Frank Kaderabek

piknrol · Posted: Fri Jan 18, 2008 8:23 pm Post subject: Frank Kaderabek

I studied with Frank Kaderabek from 5th-8th grade (I am in 11th now) and have always been a great admirer of him. If there is anybody out there who knew him personally or studied with him I would like to know what you thought of him or if you have any interesting or funny stories to tell. I would also like to know what you thought of his playing. He was the nicest man you'll ever meet, and he helped me in so many ways. The best part of the lesson would always be when he would get his message across by taking his trumpet out and playing for me. He had such a solid, huge, and gorgeous sound

dbacon · Heavyweight Member Joined: 11 Nov 2001 Posts: 8592

You are very lucky to have studied with one of the great artists on our insrtument.

PowerSpectrum · Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 1:53 am Post subject:

piknrol

It seems Mr Kaderabek played a Selmer C75 trumpet. I would be interested in finding some records of the Philadelhia orchestra where he is using this horn. Do you have some hints what records I could look for?

I own a C75 too and the sound is so big and powerfull, I'm not a big expert but I think this would be THE right horn for Mahler symphonies and the like.
Do you know the recordings?
Have you seen him play live with that horn or with other horns?
Thanks,

Michel

patdublc · Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:21 am Post subject:

Frank is a very nice and sincere person. He has no ego about him and is as happy to talk trumpet to a beginner as to a seasoned professional. He has one of the most powerful sounds imaginable.

Bob Early presented a session at one of the recent ITG Conferences about playing 2nd trumpet in the Philly Orchestra. My favorite part was how he contrasted the playing styles of Frank and David Bilger and how that effected the role of playing 2nd trumpet. I think Bob posts here from time to time so maybe he will add some comments.

pat
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piknrol · Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 5:33 am Post subject:

Michel I'm sorry to say that he never talked much about recordings or equipment. At that time I was just a beginner (don't ask why someone like him took me as a beginner) and we were doing pretty basic fundamental things. There was no need to talk about equipment, and i'm not sure what trumpet he used on the Mahler. At that time I didn't even know how significant a Mahler symphony was. I do know in general he played Bach strads and Selmer. In general he always told me that it was the player who made the great sound not the instrument, he always believed that I should be able to play well no matter what the quality of trumpet I was playing on. He demonstrated this by taking my crappy student model and playing all the excerpts just as well as he did on his own horn. What a priviledge it was to sit next to him while he played.

benlewis · Posted: Sat Jan 19, 2008 7:22 am Post subject:

For any one who's interested, Dillon's has this horn for sale:

http://www.dillonmusic.com/HeleoCart/ProductPage/45680.aspx

Cheers!

darinkelly · Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 10:35 am Post subject:

I've had many opportunities over the years to play both for and with Frank, and I can tell you that he represents a sadly disappearing breed in our line of business: A true gentleman who simply loves to play for art's sake. He is definitely an "old school" person and player, the type who rises when a lady enters or leaves the room, and who plays with an enormous amount of soul and expression. When you listen to Philly Orchestra recordings from '75 (or so) to the early 90's, you can tell it's Frank up there. Seems like so many orchestras and trumpet sections sound the same these days, but that was never the case when Frank was here. As for his teaching, all you have to do is listen to guys like Kevin Cobb, Jack Sutte, Frank Ferraro, Tony DiLorenzo, etc. etc. They are all terrifically soulful players with outstanding technique. You're a lucky young player to have worked with him. Keep it up!

DK

oj · Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 1:15 pm Post subject:

I'd like to know more about his Selmer trumpet.

I have Frank in my Player/Horn list: http://abel.hive.no/trumpet/playerhorn/

Ole

dbacon · Heavyweight Member Joined: 11 Nov 2001 Posts: 8592

I'd be more interested in what he plays now.

piknrol · Posted: Sun Jan 20, 2008 3:47 pm Post subject:

There were many times that he would refuse to except money for lessons around holidays. And when I had just started I didn't have the endurance to play a very long lesson because I was in 5th grade so he lowered the fee. And when I got to the point where I could play an hour long lesson I asked about paying the original fee, and he denied and kept it at the same price for the rest of the time I studied with him.

ertatta · Heavyweight Member Joined: 23 Jun 2004 Posts: 856

ok, now i'm about to load the great Muti/Phily recording of the roman trilogy in my laptop as a tribute to the man. i'd love to keep reading more about mr. kaderabek, so keep the stories coming!

dem · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:40 pm Post subject:

Frank gave a wonderful masterclass at last years West Chester PA trumpet festival. He had a great sense of humor and would belt out excepts off the top of his head to illustrate a point with the ballsy-est sound you ever heard. Then he played a beautiful turn of the century cornet solo (on the cornet) with a very sweet sound. At the end of the session he said he looks forward to every day because he just loves playing the trumpet!
What a great guy, wish he was going to be there this year.

Craig Swartz · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 1:54 pm Post subject:

I have Phily performing the Respighi Fountains, Pines and Festivals. I loved the sound of the off-stage solo in Pines. Years later I attended a clinic by Frank at Iowa State U in Ames. The instant he began to play I knew it was he on the Pines recording. What a glorious, rich sound!

kcc · Regular Member Joined: 23 Aug 2004 Posts: 29

Actually Frank Kaderabek was in the hospital at the time of the Pines recording. The offstage solo is playded by Donald McComas (sp?). Not sure about the rest of the disc

piknrol · Posted: Mon Jan 21, 2008 6:15 pm Post subject:

He always stressed the importance of having your own voice and having individuality in your playing. He said that players today all sound alike. They sound great, and in tune, but sound alike. When you hear a recording of Frank Kaderabek playing, you knew it was him. The same went for all the old greats. Herseth, Vachianno, Roger Voison, Armando Ghitalla, they were all so unique in their playing, and you knew who it was when you heard them. Now don't get me wrong I love the great orchestral players today. I love Phil Smith, David Bilger, and Chris Martin, I would pay to see them anyday. But you have to admit they do sound a lot alike. Frank was more concerned with expression and style than accuracy. When he performed live, he would really go for it. Sometimes he clammed it, but most of the time he nailed it and it was thrilling. He thought that when people hear recordings so much they expect everything to be perfect at the concert everytime.

He told me a funny story. It was either when he was with Detroit or Dallas, I forget which one. But he played the Haydn at a concert, and he missed a few more notes than he normally would. So after the concert he was pretty dissapointed with himself, and a woman came up to him. She said, "You did a nice job. But you know, I have a recording of Maurice Andre playing the Haydn, and he doesn't seem to miss any notes!"

Matt Graves · Posted: Tue Jan 22, 2008 8:27 am Post subject:

I met Frank Kaderabek in 1983 at a summer camp in Northern California. What a wonderfully nice man and a truly great player!
I just got his American Trumpet in Prague CD. It is absolutely delicious!
Frank has what I want - a big gorgeous sound and superb musicality.
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PowerSpectrum · Posted: Sun Jan 27, 2008 2:30 am Post subject:

Ole wrote

coraltrpt · Regular Member Joined: 18 Oct 2016 Posts: 88

My apologies in reviving this thread: I'm very interested in contacting Mr. Kaderabek over his service in the West Point Band. However, I'm not finding any email or office phone these days. Does anyone know of his primary contact? Is he still teaching at WCU?

Thanks for your help!

kidtwist · Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2019 11:03 am Post subject:

Also resurrecting an old thread, but thought I'd still chime in.

I studied with Frank for my last 2 years at West Chester. Absolutely one of my favorite teachers ever, trumpet or otherwise. I loved that Frank was old-school in that he taught you to be a trumpet player, not classical or jazz, but a player of the horn. There were no shortcuts to great playing with him, just smart practice and making sure sound was your priority.

He used to host a dinner every year at his house for his students from West Chester and Curtis. We would talk shop, take a walk/hike around his property, and just have a good time.

When I studied with him, he was using a Selmer Radial C trumpet and a Selmer K-Mod Bb. I went to Dillons after my first semester studying with him and bought a K-Mod because it was/is such a great horn.

He made a recording with an orchestra in the Czech Republic years ago and on it there is a recording of him playing "My Heart at Thy Sweet Voice" by I think Saint-Saens, probably one of the most beautiful flugelhorn solos you will ever hear!!!

He is a great man and truly one of the nicest people you could ever meet!!
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Ed Kennedy · Heavyweight Member Joined: 15 Jan 2005 Posts: 3187

I believe he was the third Eb trumpet on the Reiner recording of Ein Heldenleben with Chicago Symphony. What an incredible, beautiful and powerful sound.