Serpent Colloquia

10/17/11 - Douglas Yeo has completed a Report on “Le Serpent sans Sornettes,” a conference held in Paris, 6-7 October 2011. The program is available as well.

Horn Lessons in Brooklyn

9/29 - An article by Joseph Berger in the Sept. 29th issue of the NY Times claims that in his corner of the Hasidic neighborhood of Brooklyn, NY Rabbi Levi Yitzchok Meisner has achieved the status of Louis Armstrong but it's not the trumpet but as a teacher of the shofar that has made him a star. It's the busy season for Rabi Meisner as the Jewish High Holidays approach and scores of people seek him out for lessons on how to blow the shofar. The description of his teaching philosophy is reminiscent of some of the embouchure advise attributed to great trumpet teachers such as Adolf Herseth, emphasis on relaxation. Evidently, some things never change!

Frank Tomes (1936-2011)

9/20 - Francis James Tomes (1936-2011)

Frank Tomes was born in South Wimbledon, London on 16 August 1936. After leaving school at the age of 15, Frank started his first employment as an apprentice in a workshop in London making parts for model boats, the sort that find themselves exhibited in museums. With this experience behind him he then joined the world famous Morris Singer foundry, amongst many other things, they had made the four huge bronze lions in London’s Trafalgar Square. Here Frank began learning his skills casting bronze sculptures for people as famous as Reg Butler and Barbara Hepworth. In 1954 Frank enrolled as a Foundation Stage student at the Wimbledon School of Art. His enthusiasm and work impressed both his peers and his teachers. Enrolment in the Royal Academy Schools was the next of Frank’s adventures. Here, he studied for a degree in Fine Art and Sculpture. Later, he returned to work at Wimbledon School of Art as a technician in the sculpture department, where he worked for 40 years. Whilst a student at the Royal Academy Schools, Frank began playing the banjo with a jazz group that had been formed at the school. The banjo player, extended himself, and became also a player of the sousaphone. This cemented a life long love for brass instruments.

In 1964, as a sousaphone player, Frank joined the New Society Dance Orchestra. In 1968 he became a founder member of Bob Kerr's Whoopee Band. This bunch of wacky and eccentric musicians, gained a cult following. Frank and the Whoopees toured extensively and made many TV appearances, recordings and films in both the UK and on the European mainland. They played venues as diverse as London’s 100 Club, Liverpool’s legendary Cavern Club, the Royal Festival Hall and the Royal Opera House, playing on the same bill as groups such as The Who, Black Sabbath, Bob Dylan and Queen. One comic routine with the Whoopees involved the throwing of a rubber chicken into the bell of Frank’s sousaphone as he played a solo. On one occasion someone had the idea to surprise Frank by throwing a real chicken into the bell instead. Frank was knocked over backwards by the weight of the chicken but still stunned the audience by producing an egg from his mouth at the end of the solo.

During his musical career, Frank also played with The Sunday Band and the Mike Miller Swanee Four. In 1978, he married his wife Sue. Together they turned a run down old cottage in Merton Park into a beautiful and character filled home.

Frank was an inveterate and eclectic collector of beautiful things - books, candlesnuffers, clocks, mechanical toys, just to mention a few. One of the many delights of visiting Frank was the excitement he would show at the latest addition to one of his collections. The delight Frank showed in these old and beautiful things seemed to be crowned by his study of the craftsmanship of those that had fashioned them. He loved to share these things with others. A beautiful 16th century woodcut print depicting the Transylvanian Unicorn, complete with a detailed description of its diet, reproductive habits as well as the medicinal uses of its powdered horn, was a favorite to share.

Perhaps the most notable collection is the impressive one of early brass instruments that he amassed. In 1982, in order to be able to restore instruments within his collection, Frank undertook a course in brass instrument repair. Shortly afterwards he took over the brass work for Christopher Monk. This involved making sackbutts, serpent crooks, key work and anything else needed. This work inspired Frank to develop a range of early brass instruments of his own.

Frank produced an impressive total of 387 instruments from his Wimbledon workshop. They are to be found with professionals, amateurs, conservatoires and universities all over the world. His instruments have been, and continue to be heard in concerts and recordings internationally. Alto, tenor and bass sackbutts, the first “flatt” trumpets made to Talbots description, a copy of the fourteenth century “Billingsgate” trumpet, a copy of a trumpet by William Bull and a copy of one of the three 1746 Johann Leonhard Ehe “Bishops” trumpets from Nurnberg.
The legacy he leaves to the international Early Brass movement is notable.

Frank made his last instrument during 2010. As early as 2008 Frank had taken the decision to retire from instrument building. He wanted time to restore the old instruments in his collection and to be free to enjoy his home life, his beloved London and its varied arts world. He invited the writer to become his apprentice as an instrument maker, feeling that he wanted something of what he had built up to be carried on. As a result, the writer had the privilege of spending hundreds of hours learning from him. Frank’s level of skill and knowledge really was something to be held in awe and what he taught was given with the most exceptional care and humility.

After a battle against cancer, Frank left us on 27 July 2011. Frank Tomes was a man of genuine kindness, gentleness, generosity and great humour. He will be sadly missed.

-- David Staff

Serpent Colloquia

9/7 - The Institut de Recherche sur le Patrimoine Musical en France (CNRS) and the Musée de l'Armée will be hosting a Serpent Colloquia 6-7 October 2011 in Paris. For a list of featured presentations and concerts see http://serpent.instrument.free.fr/ and http://www.irpmf.cnrs.fr/.

Journal of the RMA Article on Trumpets

7/19 - The current volume of the Journal of the Royal Musical Association (Vol. 136/1) includes an article of interest to Brass Historians: "Defining the City ‘Trumpeter’: German Civic Identity and the Employment of Brass Instrumentalists, c.1500" by
Helen Green. The abstract is available by following this link.

Library of Congress "Jukebox"

7/14 - The Library of Congress has released 10,000 historic recordings, some in the public domain and some under license, all from the early-twentieth century. Many of these feature brass bands and soloists. A quick search indicated over 200 cornet solo recordings, about the same number of trombone recordings, and many band recordings of numerous styles. A search for "Arban" resulted in a recording of Bohumir Kryl playing the Carnival of Venice but he was listed as playing euphonium instead of cornet. Perhaps Kryl's famous pedal tones confused the librarian who listed that record entry.

To browse or search, click here.

[BP: my favorite so far is a crisp recording of Haydn's "Military" Symphony by Banda del Real Cuerpo de Guardias Alabarderos de Madrid from the Haydn centenary of 1909]

Cambridge Horn Day with the Tony Halstead Horn Ensemble

8/1 On Sunday 22 January 2012, from 9:3-6:00 Sawston Villiage College will host the "Cambridge Horn Day"

Tony Halstead joined by some of the UK's top Horn Players plus a rhythm section will perform a concert at 5:00 and will deliver what promises to be a truly exciting full-day experience including:

• Hear, meet and play with the Tony Halstead Horn Ensemble
• Various Ensembles for differing abilities
• Concerts by the Tony Halstead Horn Ensemble
• Trade Stands by 'Halstead Music' (Kent) and 'Wood, Wind & Reed'(Cambridge)
• Master classes and Demonstration Concerts
• End of Day Concert for family and friends

Venue: Sawston Village College, New Road, Sawston.Cambridgeshire CB22 3BP.UK
Ample free parking and excellent rehearsal and performance spaces within its new performing arts centre.

Fee: £45.

Anyone who plays the horn is invited - we welcome all players from school age to retirement and abilities from Grade 1 to Diploma and beyond. Free entry for any teacher with 3 or more students.

For further information cntact the ACE Foundation by calling 01223 499707 or by
email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or visit www.acefoundation.org.uk

Call for Nominations: Thelen Dissertation Prize 2012

8/3 - IGEB (The International Society for the Promotion and Research of Wind Music) invites nominations for the 2012 Thelen Prize. Established to commemorate Fritz Thelen (1906–93), one of IGEB’s co-founders, the prize is awarded to the writer of an outstanding dissertation in the field of wind music research.

Nominations, including self-nominations, are invited for dissertations completed between 2009 and December 2011. Dissertations may be on any subject concerning wind music, in any language, from any country, worldwide.

In addition to a plaque, the winner will be invited to present a paper at the next meeting of the Society, to be held in Coimbra, Portugal, July 12-17, 2012. The dissertation will also be considered for publication in IGEB’s Reprints und Manuscripts or the Alta Musica series. The titles and abstracts of all submitted dissertations will be announced in the Mitteilungsblatt, the Society’s Newsletter.

Nominations should include the following:
      one paper copy
      digital file – .pdf file
      curriculum vita

Deadline: October 24, 2011

Send to: IGEB
c/o Doris Schweinzer
Leonhardstraße 15
A-8010 Graz
Austria
Email for more information or visit www.igeb.net

Shofar Study Day

8/25 - Shofar blowers around the world will soon be teaching how to blow shofar, and gathering with other shofarists to practice, study, and learn from each other. This is the vision of a quartet of shofarists that has called for an International Day of Shofar Study beginning on the evening of Monday 29 August and continuing through Wednesday 31 August.

In Los Angeles, shofarists will gather Tuesday, August 30, 2011 to learn from each other, swap stories, and share tips for sounding shofar. The event is for ba-alei tekiah (shofar master blasters) who seek to take their shofar experience to a higher level. The event takes place from 7:00-9:00PM and is hosted by Shalom House (www.ShalomHouse.com), 19740 Ventura Blvd., Woodland Hills, CA 91364. Attendance if free. Reservations are recommended and can be sent to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or by calling Shalom House at 818-704-7100 or Chusid at 818-219-4937.

Other events are scheduled in San Francisco, New York City, Philadelphia, Northern New Jersey, Cincinnati, and the United Kingdom. More information and a full list of events are at www.ShofarCorps.org
 

"Tutankhamun's Trumpets" in the News

4/17 - The BBC recently ran a story on the theft (and recovery) of an ancent Egyptian trumpet during the recent political unrest in that country. For the story, click here. Included is an old recording of both instruments being played (on random modern bugle calls).

Cecilia-Concert 17th c. Music Course (Bruce Dickey and Adam Woolf)

3/9 - Caecilia-Concert will be giving a 17th-century music course this summer (August 22-27, 2011) in conjunction with the Utrecht Early Music Festival. This course offers early music students, young professionals and advanced amateurs a rare opportunity to play 17th-century chamber music in this exciting combination of winds and strings coached by internationally-renowned performers. The course coincides with the Utrecht Oude Muziek Festival 2011, culminating in a concert as part of the festival. The participants will work in chamber music groups coached by members of the Caecilia-Concert (including Bruce Dickey on cornetto and Adam Woolf on Baroque trombone). The focus will be on ensemble playing in mean-tone, instrumental instruction, and 17th-century basso continuo playing on different keyboard and plucked instruments. In addition, there will be room for private lessons. For more information, see www.caecilia-concert.com.

Street Musicians Collective

2/22 - Trumpeter Reginald Conyers is looking to establish a collective of street musician brass players to perform a wide range of classical repertoire. His goal is to help bring back the art of busking and provide a vibrant source of performance opportunities. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Message from the HBS President

3/27/2011

Dear Colleagues:

This past year was a productive one for the HBS. The 2010 HBS Journal is now out and I hope you enjoy the many fine articles in it. Once again the HBS presented our annual Early Brass Festival in Northfield, MN in collaboration with Paul Niemisto and the Vintage Band Festival. It was a fabulous success with many interesting lectures, fun playing sessions and performances by over 20 period instrument ensembles. Special thanks to Paul for his support.

The two most recent recipients of the HBS Christopher Monk Award has recently been announced. Jean-François Madeuf (2009) and Dan Morgenstern (2010) were given the Award and we offer them kudos and our sincere thanks for their work.

Many will remember the Symposium that the HBS presented in Amherst in 1995. It was the largest gathering of early brass performers, scholars, collectors, and currators ever assembled. Practically every major early brass musician was in attendance. The HBS will replicate that event in scale and scope with the planned 2nd International Historic

Brass Symposium: Repertoire, Performances and Culture, which will take place at the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program in New York City on Thursday July 12 –Sunday July 15, 2012. Once again, we anticipate the participation of all major early brass musicians. At this early stage, tentative participants include Bruce Dickey, Jean Tubery, Jeremy West, Jean-Pierre Canihac, Michael Collver, Jean-François Madeuf, Crispian Steele-Perkins, Edward Tarr, Friedemann Immer, Gabriele Cassone, Bob Civiletti, Ralph Dudgeon, Anneke Scott, Jeff Snedeker, Richard Seraphinoff, Daniel Lassalle, Sylvain Delvaux , Fabrice Millischer, Wim Becu, Adam Woolf, Benny Sluchin, Michel Godard, Volny Hostiou, Cliff Bevan, Kathryn Cok, Wouter Verschuren, Trevor Herbert, Keith Polk, Renato Meucci, Stew Carter, Howard Weiner, Arnold Myers, Herbert Heyde, and many more.

Due to various factors, the 2011 HBS Early Brass Festival scheduled to be held in Bloomington, IN has been cancelled. It was felt that the HBS resources would best be put toward organizing the above mentioned symposium in NYC in July 2012. The Barclay/Seraphinoff Natural Trumpet Making Workshop (Monday, August 1 – Friday August 5) will still take place.

If you have news of your musical activities, do send us a report for the newly revised and updated HBS website www.historicbrass.org . Our webmaster Steve Lundahl and web editor Bryan Proksch have been working hard at maintaining the site, posting news items, articles, and music, recording, and book reviews.

Thanks for your continued support,

Jeffrey Nussbaum

President, Historic Brass Society

17th Century Music Lecture and Concert

3/29 - Robert V. Giglio, student of Historical Brass Performance (cornetto) and Musicology at the Purchase Conservatory of Music (Purchase, NY), will be giving a Lecture/Demonstration on the progression of the sonata as a Baroque genre. The evening will begin with a discussion of 17th Century Venice: Gabrieli's Generation, the Venetian Stil Moderno and the mysterious lives of Dario Castello and Giovanni Battista Fontana. The differentiation between transalpine and Italian composers of the late 17th/early 18th century will then be explored. The lecture will culminate in a discussion of the Bach violin sonatas. Music of the above composers will be performed by the Purchase Early Music Ensemble players.

The event will take place on Sunday April 17th at 8 PM at the Purchase Conservatory of Music, Purchase NY in the Conservatory's Recital Hall, and it is free of charge.

HBS Symposium in New York City, July 2012

2/21 - Many will remember the Symposium that the HBS presented in Amherst in 1995. It was the largest gathering of early brass performers, scholars, collectors, and currators ever assembled. Practically every major early brass musician was in attendance. The HBS will replicate that event in scale and scope with the planned 2nd International Historic Brass Symposium: Repertoire, Performances and Culture, which will take place at the New School Jazz and Contemporary Music Program in New York City on Thursday July 12 –Sunday July 15, 2012. Once again, we anticipate the participation of all major early brass musicians. At this early stage, tentative participants include Crispian Steele-Perkins, Edward Tarr, Friedemann Immer, Gabriele Cassone, Bruce Dickey, Jean Tubery, Jeremy West, Bob Civiletti, Ralph Dudgeon, Anneke Scott, Jean-Pierre Canihac, Michael Collver, Jean-François Madeuf, Jeff Snedeker, Richard Seraphinoff, Daniel Lassalle, Sylvain Delvaux , Fabrice Millischer, Wim Becu, Adam Woolf, Benny Sluchin, Michel Godard, Volny Hostiou, Cliff Bevan, Kathryn Cok, Wouter Verschuren, Trevor Herbert, Keith Polk, Renato Meucci, Stew Carter, Howard Weiner, Arnold Myers, Herbert Heyde, and many more. More information will follow.

2011 HBS Early Brass Festival and Conference

2/21 - 2011 EBF Cancelled.

As a result of low registration and other factors, the 2011 HBS Early Brass Festival scheduled to be held in Bloomington, IN has been cancelled. It was felt that the HBS resources would best be put toward organizing the International HBS Symposium in NYC to be held on Thursday July 12th - Sunday July 15th, 2012 (see above). The Barclay/Seraphinoff Natural Trumpet Making Workshop (Monday, August 1 – Friday August 5) will still take place.

Monk Award Recipients

1/17 - The HBS is happy to announce the reciepients of the 2009 and 2010 Christopher Monk Awards. 

The 2009 award went to Jean-François Madeuf for his significant contributions as a performer and teacher and his dedication to historically informed performance practice.

The 2010 award was presented to Dan Morgenstern for his life-long contributions to the study and appreciation of jazz, including a myriad of great brass players from Louis Armstrong to the present.

Those HBS members in good standing wishing to nominate someone for the 2011 award must do so by February 1, 2011. Please see the Christopher Monk Award for further information on the nominations procedure.

Harvey Phillips 1929-2010

10/20 - One of the great brass players and teachers, Harvey Phillips, died today. He retired as distinguished professor emeritus of the Department of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington after a long career as player, teacher, publisher and advocate. Starting with the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus Band, he was a member of many bands and orchestras, including the New York City Ballet, New York City Opera, Band of America, Goldman Band, U.S. Army Field Band, Symphony of the Air under Leopold Stokowski and Igor Stravinsky, the RCA Victor Orchestra, NBC Opera Orchestra, and the New York Brass Quintet. Often referred to as the "Paganini of the Tuba", he was also a world renowned solo artist, and his performances include two dozen Carnegie Hall (NYC) solo recitals, the first solo tuba recital at the Library of Congress, over two hundred clinic/recitals at colleges and universities throughout the world, with international tours of Japan, Australia, Scandinavia and Europe. He was  founder and president of the Harvey Phillips Foundation, Inc. which administers Octubafest, Tubachristmas, Tubasantas, Tubacompany, Tubajazz, etc.

American Brass Quintet Celebrates 50th Anniversary

10/19 - The American Brass Quintet, comprised of trumpeters Ted Weiss and Robert Henrich, trombonists Arnold Fromme and Gilbert Cohen and hornist Arthur Goldstein, gave their debut recital on December 11, 1960 at New York's 92nd Street Y. Fifty years later, this past October 15, 2010, the current incarnation of the ABQ presented an anniversary concert at New York's Alice Tully Hall. The current line-up  includes trumpeters Ray Mase and Kevin Cobb, trombonists Michael Powell and John Rojak and hornist David Wakefield presented a concert of 3 contemporary brass compositions by Joan Tower, Trevor Gureckis (NY Premiere), and David Sampson (New York Premiere) as well as a number of early Baroque pieces. They ended the performance with a glorious reading of Gabrieli's Sonata XX, assisted by 15 outstanding Juilliard brass students. While not the first ensemble of its kind, other groups organized in the 1950s including the New York Brass Quintet, the ABQ was important in helping to popularize much Renaissance and Baroque repertoire that would become the staple of cornett and sackbut ensembles and other early music groups.

Wilhelm Bruns New Recordings

9/24 - Wilhelm Bruns announces the release of his new recording of Haydn's Concertos 1 and 2 and Symphony No. 31 on natural horn under the Profil label. The recordings were made during the 2009 Haydn-Year celebrations. The HBS will be reviewing the CD in the near future.

Anneka Scott (Natural Horn) Recipient of Finzi Scholarship 2010

9/23 - In January 2010 the natural horn player Anneke Scott was awarded a prestigious Finzi Travel Scholarship to undertake performance-­based research into the composer and horn player Jacques‐François Gallay. The scholarship will fund a month in Paris where Anneke will have the opportunity to focus specifically on Gallay’s "Douze Grands Caprices" – a set of unaccompanied pieces for horn written in the 1840s, in a very similar style
to the famous Paganini Caprices for solo violin – in preparation for the recording of the Caprices that Anneke will be making in November 2010. This will be the first time the set of highly virtuosic compositions has been recorded in its entirety on natural horn.

For more information see www.geraldfinzi.org and www.annekescott.com.

Die Deutsche Posaune - ein Leipziger Welterfolg

8/26 - The Museum für Musikinstrumente der Universität Leipzig will be featuring an exhibit entitled "The German Trombone" from Sep. 4, 2010 through July 29, 2011. More details are available on-line at www.grassimuseum.de.

2010 Early Brass Festival News

8/11 - The Early Brass Festival in Northfield was a great success! Thanks to all who participated in making it an enjoyable and informative time for all. Plans are already underway for the 2011 EBF in Bloomington, Indiana. We are anticipating one or two significant keynote speakers/masterclasses and an interesting variety of scholarly papers and playing sessions. The weekend will also dovetail into the Barclay/Seraphinoff trumpet building class to save on travel expenses; those wishing to build an instrument are encouraged to register early as space is limited. Hope to see you there!

Information Request

8/11 - John Gilligan is seeking any information on V .Caussinus (1806-1900) or his music. He was a member of the Conservatoire of Paris and wrote several instructive works, among them a method for the cornet. Please email him if you can be of help!

Band Music of Amilcare Ponchielli

7/24 - Henry Howey writes that he has posted 21 marches and four concert works by Amilcare Ponchielli for band in PDF, MP3, and MusicXML. Also, a funeral march for Manzoni and the Sulla Tomba di Garibaldi are included. He has also provided modern band transcriptions in parts. They have been prepared in celebration of the Sesquicentennial of the Italian Risorgimento (1861-2011). Visit http://www.shsu.edu/~org_neh/ for further information.

ACor - Conference and Publications

7/23 - ACor, the French association for horn, has announced the publication of a number of historic works for horn; click here to view. Their annual congress will be held November 19-21 in Orleans; for more information click here.

New Performances on McCann Cornetto Website

6/13 - Michael Collver has recently recorded Bismantova's Preludio on the new model of John McCann's cornetto in 440 on McCann's website www.mccann-cornetts.com  Also on the McCann website are performances by Fiona Russell, William Dongois, and Hans-Jacob Bollinger. (click "audio-visual" section).

New Grove Request

4/28 - Oxford University Press intends to publish a second, revised and expanded edition of The New Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, originally issued in 1984. Reflecting advances in scholarship during the past quarter-century, the second edition will encompass a greater range of subjects in more detail, thus serving a larger community of readers worldwide.

Your assistance is invited in enhancing the usefulness, accuracy, and diversity of articles in the forthcoming GMDI, which will appear both in print and incorporated into Grove Music Online.  Notice of errors and omissions in the previous edition and its derivatives, bibliographic updates, and suggestions for improvement especially in coverage of non-European and electronic instruments, can be e-mailed to the Editor-in-Chief at the address below.  All recommendations will be considered in planning new articles and revisions.

As a cooperative enterprise of encyclopedic scope, the GDMI second edition aims to represent the current state of instrument studies as comprehensively as possible while also preparing a platform for future expansion.  Timely advice from musicians and music historians, instrument makers and collectors, ethnomusicologists, organologists, teachers and students, and specialists in related fields is earnestly solicited.

Laurence Libin, Editor in Chief, Grove Dictionary of Musical Instruments, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Journal of Band Research on CD-ROM

4/15 - The American Bandmasters Association is offering a CD-ROM of the complete back issues of the Journal of Band Research from 1964-2005. There are 81 issues in full text format with an index of articles included. The price is $30 including shipping for the USA and Canada and $35 for other countries.

Contact: John Locke, Editor, Journal of Band Research, UNCG School of Music PO Box 26170, Greensboro, NC 27402-6170 USA Indicate JBR CD-ROM on the check or Call 1-800-999-2869 for Visa or MasterCard purchase.

Acoustics Conference

4/14 - The HBS is co-sponsoring a conference on musical acoustics which is being presented by the Institute of Musical Acoustics (Wiener Klangstill) in Vienna on Sept 19-21, 2010. A number of other organizations are involved including the American Musical Instrument Society.

Thelen Prize 2010

3/25 - The Fritz-Thelen-Prize 2010 of the International Society for the Promotion and Research of Wind Music (IGEB) has been awarded to Patrick Hennessey for his work on Henry Berger, the "Father" of Hawaiian Music. The prize commemorates one of the cofounders of IGEB, Fritz-Thelen, and is presented for the writing of an outstanding dissertation in the field of wind music research. Hennessey will speak at the 19th IGEB-conference in Oberschützen, Austria this year.
 

26th Annual HBS Early Brass Festival

2/10 - The 26th Annual HBS Early Brass Festival will be held this coming August 5 -8, 2010 in Northfield, MN, in collaboration with the 2nd Vintage Band Festival. The Vintage Band Festival will host various ensembles. Paul Niemisto has lined up over 20 period instrument groups that will perform. In addition to those activities, the EBF will present the usual array of lectures, performances, and informal playing sessions for all early brass instrument; natural trumpet, natural horn, cornett, sackbut, serpent, and 19th century brass. A special pre-EBF excursion will be organized to visit the National Music Museum in Vermillion, SD. Many participants will be staying at the Archer House in Northfield, where special festival prices have been arranged. Dormatory space at Carleton College has also been reserved ($30/night double; $45/night single).

6/13 - UPDATE:

An updated conference registration form has been posted for the registration fees and the dorm costs. If you've already mailed in the older form, no problem. If you wish to reserve a dorm, please use this new form.

6/24 - UPDATE:

The schedule for the EBF has been set and is available here. The VBF schedule and abstracts are also attached.

Natural Horn Workshop

Trumpet Forum 14th July 2009 at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama

2/17 - On 14 July 2009, BRaSS (Brass Research and Scholarship in Scotland) hosted a Trumpet Forum at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow with lectures and concerts exploring different aspects of the trumpet.

BRaSS is a group of researchers and performers gathered around John Wallace, Principal of the Academy. Its idea is to bring together the various strands of brass scholarship and performing activities to stimulate interaction between performance and historical research at the Academy. Organized by Verena Jakobsen Barth, the Trumpet Forum focused on the many facets of the trumpet. It brought together researchers and performers in a program of paper sessions and performances that gave a myriad of insights, including historical aspects, organological considerations, contemporary and historical performance practices.

Following a welcome by John Wallace, the keynote speaker Trevor Herbert, presented his talk “The Trumpet: The Unanswered Questions”, in which he gave an overview of the state of research into the trumpet as well as an outlook into the future. Invited guest Reine Dahlqvist from Gothenburg talked about the Regent’s Bugle and other English slide trumpets, and in a later presentation, about the trumpet as a solo instrument in Vienna from 1660 to 1830. Three members of BRaSS gave papers: Verena Jakobsen Barth, talked about soloist profiles, Ph.D. student Rui Pedro De Oliveira Alves, about the trombone in Portugal and the Charamela Real, and Sandy McGrattan on the 'Bach' trumpet in 19th-century Britain. Professor Arnold Myers, who came over from Edinburgh, gave an insight into considerations about the identity and convergence of the trumpet and the cornet, and PhD student Raymond Burkhart from Los Angeles gave an overview of cornet and trumpet quartets in the United States from ca. 1885 to ca. 1935. Mike Diprose demonstrated the natural trumpet’s practical assimilation into current Historically Informed Performance (HIP) and John Wallace and Sandy McGrattan gave an insight into their forthcoming book about the History of the Trumpet (“From Jericho to Jazz”). Special guest John Webb finished the sessions by talking about signaling brass, demonstrating with items from his collection.

During lunch and coffee brakes the participants could enjoy Tom Poulson playing “Four Maries”, a newly composed solo piece by Michael Bennett.
The highly successful day ended with a reception and conference dinner, to the sound of 19th-century brass chamber music performed on period instruments by Academy brass students, joined by Bryan Allan (head of brass) and John Wallace.

- Verena Barth

Cornetto Symposium Report by Howard Weiner

2/10 - The Michaelstein Monastery Foundation in Blankenburg/Harz, Germany, hosted the 30th Music Instrument Building Symposium from 23–25 October 2009. This year’s theme was “The Cornett – History, Instruments and Construction.” Academics, musicians, and instrument makers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, the UK, and the USA presented papers on numerous aspects of the cornett as well as on the second focus of the symposium, which was not mentioned in its title: the serpent.

Howard Weiner has completed his Report on the 30th Music Instrument Building Symposium in Blankenburg/Harz, which includes a synopsis of the activities, performance, and papers given.

New Sackbut Method Book

1/21 - The new year has seen the publication of Sackbut Solutions: A Practical Guide to Playing the Sackbut. This tutor was designed specifically for the sackbut and written by top European player Adam Woolf. The book, which boasts over 200 pages of advice, exercises, studies and solo and ensemble repertoire, is the fruit of many years of teaching and playing the sackbut at the highest level. It also refers throughout to historical sources. With something for players of any level and the aim to inspire and encourage players everywhere, Sackbut Solutions caters for those coming from the modern trombone, as well as those starting out on the sackbut afresh, addressing stylistic and technical issues including: concept of sound, articulation, ornamentation, tuning and pitch. Sackbut Solutions is available now by following this link: www.adamwoolf.com.

Call for Papers

Making the British Sound - Instrumental Music and British Traditions
Sponsored Jointly by the Galpin Society and the Historic Brass Society
London - Edinburgh
July 7-11, 2009
Further Details (Galpin Society website)

Updated Booking Form!

Bryan Proksch New HBS Newsletter Editor

4/28/09 - Mike O'Connor, our longtime HBS e-news/newsletter editor, has stepped down after several years of good and much appreciated service. We thank him! Bryan Proksch has been appointed as the new HBS E-news/newsletter editor in his place. Bryan, a musicologist by trade, is assistant professor of music at McNeese State University. His work in brass history includes several editions with Editions BIM (Cerclier, Snow and others), articles in the ITG Journal (on Snow and Kennan), and an article on Dauverne and Kresser in the next issue of the HBS Journal. He also edits the "repertoire column" for the Trumpet Guild. Those wishing to submit news items for the HBS website can This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or continue to submit to Jeff via email.

CIMCIM Conference

HBS CIMCIM Session
The Historic Brass Society will present a day-long session on Friday September 11, 2009 in Rome at the CIMCIM week-long conference. The HBS session is headed and organized by Sabine Klaus and will involve two parts:

First Part: Innovation and new technologies in the study, cataloguing and display of brass musical instruments

• Louise Bacon
• Eugenia Mitroulia
• Arnold Myers
• Gregor Widholm

Second Part: Free topics

• Stewart Carter
• Herbert Heyde
• Bruno Kampmann
• Renato Meucci

The HBS session will be held in the Parco della Musica Auditorium of the Musical Instrument Museum of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

Details of the session will be posted at a later date. The full CIMCIM (International Committee of Musical Instrument Museums and Collections) conference will be held in Florence and Rome from September 7-11, 2009. There will also be pre-conference activities in Milan on September 5-6 and post conference activities in Naples on September 13-14. The conference will deal with all aspects of musical instruments including history, organology, and iconography. The home page of the 2009 meeting with the preliminary program is now online here

5/27 - Inexpensive rooms are still available at the Hotel Colorado in Florence and the Hotel Santa Prassede in Rome.

American Bach Soloists Academy

Johann Friedrich Anderst Instrument Exhibition

5/25 - Those who heard Paul Niemisto's talk about the rather mysterious instrument designs of the maker J.F. Anderst will be interested to know of a special exhibition of his brass instruments at the Kuopio Cultural History Museum in Finland. Accompanying the largest known collection of these instruments is a special exhibiton booklet with a detailed article by Niemisto. Information: www.kuopionmuseo.fi

RSAMD Hosts Inaugural Trumpet Forum

6/15 - The National Centre for Research in the Performing Arts at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama is hosting the first Trumpet Forum on 14th July 2009. Experts from all over the UK will gather in Glasgow for this specialist conference on the trumpet, its music and its history.

Professor John Wallace, Principal of the Academy and internationally renowned trumpeter, will introduce the conference and Professor Trevor Herbert, of The Open University, will be the keynote speaker. Special guest John Webb will be bringing 19th century instruments from his personal collection, which will be heard in performance.

Delegates to the Forum will explore the many dimensions of the trumpet including historical aspects, organological considerations, contemporary performance practices and the collaborative links the instrument has had, and continues to have, with composers.

Click here for more information.

Fred Benkovic (1924-2009)

6/17 - On June 7, 2009 Fred Benkovic died following problems lingering from a fall some three months earlier.  He was 85 years old.

Fred began collecting band instruments while he was serving in the Army during WWII.  At that time there were few others interested in these historical artifacts.  Although his primary focus was always band instruments of the Civil War era, his collecting interests stretched from early primitive brass through instruments of WWI.  Also, centering on the mid-nineteenth century, he gathered together uniforms and accouterments, images, bugles, fifes and weapons.  His place in the collection, restoration and manufacture of reproduction rope tension drums is perhaps best described by George Carroll in his most recent book: “Fred is a master craftsman; the first to restore and to manufacture copies of period drums accurately”.  And, he was a diligent researcher early on, assembling lists of manufacturers, documenting the history of individual instruments and searching out period band music.

Fred assembled perhaps the most significant private collection of these historic instruments.  All publications listing 19th century instruments include examples from the Benkovic Collection.  I suspect that every band that portrays the 19th century is using instruments that were, at one time, a part of the Benkovic collection.
 
Fred was an artist.  His professional career was as a graphic artist for Pabst Brewing in Milwaukee.  Fred's professional skills as an artist / illustrator enabled him to restore and replicate the identifying decorations on many historic drums.  His artistic sensibilities and his attention to construction details enabled him to replicate missing elements of historic wind and percussion instruments.  His artistic talent is on display in all of the print material he generated for the 1st Brigade Band including LP recording jackets.

Fred’s national and international presence as a collector was balanced by his impact on music in Milwaukee and the mid-West.  He was an extraordinary man who made significant contributions to a variety of musical organizations, especially those with a connection to U. S. history.  In 1963 Fred gathered some of his instruments, some music from the Civil War era and some local musicians and began to perform.  In 1964 he was invited to assemble a band to participate in a centennial re-enactment of Grant's return to Galena.  That performance led to the foundation of the 1st Brigade Band and Heritage Military Music Foundation.  Not content with one band in one historical period, Fred participated in the organization of the 4th Continental Band Of Music, a Revolutionary War era portrayal.  Fred took leave from the 1st Brigade Band in the mid 1970s.  He then formed a WWI dough boy band that presented concerts and participated in parades.  Finally Fred organized, and participated in, the Command Performance Band, a portrayal of a WWII dance band, in which he played trombone and which continues as an active musical organization.

Fred was an active musician participating in Milwaukee civic musical organizations and, until recently, was an active bugler at military burials.

Finally, as many collectors and living historian across this country will attest, Fred was a mentor and friend, always ready with information and advice.

-- Dan Woolpert 

Thelen Prize for Wind Music Dissertation

6/15 - IGEB announces for 2010 the 5th Thelen-Prize for dissertations in the field of wind music research. All interested people with dissertations accepted since 2007 are allowed to participate. Deadline October 23, 2009.

Participation is open to all dissertations in the field of wind music research, in every language, from every country, worldwide. The winner presents a paper at the IGEB conference 2010 in Oberschützen, Austria. The dissertation will be published by IGEB. For consideration, send CV and copy (pdf) of dissertation by October 23, 2009 to: Internationale Gesellschaft zur Erforschung und Förderung der Blasmusik (IGEB), z. H. Doris Schweinzer, Leonhardstraße 15, A-8010 Graz, Austria.

Cornetto Conference

5/23 - The Stiftung Kloster Michaelstein in Germany will be hosting a conference on different aspects of the cornetto and also the serpent on October 23-25, 2009. We will discuss the construction, varities, playing technique, development, repertoire, restoration, copy, and the acoustics of this instrument.

Upcoming Historic Brass Society Events

HBS CIMCIM Session
The Historic Brass Society will present a day-long session on Friday September 11, 2009 in Rome at the CIMCIM week-long conference. The HBS session is headed and organized by Sabine Klaus and will involve two parts:

First Part: Innovation and new technologies in the study, cataloguing and display of brass musical instruments

• Louise Bacon
• Eugenia Mitroulia
• Arnold Myers
• Gregor Widholm

Second Part: Free topics

• Stewart Carter
• Herbert Heyde
• Bruno Kampmann
• Renato Meucci

The HBS session will be held in the Parco della Musica Auditorium of the Musical Instrument Museum of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia in Rome.

Details of the session will be posted at a later date. The full CIMCIM (International Committee of Musical Instrument Museums and Collections) conference will be held in Florence and Rome from September 7-11, 2009. There will also be pre-conference activities in Milan on September 5-6 and post conference activities in Naples on September 13-14. The conference will deal with all aspects of musical instruments including history, organology, and iconography. The home page of the 2009 meeting with the preliminary program is now online here
Further Details - Nov. 2008

New York Times Article on the Trombone

6/23 - In an article in the June 23, 2009 issue of the NY Times, Anthony Tommasini wrote about a performance of "Orbits" (1979)  by Henry Brant scored for soprano, organ and 89 trombones. The piece was given two performances on June 21st at New York's Guggenheim Museum. One could imagine the composer, who died in 2007 at age 94, being thrilled with the sight and sound of the 89 trombonists lined up on the famous Guggenheim spiraling structure. Brant regarded space as the fourth dimension of music, along with pitch, time and timbre. According to Tommasini this piece is one of the most mesmerizing and eclectic musical works ever written. It must have been a great day for a sizable fraction of New York's trombonists.

HBS Hosts Half-Day Session at Annual CIMCIM Meeting in Italy

9/28/09 - This year’s annual meeting of the International Committee of Musical Instrument Museums and Collections (short CIMCIM for Comité International des Musées et Collections d'Instruments de Musique) was a week-long event in three beautiful Italian cities: Florence, Rome, and Naples. Well over one hundred participants (museum curators and conservators, private collectors, instrument makers, and scholars) from around the world flocked to this event for inspiring conversations, museum visits, concerts, and lectures, as well as to celebrate the organization’s 50^th anniversary.

Gabriele Rossi Rognoni, the main organizer and coordinator of the event, had kindly invited three related organizations to participate: AMIS (the American Musical Instrument Society), the Galpin Society (the British Musical Instrument Society), and the Historic Brass Society. Each of these societies arranged special paper sessions on two days of the conference in the new venues of the Accademia Nazionale di S. Cecilia in Rome.

The HBS session, coordinated by Sabine Klaus, took place in the afternoon of 11 September after a visit to the Vatican Museums. It consisted of two parts, the first reflected one of the meeting’s topics, “Innovation and New Technologies in the Study, Cataloguing and Display of Brass Musical Instruments,” the second comprised free papers with an emphasis on iconography.

Louise Bacon from the Horniman Museum in London discussed the fascinating non-destructive technology of “Energy Dispersive X-ray Fluorescence Spectrometry” for determining the metal content of brass instruments. Gregor Widholm from the Institut für Wiener Klangstil in Vienna gave a report on the latest version of the Brass Instrument Analysis System (BIAS) that provides a means of acoustical testing. A student at the same institute, Hannes Vereecke, spoke about the use of laser scanners and three-dimensional CAD/CAM software to recreate a historical brass instrument to an accuracy of up to 0.01 mm. Arnold Myers and Eugenia Mitroulia from the University of Edinburgh explained their method of measuring brass instruments for the purpose of taxonomy, and they offered a hands-on course on how to make physical measurements on the following day.

The second part was particularly well attended as it featured three Christopher Monk Award laureates, Renato Meucci, Stewart Carter, and Herbert Heyde, all presenting new iconographical evidence on the early history of the trumpet and the trombone, and each providing enthralling insights into little-known documents and new interpretations of materials from the 13^th through the 17^th century. The afternoon concluded with a report on methods for distinguishing between instruments made by Adolphe Sax and his son Adolphe Edouard presented by Bruno Kampmann and Eugenia Mitroulia. During the coffee break attendees had the opportunity to inform themselves about a recent discovery of a trumpet mouthpiece fragment from the late 16^th or early 17^th century excavated at Jamestown Island in Virginia in a poster prepared by Stewart Carter and Sabine Klaus.

For brass enthusiasts, the excursions to Italian musical instrument collections were most enlightening. At the Museo degli strumenti in Rome we had the chance to inspect a rare crescent-shaped horn by the little known Nuremberg maker Georg Barth from the 1680s, a maker by whom no trumpets survive as he was not a master and thus limited to the making of smaller items such as hunting horns. The vast storage area of this museum, which was opened for the conference participants, contains numerous fancifully-shaped brass instruments that were used in festive parades until the 19^th century, and illustrate a long-lasting tradition described by Herbert Heyde in his lecture. The highlight was undoubtedly the visit to the Museo Archeologico Nazionale di Napoli during the post-conference excursion to Naples. This museum houses two almost complete Roman cornua excavated in nearby Pompeii that were used to open gladiator games.

It was important for the Historic Brass Society to be represented at this outstanding conference and to mingle with the international fraternity of musical instrument specialists. Our wholehearted thanks go to Gabriele Rossi Rognoni, Annalisa Bini, Laura Bognetti, Franca Falletti, Renato Meucci and their team of helpers who made this memorable event possible.

- Sabine K. Klaus

25th Annual Historic Brass Society Early Brass Festival, July 2009

7/29 - Jeff Nussbaum has completed his Report on the 25^th Annual Historic Brass Society Early Brass Festival, New London, CT, July 2009.

Jazz Scholars to Present Research in The Louis Armstrong Symposium

11/2 - Jazz scholars will discuss the work and career of Louis Armstrong at the College of Staten Island.  

A number of notable jazz scholars will present their research on various facets of Louis Armstrong’s life and music at the College of Staten Island on Saturday, November 21 in the Center for the Arts Recital Hall (Building 1P, Room 120) from 9:00am to 5:00pm.  

The Louis Armstrong Symposium will feature a keynote address by Dan Morgenstern, jazz historian, author, editor, archivist, current Director of the Institute of Jazz Studies, and former chief editor of Down Beat magazine. The list of presenters includes Ricky Riccardi, Michael Cogswell, John Szwed, James Leach, William R. Bauer, and Jeffrey Taylor. In morning and afternoon sessions, each presenter will offer a distinct perspective on his subject. Each session will be followed by an open-ended panel discussion and question-and-answer session that will elaborate on themes that emerged during the talks. A conceptual jam session for jazz scholars, this format will give scholars and audience members alike a forum for in-depth discussion about Louis Armstrong’s musical and cultural legacy.  

The presenters will explore a range of topics. Ricky Riccardi, who is currently writing a book about Louis Armstrong’s later years, will use Armstrong’s renditions of “Back Home Again in Indiana!” to challenge the negative critical reception that the trumpeter often received during the latter part of his career. Michael Cogswell, Director of the Louis Armstrong House Museum and curator of the Louis Armstrong Archive at Queens College’s Benjamin S. Rosenthal Library, will share and discuss samples from Armstrong’s vast collection of LPs and 78s. John Szwed, Professor of Music and Jazz Studies at Columbia University and John M. Musser Professor Emeritus of Anthropology, African American Studies, and Film Studies at Yale University, will explore Armstrong’s role in Orson Welles’s unfinished movie The Story of Jazz, and in other projects the filmmaker was undertaking in 1941.  James Leach, who teaches jazz history and theory at Grand Valley State University in Allendale, Michigan, will focus on Armstrong’s vocal and instrumental renditions of the Hoagy Carmichael classic “Stardust” in order to set in relief Armstrong’s approach to singing and trumpet playing. William R. Bauer, from the College of Staten Island and CUNY Graduate Center faculties, will present research from his current book project, an investigation into the jazz vocal techniques that Armstrong used in his early recordings. Jeffrey Taylor, Director of the H. Wiley Hitchcock Institute for Studies in American Music and Professor of Music at Brooklyn College, who also teaches in the CUNY Graduate Center’s PhD Program in Music and its American Studies Certificate Program, will consider the impact of various pianists on Armstrong’s work during the trumpeter’s Chicago years in the 1920s. The scholarship presented at this symposium will both deepen and expand our understanding of this giant of 20th-century music.

The symposium is open to the public and admission is free of charge. However, due to limited seating capacity, advance reservation is strongly suggested. To make reservations and for more information, contact William R. Bauer at 718.982.2534. The Louis Armstrong Symposium is produced with funding from the CUNY Research Foundation, and with support from the College of Staten Island and the Center for the Arts.  

HBS Now on Facebook

7/29 - For those members on Facebook looking to connect with each other more directly (since the website doesn't have a blog/email server yet), I have created the "Historic Brass Society" group on Facebook. Membership in the group requires only that you are on Facebook and that I approve you as a group member (didn't want to leave it open to everyone so we wouldn't get spammed all the time). Once you are a member you'll be able to see other members, contact them, start discussions and treads, post news and videos, and all the other things that normal groups do on Facebook. You'll also be able to contact me directly with news, etc. for the HBS website.

Bryan

Shofar/Trombone Concerto Premiered

11/16 - A concerto for Shofar, Trombone and Orchestra, Tekeeyah, by Meira Warshauer was premiered on October 24^th with soloist Haim Avitsur and the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra in Wilmington, N.C. The work is one of a growing number of contemporary compositions that call for the ancient instrument (see Malcolm Miller’s fine article “The Shofar and its Symbolism” in the Historic Brass Society Journal vol. 14, 2002). In a recent phone interview, Avistur, a trombone teacher at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, CUNY, explained that he can get about a dozen notes from his four foot shofar, E and C being the most stable and the others relatively unstable. Bending into the notes is the only way to produce them effectively. He further mentioned that the soloist’s responsibility is about equally shared between playing the trombone and the shofar. More information can be found www.meirawarshauer.com.

2009 Natural Horn Workshop

Rick Seraphinoff will be directing a natural horn workshop at the Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University, Bloomington on June 15-20, 2009. Activities will include master classes, ensemble sessions, lectures, private lessons and performances. Info: www.music.indiana.edu/special_programs/nhw; This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.; Phone: (812) 856-6064.

World's Biggest Cornetto!

4/24/09 - Roland Wilson sends us news of his latest creation, the "world's biggest" cornetto (bass at a= 440 lowest note G).  

Although Mersenne provides us with much information about  the bass cornett, there is  no actual surviving instrument at this pitch.  (Brussels 1225 is listed as a Bass but it is actually only a tone lower than a normal tenor) The bore was therefore scaled from a tenor cornett in Verona with adjustments made to compensate for the fingerholes being closer together than their theoretical positions.  Jamie Savan made 2 mouthpieces for it and came by to try it out. Although we are both normally used to plying high cornetts, we were both able to play a two-octave range down to the low G more or less straight away. Craig Kridel, the first purchaser plans on bringing the cornett to the EBF this July!

Lincoln Era Star-Spangled Banner

4/28/09 - The Smithsonian is conducting a contest for best rendition of the Star Spangled Banner, called "Oh Say Can You Sing". The First Brigade Band, Watertown, WI, has posted their entry on

25th Annual Brass Festival

25th Annual Historic Brass Society Early Brass Festival
July 17-19, 2009
Connecticut College, New London
New London, CT

In addition to the papers, the playing sessions and, of course, the annual pizza party, the Sunday concert will be an exciting event that will include world premiers of several new works for early brass instruments including Mendelssohn's Seasons by Clifford Bevan and conducted by Wim Becu, HBS Fanfare by Simon Proctor, De bronze et de lumiere by Therese Brenet, Jump In by Jonathan Miller as well as works by Stamitz, J. Michael Haydn, Anton Reicha and others.

Performers will include Ralph Dudgeon (keyed bugle), Douglas Yeo (serpent), David Loucky (trombone), Craig Kridel (ophicleide), Jeffrey Snedeker (natural horn) and others and will include The Anglican Singers, Simon Holt, conductor.

Festival Schedule and Abstracts

2009 Historic Division of the NTC Winners

The winners of the 5th Annual National Trumpet Competition Historic Division, which took place on March 14, 2009 at George Mason University in Virginia are:

• The Reiche Award (open age, with the use of fingerholes): Don Johnson, leader of the Kentucky Baroque Trumpets. The prize is a Naumann baroque trumpet--a $2400 value.
• The Fantini Award (open to contestants age 23 and younger): Aaron Witek, a student at Florida State University. The prize is two weeks tuition to the Oberlin Baroque Performance Institute, June 21-July 5, 2009, at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music--a $925 value.
• The No-Holes Award: Dominic Favia, of Vienna, Virginia, age 15. The prize is tuition to the 2009 Natural Trumpet Making Workshop--a $670 value--held in Bloomington, Indiana from June 29-July 3, 2009 at the workshop of Rick Seraphinoff.
• The No-Holes Award runner-up: Benjamin Malick, a student at George Mason University. The prizes are various items from the HBS.
• The No-Holes Award, Honorable Mention: Don Johnson, who played a circular natural trumpet by Robert Barclay and an antique natural trumpet by Ehe.

The judges for the event were Dr. Stanley Curtis, George Mason University; Dr. Kathryn James Adduci, San Jose State University; Dr. Robert Birch, George Washington University; Dr. Ralph Dudgeon, SUNY Cortland; Dr. Elisa Koehler, Goucher College; Mr. Nathaniel Mayfield, Trumpet Soloist.

2009 Natural Trumpet-Making Workshop

The International Natural Trumpet Making Workshop, which has been held each year since 1993, in Bloomington, Indiana, and in various European locations, will be offered again during the week of June 29 - July 3, 2009 at the workshop of Seraphinoff Historical Instruments in Bloomington, Indiana.

Under the supervision of Dr. Robert Barclay, assisted by instrument makers Richard Seraphinoff and Michael Münkwitz, participants will make a natural trumpet using the tools and methods described in Dr. Barclay's book, The Art of the Trumpet-Maker, and also illustrated and described in Making a Natural Trumpet, the workshop textbook for the course.

The design which participants will make this year will be based on an original by the Nuremberg maker Hanns Hainlein (1632). Familiarity with tools and metal working techniques is desirable, but not by any means necessary. In past workshops everyone has been able to complete a playable instrument over the course of the week. The work schedule consists almost exclusively of hands-on workshop time from 9:00am until 5:00pm each day, Monday through Friday. Most participants finish their instruments by Friday early afternoon, making it possible to depart from Bloomington that afternoon or evening.

Tuition for the Bloomington workshop is US$670.00, which includes all materials, tools and supplies which will be used during the workshop, as well as a copy of Making a Natural Trumpet - and Illustrated Workshop Guide, published by the University of Edinburgh. Enrollment is limited to 12 participants, and reservations are made on a first come, first served basis.

To reserve a space, send a check for US$50.00 (payable to Richard Seraphinoff, organizer of the course) to the address below. This deposit will be refundable until June 1, 2009. The balance of US$620.00 will be due on the first day on the workshop. Non-U.S. participants may pay the entire amount on the first day, due to the costs of currency exchange and transfers.

Since my own workshop, where the course will be held this year is outside of Bloomington in a rural wooded area, going into Bloomington for lunch will take a substantial amount of time out of the work day, so we will offer the possibility of having lunch at our house for those who don't want to bring their own lunch each day. The cost will be $30 for the week, or $6 per day for those who would like to take part.

Richard Seraphinoff
2256 Birdie Galyan Road
Bloomington, IN 47408
Tel/Fax: 812-333-3114
Email: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

New Book on Historical Temperaments

Thirty years after the successful launch of the best-selling treatise Unequal Temperaments and their Role in the Performance of Early Music, Claudio Di Veroli's new book Unequal Temperaments: Theory, History and Practice includes the musicological findings of the last decades, with hundreds of photos and computer-produced charts. The book deals extensively on TUNING BRASS INSTRUMENTS in early temperaments, with detailed treatment of natural trumpets and horns.Please find a detailed free preview and a link for online purchase in temper.braybaroque.ie.

FCCB Plays for Lincoln

Members of the Federal City Brass Band performed for the Abraham Lincoln's 200th Birthday on Feb 12, 2009 at Ford's Theater in Washington, DC, the location of his assassination is April 1865. Jeff Stockham plays taps on a period bugle, a call adopted by the Union Army ony 2 years before Lincoln's death. Click here for a video link.

Richard Burdick - Classical Horn

Richard Burdick, principal horn of the Regina Symphony Orchestra, performed Heinrich Domnich's Horn Concerto No. 1 on his Classical-era natural horn. Eventually he will post a recording on www.naturalhorn.com. Heinrich Domnich was one of the first horn teachers at the Paris Conservatory. He was a student of Punto and the teacher of Dauprat. To Burdick's knowledge, this concerto has not been performed since the 1820s. The concert took place at Westminster United Church, Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada on Sunday 4 January 2009. He will be performing Dauprat's horn quintet, Opus 6, No. 2 on the same instrument for the Regina Symphony Orchestra's Government House Series, 14-15 March 2009. See www.reginasymphony.com/ for more information.

EBF 24 Report

Jeffrey Nussbaum's A Report on the 24th Annual Early Brass Festival and a gallery of photos can be seen in the "Articles" menu - select 2008 Articles.

Doug Yeo Activities

Doug Yeo reports that he recently premiered new serpent concerto with orchestra, and played a solo on ophicleide at the same concert. Read the Boston Globe review here. You may also hear an interview with him on WBUR's syndicated radio program (PRI) Here and Now. The website also features photos and a short video of Doug playing ophicleide.

Doug's sabbatical from the BSO starts in January (through June) and he says he is looking forward to a few serpent/ophicleide events. In February he'll be in San Francisco playing ophicleide on Mendelssohn's Overture to "A Midsummer Night's Dream" with the Philharmonia Baroque Orchestra (celebrating the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn's birth), and in May, he'll head to England to do some research at the Bate Collection and a few other museums, and then take part in the annual "Serpentarium" event with Phil Humphries. When Humphries's Mellstock Band travels to Boston for the annual "Christmas Revels" at Harvard University's Sanders Theater, Doug and Phil will give two pre-concert talks on the serpent, playing duets and otherwise acquainting the audience with their obsession.

Early Brass at Trinity

Announcing the Trinity College of Music Brass Experience 2009 (February 23-27, 2009) featuring Portuguese über-tuba player Sérgio Carolino as Artist in Residence. This is the sixth year of the week-long festival at Trinity which aims to highlight brass playing of all genres and this year features a diversity of music from Early to Jazz. It's a great opportunity to experience a wide range of brass performances from talented players of all ages, and with many events free, it won't break the bank.

The festival opens at Blackheath Halls on February 23, 6:00pm with the high profile Philip Jones Brass Competition. Open to all TCM Brass Ensembles, the competition is named after ex-Trinity Principal and trumpeter Philip Jones CBE, founder of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. The festival celebrates his life and groundbreaking work which paved the way for the modern brass ensemble experience. The performance will be a vibrant mix of diverse brass groups playing everything from baroque to pop under the watchful eye of adjudicator Sérgio Carolino (admission free).

On February 24, at 1:05pm, the Old Royal Naval College Chapel at Trinity College of Music's home - the resplendent baroque Old Royal Naval College - will echo with the sounds of early brass as the TCM Early Music Brass Ensemble present Venice in Greenwich. Come along to hear cornetto, sackbut and natural trumpet players under the direction of Richard Thomas (admission free).

For more information on other brass activities, and there are plenty, at the Experience, please see www.tcm.ac.uk/whatson.

Making the British Sound

Making the British Sound - Instrumental Music and British Traditions
Sponsored Jointly by the Galpin Society and the Historic Brass Society
London - Edinburgh
July 7-11, 2009
Further Details (Galpin Society website)

Updated Booking Form!

(link updated 5/8/09)

25th Annual Early Brass Festival Update

4/5 - Details have been announced for the 25th Annual Early Brass Festival of the Historic Brass Society, July 17-19 at Connecticut College, New London, CT. 

Tentative speakers include Gunther Schuller, Ralph Dudgeon, Paul Niemisto, Jeff Nussbaum and Barbara Hersey. 

In celebration of the twenty-fifth Early Brass Festival, there will be three world premiere performances.

Doug Yeo, bass trombonist with the Boston Symphony Orchestra, will perform the world premiere of De bronze et de Lumnire for Serpent and Piano by T. Brenet. 

In addition, the world premiere of Music for Natural Trumpets by Jonathan Miller will be performed.

Finally, in celebration of the 200th anniversary of Mendelssohn's birth, Berlioz Historical Brass, including Doug Yeo, David Loucky, Craig Kridel, Ralph Dudgeon and Lowell Greer, will perform the world premiere of Clifford Bevan's Mendelssohn's Seasons for chorus, horn, trombone, English bass horn and ophicleide.

In addition to these special activities, there will be lectures, concerts, the annual HBS membership meetings, informal playing sessions, and, of course, the famous annual HBS pizza party!

For more details and the registration form, download this form.