ITEC 2004 brief debrief

[dwaskew]

Well, I really did try to give reports, but there was but one computer available in the hotel lobby I was staying in--and it was constantly in use by elderly members of tour groups who didnt' know how to send email....

At any rate, I'm back. Somewhat rested, and just now starting to put it all in perspective.

Musically speaking this was a truly amazing conference. There will be more full write ups both on the ITEAonline.org and Tubanews.com sites, so I won't try to write up the entire thing here. Just general impressions:

1. It was hot. Temperature and musically. The Liszt Academie had no AC, except in a few rooms, and it was spotty at best in those. The Great Hall was a gorgeous room, with good acoustics, if a bit boomy at times. The Small Hall was better in some ways for the recitals, as it wasn't quite so boomy. The Jazz club (across the street) was a sauna. (So, to keep hydrated it was a very good thing there was a handy bar in the room!) But musically, there was nothing cold, either. The artists were all really on top of their game, so to speak.

2. The range of musical experiences was as diverse as I've ever seen, if not more than most conferences. True Saxhorn recitals. A Slovenian performing on helicon. Ophicleide in recital. Then hearing different approaches to similar music by players from different countries. I know I'm leaving things out here, but great performances all the way around.

3. Jazz nights were as enjoyable as ever. The Jam session night was absolutely incredible. Just great hearing all the different approaches.

4. New equipment. Besson has 3 new Wick mouthpieces. They'll be in production within months. Carbon Fiber case--(independent company) a bit pricey, but very strong, AND very light. Hirsbrunner has a new 5/4 model CC, still not quite right yet, but on the way to being great. Miraphone's two Eb models--built in conjunction with Oystein Baadsvik. One has been out and around for a while, but the new one was delivered to the conference. One is very light, (newest) for solo playing, and the other has a bit more depth. Both are very even throughout all registers, but neither would be considered "big". There is a mutemaker (Schlimpfer, I think) who has some new models--all fiber in orient, that looked pretty cool The neatest one he had is a travelling practice/straight mute. I didn't have much time in the other rooms, but perhaps others can chime in on what else they saw.

If you have specific questions, bring them on--I'll do my best to answer.

all in all, a very,very good show.

Dennis AsKew
Pres. Elect, ITEA

[dwaskew]

I've had several inquiries about this--here's what I've sent a couple of folks already:

The prototype is a piston instrument. The bell is pretty long, compared to other Hirsbrunner models, and sits, in my opinion, far above head level. In its current state, pitch is pretty good. The low register really fills out nicely, and the register above the staff is very even. Basically the problem, again, in my opinion, is the range in the staff. It's just not as clear a sound as the rest. I felt that the sound "pops" a bit more than with a 4/4 Hirsbrunner, of which they had two examples to test against in the room.

They have a new craftsman working on this horn--a young man named Matthias (and I just cannot remember his last name off the top of my head) He seems to be very good, and was writing down comments like crazy through the entire week. Peter was not in attendance, only Matthias.

hope this helps!

dwa

[Roger Lewis]

The prototype F tuba at the Miraphone room was the new 281 F. It has the same valve body as the 181 but is more of a 4/4 sized instrument. GREAT horn! Christian assured me that they will be available in the Spring. They already have most of the molds and jigs made for them they just need to free up some shop time to build them - that's where the delay is. I will be getting one as soon as they are available, as much as I love my 181 this horn is wonderful.

[Rommel72]

Yeah, I was there. It was a blast.