 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: howarth
Date: 2010-07-24 00:06
How is everybody finding Clarinetfest this year? Any new and exciting products around?
Lets us know!!
Donny
Howarth of London
31-35 Chiltern Street
London
W1U 7PN
clarinet@howarth.uk.com
www.howarth.uk.com
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Author: USFBassClarinet
Date: 2010-07-24 03:24
Well, As far as bass clarinet goes...
I find the new V12 vandoreans for bass are quite an improvement or regular ones. Only time will tell if I really like them.
Same with the new rico reserve. They are actually giving every a few free rico reserves for bass.
Backun has a nice new bass clarinet bell. I was surprised at how big of a difference it made to the feel of my playing. I won't comment on sound since about 100 other people were playing clarinets around me.
Something that was exciting, Jacquers Merrer has released 7 out of 10 new Eb and D orchestral excerpt books. He has also released 3 out of the 6 molter concerts for Eb and D clarinet, one edition with piano and one with orchestra. He also has a few other Eb and D clarinet things. They are available at arpeges.com I believe.
There is a lot of stuff going on so someone else will have to fill in the rest.
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-07-26 09:06
I had a fantastic time. First Clarinetfest, first clarinet gathering in MANY years, and I had a GREAT time trying out all sorts of equipment. Tried mouthpieces ranging from 160 - 800 dollars, clarinets from 1000 to about 6500 dollars, and listening to some great players do some great things.
Also got to reconnect with some people I haven't seen in years, and make new friends and have a wonderful time.
It also reinforced my perceptions that professional clarinet players tend to be the most laid back, approachable, and just in general nice guys and gals that are out there. I was able to ask questions from some of the top players in our field and get a smile and very nice and knowledgeable answer to it. Try doing that with some professional athlete.
I also tried virtually every product that was represented there. Mouthpieces, instruments, gadgets and gizmos, etc. If you're looking for an unbiased opinion from a fellow clarinet player, please feel free to ask me or even better, post a new thread about a topic. While old threads certainly have knowledge, a new thread will allow those who attended to respond with a VERY recent opinion on a product while everything is fresh in our heads. I know I'll do my best to paint the truest picture I can on what I thought about a certain product. If you'd prefer to email me instead of starting a thread, my email should be current.
A few high points:
Getting to meet and speak with Tom Puwalski . Tom, if you're reading this, thanks for helping me with my questions and helping a fellow army clarinetist out.
Getting to put my hands on some very expensive, and very impressive clarinets (and one does not necessarily need to be tied to the other). Rossi clarinets (especially the rosewood that someone had and allowed me to playtest it) are awesome. Leitner clarinet was awesome. And being very, very pleasantly surprised with Patricola clarinets. I know their Eb clarinets have a big following and respect, but their Bb was awesome. Especially the rosewood (I'm finding that rosewood clarinets in general tend to give me the sound that I'm looking for - I really enjoy and prefer chamber ensembles. They sound pretty damned good and like they'd be perfect for that music.)
Thanks Walter Grabner for making a facing that was damn near PERFECT for me. I've been bugging him for years to bring back the chedevilles, and his K11* model seemed just like it. Thanks for a mouthpiece that fit like a glove. A very, very, very perfect glove.
And getting to meet some of the people from this board. Not as many as I had hoped, but it was very nice to put a face to people's names, to talk a little bit with people who's posts I've read and taken to heart and tried to work with.
There aren't words to say just how great a time I had here, and I am ticked off these five days are over. I'm going to do everything I legally can to go to Clarinetfest 2011. And if that doesn't work, we'll see just what black market channels I can find to do so. IMO, it was WELL worth the travel and 175 reg fee to hear such quality musicians, be able to see so many products in one place, and have a ball.
Alexi
US Army Japan Band
Post Edited (2010-07-26 09:30)
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Author: Daniel Frazelle
Date: 2010-07-26 15:01
Any particularly good performances?
Does anyone know the results of the Young Artist Competition?
Thanks,
Dan
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Author: bcl1dso
Date: 2010-07-27 00:32
Heard that Melissa Garner Koprowski won the Young Artist Competition. She's a student of Yehuda Gilad as USC.
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Author: rmyoder
Date: 2010-07-27 20:20
Check out our daily recaps of ClarinetFest 2010 at http://www.clarinetcache.com. We couldn't go to everything, but we had a blast and tried to write as much as we could!
http://www.clarinetcache.com
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2010-07-27 21:00
Good times. Completely different atmosphere as an exhibitor. Was a delight meeting and chatting with a bunch of cool people... some came by to look at my stuff, others to visit my boothmate and her awesome repair skills, and still others to shoot the breeze and/or talk clarinet.
I sadly neglected to revisit a handful of booths that I intended to have a closer look at, including some mouthpiece makers and a composer selling his new etude books which looked quite good... will make an effort to get out of my chair more often next year. It's fairly easy to be lulled into a bit of a trance (or madness) by the constant din of Mozart Concerto openings and noodlings of Bb. The occasional Copland or Shostakovich was extremely welcome.
Did manage to pick up some sheet music (didn't know Grisey wrote a contrabass solo), and splurged on the new Rovner Platinum, which seems poised to unseat the ligature I've used for 13 years solid. The Lohff & Pfeiffer folks had some wicked cool barrels that I'll probably order on trial (one is heavily weighted in order to better balance the clarinet, another is bent at about 30 degrees, resulting in a quite different and, I think, comfortable angle). The periodic Bliss-Morales duets were pleasant, even if they did clog up the entrance to the hall a bit. :P
I only made it to a few concerts, as things often got quite busy right before something I wanted to sneak out for. That, and by the end of the day I was always ready to collapse from a combination of exhaustion, hunger, and sleep deprivation.
Like I said, good times! Already making plans for next year, when it's a quick hop in the car from home.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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Author: sfalexi
Date: 2010-07-28 01:51
Quote:
It's fairly easy to be lulled into a bit of a trance (or madness) by the constant din of Mozart Concerto openings and noodlings of Bb. ? Was there even a whisper of this being played? I didn't hear it at ALLL...........
Alexi
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Author: DAVE
Date: 2010-07-28 04:11
Alex,
Which booth were you in? I am pretty sure I stopped at every booth..
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Author: EEBaum
Date: 2010-07-28 05:52
Alexi: The sounds kept me up at night, still buzzing in my head hours after leaving the hall.
DAVE: I was at the mostlydifferent.com booth, which I shared with Angela Wells of The Reedery. Back right corner of the large hall.
-Alex
www.mostlydifferent.com
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