Tom Harmony

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Publication Date

3-4-2006

Year of Release

2006

Note(s)

Tom Harmony, trumpet

Jay Flippin, Michelle Hontz, piano

Trumpet Ensemble

Martin Saunders, Eric Hjelmstead, Rebecca Kaupat, Josh Richardson, Shelby Tucci

This recital is presented in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the Master of Arts degree in Performance. Mr. Harmony is a student in trumpet studio of Mr. Martin Saunders.

Notes

About the Halsey Stevens Sonata, Robert Sabin has written, ''It is extremely difficult to avoid clashing colors and sonorous monotony in writing for trumpet and piano, and Mr. Stevens is to be congratulated on solving this problem adroitly, while preserving his freedom of musical invention. The terse, incisive first theme of his first movement suits the trumpet admirably, and is woven in.to a stimulating dialogue with the piano. The composer is careful not to thicken the piano part to offset the brilliance of the trumpet. He uses telling dissonances and vigorous rhythmic accents instead. The slow movement uses the muted trumpet beautifully in a broadly arching theme which is mirrored formally by an arch of harmonic and dynamic intensity and concentration. Its superimposed intervals give the harmony a wide reach without ever falling into heaviness or mere decoration. The brilliant finale, with its shifting meters and springy theme, remind one of Bartók without making one forget Mr. Stevens. All in all, a valuable contribution to the repertoire."

Musical America, February 1960

Born in Hungary, Johann Nepomuk Hummel was the son of Joseph, a conductor of a military school in Wartburg and later a conductor in a Vienna theatre. At the age of eight, Hummel began taking piano lessons with W.A. Mozart and continued until the beginning of a tour at the age of 10. He composed for many combinations of instruments including the now lost Trio for piano, violin, and trumpet and the frequently performed Septet, Op. 74 for piano, flute, oboe, horn, viola, cello and double bass. The Concerto for Trumpet was completed in 1803 and was one of the first pieces to use the new "keyed" trumpet. This instrument allowed the instrumentalist to play semi-tones easily, and to allow them to execute quick passages with ease. The emphasis Hummel puts on the semi-tone adds quite a bit of color to other musical ideas such as arpeggios and ornamentation.

Chet Baker was a self-taught musician and a contemporary of Dizzy Gillespie. Baker heard Gillespie on the Armed Forces Radio network while stationed in Berlin, and hearing this legendary jazz trumpet player forever changed Baker's playing. Upon a general discharge from the Army, Baker picked up a gig in Los Angeles, CA with Charlie Parker, who said of Baker's trumpet playing, "There's a white cat on the coast who's gonna eat you up." Freeway was recorded in October of 1952 and can be found on The Defintive Chet Baker.

Song Cycle - FATHER

Hebert L. Clarke is was considered to be the Father of cornet playing and is the best-known solo cornetist from the turn of the century. He was able to play the entire range of the comet and many different articulations with ease. Clarke composed many works that feature comet. The Maid of the Mist is named after the Slip, which took passengers to see the glorious Niagara Falls. Tonight's performance features a vintage Holton cornet manufactured in 1912.

My Heavenly Father - The tune Hyfrydol has been set to several poems, one of them being Our Great Savior. This beautiful hymn setting, normally in 3/4 meter, is marvelously woven into a feeling of 4/4. The poem reads:

Alleluia! sing to Jesus! His the scepter, His the throne.

Alleluia! His the triumph, His the victory alone.

Hark! the songs of peaceful Zion t6hunder like a mighty flood.

Jesus out of every nation has redeemed us by His blood.

Alleluia! King eternal, Thee the Lord of lords we own;

Alleluia! born of Mary, Earth Thy footstool, Heav 'n Thy throne:

Thou within the veil hast entered, robed in flesh our great High Priest;

Thou on earth both priest and victim in the Eucharistic feast.

In his younger years, my Father Neal was given a trumpet, one of the first French imports made by Courtois. He played throughout his childhood in school bands and several community bands. For an intermediate level instrument, it plays well and is in good condition. It is on this horn that that I will pay tribute to my father by playing One Finger Polka. (1954) by Harold L. Walters.

Eric Ewazen earned the B.M. from the Eastman School of Music and the M.M. and D.M.A. degrees from The Juilliard School. He has written for every type of ensemble, solo instrument, or large instrumental group. The Concert Fanfare was written in celebration of the 25th anniversary of the International Trumpet Guild. Ewazen's compositions tend to be electrifying from beginning to end; Concert Fanfare is no exception.

Note

Smith Recital Hall

Disciplines

Arts and Humanities | Fine Arts | Music | Music Performance

Marshall University Music Department Presents a Graduate Recital, Tom Harmony, trumpet

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