he contradictory adjectives Kim Dunnick uses to describe his visit to the former Soviet Union -- "a tremendous exchange," "exhilarating," "disappointing" -- also summarize the disparities of the area’s recent history. In September he was in Saratov, Russia, where he served as one of two American jurists for the first Vassily Brandt International Trumpet Competition.

Some of Dunnick’s mixed emotions were prompted by the nature of the competition itself. On the positive side, he said, were the opportunity to hear "magnificent players" from all over the world, the pleasure of working with an international group of colleagues, and the enthusiasm of Russian audiences for live music. What he found most disappointing was the harsh economic situation facing the Russian people -- the legacy of Soviet rule.

Dunnick was invited to serve on the jury by Anatoly Selianin, a member of the Saratov Conservatory of Music faculty whom Dunnick had first met at the 1983 International Trumpet Guild conference. Dunnick, who is president-elect of the guild, joined judges from Germany, Sweden, Switzerland, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and Russia. He also played a solo with the Volga Band during the opening day concert, performed in a concert given by members of the jury, and offered a short lecture.

Musicians in the former Soviet Union typically earn around $50 a month, while a trumpet accessory such as a mute or a mouthpiece might cost as much as $45. For the Brandt competition, which was supported by a number of organizations and individuals from Russia and abroad, two manufacturers had donated new trumpets. One was awarded to the winner of an unusual category of competition -- the best player on the worst instrument. The other was given to the youngest contender, a talented 13-year-old Russian who didn’t own a trumpet and had been borrowing his teacher’s when he could.

As a teacher, Dunnick says, he himself learned by being immersed in the Russian trumpet style, which he describes as infused with feeling -- "very, very romantic and very aggressive at the same time." Now back in Ithaca, he has been using what he learned in Russia in his own classes.

-- Mary Lash