STUDENTS TOOT THEIR OWN HORNS AT VIU’S FIRST EVER TRUMPET FESTIVAL

Six VIU trumpet students tooted their own horns, both literally and figuratively, at VIU’s first ever Trumpet Festival, on February 17, 2013. They played their hearts out, each performing three different jazz tunes in a bid to impress the festival’s adjudicators, Claudio Fantinato, Michael Irving and Andrew Homzy, all accomplished jazz musicians and educators. Greg Bush, a trumpet player and professor in VIU’s Music department, came up with the idea for the festival because he wanted his students to go through the experience of having their performances critiqued.

“There are competitions all over the world that students might want to take part in after they graduate,” explains Bush. “Also, if they want to play in a band or orchestra they will have to audition for positions, so I felt this would be a good way to give them experience performing in front of a panel of judges.”

The festival was supported by [Thrifty’s Double-Up program](http://www.viu.ca/giving/thriftyfoods_000.asp), to the tune of $1,100. The program matches funds raised by VIU staff, faculty or students for various events and programs.

The trumpet students, Josh Agar, David Bamford, Jon Bauer, Nick Everett, Bethany Lane and Nick Lesage, were thrilled by the opportunity. “It was a ton of fun,” says Lane. She’s in her final semester of her Bachelor of Music in Jazz Studies degree and welcomed the opportunity to gain more experience playing in front of people. “The feedback from the adjudicators was extremely helpful because they hadn't heard us play before. I was able to take many of their comments and apply them to my playing almost immediately, so I'm very grateful they were available to be a part of the trumpet festival.”

The students were all required to play one tune, a ballad called *I Can't Get Started* by Vernon Duke and Ira Gershwin which is seen as a quintessential piece for trumpet players. Then they had to choose two other songs.

“It’s important, especially in a small set of only three tunes, to pick contrasting pieces,” says Josh Agar, who is also in his final semester of the Jazz Studies degree. “So, in addition to the ballad, I chose to do a fairly up-tempo bebop tune called *Ornithology*, composed by jazz legend Charlie Parker, and a broken swing tune in ¾ time called *Everybody's Song But My Own*, by Canadian Kenny Wheeler. I felt these tunes were of sufficient difficulty, but also familiar enough that I could relax and have fun with them.”

The adjudicators were looking for a number of elements in the students’ performances including musicianship, how they interpreted the music, the tone of the instrument and how well they improvised – a key skill for jazz musicians.

Nick Lesage was very appreciative of the judges’ feedback. “When Greg told us about the festival I was nervous about it, but had the motivation to get better out of the experience. It was great to be put in a real world situation.”

The adjudicators were impressed with the students’ abilities. “They all showed evidence of good teaching, good attitude, preparation and musical talent. I was impressed with the quality of repertoire and how each trumpeter sought out accompanying musicians and demonstrated leadership and some arranging skills,” said Homzy, retired Professor of Music, Concordia University, Montreal.

Each participating student was entered into a draw for a Yamaha Silent Brass mute and the lucky musician was Bamford.

Bush was pleased with the results and hopes to make the trumpet festival an annual event. “I'm very proud of my students. They organized their bands, prepared the music, played well and most importantly they put themselves out there to be critiqued. I know they all learned from this experience.”