Embouchure talk

ITG Past President Vince DiMartino was in Bangkok, Thailand from December 14-19, 2003 for a residency at Mahidol University. DiMartino conducted master classes, taught private lessons, performed a solo recital, and spoke with several groups of students concerning many of the fundamentals of music and trumpet performance during his visit.

Master Class

On December 16th, DiMartino conducted a master class for interested trumpet students in Bangkok, in an event cosponsored by Mahidol and Siam Yamaha. Over 150 students and professionals alike spent three hours listening to DiMartino discuss the fundamentals of trumpet playing. Vince advocated taking a simple approach to playing emphasizing what trumpet players play: high and low, slow and fast, and loud and soft. Using these touchstones, the audience was treated to a wonderful talk and demonstration.

DiMartino and student

Several students from Mahidol University performed. Surachet Ekabutra, a sophomore from Mahidol, performed the first movement of Hindemith's Sonata. DiMartino complimented the student on his performance, and then asked audience members to identify good things in the student's playing. This idea of focusing on the positive and using these aspects to help weaker areas was a running theme during the session. Next was high school student Sarinda Soponpong, performing an etude from the Voxman Selected Studies book. Vince proposed to her the idea of playing for "one complete blow of air". This really seemed to improve the musicality of the performance, and the audience responded enthusiastically. Wararat Purisodom, a senior at Mahidol, was last to perform, playing the first movement of Kennan's Sonata. DiMartino spent time working on various phrasing ideas and other musical concepts to make an inspired performance.

Recital

Vince DiMartino, Daryl Johnson (US Ambassador to Thailand), Viroj Srisunanrat, Wisit Jitrangsun, Vanich Potavanish, Joseph Bowman, Sompop Puengreeda, and James Sherry

The evening concert featured DiMartino performing solo literature on the first half, and jazz on the second half, accompanied by the Mahidol University Jazz Ensemble. The opening piece was a special fanfare that featured the Mahidol Trumpet faculty, the Bangkok Symphony trumpet section, the Ambassador of the United States to Thailand Daryl Johnson, and DiMartino. DiMartino followed this with a wonderfully musical performance of Sonata for Trumpet and Piano by Thorvold Hansen. He was ably assisted by Dr. Bang Lang Do, piano professor at Mahidol. The concert continued with Ballad by Bernard Fitzgerald, and DiMartino concluded the first half with Concerto Classico by Joseph Horovitz. Joining him for this performance was Joseph Bowman, Professor of Trumpet at Mahidol.

The second half of the concert featured DiMartino performing with the Mahidol University Jazz Ensemble, under the direction of Joseph Bowman. The audience was energized by A Night in Tunisia, which featured DiMartino's trademark high energy performance. He also performed on several other numbers that evening, including Trumpet Tune, Notte a Roma, and In the Mood.

Websites:
College of Music, Mahidol University
Siam Yamaha