IHS E-Newsletter, April 2019

Kristina Mascher-Turner: Dear Nancy, let’s start right off with the color purple! How did your love affair with this hue start, and what does it symbolize for you? 

Nancy Joy: Kristina, this question made me literally laugh out loud…

A long, long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away when I was a little child, I was absolutely mesmerized by the color purple. This enchantment led me to wanting to surround myself completely with the color, much to my parents‘ surprise. They thought it was odd that their little girl was so adamant about the color purple and told me I needed to wear other colors. As you would guess, that thought process only “fueled my fire.” The color purple makes me smile and makes me very happy!!

KMT: How and when did you first become involved with the IHS? 

NJ: My first IHS symposium was in 1980 at The Jacobs School of Music at Indiana University. It changed my life forever, for the better. The camaraderie, sessions, concerts and playing in the Grand Finale with 500 horn players, was an incredible memory that I will always treasure. The IHS became “a family” to me that year, inspiring me to continue to share the love of horn with many people! 

KMT: Every international symposium has its own special vibe. What’s unique about IHS 51? 

NJ: IHS 51 will truly be an inspiring, historically exceptional experience for all of us. From all that I have learned in working with our fabulous IHS 51 host, Jeroen Billiet, we will be even more connected to each other, when we experience the Ghentian Horn traditions. Also, IHS 51 is being held in a beautiful and historical location that will add even more ambience to the week of activities!! As you know, the architecture is absolutely incredible and our hosts, Jeroen & Rik, have planned a week of Featured Artist concerts and activities that will inspire everyone. 

Let’s Wake that Dragon together and break the Guinness Book of World Records!!

KMT: On my way to Brazil for IHS 49, I remember texting you for some contact information. You casually sent a photo from your hotel room there, where water was gushing down from the ceiling! What are some of the strangest things you’ve had to deal with on-site as coordinator?

by D. Keith Eitzen
English version 

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Aunque originalmente fue creada como una organización internacional, la International Horn Society se fundó en los Estados Unidos, y sus primeros eventos y publicaciones tuvieron un enfoque estadounidense. Dieciséis de los primeros veinte simposios del IHS tuvieron lugar en los EE. UU. y doce de sus quince presidentes han sido estadounidenses. Antes del internet y las computadoras personales, el inglés era la opción más viable para la publicación internacional. Esto está por cambiar.

La IHS está actualmente trabajando para incrementar su membresía en América Latina, la cual tiene una vibrante cultura musical y un gran número de cornistas talentosos. La música clásica juega un rol igual de importante en la vida cultural latina que en los países europeos. Por ejemplo, al tiempo que orquestas profesionales se pueden encontrar en todas las ciudades principales, el programa de orquestas juveniles, El Sistema de Venezuela, se está copiando en todo el mundo. Sin embargo, la geografía ha limitado la comunicación entre los cornistas hispanohablantes. Para perspectiva, la distancia de la Ciudad de México a Nueva York es la mitad de la de la Ciudad de México a Buenos Aires. Y mientras que el español ocupa el segundo lugar en número de hablantes en el mundo después del chino, en realidad hay pocos materialies disponible acerca del corno y como tocarlo en el idioma español.

A sugerencia de la vicepresidenta de la IHS, Kristina Mascher-Turner, he estado trabajando en un proyecto para traducir artículos clásicos de la revista The Horn Call al español. Como no es mi lengua materna, he estado trabajando con mis estudiantes Karla Aranely González Barrajas y Jana Elizabeth Navarro Antuna, así como con mis hijos Christopher y Nicole Eitzen Delgado, para traducir algunos de los mejores escritos que han aparecido en la revista en los últimos 50 años. Las primeras traducciones se encuentran aquí:

https://hornsociety.org/es/publications-es/horn-call/horn-call-archive-es

Como he sido miembero de la IHS desde 1974, tengo una colección casi completa de The Horn Call. Al seleccionar artículos para traducir, varios se me vineron de inmediato a la cabeza porque presentaban ideas importantes de maneras novedosas. Estos los organicé en cuatro categorías: capítulos de libros, entrevistas, columnas y articulos generales.

My name is Chee Ghee Sim, and I've just started representing my country, Malaysia. 

Malaysia consists of 13 states (11 in the Western Peninsula and 2 on the island of Borneo) and is a fairly "young" country as far as horn playing is concerned. We were a British colony until 1957. Music was then limited to the school marching bands, which are still very active today. Most of the school bands use either the Eb Alto Horn or Eb Mellophone for the horn parts, although some of the better-funded schools are slowly changing over to the horn.

I studied horn in Munich, Germany with Otto Schmitz and Johannes Ritzkowsky. After 4 years playing with the Staatstheater Cottbus in Germany, I joined the newly-founded  Malaysian Philharmonic Orchestra (MPO) from 1998, where I still presently play.

The MPO is the largest orchestra here (105 musicians from all over the world, including 6 horn players). The ensemble collaborates with renowned conductors and soloists. It has also hosted a number of prominent horn soloists in the past, including Radovan Vlatkovic, Marie-Luise Neunecker, Radek Baborak and Barry Tuckwell (as guest conductor). More info at www.mpo.com.my

Apart from the MPO, there are 2 other full-time orchestras in the capital city, Kuala Lumpur. The Orkestra Simfoni Kebangsaan (National Symphony Orchestra, 43 musicians with 2 horns) and the DBKL Orchestra (Kuala Lumpur City Council Orchestra, 50 musicians with 4 horn players). There are also a number of community symphony orchestras and symphonic bands in the capital as well as in other states; the most active ones are in Kuala Lumpur, Penang, Perak, Selangor, Melaka, Johor Seremban, Pahanag in the peninsula and Sabah in Borneo.

I hope to able to form a horn community here in the near future by organizing gatherings, workshops, ensembles, clinics, etc. and with the support of IHS.

Regards,
CG

Buonasera,

Sono Angelo Bonaccorso, professore di corno presso il Conservatorio di Catania e Terzo Corno presso il Teatro Massimo Vincenzo  Bellini di Catania e collaboro regolarmente con le migliori orchestre del panorama italiano.

In qualità di rappresentante dell'area IHS Italia con orgoglio posso dirvi che si stanno svolgendo parecchie manifestazioni che riguardano l'approfondimento dello studio del corno con ospiti internazionali, una di queste (in cui promuoverò l'iscrizione a tutti i ragazzi all'IHS) è la quarta edizione del Festival Cornistico Dell'Etna che quest'anno avrà come grandi ospiti Miklos Nagy, Zora Slokar, Nilo Caracristi, Guglielmo Pellarin e il direttore d'orchestra Antonino Manuli. In più per la prima volta ci sarà il primo Concorso Internazionale per corno con una giuria internazionale e premi fantastici offerti dai nostri partners Engelbert Schmid, Johnny Casalanguida e Magazzino Musicale Miceli. Il tutto con la supervisione della FEBASI (Federazione Bande Siciliane). Avremo conferenze, masterclass, esposizioni di corni e tanti concerti con solisti internazionali e tutti i partecipanti. Sarà una grande festa del corno che durerà 5 giorni dal 18 al 22 di Agosto 2019. Il tutto con lo spirito e la mentalità giusta che la IHS ha sempre insegnato a tutti noi.

Amy Thakurdas is the country representative for the United Kingdom where she was previously on the committee for the British Horn Society. This year she has encouraged players to join the IHS and attend the symposium in Ghent, Belgium. An octet from Oxford Horns will be performing, and this will be the first symposium for all 8 new members. Amy also encouraged her friends in the Coldstream Guards who also joined the IHS and are performing at IHS 51 in Ghent.

Upcoming events

Royal Birmingham Conservatoire (one of the UK's most prestigious schools of music) is hosting a masterclass for Sarah Willis on 19th & 20th June at their conservatoire. The Coldstream Guards will be performing the Beethoven Sextet on natural horns on 25th April. Their annual 'Horns at the Movies 2' concert is 26th June. On 29th June they’ll be performing the Schumann Konzertstück. All concerts are at Guards Chapel, London.

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Amy Thakurdas, N.D. is the musical director of Oxford Horn choir, which has ensemble playing opportunities for local players. Amy has played the horn for decades in London and Oxford orchestras, as well as in Los Angeles. In 2020 she will complete her two-year series of solo concerts titled Romance your Soul. Amy heads the editorial section of the Music, Health and Science column in The Horn Call.

Hello fellow horn players and IHS members! I have been the editor of the IHS Online Music Sales since its creation nine years ago. The Online Music Sales (or OMS) grew out of the IHS Manuscript Press, which was set up long ago as a mail-order sales outlet for prizewinners of the IHS Composition Contest. In 2009, internet e-commerce was taking off, and the Advisory Council wisely decided to get on board by widening the scope of the Manuscript Press. In the beginning, it only offered submissions of composition contest prizewinners, then expanded to include anyone wishing to make their horn-focused compositions available for purchase as PDF downloads. In 2010 the Online Music Sales was launched.

It has been gratifying to watch the catalog triple in size since that time. At this point the number of pieces offered for sale is around 130 and is still growing steadily. We add new pieces every month. The catalog is carefully curated; every piece goes through a review process. The original team included Jeff Snedeker, Dan Phillips, and myself. Recently we added two more members, James Boldin and Gina Gillie, to the committee. Together we look at every submission, discuss its merits, and decide on a selling price.

One of the aims of the OMS is to make the music we sell accessible and affordable worldwide. We especially keep affordability in mind when pricing the music. As a result, our prices are lower than most other online music sellers. At the same time the IHS wants to encourage and reward composers for making their works available, so it pays them a 25% royalty (this is generous in comparison to the industry standard of 10% or less).

Recently the OMS has undertaken two large-scale projects to collect and sell works by Douglas Hill and John J. Graas. Doug Hill is, of course, a well-known pedagogue and is also one of the most prolific modern composers for the horn. The Hill Collection was initiated three years ago and now includes about 35 titles with many more on the way. Particularly noteworthy are his texts about warmups, high range, low range, and trills and tremolos. John J. Graas is one of the pioneers of horn in jazz, and Jeff Snedeker has undertaken the project of transcribing and re-engraving his music so it can be accessed by a wider audience.

English version: "Why can professional players create such beautiful sounds?"

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私は、音楽家の体の使い方を科学的アプローチで研究している大学教員の平野剛（博士（医学））です。大学では研究を行うほか、将来音楽家を目指す学生にこれまでに研究されている音楽家の体の使い方について講義を行っています。私は小学生のころからホルンを演奏していて、20年以上経った今でもアマチュア奏者として演奏活動を続けています。演奏はとても楽しいのですが、残念なことに私の演奏技術は自分が思い描いているほど上手ではありません。「有名なホルン奏者のように演奏できたらなぁ」と、私はいつも思っています。「なぜ、プロ奏者はきれいな音を奏でられるのか？」これは私が解き明かしたいと思っている謎のひとつです。

プロ奏者とアマチュア奏者が同じ楽器を演奏しても、出てくる音はまるで違います。

• プロ奏者とアマチュア奏者の違いは何だろうか？
• どのように練習すれば良い音色になるのか？

私は研究チームを組んで、科学的アプローチを用いてホルン奏者のいくつかの運動制御メカニズムの解明を試みました。具体的には、（1）表面筋電図を用いてアンブシュアを構成する表情筋の活動の調査（2）センサーを開発してマウスピースに加わる力の調査（3）演奏不安と生理反応（心拍数、アンブシュアと腕の筋活動、マウスピースに加わる力）との関係の調査を行いました。

次回以降これらの研究を簡単に紹介するとともに、International Horn Society メンバーの皆様とこれらの成果を共有したいと考えています。科学的な真実を知りたいと思われる方は、次回以降の記事を楽しみにお待ちください。

また私がこれまで取り組んできた研究を紹介している自身のHPがございます。もしよろしければ、このHPもチェックしてみてください。

http://takeshi-hirano.com/ 

Welcome to our new (and perhaps regular) feature, the Horn and More Trivia Quiz! This month, we have three copies of Richard Watkins’ fabulous new CD, The Romantic Horn (Signum Classics). Send your answers via email to This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. by April 30. If you guessed all three correctly, your name will be entered into the drawing. Good luck! All the questions this month revolve around another English virtuoso, the great Dennis Brain.

1. Which one of these pieces was NOT written for Dennis Brain? A) Concerto for Horn and Strings - Gordon Jacob; B) Serenade for Horn and Strings - Benjamin Britten; C) Concerto for Horn and Orchestra - Kurt Atterberg, D) Concerto for Horn and Orchestra - Paul Hindemith
2. With whom did Alan Civil study? A) Leonard Brain B) Aubrey Brain C) Dennis Brain D) none of the above
3. Which of the following horn players, as a child, was present at Dennis Brain’s final concert in the Edinburgh Festival? A) Tina Brain B) Timothy Jones C) Frank Lloyd D) Fergus McWilliam

by Dan Philips, Manager, IHS Online

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In the early days of the World Wide Web it was common to see “Under Construction” banners prominently displayed on many sites. In reality, every website is constantly under construction and IHS Online is no exception. Almost daily, updates are need to some aspect of the site. At the moment, we’re in the idea and planning stages of a facelift that’s likely to happen within the next few months. With a site this size and depth - as of this moment 1,361 content pages, 6,444 classified ads since we absorbed hornplayer.net in 2011, 472,473 visits to the excerpts section since we absorbed hornxcerpts.org in 2014, and 10,899 registered user accounts - that takes careful planning and execution to accomplish without disrupting normal operations.

One of the important functions of the website is offering online voting for Advisory Council members - this year’s elections close on April 15, so if you are a member and haven’t yet voted either online or by mail, please visit your online polling station, log in to your account, and vote.

In addition to the public facing content and services, the IHS website also provides officers, staff and Advisory Council members with record keeping, internal communication and voting, membership records and management, automated Friendship Project and club membership discounts, and a host of other services.

In addition to keeping all of that running, I construct and send the bi-weekly Updates from the IHS newsletter that lists new classified ads, teacher database entries and section listings, and of course, this Horn and More newsletter.

English Version: Pedagogy - Play What You Know

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從事敎學工作這些年來，深深感覺到適當運用正向思考對演奏能力的提升是很重要的。在個別課的敎學中最常碰到的其中一個課題是幫助學生克服吹奏樂器時所養成的壞習慣。習慣一旦養成就很難改變，剛開始敎書的我，雖然瞭解這個道理，還是滿腔熱血想盡各種辦法去幫助學生做改變。有不少學生因為配合度高，很快就可以改變，但是有些學生學習態度也很認真，卻在嘗試幾次失敗之後產生負面的想法，結論是這些習慣已經存在很久了所以改不掉。有一天當我聽到學生又告訴我說：「我已經習慣這樣吹很久了」，忽然靈光一閃，既然要他「改掉長久以來的吹奏習慣」這麼困難，何不換個角度要他從現在開始「建立新的吹奏習慣」呢？於是這個學生就因為建立新的吹奏習慣比較容易而成功得改變了原本的吹奏習慣。

近年來「正向思考」被廣泛地討論和應用，適當的運用對生活上或是音樂演奏能力都能有顯著的成效。最近我更想出一些口號來加深正向思考對演奏能力的提升。我發現當學生著重在演奏自己會的和做得好的，就能呈現令人滿意的結果。在法國號重奏團的排練中，每當遇到技巧困難的片段時，學生的演奏就會從原本飽滿的音色轉變成沒自信的音色。這種時候，我會要求他們先辨認熟悉的音樂元素，通常是音階、音程和節奏，然後要求他們用最飽滿的音色去演奏這些元素。當學生瞭解到利用最棒的音色去演奏熟識的元素其實是容易做到的，自然就會更願意用同樣的方式持續演奏下去。這個方式也適用於調音，每當和弦有音不準，學生也是立刻轉成虛弱的音色，這樣反而使得和弦的屬性難以辨認。同樣地，當整個和弦用飽滿的音色吹奏時，不但屬性變得比較容易辨認，接下來的調整也變得容易許多。

所以現在我在個別課和重奏團排練時常説的兩句口號就是“把你會的吹出來”和“用最棒的音色吹”！

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台灣出生的旅美法國號演奏家蘇毓婷，由母親啓蒙鋼琴，後隨莊思遠學習法國號，曾獲台灣區音樂比賽法國號冠軍。在台灣國立師大附中畢業後取得張榮發基金會獎學金赴美國伊士曼音樂院隨法國號名師Verne Reynolds及Peter Kurau學習，以優異的成績畢業，並榮獲演奏家證書的殊榮。隨後取得茱莉亞音樂院碩士及紐約州立大學石溪分校博士，皆隨William Purvis學習。現任美國北愛荷華州立大學音樂系法國號專任副教授，帶領UNI 法國號重奏團，為Northern Brass Quintet 的成員。蘇毓婷曾擔任台北市立交響樂團專任法國號團員，多次擔任台北愛樂法國號首席到世界各地巡迴演出。蘇毓婷致力於拓展法國號的演奏曲目，除了委託作曲家量身創作樂曲，還親自編曲。2011年由Veritas Musica Publications出版改編給法國號和鋼琴的比才的三首歌曲，2014年發行的個人專輯Watercolors 收錄了由蘇毓婷改編給法國號和鋼琴的藝術歌曲 ，在和iTunes 和CD baby網站上均有販售。