Posted by Marty Erickson on April 27, 2001 at 19:35:47:
In Reply to: Re: ITEC or Falcone posted by a fellow participant on April 27, 2001 at 07:14:08:
To address some questions about Falcone vs. ITEC. When I talked to Hari Lidsle at the Regina Conference, he wasn't aware of the date conflict, although the Falcone Festival (with the exception of one year) has been the exact time every year for 15 years, and is again this year---the second week of August. Either the TUBA (ITEA) conference committee overlooked this, or determined that the two events would not necessarily "draw away" from each other. In general, there is a huge effort to offer a balanced experience for tuba and euphonium players at Blue Lake fine Arts Camp, where the event is held. Because of the competition/festival vs conference format, it will not (by design) offer as many master classes, etc. What it does offer however is a lot of "one-on-one contact with great players and teacher in a more intimate setting. Besides the judging, there are performances, master classes and plenty of opportunity for the participants to bend our ear.
We have been learning that one of the reasons participation is down a bit in the younger divisions is that there are several band camps moved earlier in the month now. Several band directors (including people on our committee) have told us that they had "X" number of students who would have participated if they didn't have band camp, which for many is a required activity prior to the school year. We're working on ideas regarding that conflict and others.HOpe that clarifies a couple of things for you. Thanks for reading.