December 2011
Well... 2011 has been quite a year for me! Juno nomination with Canadian Brass, quite a bit of touring, a couple of new CDs...
BRAND NEW FROM H2!! Home for the Holidays
Since my last update, I've been touring steadily with the 1st National tour of Come Fly Away and have had some very exciting times on the road.
I think the highlight for me, so far on this tour, has been the two weeks we spent in Los Angeles. The weather was great, I managed to brush up on my golfing a bit, and had the chance to meet and work with some legendary musicians.
Left to right: LA Contractor Brian Miller, Chuck Berghofer (bass), James Nelson (tbn), Larry Hall (tpt), Rob Schaer (tpt), PJ Perry (sx), Gene Cipriano (sx), MH, Paul Ringenbach (dr), Charlie Morillas (tbn), Jim Fox (gtr), Gary Foster (sx), Ben Devitt (tbn), Bob Sheppard (sx), and Rob Cookman (cond/pno)
I also had the rare opportunity to meet the great Quincy Jones who came to our opening at the Pantages and attended the after-party. What a nice guy..
I was thrilled to have the chance to hang with one of my heroes of the trumpet, Arturo Sandoval as well. He invited me to a mixing session at his studio and then I had a chance to hear him play at a memorial event in honour of Hollywood trumpet great, Uan Rasey.
Upon my return to Canada, I was excited to perform a concert celebrating Canadian Jazz Greats with the amazing Hard Rubber Orchestra led by John Korsrud in Vancouver, BC.
Leading up to Christmas, I've been doing some work with Ontario orchestras: a weekend with the great Ellis Hall (former Tower of Power lead singer), Jeff Tyzik (conductor), and the National Arts Centre Orchestra in Ottawa; and a few days of playing Ellington's Nutcracker with the Hamilton Philharmonic.
Coming up in the new year, I will be back on tour with Come Fly Away and will be announcing some other very exciting touring dates. Check my schedule page for details!!
February 2011
What a year 2010 was! Touring with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet, heard by approximately 3 Billion people on the opening and closing ceremonies of the Vancouver Winter Olympics (Music Director Dave Pierce won an Emmy for that!!), Jersey Boys ran solid up until August, the new chart-topping CD with H2 (Harkness Herriott Duo) with successful release concerts in Toronto and New York, touring my own symphony pops show across Canada, the new Canadian Brass CD, Spirit Dance, with pianist and composer David Braid, and a whole bunch of fun adventures to boot!!
2011 is looking even more exciting... To start, Sean Harkness and I met with Opening Day Entertainment Group and will be releasing two new projects on their label. I will also be releasing a solo CD this year under the same label. Just announced the other day, I received a Juno nomination for my contribution to Spirit Dance (David Braid and the Canadian Brass, ODEG) and am thrilled to have been a part of that wonderful recording.
Also in this past week, I had the great honour and pleasure of working with Iranian singer, Reza Sadeghi, in concerts in Toronto and Vancouver. A wonderful artist and a very kind man. It was so much fun to work with some of the best musicians working in Iran today. I look forward to the next time we get to collaborate!
Coming up, I'm donning my professor cap to do some teaching at Wilfrid Laurier University for my buddy Guy Few who is off Brandenburging across the country. Highlight engagements coming up include headlining at the Atlantic BandFest in Halifax in April and being guest soloist with the London Citadel Band (Salvation Army) under the direction of my old buddy, John Lam (also Bandmaster of the Salvation Army Canadian Staff Band).
More announcements to come!!!!!
September, 2010
Many exciting changes this fall! Contrary to previous expectations to be continuing with Jersey Boys, that show went "Bye Bye Baby" in August after two years on the stage in Toronto, over 700 performances, and over 1,000,000 audience members! It was fun... and now it's time to move onto new things.
What a great summer it was! H2 - Flights Vol 1 was released officially on June 15th, appearing all at once in digital sales (iTunes etc), online sales (Amazon etc), and in record stores. The CD has received rave reviews and tons of airplay... even sitting at #1 in the jazz charts in British Columbia! The release performances in Toronto and New York were fantastic and we're in the planning stages of the next project.
With the ending of Jersey Boys, I was finally able to have the time to finish my studio. It's up and running and I'm already working on projects for a number of clients as well as myself. I'm thrilled and grateful to have this space dedicated to practicing, writing, recording, and teaching.
This fall, I will be on the road a bit with performances and clinics. I will be appearing as guest soloist with the Kingston Symphony, the Chilliwack Symphony, and the Okanagan Symphony in October/November. Also, watch for the release of the new Canadian Brass CD featuring David Braid... being released in November. Stay tuned for details! More performance dates for this fall will be announced soon!!!
Now I just gotta figure out my Halloween costume...
June 22, 2010
SUMMER'S HERE!
Lots of great things coming up. Still going strong with Jersey Boys here in Toronto - we just had our 1 Millionth audience member today!! It's been an exciting year so far with the Royal Winnipeg Tour of the U.S., being heard by billions on the Olympics Ceremonies and subsequent CD release of same, and now on the verge of my newest CD release; H2 (Harkness/Herriott) Flights Vol 1 which is coming out on July 15th.
Coming up, I'm very excited about release performances for Flights Vol 1 in Toronto (August 5 & 6) and New York (August 8), and the release of the Canadian Brass CD featuring the music of David Braid in September.
In the fall, I will be continuing with Jersey Boys and taking a bit of time to tour a number of symphony orchestras in Canada. See my "Schedule" page for details!
Through all of this, Sean Harkness and I will be working on our next project.. details to follow soon!!!
Enjoy the summer and play safe!!
March 2010
HAPPY NEW YEAR and we're off to a great start!
Jersey Boys in Toronto is still packing the audiences in and every show is a thrill to perform! In January, I took a little break from the show to go on tour with the wonderful Royal Winnipeg Ballet in the southern United States. Playing Ron Paley's jazz score for "A Cinderella Story" while watching some of the best dancers in the world do their thang was a complete joy.
Following that, I was very excited to have my horn heard by billions around the world during the opening and closing ceremonies of the 2010 Vancouver Winter Olympic Games. Canada put on an amazing show for the world, both with the artists presenting their craft at both ceremonies and with our incredible athletes who topped the standings in Gold Medals!! It was an honour to be able to contribute to such an event and a sheer delight to work with Music Director Dave Pierce again!
Coming soon: info on the release dates and locations for the Harkness/Herriott release of Flights: Vol. 1 in NYC and TO. Also, stay tuned for info about some touring and solo appearances this summer and coming fall!!
December 2009
What a year this has been! Some great performance opportunities, exciting recording experiences, fun travel, and lots of wonderful people to work with. From my Men In Brass project with great friend and world-class hornist, Jeff Nelsen, to recording with the Canadian Brass, a featured solo spot on the Calgary Stampede Grandstand show, touring with Hugh Fraser, my new CD with Sean Harkness which will be released in the new year, and a wonderful recording project with some of Canada's finest musicians which I will be able to reveal more about in the new year!!!! And, throughout it all, performing week in and week out with the amazing company, cast, crew, and orchestra of Toronto's production of Jersey Boys!!!!
It has also been a challenging year with the passing some dear friends and colleagues; Fred Mills, Louis Williamson, Eric Knight, and most recently, Sam Lutfiyya. Goodbye and thank you for everything you have given the world. We would not be who we are without you in our lives. We carry the gifts of these wonderful people make them a part of us. And we look forward to keeping their energy alive in the work we do.
2010 promises to be a very exciting year. Starting off with a bang, I will be on tour with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet production of A Cinderella Story, to the jazz score of Ron Paley and featuring myself, PJ Perry, Tom Colclough and a very talented orchestra.
Visit www.harknessherriott.com for details on the upcoming release of H2: Flights Vol. 1.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!!!!!
September 2009
What a summer it's been! Jazz Festival tour with Hugh Fraser and Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation (VEJI), recorded some wonderful music with the Canadian Brass, a fun solo feature spot on the Calgary Stampede Grandstand show (for 30,000, ten nights in a row!), a brand new duo CD with Sean Harkness in the can and mixed (after several trips back and forth to NY), and still going strong with the Toronto Production of Jersey Boys... packed houses for months now!
Coming up in the next few months, looking forward to continued success of Jersey Boys, posting a new web-site -www.harknessherriott.com.that will focus on and provide info about the upcoming CD release, traveling to Vancouver for some cool recording sessions, and touring with the Royal Winnipeg Ballet on their Ron Paley penned jazz production of Cinderella in the southern U.S.... will come as a welcome break from the Ontario January winter weather!!!
Lots of exciting stuff coming up for next summer as well!!! Announcements to come shortly!
May 26/09
Mike is excited to still be performing with the wonderful cast, orchestra, and crew of the Toronto Production of Jersey Boys. Coming up this summer, Mike will take some short breaks from the show to travel to New York City to record his fourth CD, tour with Hugh Fraser and the Vancouver Ensemble of Jazz Improvisation - VEJI at a number of Canadian Jazz festivals, and appear as a featured soloist in the Grandstand Show at the Calgary Stampede.
Stay tuned for more exciting updates to come soon!!
February 8/09
Currently Mike is playing for the Toronto production of Jersey Boys at the Toronto Centre for the Arts (North York). The show is a smash hit wherever it's presented and this particular one has been hailed as the best of the 5 North American productions currently running (New York, Chicago, Vegas, and the North American Tour being the other 4).
As well, Mike is heading to NYC this month to rehearse for an upcoming recording session for a new CD project (not yet titled) that will be released this summer. Mike will also be performing while there at a benefit for Cancer, a subject that is close to his heart after losing his own father to the desease 14 years ago.
Later this month, he travels to Indiana to rehearse with his partner in "Men In Brass" - a ground-breaking, mind-boggling, earth-shattering duo of Trumpet and French Horn - for an upcoming premiere of their symphonic pops show that will take place at the Royal Theatre in Victoria, BC with the Victoria Symphony; March 12, 13, 14. They will also be presenting one or two brass clinic/masterclasses while in Victoria. Mike is joined in Men In Brass by Jeff Nelsen, current
french hornist with the Canadian Brass and professor of horn at Indiana University. The website is www.meninbrass.ca - please feel free to visit and enjoy some of their audio samples from the show on the multi-media page.
December 6/08
Mike is thrilled to be involved in the Toronto production of Jersey Boys and staying close to home for a while. Mike will be appearing in Calgary on December 15th for the launch of the Herriott Line of Wedge Mouthpieces at the Long & McQuade store from 6pm to 8pm.
On New Year's Eve at mid-night, tune in to the celebrations from Nathan Phillips Square on CTV to see Mike on stage with the cast and orchestra from Jersey Boys.
Check out www.meninbrass.ca to hear brand-new demo tracks from the Men In Brass project (Mike and Jeff Nelsen).
September 29/08
Mike is back from Japan and looking forward to a bit of a break from the road-life. Having spent most of the past two years traveling, he will be performing in a number of productions in Toronto in the coming months. More info to come soon...
NEW MOUTHPIECE!!!The Wedge Mouthpiece is taking the trumpet world by storm and Mike is proud to be one of the first endorsing artists.
The new Herriott signature line of mouthpieces (lead, classic, pops, piccolo, and flugel) are available in gold and silver and can be purchased through the Wedge website and Long & McQuade.
TAPS FOR ARNIE
Mike was very saddened by the recent passing of dear friend, colleague, hero, mentor, and teacher, Arnie Chycoski. His contribution to the world of music was felt world-wide through his many recordings with the Boss Brass... Also, not being much of a sports fan, the only reason I would ever tune into Hockey Night in Canada was to hear Arnie's screaming high-notes at the end of the theme music!! Every chance I got to play with him was a learning experience... Arnie, you will be greatly missed.
June 11/08
New exciting announcement about the "Mike Herriott" signature line of mouthpieces! Check out Brass Players Corner for details!
April 19/08
Taking a bit of a break from the road, Mike will be spending most of the month of June in Ontario resting after a busy winter tour schedule. However, before that, he will be appearing in Vancouver playing lead trumpet for High School Musical , in Victoria as guest soloist with the Monday Night Big Band. and will be a featured performer at the 2008 International Trumpet Guild conference in Banff, Alberta. In July, Mike will be seen and heard with the stellar Grandstand Band at the Calgary Stampede Calgary Stampede, before heading to Japan for a 7 seven week tour with "Swing"
January 28/08
Mike is back on the road! You can hear him playing lead trumpet on the "Chicago" tour.. Click here for itinerary to see if they're coming to a theater near you!
Mike will also be featured guest with the Brandon University Big Band at the Brandon Jazz Festival. March 12 to 15, and with the Winnipeg Jazz Orchestra March 16. Check the schedule for details about more upcoming appearances!
November 22/07
Mike is back in Canada! You can hear Mike playing at the Sony Centre in Irving Berlin's White Christmas! Click here for more info!
Mike is a Yamaha Artist and plays Yamaha Horns
Visit the Brass Players Corner for more information
