Gekker endurance drills

Chris Gekker’s Endurance Drills for Performance Skills has a simple mandate – not unlike Herbert L Clarke’s Technical Studies – to play with ease in all registers, keeping the embouchure fresh and pliable. Clarke called endurance “90% of cornet playing” and you can see here that Gekker agrees. His attention to detail in his own practice comes out in these studies and he even quotes the great flutist Julius Baker who quipped “If I never make a mistake, I’ll never make a mistake.” Very true, and if you have heard Gekker perform or have listened to his recordings, you can tell he strives for this perfection every day.

This book is subtitled: Scale & chord studies intended for the development of the most basic skills: A smooth, relaxed air flow, a compact, efficient tongue stroke, and a responsive aperture framed by a strong, stable embouchure (plus 5 Bach transcriptions).

Chris Gekker is Professor of Trumpet at the University of Maryland School of Music and currently lives in the Washington, DC area. He has been featured as soloist at Carnegie Hall, Lincoln Center, and throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. Chris’ many solo recordings include the Bach 2nd Brandenburg Concerto and “Winter,” a CD of music for trumpet and piano by Eric Ewazen and David Snow.Chris was a member of the American Brass Quintet for eighteen years, and on the faculties of the Juilliard School, the Manhattan School of Music, and Columbia University. He was principal trumpet with the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, frequently performed and recorded as principal with the Orpheus Chamber Orchestra, and often a guest with the Chamber Music Society of Lincoln Center. He has been a guest principal with the New York Philharmonic, the San Francisco Symphony, the Baltimore Symphony and the Santa Fe Opera. Chris has performed and recorded with many jazz and contemporary artists, and often for television and movies. In 2009 he was invited to record and perform with Sting, and is featured on the DVD “A Winter’s Night” which was recorded live at Durham Cathedral in Durham, England. In the Washington DC area, Chris serves as principal trumpet of the National Philharmonic at Strathmore, is a member of the Washington Symphonic Brass, Post Classical Ensemble and performs regularly at Wolf Trap.  During the summer he is principal trumpet of the Eastern Music Festival in Greensboro, NC.