Anthony Plog on Music

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David Bilger: Former Principal of the Philadelphia Orchestra, and Trumpet Professor at Northwestern University and the Curtis Institute of Music

Anthony Plog, host
Eddie Ludema, producer
Date posted: Jan 19, 2024

Trumpeter Dave Bilger has had a stellar career as both a performer and also as an educator. He was principal trumpet with the Dallas Symphony, and following that, principal trumpet with the Philadelphia Orchestra for many years. In addition to the 27 years he's taught at the Curtis Institute of Music, he's also Professor of Trumpet at the Northwestern University Bienen School of Music and has given master classes around the world.


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Part 1

As an example of how music can have a profound influence on a person's, and even a family's, life, we begin our conversation with my asking Dave about how he was able raise funds in order to bring Baset Azizi from Afghanistan to the United States and how that impacted not only Baset, but his family as well. Dave continues by talking about his two main teachers and their different approaches to teaching, David Hickman and Mark Gould... in addition to his week of study with Tom Stevens. As a student, Dave was a member of the summer student orchestra, the Colorado Philharmonic, and talks about what it was like to have Michael Sachs (principal trumpet, Cleveland Orchestra) and Doug Prosser (principal trumpet, Rochester Philharmonic) as room-mates during his second year. We end part one with an extended discussion of auditions, including musical preparation, mental approaches, and some current issues with the orchestral audition process.

Become a Contributing Listener to enjoy more from Tony's interview with Andreas Neubronner!

In Part 2, Dave and I discuss the complexities of technique vs. music, in both practice and performance. I then ask him what his first rehearsal as a new member of the Philadelphia Orchestra was like, and what it was like to play under Wolfgang Sawallisch (including his fantastic performance of the Tomasi Concerto.) We then discuss the other main aspect of his career, teaching, and the difference between teaching at the Curtis Institute and Northwestern University. After a couple of miscellaneous questions (by the way, Dave was a really good tennis player!) we conclude by talking about the text of the music and how specific to the text a player should be.



The podcast theme music, Four Sierra Scenes, written by Anthony Plog, is taken from Crystal Records S205, copyright ©1980 Crystal Records Inc., and is used by permission. Unauthorized duplication is not permitted.