Selina Ott, the ITG & three days in L.A.
Anaheim, back row
Back row, camera to my eye, aperture wide open, and up front Selina takes a breath. Anaheim, late May 2024, the 48th conference of the International Trumpet Guild — the one place where, once a year, half the trumpet world gathers in a single room.
Selina Ott is on stage for her recital; I'm standing in the half-dark, trying to catch the moment before the first note. That's exactly what we flew out here for.
Three slices of chocolate cake
When the last note faded, the hall rose to its feet. A standing ovation in front of about the most demanding audience imaginable — trumpeters from all over the world, listening to every detail.
And the celebration afterwards was suitably grand: three slices of chocolate cake. Some triumphs you simply have to taste.
Schagerl among trumpeters
The trip was a Schagerl affair. We were there with our own instrument exhibit — Schagerl among trumpeters from all over the world — and Selina came along as our Schagerl artist.
Karli and I flew out to support: he for the booth and the conversations, I to document the whole thing photographically. Plus a video interview with Selina that I — tsk, tsk — still haven't finished editing to this day. It's coming. I promise.
Pacific as our table neighbour
Once the conference wrapped, the part that wasn't on the schedule began. Selina had never been to Los Angeles, and a journey that long deserves a payoff. So Karli and I stayed on for a few days and walked her, at high speed, through the must-do list of a city you can never really see in three days — but can at least scratch the surface of.
The opening stop was the finest of the whole trip: Laguna Beach. Willie Murillo had invited us to brunch right on the coast, before we'd even set off towards Hollywood — trumpeters hosted by a trumpeter, the Pacific as our table neighbour. You don't plan a morning like that; it's a gift.
Staying in a piece of film history
I'd booked us a room at the legendary Hollywood Roosevelt, the hotel that hosted the very first Academy Awards back in 1929. You don't so much stay in a room there as in a piece of film history.
From there we walked the Walk of Fame, star by star, heads down, the way everyone does it here.
In-N-Out, Sunset, Venice
Then the essentials: In-N-Out Burger, because in California that's not a meal, it's a rite of passage. Sunset Boulevard, up and back down. The Original Farmers Market. And Gold's Gym in Venice — the gym where modern bodybuilding was more or less invented.
And in between, again and again, a Ben & Jerry's, because three days of LA in that heat simply don't work without ice cream.
The same light
The arc back to the beginning closed at Santa Monica Pier in the afternoon — Ferris wheel, roller coaster, beach, the Pacific. We worked our way through and ended up at Bubba Gump Shrimp Company. The trumpet had gone into its case for a few days; the eye stayed wide awake.
The video interview with Selina, by the way, is still on my editing timeline. When it's done, it lands right here.
Just the sort of thing you can squeeze into three quick days.
Photography & video: Oliver Kendl. The trip took place as part of my work for
Schagerl Music GmbH; Selina Ott is a Schagerl artist. Also on board: Karli Essletzbichler.