Mark Ponzo working with Eric Taylor

On November 16, 2008, Dr. Mark Ponzo, Professor of Trumpet at Northern Illinois University, gave a recital and master class at the University of Missouri in Columbia. Accompanied by pianist Natalia Bolshakova, he performed the bassoon Concerto in B-flat Major by Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart on trumpet, George Friedrich Handel's Sonata in B-flat Major and Sonata in A-flat Major, both written for recorder, on flugelhorn. He also performed a Franz Joseph Haydn cello Concerto in C on flugelhorn.

Ponzo worked with University of Missouri trumpet students in his master class. Second-year master's student Jason Lozer performed the third movement of Kent Kennan’s Trumpet Sonata. Ponzo discussed the need to play the softer sections of the movement with the same energy and direction as the louder sections. He also discussed playing with a centered sound. Ponzo observed how when Lozer buzzed the opening on the mouthpiece, a few notes were slightly out of tune. He explained how trumpeters can learn certain notes out of tune because they are out of tune on the trumpet, which results in an uncentered sound. Ponzo recommended buzzing with a tuner and buzzing along with recordings of solos to help play better in tune.

Sophomore Eric Taylor performed Leonard Bernstein’s Rondo for Lifey. To help with more challenging sections, Ponzo quoted horn player Thomas Bacon, “Don’t practice harder, practice smarter.” His suggestions included slowing difficult sections and practicing them with a metronome, increasing the tempo one click only after successfully playing the passage at the current tempo. Ponzo also recommended practicing different way, like playing difficult passages backwards.

Mark Ponzo with several UM trumpet students