Share with your fellow bass clarinetists your experiences, solo works finds, orchestral passages worthy of note...Perhaps we can organize an annual conference.
WRITE to us at [email protected] and tell us about your set-ups,
what brand horn are you playing?
what brand and strength reeds?
which mouthpiece/ligature combo?
We'll feature your answers here!
LETTERS, WE GET LETTERS!
Alan Bates tell us--Having played soprano clarinet from age 15, I discovered the bass 5 years ago and am hooked (at the young age of 71.) Started with a Vito low Eflat, upgraded to a LeBlanc low Eflat and just indulged myseff with a Buffet 1193 low C. Just love it. I'm actually taking lessons from Ron Reuben of the Phila. orchestra. Before this past May my previous lesson was >50 years ago. What a difference the new horn and guidance from a master of the instrument have made! I'd enjoy corresponding with other players just graduating from soprano to bass. (The "harmonicas" address reflects my collecting passion. I don't play them!)
Benjamin Morgan writes--I don't know how funny this story is, but when it happened to me, I thought
it was funny."Alright everyone, the concerto contest will begin in
two weeks. I expect everyone that plans on auditioning to have their
respective pieces memorized."I was excited. I was so excited about the concerto competition, because I thought I had a great shot of winning the
competition. The only problem was I didn't know where to find a bass
clarinet concerto. When I asked my director about bass clarinet concertos,
he laughed at me. He laughed at me!! The nerve! It was just a question.
Well, this made me even more determined to win the competition. But first
of all, I had to find an appropriate piece of music. I have always played the bass clarinet. I prefer it
over the Bb and play it whenever I get the chance. I wanted to major in
bass clarinet performance next year at Indiana University, but it isn't
offered. It's time to show the world that the bass clarinet is it's own
seperate instrument. And this is how I achieved that goal in Muncie,
Indiana. One of my favorite pieces of all time for clarinet is Mozart's Concerto in A. Well, I decided that I would find a version of it in Bb, and play it on the bass clarinet. I told my director my idea and he
laughed at me again, and said that I could give it a shot, but I would never
be able to play that high on a bass clarinet. The day of the competition my nerves were on end. I had
practiced and perfected and memorized every little detail of the three
movements. It was a grueling time, but worth it. When I went in the
audition room, my director, the professor of bass clarinet, and the
conductor of the Ball State Symphony Orchestra all listened to me play. My
director was so amazed of how good the concerto sounded on the bass
clarinet, that I won the competition and got to play Mozart's Clarinet
Concerto in A, in Bb, on the bass clarinet for an audience!!
|
|
|
