by Debra Sherrill

For the past 6 summers, I have been invited to perform with the St. Augustine Music Festival in St. Augustine, Florida, USA. The SAMF was founded in 2007 by violist Jorge A. Peña and cellist Jin Kim-Peña. Chamber music concerts are held each June in St. Augustine at the historic Cathedral Basilica. All concerts are free of charge and are open to the general public.  

SAMF is a special place for me. I have so many wonderful memories working with amazing musicians whom I am honored to call friends and colleagues. Jorge and Jin create a family atmosphere with an international flare, bringing in musicians from around the world to participate. Three highlight performances for me were performing the Bach-Brandenburg Concerto #1, the Herzogenberg-Trio for oboe, horn and piano op.61 and the Spohr- Nonet. I also love that the SAMF supports new music. In 2015 in commemoration of St. Augustine's 450th Anniversary, the SAMF commissioned a work by Piotr Szewczyk titled the St. Augustine Suite as a gift to the city. 

著者: 大野 雄太

「サマーキャンプ」は2008年に開催10回目を迎え、夏の恒例行事として定着しました。主に「新潟県苗場」で開催されることが多いのですが、九州など遠方から来てくださるファンも多くいらっしゃいます。

スキー場のホテルを中心に、毎年70名ほどがホルンを持ち、右の写真のようにアンサンブルしたり、また、日頃のストレスを発散するごとく？1人黙々と山に向かってロングトーンをしたり、と自由にホルンとの時間を楽しむ3日間を過ごします。

個人レッスンとアンサンブル
キャンプでは、つの笛集団メンバーから個人レッスンを受けることができます。
そして、レッスンの内容は個人の技量に合わせて行われます。例えば、こんなタイプの方がいますが、つの笛のキャンプでは、全ての方を大歓迎しております。
ホルンを持ってまだ３ヶ月、どんな練習したら良いのやら・・・・
久々に楽器を吹くので１から基礎を見て欲しい ！
ホルンを吹き始めて２年、ちょっと伸び悩んでるんです・・・・
夏の吹奏楽コンクールで難しいソロを任されたのですが・・・
音大を受験したい！
音大生です！今度ソロのコンクール受けます！
入門編からプロ志向編まで全て対応させていただいております。「今までレッスンなんか受けたこと無い」という方も是非このキャンプで初めてのレッスンを体験してみてはいかがでしょう？

by Pam Mesite

My first HORNCAMPS! experience was during the summer of 2015. My friend Phil Hooks suggested I consider attending because Michelle Stebleton was on faculty and I had first met her when she presented a masterclass to Phil's studio and again when we attended Penn State Horn Day.

Days are filled with warm-ups, group lessons, ensemble coaching, group rehearsal, and performances. The schedule keeps you busy, but there is still time to get to know other horn players during breaks and meals. In addition to performing at various venues, field trips provide a break from playing and a chance to get to know fellow participants and faculty in a less structured setting.

Performance venues vary from year to year, but both summers I attended, the group performed at the Daytona Tortugas baseball game (though the game was rained out in 2016 after we had arrived and we didn't get a chance to perform the National Anthem) and the Ponce De Leon Island Inlet Lighthouse.

The faculty is a balanced mix of backgrounds and experience, and the atmosphere is collegial and supportive. Everyone is encouraged to improve within the context of their current abilities. I especially like the mix of ages and experience, and campers each learn from one another, as well as from instructors. The faculty strives to make each year better and incorporates suggested improvements.

The AMTRAK Auto Train northern terminus is in Lorton, Virginia, about fifteen minutes from my house and the southern terminus in Sanford, Florida is about forty-five minutes from Daytona Beach. We took advantage of the convenient locations to pack our car with everything we needed for the week and drive our own vehicle in Florida without the long drive to and from Florida.

Engagement and Passion for Music, and Young People

Upon the invitation of Prof. Ab Koster, it is with great joy that I respond and write this contribution for the International Horn Society!

(In the interest of simplicity, I will use the masculine form for pronouns hereafter, but of course I am referring to female and male students, teachers, etc.)

When I first meet a new student, I pay attention to several things. Of course it is important to me how far the student has developed in his own instrumental technique. It is naturally best for both parties (student and teacher) if a good and solid technical foundation already exists: by this I mean breathing, embouchure, and other technical requirements such as double-tonguing, lip trills etc. etc. etc., all necessary to master the instrument. BUT: more important to me are two points:

• Does the chemistry work between the student and myself? Do I have the feeling that mutual trust is possible between us? Does he understand my language? By this I don’t mean the spoken language, rather a deep understanding between two people. The student places himself in the hands of the teacher, and the collaboration can only be successful, the student can only thrive, when he can trust: on the one hand trust himself, on the other hand, the teacher! You can almost say that both enter into a relationship! This also explains why even the most successful and “best” teachers may not be right for every student. It is therefore extremely important for me, when possible already before the entrance exam where I must decide if the collaboration will take place or not, to have the opportunity to get to know the student: for myself, as much as for him.
• Is a true desire present as well as the ability for musical expression? In order to be a professional musician over the long haul, it is vital to have a passion for music. By this I mean understanding music, loving it, and also having the need to communicate musically. It is close to my heart not just to train horn players that can make music, rather to train musicians that can play the horn. This sentence holds much meaning for me. Musicians who play brass instruments shouldn’t reinforce the negative stereotypes that seem to accompany being a part of this guild, but should have the same high musical standards as the best musicians on any instrument. 

I also wish here to mention the importance of working together with other musicians! Sometimes it takes the conscious decision to WANT to work and play TOGETHER with colleagues in an ensemble or also in a large orchestra. Without this willingness, the preparation on one’s own instrument isn’t very useful…. Social competence therefore is also essential to our career.

THEREFORE: You can easily learn technique! Passion for music and human qualities, not so much!

Here I would like to elaborate on the relationship between teacher and student: I see myself as a teacher in many different functions. Thus I am naturally asked initially to transmit the fundamentals of playing technique alongside as deep and a detailed musical knowledge as possible. At the same time, I am a coach, reference person and sometimes practically a therapist…so I find it crucial to give the student a good preparation for the daily life of an orchestral musician. On the one hand, I can give him advice and tips about how I stay in shape, how I can develop a healthy routine to keep my playing level high over a period of many years. I am also in a position to help explain some of the other things that crop up besides the musical concerns – here we are back with social skills and the importance of team spirit! We have to interact with all kinds of different people in the orchestra. This can be a challenge under certain circumstances, but also enriching and interesting! A certain curiosity and openness towards other people can be a huge help in this area.

In no other course of study do you encounter this one-to-one nurturing the way we find it in private instrument lessons. During the course of studies, I am a very important person in the life of the students - at the beginning especially, less as the student advances; the best-case scenario is that a student wins a position in an orchestra before receiving his diploma and of course continues to mature and develop more exact ideas about what he wants and does. It is comparable to the relationship a child has with his parents: at the beginning the child needs his parents very much and is oriented towards them. As he grows and becomes older, he broadens his horizons and sphere of influence; he forms more and more his own opinions in order to achieve independence and stand on his own two feet. It’s a bit like this between teacher and student as well. Therefore it is important that the interpersonal aspect works – we don’t bind ourselves together forever, but for a period of several years nonetheless! ;-)

While writing these lines, it once again becomes clear to me how exciting the job of being a teacher is – I am always engaged with inquisitive people, over time with many different but equally wonderful human beings! And it is this that I love so much about being a teacher!

Sibylle is solo-hornist with the Frankfurter Museumsorchester at the Opera Frankfurt and professor for horn at the State Academy of Music Saarbrucken (Hochschule für Musik Saar).

Translation: KMT