I arrived at CCM for my DMA in 1985 playing a Holton 179 with a C-1 mouthpiece. I had intended to switch to conducting as my major so hadn't paid attention that Lowell Greer was teaching there. In my first lesson, I asked him if there might not be a better equipment choice for solo recital playing. After going through the litany of horns on the market, he told me that there was an Alex model 90 single-b on consignment at Lawson's shop for only $1400. Knowing that this model was associated with Dennis Brain, it seemed like a no-brainer at that price, even if I didn't continue as a horn major. Lowell warned me that I wouldn't be able to judge the size of the sound by how much air I was putting into it, or by what it sounded like up close, that it carried deceptively well. I brought the horn into the orchestra for 3rd horn on Beethoven three, and was trying to make a sound like the entire Cleveland section single handedly by forcing a lot of air into the horn. Thinking I'd test Lowell's theory, I switched to a C-12 and played what felt like forte-minus in the dress rehearsal on the 3rd horn solo in the slow movement. The conductor didn't complain, so I gave it a shot that way in the concert. The next day the tuba player from the second orchestra stopped me in the hall and told me that in the five years he'd been at CCM, he'd never heard such a huge horn sound. That started what is now a 25-year investigation into concepts of efficiency.
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