TCNJ News
For Immediate Release
June 30, 2009
The Barry Tuckwell Institute makes its NJ debut at TCNJ
Legendary Australian Horn Soloist Brings Horn Enthusiasts
Together for Weeklong Workshop at TCNJ
EWING, NJ … The College of New Jersey welcomes the 2009 Barry Tuckwell Institute on Tuesday, July 7. Student and amateur horn players will convene for a week of masterclasses, lectures, chamber music and performances.
Barry Tuckwell, originally from Australia, spent most of his career in the United States and U.K. He spent 13 years as principal horn of the London Symphony Orchestra before embarking on a solo career that has taken him around the world. With more than 150 recordings to his name, he has become the most recorded horn soloist of all time, and a winner of three Grammy Awards. Later in his career he also picked up the conductor’s baton, conducting in both the U.S. and Australia. He currently resides in Melbourne, Australia and is a professorial fellow at the University of Melbourne. He was made an Officer of the Order of the British Empire and a Companion of the Order of Australia, among many other honors.
The Barry Tuckwell Institute features a talented horn faculty, who with Barry Tuckwell are dedicated to providing an environment for horn players to have fun and grow musically. One participant from last year’s Barry Tuckwell Institute commented that, “It was amazing to see a great, famous, accomplished horn player put things in perspective and provide such a kindly, fun approach to the perils of playing horn.”
Tuckwell is joined on the faculty by three distinguished horn colleagues. Mary Bisson, a member of the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra horn section has taught at The Peabody Institute of Music at Johns Hopkins and on the faculty of the Sunderman Conservatory at Gettysburg College. Bob Lauver is currently a member of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, and before that the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra; he also teaches at Carnegie Mellon University. Jean Rife is a natural horn (valve-less horn) specialist who was Principal Horn with the Boston Baroque and Rhode Island Philharmonic and now teaches at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, New England Conservatory and Longy School of Music. The horn faculty is joined by internationally-acclaimed pianist Tomoko Kanamaru, who is also on the faculty of The College of New Jersey. Bisson, Rife and Kanamaru are founding members of the Barry Tuckwell Institute and Bisson serves as its Director.
The Barry Tuckwell Institute is hosted by the Department of Music at The College of New Jersey and its activities are principally housed in the Music Building. The program is coordinated and supported by Department of Music Chair Gary Fienberg, and faculty members Tomoko Kanamaru and horn instructor Kathy Mehrtens. Linda Dempf, TCNJ’s music librarian, will also present a lecture on horn repertoire on Wednesday evening, July 8.
One of the defining characteristics of the Barry Tuckwell Institute is the non-competitive, nurturing environment that the faculty of the institute strives to create in each session. Participants range in age from high school students to adult amateurs in their 70s. The attendees come from across the country including New York, Massachusetts, Florida, Maryland, Virginia, Pennsylvania, the District of Columbia, California and of course, New Jersey.
The Finale Performance of the Barry Tuckwell Institute on Friday, July 10, at 8:00 PM is free and open to the public. This concert features performances by participants and faculty, horn ensembles, and a performance of all horns together, conducted by Barry Tuckwell. The public is also invited to attend “An evening with Barry Tuckwell”, a free lecture given by Barry Tuckwell on Wednesday evening, July 8 at 7:00PM. Select participants of the Barry Tuckwell Institute will also perform solo works in a recital on Friday afternoon, July 10 at 1:30PM. All three events will be held at the Mildred & Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall in the Music Building at The College of New Jersey, and are free and open to the public. A free lecture on horn repertoire will be presented at 8:30PM on Wednesday evening, July 8 in the choir room on the lower level of the Music Building.
Also available during the public performances of the Barry Tuckwell Institute, in a classroom adjacent to the Mildred & Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall, will be an exhibit of the Dick Martz Collection of Strange and Wonderful Horns. This exhibit comprises more than 60 instruments representing virtually the entire history of the development of the modern French horn. These exemplars range from the horn’s earliest use as a signal instrument in Roman times to the rise of the royal hunt in France and then to the horn’s use in musical performance. In the latter category, which represents the majority of the collection, are examples from the baroque, classical, and romantic periods illustrating the progressive development of the natural horn, "omnitonic" horn, and valved horns. The purpose of the collection is to allow the horn player the experience of examining and playing true period instruments. With this collection players are encouraged to give them a try.
Calendar of Public Events:
All events are free and open to the public.
Wednesday, July 8, 7:00PM
Mildred & Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall
Lecture: An Evening with Barry Tuckwell
Wednesday, July 8, 8:30PM
Music Building Choir Room 027
Lecture: What’s Out There? Who Wrote It? Where Can I Get It? Discovering Music for the Horn, by TCNJ Music Librarian Linda Dempf
Friday, July 10, 1:30PM
Mildred & Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall
Recital Performance by selected participants of the 2009 Barry Tuckwell Institute,
Tomoko Kanamaru, piano
Friday, July 10, 8:00PM
Mildred & Ernest E. Mayo Concert Hall
2009 Barry Tuckwell Institute Finale Concert featuring horn ensembles and
the BTI Horn Choir
For additional information, or to arrange interviews with Barry Tuckwell or other faculty members, please call Karen Swanson at 410.207.1706 or email kaswanson@mac.com.
