LISTEN ON –
This week on the podcast, we have a great episode featuring Josh Jones, the principal percussionist with the Kansas City Symphony. It feels wrong to limit Josh to that one position though – he is also a passionate educator, contributes to the symphony social media accounts, has written 2 (almost 3) percussion books, live streamed hours of content for audition preparation, and more. We covered so much during this episode, here are a few takeaways:
It’s Important To Give Back
Early in Josh’s musical journey, he auditioned for an won an opportunity to be a part of the Percussion Scholarship Group. Founded by Patricia Dash (Chicago Symphony) and Douglas Waddell (Lyric Opera), this percussion group provides free lessons, instruments, and encouragement to students that are accepted. Josh describes this opportunity as being essential to developing into the player he is today.
Over time, Josh grew into a leadership role within the organization, and now feels a great sense of responsibility and pride to be able to give back to and serve the organization that gave him so much when he was younger. Paying it forward seems incredibly important to Josh, and it’s inspiring to hear how passionate he is about teaching.
Things Don’t Have To Start Big
Josh’s first book on percussion, Spatial Studies For Hitting Things, didn’t start out as a book. Instead, the vision was much smaller – he was simply trying to put together materials that would help his students organize their thoughts and practice habits. Over time, the more he added, it began to become clear that the material he was compiling could be converted into a book that might be able to help even more people.
This lesson is big for me. Not every big, life changing idea started out that way. I spend a lot of my time day dreaming about what could be, and in some cases, the scope of the dream can seem impossible to achieve. Having encouragement from Josh that big ideas often start with small actions helps to ground me, reminding me that I have to start somewhere.
Almost Dying Is A Life Changing Experience
Josh told a story during the episode about his experience finding out he had cancer for 7 years and didn’t even know it. It’s a crazy story, and I know an experience like that will come with it’s important life lessons. These are the aspects of his perspective that Josh said had changed when I asked him about it:
- His work shouldn’t define his worth
- He should focus on cherishing the relationships he has, and he can authentically be himself
- Be wary of who you put your trust in
For more information about Josh, check out his website. You can find links to his book, information about lessons, and numerous blog posts about all kinds of topics.
I hope you enjoyed the episode! If you wouldn’t mind leaving a rating and a review on iTunes, I’d really appreciate it. Don’t forget to share the episode on social media for others to find as well! Thanks so much for listening – stay strong, be kind to yourself, and never stop growing!
Until next time,
Ryan