I hope the summer has been good to you, and you are approaching a sense of normalcy as your school year approaches. As you consider what your groups will study and perform this year, it is my pleasure to share several new works that may be of interest to you and your ensembles. There is a great deal of variety […]
Trophies at competitions, degree of difficulty in the repertoire performed, or the number of performances completed will not determine the success of instrumental ensembles in music education in the immediate future.
Lost in the early stages of the pandemic, I wrote a piece for Dennis Emert’s Elementary Band from Fox Chapel for their performance at the 2020 PMEA Conference. Although we were disappointed that the debut was canceled, it was a pleasure visiting with he and his students virtually last spring. “Lonely Travelers” is a setting of the folk songs 900 […]
Conducting is but one aspect of successful teaching in instrumental music, and similar to discussion on rehearsal techniques or studio pedagogy, will only improve through sustained conversation and self-analysis of one’s own work.
I am delighted to share the recording of “As Moonlight Falls” (available from Wingert-Jones this summer). This lyric work has a lot to offer musically for developing tone, phrasing, and expression in young bands (Grade 2). I am especially proud of the beautiful moments within it, and it is certainly a change of pace for my writing at this level. […]
