Opinions on Raw Brass

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the elephant
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Re: Opinions on Raw Brass

Post by the elephant »

I wanted to say 1976, but did not think that was possible. (That was Don's first year at UNT.) Any idea as to when Steve Bryant arrived at UT?) My lessons with Mike were when I was finishing at SAC, and Pete Kline sent me to him, back before I left for basic training (in 1985).


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Rick Denney
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Re: Opinions on Raw Brass

Post by Rick Denney »

I don’t know when Steve Bryant started at UT—he was there when I moved to Austin in 1981 (I worked with his wife at TxDOT). Sumner Erickson started in Pittsburgh in 1981 after one semester at Curtis, and Steve always claimed him as a private student, so he had to have been there for at least a few years before Sumner moved away in 1980. (Rick Colvin was also Sumner’s teacher and he deserves a lot of that credit.)

Rick “studied with Mike because Steve didn’t have time to give lessons to amateurs” Denney
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the elephant (Mon Mar 30, 2026 10:21 am)
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Re: Opinions on Raw Brass

Post by graybach »

Rick Denney wrote: Mon Mar 30, 2026 7:31 am I don’t know when Steve Bryant started at UT—he was there when I moved to Austin in 1981 (I worked with his wife at TxDOT). Sumner Erickson started in Pittsburgh in 1981 after one semester at Curtis, and Steve always claimed him as a private student, so he had to have been there for at least a few years before Sumner moved away in 1980. (Rick Colvin was also Sumner’s teacher and he deserves a lot of that credit.)

Rick “studied with Mike because Steve didn’t have time to give lessons to amateurs” Denney
1976. At Central Methodist for a few years before that.

https://utdirect.utexas.edu/apps/studen ... ad/694565/
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Re: Opinions on Raw Brass

Post by bloke »

It's appropriate to refer to some given aspect of a brass instrument (if not several of them) as "raw".
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Re: Opinions on Raw Brass

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Rick Denney wrote: Mon Mar 30, 2026 7:31 am I don’t know when Steve Bryant started at UT—he was there when I moved to Austin in 1981 (I worked with his wife at TxDOT). Sumner Erickson started in Pittsburgh in 1981 after one semester at Curtis, and Steve always claimed him as a private student, so he had to have been there for at least a few years before Sumner moved away in 1980. (Rick Colvin was also Sumner’s teacher and he deserves a lot of that credit.)

Rick “studied with Mike because Steve didn’t have time to give lessons to amateurs” Denney
I “studied” with Steve Bryant the one semester I took his tuba/euphonium ensemble class. As an engineering major who barely played tuba, that seemed like a pretty good deal. At the same time, I also did not get bassoon lessons from Dan Welcher, since I was a non-major who didn’t really care that much.

I saw Sumner a few years at high school region band tryouts; I was happy to be trying out on bassoon. We were in a couple of groups at the first year of UT’s summer band camp; he sounded great and always seemed nice to work with.
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