Reprints from the
International Trumpet Guild Journal
Tunnell, Michael – Adolph Herseth: In a Class by Himself Feb98/5
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4 ITG Journal / February, 1998
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
Adolph Herseth: In a Class by Himself
MICHAEL TUNNELL
O
n June 29, 1998 Adolph “Bud” Herseth
will celebrate his 50th year of performances as principal trumpet of the
Chicago␣ Symphony Orchestra (CSO). During his career, Herseth has set the standard for orchestral
trumpet playing. An icon of the orchestral trumpeter,
he is considered by many trumpeters, of past and
present generations, to be the most influential and
revered trumpeter of the modern
era. His easygoing and unassuming manner, matter-of-fact approach, and wonderful sense of humor are hallmarks of his personal
style. Herseth’s very presence
speaks of total commitment to his
art and to excellence.
I have been blessed with several opportunities to study with
this legendary trumpeter since my
first lesson with him in 1980. Every time I pick up my horn I feel
the profound influence not only of
his teaching but also simply of
having stood next to him, listening as the language of his playing
showed me the depth of his musical thoughts.
The following interview took
place in Chicago at Orchestra Hall
on March 24, 1997 and offers a
glimpse into his life and career.
of couple years ago. I was the second oldest, and then
came my sister Edith who is about a year and a half
younger than I. Edith is married to Lloyd Pfautsch,
who is the retired head of choral music at Southern
Methodist University in Dallas, where they still live.
The youngest sibling in the family is my brother
John, who is a retired dentist living in Washington
state, near Seattle.
MT: Were your brothers and
sisters also musical?
AH: Agnes was a very good pianist. She also played oboe in high
school, which was rare in those
days. Edith played clarinet, and
my brother John played flute. Of
course, we all took piano lessons,
and became live-long music lovers.
MT: Tell me about your early
trumpet training.
AH: Bertha, Minnesota was a
small town of about 500 people,
and my wife Avis grew up there
too. She also played trumpet, and
we sat next to each other in quartets and bands. She’s the only gal
I ever dated!
In 1937, during my freshman
or sophomore year, I played in the
annual band contest that was held
in various districts around the
state. The judge was Gerald
MT: Tell me about your musiPrescott, who was head of the Unical beginnings.
versity of Minnesota band departAH: My family lived in a small
ment at that time. Prescott invited
town near Fargo-Moorhead, Minme to play solo cornet with the
After winning 1st prize in the
nesota, where I was born on July
first summer band at the univerNational Music Competition (1939).
25, 1921. We lived there through
sity. As a part of that experience I
(Adolph Herseth Collection)
the time I was in the first grade. I
received my first official trumpet
began playing trumpet during the second grade in a
lessons from Jimmy Greco, who subbed for Jimmy
little town near Mitchell, South Dakota. We spent
Stamp in the Minnesota Pops summer concerts.
one year there. When I was in the third grade we
Lawrence Hanson, my high school band director in
moved to Bertha, Minnesota where I grew up. My
Bertha, was a good college cornet player, and once in
father, Adolph, Sr., was a band director, saxophone
a while he would pick up his cornet and ask me just
player, and singer, but actually he was trained as a
to “try to make it sound like this if you can.” That
school superintendent. My mother, Cora, was a good
method worked better than all the theories that get
pianist, so there was a lot of music in the family. I
passed around: “Just make it sound like this. Get a
was one of four children, and we all were handed an
good ‘picture’ in your head and do it.”
instrument of some kind when we were young. The
After Hanson, Greco was the only official teacher I
oldest child was my sister Agnes, who passed away a
had until I entered the New England Conservatory
▼
Photo courtesy of CSO Archives.
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 5
1928 Letcher, South Dakota school band. Adolph Herseth, Sr. (in white, standing near center) is the conductor.
Adolph “Bud” Herseth is the second player in the second row of trumpets. (Adolph Herseth Collection)
after the war, in January 1946. I studied with Georges
Mager and Marcel Lafosse, principal and second trumpet players, respectively, with the Boston Symphony.
I spent two and a half years at the conservatory.
MT: You speak of Mager with great affection. How
did he influence your playing?
AH: Mager was a very exciting player to listen to.
He’d get red in the face as he played just like I do.
Maybe you’re supposed to, I don’t know. When he
played he told you a story. He didn’t waste any time
during a lesson telling you which muscle to twist. In
a lesson that’s the biggest waste of time there is
anyway. We talked about style, of course. He made
technical comments and practical suggestions once
in a while too, but as long as you really practiced and
learned your lesson, that’s all he wanted.
MT: Does your concept of tone come from any of
your teachers or any of the players whom you grew
up listening to, or is it just uniquely you?
AH: I listened to jazz players as well as to classical
players. Obviously, your own concepts develop and
are influenced by listening. I’m sure that my style
and sound have certainly expanded over the years
playing in this orchestra. You spend 49 years playing
the type of repertoire that the CSO plays, with the
caliber of conductors I’ve worked under, and the style
will come out of your ears! There’s no question that
sitting and playing alongside a principal horn player
like Phil Farkas will have an effect on tone concept.
It goes both ways, you feed on each other. That’s the
way it is now with Dale Clevenger, another marvel-
6 ITG Journal / February, 1998
ous horn player, who is different from Farkas, of
course, but who is a very exciting colleague to work
with. Every time I play a piece that I’ve already
played a hundred times, it’s still very exciting because I try not to play it the same way twice in a row.
MT: Did you learn solfège and transposition when
you were young?
AH: I learned how to transpose fairly quickly when
I played along with pianists as they played from pop
sheet music, and I realized the notes they played
were different from what I played. I figured out that I
had to transpose the trumpet line up a step on the
B-flat horn. So I bought the Sachse book of 108 transposing tunes and said to myself, “What the heck,
figure it out.” My first official solfège classes were at
the conservatory, since I received my bachelor’s degree in mathematics at Luther College in Iowa. I had
a double major in mathematics and music with a
minor in education, which you had to have if you
wanted to be a school teacher. At that time my choice
was either to teach or work for an insurance company as an annuity or actuarial specialist. I’m glad I
ended up with this career, and next year is my 50th
season, which is unbelievable. I still enjoy playing,
and they’re nice enough to let me do it, so why not?
MT: Tell me about your military service experience.
AH: My service experience was very valuable because it involved playing both in a “square” [concert]
band and in a dance band. During college, I made
$5.00 on Saturday nights playing dance band gigs.
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
That was enough money to buy enough beer to get
through the week! One of my Navy buddies named
Gunnar Sorensen played lead with some of the West
Coast bands, including the early Stan Kenton bands.
We split the lead book, and he had stock versions of
all the Harry James specialties. He could really play
and was a terrifically solid lead player. That experience meant as much to me as any lesson. Sorensen
would say, “Don’t tell me that your lip is tired, just
keep playing! Get up there and blow, man!”
MT: What music did you listen to as you grew up?
AH: Everybody listened to Harry James. Also, my
dad had a collection of vocal records of various singers, and I listened to these as a kid growing up in the
1930s. He had recordings of John MacCormick, Amelia
Galli-Curci, and other names that were popular at
the time. I still remember how some of those recordings sounded. That listening experience also helped
form my concept of tone since the human voice is
basically the world’s greatest musical instrument.
The more you listen to singers, the more you’re going
to learn.
MT: Tell me about your audition for the CSO.
AH: I got a telegram from the manager, George
Kuyper, inviting me to come to New York to audition
for Maestro Artur Rodzinski for the position of third
trumpet. There were no excerpt books at that time,
so to get ready I went to the conservatory library and
even to the downtown Boston music department
Bud and his sister Agnes (1932).
(Adolph Herseth Collection)
Bertha, Minnesota High School brass quartet (1936). Bud, Gen Domain Jacobs,
Avis Bottemiller (Bud’s future wife), and Elmer Grams. (Adolph Herseth Collection)
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
library. I found out that
the only trumpet parts
available were first
trumpet parts. I had
never played a lot of
these parts, but I had
heard the Boston Symphony performances of
many of the works.
At my audition I just
kept playing different
excerpts, saying, “Here’s
this, here’s that.” I
played for about an hour
and Rodzinski said,
“Well, let’s go and have
a little coffee and some
cookies.” We went into
the dining room at his
apartment on Fifth Avenue and he asked me,
“Well, what’s your background of experience?” I
said, “Well, college band,
dance band, Navy band.”
He said, “No, I’m talk-
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 7
“Mostly Mozart Concert” circa 1980. (Adolph Herseth Collection)
ing about symphony orchestra experience.” I said,
“We have a symphony at the conservatory, and I play
in that.” He said, “You never had a professional job?”
I said, “Nope.” He said, “Well, you’re going to be the
new first trumpet in Chicago.” He wanted me to go to
With Roger Voisin at an international trumpet competition
in Paris (1988). (Adolph Herseth Collection)
8 ITG Journal / February, 1998
Chicago to play. He said, “I’ll be back in Chicago in a
month, and then you’ll come to Chicago and play in
the hall where you’ll be performing.” Well, I know
why he wanted me to come audition again, because I
was such a greenhorn, he wanted to see if I could do
it twice, that’s all. So, I came out here a month later
and played for him. Well, afterward he was sitting
there with Kuyper and concertmaster John Weicher,
who became a good friend of mine. I came down off
the stage to where they were sitting in the audience,
and Rodzinski shook my hand. He said, “You have
passed summa cum laude. Now you have to go upstairs and talk with the manager.”
That’s the story of my audition. It happened that
Rodzinski was here only for that one season, and I
never got to play under him. That’s a shame, because
it is said that he was a terrific conductor. I joined the
orchestra the next summer for the Ravinia summer
concert season, which was a nicer time to join than
the winter season.
MT: You gave me some concepts on endurance
years ago and they’ve proved really valuable. What
are your thoughts on endurance and practice?
AH: Well, I can tell you one thing, I still have a
fair amount of endurance even at the age of almost
76. It’s not what it was when I was 40 or 50 obviously, but you learn how to cope with that too. I think
one of the main reasons that I can still play fairly
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
Early television appearance (1952). (Adolph Herseth Collection)
I feel tired, I just move the mouthpiece over, and if
strong and fairly long is because I’ve been doing it for
it’s tired over there I move it to a different place
so many years. I’ve never insisted on having an assisagain.”
tant sit there and blow through half of the stuff with
AH: Yeah. Slip it over, sometimes use the up or
me as some players do, you know. Play it all!
down angle a little bit. Sometimes I find, especially
I don’t have a specific practice routine. Some people
when I’m playing a piece where I don’t want the
do, and they feel like if they don’t have enough time
sound to project, that I can blow it down more toto go through the entire routine before they start a
wards the floor and into the music stand. This can
rehearsal or a concert, then they feel like they aren’t
unconsciously make your angle
ready and won’t be able to play.
against your face change. I someEverybody says, “Don’t
And they do it the same way every
times find that happening to me
day. Sometimes when you’re on
press!” Well, there is no
so I just change the angle. I think
the road and you know you won’t
such thing as nonpressure.
a lot of players find they are unget there in time to go through the
aware that the mouthpiece isn’t
routine, you’ve just got to blow the
straight up from the middle so the pressure on each
horn a little bit and go out on stage and play. My
side of the lip is the same. I know players who play at
practice routine is to take it easy when I start out in
an angle and off-center. Roger Voisin plays this way
the morning. Sometimes I do 10 minutes at home
because his teeth were a little bit uneven, and that’s
before I go catch the train to come down to the hall. I
the way he picked up his first trumpet. Voisin’s dad,
just noodle, that’s all. I play a few interval things
René Voisin, was a trumpet player for the Boston
such as an Arban etude, a few double time scales and
Symphony at one time. He would cut little wedges of
single time scales, and a few slurring things. If everywood and tape them to Roger’s teeth under the lip so
thing feels good, then fine, let’s go to work! Somethat Roger would have to hold the trumpet straight. I
times it takes longer. If you’ve spent five or six hours
nearly died when he told me that. I think it happens
the day before recording Mahler or Strauss, then
occasionally that the mouthpiece gets a little more
yeah, you’ll get up in the morning and feel like someover to the side sometimes. I have to straighten it out
body stepped on your lip.
and even out the pressure from one side to the other.
Everybody says, “Don’t press!” Well, there is no
MT: Do you use a combination of feel and sound to
such thing as nonpressure. The more relaxed you
determine when you feel warmed up?
keep your lips, the less you have to press. If you
AH: Yes, that’s part of the whole picture. Somestiffen your lips real hard, you’re going to have to
times I can pick up the horn in the morning and hit a
press a lot. So I try to keep everything as relaxed as I
high C out of the clear sky!
can. It has always worked for me, that’s all I can say.
MT: How much do you practice now, and how does
Put it up there and let it go. I don’t know if that
your practice routine adjust to your rigorous schedule?
reconfirms what I might have said to you years ago.
AH: Well, my practice has always been sort of
MT: Yes, it does. But you also described someflexible. I remember what Mager told me before I
thing that you do, and I quote you, “Sometimes when
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 9
Arnold Jacobs, Jay Friedman, Dale Clevenger, Frank Crisafulli, Vincent Cichowicz, and Adolph Herseth –
members of the Chicago Brass Ensemble who recorded The Antiphonal Music of Gabrieli for Columbia Records in 1968
with the Cleveland Brass ensemble and Philadelphia Brass Ensemble. (Adolph Herseth Collection)
vide us with practice rooms. But sometimes the travcame out here. He said, “You won’t have trouble
eling gets in the way, and for a couple of days or so
playing all that stuff; you’re a good player and you’re
you won’t get to practice. That’s why I’m always glad
learning fast. But, I’ll make one suggestion. When
you’ve had a hard week
when we do big blockwith a lot of hard blow- When we have a three- or four-week vacation,
buster pieces on the proing, just play the simple I usually don’t touch the horn for about ten
grams, because that’s
essential stuff at home
days to two weeks. I’ve found that it takes what helps keep me in
when you’re practicing.
shape.
Kinda take it easy. When at least a week of gradually more practice
MT: Will Scarlett once
there’s a week that you each day to get back in shape…
told me that your ideal
only have to play a little
practice pattern is to alMozart symphony or an easy piano concerto, then do
ternate hard days and light days of playing. Is this
your hard practicing at home.” At the time I thought
true?
to myself, “I’ll play anything you put in front of me,
AH: That’s what everybody would like to do if
day or night, it doesn’t matter.” After I’d been here
possible. It’s actually related to the physical aspect of
about 6␣ months, I found out he was right! So, I’ve
playing as much as to the mental aspect because
done it that way ever since.
even the greatest athletes try to have a hard day,
You have to get use to sometimes not having the
easy day, etc. It doesn’t always work that way for me,
chance to practice, because often when you’re on the
but that’s the ideal. About once a month I’ll just take
a day off and not touch the horn.
road it’s not always possible to fit in a practice sesMT: Does this help mentally as well as physically?
sion during the day. We finally insisted that our
AH: Absolutely. Both aspects are part of the same
management make arrangements to have hotels pro-
10 ITG Journal / February, 1998
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
Seiji Ozawa conducts the TMC Orchestra with guest soloist
Adolph Herseth at Tanglewood on Parade.
(Adolph Herseth Collection)
picture. When we have a three- or four-week vacation, I usually don’t touch the horn for about ten days
to two weeks. I’ve found that it takes at least a week
of gradually more practice each day to get back in
shape and ready to go back to work. I start by doing
three or four 15-minute segments each day for the
first couple of days, and then I lengthen the segments and work a little harder the next few days. I
try not to crowd it all into just a couple of days. That
doesn’t work too well.
MT: Did you once tell me that when you were in
high school you played euphonium for a short time?
AH: I was a regular on the basketball team for
about four years in high school, because in a small
town everybody had to do everything. I got hit in the
mouth blocking a shot and have a scar on my upper
lip. It was bad news, and my lip was purple and
green and black and sore. After it started to heal I
couldn’t play the trumpet at all for a couple of days at
least. I tried the trumpet and the mouthpiece felt like
a pinhead. So I picked up the baritone mouthpiece
and it felt good. Somehow, it fit right around the
bruise. It actually made it feel better. I said to the
band director, “Can I play this for a while?” And he
let me, and I got to play all those nice baritone solos
and those overtures and march trios. I wasn’t sure if
I wanted to go back to the trumpet!
There are a lot of players who played both trombone and trumpet, you know. The first one was Sonny
Dunham back in the 30s, and Arturo Sandoval and
Maynard Ferguson both do sometimes. I remember
when I was in a little dance band in college, sometimes we had only two trombone players. When we
played one of those stock ballad arrangements with
the trombones playing a nice melody, we really needed
that three-part harmony. So, I’d go to the band room
and checkout one of the old trombones. They’d grease
up the slide, and I’d play third trombone. I could just
barely reach 7th position! I would play third trombone on part of the gig and then go back on lead
trumpet. It was like I had fresh chops.
MT: You had a far more serious accident in an
automobile wreck in 1952. Amazingly, you recovered
from that crisis in only six weeks. How?
AH: It was a really icy night and my car went out
of control and hit a pillar by a streetcar stop. I hit the
With Arturo Sandoval in Paris (1988). (Adolph Herseth Collection)
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 11
Tchaikovsky Fifth or Sixth – maybe we did
them both! At any rate, everything came
out. I couldn’t get those notes at home, but
up there on the stage it all came out. What
does that tell you? Just forget everything
and just let it happen.
MT: You also had to recover from heart
bypass surgery in May 1995. Did you do
anything special to stay in shape?
AH: No, I just kept doing it! I went back
to work before they wanted me to and I
said, “Hey, playing the trumpet is the best
rehab I can have.” It turned out to be just
that, and the doctors agreed, afterward.
MT: As we talk about your philosophies
of staying in shape and of playing, I have
to comment on your ability to do so many
things with colors of sound. Tell me how
you achieve this.
AH: You know it’s amazing that you
bring this up because I had a conversation
with Danny Barenboim about this. We were
performing the Mahler Five with him for
the first time. He called me in after a couple
of performances and was really flipping.
He says, “It’s blankedy-blank unbelievable
what you’re doing. You have one tone quality for this passage, and a different quality
for that passage. How do you do that?” I
had to answer that I don’t have the faintest
notion! It just happens! Obviously, there
are things you can do in a deliberate sense.
If you want the tone to be dull sounding,
push your lip forward on the mouthpiece;
on the other hand if you want a thin sound
you stretch the lips. But I think what happens is my mind tells me that I want a
certain quality for a lyric passage as opposed to something else for a more marcato
“Mostly Mozart Concert” at Lincoln Center in New York City (1975).
passage. There are unconscious changes
(Adolph Herseth Collection)
going on in my head. I’m not conscious of it
happening, and I’m not deliberately trying
steering wheel with my mouth. I found a dentist who
to do anything.
was willing to work with me almost every day to fix
MT: Take me through a chronology of your equipall the damage. My brother also was very helpful
ment through the years.
because he practiced dentistry for a year or so in
AH: The first trumpet I had was a second or third
Minnesota before moving out west. He examined my
line of one of the big brands. I can’t even remember
teeth and took a plastic impression that was very
the name. When I was in the fifth or sixth grade, my
handy to have when he had to put on caps. The
dad spent a couple of weeks every summer at sumreconstruction process took almost a month.
mer school at the University of Minnesota. He got me
I’d buzz the mouthpiece a little every once in a
a Conn 22B trumpet with fabulous gold-plated enwhile, but soon after the accident I had to say, “Forgraving all the way down around the curve of the
get it.” It was two to three weeks until I got the
bell, and I just loved it. I traded in the Conn when I
stitches out. So, I practiced a little bit at home. I
went away to college, because band director Carlo
could barely get up to the g'' at the top of the staff,
Alberto Sperati said if I wanted to play as a soloist in
but I decided to try it anyway. We recorded the
his band, I had to play a cornet. Believe it or not,
12 ITG Journal / February, 1998
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
Sperati was the band director when my dad
went to Luther College
in 1910. I had to trade
in the 22B, because I
couldn’t afford to own
two horns. I bought a
Conn coprion bell cornet. That’s the red brass
bell they used to make.
It was a good cornet but
I never liked it as well
as the trumpet. I put
ads in all the papers out
there some years ago to
see who might have
bought that old Conn
22B from that music
store, but I never got a
response.
When I was in the
service, I used my wife
Avis’s horn, which was
a sterling silver bell
King Liberty model. After the service, I went
to the conservatory on
the GI Bill (which is one
of the smartest things
our government ever
did). I wanted to get a
C␣ trumpet in addition to
a B-flat. I was discharged
from the Navy in December 1945 after serving in the South Pacific,
and I started school in
Boston in January 1946.
Mager’s studio was full
when I first enrolled at
Adolph Herseth’s three most used trumpets: Bach C trumpet, Monke C trumpet,
the conservatory, so I
& Schilke A-B-flat piccolo trumpet (December 1997). (Photos for ITGJ by Stephen Belth)
studied with Lafosse,
who went back to France every summer. Lafosse
money to the orchestra to be used for the purchase of
brought me a very nice Couesnon C trumpet. I used
instruments. I remember the exact words of his next
the Couesnon until I got the wire from the CSO
question: “What trumpet do you play, the Besson?” I
manager saying they were looking for a trumpet
told him that I played an American Bach C trumpet.
player. I knew that the style of the CSO was different
Then he asked what the rest of the section used, and
from that of the Boston Symphony, so I got my first
I replied, “The same thing.” Reiner asked me, “Would
Vincent Bach large-bore C trumpet before my CSO
you like to have new ones?” He then proceeded to
audition. I thought that I was auditioning for third
have Bach make a batch of eight or ten horns that
trumpet, but when I finished, Rodzinski said, “You’ll
were sent for trial use. I picked the one I liked the
be my next principal player,” and I answered, “Well,
best, and I’m still using it today! I had it refurbished
I’ll go home and practice!”
a couple of times. I take good care of it and I still play
Around 1957 or ’58, the CSO was scheduled to
it. It plays very well. The other section players also
perform in Europe, and Fritz Reiner approached me
chose their trumpets, and the orchestra still owns
before the trip. He told me that someone had donated
them.
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 13
CSO brass section (circa 1976). Trumpets: Philip Smith, William Scarlett, Charles Geyer, & Adolph Herseth.
Trombones: James Gilbertsen, Frank Crisafulli, & Edward Kleinhammer (bass).
Tuba: Arnold Jacobs. Horns: Daniel Gingrich, Thomas Howell, Frank Brouk, Richard Oldberg, Norman Schweikert, & Dale Clevenger.
(Photo by Sandy Le Clair. Collection of Liz Colin & NYBCfS)
MT: How did you choose your rotary valve trumpets?
AH: The CSO trumpet section was curious about
rotary trumpets because European artists used them
when they performed here. The rotary trumpets
sounded different, and I didn’t want to have the same
sound all the time for the different works I played.
On one of our West Coast trips, Vince Cichowicz
happened to go into a music store in Los Angeles and
found a couple of Miraphone trumpets, one C and one
B-flat. He brought them back to Chicago. The B-flat
was no good, but the C was really quite good. Vince
didn’t care that much for them, so I bought the C and
used it for a while until I had a chance to try a Monke
trumpet when Horst Eichler and the guys from the
Berlin Philharmonic were here on tour. I thought
their Monkes were first class. I ordered a C and a D.
The D was not very good, and I ended up selling it. I
liked the Monke C trumpet very much. Vince agreed
with me and got one also. That’s what got Phil
Smith interested in Monkes too – he was our fourth
trumpet player later. Now, I have three or four
Monkes.
The other rotary valve instruments I own include
a Heckel C trumpet and a Ganter from Munich. I also
14 ITG Journal / February, 1998
have a very good Yamaha rotary trumpet that was
copied from the Heckel. Heckels were the first rotary
trumpets and they were copied a lot. Yamaha now
makes a slightly different model which is a copy of
the Monke.
MT: Regarding the rotary trumpet sound, do you
prefer the sound of the Monke?
AH: Yes, I use the Monke most of the time. One of
my Monkes was made especially for me. I had one of
their regular horns, but even the ones which they call
the large bore are no larger than an American medium-bore piston-valve trumpet. I have a very heavy
B-flat Monke made of German silver that I bought
from Arno Lange, who was one of the trumpet players of the Deutsche Opera in Berlin. I wrote to the
Monke factory and asked if they could make a C
trumpet exactly like the B-flat. I ended up going to
the factory and the Monke craftsmen recognized the
B-flat right away, because the minute they saw it
they said, “Oh, Arno Lange’s!” I said, “Nope, mine
now!” The guys in the shop made the C trumpet
using the B-flat bell mandrel, which is a bigger than
usual C trumpet bell. Also, the larger sized B-flat
bore was used to make the new model C trumpet. It
made a terrific C trumpet, and I still use that trum© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
Playing rotary trumpet (Orchestra Hall, 1997).
(Photo by Michael Tunnell)
Playing C trumpet (Orchestra Hall, 1997).
(Photo by Michael Tunnell)
pet a fair amount of the time. I still use Lange’s Bflat Monke a lot as well.
MT: Tell me about your work with the Monette
horns.
AH: There was a period of about four or five years
when I did a lot of playing on Dave Monette’s first
models because he was here in town. At that time his
trumpets were more like conventional-style trumpets and I liked them. I suggested to Dave that he
should make a horn with a sound quality half-way
between a Bach and a rotary valve. He did, and it
tuned well. Later, Dave asked me to try a horn that
he had just made for Wynton Marsalis and was his
latest concept. I went and picked the thing up and it
weighed about 8 pounds. Before I blew a note on it, I
said, “You’ve got to sell this thing with a tripod,
man!” That particular trumpet wasn’t the style I was
looking for in an orchestral trumpet, but it works fine
for a guy who plays in a small group 90% of the time.
So I’m back on the Bach for the most part. As soon
as I went back to it everyone said, “That sounds more
like you, Bud.” And I didn’t have the conductors
asking me to give a little more, which they did sometimes when I was playing the Monettes.
MT: Regarding mouthpieces, you told me years
ago that you played 7Cs during your first few years
in the orchestra.
AH: I played 7Cs and 7Bs. I had a couple of each,
but actually I liked the 7B a little bit better because
it has a little more of a V-shaped cup. After the
accident when I busted my chops and cracked some
teeth, my lip would swell up a little bit when I played.
The mouthpiece seemed to get tighter, so I wrote to
Bach and asked him to send me some bigger ones. He
sent me a 1, a 1C, a 1-1/2C, and a 1-1/4C. I think the
1-1/4C was Vacchiano’s model, and I tried them all
the very first week I had them. At that time we were
performing Bruckner’s Seventh with Karl Boehm, and
I decided it was a good time to try the new mouthpiece because the Bruckner is a long hard piece. The
mouthpieces worked absolutely great, and I’ve been
using 1s ever since. I use mostly screw rims, and I
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 15
Practicing in home studio (November 1997).
(Adolph Herseth Collection)
have all kinds of bottoms: 1, 1B, 1C, 1D, and even a
1E if I want something really shrill sounding, which
isn’t very often.
MT: What mouthpieces do you use on the higherpitched trumpets?
AH: I’ve found that for piccolo playing, whether
it’s a Schilke or a Monke (I have a couple of Monke
rotary valve piccolos), the 7DW or 7EW is what I like.
I put bigger holes in them, so they play a little more
free. Like most players, even Maurice André, I use
the Schilke piccolo a lot. They are fine products.
MT: Have you ever been consulted on a mouthpiece or horn design?
AH: When Schilke was still alive and his shop was
located just a few blocks down the street, he regularly
brought mouthpieces for me to try. Also, I spent a lot of
time playing every new model he developed. I have
always felt that his best horns were the sliding bell D,
E-flat, E, F, G, and piccolo. I use the large bell he made
for the E-flat. Most players don’t like it, but I do.
MT: Tell me about warming down and your use of
a bass trumpet mouthpiece.
AH: I got my bass trumpet mouthpiece from Jay
Freidman. I was looking at his mouthpieces one day,
and noticed one in particular – a German Alexander
bass trumpet mouthpiece. This mouthpiece took a
trombone-sized shank. Some bass trumpets are made
Home studio (November 1997). (Adolph Herseth Collection)
16 ITG Journal / February, 1998
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
CSO Brass Quintet: Renold O. Schilke, Arnold Jacobs, Wayne Barrington, Frank Crisafulli, & Adolph Herseth (1957).
(Photo courtesy of Liz Colin & NYBCfS)
to use just a trombone mouthpiece, but in the old
days bass trumpets were very often played by the
trumpet player. So they were made with a smaller
receiver for a trumpet mouthpiece. Friedman told me
he never used that particular mouthpiece, and he
gave it to me. The stem was too big for the trumpet,
so I took it over to Schilke and they put a trumpet
stem on it. I took my old B-flat rotary and put that
bass trumpet mouthpiece in it and played down to
the lowest pedal notes and then played up as high as
I could go. Five minutes of that and I thought, “Wow!”
MT: You’ve worked with many great players and
colleagues over the years; please share some notable
memories.
AH: The CSO has had some terrific trumpet players in the section over the years. A great example is
Philip Smith. He was our fourth player and went on
to become principal trumpet in the New York Philharmonic.
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
Here’s a great story. Every year the CSO holds
what used to be called the Marathon (now called the
Radiothon). It’s a fund raiser on a local FM station.
Henry Fogel, who now is manager of the CSO, started
this project. At the time, Fogel was assistant manager for the New York Philharmonic, and earlier in
his career had worked in Syracuse, New York, where
he organized a radiothon for the Syracuse Orchestra.
The project was a big success and Fogel was invited
to put on radiothons all over the country, so he was
here in Chicago for our radiothon. I was standing in
the corridor after being interviewed on the air and
Fogel came over to me and introduced himself. “I’m
with the New York Philharmonic,” he said. And I
said, “What kind of a band have you got there, that
you were able to steal our fourth trumpet player to
get a lead man?” Phil Smith loved that story!
MT: Are there any young players who have caught
your attention recently?
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 17
Reiner. We were rehearsing
Also Sprach Zarathustra when
Reiner made some comments
to the flutes and asked them
to play a passage again five or
six times. The passage in question was the one with the
octave␣ Cs, which of course was
a difficult spot for me. Finally
Reiner looked at me over his
half-moon glasses, with a little
bit of a smirk on his face. He
knew that I knew that he was
going to see if I would miss the
lick. He said, “May I do that
one more time?” I said, “I’m
here ’til 12:30, man!” He enjoyed that! Normally he didn’t
go for joking in rehearsal, but
he bought that one!
On another session we were
recording the Lieutenant Kije
Suite and were working with
In concert with the CSO (late 1970s). (CSO Archives)
Richard Moore, the producer
AH: A couple of very good young players have
of almost all of the fabulous recordings we did with
joined our orchestra section. Mark Ridenour is our
Reiner. The equipment was down on the lower level,
assistant principal and John Hagstrom is our new
and the microphone was up on the stage. We had just
fourth/utility player. They’re nice guys and they play
finished the first tape of the whole piece, had gone
great. Also, I listen to European artists whenever I
down and listened to the playbacks, and were back
can, either over there or when they’re here on tour.
up on the stage. We always wanted at least two takes
Of course they have a different style, but you learn
of everything, in case something happened to one of
something every time you listen to them.
the tapes. The producer could talk to Reiner over the
MT: I own a wonderful recording of the CSO Quinsystem, and there was a red light which indicated the
tet. When was this group active?
machine was running so we could start recording.
AH: We started performing together and touring
When the producer or someone in the recording booth
in the 50s and on into the 60s. We used to tour after
the spring CSO season was over, and again in the fall
each year. We performed mostly at universities, colleges, and some large high schools.
MT: Give me a chronology of the conductors with
whom you’ve worked.
AH: Following Rodzinski’s departure in 1948, during my first two seasons, the CSO had guest conductors. This was a marvelous experience because the
big time conductors came in with big time pieces, and
half of them wanted the job permanently. Kubelik
was here from 1950-53. Fritz Reiner came next and
was here for ten seasons, from 1953-62, followed by
Jean Martinon, who held the position from 1963-68.
There was one year in which we were without a
principal conductor, and our assistant director, Irwin
Hoffman, minded the store for a year. Solti started in
1969, and Barenboim took over in 1991.
MT: Do you have any favorite stories?
AH: Yeah, there’s a lot of them! I remember something that happened a couple of times with Fritz
Photo circa 1988. (Adolph Herseth Collection)
18 ITG Journal / February, 1998
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
would talk to Reiner over the system, he would lean
and talk into the red light instead of into the microphone. Moore said, “I think maybe we should do that
“Kije’s Wedding” cornet solo one more time. I think
there may have been a wrong note in there.” And I
said, “It was absolutely perfect.” At that Reiner leaned
over and spoke into the red light and said, “You’d
better apologize, Mr. Moore.” And, as a matter of
fact, he did!
Here’s one final Reiner story. The CSO was planning a pre-season tour to take place in late September or early October, the year would have been 1958
or ’59. The program included Ein Heldenleben, which
was the first recording we made with Reiner. We had
a Friday afternoon rehearsal, and that night a reception was thrown for us in one of the private clubs by
Dr. Eric Oldberg, a terrific guy who was president of
the Board of Trustees. I walked in, shook hands, and
Reiner came over to me and said, “Do you think I
could talk to you after a bit?” I said, “Let me get a
couple of Scotches first, will you?” So after he’d had a
Scotch or two and I’d had a couple, he came over and
said, “Now, in the Ein Heldenleben where the offstage trumpet comes? The first trumpet is one beat
too late.” And I said, “Dr. Reiner, that’s the way it is
in the part and that’s the way it is on the record,
which is exactly right.” He said, “No, no. You are one
beat late.” I said, “I’ll see you tomorrow. I’m going to
go home and look at my part and play the record.” So
I arrived at the rehearsal the next morning. Reiner
was on stage already, and I was one of the first
players there. I had blood in my eye for any number
of reasons. Reiner saw me coming, and I went up to
him and said, “Dr. Reiner, I went home last night. I
got out the part, and I got out the record, and it’s
absolutely 100% perfect.” He must have gone home
and listened to his record, too, because he backed
away from me, like he thought I was going to hit him.
He said, “Bahh, I must have one of those Australian
pressings!” (See music excerpt.)
Program from Herseth's first concert with the CSO.
(CSO Archives)
The first entrance from backstage comes in,
“Ta-ta-kaah, Ta-ta-ka, Ta-ta-kaah.” Then when you
get into the middle of the battle scene, the part is
more evenly spaced: “Ta-ta-ka, Ta-ta-ka, Ta-ta-ka.”
But backstage, on both those first two parts, the
second trumpet comes first, “Ta-ta-kaah, Ta-ta-ka,
Ta-ta-kaah.” I think he was a little embarrassed to
have been wrong. You gotta nail them every once in a
while, you know.
Excerpt from Ein Heldenleben by Richard Strauss.
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 19
The Chicago Symphony Orchestra
“50+ Club” Roster
Frank Crisafulli, trombone/bass trombone – 1938-89
Franz Esser, violin/viola – 1892-1945
Adolph Herseth, trumpet – 1948-present
Norbert Mueller, violin – 1935-85
(military service 1942-44)
Milton Preves, viola (1934-86)
Hjalmar Rabe, violin/bassoon/contrabassoon –
1895-1945
Compiled by Frank Villella, CSO Archives
and Norman Schweikert, retired second horn, CSO
Publicity photo from the 1960s. (CSO Archives)
I do remember a great story about the Scandinavian conductor Herbert Blomstedt. On his last concert with the CSO we did the Bruckner Sixth.
Blomstedt was a very reliable conductor, not at all
arrogant. As he was leaving for the evening, I said to
him a Norwegian phrase I’d heard since childhood,
“Det var fin som snoos!” which means “That’s just as
good as snuff!” He loved it! Then, some time later
when the CSO had performed in Leipzig, Blomstedt
showed up in the locker room following the concert,
hugged me, and said the same words, “Det zar fin
som snoos!”
MT: Please talk about your honorary doctorates.
AH: I have four or five of them now – from the
New England Conservatory, Luther College (my alma
maters), Rosary College here in River Forest,
Valparaiso University in Indiana, and DePaul University in Chicago.
MT: What about your Musical America Musician
of the Year award?
AH: I received the award in December 1995. We
had just performed at Carnegie Hall, and our public
relations director, Stephen Belth, said to me, “Somebody wants to see you after the concert.” It turned
out to be the editor of Musical America magazine,
and we met him in one of the dressing rooms backstage at Carnegie Hall. I had been interviewed by
Chicago music critic John von Rhein, who told me at
20 ITG Journal / February, 1998
the time, “I’m writing an article about you, but I
won’t tell you for whom.” Well it turned out it was the
article in Musical America. The magazine had an
event planned in New York in December and asked
me to come. I hadn’t missed a concert for two years,
or so. Most of my family was able to be there, and it
was really cool to be the first orchestral musician to
be honored that way. The Juilliard String Quartet
was also awarded a prize that year. Their violinist,
Joel Smirnoff, accepted the award for the group.
Smirnoff originally was from Chicago and used to
play at Rockefeller Chapel with me. In his acceptance speech at the ceremony, what does Smirnoff
After Mozart’s Posthorn Serenade conducted by
Erich Leinsdorf. (Adolph Herseth Collection)
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
say but, “Well, I know this guy, because we
used to play together in Chicago, and I’m glad
he’s getting an award too.” The conductor’s
award went to Valery Gergiev, but he was on
tour in Russia with the Kirov Ballet and
couldn’t be there at the ceremony. Gergiev’s
agent accepted the award for him, and she
read a statement that he had written out which
said, “I want my best greetings to go to my
good friend and colleague, Bud Herseth.” I
had talked with him when he was guest conductor at Ravinia, and he said, “I’m coming
during your ‘downtown’ season next year, and
I’d like to do the (Scriabin) Poem of Ecstasy.”
And I said, “What the hell, of course, I’d love
to.” Well, it turned out that Gergiev conducted
during the week I was in London for Solti’s
80th birthday celebration, and we were both
disappointed that I was away.
MT: Have you premiered any concertos?
AH: The Husa Concerto is the only work
I’ve ever premiered.
I’ve never had a big ambition to be a soloist.
People often ask why I didn’t take advantage
of the opportunities to become more of a soloist. My honest answer is that I can’t name one
single trumpet solo piece that is as musically
gratifying to me as playing a Mahler symphony. That’s why I like being in the orchestra.
MT: I have a few miscellaneous questions.
Do you follow any of the Chicago teams in
your leisure time?
AH: I’m more of a Bears and Bulls fan than
anything else. With the Cubs it’s always, “Wait
until next year!” I don’t get a chance to play as
much golf as I’d like to because of my schedule. I also enjoy fishing.
MT: Where does your nickname Bud come
Program from the premiere concert series of Husa’s Concerto
from?
for trumpet and orchestra. (Michael Tunnell Collection)
AH: You know, I don’t really know. I suppose that since I was Adolph, Junior, my siblings didn’t want to use the word Adolph, because
since 1949. Do you have family nearby?
you didn’t know whether they were talking about the
AH: One of our sons lives in River Forest nearby
brother or the dad. For as long as I can remember
and we babysit with the two grandkids every now
I’ve been “Bud.” Speaking of my nickname, I’ll tell
and then. We have six grandchildren now. The oldest
you a good story from the time when Solti was congrandchild is in his middle 20s and teaches school
ducting. For security reasons our head security guy,
out in Iowa. Our daughter Christine has three chilCaptain Yeats, always met the conductor at the walk
dren. Her youngest child, Elizabeth, just graduated
in front and ushered him to the hall. Someone had
from college last year and is now working as a manheld a big party or reception at the hall the night
ager for a shoe store. Elizabeth is going to get marbefore that particular rehearsal, and here stood all
ried this summer, and I told her, “Of course I’ll play
these empty Bud beer cases. As Captain Yates esat your wedding!”
corted Solti down the corridor, Solti said, “All that for
Our son Charlie passed away in 1996 of one of
Bud?”
those viruses that eats your heart away. The doctors
MT: You’ve lived in the same house in Oak Park
don’t know how people get them and they don’t know
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 21
Adolph Herseth in front of his locker at Orchestra Hall (March, 1997). (Photo by Michael Tunnell)
22 ITG Journal / February, 1998
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
Adolph Herseth, Maynard Ferguson, & Ron Modell. (Adolph Herseth Collection)
how to deal with them, so there he went. Charlie’s
only child, Margaret, is a student at George Washington University in Washington, D.C. Our son Steve
has two little girls and they’re two and four years old.
MT: I know that your family is very important to
you; do you draw strength from your family?
AH: Sure I do. I suppose that in some ways, I’m
still trying to prove not only to myself, but also to my
family, that I am what I am. And they’re nice enough
to let me do it.
MT: Is there any message you’d like to convey to
trumpet players after 50 years in the business?
AH: First of all, let me say that if you hang around
long enough you become notorious. Sometimes young
players will ask me if I think it’s OK for them to play
in a rock band, on dance gigs, or this, or that? I say
the broader the experiences you have, the better off
you’re going to be. It all comes together at some point
or other, you know. And I say, “Just be sure that you
do your darnedest, whatever kind of gig it is.” I don’t
care what kind of a gig it is, solo gig, orchestra gig,
quartet gig, brass ensemble, dance band, do your
best. That’s what counts!
Selected Bibliography
Clark, Keith C. “Trumpet Sections of American Symphony Orchestras: The Chicago Symphony Orchestra.” ITGJ, Dec83/17.
© 1998 International Trumpet Guild
Neidig, Kenneth L. “ ‘Man Alive, What a Kick This
Is’␣ An Interview with Adolph ‘Bud’ Herseth.” The
Instrumentalist, XXXI:9, Apr77/38-44.
Frigerio, Guido. “Adolph Herseth: The Great Storyteller.” ITGJ, VIII:4, May84/19.
Doherty, Jim. “For all who crave a horn that thrills,
this Bud’s for you.” Smithsonian, XXV:6, Sep94/
94-103.
von Rhein, John. “Adolph Herseth, 1996 Instrumentalist of the Year.” Musical America Directory, 96/
30-35.
About the author: Michael Tunnell is professor of
trumpet at the University of Louisville School of Music. He is principal trumpet of the Louisville Bach
Society and third trumpet of the Louisville Orchestra
and has performed on numerous Louisville Orchestra First Edition recordings. He is a founding member of the brass quintet Sonus Brass and is featured
on the CD Sonus Brass Captured. Tunnell has released three solo recordings, Mixed Doubles, Melancholia, and Lumen (Coronet Recording Co.). He is a
former member of the music faculties of the University of Southern Mississippi, Potsdam College, University of Illinois, and New England Music Camp.
Tunnell is co-editor of “News from the Trumpet
World” section of the ITG Journal.
February, 1998 / ITG Journal 23