Posts made by barliman2001

Still looking for a good new home...

STILL AVAILABLE!!

Following an old tradition, scratch brass band CORONATION BRASS will be performing at the annual European Folklore Festival in the brewery town of Bitburg, Germany. It's a varied, four day festival with everything from Georgian youth dance groups to Dutch jazz bands, from the dance group of a Swedish old peoples' home (the youngest performer is 85!) to local oompah bands and the pipe band (German Dudelsackgruppe from a place fittingl called Dudeldorf)... A few TM and TB members have already played with Coronation Brass (ssmith1226 exclaimed that he would not take part the following year because his liver never recovered from the experience... well, it's a brewery town, isn't it?)

It's a sight reading event - no rehearsal, and you don't get the music beforehand, and have to fill at least three gigs per day with music - and of course, you are always very welcome to sit in with one of the other bands!

The dates: Festival kicks off on Friday, 12 July 2024, and ends with an open air night concert b Coronation Brass the following Monday.

Anyone wanting to know details, see the festival or even to join Coronation Brass (shepherd's crook cornets only!) should contact me IMMEDIATELY, as most seats are already filled...

![13692472_1363935326969037_563871893479750704_n.jpg](/assets/uploads/

files/1716494919099-13692472_1363935326969037_563871893479750704_n.jpg)

Lots of free drinks and free meals!

@administrator Just sent you an e-mail.

A few years ago, I bought an AUSTIN CUSTOM BRASS Piccolo in A/Bb, just to have an A/Bb in my armoury in case of need. And then I had a bad retinal ablation and was prohibited from using high pressure. Thus, my new picc has lived in my trumpet cabinet unused since then, and I am very unlikely to need a picc in the foreseeable future (and if yes, I still have my Selmer G picc).

It's a nice instrument, with a light attack, good valves and a surprisingly nice tone - definitely a very good first picc for anyone starting out on that adventure, or as an upgrade from a beginner picc.

Yellow brass in matte brushed lacquer finish ("satin lacquer" at 100%), with both A and Bb leadpipes in trumpet size. Comes with original case, both leadpipes in original protective case. Total time played under ten hours.

Sells new at $ 875. Will take $ 500 ONO, buyer pays insured postage - $50 approx. from Europe).

Here's proof that even Eurovision Contest winning songs can sound nice... if you put enough brass in!

Just wanted to share this...

@administrator Possibly...

Thank you; for me, being trained in the Maurice André way of playing #4 valve with the left index finger, this horn is not suitable, lacking the mechanism to operate # 4 this way. It was difficult enough with my Scherzer G (lovely horn, loved playing it until I inherited a Selmer G from Maurice André)...

Me playing my Scherzer G in Händel's Messiah...

@BigDub In Germany, there is a movement to anolish Mothers' Day and replace it with a "Care for yourself Day"...

And here is a very short soundbite (from Wood Notes)

https://www.facebook.com/regina.schorg/videos/1462815754629587/?comment_id=320098674453597&reply_comment_id=706899228128318&notif_id=1715556793796595&notif_t=mentions_reply&ref=notif

@dfcoleman Pics please...

@Vulgano-Brother Not only there...

@Dr-GO Thank you.

Now here's my report on what happened since I last wrote...

I am not yet fully recovered after my stroke, and I very much doubt I will come back to the same shape I was beforehand (lost too much weight, har, har!). Even though I am back to driving myself, my former zest for long-distance driving has disappeared, and I am medically unfit to fly. Walking is possible, even though I need a crutch to avoid toppling over and am more comfortable with two.
Bearing all this in mind, I decided to go to Sicily by train. Fortunately, there is a connection from Munich to Cefalu requiring only one change of trains... and I reserve tickets accordingly, including the disabilit services of the train companies involved.
And it went like oiled clockwork. I arrived at Munich main station by taxi to find a porter with an electric cart already waiting for me. He brought me and my luggage (one biggish case for the ordinary needs of ten days of travel, and a Ritter Junior gig bag containing my Courtois Balanced Bb, my Courtois Roger Delmotte D, four mutes - straight, cup, bucket and Harmon - a music folder and all the necessary titbits) directly to my train for Bologna, helped me in, carried my luggage to my reserved seat and stowed it there. Very comfortable train ride to Bologna, where two guys with a wheelchair and ramp greeted me at my seat, brought me and my stuff to the exit and to a special waiting lounge. There, I was able to safely leave my accoutrements while roaming about the station. In good time, another two guys colleted me from that lounge, brought me to my sleeper train to Cefalu and settled me into my compartment... Italy has very nice long-distance night trains.

This was my temporary home for the 17-hour journey to Sicily.

Next morning, I was served breakfast in my compartment...

At the rather rural station of Cefalu, I was met - in the train - by the next team, escorted into a wheelchair and removed from the train with an hydraulic lift and had my welcome meal with the members of the orchestra...
The next nine days were filled with rehearsals of three wonderful pieces - William Grant Still's Wood Notes, Brahms' Double Concerto and Kurt Weill's Second Symphony. Tough going; but fortunately, we were well guided by conductor Cayenna Ponchione, and the whole thing culminated in a really nice concert in the sold-out Teatro Cicero in Cefalu...


And the return journe worked like a treat even though the Italian railways were supposed to be on strike (but by law, night trains and disabled services are not allowed to be hit by strike action)...

A view of the Mediterranean, from my compartment...

That is the Teatro Comunale Salvatore Cicero in Cefalu, Sicily. Nice place for a concert.

And one more clip of the weird and rare...

We are getting more and more modern... I present to you the

VALVE OPHICLEIDE!!

With Vienna Valves...

There's something new in the neighbourhood...

And the illegitimate love-child of the Serpent was the Ophicleide...