There is surely only one place to be at the end of June next year, and that is Linz, Austria. ITEC2012 (June 23-30) will be in the beautiful historic city of Linz in the heart of Europe and within close reach of several other countries making Linz the perfect location for a Tuba Euphonium Conference and perhaps a vacation before or after.
The setting for the Conference is the famous Brucknerhaus Concert Hall situated right on the banks of the River Danube and adjacent to the old city square that has within its perimeter the old church where Anton Bruckner was the resident organist.
Steeped in cultural history, Linz, is the third largest city of Austria, and the capital of the state of Upper Austria (in German: Oberösterreich). It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately 30 km south of the Czech border. The population of the city is is nearly 200,000.
Please visit the multilingual website www.itec2012.at where you will find information on the Conference including full details of the competitions that are going to be held, full repertoire lists, application information and closing dates. I'd like to say a special thank you to Dr.Ben Pierce who has helped me so with regard to the competitions.
One special item to note is that there will be an entertainment contest on the Wednesday evening, to be held at the spectacular RoseGarten just outside Linz, where the chosen finalists will play and will judged by a distinguished panel including members of Mnozil Brass. Mnozil Brass will also perform on the Friday evening in the Brucknerhaus and this is sure to be one of the highlights of an incredible week of music making. We'll also be welcoming BrassBand Oberösterreich, one of Europe's leading brass bands who will be the guest band on the Saturday evening, following which will be ‘the' Low Brass Party ! Each night you'll be able to relax to the sound of low brass jazz with some incredible guest artists that we'll be able to reveal soon.
During the week you will meet and hear the very best euphonium and tuba soloists in the world, with many exciting world premieres planned as well as special concerts dedicated to living composers, including Rolf Wilhelm and Philip Sparke who are both planning to be in attendance.
On the Friday afternoon (29th) we will attempt to form the largest ever low brass ensemble playing on the banks of the Danube , where in addition to all the participants of the Conference, every young tuba and euphonium (and bariton/tenorhorn) player in the Musikschule system in Upper Austria will be attending. National television crews will be there and we hope to make a very special emphasis on taking our music to the people of the city and, through the medium of television, around the world.
In Linz itself there are dozens of high class outdoor performing venues and as the city is a magnet for summer tourists, we will be able to cater for large numbers of ensembles, from quartets, quintets, to large university ensembles. Please start to plan to come to Linz and this promises to be an ITEC you will never forget. Take the family too, and enjoy everything this part of Europe has to offer. If you need official letters of invitation to assist with funding don't hesitate to contact us, either to projektleitung@itec2012.at or me at stevemead@compuserve.com
We'll be revealing lots of exciting features in the months to come so please bookmark www.itec2012.at and visit the website regularly. For now, put the dates in your diary, and if you wish to perform, please fill in the artist form on the site, as we'd love to include musicians from the entire globe at this most international of Conferences. If your studio wishes to attend, you'll need to start making plans now. Be part of this ITEC, and enjoy this spectacular venue and city.
In terms of transport links Linz is very easy to get to. The "Blue Danube" Linz Airport lies about 6.25 miles (10 km) southwest of the town centre.
Direct flights include Frankfurt, Düsseldorf and Vienna with additional seasonal routes added during the summer months. The city also has a Hauptbahnhof (German: central station) on Austria's main rail axis, the West railway, linking Vienna with western Austria, Germany and Switzerland.
So a summary of airport information:
Blue Danube Airport Linz (20-30 min by taxi), Frankfurt airport (daily flights to Linz, by train 7-8 h) Salzburg Airport (train to Linz 1 hr) Munich Airport (train to Linz 2-3 hrs) Vienna Airport (train to Linz 2,5 h)