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Opening Ceremonies
Wednesday 12:30 pm
John Burgess, Reviewer
Opening ceremonies for the ITG 2000 conference, the beginning of the 25th Anniversary of the International Trumpet Guild, and the first ITG Conference of the 21st Century began on the campus of Purchase College, State University of New York, for an audience of approximately 600 people. Graham Ashton asked the audience to rise as the United States Army Herald Trumpets processed out to perform a stirring arrangement of the American National Anthem. This was followed by a performance of Dukas' Fanfare from "La Peri."
Graham Ashton and Jon Faddis, ITG 2000 hosts, came on stage to make their opening remarks. Graham Ashton welcomed the audience and dedicated the conference to the memory of Philip Jones, who passed away this year. James Olcott, President of ITG, was introduced and commended Ashton and Faddis on their work in organizing the conference, which includes 56 different events over four days.
The Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble was next on the program, performing three pieces that were recorded by and frequently performed by the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble. The performance opened with Handel's Overture to the "Queen of Sheba". This featured the excellent trumpet section of Graham Ashton, Mark Gould, Peter Bond and Tom Verchot. Two movements followed this from Chris Hazel's composition Brass Cats, "Black Sam" and "Mr Jums". Chris Hazel, besides his work as a composer, was the producer for the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble on Decca Records. These two movements featured some nice flugelhorn playing by Tom Verchot and Peter Bond, as well as splendid ensemble playing by the entire group. The final piece performed by the Graham Ashton Brass Ensemble was Divertimento by Raymond Premru. Premru had been the bass-trombone player with the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and has recently passed away. Although this was the first formal concert performed by this ensemble the final applause would indicate the audience would like to hear more from this illustrious group.
Karl Kramer, Dean of Purchase Conservatory of Music, and Gary Waller, Vice President of Academic Affairs, made additional comments. Gary Waller's humorous remarks included quotes from plays by Shakespeare that involved trumpet playing and trumpet players. Following these remarks the Herald Trumpets returned to perform the ITG 2000 Commission by Dary John Mizelle, a member of the faculty at the Purchase Conservatory of Music. This short fanfare alternated between the soprano, alto, and bass voices of the ensemble, and built to an exciting finish.
Bill Lacy, President of Purchase College, made final remarks. His remarks were well received as he reminisced about his experiences with trumpet playing in junior and senior high school. The final work on the program was Richard Strauss's Stadt Wein, performed by an international group of twenty brass players and conducted by Graham Ashton. This was an exciting performance to conclude the opening ceremonies and to begin the four days of concerts, master classes and seminars that make up ITG 2000. (Jon Burgess, assistant professor of trumpet, Texas Christian University) |
