Posted by John Jones on March 11, 2004 at 18:05:39:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Festive Overture posted by bloke on March 11, 2004 at 17:09:02:
I was from Nashville, a senior at Two Rivers HS in Donelson. My band director at Two Rivers was Kenton Hull, a fine tenor sax player who did session work around Nashville at the time. All State Band was in Nashville that year. I don't remember who directed it. But I do remember a compressed -- maybe a three day weekend? -- period of rehearsals and performance, probably at War Memorial. I went off to Duke and haven't been back to Nashville in 20 years.
And back then we played baritone. The occasional score might call for euphonium, but we were just told that was the silly English name for the horn.
I agree with you about the old performances, and the old sound. But maybe at 54 I'm becomming old. I remember my dad putting down Miles and Trane and JJ and wanting me to play my King 2B trombone just like Dorsey.
I miss the brightness and pizazz of the smaller bore baritones, lost in today's tenor tuba darkness, as beautiful as it is. I'm probably a good candidate for today's English baritone, but that's probably too small and besides, the English brass band tradition is not my tradition.
In any case, I took the horn, euphonium that is, back up last year, have been playing in a community band, and just auditioned into a very good local wind ensemble. I pleased how much has come back, with a lot of practice, after so long. Plus, the resources on the internetjust blow away anything we had back then.
The group I just joined is beginning to work up Festive Overture. I played it at Duke in 1971, and we did not take it at today's tempo, although we could have, hence my musings.
John