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...