Executive Directors and Bass Trombones

Being an executive director of an orchestra necessitates to me, as part of my job description, a regular contact with the art form that I serve. Having trained and worked as a professional musician, I not only enjoy listening to classical music but love continuing to actively perform as a musician as well. As a bass trombonist the opportunities for performing with a chamber orchestra like the ACO are minimal, but the enjoyment from practicing at home is one that never seems to grow old. Love of music grew out of my love of performing music, and I hope to continue playing my trombone as long as I am physically able.


One of the great things about the trombone is that while a Stradivarius violin costs millions of dollars, the “Stradivarius” of the trombone world can be had for mere thousands. I have two of the most sought after bass trombones ever made, crafted in the 1930’s by the C.G. Conn Company in Elkhart, Indiana. They are incredible instruments- the sound they produce is beautiful, unique, almost human. If it is possible for a musical instrument to have a soul, they have it. But my most prized possession is an even older beauty that is so rare that it might be considered the “holy grail” of the bass trombone world.


The art of German musical instrument manufacturing has an old and proud heritage, going back to the “guilds” of the middle ages. For hundreds of years the finest musical instruments in Germany have been hand-produced in small workshops, where apprentices learned the art from masters in an unbroken lineage. The quality of the brass instruments from these workshops was (and is) unparalleled, and in particular, the trombones produced by the workshop of Eduard Kruspe have a mythic, legendary status. The trombones made by Kruspe in Erfurt, Germany, prior to World War II are considered unparalleled in excellence- and are so rare that today only a handful remain in existence. The principal trombone of the Chicago Symphony Orchestra searched for decades before he was able to find one; several members of the Berlin Philharmonic play regularly on Kruspe trombones because they are superior to any modern instrument available.


So imagine my delight when during the summer of 2007 I actually was able to find and take home a Kruspe bass trombone of my own!


It was owned by a delightful gentleman who was a retired professor of music history at Ithaca College in upstate New York. He had bought the instrument as teenager from his trombone teacher in Chicago. This gentleman was a German immigrant musician who played for several seasons in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra- and had bought his Kruspe bass trombone while still in Germany and brought it with him to the “new world.” So I am the incredibly fortunate third owner of a “Kruspe” of my own!


I don’t know exactly how old my beauty is, but looking at the old fashioned, elaborate engraving on the bell it is unmistakably pre-World War I and very well might be from the late 19th Century. Given that she (yes, it is a female- I always did like older women) is at least 90+ years old, she is in fantastic condition. There are some small dings and scratches, but overall she has aged remarkably well.


At first, I was very hesitant to play this beauty- I now understand what must be the initial reluctance to hold a Stradivarius violin in your hands- one slip and a priceless instrument is gone forever! Luckily brass is much sturdier stuff than aged wood! In any case, due to my taking the job with the ACO and all the chores involved in moving and the considerable work involved when taking a new position, my Kruspe was languishing in my spare bedroom, untouched and unplayed…. until now!


This weekend I again held this beautiful instrument in my hands, took a deep breath, and blew… and I couldn’t believe the indescribably gorgeous sounds that came from that old bell! What a sound! Warm, dark and beautiful- I could almost feel the presence of the master craftsman who built this beautiful instrument. It is a very human instrument, not easy to play, full of rough edges, quirks and character like a living being, but it rewards your efforts with a sound unlike any I have ever heard before. The thought of spending the upcoming months and years getting to know this old new friend is an exciting one indeed!


I have made a resolution- no matter the work or other responsibilities, my Kruspe and I are going to spend quality time together every day getting to know each other as only a dedicated musician can know and love their instrument. It is a special and close relationship between a musician and their instrument, almost human in its depth and intensity. And in this case it is also a living link to the past- to the era when Wagner, Brahms, Bruckner and Mahler still lived- by playing on an instrument from that era not only can you feel a special connection to the music of the time you can feel a real human bond to the incredible craftsman who built the instrument- and the musicians who dedicated themselves to making music on this same instrument decades in the past.