Christmas Caroling

A few years ago we started a tradition at Randall: Percussion Christmas Caroling. No, it's really not what you think at all! I call up a few nursing home-type places, see if we can come out and entertain, then we take our keyboard instruments around and play Christmas Carols for the residents.

Having been influenced by an elder director friend of mine to give back to the community as much as you can ("you and your students have a gift that needs to be shared") it sounded like a great opportunity to expose my students to a world they often do not see (myself included) and musically, it is good for sight-reading and brushing up on our bass clef.

So, this year we took a crew of 12 (or largest number in this our fourth year to do this - last year was snowed out, but I still count it) to three different locations. The first place was probably the best performance and experience all around: Childer's Place at the Bivins Home.

I was a little apprehensive when we got there: our program was scheduled to be upstairs and when you are dealing with seven keyboard instruments, the "upstairs" is not your friend. Alas, the two elevators we were instructed to use were big enough to take up a 4 1/3 octave marimba!

After playing at Bivins, we headed over to the Craig Retirement Village. We were set to play in the Alzheimer's Unit. Well, this was a little more eventful. Eventful because I pulled our truck up under an awning that is not meant to have a truck our size driven under it. With caution, I sized up the awning and decided that our truck could in fact fit under it. I was mostly correct, because all but the last foot and a half of the truck cleared fine. The last little bit made contact and caused a little damage.

After carefully backing the truck up (and exchanging insurance information with the head Environmental Services man) we played an abbreviated version of our program, then got the heck out of there. I'll admit it, I was really embarrassed by the whole thing! But, I have to mention that the employees there at the Craig didn't make a big deal of it and were very nice to me.

Now, I can't seem to load photos into my blogs in the correct order, so I'm going to talk a little bit about our party afterwards before I talk about our interesting experience at the third location.

When we were all done caroling and dropping those keyboard instruments off at various student's homes, we went over to the Prater's house for a little after-party. Mrs. Prater was gracious enough to host us and to prepare a small feast.

Here is Regan with Mrs. Prater:

A few of the students enjoying themselves:




Regan warmed right up to Amanda!

Disclaimer: Sorry about the quality of these photos. I was only armed with my cell phone, so I'm not going to pretend that these are of a high quality.

Now, I said earlier that our third stop was an interesting experience. Rather than tell the whole story, I'll give a brief account of what happened:

Upon arriving at our last stop, we realized that there was no hope of us getting all of our keyboards through the tiny front door. Since there were no large service doors elsewhere, we had to make due with only getting a student line marimba and a xylophone through the doors. What to do?!? Amanda jokingly suggested that we could sing -- a suggestion she would come to regret! That's what we were forced to do: sing. Three of us manned the keyboards: myself, Joel and Wesley W. and the rest of us sang out of the hymnals.

I had to make sure the residents knew that we were not representing the Randall Choir. Our choir has a fine reputation and I'd hate for a bunch of band kids to ruin it!

So, here are a few pictures of our unusual consort: a xylophone, a marimba and a hodge podge of talented (or untalented) vocalists:





I don't think we caused much damage with our voices... at least not as much damage as I did to the awning at the Craig...

Merry Christmas!

Thanks to Travis V. for taking this great picture of the Rath clan in front of our church's Christmas Tree!

A Perfect Nutcracker?

Tonight marked the end of another run of the Nutcracker. This was my third season to play with the Amarillo Symphony Orchestra as part of the Lone Star Ballet's production. In all of my three years, I have played exactly the same parts, so at this point I am pretty well familiar with what to do with them. Suspended Cymbal on No. 2, Triangle and Crash Cymbals on No. 4, tam-tam, bass drum, tambourine - nearly everything instrument-wise except glock, and snare drum and toy drum. And so on.

There were three rehearsals before our dress rehearsal (which is considered a performance because the house is full). The first rehearsal I was late too; coming from All-Region auditions (which went well, thanks for asking!). The second was forgettable and the third was unforgettable. I missed two key cymbal crashes on Wednesday night and as a result was pretty down in the dumps for the rest of the rehearsal. When you play so few notes in such a long production, then miss two that are on very climactic moments, it doesn't bode well for your self-confidence.

So, fast-forward to Thursday's dress rehearsal/performance: I didn't miss a single note. I was bound. I was determined. I was... perfect?

If you mark perfection, in this case, by playing all of my notes at the right time (and oh, I suppose on the correct instrument), then yes, I was perfect. I neither left any notes out, nor added any notes.

If you mark perfection at a higher rate, factoring in things like dynamic consistency, consistent tone quality and appropriate balance with the rest of the ensemble, then no, I was decidedly imperfect.

Without going into unnecessary detail, a few of the things I did wrong were dynamis consistency issues - playing each suspended cymbal crash the same volume, playing each fortissississimo crash the same way. As a matter of fact, I've maintained in the three years I've played the Nutcracker, that my hardest excerpt is the opening triangle excerpt at the beginning of No. 3. There are precisely thirty-one triangle notes in a row (separated by quarter rests) played at piano. At best, I could make a string of six or ten of them sound exactly the same before I got a different timbre out of the instrument. At worst, no two back-to-back sounded alike.

Did this detract from the audience's impression of the ballet? Probably not. Did the conductor call me into his dressing room to talk to me about this? No. Did even one of the other percussionists bring this up even in passing conversation? Nope. Will I strive to make all thirty-one triangle notes at the beginning of No. 4 sound exactly alike next year? Undoubtedly so.

How about Friday? Or the two shows on Saturday? Both performances on Sunday? Actually, I repeated Thursday night's performance as far as "perfection" is concerned. I played every single note correct for six straight shows. And while my notes were not consistent, playing six shows without missing or adding a note is, in its own way, a display of consistency.

So, was this series perfect? Maybe. Maybe not. There's always next year.

AXIOM premiere and latest projects...

Sunday night marked an exciting event in my life with the premiere of AXIOM! The WTAMU Percussion Ensemble included it on their fall program and did an outstanding job on the performance.

Leading up to that, I was invited to sit in on one of the last of their rehearsals. It was pretty cool to hear the players going over their parts separately as I approached the percussion studio. I kept thinking, "that sounds familiar!" The rehearsal went well and I was very pleased with how each performer was willing to try different things and to humor some of my suggestions. I knew that AXIOM was difficult, but hearing it being played by five percussionists not ten feet from me drove that home. The thing that might have caused the most trouble might have been how little time I gave players to change mallets or sticks. Again, I kept thinking to myself, "I'm glad I'm not having to play this," or "I'm glad I'm not having to conduct this!" The piece was definitely in better hands than my own!

There is also going to be a recording session in a couple of weeks (presumably when the collegiate lifestyle slows down after finals). This was totally unsolicited, so I was very happy that this was mentioned to me. I already have a good 'test' recording of the piece thanks to Virtual Drumline and some tweeking in Sibelius, but to have a solid "live" recording would be amazing! Definitely something to add to the website.

Well, the Mendelsohn is finished -- for real. If I do any more work on it, it will be the small nuances of adjusting the way a note looks on the page, or lining up a dynamic marking. I transposed the whole thing up a half step to put it in B flat (hey, it's stinking hard as it is, so let's let our percussionists who are more familiar with flat keys, have one less thing to stress out about! -- that and it fits some of the instruments a little better -- better utilizing a 4.3 octave marimba and the LOW end of a 5.0 marimba). It's been sent off to a publisher, but I haven't heard anything yet. Stay tuned!

The other two things I'm working on are a Vibe/Marimba duet of "Bring a Torch, Jeannette Isabella" and an arrangement for my dad and his church of several Christmas carols in a medley. I'm guessing both will get played next month -- as long as I can finish them!

Drumline Contest, Recital & Mendelsohn

Wow! What a busy last two weeks!

In addition to my normal duties as assistant band director, percussion director, husband, father and numerous other hats I wear, I've had three major projects come and go. And come and go successfully they did, too.

I'll start with the most recent: Randall Drumline Contest. This happened just yesterday on October 6th. All in all, I felt like the contest went smoothly and that the visiting drumlines found the experience to be a valuable one. I hope that once they hear and read their critique and respond in kind, that they will view the contest as an invaluable experience. (I just wish I had realized the value of putting sunscreen on earlier...)

Six drumlines attended the contest, then at the end of finals, Randall performed in exhibition. There were some very fine performances yesterday, and without exception, I thought all of the finals performances were even better than the prelims performances. There's something about having been through the routine once already, that helps you remove the doubt and uncertainty before a performance.

I hope that this first year of the contest will be the catalyst for a bigger contest by which many more drumlines participate next year.

Right before that, I was invited to perform on my composition teacher's fall recital. "Gary Belshaw and Friends" occured on October 4th. This was a neat experience partially because being invited to perform at a venue like that is flattering, but also partially due to the fact that it was possible to premiere "...and now these three remain..."

The original idea was that I would premiere both "and now" and my vibraphone solo "Amazing Grace" but as I worked on "Amazing Grace," I realized that it would take Amazing Grace to be able to pull it off. Had I not been under the pressure of the drumline contest, I think I might have been able to find the time to work it up.

Regardless, the performance went well and it was good to be a part of the recital.

Finally, I've finished the lion-share of the work on the first movement of Mendelsohn's Fourth Symphony (transcribed for percussion ensemble). By no means is this ready to submit to a publisher or even an ensemble for performance, but the notes are all on the page. From here on out, it's just an editing process and double-checking that the way I have the piece orchestrated now is the way I want it to stay. Given that I started the piece in December of 2006 and have worked on it intermittenly, I have found some inconsistencies in the way I have written parts and orchestrated ideas.

Still, at this point, it feels like a big weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. Editing usually goes quickly for me, and now that the drumline contest is over, I should find that I have a few spare minutes in my day.

Next up is to finish a collection of vibe/marimba duets geared for a liturgical setting. Then I hope to start and finish the Tchaikovsky transcription project. After that, I still have a promising new work for band that is missing a development of sorts and a recap or solid ending.

Oh, brother...

I've always been a church-going person and am now and I believe in the sovereignty of Jesus Christ. But that's not what this blog is about. That was just the disclaimer.



This blog is about the dumb sayings churches put on their signs. The one on my mind right now is the one I saw on the way home from a friend's house. It read: "One man can make a difference: Jesus did." (emphasis mine -- but you can't really read the statement without the emphasis logically going anywhere else)



Okay. At first glance, that's a nice saying that's meant to make you realize the importance of one single person in the grand scheme of things. But, to me, what's bothersome about that is that one could theologically conclude from that sign, that the difference the average person can make is possible on the same level that Jesus' difference was.



Well, Theology 101 is that "Jesus is God and you are not." So the suggestion that a person can make a difference similar to the one Jesus' made is arrogant and sinful.



Now I get the point of the sign and you do too, but it's the ensuing conversation that is likely to come from reading that sign that is harmful to that church. Most likely, no visitor is going to start attending that church because of their sign. In other words, a statement like that is just as likely to fall on ears (or eyes) that are going to mock it than those that will be inspired by it.



Right before I got home, I saw a sign at another church that wasn't that bad: "Living life in light of eternity changes one's values." Not bad at all. If I were guessing from other signs posted at that church, then this sign is relevant to something the church is studying or discussing. The only disservice a sign like that does is that it is not possible for that thought to be elaborated on. There's the catch -- maybe you'll be intrigued by the sign and want to find out more information. Okay, I can live with that. That church isn't trying to be cutesy, they are trying to be philosophical.



Well, so is the other one, albeit at a much lower level of thinking. So what happens when a well-meaning congregant puts an easily-mock-able philosophical quote on their sign?

Aspire to inspire before you expire.

Sour Grapes make lousy wine.



Forbidden Fruit produces many jams!



The Easter Bunny didn't rise from the dead.



Come Inside for a Faith Lift. (puns are the worst!)



Crack The Bible ... Get High On Jesus



Without the bread of life you'll be toast. (ready? groan.)




Thank you to http://www.rulezone.com/dumb.htm for providing a vast collection of these.





Here are some I remember from the three neighboring churches we lived next to in Joplin, Missouri:





Think you aren't important? Stop making your car payment.



No one looks as good as they do on a resume.






There are several notable others, but I'll have to verify them with Kayla before I state them here.



Kayla and I's joke as we would drive by one of those dumb signs was that we were going to start going to church there immediately! (all sarcasm intended)



When I was looking for a website that had a collection of "dumb church signs" (there were 2, 050, 000 hits, by the way) I ran across this gem: http://www.churchsigngenerator.com/



This website lets you make your own church sign, then save as a jpg and share with all of your friends.



I made this one based on a church bulletin announcement I once heard about:

New Pieces to be Published! & To-do list.

New Pieces to be Published:

This has been an exciting two weeks! Along with the start of school this week, I've been notified that two pieces I submitted for publication have been approved!

There's a part of me that is worried that if I mention the publishers by name, I will somehow jinx the process of completing the publication. So, I will simply hint at who it is, and if you guess correctly, then you, ummm... guessed correctly. When the contracts are finalized and the pieces appear on their websites, I'll update mine and then you'll see who they are. I'm really not a superstitious person, though. I promise. Cross my heart and hope to die...

The first piece is really an entire show for Indoor Drumline. It is an arrangement of Carmen. You can listen to it and read some details about it HERE.

The publisher (who will remain nameless) is a major publisher of marching band music. They have recently added the Indoor Drumline section to their publications and are starting to add more and more titles. I am very excited about having my work associated with this publisher because of how much they advertise their music and how well their name is known -- not to mention their reputation among us band directors!

The other piece is AXIOM the percussion quintet I wrote this past spring. It was originally conceived as a duet for two very advanced players (in fact, the two players I had in mind are/were doctoral candidates working on their performance degrees). However, as I wrote more and more, it became obvious that there was too much material for two players to handle and that the instrumentation might work better as a quintet. Still holding to its original conception, the main theme is stated by only one player accompanied by another (a duet).

Given that the piece has a couple of sections that evoke hip-hop or funk music, I'm glad to see that someone else has bought into my vision and accepted the piece in it's intended form. (Is this the first time that the words 'evoke' and 'hip-hop music' have been put together in a sentence?)

The publisher for AXIOM is another well-known publisher of percussion music as well as band music. I am most excited about having my name included in their catalogue because of their association with one of my favorite living composers who shall also remain nameless. And actually, there are some very serious living composers who have music published with this company, so from all angles, I am very excited to brush elbows with these people!

So as you can see, these are some very exciting times for my compositional life. There is no doubt that this sort of response to my music motivates me to write more. And as my schedule would have it, I'm already up at 5:30 each morning to write before I head to school for a full 10 or 11 hour day. Then juggle trying to be a caring husband and a loving father and it's no wonder that I slept until almost noon yesterday!

How do I do it? I'd love to say something witty or poignant like "I persevere for the sake of my art" or "my family keeps me going with their love and support." And while those are definitely true statements, I mainly am able to keep going thanks to SPARK. Oh, glorious Spark: making the flesh willing right along with the spirit!

To-Do List:

So when I have these great milestones occur, it does galvanize my desire to write. Here are the things I'm working on and hope to finish (as well as projects I want to start or pick back up!):

1. Number one on the list is a transcription of the first movement of Mendelsohn's 4th Symphony, "The Italian." The transcription is for large Percussion Ensemble that will include piano and one or some full range 5- octave marimbas.

For anyone dangerous enough to have studied music in college, you'll understand this: this first movement is in a fairly strict Sonata Allegro form. I've completed enough of the piece to now be working on the Recapitulation.

For everyone else: I have sixteen more pages to go and I can finally see the light at the end of the tunnel!

2. Continuing with my transcriptions, I'm also wanting to start a transcription for a similarly large Percussion Ensemble using the third movement from Tchaikovsky's Fourth Symphony (what is it with me and fourth symphonies?). I've always thought that this movement would make for a great percussion piece because of how much the strings play pizzicato throughout the movement. Cover the woodwind parts cleverly and it might sound like Pyotr meant for it to be played on marimbas. He and Prokofiev would have had a blast writing for percussion if they had been born a hundred years later...

3. I have the first section more or less finished of what I am suspecting to be a three-section band piece. It is quick, in triple meter and has some minimalistic qualities to it (think John Adams, not Philip Glass). I am hoping that it will finish out as a Grade 3 or 4 and can be premiered by Christmas. Better start getting up at 5, then...

4. Hanging perpetually over my head is a project for Honeyrock to finish a collection of pieces for marimba and vibe duo that are meant to be played at church. I am thinking about adding a couple of "wedding" type pieces to make the overall volume appeal to a wider market. Many friends and family members have offered a lot of suggestions for using various hymns and folk songs. In fact, I have one rather lengthy email from my mother with about two dozen suggestions. I'll probably just start right there. She does so much wedding and church playing she is practically an authority on the subject. Okay. Let's call it like it is: she IS an authority on wedding/church music.

Hmmm... Well, as I write this blog, I realize that I have a lot of things to get to work on. So, with every word I type, I'm delaying lunch, and thus, am delaying my writing. And really, this blog post is so long that no one is probably still reading.

Hello?

Anyone out there?

Is this thing on?

I think I'll have leftovers for lunch now...

Pet Peeves

Here are a few pet peeves of mine that have been on my mind. One of them actually is ending sentences in prepositional phrases, but I can't see myself getting out of this blog post without doing that (dang it.).

First one: Ranting and Raving. For the record, raving means that you really like something. For example, "Such and Such movie has gotten rave reviews." Ranting means that you don't. I don't have a good example, but according to m-w.com my over-simplified definitions are correct. (So, ranting can mean that you are talking in a noisy, excited or declamatory manner, but the connotation is that the subject matter is something you are not happy with.)

So, when someone generally does not care for something and they choose to use wording such as "ranting and raving" to emphasize their point, they've only emphasized that they didn't know what the words mean that they are using. (Don't the prepositional phrases just jump out at you now?)

Why this is on my mind: I read a letter to the editor in our local newspaper a few weeks ago from a concerned citizen stating that she was not pleased with the city's careless maintenance of a park near her home. After stating all that was dilapidated and unkempt with the park, she said (paraphrasing here), "I could rant and rave all day, but I don't think anyone will do anything." No ma'am, you could rant all day, but you haven't said anything positive in your letter, so you could not rave all day unless you had already said something positive.

Second pet peeve: The use of the word "literally" incorrectly. "Literally" means actual, exact, verbatim. So, when someone says that they would literally smack you in the face if you do 'that' (insert annoying action here) again, you better duck if do that again.

Why this is on my mind: I overheard someone use this improperly the other day when they said that they were so hungry they could literally eat a horse. The point they were trying to get across was that they were very hungry. But what they said, was that they were so hungry that they could see themselves actually take a fork to a horse. It would not be a pretty sight. And it wasn't pretty for them to use this verbiage incorrectly either.

Now, m-w.com says that literally can be used as hyperbole to exaggerate a phrase or to help draw opposites (and didn't explain what drawing opposites meant, either). Their example was this: "literally turning the world upside down." When I hear that, I think that someone is suggesting that the opposite poles of the earth are going to be reversed. And even though I'm reading the Politically Incorrect Guide to Global Warming, I haven't heard any alarmist environmentalist ever mention this as a possibility.

So, by allowing the word 'literally' to double as hyperbole and exaggeration in a phrase and the actual (literal) definition of the word, you've made for some potentially confusing moments. What would you expect from someone who said to you, "For pete's sake, if I hear one more complaint out of you and I'm going to literally pull my hair out."? I think most of us would guess that they are exaggerating. But given that there are people in the world who really have disorders involving pulling hair out of their bodies, this could mean exactly what they said.

The next time your friend tells you that they are so hungry they could literally eat a horse, please take the time to explain to them what they just said. Otherwise, be prepared to alert the ASPCA or even worse, PETA.

Third pet peeve: the pronunciation of 'often' and 'sword.' Without going into a long rant, I'll be as succinct as possible. The 't' in often is not pronounced and the 'w' in sword is not pronounced. They are, in effect, silent. 'Often' should be pronounced "offen" and 'sword' should be pronounced "sord."

Apparently, pronouncing 'often' with the 't' is acceptable to m-w.com, but according to Ms. Smith my junior-level AP English teacher, that is not the proper pronunciation. Sorry, m-w.com, but I'm going to stick with Ms. Smith on this one.

The pronunciation of 'sword' is "sord" according to m-w.com. That makes the score Me= 3 points, m-w.com=1 point.

Well, I could rant and rave for the rest of the night, but it's getting late and too ofTen I stay up too late the night before I have to be up at literally the butt crack of dawn. (One more sentence-ending prepositional phrase for good measure...)

Summer drawing to an end...

Whoever said that teachers only work nine months out of the year don't actually know much about the teaching profession. For the average classroom teacher, school lets out at the end of May and pre-school inservice starts in the second week (or third week now) of August. So, that's about two and a half months off. Not bad.

But, being a band director changes your time frame. For me, my contract ends a day or two after the end of the school year and starts near the end of July. That's about a month and a half of vacation. Yep, you're saying, "not bad." But I'm a glutton for punishment.

In June, I get up early in the morning to do my treadmill time (although you can't freaking tell -- another post for another day), then I get right to work on drumline arranging. Somedays I spend between 6 and 10 hours a day working on these arrangements. Now, I'll be the first to admit that working at home in your home office is distinctly different from wearing khakis, a polo shirt and standing in front of a band, but the "work" switch is still flipped to the 'on' position in your head.

Disclaimer: I LOVE arranging music for drumline. I LOVE it and I actively advertise my services. No one is sticking a gun to my head and making me arrange this music. There is something, however, that makes it seem like work some days and not a passion. I'm guessing that that's the case with most things.

June flashes by with the drumline arranging, BUT, I am my own boss during that time and I can decide that I don't want to work a particular day, so I will. We try to use the freedom of June to do fun things or even just things that are out of the usual. Kayla worked VBS at the church. I went to lunch with our pastor and a few of the guys my age a few times and we both would drop in on our grandparents here and there. We even spent a week in Elkhart (Kansas) in a psuedo-family reunion (more on that on Kayla's Family Blog -- link above). The freedom of summer is a blessing.

Now, let's talk about July. Until a friend of mine said this a few years ago, I had never had this thought: "When band camp starts, it's like the signaling of the end of summer." Of course, she is referring to the daddy of all band camps, the WT Band Camp. (wtamu.edu)

It's an honor to be asked to teach there each summer. It's a ton of fun, with lots of time to catch up with friends from college and colleagues from across the state. But, yes, it does signal the end of summer. Again, no one has the proverbial gun to my head. And if I didn't enjoy it, I wouldn't do it!

Bittersweet? Definitely. But again, all of this is my choice and I can't complain too much...

Percussion Ensemble & Jazz Band Concert, feat. Henry Brun

On March 8th, we had our annual Percussion Ensemble Concert. This year, because of the timing of things, we decided to add our Jazz Band onto the same program and "kill" the proverbial "two birds." I wasn't sure how I'd like it (you know me... always questioning efficiency), but it turned out great and I'm pretty sure we'll be planning on using this format again next year.

So, knowing that we were going to run both groups that night, I started looking for a guest artist we could bring in that would play with both groups. I was given Henry Brun's name from Staci Stokes at Promark and proceeded to book the date with him. From the outset, he was very cool to talk to -- down to earth and real. The last thing I need or any of the students need is someone who thinks far too much of themselves and has all sorts of high maintanance requests and needs!

When Henry got to town, it was very apparent that he was going to fall into the category of "easy-going." Thank the Lord! I put enough stress on myself with the concert, that I don't need a Prima Dona to take care of on top of that!

The students really warmed up to Henry and he was very good with them. He got to meet with all of the percussion students from grades 6-12 at least a little and I think it was good for them to meet someone who has made a living being a percussionist.

On the concert, there were three sections: Percussion Ensemble by themselves, Perc Ens with Henry (INTERMISSION), then Jazz Band with Henry.

Thanks to Frances, here are some pictures from the evening. There are way too many to post here, so I'll try to pick out only the very best ones!



Mushroom Soup, I think.

Cameron lays down a fat groove on marimba (yes, it's possible!).

Tyler imparts words of wisdom on Corey. Ah! Who are we kidding? I know they're just reciting lines from Talladega Nights...


Doomsday Machine!


Jasmine and Amanda finish up playing their bass drums on Oye Como Va! Hey, Amanda: "New bass drums!"


How does Corey keep ending up in these pictures?


Gratuitous picture of myself... Frances really captured my essence: glowing eyes and all.


Nick Scales lays down a fat groove on bass (EVERYONE, knows that's possible!).

The rhythm section trifecta: Nick, Henry and Tyler, while Aaron looks on (or counts rest).


Carissa improvises!


Group shot!
Yeah, saxes!


Are those super-bones? Who let those baritone players in here?!? (Janie, pictured closest, is legit).


Tyler drives the band.


seven. Seven. SEVEN Glorious Trumpet! Which one will take it up an octave?Group shot! Hey, is that Corey again?!?




Henry and Nick discuss the new Stagg up-right electric bass. Right out of the box!

Alumni Percussion Ensemble

In January, Dr. Susan Martin Tariq hosted an Alumni Percussion Ensemble for all former West Texas A&M (WTSU) students to participate in. Not only did I get to catch up with a number of guys I went to school with, but I also got to meet a lot of the students we had only heard stories of. And even though there were some pretty wide ranges of ages and experiences, we all came together in our shared love of percussion and our mutual respect for Dr. Tariq.

If only I had had the forethought to take pictures throughout the weekend, this blog would be more complete. But I didn't think about taking my camera to the rehearsals on Saturday morning and afternoon or the party Saturday night where we all took turns playing drums in a jazz trio (I waited to play until practically everyone had left... "did Joe Woolsey leave? Okay, I'll play.")

Anyhow, here are several pictures I took from before our concert on Sunday afternoon. I won't give each one a caption -- they are pretty self-explanatory.

PASIC! Part Two...

Finally! Some time to write Part Two of my PASIC blog! I've actually tried two other times, but was having trouble with blogger not accepting the photos I was trying to upload.



This first picture is from the final concert on Saturday night (I think these photos are in reverse order, but it doesn't really matter...). This is Airto Moreira's band. They were pretty stinking cool! After having taught a percussion ensemble transcription of one of his tunes, I was really looking forward to seeing his band in concert. I mentioned in the other blog post that the hotel I stayed in was pretty nice. Here's more evidence of that. This the driveway at the front of the hotel where the bellhops and valets stand. They have a continuous supply of mist for them to stay cool. Even though it was November in Austin, it was still fairly warm during the day. I would imagine that those guys really appreciate being misted during those hot summer days.

Here are a few pics from the Santa Clara Vanguard drumline clinic. I've been to a lot of these clinics, but I don't always get as much out of them educationally as I do motivationally. This was a case for both. Not only was the playing great, but the clinic portion from their instructors was very insightful.

When I was in Phantom Regiment, our percussion head and arranger was Brian Mason. Now, he's with SCV. For SCV, he's the front ensemble coordinator. Hearing his portion of the clinic reminded me of a lot of the things I learned from him when I had the mallets in my hands. This clinic was a good reinforcement for me. And of course, he's a great teacher with some really solid ideas that I'll definitely be trying to incorporate.

Here's a picture from the best clinic I saw while at PASIC. This was Bill Bachman's tenor clinic. To me, tenors is somewhat still a foreign language -- but in the way that drumset is a foreign language: I can still get the job done, but it's not my number one thing.

This wasn't just the best clinic because I need to brush up on my quad knowledge, but because Bill had a lot of very sound advice as far as developing "chops" goes. His discussion on teaching rudiments was something I really needed to hear. This has influenced my teaching quite a bit and it influenced my teaching immediately.

Picture quality's not always great. Sorry!

Now, here are some pictures from the exhibit hall.

Old school fiberglass drumset by Ludwig.

Some metal "constructions."

Gigantic practice pad for you and ALL of your friends.

A few opera gongs.

Some Taiko drums offered by Remo.

A few custom snare drums from Yamaha.

A closer look at one of them...

And finally, here's a picture of a friend of mine from drum corps, Daniel McCloud. I hadn't done a very good job of keeping up with Daniel, so it was nice to bump into him and have lunch together. He's finishing work on his Doctorate -- a secret ambition of mine, except that I don't really want to teach at the collegiate level, so not necessary otherwise. Soon to be called Dr. McCloud and deservedly so! It was interesting to hear each other's life experiences post-drum corps. And it was interesting to hear how that mutual experience has shaped our lives in very different and in ways that we could never have expected or lived without!