Austin Larson
Any horn players who are interested in how to prepare for solo competitions would do well to read the excellent advice of our interviewee of the month, the talented, articulate, and all-around nice guy Austin Larson (first prizewinner in both the University and Professional divisions of the International Horn Competition of America as well as Assistant Principal/Utility Horn in the Colorado Symphony.) Austin has also been the recipient of several honors from the IHS, winning the Mansur and Hawkins Awards in 2012, and the Solo Competition in 2011. Happy reading! -Kristina Mascher-Turner
- What is the most challenging piece you have ever been asked to present in a solo competition?
Othmar Schoek Concerto, which I had to play for the final rounds of both the Jeju International Brass Competition in Korea and the International Horn Competition of America just this past summer. I found the piece both very physically strenuous and musically awkward. It is a very difficult piece to sell to the audience in a convincing fashion and from a technical standpoint, it's very user-unfriendly.
- How important a role does physical fitness play for you in your competition preparation? Do you run/swim/bike/do yoga etc.?
Being in good physical shape is very important to my preparation. I find that what I eat really effects my ability to perform. I generally minimize consumption of alcohol, caffeine, salty foods, fatty/fried food, and sweets. Hydration is also a huge factor in my ability to play so I take extra precaution to stay hydrated, especially when traveling. Since I usually eat pretty healthy, I don't change my diet before an audition or competition. I'm not an exercise nut but I also make sure to stay active by walking and biking on a daily basis.
- How, if at all, did your approach change in the lead-up to the IHCA University vs. Professional divisions? (i.e. what have you learned to do differently in the past few years?)
I've competed in the IHCA three times (2009, 2011, and 2015) and each was a very different experience. My first time was the summer after I graduated high school so I didn't really have much of a preparation plan, I just practiced rather haphazardly, ran through the rep a bunch, and that was about it. The second time, when I won the University Division, I was about 1/3 of the way to developing what is my current competition preparation plan. I was more patient with my woodshedding, more disciplined at making sure I had a passage the way I wanted it before continuing, and recorded myself much more consistently. However, I still didn't really have a plan in terms of managing my time and keeping track of my preparation progress throughout the process. The final time, I had a complete preparation plan and a chart to keep track of my progress, which is the same thing I do in auditions. I had all my music divided up into sections and kept a detailed record of what I had worked on so I could see very simply how to best approach each practice session. I also relied much more on singing and mental practice instead of just beating my face up.
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Austin Larson Plays Ketting
Ab Koster Warmup and Tips
After being asked to make a video including a short lesson and some exercises for the E-News Letter of the IHS, I considered the options and quickly knew what specific topics I would like to share.
During many years of giving masterclasses all over the world some (in my opinion) consistent shortcomings, repeatedly came along. Two of them I want to show you in this video:
1) The position of the hand in the bell, which is very important to develop a very good sound.
2) The way and timing of breathing before a first note to play.In the second part of the video I will show you my warming up exercises.
Warming up is a very important part of playing the horn. My warming up exercises are based on the basics of playing the horn: legato, scales, low register, high register, lip trills, long notes. But in a way that you never will hurt your embouchure. They take about 25 minutes. Try to do this early in the morning and you will feel fine for the whole day. Important is that you take a rest for at least 15 minutes after the warming up.
You can download the scores of the exercises from my website: www.ab-koster.de. Go to “Teaching“, then you will find them under "Exercises."
Hope you enjoy watching the video.
Best regards,
Ab Koster
Ab Koster Lesson and Warmup Video
IHS LA - Thank You!
Thank You!
Click to see the video
Break the Chain
by Bruce Richards
“Think Different” Apple computer’s famous slogan was, and is a symbol for doing things differently, and that is what I want audition takers to do. Regardless of the situation e.g. exam, recital, concert, audition, or competition you need to take a fresh look at your preparation to break the chain of actions, thoughts, or events that lead to performance anxiety.
Over the last few years I have been teaching at a new summer course in Spa, Belgium. The “Stage International de Musique en Province de Liège.” Aside from the normal teaching I have given master classes on breathing, but over time it seemed that more and more students asked my opinion, or asked for help with performance anxiety. As professor of horn at the Liège Royal Conservatory I have had many students ask for coaching, or help in this matter. The psychology of performance seems to be something that is often neglected.
So, this year I will be presenting a master class on performance anxiety. It is a subject that has fascinated me for a very long time. I have developed many different techniques which I have used with horn players, violinists, trombonists, and of course myself. The title of the master class is:
“Break the Chain”
If you can imagine a prisoner with a ball and chain attached to his leg. The ball keeps him from escaping. The ball is performance anxiety, and the links in the chain are forged by us one link at a time until we are attached to the ball and can’t escape.
One of the techniques that I will teach in the master class is called:
“How to format the hard drive”
With a computer we often have to create partitions in the hard drive. Essentially separating sections from each other. This protects you from trouble because you are only using one partition at a time. Taking an audition is the same as using your computer. You have programmed each excerpt and stored it in it’s own partition in your brain.
If you imagine the brain as a series of rooms (partitions) and each room has a name. e.g. Mahler 5, Tchaikovsky 5, Strauss Concerto no. 1, etc... Each room has a door. If the first piece I have to play is Mozart 4, I go to that door, open it and go in. I focus only on Mozart 4, and perform it. If the next piece is
Till Eulenspiegel I leave the Mozart room closing the door. Everything that happened during Mozart stays in that room. (errors, problems, accidents, etc...) I then go to the Till room and go in. I focus on Till, and perform it. Etc, etc... Visualisation is very important. The act of leaving the room means closing the door and moving on.
Only after the audition is over do I go back in to each room to analyse each performance. I write down all the details and decide if I need to simply correct some mistakes or completely “reformat” the partition relating to a particular excerpt. This technique can be applied to all types of performances. I found it an easy way to get back my focus, even in the middle of a concert. Break the chain of thought. Use varying approaches to find a mental solution.
“Think Different”
http://www.cs-academy.be/ Stage Internationale de Musique en Province de Liège
http://www.crlg.be/ Conservatoire Royal de Liège
http://brucerichardshorn.com/ Bruce Richards (personal web site)
