John Ellis

CYM 2010

John — Wed, 14 Jul 2010 20:02:19 +0000

Well, another year of Crane Youth Music is over. Every year I am amazed how much fun I have. It is so great to work with young, bright, and talented students. And this year was no exception. Thirty wonderful trumpet players from all over New York. We had a great trumpet ensemble, fantastic concerts, enthusiastic lessons. It was a great pleasure to work with each and every student. I can’t wait until next year! (I promise not to fall off my chair!).

Witches, Murderers, and a Cimbasso

John — Tue, 30 Mar 2010 02:33:21 +0000

Once again I am enjoying playing with Canada’s National Arts Centre Orchestra in Opera Lyra’s production of Verdi’s “Macbeth”, Verdi’s first staging of a work of Shakespeare written in 1847. I love playing opera! And there is actually quite a bit of playing in this one. Brass chords are prominent throughout the work, as is typical of the writing of Verdi. It is so much fun is working with this orchestra’s great brass section. And one of the things that is so unique about the sound is the use of the Cimbasso as the bass instrument, played by tubist Nick Atkinson. The Cimbasso is basically a large valved bass trombone, and was the bass brass instrument of choice for Verdi operas. It’s closeness in sonority to the rest of the brass creates a chordal sound that literally resonates through your bones! Ten brass playing perfectly in tune can sound like an organ.

This is a great opera for the brass. You’re always playing, and there are many sweet moments for the trumpets. The down-side, of course, is that because I am in the pit I have absolutely no idea what is going on above me…

Day-tudes by Jim Stephenson

John — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 16:46:58 +0000

I recently had the opportunity to participate in a fantastic project by composer Jim Stephenson. For the entire month of February participants would receive an etude written that very day – a Day-tude if you will. For less than the price of a cup of coffee we would receive a newly composed etude for the trumpet that Jim would write that day. And what an intimate experience! Each etude came with a short explanation describing the work and compositional process. One etude had references to the Olympic games happening at that time. One, called “Meter-Feeder” was a mixed meter etude influenced by the parking meters he had to feed in the city that day. He would often take suggestions – one etude called “between the lines” was in response to someone asking for an etude that would not go above the staff. So not only does this one not go above the staff, it doesn’t go below it! Others reflected the experiences or feelings that were happening to him at that moment. Now, I’ve had composers write music for me before. But I’ve never had the experience to get a new piece of music each day for an entire month. It was such a personal experience. And what a pleasure to play a “world premiere” every day! It invigorated my practice.

I asked Jim a few questions about the project.

You have spent much of your life as a professional trumpet player. When did you begin composing?

I began composing in the summer of 1993, completely by chance. I had been arranging at that point (for Erich Kunzel, late conductor of Cincinnati Pops) – and wanted to try my hand at composing. I went to Northwestern for a summer program entitled” “Adventures in Bad Music”. It was just a discussion group whose purpose it was to discuss what made “bad music” is bad? Example of discussion: “If 100 trained classical musicians think country western music is “bad”, but 2 million people are buying those records/CDs, is it really “bad music”? Anyway, the final assignment was to write a BAD piece of music. I failed – the class liked my piece. So, that’s how it all began.

What inspired you to begin the Day-Tude project?

Actually a colleague/fellow composer Robert Ian Winstin was doing the same thing for piano. (Except he got at up at 3 am to do his!) I decided to give it a go for trumpet. Plus, my hidden agenda: I needed to begin getting in shape to play an Easter gig (yes, I still play trumpet from time to time) and I’m not good/patient at doing long tones, so I decided to combine practicing with inventing etudes, and it turned out to be really fun!

How do you view the relationship between composer and performer, and how has this experience affected that role?

Completely unexpected result was everyone chiming in on how cool it was to receive a “piece” the very day (or sometimes just minutes after) it was composed. Everyone got to enjoy his or her very own personal “world premiere”. And for me it became exciting to keep at it – knowing there was an expectation out there. It was also fun to receive suggestions from everyone, on what I might try for the next day. It became a real interactive process that way. There still is a barrier for me; I do believe I have a lot of worthwhile pieces for trumpet players to explore: my sonatas, my concertos, other recital pieces, chamber music, etc. I look online on various websites, or trumpet listservs, and see that everyone is always programming the mainstays: Hindemith, Tomasi, Haydn, Hummel, etc – and this is absolutely a must, of course, but I think there is something to be said for seeking out music from us living composers who are creating that stuff right now (or trying to). Just think how cool it would have been to email Hindemith and ask him what he meant with his tempos, or with the final chorale, etc, and hear from him DIRECTLY. This information age we live in now is fascinating in that regard.

What has it been like to write a daily etude for the trumpet?

A completely revealing experience. I didn’t know if I would have it in me to continue coming up with new ideas on a daily basis, but I found that the more I did it, the more I found in the well. This has actually given me a strange kind of confidence to keep moving forward as a composer. So in essence, the result was entirely positive.

Jim will be doing another “Day-tude” project in April – this time intermediate etudes. Early subscriptions are just $25.00. You can subscribe here. This is a great opportunity that I highly recommend!

The “Geek” corner

John — Mon, 15 Feb 2010 14:51:31 +0000

It’s time for the “geek” corner, our monthly look at trumpet and trumpet-related equipment. Today we will examine the stainless steel and titanium mouthpieces from Giddings and Webster. According to their website:

Our mouthpieces are made from the finest surgical Stainless steel and Titanium. These Materials are unique, and in our experience superior to brass. Stainless steel and Titanium will never have to be silver-plated. Brass mouthpieces however can be very harmful when their thin silver plating wears through. This can lead to brass infection, and possible brass poisoning. Surgical stainless steel and titanium are proven materials that are safe for humans from medical applications to food preparation, and now instrument mouthpieces. Both of these materials create a unique sound and response that surpasses that of brass. Brass is a very soft material, and absorbs vibrations resulting in a tone that can often get muddy, be difficult to project, and make articulations seem non-existent. Stainless steel and titanium project vibrations into the instrument giving the player more control. This makes it easier to produce the sound you desire, and make great music.

A good friend, Colin Traquair, told me about these mouthpieces. He said “You too can play a mouthpiece that was once part of the landing gear of a Russian MIG.” Ha! We are certainly becoming more aware of chemicals and other impurities that we come into contact with on a daily basis. The thought of a mouthpiece made from something as pure as surgical-quality stainless steel peeked my interest. So I purchased a “Dave Hickman” model, with a .673 inner rim, deep cup and #24 throat in brushed stainless steel. (Unfortunately not available in Titanium…) It is a beautiful mouthpiece. My first impressions were that the stainless steel felt colder on the lips than the delrin or gold-plated brass that I’m used to. But the mouthpiece warmed up quickly, and had great response. Their “Helios radius” rim is very comfortable. Though it seems at first impression to be smaller than my Bach 1c, it still felt very comfortable and offered good response in both the high and low registers. I’m planning on using this for the next few weeks to get a better opinion of it.

Remember, whenever you try a new mouthpiece, it can often take several weeks to get a full estimate of it’s characteristics. Don’t base your decision solely on initial perceptions. I’ll write more in the coming months about my opinion of this mouthpiece, but my initial reaction is quite good. I might have to pick up the piccolo trumpet version.

The joy of music making

John — Sun, 07 Feb 2010 14:13:58 +0000

Anna Hendrickson

This weekend I had the good fortune to perform Telemann’s Tafelmusik with the Orchestra of Northern New York in Tupper Lake and Potsdam New York. This is part of a great suite of music that was composed in 1733 as background music for feasts and banquets. Telemann scored this particular suite for strings and continuo with trumpet and oboe. It’s a workout for the trumpet and oboe, but the beautiful intertwining lines make it some of the most joyful music I’ve had the opportunity to perform. And probably the best part of the weekend was having the chance to play with Anna Hendrickson, principal oboe of the orchestra. Rarely does one have the chance to work with such a consummate musician. Her phrasing and shaping of the musical line was sublime artistry. She challenged me to play each phrase more beautifully. Every time she plays a note she puts her whole soul into it. (I’m just glad I don’t have to deal with reeds!)

This is what keeps me doing what I do. Having the opportunity to share great music with an appreciative audience, and to work with wonderful colleagues. I’ve been fortunate to have the opportunity to work with Ken Andrews, John Lindsey, and all the members of the orchestra for so many years. They have made music-making a joy.

This weekend concludes a busy three weeks for me. It started with the Ottawa Symphony performing the Bartok Concerto for Orchestra. What a profound piece of music! Then the National Arts Centre Orchestra performed a series of concerts with the Boston Ballet. Their rendition of the 1911 Nijinsky-choreographed “L’apriés-midi d’un faune” was absolutely stunning. I still can’t believe I had the opportunity to see that. At the same time we’ve begun a new semester at Crane. I’m looking forward to an outstanding semester for our trumpet students. I’ll write more about that later. Just remember to keep the joy in your music-making.