{"id":68597,"date":"2020-07-07T09:44:52","date_gmt":"2020-07-07T13:44:52","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/?p=68597"},"modified":"2020-07-16T20:08:14","modified_gmt":"2020-07-17T00:08:14","slug":"remote-james-gardiner-lakeshore-600-sublime","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/2020\/07\/07\/remote-james-gardiner-lakeshore-600-sublime\/","title":{"rendered":"REMOTE | James Gardiner \u2018The Lakeshore At 6:00 AM Is Sublime\u2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"James
James Gardiner (Photo courtesy of the artist)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

One of the many things I\u2019m thoroughly enjoying about this series is getting to know members of Toronto\u2019s classical music community outside the context of their instruments and ensembles. I hope you\u2019re enjoying reading about the daily coming and going of the members of the Toronto Symphony Orchestra, for example, as much as I am. Getting a peek at their daily routine around their instrument \u2014 and how that has changed during COVID \u2014 emphasizes a human aspect that\u2019s only going to make the next TSO concert that much more wholesome. For my part I\u2019d like to extend the same amount of geekiness in regard to how members of the Toronto Raptors spend their off-court time as I do to the musical ensembles that represent this city in their own ways.<\/p>\n

For this episode, James Gardiner, a TSO trumpeter for over 2o years, joins us to talk about his time in quarantine and the daily rituals that get him up in the morning.<\/p>\n

How have you been coping with this lockdown?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I\u2019d have to say I\u2019m surviving quite well. My wife and I enjoy our downtown home, and our two wonderful cats. On the other hand, these are strange unsettling times, and I\u2019d be lying if I said don\u2019t worry about the future. I\u2019m nearly 60 years old, so this is feeling a bit like a rehearsal for retirement! I do worry for my younger colleagues, and for the future of orchestral music.<\/p>\n

How have you been keeping busy?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I\u2019m an avid cyclist and runner, and I feel extremely lucky that those two activities haven\u2019t been terribly affected by the pandemic. I\u2019ve made an effort to get up early and go for long solo, socially-distanced rides. The lakeshore at 6:00 a.m. is sublime. The other day I rode 100 miles, and was home shortly after noon! I also love playing the 5-string banjo, and since the pandemic struck, I\u2019ve actually been improving!<\/p>\n

Like a lot of people, I\u2019ve been struggling to learn to use new or unfamiliar technology, both to stay in touch with people, and to create and record music at home.<\/p>\n

I practise the trumpet every day as well. Sometimes it\u2019s for as little as 20 minutes, but as a habit, daily practise is deeply ingrained.<\/p>\n

What are you missing the most right now?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I am missing the routine of preparing for whatever repertoire is coming up at the TSO. For me, that\u2019s really at the heart of what I do as a member of the trumpet section. It\u2019s a point of pride to be ultra prepared for the first rehearsal!<\/p>\n

I\u2019m also missing freelance work. I had been engaged to play a very demanding solo work at the end of May, with a contemporary music ensemble here in Toronto. It was a big disappointment to see that opportunity disappear.<\/p>\n

Right now my wife and I would be planning our annual migration to PEI (she\u2019s from Charlottetown) where I\u2019ve worked in the Charlottetown Festival for the last 31 years. We have lots of friends out there. It\u2019s going to be tough to miss that.<\/p>\n

I miss watching all the big pro bike races that lead up to the Tour de France.<\/p>\n

What are you reading\/watching at the moment?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

I\u2019ve been finding escape in Conn Iggulden\u2019s sweeping 5 volume Conqueror<\/em> series of novels about Genghis Khan. I love historical novels, and I admit this one is a bit of a guilty pleasure. It\u2019s massive, epic, violent, and a bit trashy. Knowing I still have a thousand pages to read makes me feel secure.<\/p>\n

Any words of wisdom to get through this?<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Don\u2019t expect too much of yourself. These are crazy and disturbing times. Try to focus on one thing at a time. Other than that, look after yourself and those around you.<\/p>\n

For more chats with artists in social isolation, read on <\/span><\/span><\/em>HERE<\/span><\/a><\/em><\/span>.<\/span><\/span><\/em><\/h2>\n

#LUDWIGVAN<\/em><\/h3>\n

Want more updates on classical music and opera news and reviews? Follow us\u00a0on <\/em>Facebook<\/b><\/a><\/em><\/span>, <\/em>Instagram<\/b><\/a><\/em><\/span> <\/b>or <\/em>Twitter<\/b><\/a><\/em><\/span> for all the latest.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

TSO trumpeter James Gardiner talks about early morning bike rides, playing the banjo, and coping through the COVID lockdown. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":89,"featured_media":68598,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[33451,8,35839,36052,63],"tags":[35697,5940,5644],"yst_prominent_words":[6767,6715,8399,36107,11637,37004,11829,10179,37003,8218,37002,36109,6616,7558,36326,8854,10395,6741,10177,36996],"acf":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2020\/07\/James-Gardiner-REMOTE.jpg","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p9bakr-hQp","amp_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68597"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/89"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=68597"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68597\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":68661,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/68597\/revisions\/68661"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/68598"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=68597"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=68597"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=68597"},{"taxonomy":"yst_prominent_words","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.ludwig-van.com\/toronto\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/yst_prominent_words?post=68597"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}