Russian Trumpet and Sax Exchange

D. Kim Dunnick and Steven Mauk in Moscow's Red Square

The Park School reports in this issue on an exchange between Ithaca journalists and Russian journalists. Here in the School of Music we've got an exchange of our own.

The seeds of this international musical exchange were sown in 1996 when professor of trumpet D. Kim Dunnick was invited to judge an international trumpet competition and perform in Saratov, Russia. An invitation to return in 1998 took him to Kiev, and in 2000 a fellow IC professor, saxophonist Steven Mauk, joined Dunnick on his travels to Saratov and Moscow on a summer research grant from the College.

In 2002 a joint grant from the president's, provost's, and dean's offices not only made a follow-up trip possible but brought their Russian counterparts from Moscow --- saxophonist Alexei Volkov and trumpeter Andre Ikov --- to Ithaca. Each duo brought trumpet and saxophone music from their home country to share with the host country.

Dunnick and Mauk visited Moscow in 2002, meeting up with Ikov and Volkov and performing with the Russian State Wind Orchestra. Among the highlights of the exchange was performing in the Russian premiere of Ithacan Karel Husa's Concerto for Alto Saxophone.

The professors' journey continued to Moussorgsky Conservatory in St. Petersburg, where they performed with the Central Russian Military Orchestra. "Each time we performed with an orchestra it was an adventure," says Dunnick. "In spite of planning, we never quite knew which pieces we were expected to play." They often needed to rely on Dunnick's partial command of the German language to communicate with their non-English speaking conductors. "The Russian conductors had a fixed idea of what order to work in, and if we would suggest a piece, the conductor would shrug and act like the piece didn't exist --- until he called for it later in the rehearsal." Mauk says he was also frequently asked to play Rimsky-Korsakov's Flight of the Bumblebee, invariably much faster than it had been rehearsed.

A destination not in the original plan was Khanty Mansyisk, Siberia, home of the Cultural Center for Gifted Children of the North. Dunnick and Mauk were surprised to find
this remote town delightful. They taught a class at the thriving music school, performed a joint recital, and played with the wind orchestra. Coincidentally, the hall they performed in was hosting an Academy Awards- style show just before their appearance. At the last moment the director of the show heard of the Americans' presence and decided to include them. So, right in the middle of the ceremonies Mauk played Ronald Caravan's very unusual and avant-garde Sketch for Unaccompanied Alto Saxophone: "A winner made his speech, the lights went down, I appeared in a spotlight --- and played live for Russian television." He received quite a warm round of applause, but, Mauk reports, "it was the strangest thing I've ever done in my life. I still wonder if the applause was simply because the piece was over!"

Both Volkov and Ikov are at the top of their professions in Russia. Trumpeter Andrei Ikov won the gold medal at the 1982 international Prague Spring competition. His professional performances began in 1980 with the State Symphony Orchestra of the USSR. In 1990 Ikov was invited to join the first Russian private orchestra, and in 2002 he moved to the Bolshoi Theater as associate principal trumpet. Since 1996 he has taught in the Moscow Special Music School and Gnessins Music College, and since 2000 he has also taught in the Ippolitov-Ivanov Conservatory. Saxophonist Alexey Volkov is a professor at Ippolitov-Ivanov and an "honored musician of the Russian Federation," the highest distinction awarded musicians in his homeland. He plays soprano saxophone in and leads the Volkov Saxophone Quartet and frequently performs freelance with leading international orchestras.

In February Volkov and Ikov journeyed to Ithaca, where they spent time with students, gave concerts, and expressed special delight with the"brilliant collaboration" of IC pianist Diane Birr. Their program was exclusively Russian music and included works written specifically for them to play as a duo on this trip; they also performed and taught at the State University of New York at Fredonia, the Eastman School of Music, and Mansfield University.

"I really enjoy the exposure that we are receiving to different cultures and different musical ideas," said trumpeter Jeremy Schlegel '05 after working with the visitors. "It's intriguing to hear how different music is in Russian life, and how difficult it is for them to obtain recordings or even sheet music. Hearing about Ikov's love for music and the trumpet has helped to reaffirm the joy I feel while playing."