Millsy Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Tom Lizotte- he actually taught me during my time with 27. We also became friends and I know he still teaches some today, but he impresses me cause he remembers little things. Like what kind of a mouth piece I had to switch to because we discovered I was playing on a wrong mouth piece that was hindering my tone quality. He's a great teacher any corps would be lucky to have. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Tom toured with us for a while last summer and is supposed to be on board even longer this summer. An amazing instructor and an amazing person. He really helps the players find a personal connection with every single note we play. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FireSop1 Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Oh, I love this thread! My favorite and most influential Brass Instructors were, without a doubt, Jack Meehan, Jerry Kelsey and Andy Reese. Jack Meehan....he is, simply put, one of the most talented and "inspiring" instructors I have ever had! He came to work with us in Crossmen 1990, and he was able to elevate our hornline to a level that we had never been to before. He just had a way of getting things out of us...musicality and emotion, that no one else could! He took our sound and "refined" it....he made it "beautiful", while at the same time, increasing our technique and power. I attribute Jack Meehan to the start of the new, and better Crossmen sound, which set the stage for the rest of the 90's, which the Corps was able to build on from there. Jerry Kelsey....he is just brilliant....a genious! I had the privilage of being taught by him when I was in Florida Wave. He was an excellent motivator...and, when he was in front of the line, he commanded so much respect. He just had a way of getting things out of us that no one else could. There was an "intensity" to him when he instructed, that also brought that out in us, as musicians. Not to mention his writing and arranging abilities....which are second to none! He wrote and arranged an original piece for us in Florida Wave 1987 called "Cuban Candy"....it is an amazing piece to perform....highly charged and exciting....I just loved it! Andy Reese....he was Soprano Instructor for Florida Wave, all 3 of the years I was in. This man was just amazing....He was great at getting the line to work through parts on a "technical" standpoint. He was precise and thorough....and, as a result, we all became much better musicians. He would never stand for anyone in the line, from top to bottom, not knowing their parts completely...even down to one or two notes...and he wouldn't stop working the line until it was completely tight. When I think about how solid we used to play, as a line, at the end of a sectional with him....it is "mind blowing"! He was incredibly "intense" in his teaching style...he was all about business when it came to playing. He used to say to us, "I know you guys like to have fun on your breaks and after rehearsal, but remember, the "real fun" is playing the crap out of your music, and giving a kick butt performance....that's the "serious fun". He couldn't have been more right!!! I feel very blessed to have had some of, in my opinion, the "best instructors" in the Activity! :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lancerlady Posted November 6, 2004 Share Posted November 6, 2004 Tom toured with us for a while last summer and is supposed to be on board even longer this summer. An amazing instructor and an amazing person. He really helps the players find a personal connection with every single note we play. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> You are so LUCKY! Be sure to listen to all that he says! Even 20 something years later..he's still doing what he loves. He is really connected and an awesome teacher. Yes he does find a personal connection with your notes and with you as a student..that is a brilliant way of describing him. Your horn line will soar with him on board! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
RobertPi1ot Posted November 8, 2004 Share Posted November 8, 2004 . Jim Elvord 77. An incredible teacher. Not only how to play music but how to perform. I learned more in those two summers then I did my entire music career. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> I Loved Jimmy. Corky Whitlock was great too.!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
StarContra4-85 Posted November 8, 2004 Share Posted November 8, 2004 David Tippett. Great teacher. I have never met anyone who knows how to get a brassline off the ground like Dave. He was one of the reasons the Glassmen got so big so fast in the early ninties.(if my chronology isn't off. . .) <{POST_SNAPBACK}> David is a great guy and an awesome instructor. I love the fact that he keeps bringing young lines UP into the upper ranks and then goes to work with someone else that needs his "spirit". He and John Simpson really got Star off the ground in the fall of '84/summer of '85. Donnie VanDoren is an incredible motivator. He definitely deserved to be in the HOF. The list goes on with all of the wonderful instructors that have passed their knowledge on to a generation or two of new instructors. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dday Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 (edited) ... Edited November 13, 2004 by dday Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dave_G Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 From Spirit: Jimmy Steele - Loud, in your face, and funny as anyone I've ever known. Jimmy, despite the fact that he and I have nearly clashed a couple times, has easily been the most influential person on how I developed as a musician since when I started out at Spirit. Mark Fifer - One heck of an arranger and one of the guys that gave me the confidence I needed in 02 to stick with it after the injury plagued season I had in 01. I doubt that I would have even marched after 01 if it wasn't for the support that Fifer and Ken Bodiford gave me between the camps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kamarag Posted November 13, 2004 Share Posted November 13, 2004 Wayne & Jack. Enough said. From my Suncoast days... Frank Williams (or as we knew him, Frank T. Williams da third) and John Williams (my HS band director and Suncoast's contra tech from 84-86). Everything I've accomplished in music I owe to those two gentlemen. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BorisTS Posted November 14, 2004 Share Posted November 14, 2004 Wayne & Jack. Enough said.From my Suncoast days... Frank Williams (or as we knew him, Frank T. Williams da third) and John Williams (my HS band director and Suncoast's contra tech from 84-86). Everything I've accomplished in music I owe to those two gentlemen. <{POST_SNAPBACK}> Frank T. Williams is still going strong these days, and still talks about you guys constantly. "Why, back at Suncoast, all the members of my hornline would do..." He's the brass teacher I'll miss the most (and the bizarre stories only he could tell). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jorge9295 Posted November 20, 2004 Share Posted November 20, 2004 Scott Slutter - Learned more from him about brass playing in three years than all 8 of school band. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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