Archived under: Inspiration & The Big Picture, Mellophones & Marching
Introducing the Mellophonium
One thing that was interesting after my surprise performance of Misty on the Mellophonium at the banquet at the IHS symposium (also described in the previous post; this photo of me introducing the piece was taken by Travis Bennett) was that a percentage of people who spoke to me afterwards had really limited knowledge of the instrument. While developed for use in marching bands, it gained some fame for the use of a section of four of the instruments in the Stan Kenton big band in the early 1960s. I have a good introduction to the instrument in this brief article, and a great clip of the Kenton Mellophonium section in action may be found here. Also, note that it is not a modern mellophone, it is a Mellophonium, a design copied by others but primarily a Conn product, produced from 1957-78. Those present at the banquet will agree it has a unique, classic sound if well played. It was fun to play Misty on mine but I would hate to march with it! Modern mellophones are better designed for sure.
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