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 convienece.

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.

11/16 - A concerto for Shofar, Trombone and Orchestra, Tekeeyah, by Meira Warshauer was premiered on October 24^th with soloist Haim Avitsur and the Wilmington Symphony Orchestra in Wilmington, N.C. The work is one of a growing number of contemporary compositions that call for the ancient instrument (see Malcolm Miller’s fine article “The Shofar and its Symbolism” in the Historic Brass Society Journal vol. 14, 2002). In a recent phone interview, Avistur, a trombone teacher at the Aaron Copland School of Music at Queens College, CUNY, explained that he can get about a dozen notes from his four foot shofar, E and C being the most stable and the others relatively unstable. Bending into the notes is the only way to produce them effectively. He further mentioned that the soloist’s responsibility is about equally shared between playing the trombone and the shofar. More information can be found www.meirawarshauer.com.

7/29 - For those members on Facebook looking to connect with each other more directly (since the website doesn't have a blog/email server yet), I have created the "Historic Brass Society" group on Facebook. Membership in the group requires only that you are on Facebook and that I approve you as a group member (didn't want to leave it open to everyone so we wouldn't get spammed all the time). Once you are a member you'll be able to see other members, contact them, start discussions and treads, post news and videos, and all the other things that normal groups do on Facebook. You'll also be able to contact me directly with news, etc. for the HBS website.

Bryan

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