PS- if you happen to know the personnel on “Kenton: Wagner”, could you please email that information to me: tom@trombonelessons.com

Thanks in advance! We’ve been enjoying a well-preserved vinyl rendition of this masterpiece and we can’t find anything about it at Google.

After a breathtakingly beautiful concert (including Mr. Stout on euphonium playing the Bydlo solo from “Pictures at an Exhibition”!), it was our great treat to watch Rick do a master class at Columbus State University. He was hosted by Brad Palmer and his AMAZING studio. (You can find out more about Dr. Palmer, Columbus State, and the Schwob School of Music here: http://music.colstate.edu)

Mr. Stout filled the room with resonance whilst also filling it with wisdom. I think you will all really, really enjoy hearing him perform and speak. Personally, I caught a few golden nuggets in this master class that I plan on implementing immediately. Thanks for sharing with us all, Rick.

Also in this episode, we provide a few PSA’s on behalf of some friends. It allows us to stay in touch and keep everyone informed about the many cool things happening in Trombonia. We appreciate the emails, announcements, bulletins, fliers, and updates….

Enjoy. Peace. Thanks. Write.

In that interview, he talks about the International Euphonium Institute that he hosts at Emory University every Summer. It’s awesome! I can attest that this event is a lot of fun and very informative every year. Adam does a great job of stacking the faculty with world-class artists year after year. He and his wife, Janet, do an amazing job logistically and I marvel at their organizational skills. I recommend that those of you trombonists that “double” on euphonium consider attending. It’s a great way to get the fingers movin’ (and having the skills to play euphonium is a VERY good thing for trombonists). It’s good for us to gain some insight, too, into the Euphonium world. No need to harness any irrational fears of them simply because they play so fast and high. We should build bridges, not walls, right? Accept your Euphonium brothers and sisters to make the world a better place, right? C’mon trombone players, let us extend a hand in friendship to our mellower, more fluid, perhaps slightly less intelligible musical kin:-)

(One thing’s for sure, these fun-loving euphers have highly developed senses of humor.)

Hey, did I mention that Adam is a really pretty decent golfer? Do you know what Adam’s mother said when he declared “Mommy, when I grow up I want to be a euphonium player!”. She wisely said, “Sorry, dear, but you can’t do both.” But I digress……

From Adam: “The International Euphonium Institute is a week long inspiring event focused on the euphonium that takes place from June 15-21, 2008 at Emory University. Geared towards rising 9th graders through adult players, the IEI brings together a vast faculty from around the globe of the top performers and teachers from around the world. The 2008 IEI features:

International Artists Jukka Myllys (Finland) and Øystein Baadsvik (Norway)

A return of Adam Frey, Brian Bowman, Gail Robertson, Tom Gibson, Caryl Conger, Magdalena Shumanova, and Martin Cochran

Commissioned new works by: Eric Ewazen (Sonata and Quartet), Roland Szentpali, and more to come…

A Conductors Perspective Master Class taught by Scott Stewart and Robert Ambrose

Military Band Audition Focus Classes

Arranging Class with Gail Robertson Teaching Assistants Mark Carlson and Jamie Lipton

Please visit our website for more information: www.euphonium.com

Best wishes and thanks, Adam Frey www.euphonium.com

Yamaha Performing Artist

Below is a PDF file for printing and sharing. It’s a poster with all the info about 2008 IEI. Please feel free to share it, post it, and inform your friends/teachers/students about it. Thanks!

Okay, one more: How do you keep a euphonium player in suspense?

This video shows how I like to go about keeping the slide clean. PLEASE use a lot of care when cleaning the slide. The metal is more delicate than you might imagine.

As always, if you have questions about this Episode, please contact us: tom@trombonelessons.com

PS- a message from our friend Abbie Conant: A friend of a friend is starting a Brass Ensemble in Tasmania. I know that some of our viewers live there, so I thought I’d pass this along. If you or someone you know would like to be in a Brass Ensemble in Tasmania, please contact Miss Jessica Borton via email: baschawolf@netspace.net.au

She’s also in need of some music for her band’s library and other resources, so if you can help her I’m sure she would appreciate it.

George Curran is the Bass Trombonist of the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra (http://www.atlantasymphony.org)

But you already knew that because you’ve met him on earlier episodes and bathed in his beautiful tone bath:-) For example, the re-edited Episode 71.

He writes a newsletter for all trombonists in the greater Atlanta area. These often cater specifically to the Atlanta scene, but George usually includes some great info for ALL trombonists. He has very kindly allowed us to publish and share them here at the TromboneLessons Podcasts. Thanks, George!

These are PDF files, ladies and gents, so you should be able to simply click the “pdf” icon below…….let me know if you have trouble opening the file.

PS- Special treat for you here, thanks to Wes! How big of a “rock star” was Jack Teagarden? This is too cool, check it out: http://video.aol.com/video-detail/teagarden-the-sliphorn-king/3889972002

Also in this episode, we announce that viewers of the Podcasts can use our password to download SmartMusic for $25. This is made possible by the generous contributions of you viewers. Thanks to everybody that has donated to make this possible.

SmartMusic, as you may know, is one of my favorite tools for music-making. It’s an incredible resource for those that make use of it. We encourage you all to check it out and try it. Hours of fun await you:-)

PS- just one day after this interview, Mr. Chastain performed his first Brandenburg Concerto! It’s a fabulous performance, available at YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISt0Qxm5Z7Q

Clayton used to be a trombone player, but for some stupid reason, he switched to trumpet. Oh, well, seems to be working out well for him:-)

In this Episode, I’m pleased to introduce my friends from the US Air Force Reserve Band’s Brass Quintet. The players are:

Michael Richter, trumpet

Thomas Salyers, trumpet

Michael Pekarek, horn

John Caputo, trombone (and euphonium)

Michael Andrew, tuba

These guys are great! They have a new CD out, too. More info about the CD and the US Air Force Reserve Band can be found at their website: http://www.band.afrc.af.mil

A career as a military musician can be a really wonderful experience. If you have any questions about it, I would encourage you to contact these gentlemen. They are marvelous performers and seem to have a lot of fun doing their jobs. I’m sure they’d be happy to talk to you about their careers as military musicians. I speak from experience when I say that playing in a military band can be an awesome thing!

BTW- I just received word from Colin that he has been invited to the Final round for the Principal Trombone job with the Boston Symphony! I know we all join in wishing him the best of luck. Although, as I was recently reminded….luck comes to the well-prepared mind:-) You’re an inspiration to us all, Colin. Bravo.

Wow, it’s been nearly 3 weeks since our last post……sorry to those of you suffering withdrawals:-) Things have been quite busy ’round here, so I apologize for the delay. But, I’ve got a good one for you this week:

Through our friend, Dr. Robert Ambrose, the Atlanta Trombone Quartet (actually a quintet) was asked to record a newly published work by Andrew Rindfleisch. It is a beautiful quartet for trombones entitled “Chorale and Prayer”. In this episode, you get a peek into the recording session. I think you’ll agree that the music is absolutely gorgeous. It’s also nice to see the great interaction between these master trombonists and Robert, who produced the recording. Our thanks to the members of The Church of the Redeemer here in Atlanta. Their lovely sanctuary proved to be the perfect venue for this solemn and uplifting music.

You’ll hear only a portion of the piece. If you’d like to hear the rest of it, we think you should buy it and play it with your friends! Trombone Love to Mr. Rindfleisch, you know?

It’s available through Manzo Music, at: www.manzomusic.com

If you’d like to know more about the composer, Andrew Rindfleisch, please visit his website: www.andrewrindfleisch.com

Thanks for all the great emails! We are thrilled and humbled by the responses we’re getting to the Podcasts. Love you guys. Peace.

For those that teach or are sincere about winning an audition, this should be of tremendous value. We encourage you to read it, dwell upon it, put it into practice, and read it again. Then, email us when you win the gig!

He was very kind in sharing with us all his guide to “Audition Preparation” (apparently, it works!) That PDF document will be available as a supplement to this video. I think we all owe Weston a big THANKS for his willingness to share it…..it’s great!

Weston, thanks for the visit and the wonderful interview! Best of luck to you, sir, as you aim towards the highest musical peaks.

Ladies and Gentlemen, we proudly present Mr. Weston Sprott…….

Most of us, of course, know and love Sam from his days with The Empire Brass. Some of us met him when we first encountered The Breathing Gym, the outstanding DVD/book he did in collaboration with Pat Sheridan. They since have completed The Brass Gym, and both of those you should probably own. Find them here:

http://www.breathinggym.com

Honestly, though, you just won’t find a nicer, hipper, cooler,more musical, more fun-loving, more travelled, more thoughtful, more compassionate guy than Mr. Sam Pilafian. I met him while on tour with the Boston Brass this past December. I will have more video from that tour in the very near future. Everyone associated with The Boston Brass is amazing. Please visit their website:

www.bostonbrass.com

Hope you enjoy this one! Thanks to Sam for being such a gracious participant. Part 2 coming soon.

BTW- the clips from this and upcoming videos from Chicago and New York would not have been possible without the kindness of Bob Scarr (superb trombonist and flight-plan coordinator for Delta Airlines here in Atlanta.) I can’t thank him enough, so I’ll thank him often. This one’s for you, Bob! Trombone Love to you, sir.

More info about Oman can be found here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Oman

Brian was able take this journey because of an ad he saw at the website “Musical Chairs”, which has a tremendous listing of jobs all over the world. That website is here: http://www.musicalchairs.info/

I love trying new stuff, especially when it’s of such high quality as these mouthpieces. Jeff can be contacted for more info at this address: jefftaylor@griegomouthpieces.com

The Griego website is here: http://www.griegomouthpieces.com

So, Bill brought his contra, I grabbed an alto, Tom swapped the tuba for a Conn 88H, and Brent held court on his bass trombone…..and we had ourselves a “hang”. A really fun afternoon it was.

Also in this episode, I answer some accumulating Viewer Mails. Thanks for all of those and don’t fret if I haven’t gotten to yours yet. We’ll strive hard to get to them all, promise.

Please enjoy this episode and let us know your thoughts. As always and forever, peace.

Let’s all go practice now. We gotta keep getting better to make more and more Trombone Love for this crazy world of ours, right? Collectively, we can make some noise!

Gary is retired from West Texas A&M University, where he was the Director of Bands. He was invited to do a clinic at the Texas Bandmasters Convention on INTONATION. He asked if he could use our Bruckner 8 in his presentation. We were honored to abide, of course, but if you’ll recall the audio fidelity was not the greatest. In Episode 18, the audio feed is off my camera’s mic. Not bad, but not great. We had the really nice mics in the hall recording the entire session, though. So I re-edited the video for Mr. Garner, using the better audio from the mics in the hall.

This is just a very short clip, but I think you’ll like it…….the complete discussion about this excerpt can be found in Episode 18.

If you have good speakers and/or good headphones, now’s the time to use ‘em.

Sounds like the beginning of a good joke. Well, just watch what happens!

Spontaneous improvisation. Good for the chops, good for the ears, good for the mind, good for the ensemble, good for the soul.

These are trained professionals (believe it or not), please do attempt this at home.

Participating in this soiree are myself, Lee Watts, Wes, and a guy who suggested that we never, EVER, show this publicly. (He’s our musical guru, though I suspect he secretly wishes for a demotion.)

By the way, this all happened in beautiful Kentucky. Lee makes a very clever allusion to this fact, if you pay attention…assuming you last that long:-)

When I was in the Navy Band, our drum major, Jeff Myers, had a wonderful tradition of marching ’round Capitol Hill in Washington, DC playing Christmas Carols with a brass group. It was always the highlight of everyone’s Holiday Season.

When Katlyn and I moved to Atlanta, we decided to keep the tradition alive……this year was the 5th Annual Brass Caroling at Country Walk. It was a real joy and I thank all the wonderful musicians that joined in the merriment. You guys are the best!

Also in this Episode is a great tip for you bass trombonists that suffer pain in your hand, shoulder, etc. Lee Watts shows us his remedy for holding the tortuous beast known as the Bass Trombone. It’s a little stocking-stuffer tidbit for you:-)

Thanks, Lee! You can check out Lee’s website at: http://wattsbone.com/

Also, thanks to the talented Tim Redman for the still photos. He’s pretty awesome with a camera, check him out at Flicker: http://www.flickr.com/photos/trombontim/

Merry Christmas, Happy Holidays everybody.

By the way…….still no sign of my taped interview with Joe Robinson. ARGH!! Would y’all mind saying a little prayer and/or rubbing your good luck charm that I might find that thing? Much appreciated.

Thanks to all the great people at Slippery Rock University! What a scene they’ve got going on up there in the beautiful countryside….Brian Meixner, Steve Hawk, David Glover, Jeremy Long. That’s an amazing faculty from what I witnessed. The students, too, were killin’ me with their enthusiasm and skill level. It was a fun day this year for Trombone Day at The Rock. Thanks, guys, for the terrific “hang”. Visit Slippery Rock’s website here:

http://academics.sru.edu/music/index.html

More to come. I love y’all more every day….the emails are much appreciated! The kindness is wonderful. The arguments are insightful. The inquiries are delightful. The criticisms? I take those to heart, too. You guys are tough, smart, fun, and good. What can I say? Thanks for keeping it real.

Think I’ll shoot for 4 more Episodes before the New Year:-)

Then, I don’t know how we’ll keep this ball rolling. I beg for your input, please. One thing’s for sure, we need more viewer interaction. We’ll be diving into that realm hardcore, that’s my New Year’s resolution!

Happy Holidays and Peace to us all…..Trombone Love. It’s more contagious than the dreaded Hand, Foot, and Mouth disease. Just ask Wes!

Vaclav Nelhybel: Interplays Published by: J. Christopher Music Company

Ten Duets For Tenor Trombone - Pederson Published by:Kendor Music (www.kendormusic.com)

We hope you have half as much fun watching as we did playing:-)

It’s the most stressful time of year for musicians, we hope you’re keeping your cool and enjoying every opportunity to play….I guess we can all breathe a heavy sigh after the New Year, eh? Peace, everybody, and Happy Holidays!

Donald was invited to perform in recital at Morningside Presbyterian Church here in Atlanta. The church is celebrating the restoration of their powerful, beautiful organ. Our good friend (and Tubist with the Georgia Brass Band!), Robert Coulter, headed up the restoration and did a terrific job. Congrats Robert! Read more about Robert here: http://coulterorgans.com/

On the recital program was the “Stabat Mater” adapted by Franz Liszt from a work by Rossini. It is for Trombone and Organ.

Some of you probably know the story of the Stabat Mater (”sorrowful Mother”). The music tries to evoke the emotions of Mary as she watched Jesus suffer on the Cross. For more info, and a translation of the text, you can follow this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stabat_Mater

We hope you enjoy our rehearsal/performance of the “Cujus animam (Rossini - Stabat Mater) for Trombone and Organ” by Franz Liszt (1811-1886).

In this Episode:

1) I send a big “THANK YOU!” to North Hills High School, my Alma Mater and still the best band in the land. THE BEST. David, thanks! Areta, I love you. On behalf of all present and former students, thanks for sticking it out for so many years and with such passion. We hope your impending retirement is filled with fun! To Paul, thanks for the uplifting talk and the great company. It was very good to see you after too many years.

2) I send another big “THANK YOU!” to Dr. Brian Meixner and all the fun people at Slippery Rock University (http://academics.sru.edu/music/index.html). Trombone Day at The Rock was a wonderful event! We’ll soon have an Episode with some highlights for you. Suffice it to say that the people, the campus, and the sounds were all of the highest order. Thanks so much Brian.

3) I eat a big dose of humble pie served up by “joe”. Um…….thanks, joe:-)

4) I think out loud with the talented musicians of the GYSO Brass Band.

Comments are welcome. If you have a different take on the matter and/or some expertise to share, we sure would love to hear it. If you’re bored enough to watch this entire Episode, perhaps you’re bored enough to send your comments to:

tom@trombonelessons.com

PS- As Thanksgiving approaches for those of us in the United States, I know that this year I am thankful for many, many things. Family, friends, health, memories, dreams, the gift of Music……..and these Podcasts. To all of you, thanks! Bryce and Ella have a Holiday Greeting for the viewers of the Podcast. Happy Holidays everyone everywhere:

http://www.elfyourself.com/?id=9509924750

Mr. Stefanuk joins me on piano and gives a brief introduction of himself and his fascinating piece. We had only one hour to get something together for you, but I felt compelled to do so. Trombone Love. It does that. We really hope you like this piece. I had to make a few rough edits but this is essentially LIVE, as we just finished a couple hours ago.

We filmed in the sanctuary at Johnson’s Ferry Baptist Church and we thank them for their hospitality. Look for Part 2 very soon (we all anxiously await Colin’s renditions of the Tomasi “Concerto” and Peaslee’s “Arrows of Time”, don’t we? Yeah, baby.)

Peace, everyone. I’m off tomorrow to Slippery Rock University for Trombone Day! I’ll also be paying a visit to my Alma Mater, North Hills High School in Pittsburgh. Looking forward to it, as I haven’t seen the place in almost 20 years. Time really flies, we are wise to make the most of it, eh? Hope to meet some of you on the road….

Well, it’s the least I could do……because it looks like the LIVE recital scheduled for Nov. 12 will necessarily be postponed. Sorry, but coordinating everybody’s busy schedule is proving most difficult. Besides, you know who’s too kind? Nick in Wisconsin is too kind. Your letter, Nick, was one of the nicest things I’ve ever read. We wish you the very, very best as you pursue your dreams and share your talents with the world, making it a better place for all. If there is ever anything we can do to help, never hesitate to ask, OK? We dedicate this Episode to you, sir. Hope you love it.

So, as for the recital…..we’ll get ‘er done just as soon as possible. In the meantime, please enjoy this Episode. Joining Colin in this impressive performance are Catherine Lynn, Helen Kim, and Brad Ritchie. Like the Persichetti Episode (#31), these fabulous musicians give us a glimpse into the fine art of Chamber Music for trombone. If you’ve attempted to perform on trombone with string players in a chamber setting, then you will surely appreciate the musical sensitivity, dexterity, lightness, transparency, and awareness shown by Colin in this video. I marvel at it every time I watch. It is very refreshing at times to hear a trombone in this context. In the hands of a master artist, ours really is the greatest of instruments, isn’t it?

Mark is one talented fellow……a former Euphonium player with the US Air Force Band in Washington, DC, he is now a law partner at Alston&Bird here in Atlanta. He also makes great music on piano, trombone (all styles, including tasty jazz), and E-flat alto Horn. He is the Principal Horn player for the Georgia Brass Band.

For this year’s talent show at the law firm (all to benefit the charities of United Way), Mark arranged and wrote some trios for brass with added percussion. Joining him in this performance clip are Tom Hooten (trumpet), Stuart Gerber (percussion) and Colin Williams (trombone).

After viewing this Episode and hearing what Mark has to say about these pieces, we invite you to download them in PDF format for your enjoyment! Just our little way of saying THANKS EVERYBODY!

Hope you enjoy meeting Mark……..

Peace:-)

Hollie Lawing, Tim Redman, and myself took a road trip to South Carolina this week to visit with Scott Hartman! Scott has long been one of our favorite trombonists. His career has primarily involved chamber music: Empire Brass, Four of a Kind, and now Proteus 7. He is presently the Trombone Professor at Yale University.

He was in Spartanburg, SC, for a performance with Proteus 7. See them on the Web at: www.proteus7.com

This amazing septet was premiering a Halloween Show with the Spartanburg Philharmonic, directed by Scott’s lovely wife, Sarah Ioannides. This fine ensemble is also on the Web: www.spartanburgphilharmonic.org

Almost the entire show was written by the group’s lead trumpeter and fabulously gifted composer, Anthony DiLorenzo.

Between rehearsal and the concert, Scott was kind enough to sit down and visit with us. We hope you enjoy meeting the wonderful Scott Hartman and Proteus 7……..

Newell is a purveyor of some very high quality trombones and equipment. Here, he talks about the Shires Trombones and the process of finding the horn that’s JUST right for you.

I hope you enjoy meeting him! You can contact him by visiting his website, sheridanbrass.com, or:

E-mail: nsherida@bellsouth.net Phone: 205-978-3773

Wait until you see how it all played out…………..enjoy!

I talk about a review of Colin playing the Creston a few years ago with the Atlanta Symphony. Here’s the review:

“Review: ASO plays Creston on trombone By Pierre Ruhe | Friday, October 1, 2004 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution CONCERT REVIEW Atlanta Symphony Orchestra

…..This week, the ASO helped revive a worthy composer from irrelevancy. Paul Creston (1906-1985) didn’t live to see a concert-hall revival of his music, but nowadays you can hear all his important works on CD and, increasingly, experience them live.

Creston’s music is “an embodiment of the affirmative, lyrical, melodic strain that dominated American music in the 1930s and for a time afterward,” wrote critic-conductor Will Crutchfield in an obituary. Creston rightly joins the company of Copland, Piston and Barber.

Creston’s 1947 Fantasy for Trombone, one of his best-known works, served to introduce the ASO’s principal trombonist, Colin Williams, who joined the orchestra three years ago and is now making his official solo debut.

In the jazzy Fantasy, Williams was heard, finally, to his advantage. In the treacherous Symphony Hall acoustic, the orchestral trombones’ warm bass notes get absorbed by the stage walls and the bright high notes get polarized to a blinding glare, like sunlight off a swimming pool. At stage front, we heard Williams au natural: his clean, “white” tone, with very little vibrato and exceptionally pure and lovely soft notes.

And for the ASO, with their committed playing this week and last, they showed that it’s likely the romantic vs. modernist argument will seem quai