Midwest Wrap Up

As I sit sipping coffee at the Corner Bakery down the street from my hotel, waiting for my wife to arrive to Chicago for the rest of the weekend, I have some time to sit and reflect about Midwest. Recently, a colleague had asked me to start blogging again. Jes even mentioned it when I mentioned that I had a few free hours here. Finding a place to jump back in, especially after taking a new post in a new state, had been difficult. This does seem like the perfect situation. I apologize in advance for my return post being a “stream of conscious”

I hadn’t been to the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic since before grad school. I basically went to meet with a few professors in hopes of finding a mentor for grad school and I wasn’t able to through the conference. Some of the people I met seemed completely uninterested in music, but were more focused on looking through me, desperate to find someone to talk that held more stature than I. I don’t think I had a full understanding of what Midwest was about until I learned from Dr. Booth. I wish he would’ve been here, to share this with all week.

I went to a few clinics that were worth a listen, but the best experiences were hearing students perform great music! High school kids (word at 720 South was that the MS kids were killing it too) that were passionate about music, collaboration and performing. Teachers that were passionate about teaching and that had found a way to get their school and community to value art. Now, that’s inspiring!

I went to hear Owasso’s Wind Ensemble, thinking I would discover something I’d like to program for my band. I made it a personal mission at this conference to listen to new things so I can keep expanding my love for the repertoire. You never know where the perfect piece will reveal itself to you, right? What I discovered was passion for music making. This experience was repeated by The Woodlands and Marcus. I guess Midwest South is dominating!

The only thing that surpassed these experiences musically, was Leonard Slatkin conducting the Lonestar Wind Orchestra. I mean the Pines of Rome with 30 or so additional  antiphonal brass players!?! It was inspiring.

There were some good non-performance moments too. I listened to Frank Battisti have a casual interview with Dr. Tim. I felt like part of history. Battisti, at age 82, has more life in him when talking about music than anyone I've ever seen. I heard the stories of the Ithaca HS Band. The room was packed as we hung on his ever word and laughed with him. It was great to experience that with one of my mentors, Shelley Jagow. Truly a once in a lifetime event. I'm so glad Dr. Booth had made sure I had taken "with-it-ness 101" during grad school.

As I sat back to write this, I had a wonderful interruption. One of my friends and colleagues, maybe the person in the field I've known the longest, Justin Davis happened to walk by the window. I was so glad he recognized me and came in to chat. We talked for a few hours. It was the most musically in-depth conversation I had the whole week. I was very thankful for the talk and the rekindling of a friendship.

The conference was all about thanking our mentors which means I owe some people some emails and calls. What a great career it's been so far, I can't wait to see what's in store in 2013.

Book Review: The 20th Century American Wind Band/Ensemble

The 20th Century American Wind Band/Ensemble: History, Development, and Literature - by Frank Battisti Published by Meredith Music, First Edition 1995. (Does anyone know if there's a new edition?)

About a week ago I finished a text about the History, Development, and Literature of the 20th Century American Wind Band. Dr. Booth recommended it to me as we started a "History of Wind Band and Literature" class during my first quarter of graduate studies.

Out of the books, I have started reading for coursework this has been the most interesting. I have found facts and figures, but this book really seems to explore how serious works for the wind ensemble came to be after 1900. It was published in 1994 so it doesn't deal with out current new works, but the bulk of literature I really enjoy so far comes from this period. The development of our medium is still so young when you compare us with the orchestra. I wonder where the wind ensemble is headed...

The book includes an easy to read format outlining periods in development by year. It's broken down by 1900-1959(The Early Years), 1960-1974(Changes and Growth), 1975-1989(Expansion and New Connections), 1990-1994(Two Different Worlds and Exposures), which leads up to the publication of the book. The last half of the book tackles the topics of; Commissioning, Contemporary Wind Band, Repertoire Establishment and Program Planning, School Band Repertoire, and Challenges.

The Appendices have helpful lists and information on the chronology of literature, recommended literature for HS Wind Bands, Instrumentations of ensembles 1952-1994, recommended reading(which I will be checking out), and the bibliography. There's also an index that can quickly help you find information within the book about certain pieces, composers, and compositions.

The author, Frank Battisti, has served as the Director of Wind Ensemble Activities at the New England Conservatory. He is also a past President of the College Band Directors National Association(CBDNA) and found of the National Wind Ensemble Conference, World Association of Symphonic Bands and Ensembles(WASBE), and the Massachusetts Youth Wind Ensemble. He's active guest conductor, clinician, and contributor to professional journals and is considered one of the foremost authorities on wind literature.

Before reading this book he was just a name of another conductor and college professor that I'd seen on a program or in a book somewhere. This might make me seem naive, but aren't we all? Isn't the point of further to study to teach us what we don't know, not pat us on the back for what we do? I'm really enjoying discovering things like this through my studies.

That's probably why I'm spending so much of my break in the Dunbar Library. Here's to learning!