Prague Spring Competition Jury Interviews
Domaine Forget Academy
by Louis-Philippe Marsolais
I first attended the Domaine Forget Academy when I was 18 years old. It seems like so long ago! It’s a magical site, with the Charlevoix mountains on one side and the St. Lawrence River on the other, where I evolved as a musician, performer and human being. In the following years at Domaine Forget, I experienced some of the most beautiful musical moments of my youth: I met Hermann Baumann, John Zirbel, Vincent Cichowicz, and Roger Bobo, worked with Guy Carmichael and Eugene Rittich, and played chamber music with Lance Nagels and Geoff Thompson. I also bonded with young, talented, and passionate musicians who would later become my colleagues, including Julie-Anne Drolet and Gabe Radford.
For many young (and not so young) musicians, Domaine Forget is more than just a place where you take lessons. Its location—away from major city centers (with intermittent internet), where the river transforms day after day from a reflection of golden lights to a dense fog—connects us with the force of nature and its beauty. The culinary experience at the cafeteria is indescribable (!) and allows us the chance to initiate newcomers to the famous Chez Ginette poutine (poutine is a very popular dish in Quebec made of French fries, cheese curds, and gravy). Evenings spent around the bonfire or in the “party barn” are perfect for socializing with musicians from around the world while, in the background, a low brass quartet is playing the last movement of Bruckner 8 late into the night. Whether or not you stay awake to watch the sunrise, you always manage to have a productive next day full of masterclasses, lessons, chamber music rehearsals, symphony readings, concerts, and other workshops. And at the end of the session, you certainly need a few weeks to fully assimilate all the new things you’ve learned.
I have been teaching at Domaine Forget since 2013 alongside Guy Carmichael, who has seen me grow in this incredible environment. In the last few years, we have had the pleasure to work with many great masters such as Radovan Vlatković, Frøydis Ree Wekre, Bill VerMeulen, Gail Williams, Ab Koster, Denise Tryon, and Frank Lloyd. This year, we are very exited to welcome Bruno Schneider, who was my teacher during my time in Freiburg. I am sure a few good stories will come up! I am really looking forward to meeting this year’s horn studio.
This year’s brass session at the Domaine Forget Academy is from June 10 to 17, 2018, in St-Irénée, located in the Charlevoix region of Québec (1.5 hours from Québec City). You can find all the information here: https://www.domaineforget.com/en/academy/session-brass-horn/
Please note that the session is usually two weeks long at the beginning of June. The G7 summit in the area forced us to shorten this year’s edition.
I look forward to seeing you there sometime!
Tanslation by Marie-Michèle Bertrand
Welcome to Horn and More
Welcome to Horn and More, Vol. III, issue 3
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CORNO Music Brass Festival, Zielona Gora, Poland
By Łukasz Łacny
IDEA OF THE FESTIVAL:
The CORNO Brass Festival is an unique event comprising master classes, chamber concerts, lectures, exhibitions of instruments, individual and group lessons, tuition for both professional as well as hobby musicians, number of events opened for the audience, which will take place in diverse venues of the cities of Zielona Góra and Żagań. The Festival will feature outstanding and world-renowned musicians, wide and diversified audience and shall be the promotion of the beautiful city of Zielona Góra.
ORGANIZERS:
Three young citizens of Zielona Góra organize the Festival. They all started their musical education in the horn class of Iwan Moroz. It’s here, in Zielona Góra, where they found and developed their interest in music. After a few years of musical education at the leading European Conservatories, where they studied with some of the best tutors, they decided to come back to their hometown to share their knowledge and experience with the young generation.
Third International Etna Horn Festival
by Angelo Bonaccorso (IHS Area Representative - Italy)
Preparations are underway for the third edition of the Horn Festival of Etna from 18 to 22 August 2018 promoted and organized by the FEBASI (Sicilian Bands Federation), for two years a real family of hornists has come from all parts of Italy and from abroad in a beautiful setting that is that of the Etna landscape between woods and volcanic land.
This year there will be great international guests including Hervè Joulain (first solo horn of the Orchestre Nationale de France), Guglielmo Pellarin (first solo horn of the Orchestra of the National Academy of Santa Cecilia), Giovanni Hoffer (3rd horn of the Municipal Theater of Bologna and International Jazz Artist), Angelo Bonaccorso (3rd horn of the Teatro Massimo V.Bellini of Catania), and the conductor Antonino Manuli. Here you can see their video of invitation to the Festival:
THE PROGRAM
A rich program of events kick off with the inaugural concert that will go down in the festival’s history! The legendary jazz hornist Giovanni Hoffer will play a solo concerto accompanied by the well-known HJO Jazz Orchestra from Catania in the marvelous amphitheater in Zafferana Etnea. It will be the first time that one horn player performs as soloist with a jazz big band!
The second day at the Auditorium of Zafferana Etnea will feature a recital of the festival’s guest horn players with music by R.Strauss, J.Brahms, R.Schumann, and L.V.Beethoven.
The third day will give space to the horn players who will participate in the Festival. Several young hornists will perform as soloists with piano accompaniment.
On the fourth day, the final concert will take place at the "La Cantoniera" refuge (Nicolosi Nord) in a marvelous tourist area near the extinct craters of Etna with the participation of all the hornists, directed by Maestro Manuli. In addition to the horn players, a group of Alpine horns from the Canton of Ticino will delight us with their fantastic sound.
During the Festival we will have the exhibition of various brands of horns thanks to our partners: Musical instruments Casalanguida (available free for the Festival participants to carry out repairs) and Miceli Music Store (offering many fantastic services to the participants).
5 days of music, friendship, beautiful places and great food.
So dear friends, hornists of all ages and all levels, what are you waiting for? Join the crowd!
For more information visit the FESTIVAL WEB PAGE and the FACEBOOK PAGE
Come study new music in Germany this summer!
by Christine Chapman (IHS Area Representative, Germany)
The 2018 International Summer Courses for New Music in Darmstadt (Germany), from July 14 till 28, present an exclusive academy for all brass players. The faculty is Christine Chapman- horn, Marco Blaauw-trumpet, Mike Svoboda-trombone, and Melvyn Poore-tuba. They offer their expertise and share their experience in the performance of contemporary repertoire, improvisation and the development of new repertoire. They teach playing technique, art of performance, practice and learning methods and offer healthy experiments with sound. This academy is embedded in the International Summer Courses and therefore guarantees the exchange with many composers and fellow students.
The summer courses offer a unique chance to collect new ideas, develop new projects, hear many concerts, and to meet an international network of musicians. All in all, an incredible opportunity to widen your horizons!
It is still possible to sign up for this year's academy. Please contact Christine Chapman (christine.chapman@musikfabrik.eu), the academy coordinator Marco Blaauw (info@marcoblaauw.com) or visit the website at www.internationales-musikinstitut.de/en/ferienkurse/
Al Via La Terza Edizione del Festival Cornistico dell'Etna
by Angelo Bonaccorso (IHS Area Representative - Italy)
English versionFervono i preparativi per la terza edizione del Festival Cornistico dell'Etna dal 18 al 22 agosto 2018 promosso e organizzato dalla FEBASI (Federazione Bande Siciliane), da due anni si forma una vera e propria famiglia di cornisti provenienti da tutte le parti d'Italia e dall'estero in una cornice stupenda che è quella del paesaggio etneo tra boschi e terra vulcanica.
Quest'anno ci saranno grandi ospiti internazionali tra cui Hervè Joulain (primo corno solista della Orchestre Nationale de France) Guglielmo Pellarin (primo corno solista dell'Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia), Giovanni Hoffer (3 corno del teatro comunale di Bologna e Jazzista Internazionale), Angelo Bonaccorso (3 corno del Teatro Massimo V.Bellini di Catania) e il direttore d'orchestra Antonino Manuli. Qui potrete vedere il loro video di invito al Festival:
IL PROGRAMMA
Sarà un programma ricco di eventi e manifestazioni a partire dal concerto di inaugurazione che entrerà nella storia del Festival! Sarà il concerto da solista effettuato dal mitico Giovanni Hoffer Jazz Horn accompagnato da una nota Big Band del territorio catanese la HJO Jazz Orchestra in un anfiteatro meraviglioso a Zafferana Etnea. È la prima volta che un cornista si esibirà da solista con una Jazz Big Band.
