2013 Midwest Trumpet Festival
The 5th Midwest Trumpet Festival was held at Pittsburg State University, October 13-14, 2013 under the direction of Dr. Todd Hastings. The faculty included:
Joseph Burgstaller, International Soloist and Peabody Conservatory
Dr. Iskander Akhmadulin, Associate Professor Trumpet, University of Missouri
Dr. Keith Benjamin, Professor of Trumpet, UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance
Dr. Natalia Bolshakova, Adjunct Professor of Piano/Accompanying, University of Missouri
Mr. Tito Carillo, Assistant Professor of Jazz Trumpet, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champagne
Mr. David Cooper, Associate Professor of Trumpet, University of Wisconsin-Platteville
Dr. Ryan Gardner, Assistant Professor of Trumpet, Oklahoma State University
Dr. Todd J. Hastings, Professor of Music, Pittsburg State University
Mr. Alan Hood, Associate Professor of Trumpet, University of Denver
Dr. Grant Peters, Professor of Music (Trumpet), Missouri State University
Dr. Marc Reed, Assistant Professor of Trumpet, Fort Lewis College
Dr. William Richardson, Associate Professor of Music, Northwest Missouri State University
Dr. Keith Winking, Professor of Trumpet, Texas State University
The festival opened with a performance by 10 members of the Pittsburg State Trumpet Ensemble followed by welcoming comments by Pittsburg State Dean Karl Kunkel and festival director Todd Hastings. Hastings encouraged both students and faculty to visit the exhibit booths sponsored by Lyben Music and Thompson Music, which were open through the duration of the Festival.
Joe Burgstaller then presented a masterclass entitled “Change Your Mind, Change Your Playing” featuring participants from UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance and Oklahoma State University. He began by discussing his musical upbringing and career highlighting his work with the Meridian Arts Ensemble, Canadian Brass and currently as a soloist and educator.
Drawing from his extensive experience, Burgstaller theorized that many musicians build a wall between performer and audience and almost end up seeing the audience as adversaries who are judging them. To help overcome these obstacles, Burgstaller discussed several scientific and psychological analogies in order to show that a performer’s perceptions are not frequently audience members’ realities. He asserted that while musicians cannot control their experiences, they can relay and reinforce positive messages to the brain.
Burgstaller suggested that performers prioritize the audience’s enjoyment as the audience gives their time, money and energy to enjoy a performance. The performer should then accept that excitement, amalgamating the emotion with artistic skills and then relaying it back to the audience. Burgstaller emphasized practicing because “everything we play on stage, is what we practice.”
At the conclusion of the masterclass, more than 70 students participated in a Group Trumpet Ensemble Reading Session, led by Ryan Gardner. Gardner offered suggestions on breathing, ensemble playing and sight-reading while directing the music of Gabrieli, Bruckner and Ewazen.
Students from area high schools, Circle High School and Webb City High School had an opportunity to work with Grant Peters and David Cooper. Peters offered ideas on practice techniques and style. Cooper discussed the importance of an inner pulse as well as the concepts of sound and vibrato.
Night one closed with a performance by the Crowder Jazz Orchestra, directed by Todd Hastings, featuring festival guest artists Tito Carrillo, David Cooper and Alan Hood. The performance included tunes by Basie, Nestico, Florence and Kenton, among others. The evening culminated with a performance of Go Daddy, Go! that included solos by Hastings, Carrillo, Cooper, Hood, Tom Smith and band members Chris Shockley and Keith Wood.
The second day opened with a group warm-up session led by Marc Reed. Reed provided a warm-up packet and led students in breathing exercises, mouthpiece drills, Stamp flow studies and Vizzutti’s technical studies.
The Faculty Artist Recital included performances by Iskander Akhmadulin, Grant Peters, Ryan Gardner, Keith Benjamin, Marc Reed and Bill Richardson, with accompaniment by Natalia Bolshakova.
Clinician, Joe Burgstaller offered another masterclass which featured performers from Pittsburg State University, University of Wisconsin-Platteville, Missouri State University, Texas State University, Oklahoma State University and the University of Missouri. Students performed works by Dello Joio, Stevens, Torelli, Bitsch, Vivaldi and Bach. Burgstaller worked with each student and offered suggestions on singing, phrasing, articulation, and performance-based issues.
Todd Hastings followed leading a panel discussion with the Midwest Trumpet Festival faculty and guest artists, entitled “Careers in Music.” Topics of discussion included musical goals, musical mentors and idols, career options and performance anxiety. The session ended with a question and answer session.
Participating students from Pittsburg State University, University of Missouri, University of Wisconsin – Platteville, Missouri State University, Oklahoma State University, UMKC Conservatory of Music and Dance and Texas State University all performed well on the College Student Spotlight Recital. The concert featured the music of Vizzutti, Bohme, Charlier, Torelli, Tull, Fasch, Chaynes, Stephenson, Tartini, Britten, Honegger, E. Williams and Bozza.
After the concert, Keith Winking provided a lecture entitled, “What’s the Buzz?” a comparison of warm-ups. Winking discussed several philosophies on warming-up, different routines and offered opposing perspectives on buzzing citing several renowned pedagogues and performers.
Following Winking’s lecture, David Cooper, Tito Carrillo and Alan Hood led a masterclass on jazz improvisation rechniques. Suggestions included scale exercises, jazz books to work through, learning licks, using technology (i.e. band in the box) and suggestions of performers to listen to and study.
The Midwest Trumpet Festival concluded with a finale concert by Joe Burgstaller with Natalia Bolshakova on piano. Burgstaller played the entire program from memory. The program included Mendez’s La Virgen de la Macarena, Piazzola’s Oblivion on flugelhorn, Arutunian’s Trumpet Concerto, Vivaldi/Bach’s Concerto in D Major, Sometimes I Feel like a Motherless Child, selections from Gershwin’s Porgy and Bess, two of Chick Corea’s Childrens Songs and Ellington’s Echoes of Harlem. The crowd rose to their feet at the conclusion of the concert and Burgstaller provided an encore from his new CD License to Thrill.
Source: Dr. Ryan Gardner, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma