| Trent,
Spare us.
. . . but seriously, great, great things were accomplished. We all started a critical re-examination of ourselves as composers, performers, and deep listeners. New repertoire was introduced and spectacular performers emerged -- please add Tristram Williams (Associate Principal trumpet of the Melbourne Symphony), Gareth Flowers (on tour as we speak with the Empire Brass), Brandon Ridenour (about to join the Canadian Brass), and Moritz Goerg (student of Bo Nilsson and Hakon) to my list of "names to watch". Dan Rosenboom was also in attendance and shows no signs of slipping from the list. Others such as Kevin Maloney, Luke McDonald, Eric Miller, Andreas Stoltzfus, and Tapio Paavilainen are on the cusp of greatness, and the rest not far behind (and closing rapidly). The class was simply excellent, Markus was his usual brilliant and poetic self, Cassone perhaps the best trumpeter any of us have ever heard, Burnsie all over the place (really sounding up), and the four old guys (Stevens, Gould, et moi) added dashes of this and that perspective.
Very humbling, very inspiring, and I'll feed off Chosen Vale for months. Our teaching will benefit from stealing unabashedly from one another.
Video and sound clips will appear on the Chosen Vale website in time. Watch for them.
Very high and off to the next on Friday,
EC |