Ethnic Diversity in the DHS Band Program

The juniors recently completed their ethnomusicology papers, in which they were to research the music of their ancestors. They could either choose two composers who shared their ethnicity or country of origin, or they could research the folk or art music of that culture. I read almost 40 papers and learned a great deal in the process about composers and traditions that don't always appear in the standard music history texts. Here is my accounting of the cultures represented:

Russian 7
Irish 5
Hungarian 4
Jewish 3
Polish 3
German 3
Italian 2
Norwegian 2
Danish 2
South African 1
Japanese 1
British 1
Ukrainian 1
Swedish 1
and one paper about the Pilgrims who came to America on the Mayflower!

As usual, there were a lot of papers about Tchaikovsky, Stravinsky, and Shostakovich, but I also learned about Takemitsu, Nielsen, and O'Carolan, as well as Norwegian hardingfale fiddles and Nguni singing. Students mentioned talking to grandparents, and some admitted not knowing much about their heritage before writing this paper. I hope they enjoyed their research as much as I enjoyed reading their work. (I know, I know, but teachers can always dream, right?) I know I would have had a very difficult time deciding which of my roots to write about, being mainly English, Portuguese, French, and Greek, with family legends of Choctaw and Cherokee ancestry as well. I could have written about Vaughan Williams and Holst, Portuguese fado music, Debussy and Lully, or Greek bouzoukis!

Many Things to Share

I'm catching up here on a number of posts I've meant to publish. There are blurbs on the Jazz100, the Evanston Jazz Fest, the music of John Adams, recent DHS Band happenings, and a Montréal trip update. Enjoy!

Want to see a list of the top 100 jazz songs ever? Jazz fans around the world (including yours truly)voted on the Jazz24 website, and the results can be found here. You can also hear streaming audio of the tunes. Some commenters have said that this list is too "mainstream" or "obvious," but I disagree. It's a great introduction to what most people consider the standard jazz canon. Once familiar with these tunes, a listener can branch off into many different niches like the avant garde, third stream, acid jazz, or other areas.

DHS Highlights: The Jazz Band had a very successful day at the Evanston Jazz Festival. The two adjudicators, Audrey Morrison and Tom Tallman, were very complimentary. They singled out Rahm Silverglade, Nathan Fertig, and Aaron Gundersheimer as outstanding soloists. We really enjoyed the evening performance of Italian bassist Maurizio Rolli, who knocked us out with his tribute to Jaco Pastorius. Next up for us is a senior citizen performance at the Patty Turner Senior Center in Deerfield. Our Valentine's Day Eve playlist will be "Stompin' at the Savoy," "My Funny Valentine," and "In the Mood."

I have been talking to the orchestra students today about John Adams (the composer, not the president). He is probably the most famous and most performed living American composer (outside of film composers like John Williams). He is best known for his operas, including Nixon in China, and his 9/11 remembrance On the Transmigration of Souls, which won the 2002 Pulitzer Prize and three Grammy awards in 2005. When the orchestra students travel to New York next week, they will have the opportunity to see Adams conduct the Juilliard Orchestra in a performance of his City Noir. While doing some background research for my presentations, I found Adams' personal website, earbox.com, which is fascinating--check it out!

Just an update on our post-concert activities...

Concert Band is currently sightreading orchestral transcriptions (Ritual Fire Dance and Funeral March of a Marionette). All of the juniors are working on their ethnomusicology papers and the jazzers are learning transcribed solos. In Symphonic Band, each student is writing a melody based on the dorian scale, which they will be playing for each other next week. I'll post some of the best examples. Wind Ensemble members are working on their chamber ensembles for the 3/18 festival, and music theory students are writing 8-bar chorales for four voices in the style of J.S. Bach.

Trip update...

While in Montréal, we will have a clinic with Alain Cazes, director of the McGill University Wind Symphony. We'll also see him perform as the tubist in the Orchestre Métropolitain, in a concert featuring two newly commissioned works and Bruckner's 4th symphony. It sounds very exciting!

Band Concert Deemed a Success!

Well, after all the snow was cleared, we had our band concert as scheduled. It was a bit of a gamble, what with missing two days of rehearsals, but I had instructed the students on Tuesday to take their instruments and music home and keep practicing. I took all my scores home, and with arms sore from shoveling (my snow-blower died early in the process), I conducted through the concert while sitting at my desk and vocalizing a warbly imitation of the DHS band program. When I got the call from the administration giving us the green light, I decided that it was better to have the concert on the original night, even if we were a bit unprepared, because everyone had already committed to the date.

All three concert groups did well. There were some rough edges here and there, but many bright spots. The Concert Band sounded especially good on West Highlands Sojourn, and the Symphonic Band had some great moments on Holst's Second Suite. The Wind Ensemble pulled together for the complicated medley of Symphonic Dances from Fiddler on the Roof, and soloists in all three bands played quite well. The two afternoon jazz bands received praise when we discussed the concert in class.

What I think it really boiled down to was personal preparation. Students who had learned their parts and had been practicing all along probably found themselves only marginally affected by the two days off. Those who hadn't put in the time probably fared worse. We are only truly successful as a band when each individual recognizes the passages that need to be mastered and then puts in the time outside of class to do so. The entire ensemble counts on each musician to take responsibility for the music he or she is assigned. When everyone decides to live up to that potential, we can do amazing things! I saw this last night with the way several individuals played their solos. It was obvious that they had done the necessary "woodshedding" outside of rehearsal to make their parts shine. Imagine how we would sound if everyone took that attitude!

Next up, the Jazz Band heads to the Evanston Jazz Festival tomorrow. Our set list:

"Prime Directive" by Dave Holland
"Tin Tin Deo" by Fuller and Pozo
"Song with Orange" by Thelonious Monk

Wish us luck!

Band Concert Tonight, Thursday, February 3!

We will have our band concert tonight at 7:00PM as regularly scheduled. Call times are as follows:

CB 5:35
WE 5:45
SB 5:55
MAJ 6:10
TAJ 6:20

Please be on time ready to go!

Snow Day and Band Concert

Dear Band Students:

As of 1:45PM on Wednesday, the band concert for Thursday, February 3 is on hold. School is out on Thursday because they still haven't been able to clear the fire lanes. There were 8' snow drifts piled against the front doors of the school, and just clearing the exits from the building has been very difficult.

So, here are our plans:

Plan A - If the district administration determines that after-school activities are canceled, we will have our concert on Monday, February 7 at 7:00PM. The call times will remain the same.

Plan B - If the district administration determines that after-school activities can take place, we will have our concert as scheduled on Thursday at 7:00PM with the same call times.

In either event, I will send out an email by 1:00 on Thursday. Please stay tuned, and keep practicing. I hope you are safe and warm and that you are enjoying your unexpected free time!

Sincerely,

Dr. Brame