by Jeff Nelsen and Katy Webb

Words good matter, well. 

Let’s eat Grandma! (Punctuation matters too, but that’s another article.)  

…aaaand here’s the axiom:

It’s true! So let’s talk about words and choices. For our short article this month, we’d like to focus specifically on three aspects of word choice: we have found people can be less general, less emotional, and less problem-based. This would mean that we can all be more specific, more scientific, and more solution-finding. While we’re at it, let’s take out the word more: we can be specific, scientific, and solution-based. Here are three case studies which examine the problems with each and potential solutions for each.

Case #1: Specificity directs us to what to do.
*Student performs*
Teacher: How was your intonation?
Student: Pretty good. (a general statement)
Teacher: Okay, good! Be more specific.
Student: Nothing was too bad, but this note here was a bit wonky.
Teacher: Okay, good you’re right! Get more specific.
Student: This note was out of tune.
Teacher: You’re right, get more specific :)
Student: This note was sharp. (a specific statement)

Case #2: A scientific focus on content adds clarity and drops destructive emotion.
*Student performs*
Teacher: How was your intonation?
Student: I felt it was pretty good. (an emotional statement)
Teacher: Okay, get more scientific.
Student: It’s hard to play that note in tune.
Teacher: Did you play that note in tune? 
Student: No, my pitch on that note sucked. 
Teacher: What about that note would you like to change?
Student: These notes were in tune, but that note was sharp, and I’d like to lower it a bit. (a scientific statement)

Case #3: Solution-finding reveals clear habitual actions.
*Student performs*
Teacher: How was your intonation?
Student: I always have trouble with keeping my F’s and G’s low. (a problem-based statement)
Teacher: That’s useful information. Did you? 
Student: No, they need to be lower.
Teacher: Great, what’s your solution?
Student: I will play my F’s and G’s lower. (a solution-based statement)

In the spirit of word choice, we are not saying this is easy. However, simple is different than easy. We have, we hope, made constructive word choice a bit simpler for you. As with all the other things that were not easy at first—but in which you were able to gain ease through practice—this is worth it.  

We wish you a life full of bad at getting frustrated! (See what we did there?) 

Dear fellow horn players,

We have big plans for this summer! 19 featured artists from around the world will join us in Montreal next July. We have just started unveiling who these artists will be, and we’d love to keep you up to date!

First, we have not one but four artists joining the line-up: Kerry Turner, Kristina Mascher-Turner, Geoffrey Winter, and Denise Tryon will all be in Montreal next summer. Entering its fourth decade and following a hiatus of four years, the American Horn Quartet continues to be unique in the field of brass chamber music. Their exuberant performances have brought audiences all over the world to their feet. In 1982, four American horn players who were living and working in Europe met for the first time to explore the potential of the horn quartet, a chamber ensemble with a surprisingly long tradition. They quickly began to supplement the existing repertoire with their own compositions and arrangements. The group has undergone a few personnel changes since the early days but has always maintained the highest standards of artistry and technical mastery.

Next up, we have Katerina Javurkovà from the Czech Republic. Katerina has won several interpretation competitions but values most her first prize from the Prague Spring International Competition 2013 and the 2nd prize from the ARD International Music Competition in Munich, Germany. She now plays with the Czech Philharmonic.

Finally, all the way from Brazil we have Victor Prado. With a Master of Music degree from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Victor Prado has been working in the Brazilian popular music scene for over ten years. Playing horn outside the usual classical music scene, he started to develop his own musical language, blending jazz, Brazilian music, and improvisation. This places him among the horn pioneers in jazz in Brazil.

…and make sure you check out our website for regular updates: www.ihs55.org

The IHS 55 Organizing Committee

November 2022 Edition

Compiled by Gina Gillie, OMS Editor

New Releases Since February 2022

Shorter lists of new releases from the IHS Online Music Sales catalogue will be published as they become available throughout a calendar year. Since this is the first such list offered in Horn and More—and ahead of the holiday shopping season—all 2022 releases are included for your consideration. Click here to go to the online shop. MH

Angels We Have Heard arranged by Douglas Hill

This traditional French carol was arranged to be performed by a large group of alumni from the University of Wisconsin-Madison, all of whom were guest artists, presenters, teachers, and professionals attending the 50th International Horn Symposium at Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana in 2018. When the players were students, the UW Horn Choir was often referred to as “Hill’s Angels.” The name stuck and, thus, to celebrate the reunion of so many, Angels We Have Heard was arranged with a joyful character, some mixed meter, and a brief reference to On Wisconsin. 

6/4 Trend (for horn and jazz ensemble) by John Jacob Graas, Jr. (ed. Jeffrey Snedeker)

6/4 Trend was originally released on a 10-inch test record entitled John Graas—French Horn Jazz in 1954. French Horn Jazz was Graas’s first solo release, and featured works by Graas and many of the people with whom he frequently worked, including Shorty Rogers, Jimmy Giuffre, and Nelson Riddle. 6/4 Trend has several innovative aspects, including its meter, tonal ambiguity, a solo section that is harmonically static, and a rather thick wind section.

by Trent Ballew

Your horn is tuned, you are warmed up, you talk softly with your colleagues as you wait for the curtain to rise, and you begin to feel the excitement of the upcoming performance. No, I’m not talking about a performance with a symphony orchestra or collegiate wind ensemble…I’m talking about playing with your local community band.

Earlier in life, many of us experienced the excitement of playing in excellent university or even professional ensembles, or we performed at some prestigious venue or musical competition. But after that season of life is over and your priorities shift to family, career, and community, how do you fill the longing that only performing in a large ensemble can fill if you aren’t a professional musician? There are very few experiences that can replace the sheer beauty of being in the middle of a large ensemble making music together that you just can’t re-create alone in your home. After all, just because you are not a musical professional does not mean you are not still a musician, right? To enjoy such experiences again, look no further than your local community band!

My personal journey with community bands began after I left college. I had been a member of a very accomplished university band in Texas. I wasn’t a music major, but I absolutely loved playing in the band as well as in the orchestra. I remember once performing Elsa’s Procession to the Cathedral and feeling the ecstasy of the harmonies all around me that brought me to the point of tears, and I wanted to feel that again. I started asking around in the small town in Oklahoma where I had my first job, and I was surprised to learn that they had a civic band and orchestra. I enthusiastically joined and, to my delight, they were amazing! We played traditional concert pieces, but we also accompanied a local pianist playing a piano concerto and even provided a pit band for the local theater company’s performance of Fiddler on the Roof—experiences I had never had before—and I was hooked! Over the next 35 years, I have been able to be part of numerous community bands in Texas and have had experiences ranging from performing in a world-class symphony hall, opening for sports games, playing park concerts, playing in a jazz band (yes, French horn in a jazz band), and even doing a concert with Doc Severinsen. In fact, as I am writing this, I have just returned from playing a Saturday morning park concert at the local Arbor Day celebration. The possibilities are truly endless.  

Horn section of the Allen Community Band, Allen, Texas: (l-r) Trent Ballew, Jonna Edwards, Kristin Long, Pete March, Candy George, Kim Allie, and Carolina Brea.

I share these personal stories to demonstrate that there are musical experiences waiting for the non-professional musician that may be beyond what you expect or even what you experienced in school. Certainly, there are opportunities to feed the musical fire that surely remains in anyone who has ever seriously played an instrument.

Now, I already know a few of the thoughts that may be going through your mind as you consider joining a community band. So, let’s talk about some of the most common:

“I haven’t played since high school.”
This is probably the biggest fear most players have. The best thing I can say to this is, “I promise, your chops will come back.” I took a multi-year hiatus while my career and family became priorities, and it only took 2-3 weeks before I felt comfortable playing again. A horn player joined our band once who had not played in 57 years! I had to show him the fingerings again and teach him a few basics, but in a couple of months, he was playing right along with us and doing great. Sure, your embouchure will be out of shape; playing horn may not be quite like riding a bike, but with just a little perseverance and practice, you’ll be back playing again and loving it like before. Also, most community bands don’t have auditions, so you will likely be able to take your time getting your strength back while you are rehearsing and performing.

“I don’t have time!”
While this may be true in some instances, it’s usually just an excuse. Most community bands rehearse only 1½ or 2 hours each week and have concerts only 4 to 5 times a year. Some have weekly summer concerts as well, but those are often in lieu of the weekly rehearsal. Time commitments for these groups are usually minimal, and it’s really not a lot of time compared to the musical experience you are getting.

“I don’t know anyone in the band.”
Actually, this is a positive, not a negative! In a community band, you will make new friends that share your love for music and who usually live near you. It’s a great way to build community and widen your circle of friends. Also, many members tend to stay in the band for years, so it’s a perfect way to build long-lasting friendships.

“Community bands are only in large cities.”
Not true. There are an estimated 2,500 community or civic bands in the United States and thousands of concert and wind bands across the globe, most notably in Japan, Australia, and across Europe and the British Isles.  

The quality of bands obviously varies based on the quality of the players in it, but you’ll find that most community bands contain some surprisingly accomplished players. I’ve found that most people who will join a band in their adult years are musicians who were at the top of their section in high school or college and are playing again years later because of their love of music, people just like you. You might not be playing The Pines of Rome or Pictures at an Exhibition, but I’ve been in bands that played some very challenging pieces with great horn parts like American Overture for Band and Lincolnshire Posey, or Carmina Burana and numerous other great orchestral transcriptions. There are some very good bands out there playing fun and challenging music. Many are conducted by retired band directors who want to perform challenging music as well.

Membership in your community band can also lead to other musical opportunities. My local band has been blessed with a section of ten French horns, all of whom are very capable players. We love playing together so much that we have begun meeting outside band rehearsals to play Lowell Shaw’s Fripperies and other quartets, octets, and other challenging horn ensemble music. These are pieces that we would never have had the opportunity to play if we had not met and played together in band.

So, if your horn is sitting in a closet gathering dust but you fondly remember the joy that comes from playing in band all those years ago, I encourage you to take the step and seek out a band in your area; there’s probably one closer than you think. You will once again feel joy flowing through your soul as you create music with friends who understand why the smile on your face is so big after the conductor cuts off that long, beautiful chord at the end of the piece.