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I have attended a number of international horn and brass conferences, but before last weekend I had never actually been to a regional workshop.
The main thing in particular that I enjoyed with the Southwest Conference was the relaxed pacing of events.
It always seems that at the international events, three or four things might be going on at the same time and one is forced to make impossible decisions between one great program or another. At the Southwest Conference, there was plenty of time to play horns and chat with people that I might otherwise not see face-to-face.
More random photos follow. As before, click on any image for a closer look.
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One of the highlights of the conference was the Saturday evening concert that featured a premiere of a new piece by Eric Chasalow and a jaw-dropping performance of the Schumann Konzertstück for Four Horns and Orchestra.
Bruno Schneider demonstrated smooth elegance and superb breath control throughout. A few of us noted his embouchure and discussed its similarity to what is known about Dennis Brain’s embouchure.
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I bought a new mute from Ion Balu and also tried out his horns with the double-walled lead pipes.
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Besides trying out lots of horns, I enjoyed listening to others try out horns – especially the models that I specifically liked (or did not like). I also must confess that enjoyed eavesdropping on dealers and customers chatting about equipment and other shop-talk.
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Here is a picture of one of my favorite instruments from Ken Pope.
Unfortunately my camera lens had a huge smudge on it and so the picture is marred (there are more pictures on the Pope Instrument site). My faulty camera lens aside, this horn played like warm melted butter and in my opinion is well worth the price tag.
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Do you like horn pictures?
Throughout this week I will be posting a series of articles on my favorite instruments from the Southwest Horn Conference, and more specifically, my routine and criteria for trying out horns and determining what I like.
Stay tuned!
