ITG 99 Conference Coverage

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Opening Session
John Irish, Reporter

With a flourish of trumpets, the 1999 ITG conference was underway. Held this year at the University of Richmond, over 500 attendees, artists/performers, and exhibitors

Dr. William Cooper, President

assembled to celebrate all things trumpet. The event began with welcoming remarks from conference host Michael Davison, Dr. William Cooper, President of UR, and Kim Dunnick, President of the ITG.

The trumpet ensemble from the University of Richmond opened the session with Spur, by Keith Kothman, a piece composed specifically for the group. In this brooding, contemplative work, the nine performers played the long, winding chromatic lines and tone clusters to good effect.

Kim Dunnick, ITG President

John Aley and Michael Davison next performed Tournament for Two Trumpets, a new work by John Stevens composed for these two artists. Opening on C trumpets with echoing figures from opposite sides of the stage ("Jousting"), the piece quickly evolved into a series of rapid lines. Switching to flugelhorns, a slower dialogue followed ("Wine and Song"). Piccolo trumpets were then brought into the fray ("Revelry") performing alternating fast scalar passages and rhythmically riffs.

The UR Trumpets played Vignette No. 1 by John McNeil, also composed expressly for the UR Trumpet Ensemble. A slow

John Aley

introduction featured the choir of trumpets mixed with flugelhorns in a free-sounding beginning section. Pointillistic effects mingled with block sounds then erupted, showing effective timbral and color choices for the trumpet/flugelhorn combination.

Host Michael Davison, this time with T. Howard Curtis, drums, played Dance Suite for Trumpet and Drum Set on a piece written by Davison in 1996, revised in 1999. "Flugal Salsa" opened the piece. A flowing flugelhorn solo gave way to a Latin salsa feel where both trumpeter and drummer gave compelling performances. Extra effects, such as pedal tones and rips, added to the effect. A plaintive solo piccolo trumpet started the "a la Maurice Andre" movement. He was soon joined by the drums in a jazz waltz feel. This renaissance-inspired movement brought together the old and new styles quite well. Latin flavored rhythms backed a flowing, simple melodic line on the cornet in "Herbert L. Clarkish". A triple-tongued variation ending on a high F closed the movement in the traditional cornet-style manner. "Struttin' with Louis" featured trumpet solo with plunger and a jazzy swing feel in the drums. Trade-offs between the trumpet and drums led up to an exciting finale of this multi-dimensional work.

The UR Faculty Jazz Combo with Chris Vadala, saxophone artist, closed the session with some wonderful performances of standards and new compositions. I Got Rhythm, the first tune offered, was given a very modern treatment by the group. This arrangement featured a highly virtuosic performance by Davison on

Chris Vadala

the trumpet against the melody in the saxophone. Wonderful jazz solos all around made this a special opening piece for the combo.

Next was A.D.I.L.O.T. (A Day in the Life of Tranae), a work Davison wrote for his daughter. The piece was a kind of funk-groove over which Davison laid down a fitting flugelhorn solo. Further solo efforts were greeted warmly by all.

Michael Davison wrote Eveitis for his good friend, Chris Vadala. Davison played the opening cadenza on an EVI (Electronic Valve Instrument). His accomplished technique on this electronic instrument was amazing. The solo soon flowed into a lovely melody accompanied by piano. This flowing ballad gave way to a duet between the EVI and soprano sax. The almost unlimited range offered by the EVI helped punctuate the harmonic background from its bass register to figuration at the very top of the range. Vadala's excellent soprano solo ably demonstrated why he is one of the greats on the scene today.

The closing tune was Breakfast Bop, a piece Davison wrote for one of his student groups. Alternating from rock to swing, the tune offered a lively mix of rhythms. The head of the tune was played by trumpet and sax, and the group then moved into open solos which were improvized in both rock and swing feels.

The marvelous performances of the faculty combo met with a most enthusiastic response, and closed out the opening session in fine form, undoubtedly setting the pace for another exciting and inspirational conference.