>>>Your web address, and would you like to include an email?

>>>Was your family background musical?

My parents were both musicians…Mother was a Clarinetist and Saxophonist, father was Percussionist. My sister and brother also played…sister is a pianist, singer, arranger, songwriter and music director, and brother played keyboards and bassoon.

>>>What made you decide to play trumpet?

I came home from school for lunch one day and heard Louis Armstrong on the radio. I decided that was for me.

>>>At what age did you start?

I started on piano at age 7, but got hooked on the trumpet at age nine.

>>>On leaving education, have you always been a full time musician?

I became a professional trumpet player at age 12, so I have always been a full time musician. Originally I intended to be a doctor, and planned to put myself through med school playing trumpet. I grew up in the aerospace area of Los Angeles, and most of my school mates were children of scientists and physicists. I found that my math skills were not up to the pre-med standards, so I stayed with the trumpet as a major professional emphasis.

>>>Other recent work experiences?

Please see my archive of recent events at my site......

>>>Could you give us a brief career outline so far perhaps?

>>>We already know of you as a great educator, perhaps you could tell us a little of your own education?

• The Juilliard School 1967-1971
• Bachelor of Music, 1970
• Master of Science, 1971
• University of Southern California 1964-1967
• Scholarships awarded by both institutions

>>>Your professional experiences?

• CEO of Romm Enterprises, LLC, 2000:
• Produced, Arranged, Performed the music on Volume 1,
• "Seeing the Light", a new CD series entitled "Wellness for The Soul" released December, 2000. Editing and publishing the music from this project.
• YAMAHA Performing Artist/Clinician
• YAMAHA Artist in Residence, University of Toronto, 1999-2000
• Joined Canadian Brass, 1971; tenure 1971-2000
• Featured soloist on more than 50 CDs (see enclosed discography)
• Featured soloist with major symphony orchestras worldwide
• Featured soloist on most major concert hall stages in the USA, Europe, and the Far East
• Participated in the development of the CB-10 Trumpet: Canadian Brass Collection, Canadian Brass Musical Instruments, 1991
• For more information on Ronald Romm in the Canadian Brass, years 1971-1993, please consult the following document: "The Canadian Brass Book, The Story of the World’s Favorite Brass Ensemble", Brassworks, Inc., pub. Distributed by Hal Leonard Publishing, Inc. ISBN 0-7935-1665-X.
• Principal Trumpet, Hamilton Philharmonic 1971-77
• Faculty, Banff School of Fine Arts, Brass Chamber Music Division, 1976-1982
• First Western Chamber Music Ensemble to tour China, 1977
• Featured Soloist, Hamilton Philharmonic Concerto programmes, Arthur Fiedler, Conductor, 1975
• CBC Radio Broadcasts, recitals with Avis Fedge Romm, 1972, 73
• Free-lance musician in New York, 1967-71: See enclosed activities sheet.
• Founding member of the New York Brass Society, 1967-71
• Free-lance activities in Los Angeles: See enclosed activities sheet.
• Performed with the Hollywood Bowl Symphony and Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta, Music Director, 1965-67
• Founding member, Los Angeles Brass Quintet, 1965
• Television Appearances include:
• Appearances on CBS, ABC, NBC, CBC (Canada), ABC (Australia), GDR, WDR, NDR, (Germany), ORF (Austria)
  Examples: The Tonight Show, Johnny Carson * The Today Show * Good Morning America * CBS Sunday Morning * Sesame Street * Merv Griffin Show * Regis Philbin Show * CBC Television Specials * NHK Japanese Television * German Television * Australian Television * Swiss Television * Austrian Television

>>>Any publications / editions etc...?

• Arranged, composed, and recorded Music for "Wellness for the Soul, Vol. 1," " Seeing the Light ", Romm Enterprises, Pub. 2000
• Edited and Recorded "Concerto for Trumpet in E Flat", Johann Nepomuk Hummel, Hal Leonard, Publisher.
• Several pieces arranged for Brass Quintet (example: Little Fugue, G minor, J.S.Bach, Brassworks Publications)
• Sonata for Trumpet and Piano, Morten Lauridsen, Composer, Dedicated to Ronald Romm, World Premiere performance, 1966

>>>Could you please list some of the awards you've received?

• Voted as one of the top 12 Brass Players of the 20^th Century, Brass Bulletin Magazine, #109, 1-2000, p.13.
• Honorary Doctor of Letters, McMaster University, Hamilton, ON, Canada, 2000
• Grammy Award nomination, "Take The "A" Train",
• Best Classical Crossover Album, 2000
• Fund for the Advancement of Music Education
• Award recipient, MENC, 1999
• University of Michigan Musical Society
• Distinguished Artist Award, 1999
• MENC: Tri-M Music Award, 1998
• Silver Rose Award, "The Canadian Brass: A Christmas Experiment",
• Best in it’s Class, Golden Rose Festival, Montreux, Switzerland, 1998
• Best Brass Ensemble in Global Classical Music Poll by Classical Insites, N2K, 1997
• Grammy Award nomination, "Canadian Brass Home Movies", Best Long Form Video, 1993
• Honorary Doctorate, New England Conservatory, 1992
• Honorary Doctorate, Mus.D., Hartwick College, 1988
• Juno Award (Canadian Grammy Equivalent), Best Artist category, 1985

>>>Could you please list some of the freelance work you've been involved with?

Free-lance activities in New York, 1967-71, included:

• New York City Opera
• Radio City Music Hall Symphony Orchestra
• Joffrey Ballet Orchestra
• First Trumpet for the New York City Production of "The King and I" (Yul Brynner)
• First Trumpet, American Opera Company
• The "Ice Capades" Orchestra
• First Trumpet for the New York City Gilbert and Sullivan Society
• Church Concerts and weddings, both soloist and with ensembles
• Broadway shows
• New York Philharmonic Orchestra
• American Symphony Orchestra
• American Brass Quintet
• Fine Arts Brass Quintet
• Recording
• Founding member of the New York Brass Society, 1967.
• Toured as Principal Trumpet, Pennsylvania Ballet Company Orchestra, 1969, 1970
• Live Television: Soloist in a Performance of Aaron Copland’s "Quiet City", Aaron Copland, Conductor, NBC 1969
• Toured with National Ballet of Canada Orchestra, 1969, 1970
• Performing and recording contemporary music with the Juilliard Ensemble,
  Dennis Russell Davies, Conductor, Luciano Berio, Founder and featured composer.
  Tour of Europe with this ensemble, 1968
  University of Hawaii Contemporary Music Festival with this ensemble, 1969, 1970

Free-lance activities in Los Angeles included:

>>>Could you please list some of the conductors you've performed under / with?

(listed in random order):

>>>Any news on new projects?

This collaboration between the current and the former performing members of the Canadian Brass is a testament to all of our commitment to the highest standards of musical performance, both as ensemble players and as solo artists.

Josef Burgstaller, the newest member of the Canadian Brass, is a brilliant trumpet soloist, seasoned ensemble artist and clinician, and wonderful entrepreneur. One of the great things that Joe has created is a series of concert/educational events entitled ‘The Méndez Project.’ He brought these events to more than one hundred venues across the United States over a period of just two years.

When Joe joined the Canadian Brass this summer, he already had a fairly full concert schedule that included a sizable number of ‘Méndez Project’ concert/workshops booked for this year. As we all know, the Canadian Brass maintains a schedule of well over one hundred concert events per year. The obvious challenge was to fulfill Joe’s obligations without compromising the quality of the programs.

Chuck (Daellenbach) and Gene (Watts) of the Canadian Brass believed my twenty-nine years of playing solo trumpet for the Brass made me the perfect choice to replace Joe and wondered if I might be available to fulfill some of these engagements in conjunction with my already active solo career. After just a very short time in discussion, Chuck, Gene, Joe and I concluded that this would indeed work, and for the last few months we have been in communication with Trawick Artists (who manage Community Concerts, Inc.) arranging details. The object is to be absolutely certain that the high standards that had been established in the first three successful seasons of ‘The Méndez Project’ are maintained for this season of events. Those of you that plan to attend these concerts/master classes will not be disappointed!

Avis, my wife and marvelous pianist, and I have created a great duo concert for trumpet and piano that collaborates with the community band in each of about thirty cities.

The band will play a piece of its own choosing in this concert, as well as performing two pieces with me as the soloist. The solo-with-band repertoire is comprised of Joe’s edition of ‘La Virgen de la Macarena’ (Méndez). This was a selection that I had performed many times with the Canadian Brass. The other piece is "Sleepytime Down South/Swing That Music," my specially written tribute to Louis Armstrong, celebrating the 100th anniversary of his birth. The performance of these pieces and joining with the local wind ensemble will be a special feature of the program.

The educational focus of ‘A Trumpeter’s Dream™’ begins with a 45-minute lecture entitled ‘Everything is a Trumpet,’ in which I will perform and create sounds on a variety of instruments, including conch shells, flexible tubes of different lengths, funnels, and trumpets in different keys. I will be demonstrating mutes and performing pieces in some of the styles of playing that we may easily associate with the trumpet.

After this initial forty-five minutes, ‘Everything is a Trumpet’ can grow into a master class with soloist or ensemble emphasis, or become a lecture/demonstration of ‘Practicing: How, What, and Why.’ The event may take the form of a discussion dealing with different aspects of music performance. We can begin with basics, including breathing and posture; discuss programming for success; or research the nature of, and deal with, nervousness in performance. Other optional topics include the fast-track method of learning a piece or passage, an exploration of why one would be interested in becoming a stage performer, and the route to a successful career.

[In addition to his solo/master class engagements worldwide, Ronald Romm has been appointed Professor of Trumpet and B. A. Nugent Professor of Music Performance at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign for he 2001-2002 season.]

For booking information, please contact:

__________________________________________________________

>>>Do you have three favourite foods? (eg. Thai / Chinese / French)

I have a see-food (sounds like Seafood) diet…I see food and I eat it…all types and styles.

>>>Could you please list some of your recordings / videos available for purchase please?

[Ronald Romm also appears on recordings by Anne Murray, Holly Cole, Raffi, and The New York Brass Society.]

_______________________________________

>>>Are there any non-musical hobbies / points of interest you enjoy?

I am an instrument rated private pilot.

>>>Do you take days off from playing? (how does it affect you?)

I will take days off from physically playing the trumpet (very rarely more than two consecutive days except when on a real vacation) because I believe that muscles need rest as well as exercise. I am constantly visualizing the phrasing and dynamics of pieces I am preparing. I am always hearing myself play in my mind’s ear…every day, many times a day, even when I am not actually playing.

>>>Three Trumpet tips you wish to share with the readers.

1.Buzz your mouthpiece…often and melodically. [* * * see article below]

2. Make every note a performance note…play beautifully at all times.

3. The only way to fail is to quit…strive for tone.

As we are all aware, we play WIND instruments, and that means that we use wind to propel the music through our horns. Wind, incidentally, is air in motion ... remembering this concept will help to remind us to breathe deeply.

When we breathe deeply, our tone tends to be pure, rich, and full as well. This is what we want, because a full, rich tone is a tone that projects efficiently, and is easy for our colleagues to blend with. Producing a full tone helps us to find the pitch centers, so we can play in tune with each other (at another time we will discuss some ideas related to tuning, like chord function, balance, etc.). Jens talks about visualizing an egg being placed in the mouth vertically, opening the mouth wide, and inhaling. The sound produced on this inhalation is a whooshing "O", very dark and rich.

Then, of course, once we have inhaled, we have to exhale. A good trick to the timing of the inhale-exhale cycle is visualizing a large pendulum; when the bob of the pendulum arrives at the top of its swing, there is not much hesitation as it reverses direction. You may want to think about the breathing cycle as inhale-up, exhale-down, visualizing the motion of a big pendulum.

Buzzing the mouthpiece has been a great aid for all of us in the Canadian Brass; we have all done this since the beginning, both alone in our practice sessions, and as a group. Simply speaking, mouthpiece buzzing accomplishes several objectives:

1. A pure tone on the mouthpiece yields a pure tone on the instrument.
2. Efficiency of tone production is greatly aided by mouthpiece buzzing.
3. Accuracy is improved as a result of regular mouthpiece playing.
4. Breathing correctly on the mouthpiece is very obvious ... good breath = good tone.
5. Ear training is greatly enhanced as a result of playing the mouthpiece (relate this to #3).
6. Range extension is natural and easier; any note you can produce on the mouthpiece will be available to you on your instrument.
7. Endurance is increased with mouthpiece buzzing, improved breathing, and efficiency of tone production (relate this to #'s 4 and 2).

Mario Guarneri, a long time friend of ours, has invented the B.E.R.P. (Buzz Extension and Resistance Piece) to help all of us to realize the connection between breathing, buzzing the mouthpiece, and playing our instruments. Jens and I both use this device, and it is really great.

If you buzz your mouthpiece alone or when using the B.E.R.P., remember several things: Play musical phrases on the mouthpiece, not just notes and scale patterns. You probably will benefit most by playing for a short time only on the mouthpiece and then switching back to the instrument. You will notice that you will usually play quite a bit louder on the instrument at this point; this is your efficiency improving.

Do this buzzing routine, switching back and forth often, to improve your phrasing and accuracy. The B.E.R.P., because of its design, adds a bit of resistance to the buzzing procedure, more closely approximating the actual resistance of the instrument.

Some people use the mouthpiece alone, switch to the B.E.R.P., go back to the mouthpiece, and then to the instrument. It is a good idea to try different things like this, to have a data base of experience in terms of "resistance feel".

Whichever way you decide to practice these disciplines, remember to always play musically, whether just on the mouthpiece or on the instrument.

That's all for now, friends; remember to breathe, buzz, and…STRIVE FOR TONE.

Ron Romm

Thank you very much indeed for sharing your thoughts with the
' Trumpet Web Community '28th April 2002.