Absolute Dedication to Music:
new CB trumpeter Josef Burgstaller
By Ulla Colgrass, 2001
"This is the beginning of a great journey for me," says
Joe Burgstaller, the newly anointed trumpet player of the Canadian
Brass. The 30-year-old soloist was perfectly suited for this coveted
position. He started in the summer of 2001, while still immersed
in his own creation called "Joe Burgstaller: The Rafael Méndez
Project", which took him to 50 cities a year as soloist and
teacher.
"It's going really well," he says about catching up to
his Canadian Brass cohorts Ryan Anthony (trumpet), Jeff Nelsen (horn),
Gene Watts (trombone) and Chuck Daellenbach (tuba). "I was
on the road a lot before, so I was prepared for that, but now everything
is more intense- up a couple of notches. It's inspirational!Ó
At first, he had a pile of music to memorize and was thriving on
the challenge. "If you don't have a passionate interest in
what you do, you won't do a good job," he says. I think my
whole career has been pointing toward this. The Canadian Brass combines
my two loves - chamber music and solo playing."
Joe first picked up the cornet after hearing the instrument at
a Chicago school demonstration when he was six years old. By the
age of 12, he had appeared as soloist with area bands and jazz clubs
in Virginia Beach, and at 15 he became the youngest player to perform
with the Virginia Opera Orchestra. After music studies at Arizona
State University in Tempe, he settled in New York City, which is
still his home.
He is a strong believer in having business and performance skills
beyond music to further his career. By using them, he carved out
his own unique path. While he was in New York and a member of the
Meridian Arts Ensemble, he acted on an impulse that changed his
life.
"I pulled out an outline I had made about playing the music
of Rafael Méndez (celebrated trumpeter, 1906-1981). He was
one of my childhood heroes. David Hickman, my college teacher and
also a big Méndez fan, had helped establish the Méndez
Library at Arizona State, where I spent many nights poring over
scores, recordings and videos. Eventually I came up with the idea
of touring the country, performing Méndez' music and educating
local students. I even wrote a detailed plan with a budget
and a demo recording. Then I went to New York in 1995, where my
outline sat on a shelf."
The preparations paid off one day, when Joe pulled out his Méndez
Project. "It inspired me to call a friend at my New York agency.
He liked the idea, and to make a long story short, I ended up making
a formal proposal for a meeting the following morning and soon found
myself with a whole new solo career. It quickly grew to over 60
solo engagements a year - I was in a state of shock!"
For over three years Joe crisscrossed the United States with a
two-day program that included his own brand of innovative music
training, followed by a scintillating concert with Méndez'
repertoire.
After this Latin-inspired adventure, did he have to change his
playing style to fit into the Canadian Brass? "Well not
really. The Canadian Brass has helped shape and define the evolution
of brass playing, and I was certainly influenced by that.
I had been going back and forth between solo and chamber playing
for years, but the Canadian Brass is a dream for me. I can
now focus on chamber music and occasionally play solos within the
group context," he says.
Joe finds his partnership with Ryan Anthony as close as two trumpets
can be. "From our first phone call, we knew we were going to
get along just fine. Every day we find we have more things
in common Ď even down to using the same brands of deodorant and
hair gel and the same kind of electric toothbrush," he laughs.
"Our playing matches really well and we have very similar teaching
styles."
Joe has covered a lot of musical territory in his young life -
chamber and solo playing, acting on stage, touring, recording, writing,
improvising, composing and arranging. His unorthodox approach to
teaching fits right in with the Canadian Brass. Together they give
master classes around the world, and during the summer they are
found at the Music Academy of the West in Santa Barbara, California.
"I find that the more I teach," he explains, "the
more I learn about my own playing. Much of what I talk about is
not found in books, but comes from life learning and watching others.
I try to involve the students instead of just lecturing to them.
"The relation between acting and music has always captivated
me," he says. "When you are playing, you are always acting,
expressing the emotions and thoughts that go beyond the notes on
the page. This is the most important thing I try to relate to students
- to really let go and open their heart and soul to an audience
of strangers. When they start responding emotionally and spiritually,
then you have made an amazing connection."
He jokes around the subject of circular breathing, the technique
that enables the player to play a continuous note for several minutes
without stopping. Is it a stunt or a practical skill? "For
the most part, Ryan and I do it as a special effect - that's when
we do it overtly. When we use it covertly, it is often at altitude
(high notes) or when we don't have enough air to finish a phrase.
Then there are times when you are really tired and have forgotten
to breathe" he laughs.
Well, breathing doesn't seem to be a problem for Joe. He certainly
leaves the interviewer out of breath just keeping track of his many
interests and accomplishments. His recent solo CD, "The Virtuoso
Trumpet", shows Joe Burgstaller as a thrilling player with
technique to burn.
Some of my first recorded music had Ronnie Romm's brilliant solo,
"Carnival of Venice", and "Champions" by the
Canadian Brass. In many ways I have stepped into my childhood
dream and at the right time in my career (Romm was CB trumpeter
for 29 years.)
Being a Yamaha artist for a long time, Joe has now traded up to
the gold plated trumpet that comes with the Canadian Brass job.
There is so much responsibility in a quintet - the sheer opportunity
to communicate, emote and shape a living art. I work on blending
and getting into other instruments sounds while still being acutely
aware of my own place in the group. I'm very happy to find that
my background in so many different musical styles fits into a crossover
group like the Canadian Brass.
"We have a genuine sense of camaraderie and working towards
a common goal. We share a musical bond that is rooted in our
absolute dedication to music. Our famous performance style, using
humor and acting, that's just icing on the cake," says Joe
Burgstaller.
