From Joshuamaccluer.com The Creativity Challenge is now finished! After one year, I am happy to announce the completion on what has been without doubt the best project I have ever done in my life. The project was such a benefit as it motivated me to create much much more creative work that I would have …
The Completion of the 50-50 Challenge!
Back in late February of 2017, I began my biggest personal Challenge to date: the 50-50 Challenge. The idea was to produce 50 original works of music at Lamma Studios. The music was also to be “socially conscious” and as an added Challenge, in the course of making those 50 works I was to perform on at …
Joshua MacCluer: Retirement from Orchestra Playing (and Career Retrospective)
A few months ago I made the decision to retire from full time orchestra playing and the Hong Kong Philharmonic. While many people in Hong Kong and elsewhere are aware of my decision, this is my first public announcement of this decision. I’ve been playing in orchestras now for 30 years, and this is my …
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Principles of Auditions, Part Three: The Big Day
This is the third and final installment of my series on orchestra audition principles, tips, and tricks. Today covers Audition Day. For Part One covering general philosophy click here, and for Part Two on preparation, click here. Finally the big day has finally arrived! After a thorough, relaxed and joyful preparation, we are now ready to …
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Principles of Auditions – Part Two: The Preparation Process
IQuality preparation is key to any successful performance. Any good coach will tell you that most of the winning of any sports contest will be in the preparation. For John Wooden, widely considered the greatest basketball coach of all time, the outcome of a competition was largely decided in practice leading up to the game. While …
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Principles of Auditions – Part One: General Audition Philosophical Principles
Auditions are a fact of life today in the classical music world. They are almost always required for getting orchestra jobs and into universities and festivals, yet are quite different than regular music playing. Therefore so it is an essential skill for successful classical players to master for a successful career. I did a lot …
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The Creative Unconscious and Creativity’s Role in Saving Humanity
This is a reprint from Joshua MacCluer’s blog on Sept 14, 2015. I would like to share some thoughts about creativity and its greater role in the world. When I first started thinking about it I didn’t appreciate what a rich and complex subject creativity is, and how important it really is to all of …
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Tips for Beethoven Symphony Trumpet Performance
The following post is reposted from Joshua MacCluer’s blog from December 2015. November came with a big project for us at the HK Phil performing the 9 Beethoven Symphonies with our music director Jaap van Zweden. It was an intense month! The boss has very high standards for Beethoven, it was hard work, and it …
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The Lost Art of Classical Improvisation
In my opinion improvisation is one of the most important and helpful practices a musician can perform, yet one of the most neglected. Today classical music and musicians suffer greatly as a result of this neglect. Musicianship is first and foremost about expression, and only through the practice of improvisation can we can discover our …
Elevation Solo Album Release and the Myriad Benefits of Recording
Lamma Studios is delighted to announce the release of trumpeter Joshua MacCluer’s album Elevation. What follows was written on Joshua’s website at the time of release. Elevation is the result of almost two years of work and was a tremendous learning experience for me as well a very enjoyable artistic process. The album is now released electronically …
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