Blow Your Own Horn!

Book excerpt: Fergus McWilliam has been a member of the Berlin Philharmonic since 1985 and was a founding member of the Berlin Philharmonic Wind Quintet in 1988. He has spent the last twenty years touring the world with the Berlin Philharmonic and has made over a dozen recordings with his ensemble. During his career, he has performed with many of the major conductors of our times, including Herbert von Karajan, Claudio Ababado, Sir Simon Rattle, Leonard Bernstein, Carlos Kleiber, Seiji Ozawa, Pierre Boulez, James Levine, Daniel Barenboim and more. In addition, McWilliam also founded the Horns of Berlin Philharmonic and has helped re-establish the Winds of Berlin Philharmonic. His solo and chamber music activities continue to take him throughout Europe, the Americas and the Far East. Fergus McWilliam is also an internationally esteemed and sought-after teacher. He continues to give master classes at leading music schools in many countries, including the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra Academy, the Hans-Eisler Musikhochschule in Berlin, the Royal Academy of Music and the Guildhall School in London, the Paris Conservatoire, the Tokyo University of Fine Arts, the Royal Scottish Academy of Music and Drama in Glasgow, the Venezuela Youth Music programme and more. Blow your OWN Horn is Fergus McWilliams 'take' on horn playing and more generally on music education. Written in a very spirited style, the book covers all aspects of playing and the profession, including, practical elements such as: auditions, embouchure, breathing, exercises. In addition, McWilliam explores topics such as: mind games, attitude, strategies, relativity, under pressure, why do we need teachers and much more