Klarinet Archive - Posting 000117.txt from 1996/01
From: Gregory Smith <103356.1577@-----.COM>
Subj: Announcing Gregory Smith Clarinet Mouthpiece
Date: Sat, 6 Jan 1996 00:31:11 -0500
Clarinetists -
I'd like to take a minute to introduce myself, my new clarinet mouthpieces
and my World Wide Web Home Page on the Internet.
In 1983 I was appointed by Sir Georg Solti to the second Desk Clarinet
position of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and prior to that was
Associate Principal and Eb Clarinet of the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra
and Principal Clarinet of the Sacramento Symphony Orchestra. I am Principal
Clarinet
of the Scotia Festival Symphony Orchestra, Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada,
Pierre Boulez,
Music Director and Principal Clarinet of the Ravinia Festival Orchestra,
Chicago, IL.
My principal teacher was Robert Marcellus and I have been visiting Professor
of Clarinet at Northwestern University, Evanston, IL and the University of
Michigan at Ann Arbor. Presently I teach clarinet at Roosevelt
Universities' Chicago Music College.
I have played mouthpieces in the orchestra made by Frank Kaspar of Cicero/
Chicago
and Charles or Henri Chedeville. In early 1995 I became acquainted with French
mouthpiece
blanks made by Hans Zinner of Germany. I thought it to be the finest sounding
material that I
had ever played, including my vintage Kaspar & Chedeville mouthpieces. I
immediately obtained
more Zinner blanks and eventually faced them properly to be voiced to play very
much like my
Chedeville and Kaspar mouthpieces ( In fact, pre-1970 Kaspar mouthpieces were
made from Chedeville blanks.)
I was so impressed with how the Zinner mouthpieces sounded, tuned, and felt in
the orchestra
that I decided to start my own line of mouthpieces based on what I believe to be
the best
material made in 35 years.
They were introduced while I was on tour in Japan in the Spring of 1995
with the Chicago Symphony. I sold my entire inventory to many of Japan's
major orchestral clarinetists. I sold not 1 - 2 at a time, but from 3 - 18
at a time! Apparently, they were buying for their students.
They premiered in the USA at the International Clarinet Festival in Phoenix
in July 1995 where clarinetists from all over the world were similarly
impressed. In December 1995 I exhibited & sold them at the Midwest Band &
Orchestra
convention in Chicago where they were a sensational success, especially to
those already playing Kaspar & Chedeville mouthpieces.
Zinner Mouthpieces are hand crafted by Hans Zinner & his associate Juergen
in Germany. The Chamber, Baffle, and Window are all hand filed to extremely
close tolerances. Only the bore and primary facing are machined. Unlike
machined mouthpieces, each Zinner mouthpiece blank requires a tremendous
amount of time and care to create. The material is hard rubber made with
Zinner's
proprietary formula and is of the most consistent quality. The style of the
Baffle,
Chamber, Bore and Window is patterned after the legendary old Henri Chedeville
mouthpiece. The craftsmanship is superb with tolerances more consistent than
any other
mouthpiece available.
EACH MOUTHPIECE IS HAND FACED AND PLAY TESTED BY GREGORY SMITH
The mouthpieces are available in both A@-----.
There are three facings: 1, 1*, and 1+. (Eb has its own facing).
All of the above mouthpieces are available with Parallel or Angled Sidewalls.
Parallel, or slightly angled sidewalls are standard for the French style
mouthpiece.
The angled sidewall mouthpiece that I offer is French IN ALL RESPECTS
except for the incorporation of the larger 8 angled sidewalls ( as in the
German or Austrian
mouthpiece) resulting in a hybrid.
The Gregory Smith Mouthpiece is played in the Chicago Symphony, Cleveland
Orchestra,
New York Philharmonic, San Francisco Symphony, Buffalo Philharmonic,
Milwaukee Symphony, Syracuse Symphony, Metropolitan Opera Orchestra,
Universities Across the USA, and Orchestras World-Wide.
Mouthpieces are available for trial. Our trial policy is as that up to
three mouthpieces may be tried on a two-week trial basis.
I have put up a WWW Home Page which has many more details on the mouthpieces.
The URL is: http://ourworld.compuserve.com/homepages/Gregory_Smith_Clarinet/
To contact me you can email me at: 103356.1577@-----.com
or call me at 708-866-8331 or write to 2737 Hurd Avenue,
Evanston, IL 60201-1209 USA or FAX 708-866-9551.
I look forward to talking with many of you and answering your questions about
these exciting new mouthpieces.
Gregory Smith
Evanston, IL
