The fourth Vienna Talk on Music Acoustics will take place at the campus of the University of Music and Performing Arts Vienna September 11th to 14th 2022.
To facilitate a Brass Session, Stew Carter is collecting proposals for presentations from any interested HBS members.
Please contact Stew directly with any questions: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
In addition to academic researchers the target audience also includes instrument makers, conservators and musicians.
Vienna Talk 2022 will follow the DAFx conference, to be held the week before at the same venue.
The Historic Brass Society will be hosting their Early Brass Festival, in conjunction with the Vintage Band Festival, in Northfield MN over July 28-31 2022. We invite proposals, due by Thursday March 31, for presentations related to any aspect of Early Brass. Proposals should include an abstract (250 words) and a biography (125 words) with email contact information for a response. Please send proposals as email attachments (PDF preferred) to Sandy Coffin at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Additional information and updates will be posted at: www.historicbrass.org. See below for further information.
Early Brass Festival 2022
at the
Vintage Band Festival
July 28-31, 2022- Northfield, MN
• • •
Paul Niemisto – Artistic Director VBF
Stan Curtis, – President, HBS
Ronald Rodman- Carleton College Host, Site Manager
Sessions held at the Applebaum Recital Hall, Weitz Center for Creativity,
Carleton College, Union St., Northfield.
13 presentations from Friday 9:00 AM through Sunday 12:00 noon.
Also: Vintage Band Festival presents 40 bands for over 100 concerts in 4 days.
See www.vintagebandfestival.org for information about housing, transportation, dining, and festival schedule. General inquiries: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..
We've gone virtual! For 33 years, our physical address has been President Jeff Nussbaum's apartment in Manhattan and our phone number was his land line and later, his cell phone. Now that Jeff has stepped out of that role, he has also stepped out of the role of "Office Manager" and a number of other roles. (He is still involved in event planning, however, as a member of the Events Committee!)
We now have a new mailing address and telephone:
Historic Brass Society, Inc.
500 Eighth Avenue #1555
New York, NY 10018
212-547-9889
Please update your contact list.
Frank Hosticka and Jeff Nussbaum recently visited Metropolitan Museum of Art musical instrument curator Bradley Strauchen to examine a fascinating coiled 19th century instrument by Jahn of Paris.
Bradley has called this instrument a coiled cornet and presented a cogent taxonomic argument for her choice in an essay available to read here: https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/824266
A compact wooden case is filled with the instrument along with a multitude of crooks and bits.
The Queen has approved the award of Her Majesty’s Medal for Music for the year 2021 to John Wallace CBE.
An internationally renowned Scottish trumpet soloist, composer and educator, John Wallace is the seventeenth recipient of the award, following the celebrated organist Thomas Trotter, who received The Queen's Medal for Music 2020.
John Wallace started playing the trumpet when he was seven years old, and at sixteen, toured Europe with the National Youth Orchestra of Great Britain. His professional career spans over five decades, playing with the Philharmonia Orchestra, the Royal Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra.
John has dedicated much of his career to the promotion of arts education. He served as Head of the Brass Faculty at the Royal Academy of Music in London, before becoming Principal of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, formerly the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama. He is a Fellow of the Royal Academy of Music, the Royal College of Music, the Trinity Laban Conservatoire, the Leeds Conservatoire, the Royal Northern College of Music, and the Royal Irish Academy of Music.
As well as his career as soloist, John Wallace is the founder of the Wallace Collection, a brass ensemble currently based in St Andrews. The Wallace Collection has toured all over the world, and is now based in Scotland as a partner of the St Andrews Music Participation (StAMP) Project, which has given 150 youngsters across Fife the opportunity to start learning a brass instrument since the start of the pandemic. John also convenes the Music Education Partnership Group, which worked to secure free instrumental tuition in Scottish state schools.
The Queen’s Medal for Music was established in 2005 at the suggestion of former Master of The Queen's Music, the late Sir Peter Maxwell Davies. The Medal is awarded annually to an outstanding individual or group of musicians who have had a major influence on the musical life of the nation.
The nominating process for the award is overseen by a committee chaired by the Master of The Queen's Music, Judith Weir. The committee meet annually to discuss their nominees before submitting their recommendation to The Queen for approval.
Commenting on the award, Judith Weir said:
“Following his stellar career as a trumpet player, John Wallace transformed arts education during his stewardship of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland. His creativity and energy remain an inspiration and example to everyone in the musical world.”
On hearing of the award, John Wallace said:
“I am honoured and humbled to accept this award. I work with many teams of inspiring musicians across every genre of music and aspect of music education in Scotland. I just light the touch-paper and stand back. This award is recognition of the indomitable spirit of those musicians.”