 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Mags1957
Date: 2006-12-21 23:47
I was at the Midwest Clinic this week on Wednesday and Thursday. I spent a great deal of time at the Leblanc booth, and I will be happy to report on what I think of their clarinets (as well as all the others I tried) in another post. This post is just to say that I had several conversations with Morrie Backun, Ricardo Morales and Julian Bliss, and I can honestly tell you that all three of them couldn't have been more helpful and friendly. I'm not naive - I know they were all there to work the booth and hype their products, but I can tell when I'm being "worked", and these 3 were not "working" me - they were just as down to earth and nice as they could be.
On Thursday, a student joined me there, and Julian played for her, and escorted her to a Wenger practice room so she could play for him. Morrie and Ricardo both talked to her, and all 3 were well aware that she wasn't going to be buying a clarinet in the near future. Julian was just a nice, sweet kid - no air of superiority at all. Morrie took a picture of Julian and my student, and Julian autographed a picture for her. Nice.
Ricardo couldn't have been more self- effacing and nice. When I mentioned to him that I was hesitant to play in front of him he responded "hey - we're all in this together" and had nice things to say about my playing and set-up. There was absolutely no arrogance at all - none of that "who are you, and why should I waste my time talking to you" that I have sometimes gotten in the past from some of the great players. He had a great sense of humor and laughed easily and often.
Morrie hand reamed out a barrel of mine that was just a tad small for my mouthiece - no charge- he couldn't have been happier to do it. I had offered to send it to him and be charged for it, but he said "I brought some reamers with me - just hand it over" and it took him about 3 seconds.
Just nice to know that two of the biggest name players and one of the biggest name designers were so nice to deal with - they probably spent 2 or 3 hours with me over 2 days and never once bugged me to buy a Leblanc clarinet. Regardless of what you think of their products or playing, they were genuinely nice gentlemen who would talk to and help anyone - thought I would share that.
<edited for spelling>
Post Edited (2006-12-22 02:52)
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Author: tictactux ★2017
Date: 2006-12-22 00:06
I've never been at a clarinet clinic (do they have nurses for those who faint when they read the price tags?), but I've done a lot of trade shows...usually we would deal with the customers whom we liked most and/or who were easiest on us. A trade show / exhibit / clinic isn't the platform to sell stuff but to show how friendly that specific company was. Tree-hugging, palm-rubbing, cheese crackers with smalltalk and all that. (And yes, I was grateful for that, because it took a heavy burden off our shoulders, and besides I'd be a lousy vacuum cleaner salesperson. I'm too honest).
Anyhow, nice to hear that everyone got their act together and showed their sunday face instead of just standing in a corner, anxiously or annoyedly counting the hours till closing time or just going after the most prominent victim.
I'll probably never see such an event...sounds like fun. <sigh>
--
Ben
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2006-12-22 01:12
I have never met any of the three of them to date, but your description of Morrie Backun is very much in line with the experience I had corresopnding with him via e-mail and discussing things over the phone. He seems to be a true gentleman and very dedicated to his art. I also felt very comfortable discussing things with him, and will most likely do busainess with him in the near future.
Jeff
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Author: eric293
Date: 2006-12-22 02:16
"none of that "who are you, and why should I waste my time talking to you" that I have sometimes gotten in the past from some of the great players. He had a great sense of humor and laughed easily and often."
Kind of irrelevant, but by "great players", who are you referring to.
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Author: Mags1957
Date: 2006-12-22 04:02
Nah- not going to get into name-calling or talking behind players' backs. If you haven't been around players who think they're better than you and condescend when talking to you, you haven't been around many players. The point of my post wasn't to call out rude players or name names, just to say that I thought these particular gentlemen were genuine and down-to-earth, regardless of what you think about their products or playing. That's all.
<spelling again!>
Post Edited (2006-12-22 04:04)
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Author: Morrigan
Date: 2006-12-22 04:38
Good to hear. I went to a Clarinet Festival here in Australia and all the 'big names' couldn't have given a worse impression, to me at least. I paid a fortune for the three days, I chose not to attend a fair amount of it. Luckily your experience was better than mine, and with more well-known players...
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Author: Mags1957
Date: 2006-12-22 12:27
Just to clarify: this wasn't a clarinet only event, it was the Midwest Clinic - a several day event for band and orchestra directors/studetns/industry people featuring music wholesalers and retailers, colleges, just about anything you can think of that deals with bands/orchestras. There are many performances and clinics throughout the day by some of the best school bands and orchestras in the US, along with a few college/military bands. It's one of the biggest events of it's kind, and it's always in Chicago at the Hilton the week before Christmas.
Post Edited (2006-12-22 12:59)
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Author: JJAlbrecht
Date: 2006-12-22 12:41
I'm gonna have to check this one out next year. My daughter (currently in 10th grade) is now beginning to shop for music schools. This sounds like the kind of thing we should attend.
Which reminds me... In the Great Lakes area, which schools do list members feel excel with their clarinet programs?
Jeff
Post Edited (2006-12-22 12:43)
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Author: bufclar
Date: 2006-12-22 14:25
I have always heard great things about the programs at Michicagn, Indiana, De Paul, Cincinatti College of Music, and the Cleveland Institute. All have strong programs with great teachers.
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Author: William
Date: 2006-12-22 15:19
The University of Wisconsin School of Music (Madison campus) has a great clarinet teacher with a curriculum that includes undergraduate throught DMA programs of study. Her studio has plenty of room for more serious student clarinetists. In addition to being a strong teacher and a good player, she can be a lot of fun to talk with. Here is her website:
http://www.music.wisc.edu/faculty/facultybio.jsp?faculty_id=7
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Author: Brenda Siewert
Date: 2006-12-22 15:39
That's how I found Morrie to be whenever I've spoken to him (via telephone). And, as for Julian, he happened to be in Morrie's shop the day I called to order a barrel for my Opus II and Morrie put him on the phone to talk to me a bit. He was very sweet and told me he was going to hand select the bell for my Opus II. Joel (at Backun) told me their policy is to treat everyone, celebrity, pro or amateur alike. I believe they do that.
And, to add to that list, Gregory Smith is always a "regular Joe" when I speak to him as well. Also, add Walter Grabner to the list of nice guys along with Charles Bay. It wouldn't be fair not to include Brad Behn into the group because he went over and above for me this year on my broken Kaspar Cicero.
We're blessed to have such quality individuals in the clarinet community.
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