Allan Dean introduced John Thiessen as the only full time natural trumpet player in the United States.  Thiessen is in tremendous demand for Baroque performances throughout North America and has many natural trumpet recordings to his credit.

Thiessen began by discussing the natural trumpet and its inherent qualities, noting that the instrument in B-flat was twice as long as our modern B-flat instrument.  He moved on to discuss part writing for the natural trumpet, noting that lower parts correspond to the timpani while the upper parts cover melodic material.  He views Bach's Brandenburg Concerto as the ultimate challenge for the natural trumpet, recommending that one works up from the B-flat crook to the F crook and then to "take your chances with destiny."

The concept of "musical" and "nonmusical" trumpeters was mentioned, and Thiessen noted the difference between each: the "nonmusical" were hired for simple fanfare playing while the "musical" were hired for the melodic playing of the day.

Thiessen was questioned about his daily routine.  He spends about 25 minutes a day on long tones; after several hours' rest, he returns to work on flexibility studies in triplets, upper register slurs, and scale studies.  He commented that playing natural trumpet is beneficial for playing the valved instrument in that it reduces tension and improves focus on pitch center.  He concluded his section of the program with a brief discussion of the music to be performed in his recital performance later that afternoon.

Thiessen was at complete ease as a lecturer, historian, and performer.  He handled questions easily and was obviously enthusiastic about the natural trumpet.  He generously passed around one of his natural trumpets and one of his mouthpieces for the audience's inspection.

Allan Dean concluded the program by speaking about his experiences with the cornetto and with his early music group Calliope.  He demonstrated the playing of the cornetto, showed the various lengths of the instrument, and discussed cornetto playing in different performance environments.  (Ezra Allen Adams, instructor of trumpet, Carson-Newman College, Jefferson City, Tennessee)