Happy Hanukkah!

We're now just about halfway through the annual Festival of Lights, and I wanted to share an interesting NPR story with you about holiday music. It features a new Hanukkah song by Matisyahu, who just might be the only Hasidic reggae rapper/singersongwriter around. You can listen to the story, which includes an acoustic version of "Miracle," and you can watch the rather confusing but amusing video.

This time of year, you can hear Christmas music everywhere, with some radio stations going to a 24/7 Christmas format (too much of a good thing!). So, to offer a little balance, here are my favorite Hanukkah songs:

5. Maoz Tzur (Rock of Ages) - This is a very old song that was set to a German folk song.
4. The Dreydl Song - A classic kids song that sounds like a nursery rhyme. A Jewish equivalent of "Up on the Housetop."
3. Hanukkah, Hanukkah - Another kids tune with a fairly unimaginative name.
2. Hanukkah, Oh Hanukkah - Not to be confused with the above song. This one is a DHS jazz band favorite--we do it in a revved up klezmer styles.
1. S'Vivon - A much more interesting song about dreydls. I arranged this for the Wind Ensemble to play a few years back, and Mr. V added string parts so the orchestra could play it last year. My all-time favorite!

I'd add in Adam Sandler's clever and humorous Hanukkah song, but I had to ban him from the list for the gratuitous drug reference near the end. Tsk, tsk.

Over the next couple of weeks, I'll be back with my favorite non-specific winter songs, secular Christmas songs, sacred Christmas songs, and a killer Kwanza playlist. Until then, enjoy the coming snow storm!

UPDATE: I did some research and came across this NPR segment where a rabbi tries to explain how to spell this holiday in English with the Roman alphabet. Since "Hanukkah" seems to be the most common spelling and is favored by the New York Times and Chicago Tribune, I've fixed it in the headline and text above. An extra bonus is some clips from another cool Hanukkah song by The LeeVees, who have a whole album called "Hannukah Rocks." (Note the alternate spelling, and also note that the rabbi in the story preferred "Chanukkah.")

Happy Thanksgiving!

I want to wish all the the friends of family of the DHS Bands a Happy and Healthy Thanksgiving! It's been very busy down here in R-Hall, and I think we are all looking forward to some rest and relaxation. Two weeks ago we put on a fine fall concert, and our future band members from Shepard, Caruso, Holy Cross, and Bannockburn joined us for one number as a foretaste of what I hope will be four great years to come. We had two straight Saturdays at the IMEA festivals. The band/choir/orchestra fest was at Glenbrook South (my alma mater), and Emma Martin (bassoon), Will Barkalow (clarinet), and Logan Bloom (trombone) represented DHS quite well. The jazz fest was at Lake Zurich, and we had five band members involved: Logan Bloom (trombone), Carter Griffin (trombone), and Kenny Thompson (guitar) all played in the bands, and Nathan Fertig and Rahm Silverglade sang in the choir. All five students were featured soloists during the concert. Way to go!

This morning, being the last day before break, meant another traditional front hall performance for the jazz band. We played three world premieres: "Rush Hour" by Tom Bonadies, "An Idea" by Aaron Gundersheimer, and "Hindsight" by Kenny Thompson. It was great to play for people as they came in to school. This afternoon will be the Grandparents Day Concert, so the Warrior Marching Band will serenade the crowd with the fight song, "Warrior Spirit," and music from our 50s Sock Hop show.

We've also been busy with chamber music, including the Symphonic Band's first ever chance to split into small groups. We've already heard the saxophone section performing a movement from a concerto grosso by Corelli, a percussion ensemble, and a brass choir playing a piece by Michael Haydn. The Wind Ensemble is in the process of choosing their chamber repertoire, and the freshmen did a body percussion composition project to study how meter is used in music. In addition, SB and WE have been studying klezmer music as part of a year-long exploration of Jewish music and musicians.

Like I said, we've been busy...

So in closing, I leave you with a fine song of Thanksgiving. No, it's not the Dutch hymn "We Gather Together." It's Sly and the Family Stone singing "Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Agin)." Enjoy!

Dissertation Update

My supervisor sent me an email today with the second reader's comments on Chapters 1-4. I knew I was in trouble when I read the first line: "You've got lots of work to do." My second reader really went through my paper with a fine-toothed comb; most pages have multiple comments and corrections. Some are easy enough, like changes in wording, but others require me to go back to sources I haven't looked at since the summer of 2008 to get more information. Still others challenge my methods and conclusions. It's pretty daunting, but she is trying to make sure I plug up any holes in my study so that it can stand up to the grilling of the defense committee. I do appreciate how hard she is making me work--really, I do! (Does it sound like I'm trying to convince myself?)

And so, the saga continues!

Penny Wars!

Kudos to the DHS Concert Band for raising over $300 in the Freshman Advisory drive to restock the Deerfield Township Food Pantry! This annual challenge began by dividing the band into three teams, each led by a senior advisor. Then the students brought in all of their loose change to fill their team jugs and earn points. They were also able to sabotage the other teams by adding paper money to their opponents' jugs, which counted as negative points. In the end, Team Logan (the trumpets and low brass) emerged victorious over Team Tracey and Team Maura. The real winners, however, are the needy people in our community who will benefit from the food pantry. Way to go freshmen!

Alas...

Well, we didn't make it to the finals of the 87.7 Smooth Jazz Battle of the High School Jazz Bands. Considering ours was a very last minute decision and entry, I'm not surprised, but congratulations to the four fine bands who will get to battle it out for the championship on November 17: the Wheeling High School Jazz Band 1, the Oak Park and River Forest High School Jazz Ensemble, the Chicago Academy for the Arts Jazz Combo and the Warren Township High School Jazz Ensemble. Best of luck to them all!

In any event, we will be performing our entry, "Contemplation," at the fall band concert this coming Monday night at 7:00PM. Come out and hear it in its final form!

DHS Jazz Band Enters 87.7FM Battle of the High School Jazz Bands!

So I got a bunch of emails and phone calls from Chicago's Smooth 87.7FM, the new smooth jazz station in town, about a competition they are having for local jazz bands. It's co-sponsored by Roosevelt University and U.S. Cellular, and the top four bands get to perform live at Roosevelt in November for the grand prize. As a last minute decision, we decided to make a hasty entry on a piece that we've been arranging for the concert on the 8th. It's a great McCoy Tyner piece called "Contemplation," and we brainstormed a number of ideas about how to do it. Based on student input, I wrote up some voicings, passed them out this morning, and we got it into shape as quickly as possible. The recording is rough, but I'm hoping the judges hear that we are doing some sophisticated work. Who knows, maybe we'll get to go downtown and compete?

The entry process taxed my technical skills! I had to record the group on my Yamaha Pocketrak 2G, download it to my computer, and edit the soundfile. Next, I had to create a YouTube account, something which I had never done. Then I had to find a service that help me create a video from the mp3 audio file and a single screenshot with the band name and title of the piece. Once it was posted on YouTube, I completed our entry by sending in the url of our video. An hour and a half later, we were up and running.

Wish us luck!

Dissertation Update

My advisor approved all of my edits, so now it's on to the second reader. I'll hear back from her in a few weeks, so I have a bit of time off. That will come in handy, since DHS grades are due next week, and the papers and projects are beginning to pile up a bit! Assuming that all goes well, I'll have a practice defense during the first week of December and the real thing before break. The light at the end of the tunnel is getting brighter and brighter!