Happy Holidays!

Well, the Jazz Band played their traditional, pre-break front hall gig this morning, and the Choraliers are off spreading holiday cheer at local schools, so it must mean that it's time for a well-deserved break. On behalf of the DHS Bands, I wish you and yours a joyous holiday season and a healthy and prosperous new year!

Here's a little Leroy Anderson to get you in the spirit:

See you in January!

Another musical legend is gone...

Ravi Shankar, the man who brought Indian classical music to a world stage, died yesterday at the age of 92. He was the leading player of the sitar, a long-necked lute, and was an inspiration to the Beatles in their explorations of South Asian sounds. Shankar was easily one of the most famous musicians on the planet, and over the years he collaborated with John Coltrane, Yehudi Menuhin, and Jean Pierre Rampal, performing everywhere from the Monterey Pop Festival to concert stages throughout America and Europe. His children include jazz-pop singer Norah Jones and sitarist Anoushka Shankar. He leaves behind an incredible legacy of recordings, film scores, and proteges. Here he is performing at Monterey in 1967:

Elliott Carter, Dave Brubeck, and now Ravi Shankar--three musicians who were all active into their 90s (Carter into his 100s!) and were highly influential in the musical world. That's a tough stretch of losses.

R.I.P. Dave Brubeck

Last month, the world of classical music lost its elder statesman, Elliott Carter, and today, we bid farewell to legendary nonagenarian jazz musician, Dave Brubeck. The pianist/composer/bandleader died on the eve of his 92nd birthday. You'll be hearing lots of news stories about him in the coming days; here's his obituary from Downbeat magazine and another in the Chicago Tribune. I'd like to spin a more personal tale.

As a middle school saxophonist, I was just getting started in jazz and checking out various players via the record collection at the local public libraries. Dave Brubeck was one of the first musicians I got excited about. I was drawn to his compositions on the classic album Time Out, which were groundbreaking for their use of non-standard time signatures like 3/4, 5/4, and 9/8. Nowadays, nobody thinks twice about playing in these meters, but in 1959 it sounded very exotic. Even in the late 70s when I started listening, they were still pretty out there. I was especially impressed by the tune "Take Five," written by his alto saxophonist Paul Desmond. I listened to that record so much that even today you can hear his tone and phrasing in my sax playing. During my senior year at Glenbrook South, I played "Take Five" in the annual variety show, and introduced all my peers to his music.

Since then, I went on to "hipper" musicians--Brubeck always took a bit of a bum rap for not being bluesy enough or adventurous enough after his early days. (I assume there was a bit of reverse racism there, as Brubeck was a white man in the predominantly black world of jazz. People are more enlightened today.) But as the years went on and Brubeck kept playing and touring, I had to give him props for being at the forefront of the cool jazz era and for his sheer longevity. He played into his 90s, including a 2011 Father's Day concert at Ravinia when he shared the stage with his four musician sons.

So here's to one of my very first jazz heroes--thanks for the great music, Dave!

Jazz Band Gig for School Chest

Tonight the Jazz Band performed an hour set at the Deerfield Hyatt for the School Chest benefit dinner and auction. It was attended by over 300 people who enjoyed the sounds of the JB while perusing the items and snacking on hors d'oeurves. A number of band parents showed up to cheer us on, and we received many nice compliments on our playing. Everybody got to stretch out on some longer solos, and, as always, we added some holiday tunes to our repertoire. Here's our set list:

• Billie's Bounce
• Lemoncello
• I Had a Little Dreydl (swing version)
• Christmas Time is Here
• Rhythm-a-ning
• Some Other Blues
• Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (big band version)
• Chanukah, Oh Chanukah (klezmer version)
• Milestones
• Inchworm
• Sudwest Funk
• Auld Lang Syne (funk version)

Next up for the Jazz Band is the annual last-day-of-school-front-hall gig. It's a tradition here at DHS to perform while people are entering the school on the day before a break. For this one, we always set out a guitar case to solicit contributions for School Chest. This year's beneficiary is Lungevity, an organization that supports lung cancer research. As a school, we will be raising thousands of dollars for them over the next three weeks.

Who chooses the music you hear at the mall?

Want to know why you hear Skrillex when you shop for Under Armour and Tropical Punk when you're at Nordstrom's? Here's an excellent article about a highly successful DJ who is also a professional "playlister" for companies all over America. It's a fascinating look at the business side of pop music.

The article is from a blog I follow called "The Record," which is part of the National Public Radio Music site. I read a lot of their content about jazz, pop, and classical music. They also have lots of streaming audio and video to enjoy. It's a great way to stay on top of what's happening in both the mainstream and independent scenes.

DHS Band Happenings

Well, it's been a busy few weeks for the DHS Bands. Last week was our annual Fall Concert, which featured Concert Band, Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, Jazz Band, and our 8th graders. I thought the highlights were our performances of music by Vaughan Williams and the JB's closing number, "Rhythm-a-ning." The latter included a triple-sax battle as our soloists duked it out over rhythm changes. We were also blessed with a good sized crowd enjoying the concert.

The annual fine arts assembly was last Friday. I was so impressed with all of our students and my colleagues. We had three very different dance numbers, one of which was choreographed by a member of the Joffrey Ballet. There was a scene from INSIDE/OUT, a play co-written by eight of our theatre students and members of Buzz22 Chicago. It was a satirical look at how teenagers unknowingly invite total strangers into their personal lives through social media.

The visual art students contributed a video showcasing their work with pieces in a variety of media including photography, graphic design, sculpture, painting, drawing, and fashion design. It was very impressive. Then, of course, we had the Choraliers, Jazz Band, and Symphony Orchestra performing music from their recent concerts. All in all, it was very successful, thanks especially to the fine tech theatre students providing sound, lighting, and stage managing. I was very proud of everyone involved.

We closed the fall season with an informal performance for the grandparents yesterday during 7th period. Once again, the Choraliers sang, the Chamber Orchestra played, and the Warrior Marching Band closed the set. It was a fitting end to the grandparents' visit to DHS. Next up is a Jazz Band performance at the School Chest Benefit and the citrus delivery. Musically, we'll be heading into SB/WE units on the Baroque Era, African-American music, and chamber ensembles. The JB is learning about blues improvisation as we prepare for a presentation at the Illinois Music Educators Conference in Peoria in January. Lots to do between now and winter break!

So, as it's Thanksgiving week, I leave you with a Vince Guaraldi Thanksgiving tune from one of the old Peanuts specials. Enjoy!

Elliott Carter, 1908-2012

The Dean of American composers, Elliott Carter, has died at the age of 103. Winner of two Pulitzer Prizes, he was one of the last links to a much earlier era, as he was a protege of early American composer Charles Ives and French composition teacher Nadia Boulanger. He was a contemporary of Copland and Bernstein, and he continued to write music until his death. He wrote more than 40 pieces in his nineties, and 12 since becoming a centenarian. His last work was completed in August, and the Seattle Symphony will premiere another recent work, Instances next February. His music is decidedly modernist, full of dissonance and thorny passages, but the intrepid listener will find it to be tightly constructed and starkly beautiful.

Here is a Spotify playlist of many of his pieces. Check out Shard, Eight Pieces for Four Timpani, the Woodwind Quintet, and Two Controversies and a Conversation. There are also a number of solo pieces for wind instruments--click around and try to find your instrument.

Here is NPR's piece on Carter's career. There is also a video of his last interview, where he speaks to a young cellist about his cello sonata.

Some Vaughan Williams Resources

We've been talking about my favorite composer in Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble this week. Ralph Vaughan Williams (1872-1958) was a major figure in 20th-century music, known for his symphonies, choral works, songs, and chamber music. He also composed three band pieces that are currently in our repertoire: Sea Songs, Flourish for Wind Band, and English Folk Song Suite.

As we learned in class, Vaughan Williams pronounced his first name "Rafe," not "Ralph." He played organ, piano, violin, and viola, and was drawn to composing at a young age. Besides writing music, he was a collector of English folk songs and helped to edit The English Hymnal. During WWI, he enlisted in the army as a 42-year old medic. Here is a video discussing his experiences and how they affected his music.

You can see more of these videos here.

One of my favorite pieces by RVW is his Six Studies in English Folksong. It was originally written for cello and piano, and it has been transcribed for many different solo instruments, including viola and tuba. Here is the original version as performed by Denise Djokic:

Here's one last page with some interesting facts. Enjoy!

IMEA Honorees

Congratulations to the eight DHS band students who were recently named to the Illinois Music Educators Association District VII festivals. These students auditioned with hundreds of other high school musicians from Northeastern Illinois and were chosen based on their tone, technique and reading skills. They will perform in the district festivals in November where they will work with college conductors from around the Midwest. Our DHS students will join their peers from over 50 other high schools in a day of intensive rehearsals culminating in a festival performance. Competition for these groups is very keen, and it is a great honor to be selected. Congratulations to the following musicians:

Band: Colin Davis, oboe; Mitchell Steindler, trumpet; Jacob Taitel, tuba. Vocal Jazz Ensemble: Jordan Barhydt, bass. Honors Jazz Combo: Joey Rosin, alto saxophone. Jazz Band: Eric Guberman, baritone saxophone; Zachry Molina, piano. Orchestra: Adam Kleiman, violin.

What I Was Listening to in 1988...

This blog posting is really just a chance for me to try out Spotify's embedded playlists. Since I had to come up with some music to post, I thought I would go back and look at what I was listening to when I came to DHS in 1988. These are are songs off of albums that I bought on LP or CD that year. It's basically a WXRT playlist, as that was my main source of music back in the day. Five albums are missing because they aren't on Spotify: Our Beloved Revolutionary Sweetheart (Camper Van Beethoven), The Traveling Wilburys, Vol. 1, Short Sharp Shocked (Michelle Shocked), The Mona Lisa's Sister (Graham Parker), and Lovesexy (Prince).

The tunes Spotify does have, however, give you a good glimpse into what I like to think of as the hipper side of the late 80s. Enjoy!

New Connection to Facebook

All blog posts are now automatically sent to the DHS Band Facebook page. Now you have even more ways to follow us!

Homecoming 2012

Another homecoming in the books, and it was a great one! The theme was the Olympics, so the band was ready with some appropriate music. Of course, we played the traditional fanfare, "Bugler's Dream" by Leo Arnaud. You may not recognize the name, but it's this one:

We played this several times as we marched through the halls, but we were especially excited to play it as DHS alumna Christina Loukas was announced at the pep rally. Christina is our own home-grown Olympian, having placed in the top ten in diving at the Beijing and London games. At halftime, we played the Rocky Theme "Gonna Fly Now," but we renamed it in her honor: "Gonna Dive Now." We also did a short bit of "We Are the Champions" as a patriotic shout-out to Team USA.

We couldn't have asked for a better day--the student body was excited to see us marching through the halls during 8th period. The pep rally was well-attended and very positive. The weather at the game was picture-perfect: 60 degrees, clear, and a full harvest moon. To top it off, we got to turn our hats around backwards, the traditional marching band sign of a football victory, as the Warriors of Deerfield defeated the Warriors of Maine West, 35-7.

This afternoon I checked my email and found pictures from DHS band alums in their college marching bands. Elizabeth, our tubist at Penn State, traveled to the U of Illinois where she met up with trombonist Dominic and trumpeter Zack. In Evanston, Indiana U trombonist Logan reconnected with a trio of Northwestern Wildcats, Robin, Emma, and Nathan. I know we also have alums marching in other schools across the country. It's great to see the Warrior Band tradition continue on at the next level.

What's next for the marching band? Why, "Rocking the Classics"! Check out our show on October 19 when we play "A Fifth of Beethoven" and "A Night on Bald Mountain." Then it's on to Bandorama at 7:30 on 10/22--a fitting finale to a fine season.

Our Year So Far

We are now starting the fourth week of the school year, and it's time to take stock of what we have so far...

This year, we have our largest marching band since the 1980s! 72 members strong, and we've already performed our first halftime show. We received great audience response, and watching the video afterwards, I can truly say I am very pleased with the results. This Friday night we'll be playing a Motown show that will feature the varsity and JV squads of the DHS Dance Team--almost 130 performers on the field at one time! It's been too many years since we've combined our efforts, so this show will be something special. We hope to see you there!

Symphonic Band is off to a great start. It's definitely one of the strongest SB's we've had since moving to three bands in 1998. We are playing some challenging music, and our performance at Potpourri on September 20 should be very exciting. We are playing a march by Henry Fillmore and a fanfare by my favorite composer, Ralph Vaughan Williams. I expect to be pushing this group all year to work on a higher level of difficulty than in the past.

The Concert Band is a bit small, but there are a number of very talented musicians. The challenge every year is to take students who come from several different middle school bands and mold them into a single, cohesive high school ensemble. That means we'll be working on a lot of fundamentals to get everyone on the same page. I will also be putting advanced players into small chamber ensembles so they can work on more technical music with our senior leaders during rehearsal time.

The Jazz Band will have their first performance this Thursday at Open House. We'll be in the bookstore lobby, playing classic tunes by legendary musicians like Miles Davis, Charlie Parker, and Thelonious Monk. We're also learning all of our modes (dorian, mixolydian, lydian, and phrygian) so we can explore modal improvisation. Soon, we'll be narrowing down our repertoire to create a 3-tune set for the November concert.

The Music Theory class is very large this year--23 students. A big change is the conversion to a Mac-based music lab, which we share with the art students across the hall. We spent the period in there last Friday getting acquainted with Apple's GarageBand software. It was fun to see everybody so engaged in creating music by combing pre-made loops with their own ideas. This week we'll begin to hear their first round of free compositions--always an exciting time.

Wind Ensemble is going well as they also prepare a march and a fanfare for Potpourri. In addition, we've been working on some Renaissance music and a landmark piece by Vaughan Williams. Every year in SB and WE, we focus on two composers, one from the British tradition and one American. Last year we spent a lot of time on Percy Grainger and Aaron Copland; this year it's Vaughan Williams and Leonard Bernstein. You can look forward to hearing some of Mr. Bernstein's music this spring. In between, we'll study the music of African-American musicians and the Baroque music of J.S. Bach.

So, there's a quick update on what's been going on in the DHS Band and Music Theory program. I hope to see all of our students' parents and guardians this Thursday at Open House. Until then, best wishes for a happy and musical fall!

Desert Island Discs

On the first day of school, I posed the following question to my music theory class: "If you were stranded on a desert island for the rest of your life and could listen to only one records which would it be?" Here are their "Desert Island Disc" choices:

• Hemispheres, Rush
• The Romantic and Impressionist Eras, Vladimir Horowitz
• The Wall, Pink Floyd
• By the Way, Red Hot Chili Peppers (2 votes)
• any album by Jim Brickman
• Stay What You Are, Saves the Day
• The Bends, Radiohead
• Rumours, Fleetwood Mac
• U218 Singles, U2
• Abbey Road, The Beatles
• an album of Haydn symphonies
• Manners, Passion Pit
• Never Mind the Bullocks, The Sex Pistols
• Live at the Pershing, Ahmad Jamal
• Impressions, Chris Botti
• Rounds, Four Tet
• 151A, Kishi Bashi
• Come on Feel the Illinoise, Sufjan Stevens
• Best of, Van Morrison
• Stadium Arcadium, Red Hot Chili Peppers
• Drukqs, Aphex Twin

Not a bad assortment--some classic rock, some classical, a bit of jazz, electronica, and indie rock. Interesting to see three different students choosing the Red Hot Chili Peppers. I remember when they had their first big hit back in 1989, Mother's Milk, and they were very popular with my students. Now, 20+ years later, they're still capturing the attention of teenagers--not a bad career.

Band Camp 2012

The 2012 Band Camp is in the books. We had a great week with (mostly) good weather. A record number of members form this year's squad--72! I know that back in the 70s or 80s before marching band was voluntary, we probably had larger groups, but in my 25-year tenure, it's the first time we've broken 70. It's a great mix of veteran leadership and enthusiastic new faces. We've learned our traditional pregame drill with the criss-cross America the Beautiful routine, and we've begun to learn a halftime drill to "Rolling in the Deep."

Our first show will be on Friday, August 31. The theme is "Pop Hits," so we'll do the Adele song above along with the soundtrack to so many viral videos, "Call Me Maybe." Come out to Adams Field and check us out!

Click on the slide show above to see pictures of our busy week!

Rock and Roll Olympics, Part 3

Read Part 1 and Part 2 first!

In the Olympics Rock Band competition, days of competition boiled down to the night when England met America for the gold medal match. After the Yanks performed first, British captain John Lennon sent the boys in Led Zeppelin out on stage to open their team’s hour-long set. Skipping the acoustic sounds and the Middle Earth mythology, they went right for the jugular with some of their hardest tunes, reminding everyone of their status as heavy metal pioneers. “Black Dog,” “Heartbreaker,” and “Immigrant Song” led to a finale of “Good Times, Bad Times,” the first track off their debut album. Joe Strummer and The Clash then ran on stage, kicking off “London’s Burning” before the applause for Led Zeppelin even had a chance to die down. Their sneering punk attitudes came across as only slightly more finessed than the Ramones’ performance during the American set. They toned it down with the reggae of “The Guns of Brixton” and closed with a perfectly placed jab at the Americans by singing “I’m So Bored with the U.S.A.”

The final three bands came on stage all at once, forming a super group the likes of which had never been seen. The Beatles, The Rolling Stones, and The Who proved that the whole truly could be greater than the sum of the parts. They performed a three-song medley, opening with Keith Richards, George Harrison, and Pete Townshend in a triple guitar attack on “Satisfaction.” Mick Jagger and Paul McCartney shared vocal duties, while Keith Moon and Charlie Watts manned dual drum kits. Ringo Starr was relegated to tambourine, and Bill Wyman played bass. At the end of a Ronnie Wood guitar solo, Roger Daltrey grabbed the mic and spat out, “People try to put us d-d-d-down!” and launched the band into “My Generation.” With John Lennon on backing vocals and a bass duel by McCartney and John Entwistle, the tune kicked into overdrive at the modulation. Jimmy Page then ran back on stage and played a monster guitar solo, which segued the band into the final song.

Everyone expected one of the Beatles’ sing-along hits like “Hey Jude,” but this was not that kind of gig. Instead, the chaotic sounds of “Helter Skelter” issued forth like some sort of rock manifesto. At one point, Starr and Moon (clever, eh?) were soloing simultaneously, while Townshend began smashing his guitar across his amp. Daltrey dove into the crowd, followed by all of the members of The Clash. Richards, Harrison, and Page duked it out with guitar solos, and Jagger just leered into the crowd. When the dust settled, the exhausted audience fell to their seats and awaited the judges’ scores.

The final score was England 742.667, America 709.5. Rock and roll may have been born in the US, but it was the hometown favorites who emerged victorious in this match. America would even the score the following night, however, when the individual rock artist events were held. Team USA featured five rock legends: Elvis Presley, Aretha Franklin, James Brown, Stevie Wonder, and Bob Dylan. England countered with David Bowie, Elton John, Eric Clapton, Sting, and Peter Gabriel, but they couldn’t quite keep up. When the Americans closed the evening with a funky and soulful version of “Like a Rolling Stone,” they wrapped up the gold medal, leaving the Brits with silver and the Irish, led by Van Morrison, with a second bronze.

In other events, the Jamaicans, led by Bob Marley and Peter Tosh, won the gold medal in reggae, with England and Cote d’Ivoire taking the silver and bronze. The United States boasted a pair of dream teams that won gold in jazz and hip-hop. The jazz team included captain Louis Armstrong with Duke Ellington, Charlie Parker, Miles Davis, and John Coltrane. The rappers featured Public Enemy, Run DMC, The Beastie Boys, Tupac Shakur, and Dr. Dre. Neither squad was ever challenged as they flew through their matches like Michael Jordan and his legendary 1992 basketball squad. The Afropop category was the most closely contested during this year’s games, as Fela Kuti and his Nigerian squad barely eked out a victory over Ali Farka Touré and Tinariwen from Team Mali. South Africa won bronze over Congo.

In the Romantic Era of Classical Music Event, the heavily favored Germans were stacked with talented composers: Mendelssohn, Schumann, Wagner, Brahms, and Strauss. They were able to fend off the Italians in the semi-finals and went on to defeat the Russians in the championship. As the final chords of the final musical event drifted into silence, the world looked ahead to Rio 2016, where the hometown crowd will be defending their long string of gold medals in the samba event.

Rock and Roll Olympics (Part 2) - America Takes the Stage

If you have not yet read Part 1, read it here.

The gold medal match of the rock band competition at the London Olympics pitted the Americans (who invented rock and roll) against the English. Each team was given 60 minutes of stage time to show off their talents, with the US up first. The visiting Americans ran into trouble early when Lou Reed decided he wasn’t interested in the competition and pulled the Velvet Underground from the bill. Then nobody could find Sly Stone, and the rest of his band dropped out. Team coach Bruce Springsteen hastily cobbled together a set that unfortunately lacked cohesion. The Ramones opened the concert with their blazing, stripped-down brand of rock including a blistering rendition of “Blitzkrieg Bop.” The transition to the pitch-perfect harmonies and complex arrangements of The Beach Boys was awkward, at best, but the crowd began to cheer loudly as they came out of the break leading into the final chorus of “Good Vibrations.” Hendrix took the stage next and almost replicated his set from the Monterey Pop Festival, but instead of lighting his guitar on fire, he segued into an unbelievable display of musical pyrotechnics using his dazzling technique and mastery of distortion to extend “Purple Haze” way beyond its original pop song format.

Just like The Who at Monterey, Nirvana and Metallica had the unenviable task of following Hendrix. Instead of presenting separate sets, they joined forces for a fascinating blend of post-punk grunge and thrash metal. At first, the groups had difficulty merging their sounds as the extreme tempo of Metallica seemed to throw off the Nirvana rhythm section, but when Kurt Cobain and James Hetfield teamed up on vocals for “Smells Like Teen Spirit,” the sounds of suburban teen angst and raw metal anger became one, bringing the American performance to a transcendent close.

Tomorrow, Team England responds...

Rock and Roll Olympics (Part 1)

For the first time in Olympic history, musicians from around the world competed in London in a number of events to win the gold, silver, and bronze medals for their countries. A novel feature of these competitions is that musicians both living and deceased were eligible for the games. Tonight featured the gold medal match in the rock band competition, held at the Royal Albert Hall. Each country was allowed five bands and two alternates. From the original field of 16, the United States beat Ireland in their semi-final match, despite a very strong performance from U2, The Cranberries, and The Pogues. The other finalist was team England, who bested Australia’s sonic onslaught headlined by AC/DC, INXS, Men at Work, and Midnight Oil. Earlier today, Ireland took bronze as Bono led his team in a tumultuous medley of “Sunday Bloody Sunday” and “New Year’s Day” from their 1983 album War. A 15-minute version of “Back in Black” by the Aussies was strong, but it did not impress the judges.

Team America were the underdogs; most critics thought their line-up was too diverse, and there were rumors of intra-squad tensions. Team coach Bruce Springsteen first chose the veteran band The Beach Boys who insisted that the Jimi Hendrix Experience be part of the team, in spite of the British citizenship of two of their members. The Brits cried foul, so Hendrix added his Band of Gypsies musicians to tip the scales in favor of the Yanks. Jimi lobbied for the inclusion of Sly and the Family Stone, a band many were afraid might miss the team flight. The Velvet Underground were chosen for their influence rather than their commercial success, and The Ramones were added to beef up the team’s overall menace quotient. Many American rockers were concerned that the overall team lacked in volume, so Nirvana and Metallica joined the squad as alternates.

The heavily favored English squad was loaded with talent. Led by The Beatles, two other British Invasion bands made the cut: The Rolling Stones and The Who. Hard rock pioneers Led Zeppelin and punk rockers The Clash rounded out the team. The alternates were Pink Floyd and young upstarts Radiohead. Fans of Queen, Cream, and The Police made strong cases for their favorite artists, but in the end team captain John Lennon went for sheer volume and intensity when choosing his team.

Tomorrow, the Americans take the stage...

Live Music in the Summer

Tuesday night I took to heart the advice I give all of my students at the end of the school year, and I went to hear some live music in an outdoor setting. Many towns in the north suburbs have a weekly summer concert series, and one of my favorites is at Independence Grove in Libertyville. It's a beautiful venue, especially as the sun sets over the lake just behind the stage. This week the performer was Fareed Haque and his trio.

Fareed was a classmate of mine at Northwestern. Since he was a guitar major and I was in music education, our paths didn't really cross, but I've enjoyed following his career. He's known as one of the preeminent guitarists in world music circles, combining influences from South Asia, Latin American, and classical music into a unique take on jazz and jazz fusion. His band Garaj Mahal released an album in 2010 called More Mr. Nice Guy that showcased his growing interest in electronica. If you like jazz fusion and/or prog rock, I highly recommend it.

For the show on Tuesday, he was joined by Alex Austin on bass and Greg Fundis on drum set and electronic percussion. Their setlist was stylistically diverse, including three jazz standards ("Manteca," "Doxy," and "Maiden Voyage"), a classical guitar solo ("Arabic Caprice"), and some of their electronic music. The latter was often built off of loops played and triggered by the drummer on a Roland Octapad. There were blistering guitar riffs, subterranean basslines, and Indian rhythmic solfege (ta-ka-di-mi). Quite a fun show!

Next week, I plan to see the Chicago Symphony Orchestra play Gustav Holst's The Planets at Ravinia. It sounds like it will be a multimedia spectacular, complete with video screens and astronomy demos. Best of all, high school and college students get free lawn passes just by showing their IDs. Check out the details here. It's a show that you will really enjoy!

One Month to Band Camp 2012!

One month from today, we'll convene in the band room at 1:00 p.m. to begin our new season of the Warrior Marching Band. That's right--in 31 days we'll be dusting off the quads, oiling the valves, trying on uniforms, and practicing our 8 to 5, all in preparation for our first performance on Friday, August 31. This season we'll be visiting the Olympics, Motown, the concert stage, and more. I hope to have a couple of fun new pep tunes in the mix as well as your old favorites. Here are some other things to look forward to:

• We'll have a new student teacher from NU, Mr. Schneider, joining us for the first several weeks.
• Our camp practices will be on the field just north of the stadium while they renovate the back 40.
• Our new drum majors, Steve and Joey, will be fresh from drum major camp, where they will have become marching machines.
• Best of all, our numbers are up, and we just might top the 70-member mark for the first time in several years!

Current students should look for an email from me by the end of July with more details about the upcoming fun and frivolity. Until then, keep practicing!

Happy 4th of July!

Today is Independence Day, so let's celebrate with the finest band in America, the US Marine Band, playing our national march, "The Stars and Stripes Forever," by John Philip Sousa!

Band Trip 2013!

It's official! On February 14, 2013, the DHS Symphonic Band, Wind Ensemble, and Orchestra will be traveling to Phoenix, Arizona for four days of performances and sightseeing. It's going to be a wonderful tour, and if you were with us last year in Montreal, you know that these trips are always a great experience, musically, educationally, and socially. Here are some of the activities we have planned:

• a high school exchange
• a college clinic
• 1-2 public performances
• a visit to the Music Instrument Museum and the Heard Museum of Native American Art and History
• a Broadway show or concert
• a trip to the south rim of the Grand Canyon
• sightseeing and a jeep tour in Sedona
• Western-themed dining and entertainment

It promises to be a great time--watch this space for more details this fall!

Jazz Band Gig at Discover Financial

For the final DHS Band performance of the year, the Jazz Band played a "corporate gig." This is when you are asked to provide background music for a company event. It's a common activity for a professional, jobbing musician, so it was a good experience for us. Our role was to play upbeat music in the 4-story, circular foyer of the Discover Financial Services headquarters in Riverwoods. The employees were lining the balconies of each floor, looking down to where we were performing, while the award winners from all around the country were introduced. Our challenge was to keep the music going continuously, so as we approached the end of a tune, I called up the next one. When we hit the cut-off, the rhythm section immediately started the next introduction vamp so the horn players could get their music ready, and away we went.

The group played quite well, in spite of a missing neckstrap and an oversleeping band member. It was a great way to have the seniors play one last time as members of the DHS band family. And with that, we close the door on another year (the 52nd!) in the history of the DHS Bands. Happy Summer!

Music Theory World Music Playlist

On the last day of school, I had some fun with my two remaining music theory students (the 13 seniors had graduated and left us to fend for ourselves). Both of them are way into music from all over the world. One is our resident oud-playing Middle Eastern music specialist, and the other is a big fan of Nigerian afrobeat pioneer Fela Kuti and French chanteuse Edith Piaf. So, I loaded up my iPod with 22 tracks from my many sources and let them try to guess where each tune was from. It was amazing how accurately they guessed music from Mali and Armenia, yet were totally stumped by Greece and Tanzania. Anyway, here's the playlist:

1. Mali - Salif Keita - "Madan" - Moffou
2. Benin - Angélique Kidjo - "Batonga" - The Best Of World Music - African (Putumayo Presents)
3. Cameroon - Zap Mama - "Brrrlak!" - Adventures in Afropea I
4. South Africa - Johnny Clegg And Juluka - "Umfazi Omdala" - The Best Of World Music - African (Putumayo Presents)
5. Tanzania - Mohamed Ilyas - "Hofu Yako Iondoe" - Zanzibara Vol.1 Cent ans de taarab à Zanzibar
6. Morocco - Nass Marrakech - "Yo Mala" - Sabil `a` Salaam
7. Cuba - Arsenio Rodriguez - "El Reloj de Pastora" - Legends of Cuban Music
8. Jamaica - Burning Spear - "Slavery Days" - Marcus Garvey/Garvey’s Ghost
9. Brazil - Abacaxi - "Batucada" - Samba Percussion Live In Concert
10. Mexico - Banda la Costeña - "La Plebada" - 12 Nuevos Costeñazos
11. USA - Cornel Pewewardy - "Kiowa Hymn" - Global Voices - Sacred
12. DR of Congo - Konono No.1 - "Ungudi Wele Wele" - Congotronics
13. Japan - Orchestra Asia - "Sakura, Sakura" - ExxonMobil-NTU Explorations in the Arts Series
14. Dominican Republic - La India Canela - "Apriétame Así" ("Squeeze Me Like That") - Merengue Típico from the Dominican Republic
15. Greece - Kristi Stassinopoulou - "Drumming Frogs" - Echotropia
16. India/Pakistan - Rudresh Mahanthappa - "Apti" - Apti
17. Indonesia - Gamelan Gong Kebyar of Peliatan - "Kebyar: Teruna" - Excursions In World Music
18. Iran - Hasan Kasa'i - "Shushtari" - The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan
19. Uzbekistan - Jurabek Nabiev - "Uchun Dur" - The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan
20. Armenia - Gevorg Dabaghian - "Dance of Tamir Agha" - The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan
21. Kazakhstan - Aygul Ulkenbaeva - "Balbyraun" - The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan
22. Turkey - Jarrahi Dervishes - "Sufi Hymn" - The Silk Road: A Musical Caravan

Memorial Day 2012

Once again, I can say how very proud I am of the members of the Warrior Marching Band. Today is a national holiday, one that has come to be more about department store sales and backyard cookouts than anything else. Yet my 60 teenagers woke up early, donned heavy uniforms, and marched in the 90-degree heat and bright sun to help our community remember those who died in service to our country. Special kudos to senior buglers Zack Berman and Eric Vanderhulst who performed "Taps" in the town cemetery.

Being part of this commemoration is very important to me. As we joined with the American Legion and all of the Girl Scouts and Boy Scouts, we had a chance to reflect on those who unselfishly fought and perished in places like Bull Run, Chateau-Thierry, Normandy, Iwo Jima, Inchon, and Khe Sanh, men and women who paid the ultimate price for our freedom.

So I say a sincere thanks to the band students, and also to the parents who supplied us with water. It's good to know that patriotism is alive and well in Deerfield, Illinois.

Long Time, No Blog

As often happens this time of year, the rush of performances and other events means that I write fewer posts. To make up for that, here's the lowdown on all things DHS Band.

The spring concert on 5/15 was quite a success. The freshmen played well, and their performance of Paper Cut was very well received. It featured the students "playing" sheets of paper (crumpling, tearing, tapping, snapping) along to a pre-recorded electronic music track. Halfway through the piece, they picked up their instruments and joined their acoustic sounds with the electronic. Although in retrospect, the balance was off between the two, it was a great experience in more modern, non-traditional music making. I will definitely perform the piece again in the future.

Symphonic Band played particularly well, especially on Overture in B-flat by Giovannini. This is an old "warhorse" of the school band literature, and it features a great, technical low reed soli that was anchored by baritone saxophonist Tyler Vajdic. Tyler was voted "Outstanding SB Member" by his peers for his musicianship and leadership over the year. Well deserved, I might add.

The Wind Ensemble played a "louder, higher, faster" work called Rush, by Samuel Hazo, a completely contrasting quiet work by Copland, and two movements from the Suite of Old American Dances by Robert Russell Bennett. The highlight, however, was the senior trumpet trio of Avery DeMaria, Zack Berman, and Eric Vanderhulst playing Leroy Anderson's Bugler's Holiday. This piece has been performed the world over, and it's considered a classic. The boys did a wonderful job and deserved every bit of the ovation they received.

The night finished with the Jazz Band bringing down the house on Chick Corea's "La Fiesta," a flamenco/jazz tune that uses the "Spanish phrygian" scale (E F G G# A B C D E). At the end, we held out a loud, high note with the drums crashing away--an ending we devised to maximize the audience response. A bit cheesy on my part, but it's a great way to close the year.

Later that week, we had our traditional Band Awards Dinner, the social event of the season. As always, we celebrated our successes, honored our seniors, "passed the mace" to the new drum majors, and announced section leaders and officers for the following year. The seniors presented me with a brand-new conductor's stand that won't sink down and has plenty of room for all of my scores and various papers. The freshmen gave their senior advisors group pictures that they had all signed. It was a night of laughter and a few tears that was enjoyed by the 300+ in attendance.

People have been asking me, "So, is your year winding down?" Not really. On Monday, we'll participate in the Deerfield Memorial Day Parade. As of today, the forecast is for a high of 91 degrees. Typical, at least in my experience. We either swelter or get washed out, but I will never miss an opportunity to help our American Legion Post No. 738 as they keep the memories alive of those who gave their lives to secure our freedoms.

The next day, we'll continue our biennial tradition of performing at Ravinia for graduation. It's always a kick to play on the same stage that is usually graced by the Chicago Symphony Orchestra and so many other legendary performers. By contrast, it will probably be 50 degrees on stage that close to the lake, and we'll be freezing!

But wait, there's more! The new Jazz Band members will play in the front hall before school on the last day next Friday, and the following week, the old jazzers will play a corporate gig at Discover Financial Services in Riverwoods. During finals, I also have the pleasure of hearing all of our incoming freshmen play for me individually. Then, and only then, will my year wind down, as I start a summer of re-energizing and planning for the fall.

My Recent Arranging, Part Two

This year's version of the DHS Jazz Band is blessed to have an oboist playing piano, an English hornist on guitar and drums, and a bassoonist playing bass. We knew early on that we wanted to feature them on their "band" instruments at some point this year, and we found the perfect opportunity in Oliver Nelson's classic blues, "Stolen Moments" from Blues and the Abstract Truth. I took this standard minor blues progression and wrote a "double reed fantasia," which is really just a soli for the trio of woodwinds. We placed them in between solos by alto and piano. After they finish their feature, they return with background figures behind the pianist's second chorus. Enjoy!

DoubleReedFantasia by DeerfieldBand

Great article on jazz education...

One of my favorite blogs to read is A Blog Supreme, which is written by Patrick Jarenwattananon for NPR Music. Among other postings, he shares interesting links from the world of jazz, including this one from Psychology Today about how the author, Dr. William Klemm, sees jazz educators as the perfect models for fixing what's wrong in American education today. I think he undervalues the great work of a lot of my non-music colleagues, but I do like what he says about motivation and student investment.

My Recent Arranging Work

I've arranged a couple of short bits of music lately that I think came out pretty well. The first I'd like to share is an arrangement of the hymn "Be Still, My Soul" for woodwind quartet. The music is from Jean Sibelius' tone poemFinlandia, which has this lovely theme that is often excerpted. Here is my version, using synthesized flute, clarinet, bassoon, and horn. The live version will be heard at a church function this spring.

Finlandia by DeerfieldBand

Later this week, I'll share the "double reed fantasia" that we performed during Jazz Night last week.

Vintage Keyboards

Mental_Floss is a fascinating magazine and website that is chock-full of trivia and odd information. Recently I came across a blog posting on the site that highlights some vintage electric keyboards that we have mentioned at various times in Music Theory and Jazz Band. Since we're beginning to work on "Mercy, Mercy, Mercy" in JB, we've been listening to a lot of Fender Rhodes piano parts. So, check out this and other cool 'boards here.

One keyboard they didn't mention is the Hohner Clavinet. When you play any electric keyboard or synthesizer today, you can find it immortalized with the patch setting "Funky Clavi." Its sound is unlike any other--you'll probably recognize it as the intro to Stevie Wonder's "Superstition," which you can watch him play on Sesame Street below:

I have very fond memories of the Fender Rhodes--I was in a 6-piece jazz rock band in high school called "Motel Six." Whenever we gigged, we borrowed the Rhodes from Glenbrook South HS (thanks, Mr. Pappas) and carted it off in Jim Grimson's mini-station wagon. Alexis Mitchell played everything from old standards to Blues Brothers using that keyboard (she had perfect pitch and photographic memory, and later taught Rahm Silverglade piano lessons--small world!).

Wednesday Morning Playlist

In the winter and early spring, my early morning runs are often indoors, around a .10 mile track at my health club. I'm always accompanied by my iPod, because the piped-in adult contemporary music is less than inspiring. Currently, I've got about 500 some-odd tracks to rotate through, mostly classic rock with a couple of worldbeat and jazz surprises to keep me interested. Lately, I've been playing a game in which I put the player on "shuffle," and every time I complete a lap, I bump it ahead to the next track. That way, I only hear 48 seconds of each tune, but I get to hear dozens of them over my run.

Today's playlist was particularly well varied. It made me think about all the sources I have to thank for my different tastes and discoveries in music. So, I've numbered the tracks and cross-referenced them below with a shout out to my influences.

Read more »

Long time, no blog...

Yes, I've been very behind in posting the goings-on of the DHS band program. Suffice to say, it's been quite busy around here. Highlights since my last post:

Read more »

Al Spriester Obituary

The obituary for former DHS Director of Bands Al Spriester can be found here. The DHS band will be involved in his memorial service on April 14. Details to be announced.

Jazz Band Goings-On

We've been very busy in our early bird Jazz Band class as of late. We are preparing for the "Night of Saxophone" concert on Thursday, March 22 at 7:30 p.m. in the auditorium. In addition to our Supersax arrangement of Charlie Parker's "Au Privave," the students have chosen to tackle the bebop standard "Lady Bird" by Tadd Dameron. We're going to learn how to voice out an arrangement for our 8-part horn line.

Read more »

A Night of Saxophone

On Thursday, March 22, the Deerfield High School Bands will present a “Night of Saxophone,” featuring guest artist Susan Fancher. She will perform the Concerto for Soprano Saxophone by Michael Torke with the DHS Wind Ensemble. Deerfield High School is a member of a consortium of seven high schools and universities from around the country that commissioned a special band arrangement of the concerto. This performance will mark the Chicago-area premiere of the arrangement.

Read more »

Alfred Spriester, DHS Director of Bands

I am very sorry to share the news that former DHS Director of Bands Alfred Spriester has passed away. Here is a note from his daughter, Pam:

Gabriel has a new trumpet player in his heavenly orchestra today.

We are so sad to share the news, but Al Spriester had a date with an angel and died in the early morning hours of February 19, 2012. Since his wife Dorothy's passing in 2009 he had been living with his youngest son's family in Duluth, GA. He enjoyed the company and care of Bart, Mary, and the kids for the past three years watching his youngest grandsons and granddaughters grow up. He was 82 years old and cared for all his sons, daughters, and grandchildren who lived near and far. Now that he has been reunited with his life's love we hope he will also be reunited with his long lost grandfather and mother.

Dad will be cremated in GA with an impending service in Illinois. When we have further details of the arrangements, we will let you know through this email address.

You may email his daughter Pam at pambell405@gmail.com for additional information.

Peace to all,

The Family of Alfred Spriester (1929-2012)

Al was the band director at DHS from the very earliest days of the school's existence in the 1960s until his retirement in 1987. Under his direction, the program grew in size and stature, performing for the inauguration of Governor Dan Walker in 1973 and for a presidential visit from Ronald Reagan in the mid 1980s. His love for the marching band was evidenced by their many successful and award-winning performances at the Chicago St. Patrick's Day Parade and the Sycamore Pumpkin Festival. He brought numerous guest performers to solo with the band and took the students on band trips all over the country and Canada. Al mentored hundreds of students during his tenure, and I am grateful for the wonderful program that he created and I have had the honor of continuing.

Over the next week or so, I'll have more to share, including pictures from his years at DHS as well information about any services.

Month of Lists - Mardi Gras Mix Tape

All over the world, from Rio De Janeiro to Baranquilla, from Trinidad to Miami, it is Carnaval time! This is the last big blow-out before the Christian season of Lent, a time of reflection that leads up to Easter. In cities all over the world, there are parties, parades, and lots of music. The best known celebration in America goes by the French name of Mardi Gras, and it is held in New Orleans. If you, like me, are stuck in Chicagoland and can't get down to the Crescent City, I offer you yet another list, this time a Spotify playlist of some of the best NOLA music you can find. The songs include classic jazz, R&B, zydeco, funk, Cajun, and plenty of second-line rhythms. Laissez les bon temps rouler!

1. Dr. John, "Mardi Gras Day"
2. Louis Armstrong, "Hotter Than That"
3. The Dirty Dozen Brass Band, "Down By the Riverside"
4. Fats Domino, "Ain't That a Shame?"
5. Clifton Chenier, "Ay-Te Te Fee"
6. The Meters, "Look-Ka Py Py"
7. Dr. John, "Iko Iko"
8. The Neville Brothers, "Yellow Moon"
9. Professor Longhair, "Red Beans"
10. Nicholas Payton, "Zigaboogaloo"
11. BeauSoleil, "Acadian Two Step"
12. The Marsalis Family, "Swinging at the Haven"
13. Trombone Shorty, "Buckjump"

A Month of Lists - Ancient Mix Tapes

When I was in high school and college in the 80s, creating the perfect mix tape was a big deal. We would buy 90-minute Maxell cassettes and load them with as much great music as we could, taping them off of record albums and 45 rpm singles. As I got into my late teens, I found myself very nostalgic for the great pop tunes of my youth, so I took my old 45s (and albums I checked out from the Northbrook Public Library--I know, that's as bad as illegal downloading, but I didn't have a moral compass like I do now), and I put together these collections of songs I really liked. I still have the tapes, and some of my choices are a bit embarrassing at this point, but others hold up well. Here is one labeled "Seventies/Wings":

Side A

1. "The World is a Ghetto," War
2. "China Grove," The Doobie Brothers
3. "A Horse with No Name," America
4. "Star Baby," The Guess Who
5. "Summer Breeze," Seals and Crofts
6. "Jimmy Loves Maryann," Looking Glass
7. "Helen Wheels," Wings
8. "Bennie and the Jets," Elton John
9. "Sundown," Gordon Lightfoot
10. "Black Water," The Doobie Brothers
11. "The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald," Gordon Lightfoot

Side B
Most of the album Wings Greatest Hits (Paul McCartney's post-Beatles band)

I'll stand by numbers 1, 2, 7, 8, and 10. The rest are a bit lame, but they do connect me to certain times and places in my childhood, so they made the cut.

Here's another, simply labeled "Seventies":

Side A

1. "Rock On," David Essex
2. "Night Moves," Bob Seger
3. "Hotel California," Eagles
4. "New Kid in Town," Eagles
5. "Life in the Fast Lane," Eagles
6. "Year of the Cat," Al Stewart
7. "50 Ways to Leave Your Lover," Paul Simon
8. "Blinded by the Light," Manfred Mann
9. "Life's Been Good," Joe Walsh
10. "Fly Like an Eagle," Steve Miller Band

Side B

1. "Will it Go Round in Circles," Billy Preston
2. "Evil Ways," Santana
3. "Killer Queen," Queen
4. "Sultans of Swing," Dire Straits
5. "Help Me," Joni Mitchell
6. "Superstition," Stevie Wonder
7. "American Pie," Don McLean
8. "You're No Good," Linda Ronstadt
9. "Sister Golden Hair," America
10. "Saturday Night's All Right for Fighting," Elton John

Wow. While there's some very cool Eagles, Joe Walsh, and Dire Straits tunes, there's still Al Stewart and America. Yeesh!

It's interesting to see how many of these tunes I have since purchased on iTunes or digitized from some of the less scratchy records in my collection. Now my iPod is like an uber-mix tape, not nearly as focused and never in the same order. I guess a great mix tape is analagous to a really good iPod playlist, minus the shuffle feature.

Hey, kids--ask to see your parents' old mix tapes! If they say they don't have any, either your grandma threw them out, or they are lying to you and don't want you to know what they used to listen to. I leave you with this:

A Month of Lists - Repertoire, Part 2

On the first entry for the "Month of Lists," I listed the most often performed pieces in the DHS band repertoire since 1988. Now I'd like to count down the composers whose music we've performed the most. Here they are, in reverse order:

• Tied for tenth place with 12 times: Leonard Bernstein, Charles Carter, John Barnes Chance, Gustav Holst, William Latham, Henry Fillmore, and John O'Reilly
• 9th place with 13 times: David Holsinger
• Tied for 7th with 14 times: James Swearingen and Frank Erickson
• 6th with 16 times: John Philip Sousa
• Tied for 4th with 18 times: Frank Ticheli and Karl King
• 3rd with 19 times: Claude T. Smith
• 2nd with 21 times: my all-time favorite composer, Ralph Vaughn Williams
• And the winner is, with 26 DHS band performances in the last 24 seasons, Percy Grainger!

A Month of Lists - Non-Traditional Jazz Instruments

The Jazz Band had a great time yesterday at the Evanston Jazz Festival. The students played very well, we had a great hometown crowd of parents and siblings, and the adjudicators really dug what we were doing, calling us "very sophisticated." They also challenged us to play without sheet music and to get some gigs in the public. Afterwards we went to a workshop with Victor Goines and Orbert Davis that was excellent, especially since we got to hear them play in a quintet. After a hearty dinner at Buffalo Joe's, we returned for the evening concert with the Chicago Jazz Philharmonic Chamber Orchestra. This is a group that starts with a jazz quintet and adds flutes, clarinet, oboe, bass clarinet, horn, trumpet, trombone, tuba, and a string quartet. It was an interesting show with some outstanding extended solo work by Victor Goines on tenor sax.

Anyway, the whole day made me think of another list: all of the non-traditional jazz instruments we've used over the years in the DHS Jazz Band. Since we don't have the typical big band with 5 trumpets, 5 trombones, 5 saxes, and rhythm section, and since we create all of our own arrangements, we can have any instrument that we want in our group. Here are some of the ones we've featured since 1988:

• piccolo (as recently as last night)
• flute (from Paula Derdiger in the 1990s through Emma Burrows and Lauren Smith in the 2000s and Rahm Silverglade and Jett in the 2010s)
• clarinet (We actually had two at the same time a while back. Zander Meisner went on to the traveling cast of Cats, and Nick McConnell discovered one of the largest black holes ever found.)
• Eb contrabass clarinet (played by Justin Davidson, an all-stater)
• oboe, English horn, and bassoon (coming this spring!)
• horn (Zev Saffir, before he switched to the one below, and Rahm last year for "Boplicity")
• mellophone (when Zev decided that the horn was too "slippery" for jazz)
• euphonium (two offensive linemen, Carl Buettgen and current DHS English teacher, Brandon Geuder)
• tuba (TJ, again in "Boplicity")
• marimba (for a Pat Metheny tune, "Open Your Eyes You Can Fly," and in last year's ill-fated "mallet forest")
• tam-tam or gong (used to make the world's largest ride cymbal for Wayne Shorter's "Footprints" at Jazz in the Meadows)
• chimes and timpani (can't remember when)
• banjo (a few times by the likes of Steve DiDomenico and Logan Bloom for various New Orleans numbers)
• violin (nationally-recognized soloist and organic farmer, Adam DeGraff, and local prog-rock guitarist Jared Rabin)
• cello (I'm pretty sure Mark Murphy played cello on a ballad I wrote for the band in the early 90s)

Honorable mention must go to:

• harp (Brian Pflaum in a chamber jazz piece written by artist-in-residence Geoff Shell)
• oud (played in Monday and Tuesday Afternoon Jazz by Gordy)

Instruments we've never used, but I've wanted to:

• accordion (we never did get Aaron Zemach to play accordion in a tune)
• viola (just so I could write in alto clef)
• kora (an African harp, not commonly played by DHS students)
• mbira (an African thumb piano, see above)
• organ (not just an organ patch on an electric keyboard, but a true Hammond B3 with foot pedals and rotating Leslie speaker)
• cuica (a Brazilian friction drum used in samba music)

Maybe somewhere in one of our sender schools, there's a fourth grader who rocks out on accordion while listening to John Coltrane albums...

Just a typical day in band...

As part of a yearlong unit on 20th century music, we discussed minimalism today in Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble. Both groups are playing a post-minimalist piece at the moment; SB is doing Brian Balmages' Reverberations, and WE is preparing Michael Torke's Saxophone Concerto, which we will play with soloist Susan Fancher on March 22. So, to give some context, we listened to a lot of classic minimalism today. Here is the playlist for today and Monday's sessions:

• Music for Mallet Instruments, Voices, and Organ, Steve Reich
• The Four Sections, Steve Reich
• Come Out, Steve Reich
• In C, Terry Riley
• A Short Ride in a Fast Machine, John Adams

Here's a Spotify playlist of the pieces.

In Wind Ensemble, we extended our learning by trying to perform In C, which is a series of 53 short melodic fragments that are repeated over and over and over. Each musician decides when to move on to the next. It was interesting how many students loved it and how many hated it--quite the polarizing experience!

I also received the juniors' ethnomusicology papers in which they present their research about the music of their heritage. I'll be reading about Russia, Germany, Italy, Ireland, Korea, Netherlands, Sweden, Romania, Hungary, France, and Jewish klezmer music. Always a fun time!

DHS Band Alum Performs on Jimmy Kimmel Live

DHS Band alum Adam Ollendorff played guitar in the 1995-1996 jazz band and starred as Conrad Birdie in the DHS production of Bye Bye Birdie. Since then, he's been carving out a nice career as a professional guitarist, playing dobro, lap steel, and pedal steel in all sorts of roots/Americana/country styles with a wide variety of artists. I just heard from him recently, and he shared some YouTube clips of him playing with Nashville singer/songwriter Will Hoge on Jimmy Kimmel Live. Check him out to see another local boy who has made the big time:

A Month of Lists - DHS Band Trips Through the Years

Continuing through our month of interesting/random lists, here are all the band trips the DHS Bands have enjoyed over the years:

1976 Orlando
1979 Washington DC
1981 Philadelphia
1982 St. Louis
1983 Orlando
1985 Toronto and Montréal
1987 Los Angeles
1988 Myrtle Beach
1989 St. Louis
1990 Seattle
1991 Minneapolis
1992 Orlando
1994 Toronto
1995 St. Louis
1996 Orlando
1997 Minneapolis
1998 Washington DC
2000 Orlando
2001 Nashville
2002 Los Angeles
2003 Toronto
2004 Philadelphia
2005 Orlando
2006 Minneapolis
2007 Boston
2009 Orlando
2011 Montréal
2013 ??????

Orlando has been, by far, our most common destination. 2006 was the last year we took a small trip on the year between big trips. For whatever reason, students stopped being excited about small bus trips over a weekend. The orchestra just came back from a brief overnight to University of Illinois where they participated in a festival and had a great time. Maybe in 2014, the current sophomores can generate enough interest in a quick, fun trip. In the meantime, I'm working on two possible destinations for 2013. More details to come this spring!

A Month of Lists - Chicago Radio

Don't have satellite radio? Neither do I. Want to hear quality music as you drive around Deerfield? Me too! So, continuing our Month of Lists, here are my picks for good listening in Chicagoland. All stations are on the FM dial.

WFMT, 98.7
The only classical music station in Chicago, their knowledgeable announcers bring a diversity of fine music to the airwaves. Programs include Chicago Symphony Orchestra concerts and "Introductions," a program that features local teen talent. Recently, a Highland Park HS student composer was profiled.

WDCB, 90.9
This is the only station still playing a lot of jazz. From dawn to dusk, you can hear everything from swing to bop to soul jazz. The station is down at the College of DuPage, so the signal isn't great, but it's worth the occasional static.

WXRT, 93.1
I've been listening to XRT on and off for 30-some years. They were cutting edge in the 70s and 80s, helping bands like R.E.M. and The Replacements gain greater recognition. They still have a great mix of classic tunes and new alternative music, even if they are a bit less adventuresome than they were in the day.

WDRV "The Drive," 97.1 and 96.9
My guilty pleasure, The Drive plays classic rock. You won't hear nearly the varied playlist that you get on XRT, but sometimes I just need a quick shot of The Who or Supertramp.

WBEZ, 91.5 This is Chicago's main public radio station, so you'll hear a ton of talk all day long. It's my morning commute choice as I check in with the events of the day. They used to have outstanding jazz all night long, but they gave that up several years ago. They do, however, have some fine music programs: Sound Opinions ("the world's only rock and roll talk show) on Saturday mornings at 11:00, and world music on Friday nights.

A Month of Lists - Repertoire

This month, I'm going to try to fill my blog with a interesting new list every day. Some will be about the DHS band program and its history, others will be much more random. So let's get started...

Pieces Most Often Played by the DHS Bands, 1988-2012

When I find a piece that works well for a specific level of band, I like to put it in a 3-year rotation so that students are exposed to a core of quality literature. I was surprised to see what made the list, and what didn't!

8 Times
Brighton Beach March, William Latham, Gr. 3
one of my "go to" marches for the freshmen

Variations on a Korean Folk Song, John Barnes Chance, Gr. 4
a great work for teaching variation technique and East Asian music

7 Times
Havendance, David Holsinger, Gr. 4
a favorite "stretch" piece for Symphonic Band with lots of good percussion

Overture for Winds, Charles Carter, Gr. 3
the quintessential "big piece" for the freshmen

Sleigh Ride, Leroy Anderson, Gr. 4
a holiday concert favorite, from when we did holiday concerts

Suite of Old American Dances, Robert Russell Bennett, Gr. 5
a nostalgic (and virtuosic) set of 19th and early 20th century dance tunes

6 Times
Cajun Folk Dances, Frank Ticheli, Gr. 4
Chant and Jubilo, W. Francis McBeth, Gr. 3
Divertimento for Band, Vincent Persichetti, Gr. 5
Eine Kleine Nachtmusic, W.A. Mozart/Jennings, Gr. 3
English Folk Song Suite, Ralph Vaughan Williams, Gr. 4
Forest Pines Overture, John O'Reilly, Gr. 3
Incidental Suite, Claude T. Smith, Gr. 4
Polly Oliver, Thomas Root, Gr. 3
Second Suite for Military Band, Gustav Holst, Gr. 4

Later this month, I'll run down the composers most often played by the DHS Bands from 1988-2012. Can you guess who is number 1?

Winter Band Concert

Don't miss our 2012 Winter Band Concert on Tuesday, January 31, at 7:30pm in the DHS auditorium. Click on the image to see our program, which will feature the music of Japan, Korea, and China, as well as American favorites and classic jazz. We hope to see you there!

Chinese Composers in America

The Winter Band Concert on Tuesday, January 31 will feature the Symphonic Band and Wind Ensemble performing music from China, Japan, and Korea. We have been studying East Asian musical culture since December and will finally get a chance to share it with our family and friends next week. To whet your appetite, here is an NPR feature on five Chinese composers, to commemorate the Chinese New Year. One of those profiled is Chen Yi, who wrote Spring Festival, an exciting work that the SB will perform at the concert. Enjoy these recordings and the wonderful juxtapositions of traditional and modern sounds.

No Pep Band Tonight!

Due to the snow, we will not have pep band at tonight's basketball game. Spread the word!

Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Day

The organizers of the 1964 Berlin Jazz Festival asked Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. to write an introduction for their commemorative program guide. In his essay, he wrote eloquently about jazz, civil rights, and the American experience. You can read more about this on my blog posting from MLK Day 2011, but here is the full text of whay Dr. King had to say:

"God has wrought many things out of oppression. He has endowed his creatures with the capacity to create—and from this capacity has flowed the sweet songs of sorrow and joy that have allowed man to cope with his environment and many different situations.

"Jazz speaks for life. The Blues tell the story of life's difficulties, and if you think for a moment, you will realize that they take the hardest realities of life and put them into music, only to come out with some new hope or sense of triumph.

"This is triumphant music.

"Modern jazz has continued in this tradition, singing the songs of a more complicated urban existence. When life itself offers no order and meaning, the musician creates an order and meaning from the sounds of the earth which flow through his instrument.

"It is no wonder that so much of the search for identity among American Negroes was championed by Jazz musicians. Long before the modern essayists and scholars wrote of racial identity as a problem for a multiracial world, musicians were returning to their roots to affirm that which was stirring within their souls.

"Much of the power of our Freedom Movement in the United States has come from this music. It has strengthened us with its sweet rhythms when courage began to fail. It has calmed us with its rich harmonies when spirits were down.

"And now, Jazz is exported to the world. For in the particular struggle of the Negro in America there is something akin to the universal struggle of modern man. Everybody has the Blues. Everybody longs for meaning. Everybody needs to love and be loved. Everybody needs to clap hands and be happy. Everybody longs for faith.

"In music, especially this broad category called Jazz, there is a stepping stone towards all of these."

Still today, 48 years hence, Dr. King's words ring true and inspire. Enjoy the day off, but remember why we have this break in our routine as we honor a great leader and every man and woman who has ever fought for social justice.

As an aside, groups that performed at the festival included the Miles Davis Quintet, the Dave Brubeck Quartet, the Roland Kirk Quartet, and a Charlie Parker tribute band. Other musicians included Coleman Hawkins, Bud Freeman, J.J. Johnson, Sonny Stitt, and Pee Wee Russell. Talk about an all-star lineup!

The Changing Face of Private Lessons

I get calls from time to time from parents who are looking for private teachers for their children. I have a number of local musicians whom I recommend, but there's a growing trend around the country of taking lessons online via Skype video chat. As someone who completed his doctorate via distance learning (commuting virtually from my upstairs office here in Lake County all the way to Boston University), I'm intrigued about the possibility. Here's an article in the New York Times about one-on-one video lessons. Just imagine studying kora with a Malian griot or janggu with a Korean drummer from your own living room!

From the Archives

Here are two photos from the DHS Homecoming Parade on October 22, 1977 (click to see full size). In the first, we see Al Spriester out in front in his band director's uniform. This is what the well dressed bandmaster used to wear, back in the day. Personally, I'm fine in my sport coat and tie. The band is either headed north or south on Waukegan Road. Note the three gas stations, including the E-Z GO, selling regular for 61.9 cents a gallon and "no lead" for 65.9. Also notice how there is traffic moving in the opposite direction. I always hated this about the parade--it just never seemed safe.

In the next shot you can see the white marching band shoes (must have been a pain to clean) and the side-slung drum. The boy on the far left is playing a tenor drum with puffy mallets. That would have been a much darker sound than we get today, with our high-pitched snares and quads. The "DHS" sousaphone covers are a nice touch which we should really go back to, except I'd go with red covers with a white "D" on each. That way it wouldn't matter how many sousas you had. The red tongues coming out of the euphonium and trombone bells are a nice touch.

The uniforms are interesting. I don't think any of these are still around. When I began in 1988, we had a different style. These, with the long coat, white belt, and a single silver loop on the left shoulder seem very busy. The helmets look white and silver--there's just too much detail on them for my taste. Our current, understated, red and black uniforms still hold up well, style-wise.

I do miss the homecoming parade, which we discontinued about five years ago. The community and student body just weren't into it. There used to be floats, the homecoming court riding in a convertible, and a massed poms/cheers/band performance at the corner of Deerfield and Waukegan. We'd start at Kipling School and march all the way back to DHS, in time for a quick lunch and the 1:00 football game. Different times...