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The Illinois Brass Band

founded 1991

Mark Ponzo: Young Man With (A Lot of) Horns!


Many musicians have a backup instrument or two but not Mark Ponzo. He has 172, including 98 cornets; and 74 trumpets, baroque trumpets, cornettos, saxhorns, and sackbuts!

Mark, who is the Illinois Brass Band's co-principal cornetist, collects vintage horns because "I have always enjoyed the literature of the instruments."

Mark's favorite horn is an 1879 Courtois cornet designed by Jean Baptiste Arban, the celebrated soloist and author of the famous Arban book of cornet etudes. "It was presented to Merri Franquin, Arban's most famous student, who played it in the Paris Opera and also taught at the Paris Conservatory following Arban," Mark says.

Mark finds it impossible to play all the horns in his collection, of course. Instead, he focuses on the "rare and important ones" which he plays in some of the 20 or so recitals he gives each year. During his recitals, he demonstrates a dozen or more of the rarest instruments and invites audience members to try them. "My favorites are the Courtois Arban and Koenig models, which have such a warm and gentle sound."

Mark buys the instruments from other collectors and dealers in Europe. Asked where keeps them he merely smiles and says "they're in a secure location." And as for the collection's value, Mark prefers to say nothing at all.

What he will elaborate on, however, is that his collection gives him a great deal of pleasure because their sound "helps to guide performance practice of the music written in the 1800s."

Mark's horns give others a great deal of pleasure as well because whether he's using one of his collectibles or one of his modern horns he's much more than a collector, he's also one of the best musicians audiences are ever likely to hear.

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April 5-6, 2024

North American Brass Band Championship
Von Braun Center
Huntsville, AL

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NABBA Champions - 1996-98; 2000-2 Association of Concert Bands Illinois Arts Council
This program is partially supported by a grant from the Illinois Arts Council, a state agency.

National Endowment for the Arts