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William Hopson
Endorsing Artist
This new Wedge Mouthpiece came to me just at the right time. I'm the Second Horn player in the Calgary Philharmonic, and we had a Beethoven Festival coming up. You all know how the Second Horn plays everything, and Beethoven can be brutal on the lip. Well, our orchestra had this idea to do the symphonies consecutively, and the last three concerts were the Fourth through Ninth Symphonies on consecutive nights, with dress rehearsals every morning. On top of it all, we were recording the Fifth and the Eighth, with recording sessions after the concerts. Crazy, right? I knew how this was going to cut up my lip, and I wasn't looking forward to it.
I'm not an equipment changer. Before this I had been playing a Holton MC for about thirty years. Then two weeks before the festival Dr. Dave provided me with one of his Wedge Mouthpieces. The bottom of the rim looked so fat and round I immediately thought, "Hey this won't cut me up as bad as what I'm playing", but of course I had to check out how it played first. It took a couple of days to get used to it, but it felt good. I played the Wedge for the festival, and I played fine. I still got cut up, but not as much as I expected. Those big skips that Beethoven liked to write were not a problem. I'm happy. The Horn section is happy. My Music Director is happy. I'm not going back to my Holton MC. I play the Wedge from here out.
Now, can Dr. Dave make a wooden Wedge Mouthpiece for my Alphorn?
William (Bill) Hopson
Calgary
Biography
William Hopson has been a French Horn player in the Calgary Philharmonic Orchestra since 1977. He acquired his first Alphorn in 1982 and he has dedicated much of his professional life to that instrument.
He is widely regarded as the finest Alphorn soloist of his generation. In his travels he has introduced the music of the Alphorn to audiences in North America, Europe and Asia. As a champion of the music of Swiss composer Jean Daetwyler, he has performed "Concerto for Alphorn and Orchestra" with many orchestras. He has released four compact discs of Alphorn music with varied styles from traditional folk music to classical music to jazz.
He now spends a good part of his summers in Europe, where he performs in many Alphorn concerts and teaches at the Swiss Alphorn School in Gstaad, Switzerland and the Bregenzer Alphorn Seminar in Bregenz, Austria. He also teaches every summer at the North American Alphorn Retreat in Salt Lake City, Utah.
Combining his talents as a craftsman and a musician, he founded Rocky Mountain Alphorns to hand build a limited edition of superior instruments for professional Horn players and discriminating enthusiasts. His Alphorns feature beautifully carved and painted artwork and are often trimmed with the stunning hardwoods he gathers from every corner the globe. William Hopson performs and records on a Rocky Mountain Alphorn made from Canadian Sitka Spruce with Hawaiian Koa Wood highlights.
His home is in Calgary, a city wonderfully situated in the foothills of the Canadian Rocky Mountains.
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For more information about William Hopson, his Alphorns and his performing career, see his website at: http://www.alphorn.ca/ |