Journey to the Prairie was written in one night – I couldn’t turn off the sounds. As Quincy says transitional tasks can be very helpful to develop material, and my wife couldn’t be happier that evening as I continued mopping, sweeping, and cleaning the house. I finished the piece at 3 a.m. that December morning, printed parts and had the wind ensemble at my school perform the first and only draft. I was excited to see this piece come to life, but discouraged as it was passed over by 3 other publishers. With nothing to lose, I entered it in the 2nd Annual Ticheli Competition.

Now some 5 years later the piece is available. My thanks to Dr. Arnold at Grove City College who provided the recording for the contest (it is also posted on my compositions page). I hope this piece might be useful to your ensemble in the coming months.

Immediately after the concert and the days that followed, I received many notes, read emails, and had a number of conversations with students that were full of positive comments about the entire performance. An interesting conversation took place with a parent who has sent three kids through the band program during my tenure, and she remarked that even without that piece or that audio clip this concert was the best she’s ever heard. She further noted that it is so rewarding to hear the music of the holiday season recreated in new and interesting ways by so many students. The compliment was an honor to be sure, but I am always curious if the students in the ensembles make that connection as well.

The day after the concert during rehearsal, the students in the three ensembles listened to the concert recording and used a rating scale to self-evaluate their ensemble’s performance. Included in that evaluation, I posed an open response question to the ensemble related to how these kinds of performances might better connect music in the school with music in society. Listed, anonymously, here are just a few of the responses:

“I think the audience enjoyed the Christmas Song (arr. by Nowak) the most. The familiarity of the melody appealed to them, and the arrangement we played reflected the characteristics of the song” – 11^th Grader

“The Christmas Song has to be the audience favorite. The song completes the nostalgic experience that is a Christmas concert.” – 12^th Grader

“I think the audience enjoyed the Nutcracker the best because it was instantly recognizable, and our setting of it was true to the original.” – 9^th Grader

“The audience enjoyed the Nutcracker Suite the most. Even though we used different instruments than the original, we strived to be the same stylistically. You could still tell where the plot was during each portion of the song.” – 11^th Grader

“I think our musicianship developed the most in the Nutcracker as we switched between styles in each section, and we tried to stay true to the intent of the original. I think the audience responded so strongly to our arrangement because they recognized the songs and how close to the original we were performing” – 12 the Grader

I grow weary of the argument that traditional school ensembles are not responsive, and that they do not connect with students and their community. I remain of the view that they can connect very well with students and community provided their director recognizes how that bridge can be built and is effective helping students recognize those connections.

A holiday concert provides a traditional ensemble the opportunity to instill within its members a sense of community and shared humanity. This time of year brings out the best in people’s attitudes, dispositions, and sentimentality, and to allow a traditional ensemble like band the chance to tap into that vein of positive traits can be a powerful spring board for its future. The music is familiar enough – the settings of that music allow educators to discuss musical concepts and ideas developed by the writers to create a satisfying musical experience both from the aesthetic and the paraxial.

One could quickly criticize the program I selected for this concert that it contained no significant works befitting the style of the wind band. That being said, my own view of the program was that it provided moments that were in the students’ developmental range, pushed them to acquire and develop new skills, stretched them to be more expressive musicians, and challenged them to consider how music can be altered in various styles. I would add further that I am less convinced that there is one definitive style for the wind band – the wind ensemble and concert band are sometimes at their best when they can present a multitude of styles with efficacy and conviction.

Perhaps those moments that stretched the students raised the aesthetic awareness and expectations for students and parents alike. Perhaps those moments that were in the students’ “wheelhouse” reaffirmed to them the joy of performing creatively in a collective ensemble. Perhaps those moments that generated warm feelings for parents and pride in their sons and daughters in the community. Perhaps those nostalgic moments made the business of society seem years away and once again all was calm, all was bright. Perhaps there were all these things – but make no mistake about it they helped make Christmas time here for our community. It’s only a Christmas stocking bonus that the students became better people and musicians. Merry Christmas all, and I will talk to you next year!

That should be a fairly easy question for any conductor who has studied scores and understands the pieces that have been at the foundation of the American Wind Ensemble and Concert Band.

Name three composers who wrote music for wind ensembles or concert bands between the years of 1950 and 1980 and will still be played in the year 2020.

Hmm….

I will go with J. Clifton Williams – Dedicatory Overture (1964), Alfred Reed – A Festival Prelude (1962), and W. Francis McBeth (1961) – Chant and Jubilo. Arguably these may not represent their “best” work, but they are ones which 1) I believe are engaging to students, 2) representative of the composer’s stylistic practice, and 3) provided appropriate challenge at the difficulty level for which they are designated. The debate may go on below and it should – so if you have different answers, please include them below.

Moving on, now name three composers who are writing music for wind ensembles or concert bands between 1980 and 2010 who might be enjoying rehearsal and programming time in 2020.

Hmm…getting tougher…

My choices go like this: James Barnes – The Trail of Tears, Mark Camphouse – Movement for Rosa, and Frank Ticheli – Symphony No. 2. Here again – the pieces above may not represent their best or most challenging work. The choices get tougher – there are more of them, they become more diverse in their style and sonic landscape, and these pieces have enjoyed more exposure and attention as technology has improved our ability to connect with the media.

All of that being said, it can be difficult to think in those terms due to the sheer numbers of new pieces for concert band and wind ensemble that are being published today. Critics both inside and outside the profession of music education challenge the sounds that are created, programmatic elements, and point towards the general detachedness of the pieces from anything musical. Some would argue that school music ensembles have become a culture of their own that is unresponsive to students or that the ensembles can be disconnected and insensitive to cultures outside this country. Some choices are made for ensembles on the basis of whether or not the band can perform a piece well enough to get a superior at the next contest, and little thought given to how that literature could be utilized to extend learning beyond the 44 minutes of the rehearsal period.

Though I do not completely disagree with these arguments, I do not believe that the apparent disconnect is at a critical mass. As I consider the communities in which these groups are situated and what they contribute to their local culture I ask this question: Has the traditional school wind ensemble and concert band become something unique and vibrant – a quality of the arts that some scholars have suggested to be celebrated and offered for study? While they embrace, continue, and revere classical traditions and forms, these traditional ensembles continually seek ways to expand existing models and ideas which continually deepen the aesthetic and paraxial experience of the students who engage with it. While I acknowledge that not every piece of music falls into this appraisal, there have been significant, engaging works created for traditional ensembles not only so the artist might say something that has not been said before, but so the performer may be transformed during their interaction.

At some point though, there will be “new classics” to emerge that mean no disrespect to those pieces that are the foundation of American Wind Band and Concert Band literature (see the Teaching Music Series, Composers on Composing for Band, or Rehearsing the Band for some concise lists). As we move past the date of their origins and the times in which they were created, it becomes much easier to identify how significant a piece they might be. It really is no different than those of us who teach a history course on American Popular Music – it’s easy to understand why Elvis, the Beatles, and Little Richard were important to rock and roll, and why we can’t tell yet if U2, Greenday, and Dave Grohl will ever be in that same class. Any director must maintain careful balance of the needs of the students (educational & enjoyment), their communities and schools, and the fact they are heritage bearers of the American Wind Ensemble and Concert Band. These ensembles have been at profession’s core for years, and that was no accident. On one hand the music teaches something, on another it preserves part of our heritage or extends someone else’s culture. On one hand it excites and transforms the mind of the performers, on the other it motivates them to perform at levels not thought possible. We are the educators – educators that must define our own vision of a quality work, research possible pieces that fit that vision, examine how the piece lines up with our goals and objectives for the students, consider how the audience might be engaged by the piece, consider how you can extend learning through the piece beyond the rehearsal hall walls, and make a decision. Picking music for our ensembles is a lot like something I tell my band students about learning music – I didn’t say it would be easy, I said it would be worthwhile.

New classics will emerge – but not without heavy sustained discussion from those in the profession who earnestly care about the future of wind ensembles and concert bands. We cannot rest solely on reviews from magazine’s or websites to provide the final verdict, though to their credit they do invest considerable time to make their best recommendations to directors.  We must further add to this process a comparison against proven, time-tested pieces of similar length, style, or tonality to gauge the overall quality in terms of its craftsmanship, imagination, sensitivity and authenticity (a line of thinking first proposed by Bennett Reimer in 1991 – a guy who I am guessing will still be discussed in 2020). The debate will continue and could prove to be divisive, but I urge all parties involved to make their decisions based upon a clear personal definition of quality that ultimately is in the best interest of the students who they profess to “share the love of music”.

I conclude by sharing my list of “new classics” for band, and urge you to add yours.

James Barnes – The Trail of Tears
Mark Camphouse – Movement for Rosa
Frank Ticheli – Symphony No. 2
Julie Giroux – No Finer Calling
Andrew Boysen Jr. – I Am
Patrick J. Burns – Toccata
Jack Stamp – Ricercare
Samuel Hazo – Ride
Robert Jager – Esprit de Corps
Jan Van Der Roost – Puszta

I am very pleased to have received an Editor’s Choice for “Festival and Ballade for Winds”, a piece I wrote for the 2009 Pittsburgh Diocesan Honor Band.  A recording should be up in the coming weeks at Wingert-Jones. Other new works coming this summer include “Moravian Dance” and “A West Highland Fanfare” from FJH, and “Siege of the Dark Castle” from Barnhouse.

I was delighted to find another performance on Youtube given by the Hopkins West Junior High Band under the direction of Mrs. Kay Hawley. Bravo students and thank you Kay!

Some observations and thoughts about the unit from my perspective as teacher that was interesting to consider:

1) Leaders lead.  I was surprised and impressed by the leadership qualities and skills that were brought out of students in these settings.  During each rehearsal period, I tried to touch base and schedule “face-time” with as many groups as I could while giving them a good session full of feedback.  After providing critiques and visiting with the same group a few days later, many of the adjustments and suggestions were made.  Students took the lead to make adjustments and improve their group’s performance.  Some of the students would have stepped forward because of who they are – others stepped forward because they were given an opportunity.  Assessing all of this, there are plenty of students within the program who need more opportunities to lead.

2) Making musical decisions involves risk and courage.  As often as we may be right in our interpretation, we could be wrong – wrong for the style, wrong for the time, wrong for the setting, wrong for the composer’s intentions.  Artists face incredible risk in making musical decisions in this way, and without courage we end up being mezzo-nothing.  If a quintet of 7^th grade alto saxophones can make musical decisions regarding the articulation and dynamics for a transcription of Schumann’s Soldier’s March, do I have the courage to tap that resource during a rehearsal with the full ensemble? We often say that the performing arts is a venue for students to be creative and interpret music – but who really does the musical interpretation? While it is our responsibility as a trained musician, educator, and leader, perhaps we need the courage to give them opportunities to risk and hear the results.  Having gone through this process, they may better understand our vision for a piece for the ensemble, why we choose to interpret things a certain way, and what might be a better possible alternative to the interpretation in front of them.

3) Building relationships takes time and trust. Sitting down with groups of 4-7 students at a time allows for more individual attention and differentiated instruction, and afforded me the opportunity to build a student to teacher relationship that is based upon mutual respect, common goals (improve as a musician), and esprit de corp among the students.  The hardest thing about being successful? That’s easy – keep being successful.  The more success a program and their director experience, the harder it sometimes becomes to maintain a good, open relationship.  The bar is continually raised.  We have more demands on our time.  We have more pressure on the students, the ensemble, and on ourselves.  I have enjoyed these past weeks for the connections I was able to make with the students musically and socially.  I believe we are in a better place now in terms of our trust, communication, and vision for improvement.

4) Chamber music opens doors for musical opportunities.  The program of music was very diverse in terms of style and time period.  It was interesting to hear the transcriptions of Renaissance, Baroque, and Classical music played by a 20^th century group.  The classical tradition was kept alive through the study of this music – and at the end of the day, that is not a bad thing at all.  The beauty of this ensemble is that while it connects these kids to music of a time period from the past, it can also connect them to musical opportunities involving ANY musical time period.  The make-up of the ensembles didn’t necessarily matter – the connection to different music does. The next step in this evolution is for us to seek more music of different styles that students can make a connection with and present for public performance.  Maybe they cannot see themselves playing in a large ensemble past high school, but small ensembles are more realistic for students to envision how they might look as a future musician.

 More to come in the weeks ahead as the students complete the survey and I compile data.  My thanks to many of you who have sent Tweets, emails, and comments of support for this endeavor.

When I write, I have something to say – I just choose sounds to say it.  I write music that (I hope) the students would enjoy playing, the audience will enjoy hearing, and that conductors will enjoy teaching. Sometimes I get inspired by words spoken or written, an image, or people.  In the case of American Visions it was all three.  Read the fourth verse to the Star-Spangled Banner – I read it in the spring of 2007 and finally understood what my grandmother went through when her only son (my father David J. Weller) went through when he left for Vietnam.  “Oh thus be it still when free men shall stand, between their loved homes and the wars desolation!”.

I remember having one real in-depth conversation with my father about his time in the military – I asked him what it was like.  He replied “Guy, I hope you never have to find out.”  War is an atrocious event, and freedom, our freedom, has been paid with the lives of many young patriots.  My dad served in 1967 for people he never met or knew, and some – like his two sons – were not even born yet.  I went to parades on Memorial Day and Veterans Day growing up – I said the pledge, I sang The Banner – but I didn’t understand until age 34 what had been done for me by my father and countless others I never knew and will never know.  We are a blessed nation, indebted to our men and women who serve and protect.  American Visions became an outpouring of thanks and love from a grateful and fortunate son.  How could I not write this piece for my dad? I knew purpose when each of my four children had been born, but I knew musical purpose in 2007.  In a span of four weeks beginning in February, American Visions was born.

My vision of America I owe to my parents – work hard, do something you love, love family, love friends, have faith in God at all times, honor your country, respect the men and women who serve – they have always shown me those qualities.  My dad is my first musical role model; he is my friend, and a patriot.  I wanted to write a piece that celebrated those things.  American Visions is what I hope our country will be – a vision for which David J. Weller would be proud.

The opening fanfares came first – mixing and shifting meter came very naturally.  The trumpet trio in the middle – the only clear My Country Tis of Thee statement – was easy to write, the counter in the alto saxophone and flute took a bit longer.  After much laboring over the ending of the song, I finally went to bed one morning at 1:30 a.m.  After falling asleep (as the start of my day was only about 4 and a half hours away), I was dreaming about the piece being played by an ensemble to be annoyed by a metronome beating in the group.  I woke to realize it was my alarm clock beating in time – and it prompted the shift from 3/4 to 6/8 towards the end and allowed me to conceive the French Horn counter-melody (which I adore).  I sang repeatedly in the shower that morning, and frantically wrote everything down on paper before leaving for school – ended up almost arriving late that day – but I had it!

This spring as I marched down Constitution Avenue with the marching band at Mercer for the National Memorial Day Parade, tears filled my eyes for a good two blocks.  I was reminded what a fortunate son I am thanks to my father, David J. Weller and countless other men and women in the armed services.  I am humbled by the success the piece has enjoyed, and thankful that I could share this story with many others in music education.

While it is our job to teach instrumental music, we as a profession must take time to consider these student musicians and ultimately where there career path might lead.  Not every student in our program may become a professional musician or a music educator, but we do want them to leave with a positive connection to music that they can tangibly see in their lives.  We must also choose music that allows us as directors to connect the academic music of the school ensemble with the outside world in which the student live, and that music must contribute to and enrich the community in which the school ensemble is situated.  While high school bands have enjoyed list upon list in book after article of best music for study and performance, I am somewhat disheartened by the lack of attention paid to Middle School and Junior High Ensembles.  It is though because this music is studied and performed by amateur musicians it is somehow not serious literature, and is of little importance or no consequence – I whole heartedly disagree with that line of thinking.  I have previously tried to get the FIRE started for discussion about Middle School Band Literature.  My goal here today is to discuss aspects for choosing literature for Middle School/High School, and then present a list for consideration.

There is a wealth of traditional literature that needs to be part of the “core” repertoire of young musicians as it allows them to develop certain techniques.  Ballads, which can be used to develop legato tonguing and musical expression, and marches, which can be used to develop marcato style, contrasting dynamics and articulation, and understanding of form, are two such types of traditional literature appropriate for study and performance.  There are also a number of writers expanding the sound canvas and providing excellent contemporary literature that present opportunities to explore musical concepts once reserved for more advanced pieces played by advanced groups.  Aleatoric episodes, vocalization, body percussion, different textures, elements of other music styles, and experimental timbres are such concepts that students may experience (Wilborn, 2001).

While contemporary literature offers one kind of experience into a different sound canvas for young musicians, another source to consider in selecting literature is multi-cultural pieces.  Many “multi-cultural” pieces performed by ensembles are arrangements or compositions by a Western-trained musician and are typically written for a standard Western instrumental ensemble.  Goetze’s view is that stylistic practices of some culture’s music cannot be adequately recreated using Western instruments or Western harmonic structure and that the experience gained by student is a Western art musical experience rather than a multi-cultural one (Goetze, 2000).  Goetze doesn’t suggest that this music should be avoided, and suggests through study of the culture, seeking out authentic performances (live ones work best), and providing insight into the music’s use within its native culture can inform our choices and our teaching.

Another aspect to consider in selecting literature with regard to developing student’s technical skills is having a long-term vision for what you hope the students can accomplish as musicians.  A number of articles and chapters in text (i.e. Miles, 1997) have been devoted to the high school ensemble curriculum devised so that students make progress over the course of several school years.  Middle school becomes a unique situation in that some directors see their students only 1 year, others 2 to 3 years, and others continue to see them as they are the only instrumental teacher in grades 7-12!  In the case of students that move on to another teacher, a open and professional line of communication should exist so the high school and middle school director(s) can frame their expectations for student development through the study of instrumental music.  In the case of being “master of your own destiny”, a director should be able to build a logical repertoire curriculum for his own students.

Because repertoire can serve as the source for a long-term plan, it is very important that teachers at all levels have a repertoire list he or she believes that all students should perform over a period of several years (Geraldi, 2008). Geraldi offers the following considerations for inclusion on “core repertoire list”:

• Work should have formal, rhythmic, harmonic, and melodic creativity.
• Work should convey the composer’s imagination.
• Work should be well-orchestrated.
• Balance between tutti sections and thinner texture sections.
• Work should convey emotional or expressive depth.

Speaking to that last point made by Geraldi, we should give our students the opportunity to hear the emotion in the music.  Through this process of recognizing and exploring emotional moments in music,  it causes students to become aware of their own emotions (Whitwell, 2009).  As long we choose music that is authentic, the students (and the eventual audience!) cannot fail to perceive the generalized form of the emotion.  So in our selection and programming of literature, we need to be sure that our students become aware of the emotional depth of the music, begin to explore and understand what that emotion conveys, how the composer expresses it in the music, and they must find a means of expressing their own personal emotions through performance, self-reflection, or discussion within the ensemble.

Composers, conductors, and educators alike all discuss the need for variety in programming and repertoire selection.  Selecting literature of diverse style and origin provides much needed variety for the director, students, and audience.  Even such simple concepts as balancing different textures, contrasting tempos, and balancing major, minor, and modal tonalities are ways in which variety in programming can be achieved.  Other considerations when programming literature include having the required instrumentation and equipment, instructional time to teach the work effectively and efficiently, and the enjoyment that can be gained from rehearsing and the performance of the piece for the director, students, and audience.

With all of this in mind, I offer some suggestions (from the past 15 years of teaching) for pieces for middle school/junior high band I believe a) are worthwhile for students to study, b) provide variety in style, c) have aesthetic/artistic appeal to all parties involved, and d) allow students to draw out their own meaning and emotions.  The list is where I am in 2010 as an educator, and is subject to revision as my perspective, experience, and knowledge grows.  I would be interested in hearing about a list for your ensemble.

1) Air for Band – Frank Erickson

2) Wagon Trail – Julie Giroux

3) Suspended Animation – Patrick J. Burns

4) Kentucky 1800 – Clare Grundman

5) A Childhood Hymn – David Holsinger

6) Grant County Celebration – Mark Williams

7) Unraveling – Andrew Boysen, Jr.

The Forge of Vulcan – Michael Sweeney

9) Bashana Haba’ Ah – Lloyd Conley

10) Basin Street Blues – Mark Higgins

11) Carpathian Sketches – Robert Jager

12) Marching Song – Holst/John Moss

13) Cloud Gate – Timothy Loest

14) Our Kingsland Spring – Sam Hazo

15) Canto – W. Francis McBeth

16) Kilaeua – Brian Balmages

17) Crusin’ – Willie Owens

18) Ghosts in the Graveyard – Scott Watson

19) Highlights from the Music Man – Johnnie Vinson

20) Appomattox – James Hosay

Enjoy the list, good luck with your spring concerts, and don’t forget to add to the conversation!

Geraldi, K. M. (2008). Planned programming pays dividends. Music Educators Journal 95 (2), 75-79.

Goetze, M. (2000). Challenges of performing diverse cultural music. Music Educators Journal, 87 (1), 23 -25, 48.

Miles, R. (1997). Teaching music through performance in band. Chicago: GIA Publications.

Whitwell, D. (2009). Music education of the future: Two paramount new purposes. NBA Journal, 50 (2), 43-60.

Wilborn, D. F. (2001). Spicing up band with contemporary literature. Teaching Music,8 (5), 36-40.

The most pervasive musical element in term of correct interpretation by both composers and conductors was in regard to tempo.  Other commonalities existed across both conductors and composers (notably by Barnes, & Camphouse) including utilization of recordings, becoming familiar with a score through a secondary instrument (piano or voice were mentioned frequently), and that over time our interpretation of a piece may change because of new perspectives or personal experiences.  It would seem to me that the process by which one learns a score varies widely across known experts in the band world, and is a highly personalized decision based upon your pedagogical training.  Choices of meter, key, and tonal and rhythmic patterns are sufficed to say objective, but in matters of overall general expressive musical elements, tempo seems to be a common focus because of the great variability for which it can possess.  It is interesting to note that a number of conductors and composers both concede that a performance tempo can differ from the ideal (marked tempo in the score), and that the adjusted tempo of the performance can still result in a quality or reputable performance.  In some cases it is a matter of ensemble technique that will prevent an ensemble from being able to achieve the demands printed in the score, but it is obvious in the writings that conductors and composers acknowledge this and are able to recognize when other elements are brought to the best possible quality which contribute to effect interpretation.

Another commonality that seems to exist across many of the composers and conductors is they concede that there is a limit to what musical notation can convey, and at times there are ambiguities that may not make sense during score study.  Hopefully these moments of questions and uncertainties can be answered by the director as he looks at the work he is studying, compares it with other known pieces by the same composer, and compares the current piece against stylistic practices of the time or pieces of similar musical structure.  I believe it is worth noting that here that this process the conductor is going through for just one piece of music is not so far removed from the idea of comprehensive musicianship whereby the musician immerses him/herself in studying music from multiple perspective, each perspective contributing to a greater understanding of a larger picture. Andrew Boysen Jr.’s (Camphouse, 2007, p. 11) comments perhaps summarize the idea best as he asserts that the notation in the score should support the conductor’s musical decisions.  It follows that the performance is the very best attempt by an ensemble and conductor to represent what they believe to be the composer’s intent.

Flexibility as it relates to letting the music “live in a certain place” as Giroux states (Camphouse, 2004, p. 80), gathering insight from the ensemble not previously considered as Kirchoff suggests (Williamson, 2008, p.53), and, as Hunsberger observes, understanding each ensemble has an “optimum tempo” (Williamson, 2008, p.37), also seems to an important aspect of interpretation.  The modern conductor must have in his arsenal of abilities an understanding to be flexible as his perspective may change while working on a piece with his own students, but find a new perspective when asked to conduct the group of a colleague or an honor ensemble.  Getting back to the idea of tempo, both the music and the ensemble must find the tempo at where they can ideally perform.  I believe this is the reason why at times pieces are adored by one ensemble, and despised by a group 12 miles away – optimum performance tempo of the music and the ensemble do not converge.  Part of this problem may be related to that, but it might also have to do with directors being afraid to vary from the printed score even when it might be more educationally sound to do so (emphasis added, duplicity implied).  A discussion for another day – but this isn’t math or science with one right answer – and some directors are chasing a trophy  on the wall and it is easier to play it safe.  While McBeth and Giroux go as far to say that composers are sometimes indicating the wrong metronome markings they include on a score, Camphouse and McBeth agree with Jack Stamp that composers are not always the best interpreter of their own work.  James Barnes recounts a story about Verdi and Toscanini that is a reminder that one’s inner musician is critical for a conductor’s interpretation that is truly “in the spirit” of the composer’s intent.  Jack Stamp (Miles, 1998) discovered during his college experience that although Stravinksy was held in high regard compositionally, others did not feel he was the best interpreter of his own work!

The final aspect of interpretation that seems to be a shared concern of importance between composer and conductor is that of feeling, emotion, and passion.  To a degree, many of the composers explicitly mention important aspects of feeling, expression, and emotion in the interpretation of their work.  No matter what reason a composer decides to put “pen to paper”, their works are a product of their experiences, beliefs, surroundings, and creative ideas – and those experiences are at times attached to significant feelings, emotions, or expressions.  As stated by my friend and colleague Dr. Joseph M. Pisano, a composition conveys a concrete thought such as the liberation one’s country, an emotional thought such as the liberation of one’s heart, or a spiritual thought such as the liberation of one’s soul.  The composer is literally molding a conceived idea or a feeling into a sonic musical existence.  The passion of music becomes interpreted correctly when the conductor understands and enjoys the music, and is able to get the students in the ensemble to “reproduce those feelings” as Hilliard states (Camphouse, 2007).  Sam Hazo’s experience with Paul Thornton’s band demonstrates the importance of connecting the music to the lives of the students.  Paula instructed her students to write a meaningful life experience to the sound of the music in the margins of their music – it created in every student a way to connect their life stories to the music in which they were engaged in performing.  I would be interested in knowing just how many of those little anecdotes written by her students were emotionally charged or connected.  Robert Sheldon states that in order to convey passion (emphasis mine), a conductor must possess technical means and the wherewithal and self-confidence to do and say whatever is necessary to get the ensemble to respond (Camphouse, 2002). Frank Ticheli shares that the conductor must find meaning in the work, and believe in it passionately (emphasis mine) (Camphouse, 2002).  When asked about it, Mark Camphouse’s opinion is that “Passion (emphasis mine) comes from believing in the music long before a conductor ever steps on the podium…If a conductor has passion for the art of music and for playing great literature, his performance will have passion…” (Brown, 2001, p. 13).

Many conductors have written about helping the ensemble recreate or realize the interpretation of the composer’s intent, and rarely do they discuss a performance that was devoid of feeling, emotion, or passion if it was achieved.  Can we forgive a less then perfect performance that lacks emotional expression? My feeling is that many would agree yes.  I am not saying technical accuracy and precision may be tossed out – they are part of our responsibilities as educators to ensure that students have mastered.  But we might also be aware that there is another side that is beneficial for the student to experience, and that through our own authentic interpretation we may be able to unlock the emotion, passion, and feeling in music for the benefit of our students (Help them find the love!).  As Craig Kirchoff (Williamson, 2008, p. 54) states so eloquently, “Without such passion, there is no communication…and not even any real music.”

Brown, J. S. (2001). Mark Camphouse creates music with the passion of a performer. The Instrumentalist, 56 (6), 12-15.

Camphouse, M. (Ed.). (2002). Composers on composing for band (Vol. 1).  Chicago: GIA Publications.

Camphouse, M. (Ed.). (2004). Composers on composing for band (Vol. 2).  Chicago: GIA Publications.

Camphouse, M. (Ed.). (2007). Composers on composing for band (Vol. 3).  Chicago: GIA Publications.

McBeth, F. W. (1992). Interpretation: Unlocking the drama in music. The Instrumentalist, 47 (5), 14-18.

Miles, R. (1998). Teaching music through performance in band (Vol. 2). Chicago: GIA Publications.

Williamson, J. E. (2008). Rehearsing the band. Galesville, MD: Meredith Music Publications