News release Public Information Office   SLU 10880   Hammond, LA 70402   phone: 985-549-2341   fax: 985-549-2061 publicinfo@selu.edu     www.selu.edu/news Contact: Christina Chapple Date: 6/10/03   Click on image for publication quality photo TRUMPET PRELUDES – Members of the Southeastern Louisiana University Trumpet Ensemble, conducted by Southeastern trumpet professor Bryan DePoy of Mandeville, center, were among 25 college trumpet ensembles featured at the International Trumpet Guild Convention. From left, are Charles Arnold, Slidell; Dominick Messina, Bush; Kevin Messer, Baton Rouge; Nicholas Volz, New Orleans; Demarr Woods, Tickfaw; David Delaney, Mandeville; James Riley, Slidell; and Justin Albritton, Pumpkin Center. SLU TRUMPET ENSEMBLE’S PERFORMANCE PRAISED AT CONVENTION       HAMMOND -- “Rock solid” was how reviewers described the Southeastern Louisiana University Trumpet Ensemble’s featured performance at the recent 2003 International Trumpet Guild Convention.        The eight-member ensemble, conducted by Southeastern trumpet professor Bryan DePoy of Mandeville, was one of 25 university and college ensembles invited to participate in the convention’s “Trumpet Preludes,” performances that open the convention’s major concerts. The ensembles were selected through the judging of audition tapes submitted by college trumpet ensembles from around the world. Hosted this year by Texas Christian University in Fort Worth, Texas, the convention drew more than 1,000 attendees.        The Southeastern musicians performed two pieces, including the premiere of a new work composed for them by Stephen Suber, professor of music theory and composition at Southeastern.        “I composed ‘Fanfare for the Protean Age’ at the special request of my colleague, Bryan DePoy,” Suber said, “The title refers to the god Proteus, famous for his ability to transform himself into any shape or form at will.”       The review of Southeastern’s Trumpet Prelude performances called the ensemble’s debut of Suber’s composition “a great premiere of a short, powerful piece that built to a steady climax, growing from low to high, with effective use of held notes.” The review said the ensemble’s second piece, ‘Three Statements’ by Kevin Houben, “was a measured and controlled performance with neat mute colors and offbeat accents providing a rhythmic context. The last high note was especially tasteful and in tune!”       The review concluded, “Well done to Bryan Depoy, the SLU Trumpet Ensemble, and the two composers of these compositions. It was a rock-solid prelude from start to finish.”       The Trumpet Ensemble includes alumnus Dominick Messina of Bush, and Southeastern music students Charles Arnold, Slidell; Kevin Messer, Baton Rouge; Nicholas Volz, New Orleans; Demarr Woods, Tickfaw; David Delaney, Mandeville; James Riley, Slidell; and Justin Albritton, Pumpkin Center. Return to News Releases