Kenneth Woods, conductor

December 23, 2005

Kenneth Woods to conduct Gala Finale of Wales’ first International Trumpet Festival

www.itfw.biz

The young American Conductor Kenneth Woods has been invited to conduct the final concert of the inaugural International Trumpet Festival of Wales featuring the National Chamber Orchestra of Wales and three of the leading trumpet virtuosi of our day. ITFW, set to take place between 7-9 April next year at Swansea University and the nearby Brangwyn Hall, will see trumpet genres, from jazz to orchestral, fuse under the guidance of international exponents of the instrument.

Heralding the Festival its Artistic Director, Philippe Schartz, enthused: “ITFW marks a very exciting moment for the trumpet, its performers and music in Wales generally as it celebrates the twin brass cultures of the trumpet and cornet in a fusion of world-class tutors, symposiums, concerts and forums. All forms of trumpet and cornet performance will be explored by senior students and graduates of leading UK conservatoires, colleges, academies and universities, as well as by amateur musicians.”

Woods recently collaborated with ITFW director Philippe Schartz on a broadcast recording of the Haydn and Telemann trumpet concerti for BBC Radio 3’s Discovering Music- a performance set to be broadcast early in 2006.

Delegates of the three-day Festival, presented by Kapitol Promotions Ltd., will study with the following stellar cast: Derek Watkins, one of the nation’s leading session trumpeters, who will coach delegates in the variety of styles necessary to become a top session player; James Watson, Head of Brass at London’s Royal Academy of Music and the renowned orchestral and session trumpeter; Roger Webster, the international cornet tutor and soloist and Philippe Schartz, Section Principal Trumpet for the BBC National Orchestra of Wales and a world-class soloist.

Philippe Schartz commented: “We are delighted to announce a line-up of top tutors - it’s not often that so much talent of the trumpet is amassed under one roof for the purpose of teaching and sharing experiences in the world of professional performance. Fifty students from conservatoires, colleges, universities and academies will enjoy world-class tuition from the tutors, and the creation of visitors’ passes will allow amateur trumpet and cornet players to observe all the classes.”

The Festival’s programme will also be liberally peppered with high profile concerts, starting on the evening of Friday 7 April at 8.00pm in the Taliesin Theatre, Swansea University with the 10-piece brass ensemble and rhythm section, Rylo, formed by ex-Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama students Ryan Quigley and Lorna McDonald and featuring some of Britain’s leading jazz and commercial players. The group, which will feature ITFW tutor, Derek Watkins, literally blew the RSAMD audience away when it appeared there last year and, said Philippe Schartz: “This ensemble is currently ‘hot property’ and we are very lucky to secure it. I promise that the audience will be riveted.

On Saturday evening (8th), the foyer or the Taliesin Theatre will reverberate to the sound A Cocktail of Jazz as ITFW tutors and students re-create the atmosphere of a jazz club. Finally, Sunday evening sees the ITFW transfer to the Brangwyn Hall, Swansea for a Trumpet Spectacular, in which the Chamber Orchestra of Wales, conductor Kenneth Woods and ITFW soloists, Roger Webster, James Watson and Philippe Schartz, give the world’s best and most popular trumpet concertos. The programme will feature the crowd-pleasing William Tell Overture by Rossini, Concerto for Three Trumpets by Telemann, Concerto for Two Trumpets by Vivaldi, Concerto for Trumpet by Haydn and Hovaness’ Prayer for St. Anthony.

The Festival programme proper starts at 11.30am on Friday 7 April with a formal induction and introduction of the tutors, followed by a Forum on brass techniques and performance psychology, leading to a discussion about brass performance traditions and cultures. The first master class gets underway at 3.00pm and the ITFW Opening Concert starts at 8.00pm.

The weekend’s Festival programme is also open to visitors with passes and starts with master classes at 10.00am on the Saturday, followed by lunch and a concert between 1.00pm – 2.30pm performed by the Cardiff-based Jazz group, Jam Sandwich and the Royal Welsh College of Music and Drama’s Brass Quintet. Master classes re-commence at 3.00pm and continue until 6.00pm, leaving a ‘breather’ before the Jazz Cocktails night at 7.30pm in the Taliesin Theatre. Throughout the day, delegates and visitors can browse the displays by leading brass manufacturers.

Sunday offers a golden opportunity for school pupils and families to observe and play alongside the tutors on hand in ITFW’s Community Day. Said Philippe Schartz:  “ITFW is targeting over 600 young trumpet and cornet players in local and county youth bands and orchestras in South Wales, as well as peripatetic brass teachers.”

Sunday’s schedule mirrors Saturday’s with master classes between 10.00am – 1.00pm, followed by lunch and a concert by the Symphonic Brass Ensemble of Wales conducted by its Artistic Director and ITFW tutor, James Watson. A Massed Trumpet and Cornet Ensemble populated by the Festival’s tutor’s, will perform between 2.30pm – 3.00pm, after which a symposium entitled “How to Practise” will take place. A Question and Answer session will round the Festival’s work programme off, leaving the Trumpet Classical Spectacular at Brangwyn Hall at 8.00pm and a VIP reception to bring this heady and exciting inaugural event to a close.