Carol Jantsch Masterclass/Clinic in Chicago

[Northern]

On Wednesday, May 16, 2007, Carol Jantsch, the recently-appointed Principal Tubist of the Philadelphia Orchestra, will give a masterclass/clinic before the Philadelphia Orchestra's performance at Symphony Center that night.
The event with Ms. Jantsch is scheduled from 4:30 PM until 5:45 PM in Buntrock Hall within Symphony Center, 220 South Michigan Avenue.
This event is free and open to the public. Please pass this message along to students, teachers, members of the press and/or anybody who may find interest in this.

Sincerely,

Gene Pokorny and Floyd Cooley

[Northern]

This afternoon!!!

[Steve Marcus]

It was a very enjoyable presentation. Carol began by playing Debussy's Syrinx on her F horn. Then, on her CC tuba, she played a blues piece composed by one of her friends at U of M that was influenced by the Bach Cello Sonatas.

Then Carol listened and had good comments as Keith Poleto played Franz Strauss' Notturno, William Russell played the first movement of the Vaughan Williams Concerto, and Adam Schneider played the famous (among tuba players, at least) excerpts from Fountains of Rome and Prokofiev 5.

Carol sounded great later in the evening playing Tchaik 5 with the Philadelphia Orchestra. With a performance like that, she should have no trouble earning tenure with the orchestra when it is up for consideration in a couple of weeks.

It was easy to tell why Maestro Eschenbach has his supporters and his detractors. His interpretation of the Tchaikovsky took slow tempi to the limits (wow, how well Jennifer Montone was able to handle Eschenbach's stretching of the tempo in the big horn solo in the second movement!). He also made the maximum of grand pauses, waiting for every ounce of sound in Chicago's Orchestra Hall to disappear before proceding with the next phrase. The orchestra received a rousing SO, which resulted in a swift rendition of "Dance of the Comedians" from Smetana's The Bartered Bride. This must be considered a signature tune for the Philadelphia Orchestra; it was the first track on their classic RCA album from the '70s, "Those Fabulous Philadelphians."

Thank you, Gene Pokorny and Floyd Cooley for coordinating Carol's Master Class!

[schneidah]

Let me second the warm response to the master class and performance tonight. Carol came through like a champ in concert; she gave an excellent foundation to the brass (and blended very well with the basses) and really came through tastefully in the big spots. The whole wind section sounded pretty darn good, playing artfully while giving support to a great string section; a fine performance all around. Kudos again to Jennifer Montone on the horn solo; truly inspired (and inspiring) playing.

Thanks again to Gene and Floyd for setting up the master class, and to Carol for some excellent observations and suggestions. I'm looking forward to putting them to work in the practice room!

[Steve Marcus]

Carol plays a Yamaha YFB-822S F tuba and a Perantucci PT-6PS CC tuba.