Q&A with Daniel Mendelow

After 34 years as Principal Trumpet of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra, Dan Mendelow has had a long career of performing under pressure. I was able to talk to him about his career, inspirations, and his mindset when sitting in the hot seat.

Can you tell us a bit about your career path – where did you start playing professionally, and what are you up to now?

My symphonic career started fairly early. In my senior year at Oberlin I got a phone call from my teacher at the time, Louis Davidson, who said I should audition for the Principal Trumpet opening the Jerusalem Symphony in Israel. I ended up sending a tape with a few recorded excerpts as well as a copy of my Graduation Recital. They offered me the job so the next year I was off on an adventure that was to span the next four decades.

Following my first year in Jerusalem, I auditioned for Zubin Mehta and was offered a spot in the section of the Israel Philharmonic. I played there for the following year, and in 1978 I was asked to play acting Associate Principal with the orchestra on its tour to Australia. Meanwhile in Israel, I had applied for the Principal opening in Sydney, mainly because I knew I had to eventually leave Israel unless I wanted to serve in their army and lose my US citizenship as well. As luck would have it, my audition tape for Sydney was in the finals, and when the IPO was in Sydney in ‘78 I played a live audition for the SSO brass section and concertmaster, and was offered the job in the SSO. I returned to Sydney at the age of 23 in June of ‘78 and played there for the next 34 years.

I also took on the job as Trumpet Lecturer at the Canberra School of Music (later the ANU School of Music) in 1991 and taught there for 20 years as well.

Since leaving full time playing with the SSO, I have had the privilege of playing, teaching, giving masterclasses in many parts of the world, and presently have settled back into Sydney life full time, still practice every day and teach a fair bit. I also recently have done a few Trumpet and Organ programs here and overseas. I think I will always love playing and teaching the trumpet! I’ve also gotten into coffee roasting just for fun...

Who or what inspires you as a musician?

Throughout the years, I’ve had many different people inspire me:

The 12 year-old who was inspired by Al Hirt—he was amazing – and then of course Herb Alpert. I knew all the Tijuana Brass hits off by heart.

That was closely followed by Maurice André, of course, and I can remember falling in love with the playing of Don Smithers on his Baroque Trumpet album. I was also doing a fair bit of singing at Oberlin and loved the voices of Jussi Bjorling and Kurt Moll, to name a couple. My choir director at Oberlin, Daniel Moe had a great influence on my development as a musician and we ended up re-kindling a friendship many years later. Like many brass players, I found the relationship between singing and playing to be very beneficial.

I was also very inspired with the playing of some wonderful trumpet players like Armando Ghitalla, Adolph Herseth, Georges Mager, Reinhold Friedrich, Roger Voisin, Hans Gansch, and also the playing of Itzhak Perlman, Jascha Heifetz, and Isaac Stern. Of course, I would also have to mention my teachers: Frank Ostrowski in Pittsburgh who inspired me to get serious about the trumpet in the first place, the late Gene Young, and Louis Davidson, both of whom had a profound influence on me as a developing musician and trumpeter.

In general, players and conductors who exhibit a sense of humility, humanity, and the conviction to “serve the music” rather than their egos do more to inspire honest music making.

What are some of the specific pressures associated with the work that you do, particularly throughout your long career as Principal Trumpet of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra?

Ha—this is a tricky one!

Of course, as Principal Trumpet, it’s almost impossible to “hide” or blend into the background in most settings. This was the double-edged sword that kept things at times, terrifying, yet at times wonderfully exciting as well. Even when I was feeling less than 100% physically, sometimes I had to take a step beyond and become part of the “musical whole”—out of body, so to speak, to give 100% of myself in performances.

I find that preparation is the key—to give 100%, you have to know what you’re doing 150% in a technical sense, and be able to anticipate how you will be feeling at certain times – those “exposed” times – to feel like you’ve done your part well.

I guess it’s also a fact of life, but throughout the years and the more playing you do, you realize that no matter what you do, not everybody surrounding you will always be positive and supportive. In these situations, or in general when the going got rough, sometimes I felt like I had a very specific relationship between myself, the composer, and the conductor, and the musical result was always the most important thing.

As a trumpeter, we live for the beauty and the “glory” of playing Mahler, Strauss and Shostakovich, but sometimes the most difficult playing from a musical standpoint are the parts in Mozart, Beethoven, Brahms, etc. where your contribution is colour, rhythm, and perfect intonation. In other words, the awareness of the trumpets is when something is not absolutely right!

Has performance anxiety or nerves been something that you have had to consciously manage throughout your career? If so, what have you done to keep on top of them?

I think this goes without saying.

To be human is to feel anxiety and self-doubt at times.

I’ve always tried to use this as a positive rather than a negative factor on my performing – trying to transform the negative energy of nervous stress into excitement in my playing—pushing the envelope, so to speak. Preparation is paramount—sometimes the best way to head off these feelings is to anticipate when they are most likely to occur and leave as little room for surprises as possible. But also know and acknowledge that they will occur quite regularly!

For me, even deep breathing on stage sometimes works, provided it’s not too obvious, and concentrating on sound, focusing on the conductor if I feel they’re worth it (!), and thinking about the positive movement of airstream helps.

Also really, I mean really getting involved in the music and realizing that you’re only a small cog in the total machinery of what is being produced.

And a newsflash that some players forget:

NOBODY DIES IF YOU MISS A NOTE OR SCREW AN ENTRY!

This is sometimes easier said than actually done. I always used to think about my brother, who is a surgeon—if he screws something up, that has much more grave consequences than a few missed notes!

Failing that, whiskey. (Just kidding...)

If fear, self-doubt, or negativity creeps in during a concert, what do you do to get into a more positive frame of mind?

Concentrate on the beauty or impact of the music as a whole, and the beauty of your sound. Stay positive, and think about the fact that you’re sharing your musical contribution with the people in the audience. They have come to hear the music at the end of a long workday for them. They want to hear you. Draw a positive feeling of energy from your audience.

When things felt right, I always felt as if there’s no place I’d rather be than in that moment. If it didn’t feel right, I’d ask myself why and try to rectify that feeling.

And that’s making music. It’s always about the music, serving the composer.

How do you prepare for a concert, both physically and mentally?

Well, in most situations, we would have a rehearsal in the morning, so I would try not to exhaust myself physically at that time, and save for the evening. Some conductors, even experienced ones, do not understand this and you sometimes have to be polite but firm.

Do not eat a huge meal before a concert—you do not want your body working hard to digest a huge meal when you have to be at the peak of your concentration. Moderate the coffee intake and no alcohol—that’s a slippery slope if it starts.

I would sometimes do some great practice—away from the trumpet– mentally make a checklist of things that you have to be aware of in the concert setting.

Also as a brass player, good sleep is helpful and necessary. You don’t want to be playing on “yesterdays chops”.

Anticipation and excitement, as opposed to fear and self-doubt!

Sometimes despite all good preparation, shit happens.

In the late ‘90’s I flew up to Brisbane to play Mahler 5 with Lorin Maazel. My frontal sinuses blew out on the plane flight—it was one of the most painful things I’ve ever experienced. I lost hearing in one ear, and in spite of all this I managed to play well by just ultra focusing on the job at hand and concentrating on my sound. The concert was being recorded and televised as well to add an extra dimension to the experience. Sometimes you just have to pick up the ball and run!

What advice would you give to students today in regards to the mental side of performing?

Preparation! Familiarity with the piece—not just your part, but the whole piece and how your part fits in.

So – both technical and musical preparation.

Be aware that you’re sharing your gift with others and give willingly and freely.

Work on what you have to do to achieve the necessary level of focus and concentration while performing – almost an “out of body” sort of feeling.

And never forget: Nobody dies if something goes wrong!

Daniel Mendelow playing the Haydn Trumpet Concerto with the Jerusalem Symphony Orchestra