Posted by Sean Chisham on February 01, 2004 at 01:20:18:
Heard some great playing at the conference. I only got time to catch some of Dr. Bowman, Harvey Phillips, Demondrae Thurman, and the Grand Concert. I heard some really great stuff. Especially enjoyed Mr. Phillip's lecture and Mr. Pokorny's performance. Pokorny ended the concert in an unusual, and very enjoyable way. The concert usually ends in a tyrade of notes flying by at Mach 1,000 covering 20 octaves with a laser light show, but he instead did some legato clarinet tunes which really gave everyone mental fodder to attempt to take back to the practice room and replicate.
Mr. Pokorny also gave a masterclass on the topic of of how aging can affect playing and ways to better cope with the aging process as a musician. I was soaking it all in when one topic led to another and he mentions "Sean Chisham's TubeNet". Well, I just about lost my lunch. Since he has never posted, or at least he has never posted under his real identity, I had no clue that he was a lurker here. I am pretty sure that the vast majority of the internet savy tubists and possibly euphoniumists have stopped by here a few times, but I assumed from some of the "rumors" posted here in the past that he was not much of a techno kind of guy. Well, yet another "rumor" which I should have known better than to believe in the first place. Appearantly not only has he been here before, but from my conversation with him and way he spoke of the community here, he lurks much more than we may have believed before.
Like many other prominent names, he prefers not to post due to an already overwhelmed email box filled with new herbic remodies to triple one's manhood size, 20 new solutions to male pattern baldness, and make money fast schemes. But he has also fallen victim to the internet bug and knows what a "right click" is.
Now back to the topic of this post. Mr. Pokorny finally got to meet his hero tonight. I ended up with the duty to drive him to his hotel to change and then attend an after conference get together for the soloists and a few others. Who was his hero, you might ask? He told me on the car ride over that he soon hoped to find the time to undertake a new scholarly project. He hopes to scoure the archives of Tubenet and through diligent research and bibliographical techniques, compile a 12 volume set of middle names which Rick "Gene Pokorny's hero" Denney has used over the years.
That's right folks. Gene Pokorny FINALLY got to meet Rick "Does my wife know I am drinking beer?" Denney. Gene's life's voyage is complete now and he can take a breather and relax knowing that not only is Rick "Where did I park my car again" Denney a well thought out internet voice, but also a great guy to bump into and chat with in a crowded, loud room full of soon to be rosey cheeked low brass musicians.
Thanks, Mr. Pokorny, for being such a great human being. Really enjoyed my short interaction with you tonight and am sure there will be others in the future. If you ever feel like commenting here, feel free to use an alias or just leave out your email address on the post.
Also like to thank all the soloists, performers, clinicians, and exhibitors who make the conference possible. We in the band get lots of thanks from the people who attend, but if it were not for the hard work of all of those individuals who take the time out of their busy schedules to work up some tunes and bring them to Brucker Hall we would not have a conference each year. This goes for everyone from PFC Snuffy in the 1002nd Low Crawl Command Band all the way to Harvey Phillips. Every single person has a valid voice with a message to convey through their music. Thank you all for sharing your art with the rest of us.
sean