Re: I ACTUALLY attended Curtis


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Posted by Gary Press on June 27, 2001 at 14:35:19:

In Reply to: I ACTUALLY attended Curtis posted by Eric Bubacz on June 26, 2001 at 22:49:23:

I never had the pleasure of studying with Paul K. on a regular weekly basis, but having grown-up in the Philly suburbs, having heard the orchestra a lot and having taken lessons from him on numerous occasions, I think I can make some valid comments here.

The first professional tubist I ever heard live was Paul K. back in 1982. I was blown away! To this day, I still have that sound in my head. I also remember what an incredible blend he had with the trombones (Dodson, Alessi, Vernon) as well as in context with the entire orchestra.

As I mentioned above, I have taken a handful of lessons with Paul K. Simply put, he opened my eyes and expanded my mind beyond the notes on the page. I remember incurring a strange look and some stern words as I finished playing an excerpt from Prokofiev 5th in one of my first lessons with him. He looked at me and asked me "who are you playing with in that passage?" Being totally clueless but anxious to give an answer, I guessed...and guessed wrong! In no uncertain terms, he taught me that day how important it is to know not just the tuba part, but the entire orchestral score and how a written dynamic must be taken in context. Lesson learned!

Every comment from him was based purely on music. I think that such an incredible emphasis has been placed on technical perfection today that the music sometimes either gets lost or becomes a sort of afterthought. There is a lot to be learned from this man, with his almost 30 years of experience with the Philadelphia Orchestra.

My only regret I have, although I went to 2 very fine schools in Rochester and NYC, is that I never auditioned for Curtis. I don't know whether I would have gotten in or how it would have affected my life, but as so often happens, when you don't take the chance you end up regretting it.

So for anyone considering Curtis, TAKE THE AUDITION! Don't miss out on the opportunity to study with Paul K. and to take advantage of the benefits of a great school, as outlined by Eric in the original post in this thread.


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