TBJ181: Kevin Newton
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On This Episode of The Brass Junkies:
Growing up in the small town of South Boston, VA (where the joke is they have a Walmart and a high school)
The benefit of having your first teacher being your mother
Long car rides with his mother which comprised of 10% NPR and 90% making him do things like sing the alto part along with the radio
Going to the movies twice a week as a kid and listening intently to the music and falling in love with the horn (and not even knowing which instrument he was hearing)
The incredible mentors he has had from the very beginning of his musical journey including his high school band director, Reginald Pervis
Having only two lessons in his life before college and how that helped him to shape his perspective
Taking two years off between undergrad and graduate school to take lessons with different people and get some “data”
His recognition at the beginning of graduate school that he had two years to figure out how to make a career out of this and he got to work
Deciding early on that he wanted to study with David Jolley
The large portion of his lessons with Jolley that were “career building” and intentionally building the specific skills needed to thrive to get Kevin where he wanted to go
What it was like getting to audition for Imani Winds after looking up to them as kid
His mental approach to auditions which involves thinking of it as actually doing the job rather than asking for it
The belief that you should always look for the good in people that was instilled in him by his family
His horn quartet, Metropolitan Horn Authority, and their quest to have as much fun as possible and to bring the horn to the world in a new light
Bio:
Kevin Newton is the newest member of the GRAMMY-nominated wind quintet, Imani Winds. A native of South Boston, Virginia, he is a horn player and educator based in Manhattan. His first music teacher, his mother, instilled in him a love of music-making’s collaborative spirit.
As a chamber musician, he has performed with Orchestra of St. Luke’s, Metropolitan Horn Authority, Roomful of Teeth, and Tredici Bacci, among other ensembles. He has appeared professionally on the stages of Carnegie Hall, the Kennedy Center, the DiMenna Center for Classical Music, and National Sawdust.
An advocate for new music, Mr. Newton collaborated with composer Erin Busch to premiere a solo work as a part of the Contemporary Performance Institute at the Composers Conference in 2020. He is involved with several commissions set to premiere in the 2021–22 season. Mr. Newton formerly served as principal horn of the Waynesboro Symphony and, as an orchestral soloist, he has performed works by Gordon Jacob, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, and Franz Strauss.
Mr. Newton enjoys a busy recording schedule and has recently recorded with Tredici Bacci, Metropolitan Horn Authority, Tex Crick, and Sami Stevens, as well as for commercial projects. He is currently pursuing a Doctor of Musical Arts degree at Stony Brook University. He holds a Master of Music degree in orchestral performance from Manhattan School of Music and a Bachelor of Music degree from Virginia Commonwealth University. He is a regular participant at Yellow Barn in Vermont.
Mr. Newton joined the faculty of the Curtis Institute of Music in 2021. He is also on the horn faculty of Manhattan School of Music’s Precollege division and MSM Summer.
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With Thanks
The brass program at The Mary Pappert School of Music at Duquesne University
Parker Mouthpieces (including the Andrew Hitz and Lance LaDuke models.)
Enter the promo code “junkies11” at online checkout to receive $500 off your purchase of a new instrument from houghtonhorns.com
Expertly produced by Will Houchin with love, care, and enthusiasm.
