ITEC (International Tuba Euphonium Conference) 2019

[John Morgan]

John Morgan...I was born in Brooklyn, grew up in Queens, and I STILL LOVE THE YANKEES!!!!

Excellent, also.

[John Morgan]

...And I got to see Miel from Adams Musical Instruments again. He is such a nice fellow and I enjoy visiting with him. Too bad he doesn't have something to sell me, I already have my Adams E3.

I spoke entirely too soon!!! On my second or third visit to the Adams display and Miel, I somehow got to talking about trombones. Miel said that he just happened to have one at ITEC, unbeknownst to me. He broke it out, and I gave it a go. Uh-oh, big time. I mean I should not have tried this horn. I immediately loved it. It is a tenor with F attachment. It is a very, very free blowing horn. And responsive. And so, so easy to play. When I tried the low Eb with trigger, I got the BEST LOW Eb from a trombone that I have ever had, not even close. The triggered Eb sounded identically as free blowing as any note without the trigger. Not one iota of stuffiness. Totally amazing. Miel said to me, "John, don't you want to take this home?" To make things worse, Linda was there and hearing all my playing on the horn and hearing Miel, and said to me "Get it. It is the best sounding trombone I have ever heard you play on." Well, I did not buy it. On that day. I had to go back to the hotel that night and then spend another couple days pondering this. I came back on Saturday, just about when the Adams display was being packed up as this was the last day of the conference. Tried the horn again, and this time coughed up my credit card and walked out with an Adams TB1 tenor trombone. I love it. I should have known that I could not escape this conference without buying something. Just wasn't thinking trombone. I will write more later on the conference and our experiences there.

[RickF]

Congrats John on your new Adams T-bone! Sounds great.

It’s nice to have a wife who says, “Get it, it’s the best sounding trombone I’ve heard you play on”.

[John the Theologian]

I played the Adams T bone as well and It blew very nicely. I didn't run the F attachment through its paces as you did., though. I also played the Adams E1 and E2 and both were very nice euphoniums. Both slotted the high G very well that is a bit tricky on my Mack Brass horn.


My wife is very kind about my brass hobby, but I never had her say to go ahead and buy a $3300 dollar horn as quickly as yours did, though.

[John Morgan]

Congrats John on your new Adams T-bone! Sounds great.

It’s nice to have a wife who says, “Get it, it’s the best sounding trombone I’ve heard you play on”.

Rick - no doubt about having such a super wife. She has been this way forever. Am I lucky or what??

[John Morgan]

I played the Adams T bone as well and It blew very nicely. I didn't run the F attachment through its paces as you did., though. I also played the Adams E1 and E2 and both were very nice euphoniums. Both slotted the high G very well that is a bit tricky on my Mack Brass horn.


My wife is very kind about my brass hobby, but I never had her say to go ahead and buy a $3300 dollar horn as quickly as yours did, though.

Well, I am lucky for sure to have such a supportive wife, but also, I have a nice tenor trombone at home that will be going up for sale shortly. That was part of the grand scheme of getting this new horn. Contrary to what I would prefer or any public opinion, I am not made of money.

[dsurkin]

Well, I am lucky for sure to have such a supportive wife, but also, I have a nice tenor trombone at home that will be going up for sale shortly. That was part of the grand scheme of getting this new horn. Contrary to what I would prefer or any public opinion, I am not made of money.

John - does this mean you liked it more than your Edwards trombone?

[John Morgan]

John - does this mean you liked it more than your Edwards trombone?

Dean - yes, it does mean that. I really like the Edwards, so this is no put down for the Edwards trombone. But this Adams trombone is amazing. A really nice sound, easy to play, and I mean easy. Very responsive horn. The valve on the Adams was, according to Miel, designed in house at Adams (with Miel having a big hand in that), then manufactured in Germany (I think, not 100% positive, but I think that is right). Have not seen one of these before. "Open Flow" valve is what it is called. The trombone is an "open, short wrap" horn meaning the F section does not stick way out past the main tuning slide. I like that. When I get home with this horn after a week at ITEC then a visit to my daughter in Kalamazoo, where we are now, I will play test both horns. I guess you are supposed to do that before you buy the new one, right? But, I know what the Edwards sounds and plays like, so I am fairly confident I will be happy with my choice.

You can see the horn on the Adams website: https://www.adams-music.com/shop/pro...&t=wf&lid=1033

Mine has a gold brass bell, a dual-bore slide and 0.55 mm gauge metal.

[bbocaner]

Can't blame any chipped notes on the "harmonic pillars" anymore

[John Morgan]

Can't blame any chipped notes on the "harmonic pillars" anymore

You know, I thought at first, that the harmonic pillars thing and all the little bits of various metals and first acoustically tunable trombone were pretty cool. But, the reality is that I NEVER once used any of that at all. I mean, I did put a few of the pieces on/in and blew a few notes, and nothing remarkable happened. Or maybe it did, and I didn't notice. I checked with Joe Alessi, and he says that he does not use that part of the trombone either. But it is a fine trombone. I have had a few good trombone players take a blow on it, and they all said they really liked it.

[John the Theologian]

John, are you driving past Iowa City again? We're gone on vacation this week, but will be back next week.

[RandyL]

It was great to see Dave, the two Johns (the Theologian and the trombonist), Snorlax, and it seems like somebody else--and a couple of the wives. Also my son Daniel was with me. Really fun to play in the "amateur" ensemble on Saturday evening as well. And Don Winston delivered a really fine quip at the panel session on forming a community tuba-euph ensemble: "The way to make a small fortune with a euphonium is to start with a really large fortune!" I don't know whether that's original to him, adapted from some other field, or what, but I never heard it before, and it seemed a great way to make the point that playing euphonium is, for most people, a much better way to lose money than to make it.

I've commented elsewhere on the forum about my distinct lack of prowess as a euphonium player, but this conference has given me a nice way to portray myself otherwise. What follows is an absolutely true statement: Gene Pokorny heard me playing my euphonium, and he said to me, "You're my hero!"

Of course it wasn't quite that straightforward. He was in the audience when the "amateur" ensemble played on Saturday evening, so he heard me playing my euphonium. Two days earlier, on Thursday, he claimed an empty spot at our banquet table and, before eating dessert, asked people near him to guard his chocolate cake while he went to talk to some people. Somehow we failed to notice that the table server had cleared all the desserts off the table until Mr. Pokorny returned to find his cake gone. When I located the table against the back wall where the server had stacked the dessert plates, I found an untouched piece on the top of the stack and brought it to him, eliciting his exclamation, "You're my hero!" So what I wrote is perfectly true. Gene Pokorny heard me playing my euphonium, and two days earlier he had also said to me, "You're my hero!"

There was also some additional discussion about chocolate cake that prompts me to inform anyone who may entertain Mr. Pokorny at your home for dinner: chocolate cake will be a big hit, and it might be a good idea to bake one more cake than you would expect to need. :-)

Randy

[John Morgan]

John the Theologian - We are actually going from Kalamazoo around Chicago, up to Milwaukee, over to Madison, then I-90 all the way home to Sturgis. We plan to stop at the Harley-Davidson Museum in Milwaukee for two reasons: 1) I ride a Harley-Davidson Electra Glide Ultra Limited (motorcycle #30 in my lifetime and probably last one) and 2) We have never been there before. So, sorry we won't be going through Iowa City, which we thoroughly enjoyed while at ITEC.

Randy - Delightful meeting you and your son Daniel as well. I wish him well in his Euphonium endeavors. Again, I am glad I met you, anyone who is a hero to Gene Pokorny must be a pretty swell fellow!! Linda and I were at the "Young at Heart" ensemble on Saturday evening as well. Nicely done. What a splendid week it all was.

[djwpe]

And Don Winston delivered a really fine quip at the panel session on forming a community tuba-euph ensemble: "The way to make a small fortune with a euphonium is to start with a really large fortune!" I don't know whether that's original to him, adapted from some other field, or what, but I never heard it before, and it seemed a great way to make the point that playing euphonium is, for most people, a much better way to lose money than to make it.

Randy, I’m glad you enjoyed the presentation. That quip is an adaptation of one I’ve heard over the years about many businesses, particularly sailing related businesses. “The way to make a million dollars selling boats is to start with two million.”

But, for sure, my recital series is a cost center, not a profit center.

Don Winston

[RandyL]

Don,

The comment struck me, just as you explained, as something that could be applicable to many things and that perhaps you had heard or even devised yourself about some other endeavor and then pressed into this extra duty for the euphonium.

The panel was indeed helpful. Thanks for your contribution to the advancement of our instrument, including the financial aspects.

Randy