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Introduction

To: brass-band@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: Introduction
From: Jim Williams <williaj@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Mmdf-warning: Parse error in original version of preceding line at punt3.demon.co.uk

I'm looking forward to being on the list here, and thought I'd take the host
up on his suggestion to do a bit of an introduction.
I'm the solo euphonium of the Indianapolis Brass Choir.  We use the
"american" instruments--trumpets, french horns, no baritones--but we still
play a lot of the standard brass band repertoire.  We have gone through
"Year of the Dragon", "Of Men & Mountains" and a few other of the major test
pieces.  We have been around since 1987 or so, and our main function is
charitable rather than competitive.  We play mostly in local churches and
take a goodwill offering which is passed on to a designated charity.
We have also performed at the "Great American Brass Band Festival" in
Kentucky, and at the ITG when it was in Ohio.
As soloist, I have done Sparke's Fantasy, Gregson's Symphonic Rhapsody, Girl
With the Flaxen Hair, Wee Cooper O'Fife, Curnow's Rhapsody, and Piece of
Cake (duet).  
Our group has been very fortunate to have the Childs Bros, both singularly
and together, as guest soloists.  Nick Childs played with us (Sparke's
Pantomime and Curnow's Rhapsody) in Kentucky and was quite well received.
Many of you in the states have seen this performance on your Public TV
station hosted by the tuba virtuoso Sam Pilafian.  We have had the Childs
Bros. together on several occasions as guest soloists.  How fortunate we
have been!!  We have also had the great american trumpeter Allen Vizzutti as
a guest soloist.
We also have a number of jazz players in the Brass Choir, of which I suppose
I am one.  At a recent concert I did an arrangememt of Jobim's Wave written
for me  by a brass player friend.  It ends on a double-high C (5+leger lines
above the staff in the Bb transposition)
I also do a lot of tuba ensemble playing, and tour with Harvey Phillips, the
american tubist who was my teacher.  Those of you stateside, if you have the
"Tuba Christmas" tape, I'm the one who plays all the high Fs and Gs.
I also play in a brass quintet, but I play the french horn parts on the euph.
My "day gig" is as a professor of Finance at a small liberal arts college
just south of Indianapolis.
One other pressing matter: I lived in Grantham (Lincs) in 1989 and got to
play with the band there.  Additionally, we spent a wonderful 3 weeks in
Aberystwyth, where I got to play with their fine band.  I would DEARLY love
to hear from any members of either band or anyone who knows how to contact
them.  The MD in Grantham was Geoff Kirkby, and Peter Phillips was MD in
Aber, as I recall.
A rather long intro, perhaps, but I love playing the euph and am anxious to hear
from you all. Oh, yeah...I see that our host is a ham radio operator, and so
am I...N9EJR 
Regards from Jim Williams

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