Some very nice comments from John Ericson, Professor of horn at Arizona State University, posted on his blog:

IHS Denver in review
July 28, 2008

With IHS Denver over for only 24 hours as I write this post much is still fresh in my mind from the event.

WOW! Congratulations and many thanks must be given to host Susan McCullough. There were nearly 800 hornists in attendance and it was an extremely busy week. For me personally not only did I have something like 12 hours of meetings as a member of the IHS Advisory Council, I also had a sales booth for Horn Notes Edition and performed and gave three presentations. My days were all very full.

I could not go to every event of course but I do have a few notes that will give a bit of a window into what all was seen at the event.

First, the best thing not mentioned in my what to do at the event post was the display by Dick Martz. He brought about thirty [UPDATE: 55!] antique horns and set up a museum! It was slightly out of the way and I believe may not have gotten the traffic it deserved. You can still visit his collection online if you missed it, but if you ever have the chance to see it again jump on the opportunity, this was wonderful. Many thanks to Dick for his effort and expense to bring this unique display to the event; it was very memorable for me.

Later Dr. Ericson adds the following review:

Backwards horns and The Historic Brass Society Journal

August 6, 2008 in Equipment, Horn History by John Ericson | No comments

As mentioned in a previous post, at the IHS Denver event I had the opportunity to meet Richard Martz, a horn collector. While I was visiting his collection (check it out online if you missed it) I was slightly embarrassed that he mentioned and then showed me a copy of an article that he had published in the Historic Brass Society Journal, volume 15 (2003). While I knew I had a complete set of these his article Reversed Chirality in Horns, or is Left Right? The Horn, on the Other Hand and the issue did not ring a bell for me at all. And I was mentioned in it!

With my return to Arizona I got back to my office on Monday and pulled the journal in question. It looked very crisp and unused! It must have came in a hectic period at ASU and not been read. Reading it these past few days has been a joy. His article is on backwards horns that is French horns made to be played with either the left hand in the bell or to be fingered with the right hand (for many instruments both). This practice is seen in all periods of horn construction from earliest times to the present.

As to other content, there is a very interesting extended article on brass instruments with the first two valves reversed, with the short valve as the first valve (not uncommon early on), a great article by Edward Tarr on Russian silver trumpets, an article on something I was not aware ofShout bands in the southeastern United States, and much more including a strong debunking that an instrument that the Smithsonian purchased for $108,000 could not possibly have been Louis Armstrongs first cornet.

All told there is a lot in every issue of the Historic Brass Society Journal. Check out the society and join if you have an interest in brass instrument history. Back issues are available as well.

Below are some photos of what Prof. Ericson and many other visitors to the exhibit saw: