Well thanks to another conference attendee I now have wifi access at the University. So, things are going really well here. Yesterday I saw half of a terrific performance by the UT clarinet faculty – Nathan Williams and Richard MacDowell. I say half because I had to leave otherwise I’d fall asleep due to exhaustion. This morning I managed to get up reasonably early and heard my former teacher Robert DiLutis (now at LSU) play a recital. That was a lot of fun. He has the most amazingly consistent tone and technique. He plays with such ease it’s incredible. Then I went to a masterclass led by Daniel Gilbert. That was a really interesting experience because even though I only watched two people play, he really said some things that spoke to me. The people who played were both very good, but as he suggested they were almost trying to be “too good”. Leaving out a lot of the emotional content of the excerpts they were playing.
After that I went to see some of the vendors and catch up with people. I saw Robert DiLutis again and Mark Kasten at the Weiner Music booth. I also got a chance to talk to Brad Behn (who made my mouthpiece) about his latest mouthpiece. It has an angled shape that is nice to play on. After trying it for a few minutes, going back to my regular mouthpiece felt strange. It’s as if I didn’t know that I’d been playing in a strange position for the last 20 years until I tried this new thing. The downside is that it’s quite expensive, but if you get a chance to try one, I’d recommend getting a chance to play on it.
After that it was time to see a bunch of recitals for clarinet and electronics. First up was the duo Clarion Synthesis. They did a nice job on three pieces each of which involved real time audio manipulation. Definitely worth listening to. Plus I met Andrew May who composed one of the pieces they played. Then I heard Michael Lowenstern play selections from his newest release plus his composition Sha. He’s just an amazing player with tons of passion and energy. I spoke with all four of them after the performances. There wasn’t very much time though because recitals with electronics require a lot of set up/tear down time. Then I heard part of another recital but I was too tired to really stay and listen in a meaningful way. So I wrote this post.
Hopefully I get a chance to write more tomorrow. IF you have any questions about what’s going on let me know.
Sounds like you are having fun. I wish I could be there. We’re in the middle of our summer pops season.
Glad you like Behn’s new mp. I have tried them and like them, though the pitch sags just a bit for me.
It’s definitely a nice mouthpiece. But there’s no way I can afford $750 for one. Maybe the production and materials costs will come down one day.