Tom Erdmann, reporter

Del Lyren, currently professor of instrumental music and department chair at Bemidji State University in Minnesota, is familiar to ITG members. He previously presented a lecture on Conrad Gozzo at the 2003 conference in Fort Worth and has performed at Euro-ITG conferences in Germany and Ukraine.

Information on Rafael Mendéz, the subject of Del Lyren's doctoral dissertation at Arizona State University, was shared and drawn from materials gleaned during and after the writing of this work. From letters, articles by other people, personal belongings, and music given to him by Mendéz's family, Lyren's informal and light, yet humorous and delightfully informative session, brought to the fore a quick retrospective of the acclaimed trumpeter.

Lyren shared how work on this topic was originally sparked by his own mother's experiences with the artist; Lyren provided background on the life, music, and recordings of Mendéz. Included topics covered were Mendéz's early life, first playing experiences in the family band at the age of five, a possible fable regarding an association with a famous outlaw, how Mendéz came to the United States, early work experiences, his 51-year marriage to Amor, eventual move to the West Coast, and development of his solo career. Recordings were interspersed into the presentation to make this great soloist's work come alive, along with a story of the famous damaged embouchure incident well discussed by trumpeters worldwide.

Joined by Michael Arndt and Amanda Pepping, the three performed two recently published trios, with piano accompaniment, originally performed by Mendéz with his two twin sons on tour. Their clean performance of tricky and entertaining material was well received.

The session ended with David Hickman reporting on an upcoming opera commission featuring Malcolm McNabb playing the role of Mendéz and a DVD Hickman created featuring video documentation of Mendéz teaching and performing, both in solo and with his sons.

The early morning audience was quiet, but thoroughly enjoyed learning more about this important historical artist known, as Lyren informed, as “the fastest trumpeter ever.”