Gene Stark's Music Page

In my spare time, I've been known to play the trombone. These days, I mostly hide within large groups, such as the Stony Brook University Wind Ensemble, the West Islip Symphony Orchestra, the Long Island Trombone Ensemble, and the Sliphorn Orchestra of Long Island. However over the years, I've collected a few recordings that weren't too embarassing (you might disagree) in which you could actually hear me personally. So, just for fun, here are some of them. Don't laugh too hard!

• Two Ave Marias, performed with the Stony Brook Wind Ensemble, December 13, 1989 (7.5MB MP3).
  I was reasonably happy with this performance, so if you are going to listen to any of these, you might as well start here.

• Georgia On My Mind, performed outdoors with the West Islip Symphony Orchestra, August, 2000 (4.3MB MP3).

  

• Long Island Solid Brass. Long Island Solid Brass was a group of five or six brass players I played with in the late 1980's (no relationship to the currently existing, and apparently much more popular group called "Solid Brass"). I seem to recall playing some church gigs in Sayville, and maybe one or two other places. Unfortunately, I've completely forgotten the names of the members of the group (except for my own).

  At one point (December, 1988) we decided to try to make a "demo" tape, which I dubbed "Long Island Solid Brass Does Xmas". This was a collection of our hottest Xmas stuff. I'm the one and only trombone player -- hear me pumping away on "Rudolph"!

  1. Let it Snow (1.6MB MP3)
  2. Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (1.8MB MP3)
  3. The Twelve Days of Christmas (Kazdin) (4.2MB MP3)
     (Oh, well, Empire Brass Quintet does it better!)
     Compare also the same piece which I performed in December 1979 as part of the MIT Brass Ensemble.
  4. Angels We Have Heard on High (1.6MB MP3)
  5. Go Tell It on the Mountain (1.6MB MP3)
  6. God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen (970KB MP3)
  7. Good King Wenceslas (729KB MP3)
  8. Hark the Herald Angels Sing (1.0MB MP3)
  9. Jolly Old St. Nicholas (781KB MP3)
  10. Up on the Housetop (629KB MP3)
  11. We Wish You a Merry Christmas (1.4MB MP3)

  On Easter Sunday, March 26, 1989, we performed at St. Anne's in Sayville, New York (a beautiful church with a great organ). Somebody in the group made a recording, and it's probably pretty representative of how we sounded in a live performance on a good day. The intonation is mostly reasonable, precision is lacking in some parts, and every now and then it cooks a little bit.

  1. "Intrada" (2.1MB MP3) (actual name and composer forgotten).
  2. Der Burgomeister (5.5MB MP3) (composer forgotten).
     Compare this with the much better rendition of the same piece which I performed in December 1979 as part of the MIT Brass Ensemble.
  3. "Alleluia" (2.5MB MP3) (actual name and composer forgotten), with organ and chorus.
  4. "Easter Hymn" (2.1MB MP3) (composer forgotten).
  5. Christ the Lord is Risen Today (3.8MB MP3) (composer forgotten), with organ and chorus.
     Check out the funky fanfare at the beginning. If I recall correctly, it was written by one of the members of our group.
  6. "Sarabande/Processional" (2.8MB MP3) (actual name and composer forgotten).
  7. "Hymn" (1.1MB MP3) (actual name and composer forgotten).
  8. Trumpet Tune (2.4MB MP3) (Henry Purcell).
     Probably the best of the numbers here, though the middle section struggles a bit.
  9. Der Burgomeister (reprise) (6.0MB MP3).

• Massachusetts Institute of Technology Brass Ensemble, Cambridge MA. I played in this group from Fall 1977 until Spring 1984. The conductor during the first year was Robert Pettipaw (thanks to Brian Hess for visiting this page and helping me to remember that name), but during most of this period Gordon Hallberg led the group, and then Richard Given took over the last year or two. I especially have to give Gordon Hallberg credit for doing a really great job, and I learned a tremendous amount from him during the years he conducted the group. Thanks, Gordon!

  Of the years I played in this group, the 1979-1980 year was probably the peak. Linked below are tracks from the December 1979 concert. Many of these are familiar, but I've completely spaced out on most of the names and composers. Maybe you know what they are?

  If you listen to any of this, you might as well listen to the first track below (Earl of Oxford March). The sound of the group was just amazing, and I still get chills when I listen to it. As I recall, a large part of the sound of the trumpet section was due to Keith Reid, a phenomenal player and also about the nicest guy you'd ever want to meet. Other great players it was my privilege to know during this period were Mike Strauss, Ephraim Fuchs, and Paul Gaddis on trombone, John Smith on tuba, Roy Groth on trumpet, and Betsy Hanson on french horn. I think most or all of them were in the group at this time, though my memory is a bit fuzzy now.

  1. Earl of Oxford March (William Byrd)
  2. Suite (Tylman Susato)
     1. #1
     2. #2
     3. #3
     4. #4
     5. #5
  3. Suite (Canzoni?)
     1. #7
     2. #8
     3. Canzona Bergamasca
     4. #10
     5. Der Burgomeister
  4. Suite (Brahms?)
     1. #12
     2. #13
     3. #14
  5. Italian Antiphonal
     1. #15
     2. #16
     3. "Canzona Battaglia"?
     4. #18
  6. Contemporary (was this Charles Ives?)
     1. #19
     2. #20
     3. #21
     4. #22
  7. Christmas Suite
     1. #23
  8. The Twelve Days of Christmas (Kazdin)

• Dulaney Senior High School Stage Band, Timonium MD. William Sarangoulis was the director. Other personnel (recalled by Bob Krieger) -- Saxophones: Bob Krieger, Bill Boulden, Dave Smith; Trumpets: Chris Sengstacke, Phil Snyder, Jack Armstrong (on occasion); Trombones: Charles "Dad" Leedy, Andy "Madman" Carlsen; Drums: Paul Hildner and Mark Jones; Guitar : Dave Mazzoni and maybe Keith Nicolay; Bass : Bill Armstrong and Gene Krach. I was a little 10th grader trying to play a big bass trombone. I never had the guts to go back to bass since then!

  In Spring 1974, we performed at the Blue Ridge Festival. This was one of the high points of my high-school days.

  1. Hank's Opener (Hank Levy) (6.7MB MP3)
  2. A Rock Odyssey (Hank Levy) (8.2MB MP3)
  3. Boogie-Woogie Bugle Boy (1.4MB MP3) Vocalists: Andrea Burgoyne, Wendy Weaver, and Cathy Wilson.

  Somewhat earlier in the year (probably in the winter, but I don't remember exactly when) we gave a more informal performance at a kind of dinner event that was held at the school for parents. Here are the numbers we played that evening.

  1. Hank's Opener (Hank Levy) (6.3MB MP3)
  2. A Rock Odyssey (Hank Levy) (3.4MB MP3). Just the odyssey, not the rock part.
  3. Indra (Hank Levy) (12.2MB MP3)
  4. Go Back Home (Sam Falzone) (4.2MB MP3)
  5. Early Morning (Sammy Nestico) (4.0MB MP3)