Brass Bulletin No. 37

Jean-Pierre Mathez

As music becomes increasingly industrialized, Jean-Pierre Mathez argues for restoring local musical communities where composers, performers and audiences shape a shared identity.

The Confidence Pill

Thomas Stevens

Stage fright meets medical research as performers, physicians and early beta-blocker studies reshape the debate over confidence, fairness and public performance.

De Midwinterhoorn

Herman Jeurissen

A Christmas horn tradition from eastern Netherlands preserves ancient construction, ritual and performance, linking rural practice with Leopold Mozart's Sinfonia pastorella.

First trombone professor at St. Petersburg Conservatory

Viktor Sumerkin

From imperial St. Petersburg to Soviet Leningrad, Volkov shaped a distinctive Russian trombone tradition through performance, teaching and generations of pupils.

Benny Sluchin

From Weber's Concertino to Berlioz's chord writing, acoustic principles explain how combination tones emerge from simultaneous playing and singing on brass.

Alfred Willener

Haydn’s trumpet concerto becomes a study of manuscript detail, performance choices, and the fragile ways listeners receive a familiar work.

Rolf Quinque

Virtuosity grows from disciplined work on scales, articulation and reading, arguing that consistent fundamentals matter more than chasing the upper register.

Benny Sluchin

From commissioned works to jury voting, a long-standing examination tradition reveals how brass players progressed through the Paris Conservatoire.

P. Kenny, John Davies

Objective measurements on trumpet players challenge common beliefs about mouthpiece pressure, showing stable individual patterns across pitch, dynamics and playing level.

in 50 Years as trumpet player and trumpet teacher

Heinz Burum

Across five decades, Heinz Burum links trumpet embouchure, mouthpiece design and teaching practice to concrete cases from orchestras, pupils and colleagues.

Readers Letters

Philip Jones

Philip Jones responds to the Geneva 1981 debate, arguing for fairer jury decisions, balanced repertoire, and the enduring value of international trumpet competitions.