I'm in Missouri on my way back from a very nice experience at Kansas State University. It was a luxury in the world of composers to have 3 rehearsals with the tuba/euphonium ensemble that premiered my "Suit Suite". There was a lot of growth with the interpretation of the music. The one drawback was that we did not have all 13 musicians together until the run-through prior to the performance due to schedule conflicts. But Steve Maxwell and the students really came through with a very musical and exciting premiere.
While I was there, I did a Low Brass Masterclass on "Getting Into the Composer's Mind" which is based on ideas from my book, "A Composer's Guide to Understanding Music". I also gave a masterclass to the advanced theory class and a few composition majors. We covered such things as the need for versatility, how to develop your own voice, and concerns I have about the dominance of craftmanship at the expense of expression. I also played several recordings of my music. With both these classes, it would have been great to try to reach more students and to have those in attendance ask more questions.
Thank you Steve Maxwell for arranging all this and to the other faculty who were gracious in hosting me.
Dr. B
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