I have enjoyed a blessed life. I have an earthly father who is my first musical role model and my hero. I have a heavenly Father who I believe must chuckle frequently at me over the number of times that I don’t get something quite right the first time. I have a band father who has mentored me from the last few days of August 1995 to as recent as last Tuesday on the benches outside the auditorium at Mercer. Whether it was late night coffee and pie, early morning breakfasts, or chats after observing a student teacher, I was always thankful to have him share some perspective with me – and often a perspective that helped me make sense of things or one I had not thought of.

The times I started brass class as a teaching assistant thinking he was running late only to look up and see him taking notes from the back 10 minutes into class. I remember having to run a concert band rehearsal thinking he wasn’t there because he went to the airport. At the end of rehearsal I was greeted by Robert E. Foster with a “You ran a great rehearsal! Great job!” – he and Doc had arrived at 4:05 p.m. and visited while rehearsal went on. He made many of us very sure we were going to succeed as a director by putting us in positions where the only alternative was to be successful. Stressful at the time, I am grateful for every single minute today.

It is very easy to forget to say thanks to the people who matter the most in our professional career. It is hard to fathom the investments that he has made in so many educators over the course of his career, including myself. Doc has always impressed me as the kind of leader though who would rather not accept that praise and gratitude, but would want us to offer those same opportunities to our students or those who we lead in professional organizations and other groups. I think at the end of the day Doc’s return on investment comes as he looks at the multitude of educators now directing, teaching and leading students to meaningful connections with music in schools across the Keystone, in the Northeast, and across other parts of the Nation.

Those were the thoughts that fueled the inception and eventual completion of Crimson Legacy. I am honored to have my best friend Joe Pisano conduct it on Friday night at Doc’s last official concert on the campus of Grove City College this Friday night. There are moments of bold fanfares, reflective themes, and running woodwind passages (Sorry flutes and clarinets! J). But beyond that it is homage to one man who has meant a great deal to many, many people. Thanks Doc. Thanks for believing in me. Thanks for pushing me. Thanks for asking me “So you want to be a band director?”. ‘Cause I do. Being a band director is the only thing I know how to do, and the only thing I much want to do. Thank you for letting me part of your legacy.

Sonic Ascent is a beginning band work that uses only the first 6 notes of a B-flat concert scale. It is an energetic concert opener for young musicians that will be available from Barnhouse.

Festival Esprit was written for the OMEA District V Honor Band that I had the pleasure of guest conducting in November of 2012. There are some wonderful people working in that area of the country and their students with whom I worked are a credit to their teaching, their school band, and their community. Something magical happens when like-minded individuals work together in this kind of setting, and I wanted to create a piece that would reflect that communal musical spirit. In production with FJH Music, it is intended for a mid-level band (grade 7/8).

Over my career, I have become very fond of Vaughan Williams. Two pieces in particular are favorites – Flourish for Wind Band and Flourish for Glorious John. Flourishing Noels pays homage to those two great works while incorporating a well-known carol The First Noel. This Holiday work was written for a mid-level band, and will be available from FJH Music.

I am excited to release Dancing Under the Stars with Bandworks Publications. The words of William Purkey inspired the writing of this mid-level band work. It is sincere, quirky, and groovy writing that I hope inspires courage and brings out the joy of playing for your students.

I am a big proponent of American folk songs, and am delighted to release one such setting with Grand Mesa publications. Yankee Fanfare is an energetic and flashy setting of Yankee Doodle that can be valuable for performance in a number of settings. The debut performance was given by the Schulykill County Junior High Honors Band in April of 2012.

Finally, Monsters of Myth… is a work for high school concert band or wind ensemble that explores a unique side of Quasimodo, Sasquatch, and Nessie. What if these monsters have been misunderstood and misrepresented by popular culture? From the opening tolls of “Quasimodo (Bells for a Celebration)” to the heroic ending to “Sasquatch (Last Defender of the Forest)” to an exciting finish in “Nessie (Chase Around the Loch)” there are daring and dramatic moments that abound. The piece was a commissioned work by Greenville High School and their director Mr. Eric Schrader. This piece will be available from FJH Music.

Several of these recordings may already be found on Soundcloud, and I will be adding many of them to the composition page in the coming weeks. I hope that one of these pieces may be a good fit for your students and ensembles, and I thank you for your support.

Any profession has those responsibilities which can seem monotonous, purposeless, and even torturous to the most optimistic. Ours in music education is no different – call it our shared humanity I guess. I view them as necessary evils, and not the responsibility may be inherently evil at all. They require our time and attention. In some way, shape, or fashion, those duties which we must carry out (though not wanting to) do matter to someone along the way. Nothing puts more pressure on us in our daily grind than time, and having enough time to accomplish what we really want to do can seriously alter our perceptions of those things we deem not important (the “evils” if you will).

I have maintained that the hardest part of being successful in music is that you must keep on being successful. Nobody that I have ever met in the field of music has accomplished something monumental then decided “You know what? I’m going to lower the bar back down a few notches”. I heard Marcia Neel say something very profound at a presentation a while back that has stuck with me even further. I’m perhaps paraphrasing a bit, so bear with me: “Successful people don’t know how to be anything but successful.” Robert Foster Jr. once told me that you do two things in music – get better or worse. If you stay the same, you’re getting worse because somebody else is getting better. And that sentimentality too adds to “The Grind”.

Many of us hold positions as a department chair and are tasked with trying to meet the requests of other colleagues while staying within the financial and philosophical boundaries of our superiors. Others hold our staff meetings with a cup of drive-thru coffee on our way to work as we provide education and leadership to students across multiple grades in the classroom and in the rehearsal hall. Some face community expectations for continual excellence that is only answered by trophies and awards at festivals, while others are largely ignored in their community until the pep band doesn’t show up to every game or the band doesn’t play the fight song after a touchdown…for the 8^th time in the game. This too becomes part of our “Grind”.

We plan, we budget, we predict, we recruit. We are thinking about next year’s schedule while trying to get this year’s uniforms returned. We look for opportunities to enrich the experience for our own students while trying not to spread our own efforts and attention to thin. We provide leadership to our colleagues through professional organizations, and look for opportunities to be enriched ourselves through attending conferences and clinics. Again, noble thoughts and aims that add to our “Grind”.

We are held to higher standards because we ourselves demand them in the classroom and rehearsal hall. We are expected to go beyond the boundaries of our duties because we expect greatness and excellence as our way – not a destination. We all our burdened with this “grind” because we believe anything is possible through the efforts of our labors. Our ability to accept the “grind” of our profession will largely determine the length and quality of our stay in this profession. We are all working as part of a shared human experience that is enriching, satisfying, and fulfilling. Don’t think that you for a minute are alone in your struggles, your fears, and your worries. We are all experiencing a grind in various stages of various sorts. We have the good fortune of connecting with our colleagues and friends across social media to support and share with each other. And if that fails, might I suggest downloading an App to your camera or social media manager that allows you to place telephone calls to friends? ;^) Embrace the grind, it never stops.

Events that involve alumni from a music ensemble like these can be extremely beneficial in the areas of public and personal relations. Alumni are taxpayers to a school district somewhere, and reconnecting them with the positive side of a high school experience can pay dividends on many levels. As education continues to be mired in an era that places premium on percentages and standardized testing, these events help a large group of people remember the very powerful part of the human element and joy of teaching and learning in the arts.

What follows are some guidelines that I have followed to help the event be successful. They are not necessarily “cookie-cutter” solutions that may work for the context of your program and teaching situation, but you may find some useful and practical information that will allow you to get such an event started at your school.

1) Clear it with your administration a year out – Put this on their radar so they understand it is a major event for your program! In the case of an alumni marching band or pep band event, I involved our athletic director in the discussion as well. While we budgeted to pay for the tickets for the alumni at the event, he graciously let them in for free.

2) Set an annual date that alumni can count on – In my situation, we have established that the Homecoming Football Game will be the day of our Alumni Marching Band. If it is a concert event, many times programs choose a particular day on a weekend for a performance.  By establishing a consistent time frame, those who have to travel back can make arrangements with enough time.

3) “I played in band and all I got was this lousy t-shirt…” – That being said, we used an alumni band t-shirt complete with graduating year and instrument/front-line on the back. We did have to charge the alumni for the t-shirt and ticket, but this was very nominal. Other alumni events that I am familiar with have used hoodies, windbreakers (Grove City College), or even a coffee mug (given at a Holiday Concert event). The use of apparel helps the audience to identify the alumni, and gives the alumni a souvenir to remember the evening.

4) Don’t over extend your current group or the past one – We used music from our current show with the alumni, and repeated one song from our alumni performance last year. This enabled the band front advisers to keep the routine the same and the fronts were able to learn the routine with limited rehearsal time. Additionally, at our music rehearsal in the afternoon prior to the game the current band members were able to help alumni with music if they were a bit “rusty”.

5) Feed your group, feed it – Thanks to a couple of local establishments, we were able to feed our alumni prior to the game (pizza, subs, wings) and our Band Boosters provided homemade cookies and bottled water (The no-bakes were killer this year!). The pre-game picnic in the cafeteria was a great social gathering. I have heard of other groups involving their alumni parents and going for a full-blown tail-gate (complete with corn-hole!), and indoor concert events with alumni having a post-concert reception or a soup luncheon prior. This really adds a nice element to the event and allows for some great fellowship.

6) Prepare your current group for logistics – In the weeks leading up, you have to prepare your group to be flexible and roll with changes that may occur rapidly the day off in preparing the performance. I was really proud of my students for their patience and malleability as we took the alumni through an hour and 45 minute rehearsal. They were responsive, maintained a great attitude, and were very diligent.

7) Be patient as the event grows – The success of the event may take some time to pick up steam and catch on with the alumni. We were able to use Social Media to help spread the word and make connections with many of our alumni. The event may be better served on a bi-annual basis in your teaching context, but by setting up certain parameters of when the event will fall, you can focus time on recruitment and contacting alumni. If your program has seen turn-over at the director position, it may take time to build up the alumni response. Entrenched directors should have a relatively easy time getting former students out on the field – and they may feel a little older with a kid’s kid playing in the current group!

8) Get good equipment – For an instrumental event, you may need to borrow some instruments from colleagues. If you have a good working relationship with a college director in your area, they may be able to loan out on a Friday night to help with larger instruments. Additionally some alumni may have sold or donated their instrument along the way – be sure to find out if they need an instrument, and don’t forget flip folios and lyres if you are on the field!

Alumni group events can be very energizing. I am thankful the efforts of my Boosters, my student teacher, assistant director, band front advisers, and my dad (Ultimate Wheelman who picked up the alumni t-shirts!) who helped make the day and night a success. It is a great reminder of the shared humanity that exists in music education, and a powerful statement to our communities of the lasting impact that music can have on the lives of students past, present, and future.

Shortly after beginning my teaching career, I recognized I needed a musical outlet for myself to keep my own musicianship fresh. I resumed writing music, something I did in my undergraduate experience for the ensembles in which I played. After sharing an untitled overture with my friend Erich, he commented that I was “living the dream”. My remark to him was that this dream of composing music for bands was going to take some work, and that I was chasing the dream. After sitting dormant for 7 years, I returned to this yet to be named work and reshaped it to reflect my journey in music and the opportunity I have each day to reach new goals. I thank you in advance for your support of Dream Chaser ( A New Day’s Begun), and I hope that it is a wonderful experience for your ensemble!

There are several free sites that allow you to generate QR Codes. To generate some that are a bit more artistic and eye-catching (and can match up to your room decor and school colors), I would encourage you to use Dr. Pisano’s at Mustech. Something about coloring your world and connecting it to sound that makes everything better!

Drew previously programmed Shine! with the group in 2009, and I am pleased for him to give the debut of Jubilant Flourishes this summer. He is also including Romance for Winds, and The Last Stagecoach Heist. I really appreciate Drew’s musicality and interpretation with concert bands and wind ensembles. He handled the debut of Pirates! several years ago with a New York Honor Band, and the results were so good I told him since he takes such good care of my works I would trust him with my own daughters.

I am looking forward to attending rehearsal on Wednesday, July 18th and work with the ensemble. There are always new insights to share after a piece has come to life, and I am eager to get their reaction and impression. The public concert will take place at 1:30 p.m. on Saturday, July 21st. If you are in the area, I would encourage you to join the CMU Pre-College Students and Drew for a great afternoon of music!

What is accountability? Any dictionary acknowledges that it is an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions. Simply put as it might apply to any musical ensemble it is responsibility to someone or for some activity. Musical ensembles tend to be a bit active, so I hope that you can see the value of accountability.

One idea that I have spoken on and written about the past few years about is Reimer’s idea that musical experiences can shape more ethical people. The values of cooperation, competence, courage, respect and trust can be important to the inner workings and development of any musical organization. Accountability is not a new concept by any mean, but I would suggest that it can be – much like what I need before getting corn-rows – an extension of what is already there.

Why do we need accountability? My friend and colleague Dr. Joseph Pisano at Grove City College often remind each other that the toughest thing about being successful is that we have to keep on being successful. There is no auto-pilot for maintaining success. The more success we experience, the more accountability we need to make sure the steps that made us successful before are not ignored or skipped over. Past success does not guarantee future success, and accountability is the watchdog that keeps the proverbial adolescents from acts of foolish abandon on the proverbial site that has not been desecrated. On one level, accountability keeps the neighbor kids off my lawn. But it can also remind the students what they need to have done, when it needs to be done, and why it is important.

How do we account for accountability? The stress and pressure of other things in our own lives and those of the students we teach puts demands on our time. Some pressure is good pressure – need I remind you that no pressure means no diamonds. But sometimes it creates nagging guilt – nagging guilt when individuals realize that they have not the time to fulfill their full obligation to the organization and honor the efforts of others who have fulfilled that obligation. Those people become preoccupied – it creates in them a sense of worry, instead of an act of agency and accountability.

Accountability helps students to understand what they can control. Accountability helps students to understand their responsibilities to others in their organization and the traditions of their program, to make those people and obligations priorities, and gives students the chance to establish advance decisions that help them realize goals. Many of their goals will be realized through the interdependency they develop with one another. Accountability flourishes in situations like these. Iron sharpens iron, and heat forges it into steel. So too the relationship with others that has been built upon trust, respect, and cooperation allows them to sharpen each other. The demands of performances call their competence and courage to the front provides the heat.

Making accountability part of a musical ensemble’s daily diet isn’t going to tune the woodwinds, improve diction in the bass section, or improve the bowing technique of the strings. Accountability will make the people responsible for performing such tasks more receptive to instruction, and more honorable in their fulfilling their obligation to others in their ensemble.

Winds of a New Day (1.5) – An energetic concert opener suitable for an elementary band. It is listed at the Grade 1.5 level, but is certainly within reach of an Elementary Band by the end of their second semester of playing. Published by C.L. Barnhouse.

I Bought Me A Band (2) - A new take on the children’s folk song “I Bought Me A Cat”. A great way to introduce the instruments at a recruiting concert. Suitable for an elementary band or middle school group looking for a soft grade two”novelty” work to include on their program. Published by C.L. Barnhouse.

Dream Chaser (3) – Includes two of the first melodies I ever wrote for a concert band work. Left dormant for a few years, I found myself revisiting them over the past year and thinking about their possibilities. It also occurred to me at the time, these melodies represented the beginning of my own “dream chasing”. It is energetic at the start, reflective and emotional through the middle, and buoyant and uplifting at the conclusion. I hope it is inspiring work for anyone who has dared to chase their dreams! Published by C.L. Barnhouse.

Jubilant Flourishes(3) is an exciting work available for High School Concert Band from the FJH Music Company. 6/8 Time remains one of my favorite meters in which to write, and there are some wonderful moments that just shine in this piece. It did receive a J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice.

The Last Stagecoach Heist (2) is an intense and driving programmatic work available for Jr. High Concert Band. The music tells the story of Black Bart, a famous thief who made a career out of robbing a number of Wells-Fargo Stage Coaches. There are some challenging and bold lines for the lower voices in your ensemble, and many exciting peaks as the drama unfolds. It is published by FJH, and received a J.W. Pepper Editor’s Choice.

Thanks for taking time to consider these works as you evaluate some new literature for your ensembles, and best wishes to you in the fall with your students!

Winds of a New Day (1.5) – An energetic concert opener suitable for an elementary band.

I Bought Me A Band (2) - A new take on the children’s folk song “I Bought Me A Cat”. A great way to introduce the instruments at a recruiting concert. Suitable for an elementary band looking for a soft grade two to include on their program.

Dream Chaser (3) – Includes two of the first melodies I ever wrote for a concert band work. Left dormant for a few years, I found myself revisiting them over the past year and thinking about their possibilities. It also occurred to me at the time, these melodies represented the beginning of my own “dream chasing”. It is energetic at the start, reflective and emotional through the middle, and buoyant and uplifting at the conclusion. I hope it is inspiring work for anyone who has dared to chase their dreams!

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