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!