January 2016 – Apperances

I am eagerly looking forward to working with the Lawrence County Senior High All-Star Band on Thursday, January 7th at Westminster College. I count many of the directors as good friends and colleagues, and I am honored they would extend me the invitation to work with their students. The program will be selected from the following:

Toccata by Patrick Burns
A Time to Dance by Julie Giroux
Elements by Brian Balmages
March Grandioso by Roland Seitz/arr. By Alfred Reed
The Shady Grove by Travis J. Weller

It is also nice to see the Junior High  Group will include Irish Jig for Young Feet on their part of the program on Thursday. Honor Bands at any level are wonderful opportunities to see students collaborate in meaningful and artistic ways. The challenge of the day will be to focus 100-plus minds towards a shared vision of each work, and bring about the very best music we can. It will be a wonderful day to – as Tony Maiello said at Midwest – “to go to music”!

I am also looking forward to presenting at the OMEA State Conference that will be held in Cincinnati, Ohio on January 28th. My session “What to Do About All That’s New” will be at 5:00 p.m. on that Thursday of the conference. While many directors are well-versed on what constitutes the core repertoire, this session offers perspective and insight on the evaluation and inclusion of new and emergent concert band works in instrumental music settings. I am looking forward to visiting with many friends and colleagues who are scattered across Ohio.

To my friends, colleagues, directors, and readers – thank you for your continued support of my endeavors in instrumental music education. Best wishes to you in the new year, and I look forward to crossing paths again with you soon!