Mexican Music for Horn at IHS 54
en españolby Keith Eitzen
The Río Bravo Horn Quartet is a group of professional hornists who together have a combined 107 years playing in Mexican orchestras, and we have joined to present Mexican music for the horn at the IHS 54 Symposium. Mexico has a long history of classical music and many full-time professional ensembles. When I arrived in Mexico in 1985, the hornists were almost all foreigners, but the horn has become much more popular for nationals in the last few years.
We are excited to share new recital music with the IHS.
The Río Bravo Horn Quartet members are (clockwise from top left):
• Claire Hellweg, principal horn in the Orquesta Sinfónica de Guanajuato and professor at the Universidad de Guanajuato;
• Jonathan Wilson, principal horn in the Orquesta Sinfónica de Aguascalientes and professor at the Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas;
• Daniel Flores, principal horn in the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa and professor at the Instituto Superior de Música del Estado de Veracruz; and,
• Keith Eitzen, second horn in the Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa and professor at the Universidad Veracruzana.
IHS 54 host Jennifer Sholtis contacted us about organizing participation from Mexico for the Symposium. Claire and I first talked about playing pieces for horn and piano. Then she suggested adding some friends to play the Chavez quartet. I didn’t know the work, but soon we had developed an entire Mexican-themed program.
Our recital will open with Jonathan performing the Rapsodia Bambuco No. 3, op. 6 no. 2, by the Colombian/Mexican composer and hornist Gabriel Soto Mendez who is best known as the arranger of Bésame Mucho as recorded by the Berlin Philharmonic horns.
Daniel will play a new work by the Xalapa composer Rodrigo Lomán entitled Ariles de aguas profundas, music in the traditional Son Veracruzana style.
Claire continues with the premiere of Scherzo for Horn and Piano by the Guanajuato composer Javier Compeán, whose music has been performed in Italy, Germany, Russia, Spain, France and throughout Latin America.
I will conclude the first half with En el único lugar, a Brazilian inspired piece by the jazz pianist and composer Edgar Dorantes.
The second half of the program will open with the Sonata for 4 Horns by Carlos Chavez. This challenging quartet was written in 1929 and is now out of print, so Jonathan generated parts from an old photocopy of the score. The work was very difficult for the first horn before the use of descants and triple horns, and Chavez later made a simpler version for 4 horns and orchestra in which he gave some of tricky horn lines to the woodwinds. It is an excellent quartet and deserves to be played more often.
To complete the program, we asked our friend Alfonso Cosme, co-principal horn in the Orquesta Filarmónica del Estado de Querétaro, to arrange 3 traditional Mexican songs for us. Knowing the full potential of the horn, Poncho wrote demanding versions of Malagueña Salerosa (as recorded by the Austin band Chingón), La Llorona and the Oaxacan tune Pinotepa.
We are thrilled to be able to share the rich musical culture of Mexico, and we hope to see many of you in Kingsville.
Música Mexicana para el Corno en IHS 54
por Keith Eitzen
El Cuarteto de Trompa Río Bravo es un grupo de cornistas, que juntos reúnen un total de 107 años de experiencia profesional en orquestas mexicanas y se han unido para presentar música mexicana para corno en el Simposio IHS 54. México tiene una larga historia de música clásica y muchos conjuntos profesionales de tiempo completo. Cuando llegué a México en 1985, los cornistas eran casi en su totalidad extranjeros, pero el panorama del corno realmente ha despegado en los últimos años. Estamos emocionados de compartir nueva música de recital con la IHS.
Los integrantes del Cuarteto de Trompa Río Bravo son:
- Claire Hellweg, Corno Principal de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Guanajuato y profesora de la Universidad de Guanajuato.
- Jonathan Wilson, Corno Principal de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Aguascalientes y profesor de la Universidad Autónoma de Zacatecas.
- Daniel Flores, Corno Principal de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa y profesor del Instituto Superior de Música del Estado de Veracruz.
- Keith Eitzen, Corno Segundo de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Xalapa y profesor de la Universidad Veracruzana.
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clockwise from the top left:
Claire Hellweg, Jonathan Wilson, Daniel Flores, Keith Eitzen |
La anfitriona de IHS 54, Jennifer Sholtis, se puso en contacto con nosotros para organizar la participación de México en el simposio. Claire y yo hablamos primero sobre tocar piezas para corno y piano. Luego sugirió agregar algunos amigos para tocar el cuarteto de Chávez. Yo no conocía la obra, pero pronto habíamos desarrollado todo un programa de temática mexicana.
Nuestro recital abrirá con Jonathan interpretando la Rapsodia Bambuco No. 3 Op 6 No. 2 del compositor y cornista colombiano/mexicano Gabriel Soto Méndez. Gabriel es mejor conocido como el arreglista de versión de Bésame Mucho grabado por los cornistas de la Filarmónica de Berlín.
Daniel interpretará una nueva obra del compositor xalapeño Rodrigo Lomán titulada Ariles de aguas profundas, música en el estilo tradicional de Son Veracruzana.
Claire continúa con el estreno de Scherzo para trompa y piano del compositor guanajuatense Javier Compeán, cuya música ha sido interpretada en Italia, Alemania, Rusia, España, Francia y toda América Latina.
Concluiré la primera parte con En el único lugar, una pieza de inspiración brasileña del compositor y pianista de jazz Edgar Dorantes.
Le sigue la Sonata para 4 Cornos de Carlos Chávez. El desafiante cuarteto fue escrito en 1929 y ahora está agotado. Jonathan nos hizo partichelas a partir de una fotocopia de la partitura. La obra fue muy difícil para el primer corno antes del uso de discantes y cornos triples, y Chávez luego hizo una versión más simple para 4 cornos y orquesta, donde le dio algunas líneas complicadas de los
cornos a los instrumentos de alientos madera. Es un excelente cuarteto y merece ser tocado más a menudo.
Y para completar el programa le pedimos a nuestro amigo Alfonso Cosme, Corno Co-Principal de la Orquesta Filarmónica del Estado de Querétaro, que nos arreglara tres canciones tradicionales mexicanas. Conociendo todo el potencial del corno, Poncho escribió versiones locas de la Malagueña Salerosa (la versión grabada por la banda Chingón), La Llorona y la melodía oaxaqueña Pinotepa.
Estamos encantados de poder compartir la rica cultura musical de México y esperamos ver a muchos de ustedes en Kingsville.
Nuevos caminos
em português
por Joshua Pantoja
Me considero un apasionado de la trompa francesa, más allá del estilo o el género que se esté interpretando; desde la música sinfónica hasta la música popular, mi interés personal siempre ha sido transmitir música del más alto nivel, sin importar el escenario, sacar la trompa del encasillamiento de un instrumento usado exclusivamente para la música sinfónica y permitirle al mundo verla como el instrumento versátil que en realidad es. Desde mis inicios en la música, he encontrado fascinante la posibilidad de tocar sin necesidad de que haya algo escrito, de crear desde adentro y desarrollar una idea a través de la creatividad. Mi admiración por grandes trompetistas como Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong , Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, me motivó a tratar de llevar a la trompa francesa su manera de tocar y así fue como empecé a explorar el mundo de la improvisación, de forma empírica e intuitiva, ya que mi enfoque principal era la música clásica y mi formación como músico de orquesta.
Hace cinco años decidí, por fin, comenzar a darle forma a mi idea de usar la trompa dentro del jazz de una manera estructurada y es así como llegó a conocer a mi Profesor y amigo Julio “Julito” Alvarado, quien es uno de los trompetistas más reconocidos en Puerto Rico por su aporte al Jazz y la música caribeña. Con él comienzo mi proceso de aprendizaje formal del jazz y a la misma vez comienzo a indagar cómo podría compartir este conocimiento con los músicos de formación clásica, de una manera clara y que resulte familiar para aquellos que no han tenido la oportunidad de tener contacto con el mundo de la improvisación. De esta manera, surge la idea de escribir mi primer libro “From Classical to Jazz an Improvisation Method” donde recopilo ejercicios de práctica que he utilizado como herramientas de improvisación, presentadas en un lenguaje sencillo para intérpretes de cualquier instrumento. Está basado en diferentes escalas y acordes y las estructuras de estos, permitiendo el aprendizaje de estos recursos de manera progresiva, haciendo uso del círculo de cuartas. Como herramienta adicional, creé pistas individuales para cada ejercicio, que hacen este proceso de aprendizaje más divertido y completo ya que abre el oído a nuevas sonoridades. El libro aporta y enriquece las posibilidades creativas a la hora de improvisar, dándole al músico la libertad de crear sin necesidad de una partitura.
Músicos alrededor de todo el mundo han comenzado a buscar formas de diversificarse y han encontrado, para mi gran satisfacción, una posibilidad en mi libro. Hemos creado una comunidad a través del grupo de Facebook “From Classical to Jazz, an Improvisation Method” y de mi página web www.joshuapantoja.com, donde discutimos el libro, analizamos sus ejercicios y trabajamos estándares de jazz de manera sencilla. Además, he tenido el honor de visitar varias universidades en los Estados Unidos, he podido dictar clases magistrales virtuales y clases individuales, con el propósito de compartir todas estas herramientas con la mayor cantidad de músicos posibles, y cada vez son más las personas que reciben esta información y se despierta en ellos la inquietud de comenzar a explorar la improvisación como una posibilidad más dentro de su formación musical.
Quisiera cerrar, diciendo, que la música es un mundo infinito, donde el aprendizaje es ilimitado, y mientras más habilidades desarrollemos como músicos, más oportunidades tendremos a nivel profesional. Para mí el jazz ha sido una experiencia infinitamente enriquecedora, que ha abierto mi mente, ha expandido mi creatividad y mi manera de escuchar y disfrutar la música. Los invito a todos a redescubrirse, atreverse a experimentar y no ponerse límites.
Novos caminhos
por Joshua Pantoja
Considero-me um apaixonado pela trompa, para além do estilo ou género que está a ser executado; da música sinfônica à música popular, meu interesse pessoal sempre foi transmitir música do mais alto nível, não importa o cenário, tirar a trompa do escaninho de um instrumento usado exclusivamente para música sinfônica e permitir que o mundo a veja como o instrumento versátil que realmente é.
Desde o meu início na música, achei fascinante a possibilidade de tocar sem a necessidade de algo escrito, de criar a partir de dentro e desenvolver uma ideia através da criatividade. Minha admiração por grandes trompetistas como Dizzy Gillespie, Louis Armstrong, Wynton Marsalis, Arturo Sandoval, me motivou a tentar trazer seu jeito de tocar para a trompa e foi assim que comecei a explorar o mundo da improvisação, de forma empírica e intuitiva. , já que meu foco principal era a música clássica e minha formação como músico de orquestra.
Há cinco anos finalmente decidi começar a moldar minha ideia de usar a trompa no jazz de forma estruturada e foi assim que conheci meu professor e amigo Julio “Julito” Alvarado, que é um dos trompetistas. reconhecidos em Porto Rico por sua contribuição ao jazz e à música caribenha. Com ele inicio o meu processo de aprendizagem formal do jazz e ao mesmo tempo começo a investigar como poderia partilhar este conhecimento com músicos de formação clássica, de uma forma clara e familiar a quem não teve a oportunidade de ter contacto com ele .mundo da improvisação. Desta forma, surge a ideia de escrever o meu primeiro livro "Do Clássico ao Jazz um Método de Improvisação", onde compilou exercícios práticos que tenho utilizado como ferramentas de improvisação, apresentados numa linguagem simples para intérpretes de qualquer instrumento. Baseia-se em diferentes escalas e acordes e suas estruturas, permitindo o aprendizado desses recursos progressivamente, fazendo uso do círculo de quartas.
Como ferramenta adicional, criei faixas individuais para cada exercício, o que torna esse aprendizado mais divertido e completo, pois abre o ouvido para novos sons. O livro oferece e enriquece as possibilidades criativas na hora de improvisar, dando ao músico a liberdade de criar sem a necessidade de partitura.
Músicos de todo o mundo começaram a procurar maneiras de se expandir e encontraram, para minha grande satisfação, uma possibilidade em meu livro. Criamos uma comunidade através do grupo do Facebook “Do Clássico ao Jazz um Método de Improvisação” e do meu site www.joshuapantoja.com, onde discutimos o livro, analisamos os seus exercícios e trabalhamos os standards do jazz de uma forma simples. Além disso, tive a honra de visitar várias universidades nos Estados Unidos, pude dar master classes virtuais e aulas individuais, com o objetivo de compartilhar todas essas ferramentas com o maior número possível de músicos e cada vez mais pessoas estão recebendo Essas informações despertam neles a preocupação de começar a explorar a improvisação como mais uma possibilidade dentro de sua formação musical.
Gostaria de encerrar dizendo que a música é um mundo infinito, onde o aprendizado não tem limites, e quanto mais habilidades desenvolvermos como músicos, mais oportunidades teremos em nível profissional. Para mim, o jazz foi uma experiência infinitamente enriquecedora que abriu minha mente, expandiu minha criatividade e minha maneira de ouvir e curtir música. Convido todos vocês a se redescobrirem, ousar experimentar e não se limitar.
Dauprat: Music for Horn
by David Fliri
About four years ago, I got the offer and invitation to record a CD. I quickly realized that I wanted to contribute a recording of rare repertoire by unknown composers who aren’t recognized enough today, and which would be interesting for the horn community. I already knew about Louis-François Dauprat’s sextet and his method book, but while researching his life and musical career, I read about his other works and found most of the manuscripts in the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. After lots of researching, editing, rehearsing, and recording, finally, in December 2021, our CD Dauprat: Music for Horn was released. Covid gave us some trouble as we had to postpone our recording session several times, but eventually we managed to finalize our work. So, I am now very pleased to present the CD to the International Horn Society.
At this point, I want to give special thanks to my dear colleagues and friends Wolfgang Brunner, Erik Košak, Gabriel Stiehler, and Markus Hauser, not only for their wonderful playing but also for their encouraging and inspiring contribution to this adventurous project. We were extremely fortunate to be able to perform on an original horn by Lucien Joseph Raoux (circa 1817) and on copies according to Lausmann and Raoux, replicated by Andreas Jungwirth. These were the perfect instruments for the project as Dauprat himself won a cor solo made by Raoux as the Premier Prix at the Paris Conservatoire in 1797. This very instrument is currently on display in the Musée de la Musique in Paris. Later, he also worked with the Raoux family to further develop the horn. Also for our recording, Wolfgang Brunner played on a fortepiano after Conrad Graf (circa 1830), replicated by Robert Brown.
Unfortunately the works for horn by Louis-François Dauprat are almost completely forgotten today. In my point of view, they are jewels of chamber music of the time, not only because of their enormous virtuosity but especially because of the cantabile in the horn parts. His works also cover a very important time in the development of the horn. His writing for horns contains many chromatic lines, unusual for the era; and the works for horns using different crooks are particularly interesting. This is still unusual today but very exciting, mostly in terms of sound. I have re-edited most of the scores and they will be released soon.
Louis-François Dauprat can be seen as the pioneer of the Parisian horn tradition. His compositions move stylistically between the classical and romantic periods. In addition to operas and symphonies, he composed an entire series of works for solo horns: horn duets, horn trios, horn quartets, horn sextets, horn with string quartet, and many more. For horn players, and for understanding the interpretation of works by Dauprat and his contemporaries, the Méthode de cor alto et cor basse (Paris, 1824) is particularly significant. Its 47 articles, 12 studies, and over 700 exercises illuminate a wide range of pedagogical topics. No comparable work to this extent and of this detailed description was ever written before or for some time after the publication of Dauprat’s Method. Thus, it surely occupies a special position in the development of pedagogy. Before Dauprat, the horn schools mainly described the technical aspects of horn playing. Dauprat, on the other hand, describes in his method all aspects of technical and musical natural horn playing (divided into high and low horn) and, in addition, there are hints for composers and teachers. Above all, the sound aesthetics of the different crooks, the nearly fully-chromatic way of playing with the help of hand technique, ornamentation ideas, and performance tips are explained. Dauprat pushed the virtuosity of horn playing to a level that had been unrivalled until then. This is particularly pronounced in the works for horn and piano (Solo de Cor op.11, no.3, and Sonata op.2), as well as the Duet (op.13, no.6). In addition to its sonata form, the key of F major and the powerful opening motif, Dauprat’s Sonata op.2 bears another similarity to the very well-known horn sonata by Beethoven (1800, op.17): the piano part is also very virtuosic, employed as an equal partner in the musical interplay. In addition, the horn does not play with the crook in the key of the work, as was usually the case until then, but often in other keys. In the Solo de Cor (op.16, no.2), for example, it uses an E crook but never plays in the key of E major itself. The opening andante theme is in A major (notated F major) as is the following minor section in A minor (notated F minor). This was possible due to the excellent natural horn technique which reached its zenith at the time. The different muted or open tones also produce very different timbres, which disappear completely on the valve horn. Dauprat demands adventurous combinations in the Duets for Two Horns (op.14) and the Quartets for Four Horns (op.8). From the latter, we find in Quartet no.1 in G minor and G major that the 1st horn plays in G, the 2nd horn in F, the 3rd horn in E-flat and E, and the 4th horn in C. This poses particular challenges for the players, but also gives the work a very special charm.
We had great fun preparing this repertoire, and we hope that it encourages many fellow horn players to discover these works, the natural horn, and, more generally, this great era of horn playing and composition in France.
Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/album/0IuC7dqh8dTbxsHCj4Ibka
iTunes: https://music.apple.com/us/album/dauprat-music-for-horn/1592304326
https://www.brilliantclassics.com/articles/d/dauprat-music-for-horn/
David Fliri studied at the Mozarteum Salzburg and at the Hochschule Franz Liszt in Weimar. He has performed as solo horn in various ensembles, including the Mozarteum Orchestra, the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, the Gustav Mahler Academy, the Camerata Salzburg and the Staatskapelle Weimar. As a soloist, he has played with orchestras across Europe and abroad on both natural and modern horn, performing concertos by Telemann, Mozart, Strauss, and many others. https://davidfliri.com
Uzbekistan
by Shahriyor Berdiyev
In Uzbekistan, culture and art are becoming more and more a part of everyday life in a diverse society. The cultivation of interest towards classical music is evident in Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, where many orchestras give regular concerts. Every weekend, you may hear concerts presented by symphony orchestras, chamber orchestras, military brass bands, or opera companies.
Prominent professional musical organizations in Uzbekistan:
National Symphony Orchestra
State Symphony Orchestra
Turkiston Chamber Orchestra
Chamber Orchestra of Young Talents
Soloists of Uzbekistan Chamber Orchestra
Navoi Opera Theatre
Opera House “Operetta”
Military Band of the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Uzbekistan
Military Band of the Border Troops
Such a vibrant concert culture creates a demand for horn players capable of performing musical masterpieces of different eras and genres. Accordingly, there are many music schools in Uzbekistan where students learn the basics of music from an early age. Most music schools in Uzbekistan were founded during the second half of 20th century, beginning during the Second World War, as many Soviet professors migrated east, including several music teachers who eventually would raise the next generation of musicians in Uzbekistan.
Prominent music schools in Uzbekistan:
The music school named after Reinhold Glière
The music school named after V.A. Uspensky
Republican Specialised Musical Academic Lyceum under the National Guard of Uzbekistan
The Andijan Boarding School of Music
The early center of brass players was the R.S.M.A.L.N.G.U. (locally called “Petrovka”) which had a program only for wind instruments included in the military band. The school provided housing in a dormitory, and most students there were talented children who were left orphaned after the war. In later years, potential students were taken directly from orphanages to provide them with better shelter along with education and musical training. Many of those orphan children would eventually become successful musicians and teachers themselves—including my primary horn teacher, Mirjon Mardonovich.
Notable horn teachers at R.S.M.A.L.N.G.U., 1960s—80s:
Emelyanov Vladimir, St. Petersburg Conservatory
Rudenko Victor, Moscow Conservatory
Pavlovsky Ivan Vasilievich, Moscow Conservatory
The three of these men not only provided valuable horn lessons but also conducted wind bands and orchestras in Tashkent. Their teaching styles were focused on achieving a singing and warm sound produced free of unnecessary tension. Radik Safarov was one of the well-known students of these horn teachers who continued this direction of focusing on beautiful sound qualities and a cantabile singing style. He taught at the R.S.M.A.L.N.G.U. and the Tashkent Conservatory from the 1970s—90s as well as performing in the National Symphony Orchestra.
At the same time, starting in the 1970s, other music schools in Uzbekistan began developing their wind programs, and many graduates from the R.S.M.A.L.N.G.U. school were employed as their teachers, including Yusuf Niyazov and Mirjon Mardonovich. The former started teaching in the Glière music school and later in the Uspensky music school from the 1980s to the present. Both are also faculty horn teachers at the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan.
Why Uzbekistan music schools are named after Reinhold Glière (1967) and Viktor Alexandrovich Uspensky (1949): Both renowned composers contributed to the preservation of Uzbek folklore by means of transcription of oral traditions into standard notation, as well as teaching composition to the Uzbek musicians and composing music for operas which depict traditional Uzbek stories and tales.
To maintain motivation among music students in Uzbekistan, there are two main regional competitions. San'at g'unchalari for the primary through secondary school students, and the Regional Competition of Talented Musicians for high school students where first place in the competition entitles the winner to free education at the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan.
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| Horn section of the State Symphony Orchestra (l-r): Rustam Ohunov (low horn), Elbek Salimov (associate principal horn), Shahriyor Berdiyev (second horn), Sarvar Khudaiberdiev (principal horn) |
The Conservatory of Uzbekistan provides undergraduate, graduate, and doctoral programs. Founded in 1936, it occupies an important place in the music education and the cultural life of the country. Regularly hosting many concerts, the Conservatory stage provides the platform for young musicians to develop performing skills. After graduating from the conservatory, many orchestral musicians start working as artists in symphony or opera orchestras, teaching in a music school or a combination of these. It is also not uncommon that graduates from music schools and conservatories go abroad to study or work. Horn players from Uzbekistan can be heard in orchestras in Russia, China, and Malaysia.
Ongoing efforts are being made in Uzbekistan to foster interest in classical music, including the horn repertoire. In recent concert seasons, for example, one could hear from the stages of music halls horn concertos composed by Strauss, Glière, and Mozart performed by Uzbek hornists. In addition to concerts by local orchestras, Russian orchestras such as the Moscow Virtuosos, the Mariinsky Opera Orchestra, the St. Petersburg Philharmonic Orchestra, the Bolshoi Theatre, among many others, often tour through Tashkent. Such concerts are often accompanied by various meetings and master classes. Similarly, Uzbek orchestras regularly perform overseas. In recent years, they have visited Latvia, Kazakhstan, Russia, Georgia, Kuwait, The United States, United Arab Emirates, and South Korea.
Horn players in Uzbekistan play on various models of Schmid, Yamaha, and Holton instruments.
Shahriyor Berdiyev was born in Uzbekistan in 1993. He graduated from the State Conservatory of Uzbekistan with his bachelor’s degree in Horn Performance in 2015 and his master’s degree in Horn Performance in 2019. He is currently second horn in the State Symphony Orchestra, horn teacher at the R.S.M.A.L.N.G.U., and conductor of the student wind orchestra at the Uspensky Music School.
Translated and edited by Amir Sharipov.
Have Horn, Will Travel
by Chris Castellanos
Hello, I’m Chris Castellanos, and I am a travelholic. Some call us road warriors, others call us crazy. I love the travelling aspect of my job just as much as I enjoy the playing. I love meeting new people, playing new venues, the air travel, car rides, the after-concert hangouts, and everything that comes with being a touring musician! Of course, it’s not always smooth sailing, and there’s a lot that goes into making your travel a better experience. With that, I’ll let you know the kinds of things that I personally do to make road life as good an experience as possible.
First, since we are all musicians, it should come as no surprise that my #1 rule for travel is to make sure that I am giving myself the best chance for success on stage at all costs. This means, whether it’s an audition, a one-time gig, or a full-blown tour, I make sure that my travel allows me to be punctual, comfortable, and as stress-free as possible. No, I don’t mean that every flight is first-class or that every hotel is the Four Seasons; but I do mean that taking a flight that departs at 6:00 a.m. and has a four-hour layover and which gets you to an engagement with only a few hours to spare is NOT worth saving a little bit of money. Why in the world would one jeopardize months of preparation for an audition? or sacrifice sounding anything less than their best on a rehearsal or show just to save some money on a flight?
It’s with this in mind that for a morning or early-evening engagement, if possible, I will almost always opt to fly in the night before. Even if this costs me a hotel for the night, I rest easier knowing that I am there already and don’t have to worry about unforeseen issues travelling on the day of the scheduled event. If my engagement is in the evening, I arrive as early as my schedule allows me that day. Since I live on the west coast, I almost always opt for a red-eye flight (an overnight flight usually leaving between 11:30 p.m. and 1:00 a.m.). I know that this is unpopular for many, but red-eye flights put you where you need to be early the next morning while building in time for any unexpected circumstances. I can get to my hotel, check in early, get some rest, and have plenty of time to get ready and prepare for whatever I’m there to do that night. Also, red-eye flights are almost always the last flight of the day, which means you can show up to the airport later and not worry about big lines and crowded terminals…and red-eye flights are almost always cheaper as well. Of course, if I’m flying east to west, there are no red-eye flights, so I’ll either take the last flight the night before (and bear the added hotel cost), or I’ll take the first flight the next morning.
I could write an entire article just on how to take advantage of airline frequent-flyer programs. As one who has flown around 150K miles annually for close to 20 years (and who is a proud charter member of Delta’s top-tier Diamond Medallion Program), one could say I’m a bit addicted. In short, I want to highly recommend that you join frequent flyer programs and start reaping the benefits that are available to you. If you take more than five round-trip flights per year, you should consider sticking to a dedicated airline and achieving status on that airline. Apply for a credit card that entitles you to benefits with the airline of your choice, such as free TSA PreCheck or Clear memberships, free checked bags, companion tickets, bonus airline miles, and maybe even airline lounges. If you have even the lowest tier status on most airlines, you are entitled to perks such as free first-class upgrades, priority seating, and access to a dedicated phone line that will put you well ahead of the general masses when it comes to getting anything solved if something goes wrong with your flight. For me, these conveniences are crucial on any trip.
Hotels, on the other hand, are somewhat less of a priority for me, where I am not quite as loyal. When booking a place to stay, I almost always opt for a website like Priceline or Kayak. I did have top-tier status with a major hotel chain for a few years, and while it was nice to accrue points towards stays, get a few free bottles of water and the (very) occasional room upgrade, the extra price just wasn’t worth it to me. The bottom line is that while a flight delay, a luggage faux pas, or an insanely long layover can totally derail a travel day, once I’m at the hotel, I have no need for extra perks. If the hotel is clean and the bed is decent, I am satisfied. I usually choose 3-star and above with at least a 7.5 rating on Priceline. On occasions that I need more room or more privacy than a hotel offers, I’ll look at Airbnb.
The last thing I’ll say about travel is regarding car rental. I absolutely loathe car rental facilities and hate arriving somewhere after a long flight just to get on the crowded bus to the rental agencies and wait in a long line to be upsold on insurance and have hundreds of dollars put on hold on my credit card all for a strange-smelling, overpriced car. Now, I only rent cars on Turo. On my last trip, I got a brand new fully-loaded Audi Q5 SUV for the same price as regular SUVs from the car rental companies. I worked directly from the Turo app, chose the insurance rate (purchasing insurance not required), and was in direct contact with the person from whom I rented. I appreciate that I just showed up at passenger pick-up where someone met me, looked at my license, and gave me the key . . . and I was on my way. The process is the same for returning the car: I just set up a time to meet them at passenger drop-off and handed them the keys. I even get 500 Delta miles per rental!
Now that we’ve got travel issues out of the way, there is that little thing called practice. I live by the 12-hour rule on the road: I don’t let 12 hours go by without putting the horn to my face. Though this may seem a little obsessive, especially on long travel days, it’s doable and, more importantly, necessary to keep in shape for my shows with Boston Brass (which are particularly taxing). I’ll admit that I am not a huge fan of practice mutes, but they are a necessity on the road (although I use them primarily as a last resort). I own no fewer than 7 different brands of practice mutes, but I have 3 favorites. First, I prefer to play with my Balu practice mute. It is quiet and more in tune than most of the others. But it is so beautiful that I can’t just throw it in my luggage and not worry about it being damaged like I can with my Yamaha Silent Brass. For longer tours, I will almost always have the Silent Brass with me because it is quiet, fairly well in tune outside of the extreme registers, and as durable as a tank (so I can just toss it in my checked luggage if I want). If luggage space is my concern for a short trip, I will bring my Okura practice mute. It’s not the same quality as the Balu or the Silent Brass, but it fits in my bell (even with the bell detached in the case) and is a real space saver that gets the job done for short practice sessions. While I use practice mutes in hotel rooms, in airports, and even on airplanes, I do everything in my power to practice without them. Most of the time, I will ask to use the conference room at a hotel, but if it is not an option, I will often practice in my rental car. It may be a bit cramped and uncomfortable, but I can still get time in on the horn with no mute.
While travel is a huge part of my life—and I wouldn’t trade my job with Boston Brass for any job in the world—it would be hard on home life if I wasn’t careful. For this reason, my colleagues and I have a rule of no more than ten days in a row on the road (unless we are out of the country). Typically, we are out for three days to one week at a time and then home for the same amount of time. At home, I want to spend as much time with my wife and two kids as possible, and I feel unbelievably lucky to make a living doing what I love and then to come home to give an equal amount of undivided attention to my family. This means that my daily practice sessions and arranging work happen before the kids are up, while they are at school, or after everyone is asleep so that I don’t take away from family time. On the occasion that I do take work outside of the Boston Brass, I make sure that it is something that is either very musically satisfying or something that I am performing with my wife (who is also a very busy musician). My serious advice here is that if you intend to travel or already do travel for a living, having a partner who is understanding of what it is that you do and why it’s important to you is incredibly important. They must realize, and you must be upfront about the fact, that there will be holidays missed and special occasions apart. In turn, it’s your duty to do everything you can to turn those into small bumps instead of large ones. For me, this means that if I’ve got to spend extra money on a flight to get home for a day or two between performances and see my wife, even if it would be easier and cheaper to just stay out on the road, I do it. If I’m leaving for a week and my 8-year-old has school the next morning, we stay up for a special night of movies and snacks and let him be a little late the next day. If I must burn some miles or cash to buy an extra plane ticket and a bigger hotel room to bring my 16-year-old daughter on the road so we can spend extra time together, I do it!
I’ll leave you with this in closing: being a musician for a living is a privilege. It’s a privilege that we earn with hard work and sacrifice. It’s difficult enough to put all the blood, sweat, and tears into winning a job, performing at your highest level, and rounding it all out by being a good colleague. Do yourself a favor and don’t make things harder by taking terrible flights, staying at poor-quality hotels, and being miserable in your travels just to save money. Life is about more than just the performance. At the end of the day, you will be much happier, play better, and have more memorable experiences if you travel right!
Simple Gifts, Boston Brass
Allemande from Partita no. 1, J.S. Bach
Job Insecurity
by Ugo Merlone
Ugo Merlone, professor of Conflict Management and Negotiation and Strategic Decision Economics at the University of Turin and an amateur horn player, and Irene Alfarone, a former student of his and a violin graduate, have just published an article in the journal Psychology of Music on the effects of Covid-19 on musicians' job insecurity. They collected responses from more than 200 Italian musicians, and the analyses revealed that musicians felt greater job insecurity after the pandemic than before. On the positive side, however, the motivation to continue their artistic careers prevented musicians from quitting their jobs even after the pandemic. The findings shed light on the difficult employment situation of musicians and encourage constructive dialogue on how to address this issue in a post-pandemic scenario. The article is available at:
https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/03057356221081553?journalCode=poma (Click the PDF prompt to access the research.)
The authors are happy to provide further details upon request. Additionally, the authors wonder whether it would be of interest to some to extend the research more specifically to the greater horn community. If anyone would be interested in focusing the study on horn-players from around the world with the goal of submitting the findings for publication in The Horn Call, please contact Professor Merlone at ugo.merlone@unito.it.
