Manny, Music, and Beethoven

(Photo courtesy of the Minnesota Orchestra website)

The advent and adoption of social media is one that I appreciate for giving me the ability to keep in touch with those I would not have otherwise. I’ve been connected with Minnesota Principal Trumpet, Manny Laureano, in this way for several years now. My last Minnesota Orchestra BLOG was three years ago during the silent times of their 15 month lockout. But a recent post from Manny stirred my heart so much, that I reached out asking if he would be willing to do a cyber interview with me along with an excerpt from his touching post. And the generous man he is, he agreed!

It is a cosmic, lucky fluke I know Manny Laureano in the first place. I met him nearly twenty five years ago as a senior in high school. At that time, I had joined my fellow acolytes in a particular kind of convent where prayers and devotions, solitary study and enormous amounts of time were freely given to our one true God, Music. And for me, music did feel like a random gift from the gods.

My dad was a hard working Minnesota blue collar man, who came from a long line of blue collar men. In the summer, his Nordic face would turn a deep and exotic shade of brown while his hair was bleached nearly white climbing telephone poles in the hot sun, splicing wires. I was the first one in my family for many generations who could read music.

Though I started music in elementary school and had (recently) become dedicated to it, I was impossibly behind for anyone who had serious ambitions for it. The performing arts—especially classical music— is often times an opportunity awarded only to those who can afford the expensive instruments, the years of private lessons, and the prestigious summer camps. I was not such a kid, but this never really bothered me because the notes on the page didn’t seem to care about any of that. They only cared that I devoted myself to them—and would reward me if I did.

In my senior year of high school, I took my last shot to be a part of what I believed was the best opportunity in the Twin Cities for a young aspiring musician, The Minnesota Youth Symphonies. After auditions, I was first up on the waiting list for the Symphony, the top level in the organization. My conceit at this monumental victory lasted for about two minutes, as people “who knew” this world told me the odds of being able to play would be very slim. Anyone who had a spot in the Symphony would not leave anytime soon.

But the Music gods favored me that year, and I did indeed get to play. At my first rehearsal, I understood why a person would never want to give up their spot; Manny Laureano was our maestro. Anyone who knows Manny would agree with my descriptors: passionate, approachable, funny, inspiring, hardworking, incredibly generous—all wrapped up in a chestnut body of unidentifiable origin, topped with a frizz of curls and spectacles. I have scraps of memories and images of him that has been lovely to dig out of deep, hidden pockets and smooth out for display.

I remember after playing the requested scales and arpeggios at warm-up, he would place his horn to his lips and echo them right back to us. He believed he should do any technique he required of us. In rehearsal, he had a gesture of lightly thumping his chest to demonstrate a slow tempo, or tender phrasing, mimicking the heartbeat of music. There was a long bus ride to Canada for a big performance, where a throng of young, fresh faced students (including mine!) huddled around him as he shared life stories while the sky streaked black against the windows.

My year with Manny marked me. Deeply and always. In addition to the music I will forever carry in my heart, Stravinsky’s Firebird! Dukas’ The Sorcerer’s Apprentice! Tchaikovsky’s Pathetique!, lives the time and place of a girl long ago who chased music with great love and agony, and was granted the most holy of benedictions under the graceful sway of Manny’s baton.

Thank you so much for agreeing to my blog interview! What called you to music when you were a kid growing up in New York, before you were “Manny Laureano”?

I loved to sing as a boy. I was cast in scholastic versions of operas and operettas such as “The Pirates of Penzance” and “Carmen”. They were all shortened, of course, to be performed by grade schoolers but they were a tremendous experience. I never thought of those things as being anything other than what every other kid in NYC was doing at the time. It all seemed normal. In 7th grade I was in a school that had music as a major subject. That is, 7 periods a week. I learned the trumpet and auditioned for the High School of Music and Art three years later. That education plus my lessons (on scholarship) to study trumpet privately with a member of the NY Philharmonic led me to audition for Juilliard, where I spent four years working on my art.

You went to Julliard. What was that like?! What shaped you most in your years there?

The intense education with the greatest teachers in the world worked a magic for me which I needed to become a competitive musician. I met some of the greatest musicians in the world there. I became a more serious student during my sophomore through senior years. My first year I floundered because it was such a radically different world from what I understood prior to that.

You have been conducting, particularly for youth, for a lot of your career. What is it about this that you love best?

I think anyone who works with young people will tell you that watching a young artist do something well for the first time is a tremendous gratification. But my favorite things are the middle rehearsals. They know their notes and such by then and I can get into the meat of the music and teach them the things they can’t learn about art on their own.

You are also part of several (adult) community music organizations. How can we get involved with those as either attendees or as musicians?

As current music director of the Bloomington Symphony Orchestra it has been a joy to meet and talk to various audiences that we play for. The smiles I see on the faces of the public are similar to what I see when I share a tidbit with the young artists at MYS. People love to learn! That goes for my BSO musicians, as well. There is a lot of information for musicians and concertgoers at www.bloomingtonsymphony.org

What would you like to tell us about the Minnesota Orchestra today?

Without a hint of prejudice I can state that the Minnesota Orchestra is one of the great ensembles of the world not just in the US. That makes me very proud. We bend over backwards to give conductors what they request and we always deliver. It is an exciting time to be a member of that ensemble.

What do you like to do that is not musical?

There’s very little I don’t like to do or explore except shoveling snow! However, if you’re asking about my hobbies and such, I have been a student of martial arts since 2010 and am very passionate about it. I study the Chinese art of Kenpo and Japanese Jjiu Jitsu at Eclectic Martial Arts under 7th degree Master Allen Horner. I am also an avid student of chess and love the game.

I will end with an excerpt from Manny’s original post; it gives a glimpse into his person and that of many artists. It tugged at my heart and for a few beats, brought me back to the struggles in a modest band room in St. Paul, and the glories of the stage at Orchestra Hall.

“Just as pianists will take out a work of Johann Sebastian Bach to clarify and clean their technique in an exalted musical context, the orchestral music of Ludwig Van Beethoven will do wonders for an orchestra.

We orchestral players love the music of a great many composers. Depending what section you’re in you will be partial to composers that bring out the brilliance of your capabilities. Brass players love Strauss and Mahler. String players love Mozart. Woodwind players love the challenge of a great Ravel work.

But we all universally love the challenges Beethoven affords us whether we happen to be a trombonist who is asked to pop out a double-high F in the finale of the 5th, a clarinetist who must display wickedly fast tonguing to negotiate the finale of the 4th, a timpanist who must drive an orchestra to frenzy in the scherzo of the 9th, or a string player who has to display complete mastery of bow control throughout each and every symphony.

For the last three weeks or so, I have fairly marveled at the individual and collective talent by which I am privileged to be surrounded. This Beethoven Marathon we just played is challenge enough, but even more so when the music of 9 symphonies and 5 concerti is played with such devotion!

You see, there are two ways to play a mass of great music in a short amount of time. One is to grab all the notes you can and just get through it without hurting yourself. The other is to immerse yourself in every blessed note as though it were your last. The latter is what moves me to write this epistle praising my colleagues, God bless ‘em.

Not one of my colleagues was interested in doing anything other than their very best. They would sweat of the most minute of details... things that, when expertly executed, go by the average ear as part of a hailstorm of notes. We take chances and allow the years of skill to improve the odds of success. It takes a special sort of collection of musicians to tear into the music and The Band (the Minnesota Orchestra) is one such ensemble. They possess the coveted Warrior Spirit that is essential to bring an audience of presumably civilized people to behave as though they were poised to click their lighters in appreciation of having their socks knocked off of them.

The Band is truly playing marvelously.”

Check out The Band for yourself! They have wonderful things in-store for you. See the Minnesota Orchestra’s Upcoming Schedule.