Longtime I.T.A. members frequently comment and offer compliments about the evolution of the organization's printed materials over the years. On the occasion of I.T.A.'s 30th anniversary, it seems appropriate to retrace this evolution and acknowledge those who helped bring us to our "slick" Journal of today. The attached listing of articles, graciously and meticulously prepared by Jeff Wardlaw, is mindboggling, and serves to inform more recent I.T.A. members of the vast resource of information in the back issues, most of which are still available.

In I.T.A.'s first year of existence Larry Weed, then trombone professor at the University of Southern Mississippi, stepped forward to become the creator and the first editor of the I.T.A. Journal. It was a hand-typed, photocopied document that was mailed to members once a year. After two years, the membership grew to the point that a better print quality document was affordable, making this the first step toward the glossy, four-color magazine of today. Within a year or so, it was determined that a Newsletter was also needed. The job of developing this publication fell on G.B. Lane, then trombone professor at the University of South Carolina. Stephen Glover, owner of Brass Press in Nashville at the time, served as a liaison to a local Nashville printing company, and it was during this period that the publications saw another step towards a "professional" appearance.

In 1978, G.B. Lane stepped down as Newsletter editor and Vern Kagarice was appointed to the position by president Buddy Baker. A year later, Stephen Glover stepped out of the picture, leaving it to Kagarice to find a printer. This set the stage for an important development.

At the same time Kagarice was faced with finding a new printer, Journal editor Larry Weed moved to a new position as trombone professor at Indiana State University. He too needed to find another printer for his publication. He found one in Terre Haute, IN, and quickly passed the information on to Kagarice. Utilizing the same printing company seemed like a logical solution, especially because the price was extremely good.

This decision turned out to be a very bad one, as one can see by looking at the publications of 1979. The company, which shall go nameless, used inferior quality paper and poor layout techniques, to say nothing about its inability to deliver a product in a timely manner. It soon became obvious that another printing company was needed — this time Youngstown Lithograph.

But here's the part of the story that most members never knew. Shortly after the second issue came off the presses in Indiana, and just at the time arrangements were being finalized to move the print operations to Youngstown, OH, the FBI moved in to arrest our Indiana printer. Little did we know that our I.T.A. Journal and Newsletter were serving as a "front" for a counterfeit money printing operation! Only then did it make sense as to why the attention to our Journal and Newsletter quality was so bad. Apparently, the print quality of their $20 bills wasn't much better!

The pattern of producing three Newsletters and one Journal per year seemed like a good idea, but within a few years, the boundaries became blurred. Because of two different editors, there was the inevitable competition for material, because both needed the necessary text to create a magazine. Before long, there was news in the Journal and scholarly articles in the Newsletter. All well-intentioned, this confusion led I.T.A. to another important decision, which finally came in 1981.

Beginning in 1982, the I.T.A. Newsletter was dropped in favor of four issues of the I.T.A. Journal, thus making it a quarterly magazine. Kagarice moved from Newsletter editor to Journal editor at that time. The editorial staff for the Newsletter moved to the Journal as well, and it is important to note that two people, Ed Bahr, Record Reviews editor, and Karl Hinterbichler, Literature Announcements and Programs editor, have served in their respective roles since the beginning — nearly 28 years! Other editors too numerous to name have served the Journal and Newsletter with distinction, each making a contribution that has helped bring the quality up a step.

Because the I.T.A. Journal would now contain both news items and articles, still more important decisions had to be made. Should the Journal become a scholarly document, or should it be a "rag sheet" of news items? To this day readers have different opinions about this, and the discussions will no doubt continue. Because the readership is comprised of students, amateurs, academics, pseudo-academics and professional performers in a wide variety of styles, the current editorial policy makes every effort to produce a broad-based publication that has something for everyone. While this doesn't always happen, it is nevertheless the goal. While there are academics who want more academic articles, and jazz musicians who want more jazz articles, and teachers who want more pedagogical articles, the Journal survey conducted in 2001 showed that readers were overwhelmingly in agreement that they like the Journal just the way it is, even with its shortcomings.

The evolution of the magazine continued when editor Kagarice moved from Ohio to Texas in 1983. This required still another printing company. By 1985, our publication settled into Buchanan Printing Co. (now Buchanan Visual Communications). The expertise and attention to quality by Buchanan's staff over the years has been extraordinary.

In 1986 in consultation with then I.T.A. president Steve Anderson, the decision was made to spend more money and use glossy paper so that the four-color print process could be utilized. While there has never been a complete color publication, the color covers and center-spreads have helped the publication to stand out from other publications of its kind.

During this time Jan Kagarice became the assistant Journal editor. Her eye for quality, her proofreading skills and her good judgment and advice have been important factors in moving the magazine to where it is today.

It was recently learned that in the past five years Buchanan Visual Communications has received no less than three awards for our Journal in the printing industry. The company receives so many that they forgot to tell us! And speaking of awards, at the 2002 International Trombone Festival, President John Drew made a special President's Award to the owners and staff of Buchanan Visual Communications for their support and guidance to make our magazine what it is today. Now it's time to step back about seven years to 1995 and discuss a different aspect of I.T.A.'s publications. Officers and board members will no doubt recall a meeting in Las Vegas at the 1995 ITW when Paul Bauer wheeled in a monitor to show us the beginnings of an I.T.A. Web site that he had created. Knowing little or nothing about cyber-communications or the internet, most saw it as a curiosity item and then quickly retreated to our old-fashioned way of communicating information, namely the I.T.A. Journal.

For the next four years, there were discussions about what to do about this newly discovered electronic phenomen. Numerous members volunteered to help, only to become frustrated with I.T.A.'s slow and conservative pace, and eventually proceeding down their own path.

Finally in 1999, reality hit. The internet was here to stay, and I.T.A. needed to join the 20th century before it was gone. At this point the catch-up job was overwhelming, and members Marta Hofacre and later Steven Greenall made valiant attempts to move I.T.A.'s Web site forward in their temporary roles as Webmaster. In 2001, Joshua Brown became I.T.A.'s latest Webmaster, and has made giant strides to get I.T.A.'s electronic publication on pace. If you haven't seen the site, please visit it frequently. It is quickly becoming one of the best sources of trombone-related information available.

Another somewhat recent addition to the I.T.A. publications activities is the I.T.A. Press. After years of struggling with special publications series, like the I.T.A. Series connected with the now extinct Brass Press, the I.T.A. Press was formulated in 1993 with Michael Lewis as its first coordinator. A few years later, it was moved to the hands of Nathaniel Brickens. Now housed at the University of Texas Brickens and his staff continues to develop and market the catalog of the I.T.A.Press. It continues to provide an opportunities for composers to circulate their new music and at the same time provides trombonists with access to new and outstanding compositions.