Brass Artist Feature - Rob Slowik
Tuesday, November 29, 2011 at 4:47PM ;)
Rob Slowik“Life under the big top” may be the dream of many young people, but it is a reality for Sonaré trumpet artist Rob Slowik. Slowik, a native of Detroit, is currently in his 14th season with the Big Apple Circus. After speaking with Rob, I discovered that his appointment was initially temporary, as he had planned to perform with them for only a few months. Now the Musical Director for the show, Slowik functions as a conductor and performer simultaneously. He states, “I conduct with my left hand and play trumpet with my right.” His current appointment is something that he thoroughly enjoys, and it is definitely a logical step along the path he has taken in his musical career.
Rob Slowik, a native of Detroit, began studying music in the third grade, learning both drums and trumpet. He attended East Detroit High School and later enrolled at Eastern Michigan University. His primary trumpet teachers include Ben Grycan, Jim Underwood, Carter Eggers, and Armando Ghitalla. While studying at Eastern Michigan, he took a semester off to play in a tour of the Bob Fosse show Sweet Charity and began his professional career as a performer. Slowik then performed on cruise ships for five years as a trumpeter, conductor, and music director. He moved to New York City and had the good fortune to immediately land a steady position subbing with Broadway shows. According to Slowik, he performed in over 40 shows, including Sunset Boulevard, Pippin, the Pajama Game, and Crazy For You. While he was in between shows, he received a call from a trumpet player friend he performed with on Broadway. The friend asked Rob if he could “fill in” for him for a few months with the Big Apple Circus. Expecting to perform with the show for only three months, Rob stayed and was appointed Musical Director in 2000.
In the show, Slowik performs on trumpet, piccolo trumpet, bass trumpet, flugelhorn, and french horn. He occasionally returns to his “roots” and plays percussion as well. When I asked about the switch to french horn, Rob said he “picked it up in the last few years to add color” to the ensemble. He mentioned that he can easily switch back and forth from trumpet to french horn without negatively affecting his embouchure on either instrument. In the show, he performs a variety of styles including classical, jazz, bebop, rock, and fusion. The ensemble consists of 2 brass players, 2 woodwind players, guitar, keyboard, bass, and drums. The music for the show is put together a year in advance, and the process starts with Rob viewing videos of the circus acts. He watches the videos, decides on a musical concept, and then communicates back to the performers to see if the music works for them conceptually. Ultimately, Slowik and the ensemble make constant tempo changes and adjustments in the live show to insure the seamlessness of the music and the performance.
Slowik’s experience with the circus has brought him together with many celebrities and has led to additional performing engagements. He noted that one evening, Harry Connick, Jr., attended the show. Rob was then asked by Harry to join him for a four-month tour of the U.S., Europe, the Middle East, New Zealand, and Australia. Slowik is extremely happy to have celebrities in the audience and states, “it’s cool to see the people we look up to as musicians in awe of what we do at the circus.” Rob recalls several famous guests at the circus and mentioned that they are all “very down to earth.” Of the list of famous circus attendees, Rob has met Robert De Niro, Paul Schaffer, Jon Stewart, Tom Cruise, Katie Holmes, David Bowie, Cyndi Lauper, James Gandolfini of the Sopranos, Comedy Central’s John Hodgman, and “all the detectives from Law and Order SVU.” On the musical celebrity side, Ed Carroll and Ray Vega have attended the show as well.
As a Sonaré artist, Slowik has a variety of instruments to meet the demands of his performances. He performs his Sonaré 800 and Blessing 1580 in his shows and for classical, symphonic, and brass quintet playing. He also practices his Sonaré C trumpet daily to “feel at home with it and keep up the chops.” He commends Sonaré on the consistency and intonation of the C trumpets and states, “Everytime someone tries my C, they want to buy it. It’s the best C trumpet I’ve ever played.” We thank Rob utilizing Sonaré and Blessing trumpets as his tools of the trade, especially with such a busy and diverse career. If you are in New York, the Big Apple Circus performs at Lincoln Center Plaza in Damrosch Park (next to the Metropolitan Opera House). You can also catch the show on tour March-December. For more information, visit www.bigapplecircus.com.
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