Greetings everyone.  For those of  you that couldn't make the Bud Herseth Tribute Concert in Chicago, it was definitely a huge point in trumpet history.  I was fortunate enough to stay with St. Tim Phillips and his crew, and I also had the pleasure to meet Wayne Tanabe of the Brass Bow.
The following is my account of the concert, some names might be wrong, let me know if they are.  Afterwards all the TPIN crew went out to Exchequers for some great pizza.  It was great to meet all those people whom you only know by computer names ;)

The concert was very very very cool.

 First on the program was Fanfare from La Péri.  This was a great piece consisting of the brass section from the CSO.

  Next on the program was the Haydn Trumpet Concert in Eb Major.  This was executed wonderfully by Bud himself.

  Holst's Suite from the Perfect Fool was next, played by the CSO brass. It was arranged by Jay Friedman, who also conducted the wonderful piece.

  After this piece, Doc Severinson joined Bud on stage for a remarkable duet!    They played Side by Side, Bud in his suit, and Severinson in his white coat with black sequens on the shoulders.  This piece was very nicely done, including an ending of a Trumpet Duel between Herseth and Doc.  Doc played, and Herseth responded with Pictures, Doc responded with Mahler 5, and that is where I lost track.  This performance was a memorable one. Before, Doc had mentioned that if he was ever practicing and something was going wrong and it was just not a good playing day, he would put on a recording of the CSO and hear how the trumpet was supposed to sound.  He also mentioned that calling Bud on the phone also helped, probably because each conversation was ended with, "Remember to practice!!".

  After Intermission, Beethoven's Piano Concerto No. 5 in Eb Major (Emperor) was played.  Bud included this in the program because he wanted everyone to be able to hear one of the standard pieces done by the CSO. The Maestro himself played the piano.  The orchestra and Barenboim sounded very nice.

  After the concerto, the Maestro came out and talked about how this concert was a Celebration.  He said that it was not meant to be taken seriously, in a way, so Barenboim cracked jokes.  After his talk, Mark Ridenour presented a piece of the old stage to Bud.  This was saved before the stage was completely taken down when construction started on the new Symphony Center.  All the orchestra members and the Music Director had signed the piece of stage.

  With that, 55 brass players *this is my unofficial counting* came out on the stage.  Part of them had come out during Barenboim's talking and Barenboim looked back at them, and said, "Are you coming in or out?!"  They all sat down quickly and the other people coming on to the stage were instructed to stop.    This was a very funny thing.   Three pieces by Gabrielli were played by the mass of brass players.  There were 4 tuba players (one of which was Arnold Jacobs, whom was wheeled out on the stage), approximately 32 trumpet players (16 on a part, I could only notice Arturo Sandoval, Doc Severinson *I think*, Lew Soloff, and Paul Yutaka Tobe of the Japan Philharmonic.  I was sitting at the top Gallery, so I did not have the best vision),  9 horn players, and approximately 10 trombone players.  The sound that came from the stage was unbelievable.  The thought that came to mind was the name of the concert itself, "Gabriel's Children".

  The 3rd piece was conducted by Bud himself.  He mentioned before the piece, that he connected the whole concert to his late son, Charlie.  He said that one day his son said, "You know Dad, you are a failure.  You have never been promoted!".   Bud replied, "What, you want me to take Solti's stick?!"  With that he picked up Barenboim's baton and conducted the last piece.  This was a magnificent piece.  At the last note, people were already clapping and yelling appreciation to the stage.  On the second round of applause, Bud recieved a standing ovation.  As he walked off, all the trumpet players on stage started playing a fanfare, which Arturo capped off and extra octave higher.  This was very neat, and Bud loved it.  After that, the only way to get off stage without having to come back for more applause, was to kidnap a trumpet player (I didn't see who) and walk off.

This concert will always be in my mind, and all I could think about last night on my busride home, was the concert and how cool it would be to be on that stage.  Truly some inspiration!

Ryan MacGavin
Middleton, WI