Meinl-Weston on Tour: Army Tuba Conference, Lecture Tour of Gerhard A. Meinl:
News
Greenroom (June 99):
Editorial | Meinl-Weston on Tour: Army Tuba Conference, Lecture Tour of Gerhard A. Meinl | F-Tuba 45S-LP | Ernst Hutter on 451 | John T. Mueller on 451 | Uli Haas on 451 | new CD releases | BBb-Tuba 25
by Paul Bennett (6/99)
Our 1999 USA Gerhard A. Meinl Tuba lecture tour kicked off in
the amazing metropolis of New York city. It was my first time
in New York, so I was obliged to visit the top of the Empire
State building with Gerhard during a few hours spare time. We
arrived in New York on the 25th January, of course it
was a bitterly cold January morning, but great to be in the USA.
In the evening, we met up with Warren Deck and Trumpet player
Claudio Roditi in a small Brazilian Restaurant in New York. It
was great to meet up with them again, and we discussed recent
stories over an excellent dinner.
Tuesday
morning we arrived at the famous Juilliard School of Music, where
Warren is Professor of Brass. The main centres of attraction
for the Students were the new Meinl-Weston 45
S-LP F-Tuba and the new Meinl-Weston series 2000
CC-Tuba, both recently delivered to Warren. We spent the
morning listening to Warren and students at the School testing
these instruments thoroughly, both were given rave reviews.
The 45 S-LP possesses excellent intonation, together with a full, round sound making this a very versatile instrument for the students. The series 2000 CC-Tuba is a totally hand-built tuba, based around the Meinl-Weston 2155 with some changes and is described by Warren as “the best Tuba I have ever played”. Of course because of the extra work put into the manufacture of such a specialised Instrument, the price for the series 2000 CC-Tuba is higher than the standard 2155, but it is agreed that this Tuba will be a very wise investment for the serious musician.
Gerhard’s
first lecture was received well, and we moved onto the local
restaurant for dinner with Warren, stopping off to leave a greetings
note on the Tuba of Patrick Harrild, who was in New York with
the London Symphony Orchestra that evening.
Amongst the incredible collection of artists
appearing at the Army Conference were the Melton Tuba Quartet,
and John T. Mueller, who is Principle Euphonium with the United
States Army Band “Pershings Own”. John produced a polished
performance of Rolf Wilheim`s Concertino for Euphonium on the
final concert and the Melton Tuba Quartet really wowed the audience
with their sheer versatility and panache on stage. Heiko Triebener
and Markus Hötzel also appeared separately as soloists with
the US Army band and the US Army Orchestra respectively.
Next
it was on to Arizona, to meet up with Samuel J. Pilafian at the
Arizona State University – I was first greeted by the amazing
warm sunshine in Phoenix – what a change from Washington!
ASU is a very well equipped university, and tastefully set within
the beautiful suburbs of Tempe, Arizona. Surrounded by palm trees
and an excellent climate for February, it was tempting to remain
here for the full duration of the trip!
The
next day was free, so we venture into the famous Red Rocks of
Sedona in the Arizona desert with Sam, at the end of the day,
we had witnessed amazing scenery and a glorious sunset, we retired
exhausted to the hotel for a night-cap before bed.
Gerhard gave his second
lecture of the tour to a large university audience after a day
of instrument testing and observing Sam conducting the excellent
ASU jazz ensemble. The lecture went over time, but no problem,
as questions came flying regarding instrument manufacture, and
when someone asked Gerhard about the future of brass instruments
“we are waiting for someone to invent a new instrument”
answered Gerhard! We later moved onto the local bar with some
of the older students from ASU to “discuss” more musical
matters!
Sadly it was time to move on,
and Iowa was our next destination. We travelled via Chicago to
Waterloo, Iowa, where we were greeted by fresh winds and
a very relieved Jeffrey Funderburk
– if you had seen our tiny plane, you would know what I
mean!
We were now on our way to the University of Northern Iowa, where
Jeff is Professor of Tuba. At the university, we again met up
with John Mueller, who appeared
as guest soloist at the university that evening as part of his
current solo tour. His playing was immaculate and received rousing
applause from a large audience.
The next
day was spent again with the testing of instruments, looking
through Jeff’s amazing collection of old Tubas and then
onto Gerhard’s lecture at UNI - I notice more daring comments
in his deliveries every time!
It was now
Friday 5th February, and as we arrived in Indianapolis,
Indiana to meet Daniel Perantoni, the travelling started to catch
up with me, but it was great to see Dan again and we made our
way to Bloomington, Indiana to Indiana University. The Melton Tuba Quartet were already at the university, and gave a masterclass there the night before. That night Gerhard took the stage, greeted by a fanfare by the Melton Tuba Quartet and gave his lecture at 6.30pm to a large audience, including the doyen of the tuba world, Harvey Phillips, who was accompanied by his wife.The lecture went well, including some teasing of Dan by Gerhard, and we all retired to the local pub for a little social get together and some excellent food.
In
the end, we had a really great trip where we were fortunate to
meet many existing old friends, and make happy acquaintances
with new ones, including many stars of the future.
The next trip? You’ll just have to wait and see!