WARNING: The following blog contains shameless advertisement for the Mercer Middle-Senior High School Bands!
Okay, if you made it to sentence two then you realize there must be an upcoming concert. The ensembles at Mercer will present their Holiday Concert on Wednesday evening, November 28th at 7:00 p.m. A synopsis of each group’s program follows….
At the urging of several friends, and a desire to provide some extra help for my students I have completed my first podcast at Wildvoice. The first podcast is a review/remediation session of cut-time and 6/8 rhythms that the middle school band has been working on during rehearsals and that are found in one of their selections for the Holiday Concert. It is simply titled “Mercer MS Band Rhythm Tutoring Session”. Though I consider myself a “techno-infant”, I am eager to use this in the future. There is a lot of upside to utilizing this technology to improve music education (please refer to a great article over at Mustech.net dealing with this very idea!) in our everyday instruction. It took me about 15-20 minutes tonight to record and post, and it was done while planning tomorrow’s rehearsals for the concert bands and wind ensemble. I welcome any critiques and suggestions from those who are a bit more advanced than yours truly. My thanks and appreciation to Dr. Joseph Pisano for his continual advice and encouragement!
You are seated in a rehearsal with your students. Suddenly without warning an alto clarinet spontaneously combusts into flames. It spreads quickly to your gradebook, old wool band uniforms, and begins creeping towards the music library. You have but seconds to get you and your students out of the room (okay so there are a few percussionists that you conveniently tell to put EVERYTHING away first before exiting the building)…..
So this week is a pretty big week. There is no concert. No recital. There is a playoff game which yours truly and his marching band must attend, perform, and cheer – but that is a mere formality (if we don’t know it by now, we never will). The big week actually comes to a head on Tuesday evening as I take students to Westminster College to audition for the PMEA Honors Band. Months of preparation on a college level instrumental solo lead to a 4 minute audition, and depending on how successful – a spot in the Honors Band Festival to be held later this month. As the title of the blog infers, it is a critical and decisive moment in time – like the reference to the matador making the kill in the bull ring – but it is only one moment. Will the matador win? Being that it is today’s public education, I doubt that the matador will actually be able to take a sword into school without facing expulsion. Good thing I armed the matador with an inner ipod (Thank you Dr. Cameron!)…
Read more…
In December of 2003 I sat listening to the PMEA District 5 Honors Band. Esteemed composer Mark Camphouse was the guest conductor. As I sat and listened to “Toccata” by Frescobaldi I was completely entranced. I asked other directors about the piece – and I was dumb-founded by the fact it was such an old piece. I didn’t know it, and I felt very stupid. After having lunch with Dr. Camphouse and talking about the piece I came to big conclusion: I need to learn a “new” “old” piece every year. Four years later, this is a treat for my ears and mind. I find scores that are exciting and powerful (Festivo by Nelhybel, Chorale and Alleluia by Hanson), but I also try and find music recordings that are new to me as well.
My latest new find has been Bela Bartok and Stravinsky (My sincere apologies to Dr. Carter for not applying myself in music history during undergrad at GCC). I have found a number of Bartok’s piano pieces to be really interesting, and I am enjoying his percussive use of the instrument. I am new to his Concerto for Orchestra, but my first hearings reveal to me a great deal of color. Stravinsky’s Pertruska, Tango (for Piano) and Symphony of Psalms have my ear right now as well. Everyone knows Firebird and Rite of Spring, but he is definitely so much more!
I email Dr. Camphouse once a year to talk about new old pieces. I also check pieces out with Dr. Arnold, Dr. Greig, Gary Taylor, and Uncle Lou Collela. It is worth your time to talk with a colleague about the hidden gems that unfortunately collect too much dust and not enough audience applause and student appreciation.
Bad Behavior has blocked 377 access attempts in the last 7 days.
Recent Comments