in English

 en Español

Por Orlando Afanador Florez

Os materiais didáticos e pedagógicos para o ensino da trompa são diversos e com diferentes abordagens, de acordo com o nível técnico para o qual foram desenvolvidos. O presente texto descreve como o livro “Prática Diária: Exercícios Técnicos para o Aprendizado da Trompa” foi concebido e aplicado como material pedagógico no ensino da Trompa dentro do programa Núcleos Estaduais de Orquestras Juvenis e Infantis da Bahia NEOJIBA, na cidade de Salvador, no Brasil, e como ele tem sido usado para definir aspectos técnicos como: desenvolvimento de som, articulação, centralização de som, flexibilidade e diferentes modelos rítmicos de escalas maiores, que permitem a unificação de critérios de ensino dentro do programa. 

Este livro define exercícios técnicos específicos para os níveis: inicial e intermediário; que podem ser articulados junto a outros métodos de reconhecidos autores para permitir o avanço técnico-instrumental dos alunos que fazem parte do programa nas diferentes orquestras e núcleos de formação.

Desde a minha chegada ao programa, venho trabalhando no desenvolvimento da escola de trompa. Um dos objetivos é que mais crianças e jovens conheçam e executem o instrumento. Por conta disto, surgiu a ideia de ter um material pedagógico que pudesse ser referência nas diferentes aulas de técnica instrumental, nos diferentes níveis do programa, o que unificaria os critérios no ensino do instrumento.

Inicialmente os exercícios técnicos foram explicados oralmente; porém, a escritura destes exercícios facilitou a sua compreensão e prática, por parte dos estudantes. Conforme o desenvolvimento das aulas foi acontecendo, estes exercícios cromáticos e de escalas maiores, junto com outros livros de prática, se tornaram parte fundamental das aulas de instrumento dos alunos do programa.

Com a escritura destes exercícios, os alunos tinham o material de prática pessoal e criou-se um guia de técnica elementar do programa, que permitiu avanço na execução do instrumento.

Desta forma, surgiu o livro “Prática diária: exercícios técnicos para o aprendizado da trompa”. Este se converte no principal método usado no programa NEOJIBA para o ensino do instrumento.

Link de YouTube:

Exemplo de Aula.
Ensemble de Trompas do NEOJIBA
Ensemble de Trompas do NEOJIBA

CAPA DO LIVRO

EXERCÍCIO DE DESENVOLVIMENTO DO SOM

EXERCÍCIO DE FLEXIBILIDADE

by Caiti Beth McKinney

Hello everyone! My name is Caiti Beth McKinney, and it is my honor to share a new resource with you all—REPresent: Repertoire for Horn by Underrepresented Composers. Focused entirely on showcasing works by historically underrepresented composers such as women and people of color, this catalogue includes solo works in addition to chamber music for brass and wind quintets, violin trios, horn ensembles, and everything in between. There are hundreds of pieces of wonderful music you may or may not have heard before, with links to composers’ websites, recordings, and places to purchase (where available).

My passion for promoting diverse musical voices began as a slow burn. In the 2017-2018 school year, I was planning my first required doctoral recital when I realized I had never performed a piece of music for solo horn composed by a woman. Instead, my undergraduate and master’s recitals had been filled with standard works (the Strauss concertos, etc.). I began researching online and stumbled upon Lin Foulk Baird’s website of Works for Horn by Female Composers, which is an incredible resource! However, I came to the realization that, at the time, there was nowhere to easily find pieces by diverse composers, so I decided to begin my own project, purely for my own reference.

I began a spreadsheet to keep track of all the pieces I was coming across, including information such as the length of the work, instrumentation, links to recordings and vendors, and any other details I thought were important. To find new (to me) compositions, I used a mix of formal and informal resources; for example, I would scroll through Spotify playlists such as “1200 Years of Woman Composers,” looking up every name and checking for compositions that included the horn. I also scoured print anthologies in my school’s library and searched name-by-name in websites such as the American Composers Alliance.

As the file grew and I shared it with studio-mates and other colleagues, word began to spread. I began receiving requests for help programming recitals from complete strangers looking to expand their repertoire, and a very dear friend of mine informed me that it was absolutely time to publish my work online; so, in 2021, REPresent: Repertoire for Horn by Underrepresented Composers was born.

I continue to update the catalogue as I learn of more composers and pieces of music and am always looking for leads and suggestions. If any readers know of any works I have missed, please feel free to reach out through the CONTACT link on my website. My work is not meant to be a destination; I hope that this tool will serve only as a starting point for performers, educators, and listeners who are interested in uplifting musical voices who deserve to be heard.

Dr. McKinney resides in South Florida where she regularly performs anything from symphonic works to jazz to new music. She is a sought-after teacher in the area as well.

In English

em português

por Jorge Montoya y Gabriella Ibarra

-Concierto para Corno y orquesta  Op. 37 del maestro Eduardo Alonso Crespo-

En memoria del legendario Myron Bloom, el maestro argentino Eduardo Crespo ha compuesto este concierto para Scott Bohannon, cornista principal de la Orquesta Sinfónica de Entre Ríos y quien fuera alumno y amigo del maestro Bloom. Como homenaje el compositor plasmó en este hermoso concierto  lo que fueran los recuerdos vividos de Bohannon junto a su maestro Bloom.

La obra surge en 2019 como un encargo para la OSER. Durante el proceso de composición el maestro Myron Bloom fallece, por lo cual el segundo movimiento es una elegía a su memoria, al igual que lo hizo Anton Bruckner con su séptima sinfonía dedicando su segundo movimiento a la memoria de Richard Wagner.

La obra se estructuró en los tres movimientos tradicionales de un concierto, donde el compositor trabajó estrechamente con Bohannon en la definición del carácter de cada uno de ellos. El primer movimiento rescata el carácter heroico que asociamos con buena parte del repertorio sinfónico para corno. Por lo tanto, el primer movimiento explora los rasgos épicos habitualmente asociados a este instrumento y así, luego de una breve presentación del material básico, el movimiento se lanza al desarrollo de una intrépida marcha de carácter heroico en la que el solista avanza a través de las múltiples vicisitudes que se presentan en el camino, interactuando fluidamente con la orquesta. 

Para el segundo movimiento en particular, Scott quería rendir homenaje a su maestro, de allí que el segundo movimiento sea una elegía, un poema sin palabras in memoriam de Myron Bloom, el legendario cornista estadounidense fallecido en 2019 y quien fue probablemente el más famoso exponente de la historia reciente del instrumento como solista de la Orquesta de Cleveland bajo George Szell y de la Orquesta de París bajo Daniel Baremboim. Esta elegía sigue el arco dramático habitualmente asociado al réquiem, es decir la secuencia de tristeza, increpación contra el destino y eventual consuelo que conforman los distintos estadios del duelo. 

Finalmente, el tercer movimiento en forma de rondó, restablece la atmósfera vital, esta vez con ritmo de danza en tiempo ternario, un rasgo típico de múltiples conciertos para corno, desde Mozart a Strauss. En cierto sentido es la recuperación de la asociación ancestral del corno con la caza a caballo. De allí el ritmo ternario que se asocia al galope equino, sólo que en este caso se trata de una cabalgata criolla. Así el solista va galopando a través de intrincados temas de fuerte impronta americana y exigente virtuosismo para buscar concluir el concierto con luminosa asertividad.

Ante tal experiencia creativa cargada a su vez de tanta emotividad, se le preguntó al compositor:  

“¿Tiene pensado futuramente escribir un segundo concierto para corno?”

A lo que el maestro Crespo respondió:

“El corno es un instrumento que me fascina, tanto como miembro de la orquesta en obras sinfónicas y como solista en conciertos. Es un instrumento irreemplazable que mezcla aspectos emocionales muy variados y contrastantes, desde el llamado épico hasta la más profunda intimidad. Creo que todo compositor que se precie se sentirá muy atraído por el instrumento, de modo que es muy probable que algún segundo concierto esté gestándose en mi horizonte. Además, mi experiencia con Scott Bohannon fue extremadamente enriquecedora para mí, ya que se trata de un cornista excepcional, de primerísimo nivel, que inspira a seguir componiendo para el instrumento.”

El estreno mundial fue celebrado el 19 de marzo del año en curso en el Teatro “Tres de Febrero”-Paraná, Argentina.

Para mayor información acerca del maestro Crespo y su obra les invitamos a visitar su página web: https://www.eduardoalonsocrespo.net

Gracias a Jorge Montoya e Israel Oliveira por la colaboración para esta nueva edición de las Noticias desde Latinoamérica.

One is not likely to truly appreciate the value of a professional union until one works outside of a union. In Ukrainian orchestras, there are rarely days off, and you can forget about resting your chops. There have been times when I have played 4 or 5 different concerts in the same week, but there is never a shortage of classical music in Ukraine. In fact, in Lviv alone—a city of just over 700,00 people—there are six full-time orchestras. My name is Linnie Hostetler, and I’m the principal hornist of the Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra of Ukraine. I want to tell you about my beloved Ukraine through my musical and cultural experiences over the past 5 years.

I will never forget the night I arrived in Ukraine. It was the first day of January—not hard to forget! Of course, they were having a cold spell that week, so high the temperature was around -7°F. But Ukraine is not a frozen, Siberian-like tundra (contrary to popular belief). Its climate is like that of the American northeast. Think New York. I didn’t know a single word in Ukrainian or how to read the Cyrillic alphabet when I arrived. While I learned the language very quickly, I can honestly say that there was no shortage of failures along the way. My first meal in Ukraine was pasta with ketchup because I couldn’t read the product labels and just chose a jar with tomatoes on it, assuming it was tomato sauce. I quickly developed the personal motto, “Never assume in Ukraine!” Learning from mistakes is the fastest way to learn (as we all know), but it’s not always enjoyable.

Musically, Lviv has been a dream for me. Fresh out of college—after years and years of practicing orchestral excerpts—I crossed off almost all the major symphonic works on my bucket list in a five-year period. I have played all the Beethoven symphonies, all of Brahms’ symphonic works, almost all of Richard Strauss’ tone poems, four Bruckner symphonies, many ballets (including Prokofiev’s Romeo and Juliet and Stravinsky’s ballets), and Shostakovich’s 5th symphony, among many others. Basically, I have played through The Thompson Edition but in real life! I’ve also toured with the orchestra to ten European countries and to China. It has truly been the experience of a lifetime. 

Lviv National Philharmonic Orchestra Horn Section: (left to right, back row) Anya Zhovtobryuk, Oleg Bezushkevych, Andriy Mamorskiy, Zoltan Bodnar (left to right, front row) Roman Savin, Vasyl Havryliv, Ruslan Litvinchuk, Linnie Hostetler

Ukraine has many thriving cities where music and art fill the streets. Many well-known composers have deep ties to Ukraine, including Gershwin, Stravinsky, Tchaikovsky, and Prokofiev. These composers (or their ancestors) and others were born in the nation of Ukraine—and many of them studied in Russia. Each region of the country claims to have the best coffee in Ukraine, and coffee drinking is an essential part of the culture. The food is unbelievable and has richer flavors than anything I’d ever tasted in the United States. Ukrainians are excellent cooks, and I’m always amazed at their ability to make something дуже смачне—“really tasty”—out of what seems to be nothing. Ukraine’s geography is very diverse, with the Carpathian Mountain range in the west, plains and farmland in the center, and the Azov and Black Seas to the south. One popular question related to vacationing in Ukraine is, “Mountains or sea, which do you prefer?” But more than any of Ukraine’s assets, the people, above all, have won my heart. My friends and colleagues in Lviv are the most generous, sincere, and proud people I have ever encountered. They love their country, and their nationalistic pride is awe-inspiring. They are proud of their heritage and their culture, and they are also very proud of how much they have overcome to be where they are now. I’ve always been a little envious of Ukrainian culture. It’s hard, as an American, to imagine having traditions, recipes, and family land all over 1,000 years old. My friends often ask me, “What is American culture like?” or “How would you describe American food?” It’s not easy for me to answer them considering their history.

One way Ukraine differs noticeably from other cultures is their “we’re-all-in-this-together” mentality—as opposed to an individualistic mentality. They never leave anyone behind; they share all the resources they possess to help each other, and family is more important than anything. Ukraine has influenced the way I think about the future, because now the question in my mind is “What can I do for us?” instead of “What can I do for me?”

Coming from a privileged nation and having all one could ever want or need, I can assure you that many of us take things for granted. Ukrainians always give the best of what they have to their guests, even if it’s their own bed. (Pro-tip: Never go to someone’s house empty-handed because you will not leave empty-handed!) Ukrainian people are very straight-forward. They will tell you exactly what they think, right to your face. At first, it was a little off-putting, but then I realized how refreshing it is not to hide your emotions or put on a front. I think this honesty is one of the reasons Ukrainians have deep, real relationships, and their unity is long-standing proof that together they can overcome anything.

As we all know by now, Ukraine is experiencing an injustice that is shocking the world. Many of us feel helpless, not knowing what to do or how to help as we watch these events unfold on our television sets from the comfort of our homes. There are plenty of ways to give to support Ukraine. Their greatest needs right now are food, water, sanitary products, and body armor for the civilians who are joining the fight for freedom. Most of all, keep praying for Ukraine, for the safety of its citizens and the strength of its army. I can’t wait to return to the country that I love, to make music with my colleagues, and to hug my dear friends. They’ve overcome so much already, and I’m confident that their victory lies ahead.  

Слава Україні! Героям слава! 

Glory to Ukraine! Glory to heroes!

(Editor’s Note: Linnie has created a fund-raiser from which she immediately sends funds to families in need and charities on the ground. If you might wish to contribute through a member of our generous horn community who knows and loves this nation, the link is: https://www.facebook.com/donate/326625235948824/?fundraiser_source=external_url)