Jazmine Rampas - TACO, a safe space to make music
In this episode, Monica sits down with Jazmine Rampas, director of the Terrible Adult Chamber Orchestra - LA, known as TACO. They talk about the goals and mission of TACO, feelings of apprehension and worry that many of the participants have at first, the word “terrible” as a reminder, and how important and wonderful it is to have a community of people coming together to play music and have fun. Jazmine shares how she discovered TACO with her sister, her perspective directing the group and what a typical rehearsal looks like. She shares some of the emotions and fears from members she has witnessed, as well as her own. They discuss letting go of the negative thoughts about how one feels about their playing, imposter syndrome, surviving music school, culture of production, mental health, and embracing mistakes. Monica and Jazmine share their personal conducting experiences, making videos for online, and dealing with the pandemic. They also talk about Jazmine’s personal experience as a musician, how she started the violin, and how we created the things that we both needed and wanted in the world.
Listen here on web player
“I hope people look to TACO or use TACO as a way to practice being kinder to themselves and go back to just the heart of what music making is about.” - Jazmine Rampas