Hot News December 2006
Spanish Clarinet Festival Activities, Master Classes,
Seminars, and Concerts
22 -23 December 2006
I Encuentro de Clarinete
(First Clarinet Meeting),
Valencia (Spain)
CANYES XILEMA organized this event to bring Spanish Clarinetist new
experiences and knowledge about their instruments, as well as displaying a
variety of high quality products. There were four Master Classes and we
also had the opportunity of enjoying two concerts:
Bass Clarinet & piano. Pedro Rubio (clarinet)
and Ana Benavides (piano). They performed for the first time two pieces.
The closing concert was interpreted by Ben
Redwine, Cornelio Gomez, Javier Vilaplana, Emilio Tornero and Jose Vicente
Herrera.
Teachers who did the Master Classes:
PEDRO RUBIO. - Conference about Bass Clarinet.
Professor of Clarinet and Bass Clarinet at the Joaquin Turina
Conservatory in Madrid, member of the executive committee of the Spanish
Clarinet Society (ADEC) and President of the Spanish Bass Clarinet Society.
OMAR HENDERSON. - Conference about taking care of the Clarinet.
BENJAMIN REDWINE. - Conference about mouthpieces.
JOSE VICENTE HERRERA.- Conference about reeds.
Principal clarinetist of the Valencia
Orchestra.
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Clarinet Day students
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Stamitz Concerto rehearsal
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Sharon Kam Class
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Gil Class
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Gil Shaked
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Israel Chamber Orchestra
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Antony Pay in class
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Pay and Clarinet Ensemble
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Gil Rinot with Period Clarinet
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Period Clarinet tryout
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Krommer Double Clarinet rehearsal
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Stamitz Concerto and student
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Israel Philharmonic's Richard Lesser with Finnish students
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Tel Aviv Conservatory Plaque
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23 December 2006
Clarinet Days - Tel Aviv
Conservatory
Tel Aviv, Israel
Israeli clarinet
students are especially fortunate to have an array of internationally known
players visit and work with them each year. The seventh annual Clarinet Days,
which was held in the Israel Conservatory of Music, Tel Aviv between December
17 and 21, offered to 45 students the opportunity of private
lessons, ensembles, and master classes with a faculty including Antony Pay
(London), Harri Maki (Helsinki), David Howard (Los Angeles), Gili Rinot
(Israel-Holland), Sharon Kam (Israel –Germany), Richard Lesser, Mauricio Paez
and Sarah Elbaz. The students were from Israel, Finland, Turkey, Italy. One of
the highlights for the students was to rehearse and perform in ensembles
together with the guest teachers. Sharon Kam coached and played with 7 students
a charming arrangement from Mozart’s Magic Flute, and Anthony Pay played with
and conducted a student group performing an arrangement of Mozart’s Abduction of
the Seraglio and Gran Partita. Another highlight was the solo competition in
which the winners were presented in concert, performing works by Mozart, Stamitz,
Krommer and Crussel with the Israel Chamber Orchestra and the conductor Ishay
Stekler. Both the ensembles concert and the winners of the soloist competiton
concert were open to the public free of charge.
The entire project of
Clarinet Days was conceived by Sarah Elbaz, and is organized by her almost
single-handedly. Sarah studied with Jacob Barnea and Richard Lesser in Israel,
and with Mitchel Lurie in Los Angeles. She performs in Israel and abroad, and
teaches at the Israel Conservatory of Music and the Buchman-Mehta School of
Music in Tel Aviv. The course is sponsored by Jerusalem Music Center and
America Israel Cultural Foundation.
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MidWest Official Book
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MidWest Hilton Christmas Tree
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Exhibits
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Friends, Mike Getzin and Ricardo Morales
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Julian Bliss playing at display
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Morrie Backun, Julian Bliss
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LeBlanc display with Bliss and staff
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Buffet displays
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AirMax display
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Bois Clarinet Ligature display
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Sam Ash display
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Legere Reeds display
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Selmer Institute with Morales
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Music Software
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Chinese Touring Festival
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23 December 2006
60th Anniverary
Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic - 18 - 23 December
Chicago, Illinois USA
This year hails the 60th year
of this great annual event, with a huge attendance of over 25,000 participants,
including Band and Orchestra Directors from both the professional and Music
Education areas, 650 Industry Exhibitors representing the entire Music field,
including Publishers, Computer Music Software firms, Instrument firms including
manufacturers, Retail firms supplying the nationwide market including Public and
Private Schools, Colleges and Universities, and accessory firms covering the
range across the board on all instruments. The website details all
the events haven taken place, with major events of near Historic importance
occurring almost every day. Details of the high points are mentioned
throughout this summary.
As with each year, the Special and
Premiere Military Bands are represented in concert and in Exhibition, the USAF
Band featured this year. Other ensembles included the US Navy Commodores,
a Brass Quintet from the US Marine Band, and a Chamber Winds Ensemble from the
US Coast Guard Band. Gallery photos above represent the scope and
opportunity available to young people thinking of getting a professional start
and maybe a career in the Band Programs. The WKA Performing Organization
List Page lists all the Military Bands with links so folks can find out about
programs and vacancies.
A very special
interview was held with legendary USAF Band Commander retired Colonel Arnald
Gabriel, where during this session the full house crowd of Band Directors heard
about his illustrious career, including his wartime past in World War II where
he was decorated as a war hero, a fact many knew nothing about. Of special
interest as his music career developed after the war, Gabriel is credited with
having built up to the world-class level the USAF Band he commanded for 21
years. Many in the Band field consider him a hero, and he explained some
of the very important recipes for success of a Band program, the most important
of which is to reach out and get people outside the Band involved, as a guest,
promoter, soloist, including people of influence in the community. This
suggests political interaction to get the mission done, but in fact that is
important strategy to make a program strong. Of special interest to
Clarinetists, after the seminar was over and we spoke, we talked about the Klar/Fest
program started in 1981 and 82, of which I was Director, and how the USAF Band
was a major part of the success of the Festivals. Stanley Drucker, Solo
Clarinetist in the New York Philharmonic, and wife Naomi, along with Ignatious
Gennusa from the Baltimore Symphony, Allen Sigel from the Buffalo Philharmonic,
Michelle Zukovsky from the Los Angeles Philharmonic, Eddie Daniels, Jazz great,
and Loren Kitt from the National Symphony in Washington, were all involved as
soloists under Colonel Gabriel's conducting the USAF Band in 81, and the USAF
Orchestra in 82. This is all a tribute to his outreach to
advance the performance field and bring inspiration to everyone in contact with
him. After the Klar/Fest 81 festival finished, the 4 soloists with the
Band (Druckers, Sigel, and Gennusa) performed gratis with the Band the next day
at their weekly Jefferson Memorial Summer Concert, which further gives tribute
to this great man.
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Dr Janice Minor
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Introduction of Class
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Demonstration on teaching Clarinet to beginner
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There were two important Clarinet
seminars given, one by Professor Charles West from Virginia Commonwealth
University, in which he spoke about tone production and position, air speed and
control, and many other fundamental points of importance. Demonstration was
constant and questions were encouraged and addressed. Above gallery photos
outline the content of this session. Dr Janice Minor,
Professor at James Madison University in Harrisionburg gave a seminar : Clarinet
1,2,3, - Clarinet 101 making emphasis on fundamental teaching of beginners and
advancing students through a Band Program. Working with teachers from the
audience demonstrated what had to be covered. Both sessions were
packed with over 300 people each and well presented.
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Dallas Wind Symphony
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Symphony with John Corigliano
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Dallas conductor introducing Corigliano
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Musashino Academica Wind Ensemble
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Weber Solo Clarinet Section
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Oregon Symphonic Band
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Central Michigan University Chamber Winds- Mozart Gran Partita
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Monterey Jazz Festival
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McCadden Middle School Band
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Downbeat Jazz
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As every year, selected
Bands and Orchestras are invited to perform, and special recognition goes to
groups with remarkable performance. The Musashino Academica Wind
Ensemble from Japan performed to professional standard for a College ensemble,
with the majority of the players, including the entire Clarinet section being
women. One special treat was performance of the Rondo of the Weber
Clarinet Quintet Op 34 with the Clarinet section in unison and memorized.
Performance took the audience by surprise and stunned most of the 3000 students
in the hall. The Dallas Wind Symphony gave 2 concert
sets, to professional standard, with one concert dedicated to the performance of
a recent Band work named Circus Maxima by John Corigliano, who was present and
explained the work and its design. Performance was at the incredible edge
and surely was a work many directors want to perform in their programs. As can
be well noted, the Service Bands gave stunning performances, and each year a
different Band appears as a main feature. These groups are the role models
for young aspiring players and Directors alike. Not to forget
Mozart's 250th Birth Anniversary, the Central Michigan University Chamber Winds
performing the Grand Partita K 361.
As mentioned many times before, this is a
mecca festival not to be missed. One meets friends from years back and the
great pros to aspire to. The next Festival is posted on their site for
December 2007.
Copyright © 1999 WKA-Clarinet.org. All rights reserved.
Revised: October 13, 2007