obviously the read's gonna have it's gonna have more of an impact on that than it would on, let's say, your lowest tone hole, but still there's there's not
many places in the world where people are operating to that fine of a measurement, you know, that really has
an impact. And if they are often they're working with metal which then depending won't move which would it must be an
engineer's nightmare because right you you have these very tight tolerances and then you leave it in a case for a
bit or travel here and it moves and then those tolerances are no longer what what they were before. Um so that makes life
even more difficult for everybody. But yeah, they've I mean this year celebrated 200 years and it I mean it
shows some incredible work, great great craftsman and and I mean fantastic
instruments at the end of it really. Yeah. Let's just circle back for just a second. Tell us where we can hear your
new recording and any other recording that you've ever made. How how do we get
to the core of Julian Bliss? So, all of my recordings are available on all of
the streaming services, whatever. Pick your favorite. Um, and you can also buy
physical CDs. I know they're still available for those people that like to have some in the hands. Um, I believe in
all the all the usual places and I think even Amazon as well. And and um, so yes, and they're all on Signum.
Well, not all of them. Most of them are on Signum Records, which is a UK based label, who are I mean, just fantastic to
work with. So, yeah, very very appreciative of of them and all the hard work that they've they've put in to help
me create the recordings that I want to create. Links will be available to you, your recordings. I want to just double check
Julian Bliss.com. Is that your website? That is. Yes. And so if somebody wants to check out if they can hear you play
live, which would be a real treat for anybody that likes music or the clarinet, they can see you. You I'm sure
update your performance schedule on that so that they can see, right? Yep. The performance schedule there's there's various places that can be found
and I always try and post also on social media where I'm going to be and when. So uh the next concert coming up for me is
a Copeland clarinet conerto um beginning of October and that's in Liverpool in England. So, I'm looking forward to
that. That'll be a lot of fun. And then a nice bit of chamber music and uh throughout the last couple of months of
the year. And there we go. That's another That will be another year done. Following Julian on on social media, you
do get a lot of wonderful clips of performances or videos that he's made specifically for social media, which are
fantastic. But for me, I saw that you'd made this recording. I was literally on the way into back to school night to
meet my my child's teacher, and I was like, I'd like to talk to Julian about that immediately. And it's it's really a wonderful way to uh I think and and let
me just say you do a great job of having it be content that invites people in and
is self-promotional but is not blatantly self-promotional or in any way seems like you know you're you're just talking
about yourself which is what social media is but you do it in a way that I feel inherently that's what it's about isn't
it? But you do a charming version of it. Well thank you very much that's very kind. All right. So, Julian, I'm going to
click off and stick around. I got a couple like just questions for you. Sure. Okay. So, anyway, Julian, thanks for
being here. Thank you very much. Thanks for having me. So, that was my talk with Julian Bliss. Thank you, Julian, for being here. It
was a real pleasure, an honor to get to talk to you and talk to you about the
pieces, the clarinet, the whole thing, your life, talking about Sabina Meyer. That was all really, really special
stuff. And so if you're still here and you haven't liked and subscribed, maybe left a comment, do it now.
