![]() ![]() ![]() He is in constant demand as a bassist and tubist in almost every conceivable musical genre. He has been recorded on many album projects including three with the Maxwell Street Klezmer Band, and on many commercial jingles. As a tubist he has performed with the Lyric Opera, American Ballet Theater, Grant Park Orchestra, Chicago Brass Quintet, and as featured soloist with the New Philharmonic, Ethos Chamber Orchestra, Concordia University Wind Ensemble, and at the 1992 International Tuba-Euphonium Conference. As a jazz bassist he has performed with such luminaries as Marion McPartland, Barry Harris, Bobby Shew, David Baker, Jamey Aebersold, Dick Hyman, Scott Hamilton, Carl Fontana and many others, and has performed with such stars as Rosemary Clooney, Bob Newhart, Martin Short, Phyllis Diller, Rich Little and many others. One student, Ethan Bensdorf, who graduated in 2003, now plays the trumpet with The New York Philharmonic.Ībplanalp says “I think that the over-arching thing is that we have such incredible talent at ETHS and it’s often gone unsung,” the Honors Recital gives our community a chance to recognize and appreciate these musicians.Richard Armandi (Bass, Tuba/Euphonium, Jazz Bass) is one of the most versatile and in-demand musicians and educators on the Chicago scene today. Past performers at the Honors Recital have gone on to Colburn, Easton School of Music, or University of Indiana, some of the most prestigious music institutes in the country. ![]() “And these are performers that are amazing, many of them planning to go on into professional music careers.”Īnd they do. “Because there’s 15 kids performing if each of them brings two parents two friends one grandparent the audience for this will be way less than 200 people,” says Abplanalp. There are a lot of aspects to get in control and it can be stressful.”Įven though the young musicians work so hard, the Honors Recital has low attendance compared to other performances. She will be singing two songs including The Jewel Song in French, which she explains as “very dramatic, the singer is quite conceited.” Kelley says the hardest part is “learning your stuff down cold. Junior Annie Kelley says she has been practicing since September. He explains that picking performers is like splitting hairs because so many of them are talented, the effort put into the audition only increases if you are selected. “Many pay high level professional accompanists to accompany them as part of the audition,” says Abplanalp. He explains that out of all the students in every section of the Music Dept., only three students are chosen from each grade after competitive auditions. “They have practiced literally years for this,” says Abplanalp. The musicians’ success doesn’t come without a cost. “Their performances are-I’m just gonna say it-they’re ridiculously good.” “This is a competition within ETHS to feature our very, very finest musicians,” says Charles Abplanalp, orchestra director, AP Music Theory teacher, and jazz director. is putting on its twenty-first annual Honors Recital, where the school’s best solo musicians will show their talents. Performers that will be taking the stage this January know all about them both. ![]()
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