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his relentless pursuit of creating the
tools for musicians to make the great-
est music possible. Vito, we love and
admire you.            Love,
Ethel
Ricardo Morales
Principal clarinetist, New York Metro-
politan Opera Orchestra
Leblanc France 11 90S Opus clarinet
Ricardo Morales, 24-year-old clarinet
phenomenon, holds the principal clari-
net position in the New York Metro-
politan Opera Orchestra. Born in
Puerto Rico, Ricardo later studied with
Anton Weinburg at Indiana Univer-
sity and Ron de Kant at Cincinnati
Conservatory. His masterful technique
and precocious sense of musicality won
him the principal clarinet chair in the
Florida Symphony Orchestra at age 18.
In Orlando, he was first introduced to
the Opus, flagship of the Leblanc
France clarinet line, and he was won
over by its ease of playing and dark,
woody tone. In the spring of 1993,
Ricardo won his current position at
the Metropolitan Opera, beating out
more than 300 applicants from around
the world. In addition to his duties at
the Met, Ricardo teaches at the Man-
hattan School of Music and performs
acclaimed solo recitals.
Dear Vito,
Congratulations on the 50th anni-
versary of Leblanc's American found-
ing. I am very happy to be able to share
this milestone ac-
complishment with
you, and I am cer-
tain that your legacy
will continue. The
reason I know this
is because since the
day we met, I have
been impressed by
your sincere love of
music and by your clear understand-
ing of the importance of having a
world-class clarinet in order to reach
high artistic goals.
Also I would like to take this oppor-
tunity to thank you for your help and
support during the developing stages
of my career, the willingness to help
emerging artists and your never-end-
ing striving and open-mindedness to-
ward improving and developing
instruments. It is reassuring to know
that there are people like you always
working for the betterment of music.
Sincerely,
Ricardo Morales
THE LEBLANC BELL SPRING/SUMMER 1996
Harvey Phillips
Paganini of the tuba
Holton model TU330C Phillips tuba
Unanimously hailed as the world's
preeminent master of the tuba, Harvey
Phillips has done more than anyone to
raise the performance level of-and re-
spect for-the lowest-pitched member
of the brass family. Born in rural Mis-
souri, Harvey held jobs with the King
Brothers Circus and the Ringling
Brothers Circus Band. A scholarship
to Juilliard School of Music took him
to New York, where he became a busy
first-call freelancer. He eventually ac-
cepted a faculty position at Indiana
University, from which he retired as
Distinguished Professor Emeritus in
1994. Today, his attention is focused
on his namesake Holton tuba.
Dear Vito,
One-half century of success and ser-
vice to the music industry, music edu-
cation and music performance is cause
for gala celebrations.
It is appropriate that
all who have ben-
efited from your vi-
sion and corporate
accomplishments
take pride and share
in these celebra-
tions. It is proper
and appropriate that
we congratulate you for your enormous
achievements. At the same time, we
cannot help but ponder what future
benefits to music and musicians will
be derived from your continuing vi-
sion, high standards and creative lead-
ership. The anticipated future will no
doubt be just as exciting as the well-
documented past 50 years.
It is a privilege to work with you and
the loyal team of experts you have as-
sembled. Friendships that develop
from these close collaborations en-
hance our personal and professional
lives immeasurably.
Congratulations on the 50th anni-
versary of the American founding of
G. Leblanc Corporation!
Sincerely,
Harvey G. Phillips
Barry Tuckwell
Virtuoso soloist of the French horn
Holton Hi04 Tuckwell French horn
"One of the finest horn players who
ever lived," raved the New Yorker. Its
writer was speaking, of course, of Barry
Tuckwell. Born in Melbourne, Austra-
lia, Barry took up the horn at 13 and
moved to London at age 21. He won
the solo position with the London Sym-
phony in 1955, where he remained for
13 years before embarking on his solo
career. Barry teamed with Holton in
1988 to create the incredible model
H104 Tuckwell French horn, satisfy-
ing Tuckwell's search for a single in-
strument that would allow him to
express all the hues of his musical pal-
ette. A recipient the Order of the Brit-
ish Empire for his services to music,
and first president of the International
Horn Society, Barry has recorded all
of the major repertoire and commis-
sioned many new works, contributing
to the pedagogy with his own book,
Playing the Horn. Barry has also dis-
tinguished himself as a conductor, lead-
ing orchestras in Europe and the U.S.
My introduction to Holton horns was
at the First Annual Horn Workshop in
Tallahassee, Florida, in 1971. Ted Kexel,
a most likeable and persuasive man,
made me aware of the standard of ex-
cellence that is the distinguishing hall-
mark of G. Leblanc Corporation.
The H180 Farkas model horn was
soon to be produced, and in 1972 I
visited the Holton factory in Elkhorn,
Wisconsin, to try, test and have for my
very own one of these new horns. For
several days I played on perhaps a
dozen horns until I selected the horn
that was to be my constant companion
for many years.
Since that time, I have visited the
factory on countless occasions to dis-
cuss ways to fine-tune Holton horns
for the professional player, the students
and many amateurs who have benefited
from the foresight of Vito Pascucci and
Philip Farkas.
In recent years, I have become more
actively involved, and this has resulted
in the H104 Tuckwell model. At
all times, we have
worked together to
produce the best-
quality instruments.
It is the pursuit of
excellence, which is
what Vito Pascucci
represents, that has
resulted in the con-
tinuing success of
the whole corporation.
It has always impressed me that Vito
Pascucci is prepared to listen to what
the players feel about the instruments
he manufactures. He is a remarkable
man, and I am sure his integrity will
inspire G. Leblanc Corporation for the
next 50 years and beyond.
Barry Tuckwell    0