In this episode of On Listening I have the distinct pleasure of interviewing Herb Smith (https://rpo.org/conductors-musicians/#musicians). Herb is founder of the Freedom Trio and is Third Trumpeter of the Rochester Philharmonic Orchestra and conducts for them as well. Herb and I discuss the importance of listening in music: almost 50% of performing is listening to other performers and students need to learn to listen to themselves as they practice. Herb and I share feelings about the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter movement, his excitement that the RPO performed at a BLM rally, and we were both hopeful about change as racism is caught on camera. Periodically the only Black person in the entire Eastman Theatre during a concert, Herb shares his experiences in his mostly white world. In the City of Rochester almost 40% of the population is Black (https://datausa.io/profile/geo/rochester-ny/#:~:text=The%205%20largest%20ethnic%20groups,%2DHispanic)%20(3.22%25) yet in his graduating class at Eastman and as a performer, Blacks were and are represented significantly less. Enjoy a Rochester treasure.

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