all-
I thought the article was interesting; he's certainly speaking his mind. Don't know that if I had been at the audition, and gotten nervous or played Mahler V in a way he didn't like, I would like him mocking me on the Internet, but I (personally) would've loved some specific criticisms. I took a sub list audition for the Atlanta Symphony recently (kind of strange in that there are no official results; they aren't publicizing placement or anything), and got some GREAT comments that are already improving my playing.
I start to realize in situations like these that one of the reasons orchestra trumpet sections are sounding relatively similar (as opposed to 30+ years ago) is because people have similar ideas (from recordings of Bud/Phil/others, I presume) of what a good orchestral trumpet sound is (and I mean tone, articulation, maybe volume too). Anytime you get the same comment from multiple people you know it's not them, it's you---kind of like metronome practice. Personally, I like the sound they're looking for, and I'm looking for it too.
nplotts1-
Hey, I represent that! ;) I'm a nasty dog...
In all seriousness, I know it can be frustrating to really break things down and work on fundamentals throughout a lesson, but usually there's a very good reason. We always have to find the weakest parts of our playing and fix them, and fundamental practice is going to make everything easier, as you know since you've improved a lot since the fall.
Personally, I'm all for playing the standards and learning rep, but not until the fundamental skills needed for a given piece are in place and easy. Not saying anybody thinks differently, but I do hear too many students playing rep that's too hard and developing bad habits (usually too much tension, also a sort of satisfaction with missed notes/bad tone/etc.) So I'd suggest playing music, but do the music that your teacher assigns you (he'll know better than us or maybe even you) what you're ready for in terms of long-term development. Also do lots and lots of sightreading!!! Easy and hard stuff.
That said, here's info on your library:
Zach S. Henderson Library
(you don't have to illegally copy music to study pieces that are in there). Looks like there might not be a separate music library, it's just part of the main one? Listen to all of the trumpet recordings that are there. Search for them using
http://gil.georgiasouthern.edu There's a recording by Ed Carroll (you might've heard of him..)---great stuff!
-Colin