IHS E-Newsletter, May 2020

by Alexandre Collard

 English version

Pour cette video de Chostakovich et l'autre où je joue un quatuor d'Ilan Rechtman, les fameuses videos de l'appli Acapella m'ont été une belle source d'inspiration ! Je voulais faire du quatuor de cor pendant le confinement, avec mon très cher pupitre de l'Orchestre National de Lille, mais aussi tout seul, pour être obligé d'assurer le grave et l'aigu ! J'ai donc choisi un quatuor assez difficile, avec un grand ambitus : un jazzical de Rechtman. Je me suis vite rendu compte que le projet était trop ambitieux pour filmer chaque partie d'une traite rapidement (trop de contre Mi bémol, trop de notes, trop vite), j'ai donc décidé de me concentrer sur le son dans un premier temps, grace à GarageBand, le logiciel gratuit sur apple. Quand le résultat m'a plu suffisamment j'ai voulu en faire une vidéo, dehors dans le jardin, et j'ai découvert que l'autre logiciel mac iMovie me permettrait assez facilement d'apparaitre plusieurs fois à l'écran, parfait pour la situation ! Il ne me suffisait plus que de poser un bon appareil photo, et sans le toucher, jouer les quatre parties du quatuor à quatre endroits différents. Je ne m'attendais pas à ce que jouer en playback soit si difficile...! Puis j'ai suivi le HornQuartetChallenge de Bruce qui a d'abord sondé ses contacts cornistes sur le répertoire qui remporterait le plus de succès en arrangement pour quatuor de cors, et a ensuite offert librement le scherzo de la 10è de Chosta, nouveau défi parfait pour moi ! Je connaissais déjà les logiciels, je n'avais plus qu'à trouver une autre idée de scénario. Mon temps libre était principalement la nuit, après le coucher des enfants, et ce préau m'offrait un decor suffisamment effrayant pour coller à l'intensité et la gravité du mouvement. Une lampe solitaire, quelques bougies, un regard fixe camera avant et après avoir joué, j'avais l'ambiance qu'il me fallait. L'effet fantôme est une consequence fortuite de ma mauvaise utilisation d'iMovie pour me faire figurer quatre fois en meme temps ! L'ubiquité ne peut apparement pas sembler si réelle...

English version

Interpretado por Giovanni Hofer

Dante Yenque, Principal de cornos de la Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional de Colombia, ha compuesto esta pieza como dedicatoria a todos los músicos que se encuentran en este momento, aislados y apartados de su labor debido a la situación de salubridad que se vive a nivel mundial.

Esta obra del maestro Yenque, lleva por nombre la fuente de su inspiración: las Islas Galápagos, ubicadas en inmediaciones del Océano Pacífico, donde habita una gran variedad de fauna y flora, muchas de ellas exclusivas, un espacio en el que impera la ausencia del miedo en la convivencia entre las especies; recordando de esta forma a un planeta Tierra muy diferente al que vivimos ahora. Allí, los leones marinos, los delfines, las tortugas, los caballitos de mar, los pelícanos e incluso los tiburones están al alcance de la mano, no rehúyen la cercanía. Las iguanas se agrupan en los caminos, las tortugas gigantes marinas nadan junto a las personas que practican snorkel y los piqueros de patas azules, se cortejan en presencia de los visitantes. Todo esto, es lo que caracteriza a Galápagos y lo que lo convierte en un lugar único en el mundo, del cual podemos aprender.

Galápagos, es sin duda, un mensaje de esperanza y unión, un mensaje que invita a vivir en armonía.

English version

Salve a tutti, sono Angelo Bonaccorso docente di corno presso il Conservatorio V.Bellini di Catania e III Corno presso l’Orchestra del Teatro Massimo V.Bellini di Catania e rappresentante italiano IHS. La situazione qui in Italia a causa della pandemia è davvero difficile, abbiamo ancora molti decessi al giorno e il Governo ci ha giustamente ordinato di rimanere a casa. Speriamo che possa finire presto perché stanno soffrendo tante famiglie che hanno perso i loro cari e molti medici e infermieri oltre a perdere la loro vita si stanno sacrificando giornalmente per aiutare il prossimo.

Il lato positivo di questa quarantena (oltre a trascorrere più tempo con le nostre famiglie e soprattutto i nostri figli) è che sta sviluppando in noi più stimoli allo studio e alla creatività. Giornalmente sui social vediamo tantissimi video da parte di musicisti, cantanti, atleti, cuochi, ecc…. ognuno da un contributo per offrire qualcosa al prossimo, un segno di amicizia a distanza.

Tra queste iniziative, con il mio Sicilian Horn Ensemble, siamo stati tra i primi a pubblicare un nostro video montaggio (fatto dal nostro componente Salvo Visalli) in cui suoniamo a distanza un arrangiamento della colonna sonora di Jurassic Park. I componenti del gruppo: Bonaccorso Angelo, Manuele Catalano, Sebastian Mulè, Fabio Chillemi, Matteo Leone, Salvo Visalli, Daniele L'Abbate, Lorenzo Scolaro, Riccardo De Giorgi, Luca Grasso,Emanuele Giunta e Chiara Zito

by Marlene Ford

Teaching horn lessons via Zoom is a lot different.
Teaching horn lessons via Zoom is no different.

Many college and private horn teachers are seeing their students through some sort of online applications during this Coronavirus pandemic. It took me awhile, but Zoom turned out to be as easy as Tune-A-Day.

Once I was up and running, my students all showed up at their regular lesson times. With so much out of our control, this small routine of regular lesson times was comforting. What wasn’t routine, they missed. Driving to lessons, unpacking the horn and music, warming up and playing in front of the real me was a ritual missed.

The basic music work was pretty much the same: scales, etudes, solos, orchestral excerpts. I listen; they listen. I comment; they comment. Learning happens—sometimes because of me, sometimes despite me. Nothing changed there. I hadn’t considered that I could video record their lessons through Zoom. That was a boon for us all. On the flip side, we just couldn’t play together. No duets. There was the time delay and there was often distortion. Also, it didn’t make much sense to discuss sound quality as low notes sounded like barking dogs and high notes just disappeared.

Ah, what would horn playing be without a few laughs. Cherubini Sonata #1 is now played by the horns with an Italian villa background, one regularly has a gorilla as stand partner, and I’ve had the pleasure of my pedagogy being questioned by a student’s Google home device.

As we go into our third week at Zoom U., we are planning a studio class. If there are no recitals this semester, we can still play for each other. That will be a little different, but not totally different.

by John Allred

In light of recent events with COVID-19, Soldiers living in Grafenwoehr and the 7th Army Training Command have started complying with local German provisions against the virus and actually anticipating changes as they occur to ensure Soldiers not only comply with local laws, but Army directives. This means a higher health protection level for Soldiers and their families. Day-to-day life has changed in a big way: Soldiers are working from home if considered non-essential, and families have been notified of the required changes. Most functions can be done digitally, so we have started using software that has allowed us to do the majority of work from our houses. Administrative measures are still seen to as we take measures against the virus, and Soldiers can still improve their physical endurance and strength.  

For me, working from home has made things easier in some ways, but harder in others. It has allowed me more time with family and to develop my musicianship. I am not an Army musician, but a Troop Commander in the 2d Cavalry Regiment. My musical education and training occurred before I commissioned 8 years ago, but I still seek out opportunities to perform.

I was approached about making music for a Public Affairs project to highlight how we at 7th Army Training Command are still part of the German community. I naturally agreed, and I persuaded them into the Freischütz for a few reasons.  First, Weber actually lived in Bavaria for a time before he wrote Freischütz.  Second, we work in a training area, so an excerpt from an opera about bullets and marksmen was deemed appropriate. And third, I didn't really see a recording of "Ein Prosit" as a message we wanted our Soldiers to receive during a time of isolation. The Public Affairs team used the Acapella recording I made and overlaid it with our Commanding General's message in front of the Grafenwoehr tower, which is a landmark visible for miles around the training area and the namesake of our garrison, "Tower Barracks."

en español

en français

This fund was established by the Advisory Council of the International Horn Society in 1989. Meir Rimon (1946-1991) was Principal Horn of the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra and served three terms as Vice-President of the International Horn Society. In memory of our esteemed colleague who had a positive effect on many performers, composers, and audiences around the world, the fund was renamed in his honor in 1992. An annually updated list of works that have been supported by the Meir Rimon Commissioning Assistance Fund may be found in The IHS Online.

The purpose of this fund is to encourage new and significant compositions that feature the horn by offering needed financial assistance to qualified IHS members. Compositions of modest difficulty are particularly encouraged. Awards are granted by the Advisory Council of the IHS, which has sole discretion in the administration of this fund. The fund has a total of $8,000 available annually, but the Advisory Council reserves the right to offer less or more than this amount depending on the nature and merit of the proposed and selected projects.

All applications should be submitted electronically to the MEIR RIMON COMMISSIONING ASSISTANCE portal. The Deadline for Applications is May 15, 2020

If you have any questions about any of the rules, write for clarification:
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .
Randall E. Faust, COORDINATOR

by Chai Suang Tan

Because of this pandemic, a lot of us are stuck at home, but this gave us an opportunity to connect with each other in a special way. We all studied with same teacher in Singapore, Mr. Han Chang Chou at the Yong Siew Toh Conservatory of Music:

Chai Suang Tan - Horn, National Center of Performing Arts Orchestra, Beijing
Years of studies in YST - (2010-2014)
Tao Li - Associate Horn Professor, Xinghai Conservatory of Music, Guang Zhou
Years of studies in YST - (2003-2007)
Yichong Huang - Principal Horn, Guangzhou Symphony Orchestra
Years of studies in YST - (2006-2009,2012-2013)
Ye Lin Xie - Horn, Shanghai Symphony Orchestra
Years of studies in YST - (2004-2008 )
Sze Fong Yeong - studying under Saar Berger in Musikhochschule Trossingen
Years of studies in YST - (2012-2016) 

Some of us have never met in person, yet we united at this difficult time and managed to pull off this little project of ours, playing The Casbah of Tetouan by Kerry Turner. Not only that; we were also able to fill our time and keep ourselves fit and create some positive energy between ourselves. Hopefully by sharing this music with other people, we can share this positive energy with everyone and make the world a better place too.

Thank you and I wish you all the best and good health. 

With best regards,
Chai Suang

繁體

简体

Hello! As your IHS Regional Workshop Coordinator, I invite you to consider hosting a horn-centric event. My IHS role, which I’ve held since 2003, is to help horn players around the world who are interested in putting together events that bring horn players together. Whether you may wish to hold a large 3-day regional workshop or a one-day local event, I can help assist potential hosts in many different capacities, such as providing sample budgets; identifying funding sources; brainstorming about best practices; providing document templates; avoiding schedule conflicts with other events; creating event schedules and negotiating discounts with hotels, to name a few.

One of the best things that the IHS offers to hosts is access to a small grant fund. Members can log in to hornsociety.org and apply for Regional Workshop Assistance Funds to help pay for initial costs of workshop organization. At this time, hosts can apply for funds ranging from up to $200 for 1-day events to $500 for 3 days or more. We particularly encourage hosts from underserved countries to apply.

Over the years I have hosted many events, including four regional horn workshops in the U.S.A., and I’ve attended and assisted many more. I’ve learned a lot about what does and what does not work. Whether you are just toying with the idea of putting on an event, or you are already well into planning an upcoming workshop, I am always happy to offer my help. Whatever your situation, feel free to contact me by email at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. and I’ll reply as quickly as possible. I can’t wait for in-person events to resume, so in the meantime let’s plan some great horn workshops together!

Brent Shires
Associate Professor of Horn, University of Central Arkansas
Third Horn, Arkansas Symphony Orchestra

by Joel Arias

 English version

Anticipar y gestionar las crisis se ha convertido en una necesidad en el mundo de hoy, y las organizaciones han desarrollado rápidamente programas para satisfacer esta demanda en los últimos años. La pandemia de COVID-19 sirve como un recordatorio de la importancia de contar con planes efectivos de gestión de crisis y considerar el antes, el durante y el después.

Es por esta razón que en Latinoamérica se están tomando rápidamente medidas y estableciendo planes y convenios para prepararse hacia lo que viene en el futuro. Muchas instituciones académicas y culturales de Latinoamérica y Centroamérica están promoviendo enlaces académicos con algunas instituciones de países desarrollados para preparar a sus estudiantes y recibir clases de manera virtual con los profesionales de algunas Importantes Universidades de estos países del Primer Mundo. Desde el año 2015 yo soy el Profesor del Horn Studio de la Universidad de Panamá y por medio de algunos convenios institucionales se han realizado Festivales de Horn y Máster Clases con algunos de los más importantes Pedagogos de importantes instituciones de Norte America y Europa. Sin embargo, esto no es igual para otros países de Latinoamérica, especialmente para aquellos que están pasando desde hace algunos años por situaciones políticas y sociales críticas.

Mi propuesta concreta, en este boletín, es solicitar la creación de un programa de asistencia educativa que consista en enviar a algunos de sus asociados a los diferentes Conservatorios y Universidades de esos países. Muchas de esas Universidades y Conservatorios no tienen un presupuesto que les permita pagar los gastos de viaje para profesores invitados y mucho menos para cubrir los gastos de hotel y boletos aéreos internacionales.

El objetivo principal es la educación continua, promovida a través de la IHS, con el objetivo de preparar a esos estudiantes y brindarles con esto la oportunidad de proseguir sus estudios en otras instituciones reconocidas.