Bert Truax


Bert Truax was Second Trumpet of the Dallas Symphony from 1976-2000. He began playing the trumpet at the age of seven under the tutelage of Joseph Alessi, Sr. He later studied with James Stamp, Tom Stevens, and Bill Adam. At the Curtis Institute of Music he studied with Gilbert Johnson and Frank Kaderabek. In 1986 he was invited by audition to play Second Trumpet with the Philadelphia Orchestra for the first half of their 1986-87 season.

A published composer, Truax's works are recorded on Crystal Records. His three movement Fantasy for Trumpet and Orchestra was commissioned by the Dallas Symphony for then Principal Trumpet David Bilger. Bilger has also performed the third movement with the Philadelphia Orchestra. Last summer Joseph Alessi premiered a commission from the International Trombone Association. Other commissions have included works for the trumpet section of the West Point Band .

Pedagogy

Bert's teaching, based on his studies with James Stamp, has developed a large and loyal following throughout Texas. I've prepared a page devoted to explaining his approach the the Stamp Warm-up. However it is much more beneficial to learn this approach from someone who studied with Stamp rather than simply buying the book and going at it on your own.

Multiple Tounging

Here is a drill that can develop your multiple tounging very quickly. It originated with Joseph Alessi, Sr. and can be applied to any exercise, etude, excerpt, or solo.

  1. With the metronome, play the line at a comfortably fast single tounge.
  2. Play the line again, one note to the beat. (For example, 16th note equals 92). Alternate, soft on the "ta" and loud on the "ka." It is important that the airstream remain steady and the notes connected. (taKAtaKA not ta KA ta KA.
  3. Playing the notes at an equal volume begin to increase the tempo until you have surpassed your original single tounge tempo.
One big advantage to this approach is that the gap between single and multiple tounging is automatically elminated. One caution, this drill can be very tiring the first few times, use common sense and know when to stop.

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Updated on October 10, 1999.

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