Christopher Hill is an artist in high demand. Not only does he play full time as principal clarinetist of the South Dakota Symphony, but he also teaches, conducts, and finds time to run his mouthpiece business. Despite all this, Mr. Hill was gracious enough to grant us an interview.
When did you first fall in love with the clarinet?
"I didn't actually choose the clarinet- it was chosen for me. I wanted to play the violin, but my neighbor was selling a clarinet for $25, so that's what my parents bought my brother and me. I fell in love with playing the clarinet when I was in middle school. The school hired a wonderful teacher, George Balog, who played clarinet professionally. I was so impressed with how he sounded that I began to spend a lot of time practicing."
When did you first become interested in mouthpiece design?
"I was interested from when I was in 9th grade. I went to a masterclass given by Anthony Gigliotti, who announced during the class that he just designed his own mouthpiece. I was impressed that someone could do that! When I was in my mid 20 s, I met Everitt Matson, and was fascinated by what he could do to improve a mouthpiece. Actually, what he really did was make a mouthpiece by hand out of a Selmer blank. I took lessons with him on how to reface and revoice a mouthpiece."
How did you learn how to make mouthpieces?
"Matt would explain to me what he was doing, and why, whenever he worked on a mouthpiece. I would then go home and experiment, and show him my work. He would then critique what I did."
What is the hardest aspect of your job?
"I sometimes have too much to do- I play in the South Dakota Symphony full-time from September to May, conduct the Sioux Falls Municipal Band from May to August, teach at a college part time, and make and reface mouthpieces."
What is the most enjoyable part of your job?
"The variety that comes from doing so many things. (Yup- the same thing I complained about in the last question!)"
What is unique about your product compared with other producers?
"I offer copies of both a Henri Chedeville and a Charles Chedeville, starting from blanks I produce myself from rubber that is a copy of an old Chedeville that was melted down and analyzed. I chose the particular mouthpieces to copy that I did because they had a warm, yet ringing sound. I am willing and able to fit mouthpieces to an individual player."
Can you explain the effect of different bores, facings, and openings?
"The bore will affect the tone quality, but it has a stronger influence on pitch. Different players prefer different facings, so I make the mouthpieces in standard facings ranging from 101-120. I play a 104 in the Henri model."
In addition to custom made mouthpieces you also offer refacing services, even for older, legendary mouthpieces, correct?
"I do. Sometimes, they take even more time to get them playing than it takes me to make one from scratch."
What are your future plans for your business?
"Right now, I am behind on orders, and am hoping to finally catch up! Once I do, I will actually start to advertise, and will start a website. I plan to add additional lines of mouthpieces."
Do you have a mouthpiece trial policy?
"I will send 2-3 mouthpieces for people to try. If I think I have a good feel for what someone wants, I can usually nail what they need in two mouthpieces. Otherwise, I send three. They have three days to try them."
How does someone go about contacting you to either try/purchase mouthpieces or get one retouched?
Chris Hill Mouthpieces are played by such excellent players as Steve Barta from the Baltimore Symphony, soloist Alexander Fiterstein, David Peck of the Houston Symphony, Bob Crowley of the Montreal Symphony, Dru Devan of the Charlotte Symphony, members of US military bands, and many others.
A huge thank you to Mr. Christopher Hill for granting us this interview. Having personally played Mr. Hill's mouthpieces I can attest that they are excellent and extremely well-made. Rarely will a player have the opportunity to work so closely with such an expert craftsman and talented musician.
To contact Mr. Hill to try mouthpieces or have custom work done, email him at:
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