Jacobs professor Carl Lenthe reflects on solo career

From Munich to Chicago, from Boston to Bloomington, Jacobs School of Music  professor Carl Lenthe has graced ears with his trombone and baritone horn expertise.
Now, he can be heard everywhere on two new CDs.

H. Voxman’s Concert and Contest Collection, featuring the student-friendly Rubank Method instructional set, includes solo pieces by Lenthe accompanied by soft piano. The collection, released by the Hal Leonard Corporation, hit stores at the end of October.

Though it wasn’t his first time recording, Lenthe said the experience was unique.
“It’s a regular part of the business,” he said. “I can’t even begin to count how many times I’ve been in the studio for radio and records. But solo recording is a little more special for me.”

Lenthe, who has performed professionally in the United States and abroad for decades, said he remembers practicing with the Rubank Method as a budding musician.

“I was honored to be asked and glad to have the opportunity to record these pieces that are staples in the solo repertoire for ambitious students,” he said. “I have been a regular member of the Hal Leonard Recording Band for some years, so they did know me already.”

Lenthe said the recording process was time-consuming. Audio specialists at the Aire Born Recording Studios in Zionsville, Ind., extracted melodies from the musicians recording in separate rooms. Later, musical pieces were combined and layered to form complete tracks.

“Pianist and trombonist could, of course, hear each other in the headphones,” Lenthe said in his blog describing studio time.

Kimberly Carballo, interim head opera coach at the Jacobs School, also contributed piano pieces to the CDs.

“In a recital, you have one shot to do your best and that’s it,” she said. “Recording is a long-term stamina.”

Carballo, who said she’s known Lenthe for about 10 years, said he’s brilliant but not intimidating.

“I hold him in very high regard,” she said. “He’s congenial and easy to work with, but he holds himself to high musical standards.”

Graduate student Sarah Paradis, assistant director of the Jacobs Trombone Choir, has known Lenthe since the start of her freshman year in 2005. She said she works with him often, aiding in practices and choir rehearsals.

“It’s totally characteristic of him,” she said of his newly released recordings. “He’s just a master of any solo.”

Paradis said Lenthe is friendly and upbeat with students but never fails to challenge them.

“He’s very accomplished and extremely expressive with his music,” she said. “He personifies what a lot of us aspire to be as a musician.”