Sillico

This idyllic Italian retreat is a tiny jewel of a mediaeval village of about 100 inhabitants, situated at 750m asl and nestling between the Apennines and the Apuan Alps. The air is warm and pure, whilst the atmosphere lends itself to concentrated study and socialising! The excellent quality (largely organic) food, wines and cooking on previous courses have attracted much favourable comment. There are also beautiful walks and views to be enjoyed.

The Course

We are delighted to announce the return to Sillico of Michael Laird in 2007, who will be working alongside our favourite Texan, Keith Johnson. Both Michael and Keith have wonderful reputations as performers and teachers, so we look forward to a great week!
In addition, comparing notes and socialising with friends old and new from other countries is greatly to be looked forward to. Players are invited to bring any material they particularly want to work-on to Sillico and at the end of the week some of the repertoire will be performed in concert. The course will be tailored to individuals’ wishes as much as possible. Participants are invited to dinner at 8pm on 5th August and may arrive at any time that day. They are welcome to stay for breakfast on 12th August.

Cost

750 Euros, to include tuition, accommodation and all meals. A deposit of 125 Euros is payable to reserve a place.

Contact

Application forms and further information may be obtained from:
Paul Thomas, 34 Hill Hay Close, Fowey, Cornwall PL23 IEN, GB.
TEL/FAX 01726 833553. E MAIL paulthomasesq@talktalk.net

Michael Laird

Studied at the Royal College of Music in London with Richard Walton. He lives in London and started his musical life as a performer on the modern trumpet. A meeting with trumpeter Walther Holy of the West Deutsche Rundfunk in Cologne inspired Michael to start work on the Baroque trumpet. At that time there were no makers of such instruments so he made his own in his garage at home. On the modern instrument he was a member of the Philip Jones Brass Ensemble and toured and recorded for many years with them. Now he is active with the Academy of St Martin in the Fields and the English Chamber Orchestra. He works regularly in the recording studio and has recorded music for James Bond films, amongst others, and backing tracks for many artists including the Beatles and Elton John.
On the Baroque Trumpet he has performed and recorded most of the works of Bach and Handel for such conductors as Harnoncourt, Norrington, Pinnock, Gardiner, Hogwood, Leonhardt, Steinitz etc. He was a member of the late David Munrow’s Early Music Consort for many years, Professor at the Royal College of Music for 15 years, and Professor of Natural Trumpet and Cornetto at the Hochschule, Trossingen, Germany for 6 years. He has given masterclasses in Munich, Manchester, Glasgow, Tokyo, Nagoya and at the Royal Academy of Music and Trinity College in London. He has been Brass Consultant at Wells Cathedral School for 5 years and is now Brass Consultant at the Birmingham Conservatoire.

Keith Johnson

Keith Johnson is Regents Professor of Trumpet in the College of music at the University of North Texas in Denton, Texas. Prior to this, he was Professor of Trumpet at the university of Northern Iowa in Cedar Falls. He performs with the Dallas Opera, the Fort Worth Symphony, the New Hampshire Music Festival and the Sundance Brass Quintet. He has played Baroque trumpet with the Dallas Bach Society, Fort Worth Early Music, the Orchestra of New Spain, the Texas Baroque trumpet Ensemble, the San Francisco Bach Choir and Orchestra and the New York Baroque Orchestra. He has also performed with the orchestras of Dallas, Shreveport, Kansas City, Cape Town, the Mexico City Philharmonic, the Mexico City Symphony, the Solistas de Mexico, and the Orchestra of the Mineria Festival. He has presented clinics and recitals at more than seventy five universities throughout the United States, Canada, Mexico, Romania and South Africa and he appears frequently as soloist with bands and orchestras throughout the US and overseas.

He has written more than thirty articles on brass playing and a method book entitled Developing the Upper Register. He is the author of two highly acclaimed books, The Art of Trumpet Playing and Brass Performance and Pedagogy. He has served on the Board of Directors of the International Trumpet Guild and as music review editor of the ITG Journal for eight years. His students hold playing and teaching positions in orchestras, bands and universities in seven different countries.

He is a graduate of the University of North Texas and the University of Illinois. His teachers have included William Scarlato, John Haynie, Haskell Sexton, Vincent Cichowicz, Armando Ghitalla and Arnold Jacobs.

Click here for a text-only application form for this seminar