Thursday, 4 October 2007
David recently returned from a 12 day tour of Australia which saw him give 6 concerts, 2 masterclasses, 2 seminars, adjudicate 2 contests and conduct a band rehearsal. The first leg of the tour started in Adelaide where David previously performed back in 2001. Whilst in Adelaide David appeared in Concert with the 'Soul Factor Gospel Choir' and gave recitals in two of Adelaide's specialist music schools.
Soul Factor Gospel Choir
Jeff Kong - David's accompanist whilst in Adelaide.
In addition to concert performances David also adjudicated the 2007 Champion of Champions Junior and Open competitions at 'The Promethean Theatre'. The Junior section was won by tubist Karina Filipi with a superb performance of John Golland's Tuba Concerto Opus 46, although trumpeter Sarah Edson was hard on her heels with a stunning account of Goedicke's Concert Etude. However, the true star of the competition was veteran cornetist Kevin Joughin who won the Open Championship with a fantastic performance of Brandt's Concerto I Opus 11. Kevin will now go on to compete in the prestigious Ern Keller competition.
Dave with Bruce Raymond & contest winner Kevin Joughin
Before flying on to Melbourne David just had time to take a rehearsal with the Kensington & Norwood Band - one of the finest in Australia and a band with whom Bruce Raymond has been associated for some 20 years. David rehearsed the band on Bliss' Checkmate - a wonderful transcription by Eric Ball before giving the a short impromtu solo performance to finish off the evening
The K&N Band
From Adelaide it was on to Melbourne for David's 2nd appearance at the Melbourne International Festival of Brass.
Here's what reviewer Merv Collins wrote about David's contribution to this year's Festival:
"In 2003, the euphonium player David Childs described the Melbourne International Festival of Brass as '91one of the finest I have ever had the pleasure of attending.'92 He demonstrated his sincerity by returning this year to undertake in the space of five days, two warm-ups, a masterclass and a seminar for students as well as a solo recital and two concert performances.
He was the perfect Festival guest; thoroughly prepared, accessible and inspiring in the educational component and an outstanding performer in the public arenas.
His solo recital was a joy. He strolled on, instantly showering the audience with a glistening cascade of notes in Valflickansdans and progressed through Jacob'92s Fantasia, the lento from Horovitz Concerto, Newton'92s Sonata Brevis, and a Hummel Fantasy to a stunning Rossini Theme and Variations, all from memory. His sound, technique and musicianship were world-class.
His stage presence and presentation were equally impressive. The background detail he added was enlightening (Myfanwy will never be the same now I know the tragic story) and his acknowledgement of the work of accompanist Stefan Cassomenos, on behalf of all the Festival'92s recitalists, most gracious.
The indefatigable euphonium artiste rounded out the week with two performances with Australia'92s champion band, Brisbane Excelsior. He played Peter Graham'92s virtuosic Fantasia on Rule Britannia with ease, the ballad, Donegal Bay, with great beauty and his encore, the playful violin solo Hot Canary, with wit and amazing lip flexibility.
In a week of great stars, including the awesome Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, musicianly Jens Bj'f8rn- Larsen on tuba and the indescribable Mnozil Brass, David Childs was not eclipsed. He shone as brightly as any. His audiences loved him and his invitation to another Festival is a formality."
Checkout some photos from the week, together with commentary from David himself:
A rare opportunity to spend time with one of the true greats of the music world - French Horn legend and President of the Melbourne International Festival of Brass - Barry Tuckwell. I had the pleasure of being part of the adjudicating panel for the prestigious 'Barry Tuckwell Prize' together with Barry Tuckwell himself, Ralph Sauer, James Thompson, Jens Bjorn-Larsen, Matthew Van Emmerik and Ben Jacks
Masters of their Art: James Thompson - Professor of Trumpet at the renown Eastman School of Music. Ralph Sauer - 32 years as principal trombonist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Stefan Dohr - proclaimed by the New York Chronicle as the '93king of his instrument'94 and principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic.
I spent quite a bit of time between performing and listening to concerts in the trade exhibition area where I road tested some of the first York instruments to arrive in Australia and met old friend Richard Mackie (left).
Here Wycliffe Gordon shows me how its done as he puts some silky smooth notes into my York Eminence euphonium back stage at the BMW Edge. Wycliffe is without doubt one of the finest musicians I have ever had the pleasure of hearing - he tours the world performing hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz for audiences ranging from heads of state to elementary school students and his trombone playing has been universally hailed by jazz critics. I listened to every concert he gave and to say I enjoyed it would be an understatement - hearing him play alone was worth travelling half way around the world for. A great guy too...
This is Federation Square, the heart of Melbourne and home to the BMW Edge - a trendy concert venue where two of the three concert performances I gave took place.
BMW Edge from the outside....pretty cool...
BMW Edge from the inside! It was great to return here - I remember sitting in the audience here listening to James Morrisson blow everyone away back in 2003 when I last attended the MIFB.
Whilst I was in Melbourne I watched several amazing concerts, but none as extraordinary as the Friday night concert given by Mnozil - a seven piece brass ensemble from Vienna. They brought first class musicianship and side splitting humour together in a way I have never experienced before. They play their entire two hour concerts by memory, during which they sing (very well), move around the stage in a slick choreographed manner, whilst all the time delivering brass playing of the highest quality. There is no such thing as 1st trombone or 1st trumpet in Mnozil - they are all stars and were a pleasure to spend time with.
Back Stage after Saturday night's concert with the other featured soloists Wycliffe Gordon and Jens Bjorn-Larsen. I heard Jens perform in Denver Colorado last year so knew what to expect! He is an awesome tuba player with a phenomenal dynamic range. His performance of the Gregson tuba Concerto was a real highlight for me - he made the instrument sing. Wycliffe performed his own compositions with the band including a piece called 'Me We' - absolutely unbelievable! It was great to sit back and enjoy a beer with these guys once all the hard work had been done.
Thomas Gansch, trumpeter with Mnozil is as versatile as they come. He has a wicked sense of humour which is only outweighed by his incredible talent as a trumpeter. One moment he's combining the brilliant technique and sound quality you'd associate with the finest classical soloists, and then in the next phrase he's jazzin' and screamin' like a specialist jazz artist. Hearing him and his colleagues from Mnozil play is a lesson in versatility for any musician. He's also a lot of fun...
Following Saturday night's concert at the BMW Edge some of us headed to a Jazz Club - 'Bennets Lane' where we were treated to something of a tag team affair by Thomas & Wycliffe. Here you can see Thomas doing his thing while Wycliffe watches on, before Wycliffe takes centre stage as Thomas takes five! A great way to finnish a superb night.
Here I am with Geoff Collinson before we make our way back to Melbourne International Airport. My thanks go to Geoff, Barry Tuckwell, John Collinson, Michael Bertoncello (super star trombone soloist) and all their team for putting together a superb week of brass music making in Melbourne. Congratulations guys!
Soul Factor Gospel Choir
Jeff Kong - David's accompanist whilst in Adelaide.
In addition to concert performances David also adjudicated the 2007 Champion of Champions Junior and Open competitions at 'The Promethean Theatre'. The Junior section was won by tubist Karina Filipi with a superb performance of John Golland's Tuba Concerto Opus 46, although trumpeter Sarah Edson was hard on her heels with a stunning account of Goedicke's Concert Etude. However, the true star of the competition was veteran cornetist Kevin Joughin who won the Open Championship with a fantastic performance of Brandt's Concerto I Opus 11. Kevin will now go on to compete in the prestigious Ern Keller competition.
Dave with Bruce Raymond & contest winner Kevin Joughin
Before flying on to Melbourne David just had time to take a rehearsal with the Kensington & Norwood Band - one of the finest in Australia and a band with whom Bruce Raymond has been associated for some 20 years. David rehearsed the band on Bliss' Checkmate - a wonderful transcription by Eric Ball before giving the a short impromtu solo performance to finish off the evening
The K&N Band
From Adelaide it was on to Melbourne for David's 2nd appearance at the Melbourne International Festival of Brass.
Here's what reviewer Merv Collins wrote about David's contribution to this year's Festival:
"In 2003, the euphonium player David Childs described the Melbourne International Festival of Brass as '91one of the finest I have ever had the pleasure of attending.'92 He demonstrated his sincerity by returning this year to undertake in the space of five days, two warm-ups, a masterclass and a seminar for students as well as a solo recital and two concert performances.
He was the perfect Festival guest; thoroughly prepared, accessible and inspiring in the educational component and an outstanding performer in the public arenas.
His solo recital was a joy. He strolled on, instantly showering the audience with a glistening cascade of notes in Valflickansdans and progressed through Jacob'92s Fantasia, the lento from Horovitz Concerto, Newton'92s Sonata Brevis, and a Hummel Fantasy to a stunning Rossini Theme and Variations, all from memory. His sound, technique and musicianship were world-class.
His stage presence and presentation were equally impressive. The background detail he added was enlightening (Myfanwy will never be the same now I know the tragic story) and his acknowledgement of the work of accompanist Stefan Cassomenos, on behalf of all the Festival'92s recitalists, most gracious.
The indefatigable euphonium artiste rounded out the week with two performances with Australia'92s champion band, Brisbane Excelsior. He played Peter Graham'92s virtuosic Fantasia on Rule Britannia with ease, the ballad, Donegal Bay, with great beauty and his encore, the playful violin solo Hot Canary, with wit and amazing lip flexibility.
In a week of great stars, including the awesome Wycliffe Gordon on trombone, musicianly Jens Bj'f8rn- Larsen on tuba and the indescribable Mnozil Brass, David Childs was not eclipsed. He shone as brightly as any. His audiences loved him and his invitation to another Festival is a formality."
Checkout some photos from the week, together with commentary from David himself:
A rare opportunity to spend time with one of the true greats of the music world - French Horn legend and President of the Melbourne International Festival of Brass - Barry Tuckwell. I had the pleasure of being part of the adjudicating panel for the prestigious 'Barry Tuckwell Prize' together with Barry Tuckwell himself, Ralph Sauer, James Thompson, Jens Bjorn-Larsen, Matthew Van Emmerik and Ben Jacks
Masters of their Art: James Thompson - Professor of Trumpet at the renown Eastman School of Music. Ralph Sauer - 32 years as principal trombonist with the Los Angeles Philharmonic. Stefan Dohr - proclaimed by the New York Chronicle as the '93king of his instrument'94 and principal horn of the Berlin Philharmonic.
I spent quite a bit of time between performing and listening to concerts in the trade exhibition area where I road tested some of the first York instruments to arrive in Australia and met old friend Richard Mackie (left).
Here Wycliffe Gordon shows me how its done as he puts some silky smooth notes into my York Eminence euphonium back stage at the BMW Edge. Wycliffe is without doubt one of the finest musicians I have ever had the pleasure of hearing - he tours the world performing hard-swinging, straight-ahead jazz for audiences ranging from heads of state to elementary school students and his trombone playing has been universally hailed by jazz critics. I listened to every concert he gave and to say I enjoyed it would be an understatement - hearing him play alone was worth travelling half way around the world for. A great guy too...
This is Federation Square, the heart of Melbourne and home to the BMW Edge - a trendy concert venue where two of the three concert performances I gave took place.
BMW Edge from the outside....pretty cool...
BMW Edge from the inside! It was great to return here - I remember sitting in the audience here listening to James Morrisson blow everyone away back in 2003 when I last attended the MIFB.
Whilst I was in Melbourne I watched several amazing concerts, but none as extraordinary as the Friday night concert given by Mnozil - a seven piece brass ensemble from Vienna. They brought first class musicianship and side splitting humour together in a way I have never experienced before. They play their entire two hour concerts by memory, during which they sing (very well), move around the stage in a slick choreographed manner, whilst all the time delivering brass playing of the highest quality. There is no such thing as 1st trombone or 1st trumpet in Mnozil - they are all stars and were a pleasure to spend time with.
Back Stage after Saturday night's concert with the other featured soloists Wycliffe Gordon and Jens Bjorn-Larsen. I heard Jens perform in Denver Colorado last year so knew what to expect! He is an awesome tuba player with a phenomenal dynamic range. His performance of the Gregson tuba Concerto was a real highlight for me - he made the instrument sing. Wycliffe performed his own compositions with the band including a piece called 'Me We' - absolutely unbelievable! It was great to sit back and enjoy a beer with these guys once all the hard work had been done.
Thomas Gansch, trumpeter with Mnozil is as versatile as they come. He has a wicked sense of humour which is only outweighed by his incredible talent as a trumpeter. One moment he's combining the brilliant technique and sound quality you'd associate with the finest classical soloists, and then in the next phrase he's jazzin' and screamin' like a specialist jazz artist. Hearing him and his colleagues from Mnozil play is a lesson in versatility for any musician. He's also a lot of fun...
Following Saturday night's concert at the BMW Edge some of us headed to a Jazz Club - 'Bennets Lane' where we were treated to something of a tag team affair by Thomas & Wycliffe. Here you can see Thomas doing his thing while Wycliffe watches on, before Wycliffe takes centre stage as Thomas takes five! A great way to finnish a superb night.
Here I am with Geoff Collinson before we make our way back to Melbourne International Airport. My thanks go to Geoff, Barry Tuckwell, John Collinson, Michael Bertoncello (super star trombone soloist) and all their team for putting together a superb week of brass music making in Melbourne. Congratulations guys!
