National Trumpet Competition

miles71 · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:40 am Post subject:

This was another great weekend at the NTC. I was again fortunate to be at the Stus Music table for the show. Got to talk to some fine musicians and old friends.

You need to check out the Pickett Brass stuff, he is doing som great things with mouthpieces and if you need to "bling" up your horn he is the one to do it.

Cliff Blackburn is a great guy as always, and he makes some serious horns.

Nice to see the Yamaha and Selmer guys, and Trent is always a pleasure to talk to.

I cant thank Mark Wood enough for talking and spedning some time at a spontaneus lesson with me. The man can play and has a great understanding of what he does to manipulate a trumpet. I did talk him into a clinic and Maryland Trumpet Day this year, so be there!!

Another great time and I cant thank Larry and Stus Music enough. If you need something give them a call. I understand her has quite a few P5-4's

TD

agolden · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 9:57 am Post subject:

Mark Wood is a good friend and is the MAN. He's really figured out this instrument man.....
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trumpet - synths - cornet
Bach//Blackburn
Patrick Mouthpieces

AndyLott · Last edited by AndyLott on Tue Apr 05, 2016 6:55 pm; edited 1 time in total

mdiceman · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:01 pm Post subject:

Being in the right place at the right time really paid off, thus creating a few favorite moments of equal value for different reasons for me. I happened to be present for the impromptu Mark Wood lesson. What a great guy with a thorough knowledge of what, why and how he plays.
The Boston Brass and Rodney Mack PBB concerts were fantastic. Great musicianship. Plus, I got to meet Wayne du Maine, Jose, Kiku and an added hang with Rodney for dinner. Great people and a lot of fun.
And then there was down time spent with Trent (picked his brain a little and had a lot of fun 'off-duty'), Pat Shaner (Wedge) and Tony D: all priceless.
Lastly, I've been working with Peter Pickett on a new lead piece. After numerous samples, trials and (my) errors during the last several weeks, we nailed it down at NTC. He's working on the finished product. He provides great customer service and is a genuinely good guy!
_________________
Tom Davis
now in Lancaster, PA
exclusively on Pickett Brass - Pickett Blackburn mouthpieces

markp · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 4:25 pm Post subject:

Trumpet competition?

Who won?

Was he/she the fastest? The highest? The loudest? The lowest? The tastiest?

Did she/he kick all the opponent trumpeter's butts? Score more points?

The NASCAR of all trumpetdom.

The bestest in the whole world?

Must we all now pattern our personal relationship with the instrument on the newly crowned king/queen?

rockford · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:21 pm Post subject:

AndyLott · Posted: Tue Mar 22, 2011 7:35 pm Post subject:

trumpet2cents · Regular Member Joined: 04 Feb 2011 Posts: 11

I loved Li Xiaochuan's playing in the jazz finals. That guy understands the importance of silence and rest! He made me want to hear every line that sounded out of his bell.

I love Thomas Hooten's new CD too.

www.facebook.com/trompeta.tocador
www.twitter.com/trumpet2cents

FDC05 · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 3:47 am Post subject:

I've been one of the behind-the-scene volunteers at NTC for over 10 years. While I've been there to see it grow, I can say it has become a real step in the audition process and maturation for so many people.

I say that, because a good majority of people who show up at DC military auditions have been through the process of preparing and competing at NTC. (I never auditioned for orchestras, so I cannot comment on that). As evident at the Air Force Band concert, where they announced that 2 of their recent hires were finalists, one of which won a few years back. Most resumes that come in, and many people getting invites have put themselves through the process of competing at NTC.

The process of being accepted as a semi-finalist at NTC has become very difficult, and very competitive. Everyone who plays at NTC is playing at a very high level... it's truly inspiring. To kind of discipline, planning and practice that it takes to get invited can only give players a taste of life as an auditioning trumpeter. There are rules to follow with your packet, cuts to make on long pieces, accompanists to figure out in 1 rehearsal, and a very judgmental audience in front of you

That being said, there is A LOT of great music being made!!! I've also made life-long friends from just that 1 weekend a year, and I know I'm not unique in that. Young players get a chance to throw down in front of many of the nation's top teachers, players, and students. There's nothing wrong with that!

If people believe that NTC does not promote music, but promotes competition, I would say that NTC is only a PART of the music making process. Certainly, if you want to, you should still set up your own recitals, play as many concerts as you'd like, make as much music as you want! No one is saying NTC should replace all performances. I will say, if you plan on taking auditions and competing for full-time, high profile jobs, it doesn't hurt to put yourself through the NTC process to get yourself ready for that challenge.
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Mark

mdiceman · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 4:17 am Post subject:

Mark (FDC05),
Good post!
_________________
Tom Davis
now in Lancaster, PA
exclusively on Pickett Brass - Pickett Blackburn mouthpieces

rockford · Posted: Thu Mar 24, 2011 6:18 am Post subject:

Excellent post Mark. There's a ton of work that goes on behind the scenes to co-ordinate the efforts of literally hundreds of people and organizations to make events like this happen. Young people who aspire to careers in music need events like this to develop all the skills, on and off stage, they need to succeed in today's hyper-competetive music world. It's one way of getting professional recognition and networking with other like-minded people, which is absolutely critical to success. While some people may dwell on the negative aspects of competition the folks that benefit are the ones who use NTC as an opportunity to progress and focus on making great music and not "beating" other people. Thanks for all your work.
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Bill Siegfried
NY/Mt. Vernon Bach trumpets. Yamaha flugelhorn and piccolo A/Bb, Monette and Hammond mouthpieces. Fender and Peavey Cirrus Bass Guitars. Ampeg and Genz-Benz amps. Embraer 170/175/190.

MrClean · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 1:45 pm Post subject:

I had heard that a lot of trumpet players were disqualified this year because of a change in the rules (something about having to submit a copy of the piano accompaniment along with the application). Seems kind of goofy to me to throw out good players on that technicality, especially since veteran players who have participated (and done well) multiple years did not know to look for that new requirement. I personally know of a couple that were caught by this - one went on to win a spot with the AF band within the last two months. Perhaps the first year of this new rule applicants should have been given an opportunity to fix the problem before being dq'd. You can bet that the students of the folks that run the NTC were probably well aware of this change in policy.

Just sayin'...

J
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Jim Wilt
LA Philharmonic
Colburn School

Ron Burgundy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005 Posts: 688

Jim

Those NTC guys go out of their way to be fair and get all of the info out. The last thing they are going to do is show any kind of special help. Those rules are set up the way the are to avoid past problems. If someone can't get their stuff in on time that's on them.

Just sayin'

Ronny

Carusofiedagain · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 2:56 pm Post subject:

I have to disagree. You should never disqualify a talented student who deserves a spot because of clerical errors on their part that do not interfere with the actual music making. I mean, what if it was an honest mistake, and why do these accompanists need the music so far in advance? Rebecca Wilt plays every year and does a FANTASTIC job playing this great repertoire, and she knows the repertoire and most likely has copies of her own.

This was my last year competing at NTC, and let me say that I wish I had a lot of great things to say, besides the fact that Ryan Kisor and Tom Hooten were fantastic and really inspirational to hear.
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"Do, or do not. There is no 'try'." - Yoda ('The Empire Strikes Back')

"Do not be afraid to copy someones style, it is through this process that we begin to develop our own."~Phil Smith, New York Philharmonic principal trumpet

AndyLott · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 3:22 pm Post subject:

Ron Burgundy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 05 Jan 2005 Posts: 688

Well sorry for that but believe me the people that run NTC work really hard and to imply that they would give some kind of unfair advantage to their students is disingenuous.

MrClean · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:07 pm Post subject:

I'm not saying they got an unfair advantage, just that their teachers knew to look for that component and let them know about it. Disqualifying someone on the basis of a clerical technicality just does not seem to be in keeping with the general spirit of this competition. I'm not surprised that it was a freshman who caught the error in the above example, as someone that has not gone through the process would probably be extra-careful as opposed to someone who had been down that road before. Nothing against the eventual winners, but I can't help but think this impacted the scope of competition.

Of course, in the end it is the responsibility of each applicant to make sure they read the rules, but when there is a change that is as critical (and seemingly random) as this one, it would have been nice for it to have been presented in a way that was near impossible to miss.

To be honest, I don't really follow the NTC stuff very closely; my students that are interesed bring their music in, and we work on it - that is the extent of my involvement. However, one of my guys worked very hard on a difficult piece, and I know he was extremely dissappointed that he had been cut for this reason. He would have understood had it been based on the quality of his submission, but this was a tough pill to swallow.

J
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Jim Wilt
LA Philharmonic
Colburn School

MrClean · Posted: Fri Apr 01, 2011 4:53 pm Post subject:

And while I'm on a rant...

I know publishers are generally pretty squeamish about photocopying. Not to stir a hornet’s nest, but can I assume that NTC got special dispensation from each publisher? How many copies of the Tomasi went through the shredder at the conclusion of competition? Seems like a lot of trees died in vain…
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Jim Wilt
LA Philharmonic
Colburn School