 The Clarinet BBoard
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Author: Bob Phillips
Date: 2010-03-15 16:31
I spent Saturday at Eastern Washington University in Cheney, WA for their Clarinet Studio's annual ClariNexus. Profs Todd Deljiudice and Jane Ellsworth always provide us with a great clinician (Michele Gingras, Janette Jonquil, Maxine Ramey, ...). This year's star was Margaret Thornhill, who is well known for her Los Angeles Clarinet Choir. I'd seen her and the LA Choir at ClarinetFest in Vancouver a couple of years ago and was eager to meet her.
Washington State's higher education is under a huge amount of funding pressure these days, and ClariNexus was made possible through a nice grant by Wendal Jones of Davy Cane (the Spokane-based reed maker).
Clarinet students from EWU formed the core of the attendees, with about an equal number of high schoolers and a few of us post-grads
The focus was on clarinet choir, and Dr. Thornhill proved to be an incredible director, with a perfect feel for the sound and techniques needed in each voice of the ensemble. Her rehearsals were focused, productive and comprehensive. I play a lot of the time by myself, so being in the ensemble was great fun for me.
She kept us literally running around, as she shuffled everyone from stand-to-stand so that everyone got a crack at the first parts.
We had three harmony clarinets, all well played, an Eb Alto, A Bass, and a Countrbass. Prof Ellsworth added omph to the omph papas sitting in with the Universities low Eb bass; so we had all the voices.
Thornhill gave a master class with four of the EWU clarinet studio students as subjects. Her coaching was insightful and provocative, but the real knock out was the virtuosity of those students. Look out Yale, EWU is right there!
Before lunch, Robin Amend of Spokane's Amend Music brought in a large table full of clarinets, mouthpieces, ligatures, barrels, reeds, swabs, and other GAS income-producing items. The clinicians spent some time explaining what all of this stuff might do to help the player; and then we attacked that gear and played with it.
Of great interest to me were the new Backun LeBlanc Bliss line of clarinets. The optional black nickel keywork is stunning to look at, and all of the instruments feel really good to my hands. These new instruments clatter not at all. All were good to play, very responsive and articulated well just as at ClarinetFest, there were too many players making too much "noise" to check for intonation details, but these are great new horns. Please, Mr. Backun, make me a Bliss in A with the black keywork.
In the early afternoon, we spent some more time at Choir Practice.
Following this, Prof Deljiudice spent an hour going over air, lips, tongue basics, the things that I always find at the core of my difficulties.
Then, we played for the admiring public --mostly friends and relatives of the participants.
Dr. Thornhill played an amazing composition by John Mayer of Indian Raga music. These 9 movements are the real thing moved from Sitar-land to the clarinet and forming a formidable challengee. Very impressive, with Dr. Thornhill demonstrating amazing competence at playing pppppppp. (support, support, support)
Prof. Deljiudice, with EWU pianist Don Goodwin showed us what really good Jazz playing sounds like; and after a Bachanale, a trio send-up of Bach-style drills, the Choirs performed. First the 12- member EWU Clarinet Choir and then the ClariNexus gang with the works that we'd learned to play with Dr. Thornhill --complete with all the necessary running around as the players moved from stand to stand.
The pieces included Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart), Scherzetto, Pavane & Gopak (Gordon Jacob), A Study in Contrast (Sammy Nestic), Itamar Freilach from the Klezmer Suite (Alex Ciesla), and The Stars and Strips Forever (John Phillip Sousa).
For a fee of only $30 this year, ClariNexus has to be THE clarinetist's bargain of the century. I heartily recommend that you join me next year for a whole lot of fun, education and camaraderie.
Bob Phillips
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Author: donald
Date: 2010-03-15 20:30
A Bliss clarinet in A? That's a great idea- i often have students who want to buy an A clarinet, who aren't realistically going to use it that much, and it would be great to be able to recommend a clarinet in the Bliss price range with the Bliss quality and reliability!
dn
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