Last updated: August 2, 1:22 PM CDT

Daily Notes

Christan Griego provides Edwards readers with a minute-by-minute account of the daily activities at the Alessi Seminar.

Registration

After registration is complete on Sunday evening, 50 auditors and 16 participants are separated into their respective trombone choirs. Listening to the participants choir is a pleasure. Their exuberance shows while they rehearse and get to know each other. A group of strangers is now making music as a trombone choir.

The Alessi Seminar is the Tour de France of trombone events. The participants and auditors will be put through their playing paces over the next nine days. At this first rehearsal, choir members can not hide their excitement as the group moves from incredible forte's to lush lyrical phrases with no signs of facial exhaustion (we'll see how they look in a week!). Past seminars have had participants playing from 8:30 am until after 10 pm. With quartet and choir rehearsals, solo practice and individual maintenance, these players will be tested physically, mentally and emotionally.

Joe Alessi is the Lance Armstrong of the trombone world. He has a cold to start the seminar, but nobody can tell. When asked about his cold, he shrugs and says, "I'm fine." I once watched as he flew in to London and performed a concert on no sleep. These types of actions show his remarkable resilience and focus.

Monday

The first full day begins with participants and auditors warm-up sessions. Joe Alessi leads the participants and Pete Elefson warms up the auditors. I spend this time moving boxes and setting up the Edwards display (it's a glamorous life).

The 9 am masterclass starts with Jonathan Lombardo. I am still schlepping boxes during most of this performance, so I apologize for the lack of content.

Jonathan plays Guilmant's Morceau Symphonique. Joe liked his interpretation and said there would not be much to say. Joe has been teaching Jon for a few years and has watched as Jon has fixed his problems. One of which was with his legato.

Joe: Footballitis can happen in legato. Slow down — playing half-speed is an excellent tool to discover footballs

Jon: I did a lot of legato glissing (for practice purposes only) on my Rochut’s and blew threw notes. This helped get rid of the footballitis.

9:43 AM

Joe says to find the source of tension. It could be in your foot. If your arm is tense, it can creep into your shoulder, then neck, then sound.

9:46 AM

Joe offers 2 critiques to Jon:

1. In regards to your position with the piano — make sure you are not too far off axis (in crook of piano). The audience should see/hear everything that comes out of bell in order to get full expression.
2. Approach to C# was a bit too focused on. Not lyrical as it was a few days ago.

9:50 AM

Joe: Double tonguing could have been cleaner. What do you do to clean up double tonguing?

Jon: I break up the run into segments.

Joe: Fragmentation... where did you learn this

Jon: From you (laughter).

Joe: Take a small segment and do it perfect 10 times. If you miss on 10th time then start over until you get perfect. Keep the metronome on. Join the fragments until the phrase is perfect.

9:53 AM

Joe: If you want to achieve a great good double tongue, play scales and really accented the "Ka" syllable.

Question for Jon: How do you get rid of tension in neck?

Jon: Awareness. When I feel the tension starting I put the horn down and focus on the tension and try to melt it away.

Joe: It's important to put the horn down in order to think/focus/identify. Think it through before you pick up the horn again. 20 years a go I had too much tension in my corners. I've worked on this for years. It's a lifetime endeavor.

10:04 AM

Harold Van Scheik walks on stage. He will be playing the Hidas Rhapsody for bass trombone.
He is standing in the crook of the piano pointing right at my corner. I think of Joe's previous comments about facing more to the center of the hall.

10:10 AM

Harold's intonation is exceptional and he only has one or two chipped notes in the cadenza. I would describe his sound as focused. It resonates well in the hall. I hear a lot of highs splashing around the room, but it could just be the room. I am not familiar with this hall at this point.

Joe: All I can say is WOW. Harold has been to each US Alessi Seminar and it's interesting to hear him every year. I think he is discovering how to be a soloist and an orchestral player. Harold commands the stage and sounds great.

I think he needs a bigger piano (Harold is a big tall guy). This is a compliment, but at the same time, it isn't. If there's a special moment you must bring it out. Toward the end of the performance my interest waned slightly. Technically it was perfect, but musically I need more variance in the highs and lows. Savor the soft so that people will be brought in to the performance when you bring up the exciting forte's.

You have to decide when to call it out. When there's a long crescendo, delay it a bit. Let things boil and simmer. As a rule of thumb, always delay your crescendos.

What is your volume at measure 236?

Harold: Mezzo piano.

Joe: I think you're playing forte. Maybe you don't know your own power. Lets try this again but start about three volumes softer.

Christan: More dynamic contrast makes the piece a lot more interesting.

Joe: Blend your sound into the piano at times. If you are too much in front of the piano, you can destroy a mood.

Christan: Play emotions through your instrument. Harold is now demonstrating this and the colors coming through his playing are much more interesting than his first performance (which was good). Joe is forcing him to play much softer than he is used to.

Joe: Use your accompanist so you can be a team, don’t bury him with all big stuff.

10:32 AM

Joe: Stage presence — if I can talk about this. Do not bring water onstage. Bring it backstage. Everyone gets dry mouth, but taking the water onstage makes you focus on it. When you drink it, it feels good, but then it feels dry, which can make you focus more on drymouth. Don't spray your slide while performing because it detracts from performance.

10:40 - 11:06 AM

Setting up Display and desperately still need morning coffee.

11:07 AM

Walking into session with Brent Phillips working with Joe on Peaslee's Arrows of Time.

Joe: Never throw the note away when preparing for a breath. If you let the notes relax (as you are running out of air) before you run out of air you can get rid of tensioned sound. Conserve where necessary.

11:11 AM

Joe: A lot of times we have to take breaths where singers would not, so we have to custom tailor our breaths to make it sound natural. Don't get tense as you get near the bottom of your air.

Lets talk about the pedal notes. A lot of people think you have to spread the lips apart to make the notes occur. This couldn't be farther from the truth. The oral cavity and jaw open up, but the lips must stay together in order to get the core of the pedal note. Don't spread the lips apart. Let the work be done from the jaw.

11:15 AM

Harold: Secret of YO. It’s the inside syllable. From low to pedal go TO-YO

Pete Ellefson: Think slow air.

Joe: Experiment... everyone's jaw structure is different. Lets here a bit of the last movement. Start at the top.

11:20 AM

Brent nails the double tonguing. Chill bumps ensue.

11:21 AM

Joe: My advice is to you is to keep the air flowing, because if it's not flowing what we have is tonguing and no sound. It says staccato, not secco which are too separate things. You need to get more pitch back in the sound.

Christan: I was once told by a teacher that fast notes will always come out sounding short so focus on blowing through in order to keep the tone.

11:24 AM

Joe: Lets do 92 slow.

(Playing with piano)

Joe: Your pitch is back in your sound. If you want to play louder then play the notes longer. (Joe misses note) see I was playing too loud! When the phrase is really technical then play a little softer.

Ten minute Break

12:04 PM

Jon Whitaker takes to the stage. He performs the Stekke Variations in f# minor.

Joe: Lets just do the trills by themselves.

Jon plays

Joe: The only thing that should move while you trill should be your tongue. You are moving your embouchure. Minimize the embouchure movement and the tongue should say the syllable "EEE" (Joe plays), Put on the metronome and go quarter, eighths, sixteenths, triplet sixteenths, 32nd notes, etc. Work on evenness. Keep your face still and say dah-eee, dah-eee, dah-eee. Make sure to keep rhythmic base when speeding the trills up. Don't favor either the bottom notes or top notes.

12:15 PM

Barry Hearn takes the stage. Recently, Barry won the Louisiana Phil audition, and he plays full time in the Army Ceremonial Band in Washington, DC. He is playing the Tomasi.

Hearn Plays

12:28 PM

Joe: I feel like you need to break out. Everything is very good but I feel like you are being a little too conservative. Lets try the end. By the way, very good piano playing.

Hearn plays

Joe: Watch the last note so that it doesn't go sharp. When you get tired the pitch can go sharp.

Hearn plays

Joe: Can you put a bit of vibrato on the last note?

Hearn: I can try.

Joe: It was just missing a bit of spin.

12:33 PM

Joe: Make the con moto earlier and a bit more expressive.

Hearn plays

Joe: Sometimes in the mid/low register it is hard to hear the first note. Make sure it does not get lost in piano. Lets start at 5.

Hearn plays

Joe: Lets go back to first movement measure 11.

2:30 PM

I pick up Chris Branagan from the airport. Chris will be helping man the Edwards display during the event. He will also be doing these updates Saturday through Monday when I'll be on my way home.

3:10 PM

Pick up Wycliffe Gordon from the airport. His Edwards bell met the fate of many trombones last month when someone packed it incorrectly and it was crushed. He is planning a visit to Elkhorn this September to get another bell. Always have a contingency plan when traveling!

This afternoon most participants are rehearsing. Auditors are either listening to rehearsals or enjoying a little down time.

The college is beautiful and the halls are nice. Compared to Nyack, this is heaven. The past seminars had everyone in a hall that had eight air conditioners on each side. It was noisy and still not very cool. For concerts, the AC units were switched off so the music could be heard. While this provided the audience with pure sound, the temperature could get uncomfortable.

In addition to superior cooling, auditors and participants are also fortunate to have internet access in their apartments. I think we might just get spoiled this week.