West Coast Clarinet Congress 2001
by Alison P. Deadman
This report is published in The Clarinet, volume 29, No.1 (December 2001) pp. 24-25 and is reproduced here with permission.
Fresno, California has plenty to recommend it: a well-served airport, easy access by road and rail, wonderful fresh produce grown in the surrounding San Joaquin Valley, proximity to Yosemite national park, and for those of us who congregated at California State University, Fresno between Thursday and Sunday July 26-28, the West Coast Clarinet Congress 2001. Now in its second year, the congress continues to prosper and foster links between the local community, the congress participants, the music industry exhibitors, and the university itself. The local radio stations, local television news programs and the Fresno Bee newspaper all testified to the fact that the community was excited to have us there, and as a participant in the event myself, I can add that we were more than happy to be in Fresno.
Congress Director, Miles Ishigaki set the tone for the weekend on Thursday evening when he kicked off the proceedings with an exciting recital in which he was joined by his former teacher and mentor, David Etheridge, and flutist Teresa Ishigaki.
Those of us who attended the West Coast Clarinet Congress 2000 and wondered if this year's event could possibly live up to the high standards that were set last year, were not disappointed. The event provided a good balance of recitals, lecture-demonstrations, and master-classes. There was also time to renew old friendships, make new ones, and browse the exhibits (Boosey and Hawkes, Miller Sheet Music, Ridenour Clarinet Products, Selmer Corporation, Valentino Inc., The Woodwind and Brasswind Company, Yamaha Corporation)
The first full day of the congress was devoted largely to the theme of the clarinet in education. David Etheridge gave an informative lecture on "Clarinet concepts," in which he shared with the audience some of the concepts he has developed during his teaching career and which will be published in his forthcoming book. Also introducing soon-to-be-published material was Lorely Zgonc, whose Stars and Strings Forever gave participants many good ideas about how to foster good sound and technique when working with beginning students in a classroom situation. After lunch, the emphasis shifted slightly with lecture-demonstrations by noted instrument technician Tom Ridenour and Fran�ois Klock (Boosey and Hawkes Instruments, Inc., manager of woodwinds, North America). Old friends, Gary Gray (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and UCLA) and James Gillespie (University of North Texas), gave an entraining duo recital before joining Edwin Riley (Selmer clinician) for a fascinating panel discussion on "Trends in education and the clarinet." That evening Christopher Sereque (Seattle Symphony Orchestra) treated us to a delightful performance of a varied program of mostly French music.
Saturday saw a wonderful range of events and musical styles: Jazz clarinetist, Steve Wilkerson's recital had everyone's toes tapping and his lecture was entertaining and informative. Also lecturing was Japanese native and clarinet designer-technician Hiroshi Nakajima (Yamaha Corporation). During the afternoon excitement was high as the finals of the first West Coast Clarinet High School Competition took place. The winners were: Laura Ramos of Madera, CA, first prize ($500 donated by Boosey and Hawkes), Amanda Hwang of Fresno, CA, second prize ($300 donated by Community Medical Centers of Fresno, CA) and Jennifer Reimer of Fresno, CA, third prize ($250 donated by Yamaha Corporation of America). Congratulations to all our finalists! Next year's competition repertoire is the Rabaud Solo de Concours. Saturday also saw Christopher Sereque give an insightful master class and recital performances by several artist-faculty, many of whom introduced the audience to little-known or infrequently-hear repertoire: Julia Heinen (California State University, Northridge), Diane Lang (California State University, Bakersfield), Clarence Padilla (Drake University, IA) and Alison Deadman (East Tennessee State University). Perhaps was to the evening, however, that we have to look for the highlight of the day: a superb performance by Michele Zukovsky (Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra and University of Southern California) who was joined by her father Kalman Bloch for a rare appearance. Not only was the audience delighted by Kalman Bloch's playing, but by his wonderful sense of humor.
We were all sorry to see Sunday morning, as it marked the last day of the congress, but that did not dampen the atmosphere or quality of the day. Marcus Eley and Edwin Riley (Atlanta Opera Orchestra, Columbus Symphony, Selmer corp.) got the day off to a good start with a nice balance of the familiar and not so familiar. The morning was rounded out with a master class given by Michele Zukovsky (Los Angeles Symphony Orchestra and USC) - an energetic and informative teacher; she gave the audience plenty to think about, as well as calling on her colleague Gary Gray (Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra and UCLA) to take part. After lunch there was a wonderful session that included three short performances by local amateur clarinet players, a couple of clarinet choir pieces that we all sight-read, and information about next year's event. Pete Valentino kept his audience entertained with his lecture "What Valentino Pads Can Do For Your Clarinet" and the whole congress ended with a chamber music recital by Bruce Nolan (Fresno Symphony Orchestra) Alan Rea, piano, and local string players Elaine Ikemoto, Cynthia Stewart, Terry Carl and Shirley Douty.
I strongly encourage you all to mark your calendars for the West Coast
Clarinet Congress 2002, January 17-20, ("Clarinet legends of the past,
present, and future) which promises to be an exciting event. For more information, please contact the congress director,
Dr. Miles Ishigaki
Department of Music
California State University, Fresno
2380 E. Keats Ave. M/S MB 77
Fresno, CA 93740-8024
(559) 278-2902
Email: [email protected]
http://zimmer.csufresno.edu/~milesi/