Wolfgang Guggenberger, Professor of Trumpet at the Musikhochschule Trossingen (Germany) and Bert Truax, Formerly of the Dallas Symphony, presented master classes, clinics, and performances for the music students at the University of Missouri School of Music on March 1 and 2, 2008.

In the first master class Guggenberger stressed that breathing must be a natural process and urged students to always play with a musical intention. He began his lecture with a series of inhalation and exhalation exercises, building from the simple to the complex. Student demonstrations followed. Performers included graduate students Alex Blanton, who played an arrangement of Bach’s “Goldberg Variations,” and Jason Lozer, who played excerpts from Tchaikovsky’s “Capriccio Italien.” With them Prof. Guggenberger put into practice the advice from his lecture, urging the students to move around while playing in an effort to make breathing more natural.

The following day he listened to more student performances, including junior Erin Howard, graduate students Chris Farris and Sarah Luehrs, and senior Eric Leimkuehler. Again, much of his advice focused on freeing the breathing process. Farris’ performance on piccolo trumpet gave Guggenberger the opportunity to discuss playing smaller instruments. He had the student play the piece on Bb trumpet, progressing through C, Eb, F/G and finally on piccolo, keeping in mind the way breathing felt on the larger instruments. Guggenberger stressed playing on all trumpets through the notes, not against the notes.

Former member of the Dallas Symphony Bert Truax, who is now active as a soloist, clinician, and a composer, gave a master class later that day. He began with a discussion of the trumpet’s standing wave. In order to demonstrate the principle, freshman Eric Taylor was invited on stage to play his trumpet with the tuning slide removed. Truax demonstrated that once a good standing wave is built, playing the whole trumpet becomes much easier. He championed this exercise as a means to improve one’s efficiency while playing.

Truax also discussed the importance of articulation, urging students to think of it as a “release of air” rather than “tonguing.” He then discussed tactics for getting a job after graduation. Jason Lozer performed excerpts from Mahler’s fifth symphony, leading to a discussion of auditions. Truax ended his class by addressing the issue of stage fright.

In the evening recital Wolfgang Guggenberger and Bert Truax were accompanied by pianist Natalia Bolshakova. For the first piece Truax was joined by MU assistant professor Iskander Akhmadullin for a performance of Stravinsky’s “Fanfare for a New Theatre.” Guggenberger then performed Pietro Baldassare’s “Sonata in F.” After the intermission, Truax performed his own composition, “Fantasy for Trumpet.” Akhmadullin joined Truax and Guggenberger for the last piece, an arrangement for three trumpets of Beethoven’s “Trio for 2 Oboes and English Horn Op. 87,” followed by an encore performance of “Bugler’s Holiday.”

The event was sponsored by the University of Missouri School of Music, MU Student Organization Resource Group, and GR Technologies.

Wolfgang Guggenberger works with University of Missouri Trumpet Student, Erin Howard

Bert Truax works with University of Missouri Trumpet Student, Eric Taylor