IHS E-Newsletter April, 2018

Kristina Mascher-Turner: Can you tell us a bit about your career path? Where did you study, with whom, and how did you end up in Rome?

Mike Applebaum: I started playing in the fourth grade in elementary school, and by the time I was 14 I knew that I wanted to become a musician. The experiences in youth orchestras and various scholastic groups were all very formative and helpful. I was a bit of a classical snob until I was about 15/16, when I heard Blood, Sweat, and Tears’ recording of Spinning Wheel on the radio, and that got me interested in jazz and rock.

I studied at the Eastman School of Music (‘73 – ’77), which offers a wonderful opportunity to develop both classical and jazz competencies. My greatest teacher there was my jazz arranging teacher Rayburn Wright. He was just a fabulous musician and instructor!

During these years I met Armando Ghitalla during a trip to Boston and managed to have only a 30-minute lesson with him, as he was rushed to get to a rehearsal with the BSO. After Eastman and gigging around in Rochester I moved to Washington, D.C. where I studied with Adel Sanchez (a great teacher and musician) of the National Symphony. I played in the Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra from ’77 to ’83. This was the most formative time of my early career, in which we performed operas, ballets, and musicals. During that time I was lucky enough to perform with Armando Ghitalla while he was touring with the Boston Opera. This time around I got to know him and asked him for lessons. He was very gracious to spend some time with me. We became friends, remained in contact, and met whenever he came to D.C. He had a powerful influence on me musically although at that time I didn’t fully understand the techniques he was trying to explain to me. He used abstractions and descriptive language that I would come to understand when I subsequently studied with the super scientific and analytical Dr. Donald S. Reinhardt in Philadelphia, just before moving to Italy in 1983. I think what I gained most from Armando was musicality, from observing him always playing with incredible passion and a beautiful singing style. What a musician and generous human being!

During a visit to Italy in 1982 I met some musicians in Rome and other cities, and since I didn’t have a full time contract at the Kennedy Center I decided to move to Rome. My life in Italy has been a vast mosaic of the true freelance musician: classical, jazz, salsa, periods of symphony orchestra playing, arranging for studio recordings and concerts, sessions for Italian movie soundtracks, tours with pop singers, television shows, club dates, private teaching, directing youth orchestras, master classes and seminars, part-time conservatory teaching, juries for music competitions, leading my own jazz projects, etc. etc. Only since 2012 have I held posts of regular Conservatory teaching, in Rome and Pescara, where I teach jazz/pop/rock courses. If I had to pick one most important musical experience, it would surely be my three-decades-long working relationship with Ennio Morricone.

KMT: Your career has straddled the worlds of classical and jazz/commercial music. What do you have to change in your heart, mind, and chops when you switch from one to the other? Is the transition easy and natural for you?

Kristina Mascher-Turner: Jimmy, you have brought pleasure to millions of fans around the globe in more concerts than you can probably count. You’ve shown them that brass instruments can be the heart and soul of a rock band. How would you say this role has evolved over the course of Chicago’s history?

Jimmy Pankow: Historically, the role of the brass in Chicago's music was conceived as and continues as a main character in the songs. Essentially, the thrust of my arranging has been to create an alternate melodic voice, almost like another vocal, that weaves around and compliments the lead vocal, while also creating appropriate spots for instrumental step outs. This melodic brass approach has become a trademark signature in our music.

KMT: How do you, Lee, and Walt rehearse? Do you still meet for your own sessions together?

JP: The section typically rehearses with full band to determine the compatibility of the arrangement. When necessary, we shed the parts in the dressing room to test voicing and accuracy.

KMT: How has your approach to the trombone changed since you were younger?

JP: With five shows a week, each one being 2 1/2 hours of non-stop blowing (arguably one of the toughest books on the planet), the days off are welcomed! Before each show, to minimize swelling and improve flexibility, I'll do long tones and arpeggios ranging from pedal F up to double high F-preparing the chops for 'combat'! Several years ago, I suffered a split lip. The voicing is typically a trombone lead with the bone 'upstairs' most of the time. Hence the need to keep the lips well-lubricated. After shows, I often apply vitamin E oil and sometimes I apply ice to reduce swelling and heal the sore tissue.

KMT: With all the traveling you do, have you got a “survival kit” of items you absolutely must carry with you?

by Hirokazu Amakasu - 著者は甘粕宏和

この度、古い友人であるNHK交響楽団首席ホルン奏者 福川伸陽さんから、IHSニュースレターへ寄稿する光栄な機会を頂戴しました甘粕宏和と申します。”日本食”や””アニメ”のほかにも日本が世界に誇れる文化である”吹奏楽”の紹介をさせていただきます。

現在120万人ともいわれる人口を抱え、20.000を超える団体が存在する「吹奏楽大国」である日本ですが、海の向こうからやってきたのは今から149年前。1869年（明治2年）横浜本牧山妙香寺で10代、20代の薩摩藩士によって結成された軍楽伝習隊がイギリス陸軍軍楽隊長であったジョン・ウィリアム・フェントンから指導を受けたのがはじまりです。

ドイツではワーグナーの楽劇「ラインの黄金」がミュンヘンにて初演され、イタリアではヴェルディの歌劇「運命の力」が改訂され現行版がミラノで初演されたのがこの年。

フェントンが日本吹奏楽生みの親だとすると、1879年（明治12年）フェントンの後任として来日したドイツ人フランツ・エッケルトと1884年（明治17年）に来日したフランス人シャルル・ルルーが日本の吹奏楽育ての親であり、演奏技術を飛躍的に向上させました。

時を経て、現在の日本では中学校・高等学校の部活動であるスクールバンドの目覚しい進歩と活躍は世界中の皆様がご存知の通りです。1940年（昭和15年）にその第1回が開催された全日本吹奏楽コンクールは今年で66回を数えます。

欧米の吹奏楽に追いつけ追い越せで努力を重ねてきた日本の吹奏楽。前述の通り、スクールバンドを中心に演奏技術の向上を図り、現在では社会人バンドの隆盛をみるまでになり、世界に誇れるプロフェッショナルな団体も複数存在します。また、管・打楽器ともに国産メーカーがこぞって一級品を生み出していますし、楽曲に関しても良質な作品を世界に向けて送り出すまでに成長してきました。

「誰でも」「どこでも」「どんなジャンルでも」楽しめる現在の吹奏楽を、真の音楽文化としてさらに花開かせ、音楽がいつも身近にある平和な社会に貢献できましたらこれ以上の喜びはありません。

The Development of Brass Artistry Through Sound Fundamentals

by William Stowman

The most effective pedagogy is simple, repeatable, and effective. Throughout my career, I have always appreciated those perfectly stated phrases shared by teachers in lessons or master classes that seem to immediately make sense and have a lasting impact. It seems that great pedagogues have handfuls of these phrases at their disposal to wield at any given time and usually at the perfect moment. I have worked diligently to build such a vocabulary and work each day to add to my collection. 

To that end, Body-Center-Breathe-and Flow was born of the need to create a simple, effective catchphrase that could serve as both an outline for instruction, as well as a powerful mantra heard by the player in the moments before sound is generated. In fact, the phrase itself fits beautifully into a four-beat preparatory pattern (1-and, 2-and, 3-and, 4) that reminds the player of the most vital aspects of making a great sound as they stand, or sit, to deliver.   

Much work has been done to categorize the most important elements of efficient playing. The phrase Body-Center-Breathe-and Flow is a distillation of four common issues:  Posture, Ergonomics, Breathing, and the Airstream itself. Couched in the idea of the Spiral Curriculum, these issues are introduced to beginners, then refined and repeatedly addressed with performers throughout their career. While the basic pillars remain a constant, the amount of detail associated with each one increases exponentially as players develop physically, gather more information, and gain experience. As a result, the system has been effective with students from the elementary level through the adult level. 

In greater detail, for the purpose of instruction:

by Sarah Krueger

“Remember: Tension kills tone!”

If you’re anything like me, you believe that efficiency is the name of the game. We all want to achieve effortless and efficient ways of playing our instrument, yet sometimes it seems more like a concept instead of something that can be applied in a practical manner. So how can we practice using our air and lips efficiently while maintaining “necessary” tension to create beautiful sounds? For me, the answers are in The Breathing Gym and The Brass Gym.

Does this sound familiar?

Ever been teaching in a classroom full of students who just got back from lunch, hyper as can be? What about those times when you have no idea where to start practicing because you feel the need to practice EVERYTHING? Or how about playing the big solo in Tchaikovsky’s 5th Symphony where all you can think about is how loud your racing heart beat sounds? Sounds crazy, but I’ve been in each of these situations and can tell you that I have used principles and concepts from both The Breathing Gym and The Brass Gym to help me out.

So what is the Breathing Gym and Brass Gym?

The Breathing Gym is a book and supplemental DVD created by Tubists Patrick Sheridan and Sam Pilafian intended to assist Band, Chorus, and Orchestral Wind musicians with, “tone, stamina, and all-around performance” through exercises that, “can be used as part of a warm-up routine, as a mid-rehearsal change of pace, or to address specific issues such as dynamics, articulation and phrasing”.  The Brass Gym is a comprehensive book of exercises, routines, and workouts designed as an expansion of the principles addressed in The Breathing Gym.

an Interview with Michael Grose from The Brass Herald

Arnold Jacobs (1915 – 1998) had the reputation as both the master performer and master teacher. He taught tuba at Northwestern University in Chicago and all wind instruments in his private studio. He was one of the most sought-after teachers in the world, specializing in respiratory and motivational applications for brass and woodwind instruments and voice. His students include many in orchestras and university faculties around the world. Jacobs never published any books about his teaching, but some of his students have written books.

Michael Grose, Professor of Tuba at the University of Oregon and former Arnold Jacobs student, has contributed to the legacy of Arnold Jacobs by producing more than 50 interviews with colleagues of former students of Jacobs. You can find these on YouTube channel TubaPeople TV.

This interview is a truncated version of an interview, used with permission, from the Brass Herald.

How were your studies with Jacobs?

My studies with Jacobs were amazing. They were substantively unlike any other teacher I had. In each and every lesson, he was able to effect positive change in my playing. Each lesson I left sounding significantly improved, but over the course of the week that improvement faded somewhat. Then the same thing would happen during the next lesson. It was a process of two steps forward in the lesson and one step backward during the interval before the next lesson. Over the course of time, the trajectory was upward. He was a most remarkable man, musician, and teacher. He was able to stimulate astonishingly positive change in the level of playing from most of those who sought him out.

My lessons were non-systematic in nature. In other words, there was not a clearly defined curriculum from one week to the next. It was more his reacting to what I was doing with my playing at the moment. Over the course of time, though, he covered most of what needed to be covered, but it was done in a manner that was more natural. He was meeting me where I was at the time and leading me to the next stage, as opposed to putting an artificial curricular template on me and forcing me through it.

Why did you choose to play the horn? I ask every new student this question. Invariably, the answer is ALWAYS the same…because they like the sound. It’s the reason that I play the horn. The tone quality of our instrument is without a doubt Unique, Special, Wondrous, and “Golden”.

Therefore the initial emphasis in my thinking, teaching, and playing is always about a Beautiful, Lovely, Refined, Diverse, Magical, Adjustable, Convincing, Compelling SOUND QUALITY!  Our tone should attract and hold the attention of the listener. The horn player’s ability to accomplish this is dependent on two very important and obvious concepts in musical performance, expressed in the  following terms for clarity in understanding my pedagogy.

We must consider also a player’s personality, schooling, goals, habits, abilities, skills, gifts, motivation, and traditions. Therefore there is an incredibly multifaceted variety of musicians who play the horn. Our “HORN WORLD” is so amazing, interesting, fascinating and diverse!

With this background of the broad concepts listed above, I will be more specific and list many (but surely not all) of the items which we must practice, study, and work on daily to try to arrive at the highest artistic level possible and necessary to be able to perform professionally.

For sale only by pre-order. This is not the event t-shirt that you will receive as part of your registration for the IHS Symposium in Muncie. This t-shirt commemorates 50 years of IHS Symposia! It is a high quality black t-shirt, with Gold Foil on both the front and back, as well as gold metallic and white ink. The back of the t-shirt lists the years and locations of all 50 Symposia. You'll have a great time, locating all that you've attended, plus noting the ones you missed. We're hoping to have some photo ops in Muncie with everyone wearing these commemorative shirts.

You MUST pre-order this shirt. We are placing the printing order for the shirts based on pre-orders, so we will not have many (or any) for sale at the Muncie Symposium, but you will see all your friends wearing one. So purchase one NOW and don't miss out. Deadline for ordering: June 25, 2018.

1. Go to www.hornsociety.org/ihs50-shirt
2. Select either: Pickup at IHS50, or, Ship to USA or non-USA address
3. Complete the form under your selection (including size)
4. Pay using your Credit Card or PayPal
5. Wait with bated breath until this summer’s Symposium in Muncie to get your first glimpse of your new shirt!
6. Wear your shirt all week and participate in lots of photo ops! And, be the envy of all your horn playing friends

If you simply cannot attend the Muncie Symposium (so sad), you can anxiously wait by your mailbox for your shirt delivery by USPS Priority Mail, as soon as the Symposium ends. You can still enjoy wearing your shirt at any horn related event and at future Symposia, or even just while practicing.