First place Armando Ghitalla Award winner Ethan Bensdorf performs with the U.S. Coast Guard Band

The hugely successful Berkshire Brass Spectacular, presented by the Armando Ghitalla Foundation, was hosted by the Empire Brass quintet on 29 and 30 September, and 1 October 2006. Empire Brass, which performs more than 100 concerts each year around the world and has recorded for the Sony-BMG, Telarc/Universal, and EMI labels, gave a sold-out concert called “Song and Dance” on Saturday evening during the Spectacular.

The festival attracted full houses throughout its run at Pittsfield’s 800-seat Colonial Theatre in the Berkshire region of Massachusetts, and featured four concerts, one master class, and an awards ceremony. Seven brass and jazz ensembles from throughout the region, plus the United States Coast Guard Band, performed at the event.

One of the highlights of the Spectacular was the presentation of the Armando Ghitalla Trumpet Competition Awards, totaling $15,000 in prize money. More than 100 entries were received this year, with the first place $7,500 award going to Ethan Bensdorf of Chicago, Illinois. Bensdorf is in his final year at Northwestern University, and has performed with the Chicago Chamber Orchestra and the Civic Orchestra of the Chicago Symphony, as well as at the Tanglewood Festival under conductor James Levine. During the final concert of the weekend, Bensdorf performed as soloist with the US Coast Guard Band, and as part of his award will solo with the Berkshire Symphony Orchestra under conductor Ronald Feldman on 27 October.

The three runner-up finalists were Adam Bhatia of Los Angeles, a masters student at the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA); Gareth Flowers of New York, a graduate of The Juilliard School; and Kevin Gebo of Los Angeles, a graduate of the University of Michigan who is also a master’s student at UCLA.

The annual trumpet competition is sponsored by the Ghitalla Foundation, which was founded by legendary trumpeter Armando Ghitalla. Ghitalla’s impressive career included twenty-eight years (fifteen as principal) with the Boston Symphony Orchestra. His Foundation’s goal is to encourage trumpet students in the pursuit of their art form.

Empire Brass trumpeter Rolf Smedvig was a student of Armando Ghitalla, and served as the volunteer organizer of the 2006 Berkshire Brass Spectacular. “Empire Brass is honored to have had the opportunity to host this incredible event,” he said. “We hope that the festival can go to international levels, with 20 Brass Spectacular weekends each year in places such as Nagano, Japan; Salzburg, Austria; and several locations in America," he continued.

“My goal is for Brass Spectacular to become the first music performance competition circuit of its kind, with winners competing year after year, much like professional tennis or golf circuits,” Smedvig said.

According to Smedvig, the Ghitalla Award is one of the largest awarded to trumpet players. Plans are to double next year's total prize money to $30,000. Smedvig said he also is exploring broadening the Spectacular in future years to include string, woodwind, and percussion categories.

Websites:
Empire Brass (main site)
Empire Brass (Awards and Brass Spectacular)
The Colonial Theatre
"A Brass Spectacular" (Berkshire Eagle article)
The Rogovy Report (Seth Rogovy's review of "Song and Dance" concert)