The Ultimate French Horn Day 2012

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What a success this year's Ultimate French Horn Weekend was! And the venue - Newington College - was superb. Fantastic input by Julia Zelzer and all the teachers, and even skipping lessons to get the heart pumping!

Scroll down to see pictures from the event which will be added as they become available, or visit our facebook at http://www.facebook.com/saxandwoodwind - feel free to tag yourself!

All ready for the big show!

Rob gets the audience in position for "Teddy Bear's Picnic"

Our new poster girls!

Debbie Dietz and her ensemble.

Tim Ferrier enjoyed teaching and conducting his group.

Damien tweaked a few horns for some of the participants.

The advanced group has their turn.

Tina Brain and her ensemble.

It was a party atmosphere.

Free lunch was provided by Sax & Woodwind...and Brass, catered by the Newington College caterers.

The big concert

Julia Zeltzer and Rob Johnson draw the lucky number.

The lucky winner of the brand new Paxman Academy French horn!

I'll take this one please!

Rob Johnson giving his full attention to a student in his Masterclass.

Michael Dixon gave a most interesting talk about natural horns and and demonstrated his amazing ability to play them.


Debbie Dietz, Michael Dixon, Julia Zeltzer, Adrian Hallam, Graham Nichols, and Rob Johnson show what they are made of.

There is more than one use for a French horn bell!

The most adorable French horn player in the world...

Watch this space for further updates. Call 02 95574588 to secure your booking now. Check out the pcitures of last year's event below:

With almost 130 French horn players registering for the Sax & Woodwind...and Brass Ultimate French horn Day 2011, the event just had to go off with a bang. Starting with registrations, meeting and greeting, setting up the displays, chairs, and ensemble rooms, our staff were kept very busy. There was a great vibe and everyone looked happy to be involved, it was like one huge French horn party! Adding to the atmosphere were sandwiches, cakes, and balloons.

A wonderful prize of a Paxman Academy double horn was donated by Paxman and Sax & Woodwind...and Brass and the winner's name was drawn out of a hat - lucky girl! The event was also supported by Grevillea Distribution and Musical Merchandisers.

Proud lucky door prize winner Haley Smith with Ben Jacks, Rob Murphy, and her brand new Paxman Academy double French horn!

 
To overcome nerves and get everyone in the mood, Tina Brain had several younger participants warm up with some long notes.


One of the first events was recitals by several solists who played prepared pieces. All performed extremely well, much to the enjoyment of the audience.

Tina Brain overseeing one of the soloists.

Our smallest soloist gave an impressive performance with the aid of a tissue-box footstool..


The audience was treated to a fabulous and furious rendition of the William Tell Overture given by seven of the teachers including Ben Jacks of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.

The teacher's recital consisted of (L to R) Steve Hillinger, Debbie Dietz, Ben Jacks, Tina Brain (front), Tim Ferrier, Adrian Hallam, Julia Zeltzer, and Michael Dixon. These are some of Sydney's foremost horn players, educators, and band conductors.

Most of us had never seen such a display of French horn music and musicality before.

A
Ben Jacks mentoring a student during his Masterclass.

Adrian Hallam, Campbell Barnes, Mal Pearce, Tony Buddle, and Graham Nichols (of Hornarama) joined Rob and Sax & Woodwind...and Brass on the day and were suitably impressed! Graham brought with him his collection of specialist horn sheet music and many a participant enjoyed browsing through his wares.


Adrian Hallam with his Junior Masterclass

Julia Zeltzer obviously enjoying her Grades 3 and 4 Masterclass

The intensity of the learning experience shows on the participants faces in Tina Brain's class.

This young man is already an accomplished performer and played in the soloist recitals earlier in the day.

While this young man appears to be driving his own version of the big yellow bus! (hopefully not for real)

It was wonderful to see so many young players together. Lanyards were donated by Musical Merchandisers for Jupiter.

No - they are not asleep! It was an excercise - truly!

A player surrounded by glistening horns.

Time for a break!

It was a great place to meet friends and make new ones.

The big moment arrives - Ben Jacks draws the name of the lucky participant while Julia shows off the prize!

...and the winner was...Haley Smith! The look on her face says it all.

Getting so many horn players organised was a job in itself.

The final perfomance was a sight to behold and the sound of so many horns playing in one room was inspiring and almost overwhelming!

 
So many horns!


Our display showcased Paxman, Durk, Alexander and Yamaha French horns as well as a range of mouth-watering cases.

Many players took advantage of the opportunity to try out some of the best horns in the world.

We hope to see you all next time! For all you clarinet and saxophone players - don't miss the next Ultimate Event with Mark Walton in September!