Johnny Thirkell Trumpet Interview
Welcome to the show notes for Episode #149 of The Other Side of the Bell – A Trumpet Podcast. This episode features trumpet performer and recording artist Johnny Thirkell.
Johnny Thirkell is the proverbial musician whom you’d innocently walk past on the street, having no idea that he was the trumpet sound behind hundreds of distinctive hit records, everyone from Jamiroquai to George Michael, Pet Shop Boys (Go West), Katrina and the Waves (Walking on Sunshine), Natalie Imbruglia (Torn), BTS (Dynamite) and so many more. 38 number one records in fact.
Johnny’s played and/or toured with Level 42, Tina Turner, Lisa Stansfield, Kylie Minogue, Bjork, Chaka Khan, Bon Jovi, The Who, Rick Astley (at the height of his prime), and played at the Prince’s Trust multiple times.
It’s not all pop music either, Johnny’s played with the Gil Evans Orchestra, the Buddy Rich Orchestra and the BBC Radio Big Band.
So, how did he do it?
Johnny’s here to tell the story of how he went from a potential coal mining career to gracing the stage at Wembley, with along the way a regular gig on the QE2 and oh, helping discover the Spice Girls too.
And of course we talk trumpet gear and technique, including life-changing lessons from Carmine Caruso and the difference that playing a gold-plated trumpet made to a commercial jingle!
Listen to or download the episode below:
Audrey Flores
Julia Pilant is currently the acting 3rd horn for the Utah Symphony/Utah Opera, and a regular guest with the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra horn section and the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. Previously, she was the assistant principal horn for the Metropolitan Opera Orchestra for 14 years and a horn instructor for the Bard College Conservatory of Music for 16 years. Prior to holding those positions, she was the principal horn of the Syracuse Symphony Orchestra for 10 years. Ms. Pilant also freelanced for several decades in New York City and performed regularly with Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, Orchestra of St. Luke’s, New York City Ballet, and numerous Broadway shows. She has played principal horn for the Saito Kinen/Ozawa and Tokyo Opera Nomori music festivals, the Mito Chamber Orchestra in Japan, and has participated in the Santa Fe Chamber, Affinis (Japan), Sarasota, Festival Napa Valley, Classical Tahoe, Strings, Mainly Mozart, and La Jolla Music Society Summerfest music festivals. In 1994 she won the American Horn Competition. As an equally enthusiastic music educator, she has given masterclasses in schools and festivals across the country, including The Juilliard School, USC, Interlochen Arts Camp, and the Boston University Tanglewood Institute, and is a founding member of the recently formed Coalition of Musicians for Ethical Change. Ms. Pilant received her Bachelor’s degree from Eastman School of Music (student of Verne Reynolds), and her Master’s and Doctoral degrees from The Juilliard School (student of Julie Landsman).
