2/10 - The 26th Annual HBS Early Brass Festival will be held this coming August 5 -8, 2010 in Northfield, MN, in colaboration with the 2nd Vintage Band Festival. The Vintage Band Festival will host various ensembles. In addition to those activities, the EBF will present the usual array of lectures, performances, and informal playing sessions for all early brass instrument; natural trumpet, natural horn, cornett, sackbut, serpent, and 19th century brass. A special pre-EBF excursion will be organized to visit the National Music Museum in Vermillion, SD. Many participants will be staying at the Archer House in Northfield, where special festival prices have been arranged. A conference registration form has also been posted.

Those wishing to present at the conference should submit a 250-word proposal to Jeff Nussbaum (president@historicbrass.org) at their earliest convenience.

2/17 - Rick Seraphinoff will be directing his annual Natural Horn Workshop this coming June 14-19, 2010 at the Jacobs School Of Music, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN. This is a workshop for professionals, students, steachers, and advanced amateurs interested in the natural horn. The program includes daily master classes, ensemble sessions, and lectures. For those who do not own an instrument, a limited number of horns will be available. The registration deadline is May 14, 2010. For further information go to www.music.indiana.edu/summer/natural-horn or email musicsp@indiana.edu

2/17 - On 14 July 2009, BRaSS (Brass Research and Scholarship in Scotland) hosted a Trumpet Forum at the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow with lectures and concerts exploring different aspects of the trumpet.

BRaSS is a group of researchers and performers gathered around John Wallace, Principal of the Academy. Its idea is to bring together the various strands of brass scholarship and performing activities to stimulate interaction between performance and historical research at the Academy. Organized by Verena Jakobsen Barth, the Trumpet Forum focused on the many facets of the trumpet. It brought together researchers and performers in a program of paper sessions and performances that gave a myriad of insights, including historical aspects, organological considerations, contemporary and historical performance practices.

Following a welcome by John Wallace, the keynote speaker Trevor Herbert, presented his talk “The Trumpet: The Unanswered Questions”, in which he gave an overview of the state of research into the trumpet as well as an outlook into the future. Invited guest Reine Dahlqvist from Gothenburg talked about the Regent’s Bugle and other English slide trumpets, and in a later presentation, about the trumpet as a solo instrument in Vienna from 1660 to 1830. Three members of BRaSS gave papers: Verena Jakobsen Barth, talked about soloist profiles, Ph.D. student Rui Pedro De Oliveira Alves, about the trombone in Portugal and the Charamela Real, and Sandy McGrattan on the 'Bach' trumpet in 19th-century Britain. Professor Arnold Myers, who came over from Edinburgh, gave an insight into considerations about the identity and convergence of the trumpet and the cornet, and PhD student Raymond Burkhart from Los Angeles gave an overview of cornet and trumpet quartets in the United States from ca. 1885 to ca. 1935. Mike Diprose demonstrated the natural trumpet’s practical assimilation into current Historically Informed Performance (HIP) and John Wallace and Sandy McGrattan gave an insight into their forthcoming book about the History of the Trumpet (“From Jericho to Jazz”). Special guest John Webb finished the sessions by talking about signaling brass, demonstrating with items from his collection.

During lunch and coffee brakes the participants could enjoy Tom Poulson playing “Four Maries”, a newly composed solo piece by Michael Bennett.
The highly successful day ended with a reception and conference dinner, to the sound of 19th-century brass chamber music performed on period instruments by Academy brass students, joined by Bryan Allan (head of brass) and John Wallace.

- Verena Barth

2/10 - The Michaelstein Monastery Foundation in Blankenburg/Harz, Germany, hosted the 30th Music Instrument Building Symposium from 23–25 October 2009. This year’s theme was “The Cornett – History, Instruments and Construction.” Academics, musicians, and instrument makers from Germany, Austria, Switzerland, France, Italy, the UK, and the USA presented papers on numerous aspects of the cornett as well as on the second focus of the symposium, which was not mentioned in its title: the serpent.

Howard Weiner has completed his Report on the 30th Music Instrument Building Symposium in Blankenburg/Harz, which includes a synopsis of the activities, performance, and papers given.

1/21 - The new year has seen the publication of Sackbut Solutions: A Practical Guide to Playing the Sackbut. This tutor was designed specifically for the sackbut and written by top European player Adam Woolf. The book, which boasts over 200 pages of advice, exercises, studies and solo and ensemble repertoire, is the fruit of many years of teaching and playing the sackbut at the highest level. It also refers throughout to historical sources. With something for players of any level and the aim to inspire and encourage players everywhere, Sackbut Solutions caters for those coming from the modern trombone, as well as those starting out on the sackbut afresh, addressing stylistic and technical issues including: concept of sound, articulation, ornamentation, tuning and pitch. Sackbut Solutions is available now by following this link: www.adamwoolf.com.

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