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The Internet, with its vast resources, offers an unprecedented volume of information to trumpet players. ITG offers this column as an introduction to this exponentially expanding resource. ITG cannot guarantee that these locations are completely accurate, and that all copyright laws have been observed. For suggestions and/or comments, contact Michael Anderson, website@trumpetguild.org
University Trumpet Studio Web Sites
AS A UNIVERSITY PROFESSOR, I am always interested in the ways that my colleagues around the world approach the task of helping students reach their goals. The best way to do this is to travel and interact with them in their back yards. During my sabbatical in the spring of 2003, I was fortunate to have the opportunity to observe several master teachers in their studios teaching undergraduates, graduate, and high school students. This was very enlightening and gave me a wealth of techniques to try with my own students. However, this experience also made me to realize that there are great teachers all over the world and getting to more than just a few would be difficult.
Fortunately many of them have invested considerable time in order to expand their studios to the World Wide Web. Inspired by two trumpet studio web sites I stumbled upon over the years, I began to search in earnest for high-quality university trumpet studio web sites. What makes a high quality university trumpet studio web site? The criteria I set up are somewhat flexible, but what I look for is the following, in no particular order:
- Biography/Resume of the professor
- Profiles and photos of students in the studio
- Detailed syllabus – requirements, levels of study, repertoire lists, solo lists, etc.
- Schedule of trumpet events at their schools
- Pedagogical materials
- Sound files
- Links to other trumpet-related online resources
What follows is a list of sites that meet most of these criteria. I’m certain this list isn’t exhaustive, but these are some of the best I found by searching with Google and relying on my own memory, which is not as reliable. If you have a studio web site that is at the level of those on my list but not included, please drop me an email. I began annotating each site on the list, but quickly realized that I was writing the same thing about most of them and pointing out only minor differences, so I will simply list them here in no particular order. Retyping these URLs into your browser will be cumbersome, so please feel free to visit the online version of my column in the Journal area of the ITG web site at (http://www.trumpetguild.org/journal/webreviews/webrev_index.htm) so you can just click on the links.
You can spend hours browsing the sites on this list. They are jammed with interesting material. Hopefully more trumpet professors will find value in giving their studio an online home. I hope to do this for my own studio at Oklahoma City University, but like the cobbler whose children wear the oldest shoes, as of the writing of this column, I haven’t taken the time to do it myself. Fortunately, my colleagues above have given me lots of ideas for what to include when I do.
Addenda
The best part of the World Wide Web is that it is constantly changing. Because of this, I often come across sites I wish I had known about when writing columns that have already been published. Fortunately, I have an opportunity to update previous columns here.
First, everyone should know that Doc Severinsen has a new web site dedicated to the new Destino trumpet that he designed and is now marketing. This is a fine web site with excellent professional graphics and easy navigation. Check it out at: http://www.docseverinsen.com. Be sure to look at the testimonials he has already gathered!
In my column on master teacher web sites (January 2004) I inadvertently left out a fantastic web site dedicated to the teaching of Claude Gordon. Jeff Purtle has collected and digitized several recordings of Gordon teaching, lecturing, and giving master classes. This page of sound files is one of the best ways to experience the wisdom of one of the trumpet’s finest teachers. http://www.purtle.com/jeff_sound.html
If you come across a trumpet-related web site that you think would be a good addition to those I feature in this column, please send me an email at: website@trumpetguild.org
| About the author: Michael Anderson is Assistant Professor of Trumpet at Oklahoma City University, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma. He is the Executive Director of the ITG Web Site, a member of the ITG Board of Directors, the ITG Journal Editorial Committee and Chair of the Technology Committee. Anderson was also the project manager of the ITG Journal CD-ROM that was distributed to each member in the year 2000. |
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