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 ACHILLE VAN ACKER PRIZE CONCERT
Congratulations are in order for conductor, film composer & pedagogue Dirk Brossé and his awarding of the Achille van Acker Prize 2008. In connection with this honour, Bryan has been invited to perform several of Brossé's works for Clarinet with orchestra and chamber ensemble at 8pm (20:00) at the Biekorf in Bruges, Belgium on the 26th of April 2008. For more information, contact the Bruges Cultural Centre online or at the following address: Sint-Jacobsstraat 20-26, 8000 Brugge : tel 050 443040 / cultuurcentrum@brugge.be
BRIEFLY OFFLINE
 We've been experiencing technical difficulties in February and into the final weeks of March with server maintenance and domain name renewals, but the worst of it has passed. Whosthatguy.com is back up and running (hopefully) without further interruption. We should have our #1 Google rankings and entries back within the coming weeks. In the meantime, check out the new sound clips & locations on the schedule for the solo tour in South Africa.
ON TOUR IN SOUTH AFRICA 2008!
Bryan's Spring tour in South Africa is just a few weeks away. If you are a presenter or your orchestra or music organisation would like to book Bryan for a concert/recital appearance during this month, it may not be too late. please contact Anton Els at Music Maestros with further details. Click here for contact details.
CRUMPLER THRILLS IN SPAIN
 We are proud to announce that Bryan recently took 3rd place and a special jury prize in the 14th annual Dos Hermanas International Clarinet Competition 2006. No first prize was awarded, so the ad hoc jury prize was awarded in honorable mention of his noteworthy performances throughout the course of the competition. The competition ranks among 4 of the most pivotal competitions for clarinetists around the world including the Nielsen, Geneva, and Munich competitions. As with the latter three, Dos Hermanas is one of the only major clarinet competitions recognized by the World Federation of Music Competitions.
Program:
In the preliminary rounds, Bryan performed the required repertoire, being Debussy's Premiere Rhapsody, along with Stravinskys Three Pieces. In the second round Bryan landed his ticket to the Third round performing the Copland Concerto (from memory), followed by the Brahms 1st Sonata with Piano, and the Denisov Sonata for clarinet solo. The third round was narrowed down to 6 performers, each of which had to perform excerpts of the Mozart Concerto. Bryan did so from memory with piano and nailed a place in the finals. In the final round with symphony orchestra, Bryan performed the entire Mozart Concerto (from memory) followed by the Nielsen Concerto after intermission.
Jury:
Adjudicating the competition were well respected clarinetists, composers, and conductors including: Karl Leister (Germany), Claudio Prieto (Spain), Guy Dangain (France), Antonio A. Salguero (Spain), Heinz Kraschl (Austria), Ronald van Spaendonck (Belgium), and competition director Juan Rodriguez Romero (Spain).
Press:
Unfortunately for our English audience, most all of the press we are able to find is in Spanish!!! Nevertheless, if Spanish is not a roadblock for you, you can find a related article on ClariPeru the premiere Spanish language website dedicated solely to clarinet.
MONOCHROME VIA 2400+ RETAILERS WORLDWIDE
 Bryan's first CD "Monochrome", is now available for purchase not only here at WhosThatGuy.com, but also via 2400+ brick & mortar retailers worldwide (retailers see one-stop distributor Super-D). CDs also available now at major online retailers Amazon.com, Borders Books, Walden Books, Virgin Mega, Target, CD Baby and CD Now. If you can't find the item in stock at one of the abovementioned stores, you can always ask to have them special order discs, or order them at their respective websites with shipping method of choice - including expedited shipping. A limited list of retailers will be available soon.
Sample Reviews:
The James Wegg Review (3.5 stars)
Audiophile Audition (4 stars)
AMAZING GRACE TO BE FEATURED ON NEW CD
In September 2005 Bryan offered relief for victims of hurricane Katrina in the form of mini-concert... performing a soulfully sensitive rendition of Amazing Grace backed by full orchestral accompaniment. If you missed it, you can read the full release of the performance here. The rendition, originally produced by David Hamilton for 5-time Grammy Award winner Sandi Patty, is being re-released as a full instrumental version with Bryan as the feature soloist on a future CD. The album - currently under the working title "Memoirs" - is a relaxing collection of slow, melodious performances (live and studio recorded) that have served as key events throughout the budding of Bryan's young career.
| Katrina Performance Video Clip | 0'14" | Download |
| Amazing Grace (Studio Version) | 1'05" | Coming Soon! |
BRYAN CRUMPLER & BRIAN McKNIGHT
Not fond of classical music? Love R&B/Easy Listening? Well this is your opportunity to fuse the two! Bryan's second CD release is already underway - including a taste of R&B. After success and popularity of an R&B instrumental crossover for a best friend's wedding in the Summer of 2004, it was off to the studio to do an instrumental single of Brian McKnight's hit "Back at One". A release date has not yet been determined, so sign up to the mailing list, or visit the site regularly to keep up with developments. A sample 1-minute Windows Media clip from the recording is below for demo purposes only.
| Back At One Demo Clip | 1'10" | Listen |
BRYAN'S EXTRAORDINARY LIFE
Football was supposed to be Bryan Crumpler's destiny. He defied that destiny. Crumpler has long been a name associated with the NFL Bryans father, formerly of the Washington Redskins and Buffalo Bills, is a legendary running back gracing the walls of the N.C. Sports Hall of Fame alongside Michael Jordan and Dean Smith. One brother, Carlester, is a retired tight-end for the Seattle Seahawks and Minnesota Vikings, while second brother, Alge, is currently a nationally ranked pro-bowl tight-end for the Atlanta Falcons. But Bryan chose an entirely different path: music.Read entire article....
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NEW SOUND CLIPS
New high quality sound clips of Clarinet Soloist, Bryan A. Crumpler have been added to the Sound Clips library for your listening pleasure. For those of you who were able to see Bryan perform during the Festival of Flanders in Brussels, you may remember his performance of the Poulenc Sonata for Two Clarinets with up and coming Dexia Classics winner Sven Van De Voorde. In this WTG Classics recording of the 2nd movement "Andante", Bryan displays even tone control, meticulous yet fluid phrasing, and seamless circular breathing techniques to support the perpetual ostinato in the lower clarinet voice. In addition to the Poulenc duo, be sure to check out the world premiere recording of Bryan's latest creation: "Marisian Episodes", scored for 4 clarinets with accompaniment by Sythesized Bass, 2 Guitars (Steel & Acoustic), and Gospel Organ. The work is based on Marisian improvisations - or improvisational techniques inspired by modern improvisation expert & jazz trumpeter Bart Maris. More on this later.
DEBUSSY VIDEO ON YOU TUBE
Never seen Bryan perform live? Well here's your chance... and you even have room to leave a comment! Thanks to ClariPeru, the leading clarinet website dedicated to the Spanish language community, Crumpler's on YouTube! The performance has been a hot topic of debate, particularly with respect to Debussy's writing & composition style. Some mark it as the most beautiful performance of Debussy ever heard, so it's an interesting listen. Feel free to read through the discussion forum concerning performance practice, style, and common errors made by most performers in less than clear areas of the composition. Check it out! Leave a rating before you go! www.youtube.com
GET ON THE MAILING LIST
Sign up to the mailing list to stay updated on concerts, competitions, cd giveaways and more. The process is simple. You can start by choosing your preferred contact method below. (Note: For those who have had problems signing up previously, the application has been fixed)
30% OFF "MONOCHROME" AT CD BABY
Now at CDbaby.com you can get ahold of "Monochrome", an enormous undertaking for Bryan to reproduce an entire orchestra of clarinets alone, is now available at 30% off when you order multiple CDs. This deal is only available for purchases made at CD Baby. This a great opportunity for distribution outlets, CD stores, and the fan who just wants more! Orders can be placed at CD Baby's Website.
LEGENDARY APPEARANCES
Next to Bryan's musical talents, he has taken on the Hollywood Profile venturing into acting and even modeling to sustain a career in Arts & Entertainment. His acting talents were recently discovered in a happenstance request to perform musically guided narration in Jacob de Haans The Book of Urizen with the Gent Conservatory Wind Symphony in March 2004. The work is a massive undertaking, in two movements, scored for Wind Band, CD sound collage, a female Soprano, and male Actor/Narrator to tell the story of William Blakes genius work The Book of Urizen. This past December, Belgian audiences witnessed two back to back, nearly sold out performances with the Royal Vrank & Vrij Wind Symphony, directed by Wim Belaen. The concert was themed Legends, featuring many trascriptions of film scores for wind band. Bryan was not only featured in the Book of Urizen, but also was the guest soloist in an arrangement of John Williams ever-moving soundtrack theme from Schindlers List (originally scored for violin). The performance was followed with an encore of circular breathing madness in Paganinnis Perpetual Motion!
MORE ON MOZART SUCKS
In a challenge to himself to tackle one of the largest heavyweights of classical music during "the year of Mozart", Bryan (somewhat known for his Mozart sucks opinion) was able to showcase his talents in a performance of the Mozart Clarinet Quintet (nicknamed the Stadler Quintet) with the Ciurlionis String Quartet from Lithuania. I always get critique about my something with my Mozart, a note here note there Bryan says, but I think we did rather well with only one 30-minute rehearsal and no rehearsal on the day of the performance. It was a highly spontaneous experience. The performance was particularly amazing considering 2nd violinist Darius Diksaitis had no feeling in his fingers when positioning his arms in playing position. They are definitely a hard working group with an amazing spirit and sense of patience, Bryan adds. The quartet has performed over 3500 concerts in its nearly 40 year history, making it one of Europes most prestigious string quartets. It is one of the only professionally active ensembles in the world working exclusively as a string quartet. The current members of the quartet (Jonas Tankevicius 1st violin; Darius Diksaitis 2nd violin; Gediminas Dacinskas viola; and Saulius Lipcius cello) are all a fantastic, highly inspirational group of guys who really know the art of music making. Sound Clips of the concert are available here at WhosThatGuy.com.
VIDEOS WANTED!
Anyone who has video recordings of Bryan performing or interviewing live is encouraged to submit either digital uploads, dvds, or VHS video so we can post them here on the website. The videos need not be of professional quality. Please consult Bryan at clarinet(a)whosthatguy.com about how to send/transfer materials. Download a sample clip of the Finzi Concerto by right-clicking on the link below and selecting "Save As". LIVE video of Bryan performing Debussy's Premiere Rhapsody is now available. The audio version of this live recording can already be found in the Sound Clips section.
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