By Chris Van Hof, Assistant Professor of Trombone
On Saturday, Aug. 27, the members of the Colorado State University Trombone Studio and I made the two-hour trek to CSU’s gorgeous Mountain Campus for the first-ever Trombone Studio Retreat. This being my fourth year as the Trombone Professor, it was time to find creative ways to deepen the collegial bonds among members of the studio, and—most important—for the studio members to dictate what they envision for the studio in the short, medium, and long term.
It was pure happenstance that I came across the Mountain Campus while exploring CSU’s main website one day, and I immediately knew it was the perfect location. Situated at Pingree Park, and bumping up against the northern edge of Rocky Mountain National Park, the Mountain Campus was first established in 1915 as one of three areas patrolled by the first three park rangers of Rocky Mountain National Park (RMNP). Now, there are a number of classrooms (we got a 1915 original— “The Old Classroom”—assigned to us), overnight cabins, a ropes course, and a dining hall clustered among a stunning subalpine meadow at 9,000 feet elevation.
The day centered around three trombone choir sessions. In the first, we played a unison fundamentals routine (and stopped frequently to gasp for air at elevation twice what we are used to); the second was rehearsal on a challenging arrangement of “Scarborough Fair” by famed L.A. trombonist Bill Reichenbach; and the third was rehearsal on a Gabrieli Canzona from the late 16th century. The level of focus and intensity during these three sessions was unparalleled during my time at CSU. It became clear during the second session that these students are, and will be, deeply invested in both the craft of trombone playing and the caliber of the trombone choir for the duration of their college careers and beyond.
Interspersed among the trombone choir sessions were small group breakout sessions to craft a mission statement for the Trombone Studio and to develop goals for this academic year, the 2017-2019 academic years, and to perceive what current members want to see post-2020 when they look back at the studio as graduates. These were no easy tasks as the retreat fell on what was essentially the only marching-band-free Saturday until late Sept., and also happened to fall the day after one member’s 21st birthday (although he arrived bright-eyed and bushy-tailed for our 6:45 a.m. departure)! Because of this, some returning studio members admitted to being skeptical of the day, but then quickly followed those sentiments with comments along the lines of “when it became clear that you were giving us the chance to decide how we operate and how we’ll sound for years to come, this became one of the highlights of my summer.” Indeed, an unspoken goal from me was to instill a deep sense of ownership of the studio for its members.
The results of the breakout sessions and our final group meeting, where we synthesized the three mission statements and the three separate sets of goals, were inspiring. Sitting as a group on two logs and gazing out across the sun-splashed meadow at the Rocky Mountains, the 2016/2017 CSU Trombone Studio members showed thoughtfulness, a desire for excellence, drive and determination, and a dedication to being positive and collaborative in their musical endeavors at the UCA. The resulting Trombone Studio mission statement is printed below. As you will read, these students have a clear mind when it comes to what they want to accomplish, how they want to do it, and what they expect of future trombone majors at CSU.
The day concluded with a BBQ at a local park in Fort Collins, featuring student food contributions ranging from a “lovely fruit salad” to a host of Trader Joe’s munch-upons. We all left the BBQ (and the day) invigorated for the year ahead, prepared for Trombone Choir rehearsals and high school run-out performances later in the fall, and above all, more tightly knit than we were 12 hours prior. There was overwhelming consensus among the current studio members that the Mountain Campus Retreat must be a yearly event, and in fact I have already booked the date for Aug. 2017.
As a professor, I could not be more proud of the thoughtfulness and drive of this group of students. In case there was any doubt about their brainpower, here is the mission statement—which is strictly crafted from the contributions of students, not me—that came down with us from the mountains:
The Colorado State University Trombone Studio is a place to study the craft of trombone performance and pedagogy alongside the expression of the human condition through music. In collaboration with all members of the studio, the path to trombone virtuosity at CSU is guided by close self-reflection, an attitude of positivity and support, the building of lifelong collegial bonds, and a sharp focus on preparation for the professional world.
