Dear friends,

My name is Constantin-Lucian Tompa, and I am a horn player (former principal for almost 18 years until the 2017-2018 season when I stepped over to second horn) at the Romanian National Opera in Cluj-Napoca, Romania, and I am horn professor at the Sigismund Toduta College of Music. I was born into an artistic family: my mother was a fashion designer, and my father was a violin player in the city orchestra. I have a younger brother, Sergiu-Florin Tompa, who is also a horn player; he works at the Hungarian State Opera in Cluj-Napoca. Here is a link of him playing as a soloist with the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra in 2012 during his masters studies at Gheorghe Dima National Academy of Music: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gx6ESO91HLE. Sergiu and I both studied music in Cluj-Napoca with Professor Vasile Oprea from fifth grade through high school, and then with Professor Alexandru Marc for our undergraduate and masters degrees.

Rather than writing about myself, however, I want to describe some aspects of the “horn life” here in Cluj-Napoca, a major city in Romania with 450,000 inhabitants situated in the well-known Transylvania region of the country. In the city, the primary cultural entities are the two operas (financed by government), the Romanian National Opera and the Hungarian State Opera; this is a unique situation because our town was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire until 1918. In Cluj-Napoca, there are also the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra and Chorus; The National Academy of Music “Gheorghe Dima” and “Sigismund Toduta” College of Music. The National Opera and The National Academy are celebrating their centennial this year.

Horn playing in Cluj-Napoca is an old tradition—and a strong one—but most important, in my opinion, is the bond that revolves around our instrument. The force that connects horn players all over the world is very much alive here, creating a nice horn community currently centered around professor Dr. Alexandru Marc (age 64), principal horn player at the Transylvania State Philharmonic Orchestra and professor of horn at the Dima National Academy of Music. He is a passionate person who has fought all his life for his students so that they would have the best possible learning conditions and quality instruments, a person dedicated to horn playing and teaching. It is no exaggeration to say that all of the professional horn players currently working in the Cluj-Napoca orchestras, in the philharmonic and both operas, have been his students at some point.

by David Byrd-Marrow

Greetings fellow horn enthusiasts! I’d like to thank the IHS for the opportunity to contribute my two cents.

When I was in high school in Atlanta, my first teacher, Richard Deane, used to end all of our lessons with duets. It was my favorite part of the lesson, playing with an all-star hornist and trying to mimic everything he did. I even had one of his homemade bell rests (and this was 1997!). In turn, I would play duets with my friends at school and in youth orchestra. I’ve since always loved playing duets, and I find the habit invaluable. I often travel with some sort of a duet book. It’s a great way to get to know your peers and have a good time, not to mention a great way to stay in shape. It also embodies the essence of most of what we do as musicians: listening, reacting and adjusting. You inevitably get inside the headspace of your partner, and it becomes a transcendent connection. I almost always feel closer to people after having had a duet hang.

After 15 years of freelancing in NYC, I’ve spent a lot of time considering what it is that gets you hired back to the gig. Once you get past the nonstarters like being a semi-agreeable person who can generally operate a French horn, there are other details and characteristics that come into play. In one form or another, I’ve recently found myself answering the following question a lot in masterclasses and mentoring settings:

“To what do you attribute your freelancing success?”

Since starting this series a few years ago, it’s always been a desire to interview my former teacher at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, Douglas Hill. As a performer, pedagogue, author, and composer, he has left his mark on the music world. On a personal level, he helped to shape me as an artist and human being in ways I am still discovering today. The IHS is in the process of acquiring the majority of his compositions and books for our Online Sales, so the time is ripe to share his warm-hearted wisdom with you. -KMT

Kristina Mascher-Turner: A word that often comes up in conversation with you is “gratitude” - you’ve even composed a piece with the same name. Can you tell us about this work and its conception? What are some of the things you are grateful for?

Doug Hill: Have you ever noticed how difficult it is for authors to acknowledge all those who helped them along the way while simply writing a single book? Well then multiply that many times over. I’ve had a good life thanks to Karen, my wonderful wife and musical companion of 52 years, a terrific and loving daughter Emily, some absolutely remarkable teachers and mentors, a diversified and very satisfying career, generous friends and colleagues, many magnificent students, and above average good health. Lots to be grateful for. Without gratitude, griping and grief are allowed way too much room to dominate. The composition you mentioned, titled “Gratitude”, began as the third movement of an octet for horns (“Recollections”), commissioned by Michael Ozment in memory of his father. While writing for him I was revisiting the fact that most of my compositions are autobiographical (that can’t be helped) and are largely rooted in either empathy, compassion, respect, or celebration. The melodies in this piece felt so good to write and have continued to stay with me. I’ve had opportunities to conduct the octet many times, often with my wonderful students, thus revisiting my own feelings of gratitude. Recently I decided to create an unaccompanied version which then evolved into two short preludes entitled “Grace/Gravitas/Gratitude”.

KMT: Let’s go back to where it all started, in Lincoln, Nebraska. Who first set you upon your musical path? What were your earliest influences and experiences?

DH: My parents were wonderfully supportive. Both had musical abilities and encouraged piano for each of us four boys, and band instruments along the way. My older brothers played trombone and cornet, so I tried to be like them and learn to buzz my lips. That made the horn easier for me at age 10 than it should have been. By junior high I was playing tunes. However, my true musical foundation came between the ages of 12 and 14 from Kenneth Freese. He was a man doing exactly what he was meant to do, teaching music to a bunch of junior high school kids. He was there to bang out some chords behind my rendition of “The Beer Barrel Polka”. He showed me how to “slap the bass” and how to read basic chord symbols at the piano. He helped me to notate the tunes that were running through my head, and then he let me show off those “compositions” to audiences full of band parents. By high school I was in a combo playing bass gigs at proms with “Dickie Von and the Softones”, and I had started lessons with Jack Snider, an amazing, tough-love horn teacher at the university. I soon became very active in local jazz combos, playing bass with amazing improvisors like Duane Schulz and his family band, and Dennis Schneider, the trumpet professor at the university, earning some decent money in local nightclubs. All this early stuff laid the groundwork for my diversified career and my respect and love for teaching and teachers, as well as playing horn well, the power of all music, jazz, and great tunes!