ITG 99 Meredith Bio

Henry Merediths career includes previous and current posts as principal trumpeter for several orchestras and bands in the USA and Canada, plus appearances across North America, England, and Austria as a performer, teacher, conductor, adjudicator, lecturer, and work-shop clinician. He holds three degrees with high distinction from In-diana University together with a doctorate from the University of North-ern Colorado. Dr. Meredith began accumulating musical instruments in 1975, and now has one of the largest private collections on the continent (with more than 2500). Selected examples from his extensive collection are displayed in the exhibit mounted especially for this ITG Conference at the University of Richmonds Marsh Gallery. Dr. Meredith is frequently engaged as a soloist or recitalist on natural trumpet, keyed bugle, slide trumpet, cornetto, saxhorn, or hand horn. His lecture-demonstration will focus on the innovations found in 19th-and early 20th-century instruments, many of which rival similar inventions of the present day. Henry is founding director of the aptly named Plumbing Factory Brass Band and conducts and performs with the Vintage Brass. His critical editions for The Brass Press (such as Scarlatti's 7 Arie con Tromba Sola) and his published articles are well-known. Dr. Meredith is presently an associate professor at the University of Western Ontario in London, Canada.

The Industrial Evolution of Brass Instruments, or What Goes Around, Has Been Around! is an informal look at technical advances applied to trumpets and related brass instruments during the Industrial Revolution and through the present century. Some of the latest ideas for instrument and accessories design that we attribute to inventive manufacturers of today are not really new ideas at all! For example, a slogan of the 1999 ad for an adjustable cup mouthpiece state of the art technology could have been used for one made in 1896, by Whaley-Royce, except that the earlier model also had a detachable rim and a continuously self-adjusting cup! See what keys did for the bugle in 1810 and why they were not as effective on the trumpet. Learn about different approaches to piston and rotary valve design, rod-driven rotors, rotor-driven pistons, offset valves, and advantages of the mid-19th-century Allen valve over the standard rotary valves used today. Observe: varying mouthpiece cup shapes, rim shapes, and materials; reservoir water keys; automatic slide-throw and return mechanisms; McFarlanes Patented Clapper Key, trill valves; fanciful acoustic shapes, bell angles and contours and their effects; instant mutes; multi-toned instruments; and many other innovations, all rivaling many similar improvements and new ideas of the present day. Hear how some of these early instruments and devices are ideal for the music that was intended to be played on them. As Henrys motto is Bringing the Past to Life, some time will be devoted to monitored, hands-on experience and to dialogue with audience members. Attend and participate, but dont bring your own horn or mouthpiece, unless they're newfangled RE-inventions. (Wed., May 19, 1 p.m.)