# Emotional Response To Music.



## AwayWeGo

I am signed up as a substitute extra player with an extremely good church-based brass ensemble that's putting on a concert (in church, but not at a church service) on October 14.  One of the tunes, _Salvation Is Created_ (by Pavel Tchesnokov, 1877-1944), gets me choked up whenever I hear it -- to the point that my throat narrows & it's hard to keep on playing.  It had that effect even before I selected it as music for my mother's funeral 25 years ago.  I suppose that's why I selected it.  The combination of the music's beauty & its association with remembrance of my mother packs a powerful emotional wallop.  I expect, however, that rehearsals between now & October 14 will dimininsh the impact -- at least (I hope) to the point where my playing won't be affected. 

Some years ago I was recruited to be part of a semi-professional brass ensemble to perform as part of a Christmas musical program at a small Capitol Hill church.  The church choir sang some tunes, we played some tunes, but there were no tunes featurng voices & instruments together.  That meant we never rehearsed together, & so I never heard the choir till their actual performances in between our brass numbers.  It was just a little church so I was expecting no more than a so-so rinky-dink church choir -- & I was not prepared for what I was about to hear.  They sang beautifully.  And the music of the Christmas season has its own emotional effect on those of us brought up in that tradition.  When the choir started singing the Austrian carol Still, Still Still*,* the music was extremely lovely & beautifully sung -- very much like the version recorded on a wonderful Mannheim Steamroller Christmas album. Tears started running down my face.  I had to dry my eyes & get myself together pretty quick, because another brass number was coming up next, & I had to come in on a top-line F-sharp right at the start of the piece.  (It was OK.  I nailed the F-sharp.  The rest of the program went fine, too.) 

At that funeral service 25 years ago, the other music was equally powerful in emotional impact.  _Pie Jesu_ from the Fauré _Requiem_ was extremely moving, performed by a young soloist whose rendition matches the finest commercial recordings I've heard of that music.  (I've never heard that singer since.  Wherever she is these days, I hope she's still singing.)  BTW, Fauré's _Pie Jesu_ could have been the model or the inspiration for Andrew Lloyd Webber's _Pie Jesu_ from Webber's _Requiem_.  Both are lovely & moving, though Fauré's might be a bit more delicate & ethereal, I don't know. 

Mother's other funeral piece was the magnificent funeral hymn by Ralph Vaughan Williams, _For All The Saints_, sung by the full congregation with pipe organ. 

It is a privilege to be part of the upcoming brass ensemble concert next month, which will feature some outstanding numbers including... 

Millenium Fanfare (Kevin Kaska) 
How Firm a Foundation (Dwight Gustafson) 
Suite for Two Horns & Orchestra (Georg Philipp Telemann) 
Salvation is Created (Pavel Tschesnokoff) 
Declamation On A Hymn Tune (Jack Stamp) 
Adagio (Samuel Barber) 
Symphony In Brass  (Eric Ewazen) 
The Great Gate At Kiev (Modeste Mussorgsky) 
Be Still my Soul (based on "Finlandia")​
The only downside is that the scheduling is regrettably bad from our timeshare vacationing perspective (The Chief Of Staff's & mine, I mean).  The performance was scheduled originally for last spring.  If it had been played as scheduled, it would already be over & the calendar would be clear for us to go out of town next month for a nice timeshare vacation -- before the timeshare points we've been saving dry up & blow away, as they're about to do.  The concert postponement happened after a couple of players (including me) had to miss an important rehearsal.  That rehearsal was shaky enough, I'm told, that the music director got cold feet & put the whole thing off till fall, so we'd have more rehearsal time*.*  To the extent that my not being there contributed to delaying the concert, I have only myself to blame.  The Chief Of Staff deserves yet another _Oak Leaf Cluster_ for her previously earned _Good Sport Award_. So it goes. 

Meanwhile, music -- sung, heard, played, whistled, hummed, remembered -- is specially enriching to the human experience, whether the tunes are fast or slow, happy or sad, loud or soft, frivolous or profound, juke joint or Carnegie Hall.  As Duke Ellington said of music in all its various kinds & styles*,* _If It Sounds Good It *Is* Good_*.* At my advanced age, I'm grateful my ears still work well enough to hear the music, & that my geriatric face remains pliable enough so that I can still pucker up & blow. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Rose Pink

Even though I have no musical talent, I can greatly appreciate those who do.  Thank you for sharing your talents so freely.  I, too, experience some music/lyrics that always bring me to tears.  One of the songs that tugs at my heart is "Mary's Lullaby (Tonight You Are Mine)" (music Wanda West Palmer, lyrics Bertha Kleinman).  I can't even think of this song without getting all choked up.  I had just given birth to my first child when I first heard this song.  It was just before Christmas and as I held my little baby boy, I could understand the emotion Mary felt in this song as she sang to her newborn.  That was nearly 27 years ago and I still can't even see the printed lyrics without tears streaming down my face.


*Mary's Lullaby* (Tonight You Are Mine)

All mine in your loveliness baby, all mine. 
All mine in your holiness baby divine. 
Sing on herald angels in chorus sublime; 
Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine. 

The wise men are coming to worship their King, 
The shepherds are kneeling their homage to bring. 
Out yonder the star over Judah will keep. 
No harm will befall thee, then sleep baby sleep. 

O let me enfold thee, my baby tonight, 
While legions are singing in joyous delight. 
A new star has risen to hail thee divine, 
For you are a king, but tonight you are mine. 

Away spectered future of sorrow and plight, 
Away to the years that must follow tonight. 
The pangs of Gethsemane, let them be dim, 
The red drops on Calvary, not Lord, for Him! 

O let me enfold thee, my baby tonight, 
While legions are singing in joyous delight. 
A new star has risen to hail thee divine, 
For you are a king, but tonight you are mine. 

Sing on herald angels in chorus sublime; 
Sing on and adore, for tonight you are mine.


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## Dave M

The Star-Spangled Banner does it to me - every time!


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## T_R_Oglodyte

I shared this with Alan, but I guess I'll put it up here.  Here's a link to our church choir performing a superb arrangement of _Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing_. (Note: 16 meg file - you probably don't want to click on this if you're on dial-up.)


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## Rose Pink

Dave and Steve, two more wonderfully emotional songs! (Steve, all I can say is "wow" that was aweome.)  Oh, it is a weepy day for me.  Here a few more from Les Miz: "Do You Hear the People Sing?", "Bring Him Home," "On My Own/ A Little Fall of Rain." And then, from Dumbo, "Baby Mine."


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## Mel

One of the Youth Orchestras I performed with in High School had a tradition of ending the final concert of each season with Elgar's Nimrod Variation, as a way of bidding farewell to the graduating seniors.  Rehearsals were always fine, but for many of us that final performance during our own senior years was difficult - much like the experience Alan noted.  It was fine for the String players, who had the option of not playing, but for the winds, brass, and timpanist that is not an option.  

For many of us, when we return to an end of year concert, it still chokes us up, because we remember that feeling.  I still feel it every time I hear it, even by another orchestra.


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## Parkplace

Try 'Nella Fantasia', by any symphony or Sarah Brightman.


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## EAM

*Emotional music*

The music that is most likely to bring on an emotional response is music associated with one of life's major transitions: birth, the transition from childhood to adulthood, marriage, and loss of a loved one (by whatever means).

At this point in my life, as the mother of a teenager, the music connected with the transition from childhood to adulthood seems most touching, e.g. Pomp and Circumstance, and the Kingston Trio's song that starts "Where are you going, my little one, little one, where are you going, my baby, my own?"


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## pwrshift

I made a 16 minute movie to play after my little speech for my daughter's recent wedding, called "Daddy's Little Girl". I let the movie do most of my talking. 

Anyone who has collected all the past pictures, old 8mm films that had to be converted to digital, mixed in with analog and digital video, some silent some with sound, mixed with commentary and music added, knows that it takes hours for every minute of video authoring.

And perhaps the toughest part is deciding what music to put on the film to tie it all together, much of which were silent home movies and single photos.

It was a happy movie, or so I thought. But as I stood back and watched people watching it on the big jumbo screen with surround speakers I noticed the tissues were out everywhere ... even some of the guys. 

All night long people I didn't even know, till then, told me they had big 'happy tears' to see pictures they had never seen before, from her first few steps up to her wedding day. The music transformed the 'home movie' stigma to 'entertainment', and provided an emotional response that I hadn't expected. 

The most emotional part seemed to be the last 7 minutes with the switch from Doris Day's 'Que Sera Sera' to Damien Rice's 'The Blower's Daughter'. 

Chances are when you see an Academy Award winning movie that the music had a huge role in that achievement. My award comes from knowing my daughter has something 'just about her' that I put together for her and her generations to enjoy many years after I'm gone.

Brian


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## Kona Lovers

Alan,

Thanks for another outstanding post.

Marty


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## Mel

pwrshift said:


> Chances are when you see an Academy Award winning movie that the music had a huge role in that achievement.


Absolutely true!  I've watched some "making of" shows where certain scenes are shown with and without the music, and the difference is dramatic.  That's why we see certain composers' names over and over with the top movies - they have proven they know what they are doing.

Actually, I would love a feature on DVD's where you could turn off the music portion of the soundtrack.  The same might also apply to some of the audio effects.  Disney does the same in one of the shows at MGM Studios, where audience members help add the sound effects.


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## T_R_Oglodyte

Mel said:


> Absolutely true!  I've watched some "making of" shows where certain scenes are shown with and without the music, and the difference is dramatic.  That's why we see certain composers' names over and over with the top movies - they have proven they know what they are doing.
> 
> Actually, I would love a feature on DVD's where you could turn off the music portion of the soundtrack.  The same might also apply to some of the audio effects.  Disney does the same in one of the shows at MGM Studios, where audience members help add the sound effects.



Our DVD of The Bourne Identify includes interviews with the team that did the sound on the movie.  I thought it was pretty interesting.

The dialog is the only sound during filming that actually appears in a movie.  Everything else is dubbed in later.

They showed the buildup of the sound track for the sequence in the movie when the Paris police are chasing Jason and Marie in Marie's little mini, showing how they added the sounds of the engine, the street sounds, the siren sounds, the crashing vehicles - everything.


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## Karen G

I was in tears the other night at a performance of the Las Vegas Tenors singing "The Prayer."Here  are Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli singing it on You Tube. What a beautiful song!


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## Elli

pwrshift said:


> I made a 16 minute movie to play after my little speech for my daughter's recent wedding, called "Daddy's Little Girl". I let the movie do most of my talking.
> 
> Anyone who has collected all the past pictures, old 8mm films that had to be converted to digital, mixed in with analog and digital video, some silent some with sound, mixed with commentary and music added, knows that it takes hours for every minute of video authoring.
> 
> And perhaps the toughest part is deciding what music to put on the film to tie it all together, much of which were silent home movies and single photos.
> 
> It was a happy movie, or so I thought. But as I stood back and watched people watching it on the big jumbo screen with surround speakers I noticed the tissues were out everywhere ... even some of the guys.
> 
> All night long people I didn't even know, till then, told me they had big 'happy tears' to see pictures they had never seen before, from her first few steps up to her wedding day. The music transformed the 'home movie' stigma to 'entertainment', and provided an emotional response that I hadn't expected.
> 
> The most emotional part seemed to be the last 7 minutes with the switch from Doris Day's 'Que Sera Sera' to Damien Rice's 'The Blower's Daughter'.
> 
> Chances are when you see an Academy Award winning movie that the music had a huge role in that achievement. My award comes from knowing my daughter has something 'just about her' that I put together for her and her generations to enjoy many years after I'm gone.
> 
> Brian


What a lot of work you put in that "home movie" Brian.  No wonder many wedding guests had tears in their eyes.  Any chance of posting a couple of wedding pictures?

Elli


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## ricoba

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I shared this with Alan, but I guess I'll put it up here.  Here's a link to our church choir performing a superb arrangement of _Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing_. (Note: 16 meg file - you probably don't want to click on this if you're on dial-up.)




Which church do you attend?  I may want to visit next time I am in the Seattle area.  So few churches have full choirs any more.


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## ricoba

Karen G said:


> I was in tears the other night at a performance of the Las Vegas Tenors singing "The Prayer."Here  are Celine Dion and Andrea Bocelli singing it on You Tube. What a beautiful song!




Or how about this rendition on You Tube of Time to Say Goodbye with Sarah Brightman and Andrea Bocelli

Or this rendition of the Navy Hymn, Eternal Father Strong to Save


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## Rose Pink

I, too, like the various versions of The Prayer (especially Josh Groban/Charlotte Church) but the version that chokes me up is the original  "Mother's Prayer" (sung by Celine Dion) in the animated movie "Quest for Camelot."  That gets to me because it is a prayer sung by a mother for her daughter.  It is absolutely beautiful.  (Same melody but slightly different lyrics than the duet versions.)

I also cry through Celine's "Because You Loved Me."  I think of my mother during that one.  (I'm everything I am because you loved me.)


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## Ginny

The first few times I heard Eva Cassidy's version of "Over the Rainbow" I got teary. 

Check it out on UTube: http://tinyurl.com/22buwf

Soulful phrasing, and such a pure voice....


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## Rose Pink

Thanks, Ginny.  Brought some tears to me this morning as well.

Alan, I cannot thank you enough for starting this thread.  I've needed the catharsis of some good music.  This thread is really helping me get through the rest of my day.  You are an angel.


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## mepiccolo

I got curious about the song the Blower's Daughter and I looked it up on Youtube.  Wow, what a haunting video.  It gave me chills:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ThuXEDvCZk

It also made me want to hear more Damien Rice.

Eva Cassidy also made me teary eyed first time I heard her, I bought her CD off the internet and her voice is so soothing.


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## jlr10

pwrshift said:


> I made a 16 minute movie to play after my little speech for my daughter's recent wedding, called "Daddy's Little Girl". I let the movie do most of my talking.
> 
> Anyone who has collected all the past pictures, old 8mm films that had to be converted to digital, mixed in with analog and digital video, some silent some with sound, mixed with commentary and music added, knows that it takes hours for every minute of video authoring.
> 
> And perhaps the toughest part is deciding what music to put on the film to tie it all together, much of which were silent home movies and single photos.
> 
> It was a happy movie, or so I thought. But as I stood back and watched people watching it on the big jumbo screen with surround speakers I noticed the tissues were out everywhere ... even some of the guys.
> 
> 
> Brian




Just reading this made me cry, seeing the  movie might have been too much. 

At my nieces wedding they played "I Loved Her First" during the father daughter dance.  My sister started crying so hard her brother in law came to comfort her, and he started crying, so his wife started crying and so on until the father of the bride started getting weepy.  By the end I think the only 2 people not crying or weepy were the bride and the groom.  I caught the last part of the dance in a picture where her dad pulled her to his chest with a look of "How can I let her go?" on his face.  I still get teary looking at the picture, and it is not even that good of a picture. . . I know I will never make it through my son's wedding which is many years away.

But I also cried during a church service as our chior (50+) along with a (fantastic) band played a rendition "The Battle Hymn of the Republic" while showing pictures of our military on an overhead screen on Memorial Day.  They had to turn the screens in the back of the church off, as the choir couldn't sing when seeing the pictures.   Anyone who was not crying has no heart!

Good music always brings emotion.  That's how you know it was good!


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## AwayWeGo

*October 14 Performance By Cathedral Brass.*




The playlist of music *. . .*

Millenium Fanfare (Kevin Kaska) 
How Firm a Foundation (Dwight Gustafson) 
Suite for Two Horns & Orchestra (Georg Philipp Telemann) 
Salvation is Created (Pavel Tschesnokoff) 
Declamation On A Hymn Tune (Jack Stamp) 
Adagio (Samuel Barber) 
Symphony In Brass  (Eric Ewazen) 
The Great Gate At Kiev (Modeste Mussorgsky) 
Be Still my Soul (based on "Finlandia")​
Performance venue & location *. . .* 

Vienna Presbyterian Church
124 Park Street, NE
Vienna, VA 22180 
( Click here for Google map. )​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## pwrshift

Another one that might cause some emotion is a song by Warren Zevon (and his video) called "Keep Me In Your Heart" ... which he penned after finding out he was going to die.  The song takes on a whole new emotion after knowing that.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y7NQjLZvw44

http://www.amazon.com/VH1-Inside-Out-Warren-Zevon/dp/B0000V46RM

http://www.lyricscafe.com/z/zevon_warren/136.htm

Brian




mepiccolo said:


> I got curious about the song the Blower's Daughter and I looked it up on Youtube. Wow, what a haunting video. It gave me chills:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8ThuXEDvCZk
> 
> It also made me want to hear more Damien Rice.
> 
> Eva Cassidy also made me teary eyed first time I heard her, I bought her CD off the internet and her voice is so soothing.


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## Tia

Glad I clicked into this topic. Most I have ever visited YouTube , especially loved  "Keep Me In Your Heart"


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## AwayWeGo

*Dress Rehearsal Tonight -- Starting To Get Butterflies...*

...& I'm only just a substitute extra player. And this is not in anticipation of the actual performance, but just in advance of the final rehearsal for a performance that'll still be 48 hours in the future at rehearsal time. 

The thing about pre-performance butterflies is that the feeling is akin to stage fright for people who are unprepared, but also akin to being _up for the game_ for folks who have woodshedded their parts. 

BTW, it's not "dress rehearsal" in the sense of wearing concert attire while running through all the tunes 1 last time before the show.  We'll all be there in T-shirts & khakis & sweatshirts & jeans & I don't know what-all.  It's just "dress rehearsal" in the sense of having completed all the ensemble practice sessions leading up to it & now putting the whole thing together performance-style 1 last time before playing the tunes for real in front of the audience Sunday evening. 

However that may be, I couldn't keep from buying a new Wal*Mart black suit coat last week that fits very nicely right off the rack.  My planned concert duds are new black suit coat, black dress shirt, black tie (long), black slacks, black sox, black New Balance walking shoes. 

As for playing the music, if I mess up my part it won't be because I'm not prepared. 

If any TUG folks attend the performance, I hope you won't have to rush home afterward before coming up & saying Hi. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Concert Afterglow.*




AwayWeGo said:


> As for playing the music, if I mess up my part it won't be because I'm not prepared.





> If any TUG folks attend the performance, I hope you won't have to rush home afterward before coming up & saying Hi.


Well, it looks like my performance preparation was OK because I did not mess anything up.  It was a wonderful horn-playing experience, & 24 hours after the final chord I am still in serious post-concert afterglow. 

That's not to claim my playing was flawless, perfect, etc.  It was error-free, as far as that goes -- I didn't get lost, didn't miscount, didn't play any wrong notes, didn't miss any key changes, meter changes, etc., played reasonably in tune, observed the dynamics in a musical way, & all that.  Even when a brass-instrument player does all that stuff right, it's still possible -- likely, even -- to chip an attack (_attack_ = musician-speak for starting the production of sound on a wind instrument -- maybe string instruments too, I don't know)*,* also possible to crack or split a note, & to make all sorts of other unnamed miscellaneous unintended unmusical noises.  The likelihood on horn (i.e., "French" horn) is higher than on trumpet, trombone, etc.  In fact, playing horn is like choosing from a box of chocolates -- you never know what note you'll get.  So it goes. 

However that may be, none of my several miscellaneous minor mini-flubs marred the overall performance -- might not have been noticed much at all -- & all of the places in the music where my individual playing was highly exposed came out as well as I could have hoped (i.e., great). 

The 1 thing that could have gone better would have been more people in the audience.  It's difficult to draw a crowd around here, mainly because Washington DC & its Virginia & Maryland suburbs enjoy such an embarrassment of riches regarding quality concert experiences available virtually any night of the week.  The City Of Fairfax Band, for example, has a tough time half-filling an 1*,*100-seat auditorium except at Christmastime, when it's apt to be SRO.  By contrast, the Lakeland Concert Band down in Florida is SRO for just about every performance it puts on at the 2*,*300-seat Youkey Theater in the downtown Lakeland Center. 

In any case, at the Cathedral Brass concert last night I didn't see anybody from TUG (other than The Chief Of Staff).  Maybe some other time. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Rooty-Toot-Toot.*

OK, fresh after the Cathedral Brass's musical triumph, I am privileged also to be part of an upcoming (October 20*,* 2007) concert by the City Of Fairfax Band (Robert Pouliot, music director). 

The theme is _Celebrate Virginia !_ -- featuring music of Virginia's history (including the 400th anniversary of Virginia's Jamestown settlement), plus music by Virginia composers. 

The playlist of music... 

The Piper Patriot of ‘76 (Dick Hyman) 
Powhatan's Daughter March (John Philip Sousa) 
The Trumpeter of Jamestowne (Randy Cabell) 
Overture For Symphonic Band (David Uber) -- original title = A Fairfax Overture 
Fantasia On "Black Is The Color Of My True Love’s Hair" (Mark Camphouse) 
Shenandoah (setting by Frank Ticheli) 
A Virginia Trilogy (John O’Reilly) 
Highlights From Disney's "Pocahontas" (music by Alan Menken) 
The Virginians Symphonic March (James L. Hosay) ​
The performance venue... 

Fairfax High School Auditorium 
3501 Rebel Run 
(formerly 3500 Old Lee Highway -- new street address at same physical location) 
Fairfax, Virginia  22030
( click here for Google map )​
_Full Disclosure_ *:*  In addition to playing horn in Fairfax Band, I also write the program notes about the evening's musical selections that are printed in the concert programs handed out at the door to audience members entering the auditorium.  So if you can't get enough of my prose right here at TUG-BBS, you can buy tickets to the Fairfax Band concert & read the stuff I wrote about all the tunes.  (One time a young flute player from the band said, "Mr. Cole, where do you get all that interesting information about the music we play at concerts?"  That was in the days before I had Internet access at home.  I explained, "Well, some of the information comes from the reading material that's furnished with records & CDs.  Some comes from certain musical reference books I like."  Then, leaning close & taking on a confidential-sounding semi-whisper, I added, "Some of it I just make up." )

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## T_R_Oglodyte

If you like sacred choral music, here is a Sanctus  that I really enjoyed (performed by our chancel choir in Sunday service on Oct 21). 8 meg .mp3 file.


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## T_R_Oglodyte

More sacred choral - the bumps really start rising on the back of my neck at about the 4:00 mark.  Come Dwell in Solomon's Walls, composed by Z. Randall Stroope


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## swift

We went to our God daughters wedding this last summer. For the father/bride dance they played Butterfly Kisses. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. I about lost it! http://www.lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/butterflykisseslyrics.html


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## AwayWeGo

*The Glorious Sounds Of Christmas*

I was privileged to be part of an outstanding performance of Christmas musical selections Sunday evening featuring brass, strings, percussion, organ, piano, and voices. 

_A Christmas Festival_ (Gordon Schuster) - Cathedral Brass
_Christmas In Brass_ (David Uber) - Cathedral Brass 
_I'll Go Tell Elizabeth_ (Ken Modena) - soprano & piano 
_Once In Royal David's City_ (Cecil Frances Alexander / H.J. Gauntlett) - choir & congregation 
_Veni Emmanuel_ (arr. by Craig Courtney) - men's voices & solo violin 
_O Little Town Of Bethlehem_ (arr. John Rutter) - orchestra & choir & congregation 
_Gloria In Excelsis Deo_ (J.S. Bach, from _Cantata 191_ ) - choir & orchestra 
_Hark! The Herald Angels Sing_ (arr. Mack Wilberg) - orchestra & choir & congregation 
_How Far Is It To Bethlehem?_ (arr. Mack Wilberg) - choir, with harp & viola 
_Infant Holy, Infant Lowly_ (Polish carol, arr. Mack Wilberg) - choir & strings 
_Angels We Have Heard On High_ (arr. Mack Wilberg) - orchestra & choir 
_Divertimento In D-major_, KV 136 (W.A. Mozart) - strings 
_Keep Your Lamps!_ (arr. Andre Thomas) - youth choir 
_Who's That Baby?_ (Jay Althouse) - youth choir 
_Betelehemu_ (Nigerian Christmas Song) - youth choir & percussion 
_What Shall We Give?_ (Catalonian carol, arr. Mack Wilberg) - choir & orchestra 
_Joy To The World_ (arr. John Rutter) - choir & orchestra & congregation​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Wonka

*Moments by Emerson Drive*

This song really touches me...I live in Fl, there seem to be panhandlers and homeless everywhere.  As they say, so many people are just a couple of paychecks away from being homeless.

Here's the lyrics:

I was coming to the end of a long long walk
When a man crawled out of a cardboard box
Under the E. Street Bridge
Followed me on to it
I went out halfway across
With that homeless shadow tagging along
So I dug for some change
Wouldn't need it anyway
He took it lookin' just a bit ashamed
He said, You know, I haven't always been this way

I've had my moments, days in the sun
Moments I was second to none
Moments when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do
Like that plane ride coming home from the war
That summer my son was born
And memories like a coat so warm
A cold wind can't get through
Lookin' at me now you might not know it
But I've had my moments

I stood there tryin' to find my nerve
Wondering if a single soul on Earth
Would care at all
Miss me when I'm gone
That old man just kept hanging around
Lookin' at me, lookin' down
I think he recognized
That look in my eyes
Standing with him there I felt ashamed
I said, You know, I haven't always felt this way

I've had my moments, days in the sun
Moments I was second to none
Moments when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do
Like the day I walked away from the wine
For a woman who became my wife
And a love that, when it was right,
Could always see me through
Lookin' at me now you might not know it
But I've had my moments

I know somewhere 'round a trashcan fire tonight
That old man tells his story one more time
He says

I've had my moments, days in the sun
Moments I was second to none
Moments when I knew I did what I thought I couldn't do
Like that cool night on the E. Street Bridge
When a young man almost ended it
I was right there, wasn't scared a bit
And I helped to pull him through
Lookin' at me now you might not know it
Oh, lookin' at me now you might not know it
But I've had my moments

I've had my moments
I've had my moments


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## Rose Pink

Wonka, thanks for sharing that. I had to read to the end before I "got it."

Edited to add link.  I needed to hear this song for myself.  Did a search and came up with this:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JzriEXPJ1-k


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## jme

*to tears...*

Gotta say.....aside from the several hymns, etc., that always move me,  there are two or three contemporary songs that move me to deep tears every single time I hear them ...( and I'm a man!!! ) Sheesh....

The songs are: "Lady in Red" by Chris de Burgh, because I love my wife so, and it reminds me of her....it may be one of the most beautiful songs ever written...(whenever I think about the song, or hear it,  I call my wife and we make dinner reservations out!) And, yes, she's beautiful....... See http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OcWspfgk9c8.

and, Van Morrison's "Have I Told You Lately". See: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tygpTfkK94Y. Again, because of my wife, whom I cannot tell enough that I love her. (And yes, she's also a "Brown-Eyed Girl". Thank you, Van Morrison.)

and,     "Hey There, Delilah" (by Plain White T's), because it reminds me of a special girlfriend way back when......and I cannot even get 5 words into singing the song without breaking down (& to this day, I have not sung it straight thru----not even close)...and yeah, I loved her.....it's a moving song, especially when he sings "Oh, what you do to me--- oh, what you do to me......" ...  See:http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EbJtYqBYCV8. 

The last one's a very recent song, mostly known by MY KIDS & their peers, and it's popular on YouTube.....  When I first heard it...like the first few words and the melody, I thought, Oh what a catchy little song....BUT, after the song went on, I literally broke down.....check it out, if you're not afraid........enjoy...

so there, the secret's out.....well, several secrets are out......but then, I'm just a very sentimental guy, and a hopeless romantic.......jme


----------



## AwayWeGo

*Wedding Tunes.*

I am 1 of the brass ensemble players who will be performing music for a December 22 wedding ceremony not far from here.  Father of the groom (a retired U.S. Army bird-colonel) is a talented musician who did the arrangements on several of the selections.  Plus, he will be playing solos (on flugelhorn) in 1 or 2 of the numbers. 

Flugelhorn, BTW, is not as oddball as the sound of the name suggests.  It's in the trumpet family, but with a noticeably wider taper downstream of the valve cluster culminating in a larger, wider bell flare than its cornet & trumpet cousins.   Chuck Mangione did more than anybody else to popularize sound of the flugelhorn, considered sweeter & darker & mellower than the sound of the trumpet.  



However that may be, here's the line-up of wedding tunes . . . 
Gloria (by Danial Pinkham) - brass & organ 
Maria (from _West Side Story_) - brass 
All I Ask Of You (from _Phantom Of The Opera_) - brass 
Love Song (from _Pippin_) - brass & piano 
More (from _Mondo Cane_) - brass, with solo flugelhorn 
Trumpet Voluntary (The Prince Of Denmark's March) - brass & organ 
Bridal Chorus (with "_Star Wars_" intro) - brass & organ 
You Light Up My Life - brass, with solo flugelhorn & vocal solo 
Rondeau ("_Masterpiece Theater_") - brass & organ 
Joy To The World - brass & organ​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## MULTIZ321

Alan,

What's the "V-looking" metal part near the valve (closest to the bell) used for?

Thanks

Richard


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## AwayWeGo

*Press The 3rd Valve Down, The Music Goes Round & Round, Whoa-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh-Oh . . .*




MULTIZ321 said:


> What's the "V-looking" metal part near the valve (closest to the bell) used for?


It's a spring-loaded lever for extending the length of the tubing attached to the 3rd valve when the 3rd valve used (as it so frequently is) in combination with 1 or both of the other valves.  The spring-loaded feature lets the valve-slide go right back to its regular position when the lever is released. 

Attached to each valve is a length of tubing that effectively lengthens the instrument by routing the air through an extra loop when the valve is down.  Each used alone is pretty much in tune.  Using more than 1 can easily make the pitch too sharp -- the length of each loop is calculated to be OK by itself, but their combined length is always too short.  The phenomenon is called valve swindle.  Flugelhorn 3rd-valve slide triggers are just 1 of the ways various folks have come up with to deal with it. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## MULTIZ321

Alan,

Thanks for the great explanation and the link for Valve Swindle.

I'm curious if you ever played a Euphonium?


Richard


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## AwayWeGo

*Horns Of Every Shape & Size.*




MULTIZ321 said:


> I'm curious if you ever played a Euphonium?


Nope -- never played euphonium.  Not even baritone -- not that there's anything wrong with either of those.  

I got started -- at age 10, approximately -- on an oddball little instrument that's halfway in between flugelhorn & baritone, namely an E-flat upright alto horn (called tenor horn over in the UK, I believe) that's no longer used much in US concert bands but that's a staple of British brass bands & their cousins in the USA, the Salvation Army Bands.  It's not too much larger than a B-flat flugelhorn, but it's played upright in tuba-euphonium style & actually resembles nothing so much as a little bitty tuba. 




The air doesn't care about the shape of the tubing or how it's bent.  All that matters is the length & the bore size & the taper of the instrument.  So an instrument that sounds pretty much like an E-flat alto horn is the _Fake French Horn_ version, known as mellophone.  I have never played 1 of those & have no interest in doing so.  ( I have all I can handle playing _real_ French horn. )




When I graduated to the next level of public schooling at age 12 or 13 or so & showed up for band class with my funky little alto horn, the band leader said, "Son, you can't play that thing in this band.  Here, take this French horn & try that."  So I did, & the rest is history.  I took lessons, practiced (sometimes), made All-State Band, & lived the life of a regular high school _band fag_.  (They didn't call'm that 1955-60, but that's what they called'm when my kids -- both of'm -- played in the high school band.  So it goes.) 

My parents bought me a brand-new Alexander 103 in 1958 -- for $350.  I had it restored & customized in 1984 -- for about $3*,*500.  I still have it & still play it occasionally when I'm not playing my other top-quality horns (e.g, Yamaha YHR-666N & Lawson 804). 




I played the Alexander through 4 years of college in the University Of Virginia concert band, laid it aside for about a year after graduation, then got it out &  practiced like crazy to get ready for an audition with the 75th Army Band, Ft. Belvoir VA.  I passed, enlisted December 1, 1965, completed army basic training at Ft. Jackson SC & joined the 75th Army Band in February 1966.  A year later I got transferred to the 214th Army Band, Ft. Richardson AK & played horn up there till I completed active duty in November 1968. 

Back home in Virginia, I tried out for the Washington Redskins Marching Band, made it, & played with them as a regular for their 1969 season.  (A year of that was enough.)  After that I joined the City Of Falls Church Band near here, then changed to the City Of Fairfax Band after a year or so, & the rest of that is also history. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## MULTIZ321

Alan,

In addition to sharing your timesharing expertise with us, thanks for sharing your musical expertise too!  Your great horn pictures are icing on the cake.


Richard


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## AwayWeGo

*You're Welcome -- Plus, Flugelhorn Solo Clarification.*




MULTIZ321 said:


> Alan,
> 
> In addition to sharing your timesharing expertise with us, thanks for sharing your musical expertise too!  Your great horn pictures are icing on the cake.
> 
> 
> Richard


Shux, I have a certain familiarity with this stuff but it's way short of anything I would claim as actual _expertise_ -- as in, being a real for sure expert, with a signed & sealed certificate suitable for framing & all that.   Basically, I know just enough to be semi-dangerous.  But if you enjoy what I offer up occasionally, then I'm glad. 

Meanwhile, I want to clarify what I said about the father of the groom as flugelhorn soloist on some of the wedding selections.  Yes, he played a couple of the tunes on flugelhorn -- sounded great, too.  But that was for rehearsal purposes only.  For the actual performance at the wedding the soloist was a fabulous professional vocalist -- Holly Bingham, whose day job is singing with the chorale ensemble of the United States Army Band ("Pershing's Own").  She was outstanding. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Horns A-Plenty*



MULTIZ321 said:


> Your great horn pictures are icing on the cake.


You ain't seen nothing yet.  Check out . . . 
























-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA. ​


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## AwayWeGo

*Christmas Tunes From 7 Trombones, 1 Euphonium, & 1 Tuba.*

We heard the jolly sound of live Christmas holiday music coming from low brass instruments, so we went outdoors to see what was the matter. 

It turned out to be an impromptu ensemble of trombones augmented by a tuba & a euphonium playing Christmas tunes right out in front of our house -- high school seniors, mostly, neighbor kids, with a few of their college-age school band friends back home for the holidays. 

Fortunately it's not bitter cold tonight -- upper fifties while the kids were playing out front.  In the mid- to upper thirties, the chops quickly turn numb (except when playing on plastic winter-weather mouthpieces.  Below freezing, the valves quickly ice up & stick (unless the players have the foresight to lubricate'm with nontoxic RV antifreeze -- regular automotive antifreeze is toxic). 

I don't know what happens to trombone slides in freezing temperatures -- but it can't be good. 

That's the merriest night before Christmas eve we've ever had around here. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Subbing (Again) With The Cathedral Brass.*

Both regular horn players of the Cathedral Brass are on medical leave -- 1 home now after 24 days hospitalized, the other still in the hospital after emergency admission last Wednesday.  So the 2 of us who participated as extra players with the Cathedral Brass in October & December filled in on horn for the regulars at church this morning -- 8AM rehearsal, then 9:30 & 11:00 church services (prelude, anthem, postlude).  (At the 2nd service, all the brass players sneaked out during the doxology & re-entered during the last hymn.  That way we were all in place & good to go for the postlude without having to hear the sermon a 2nd time.) 

Prelude:  _To God Be The Glory_ 
Anthem:  _Not By Might, Nor By Power_ (brass & choir) 
Postlude:  _Fantasia On Lobt Den Herrn_​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Musical Tour Of Europe On February 9, 2008.*

The next Fairfax Band concert -- February 9*,* 2008 -- is another of our famous theme concerts*,* European Journeys*,* featuring concert music from Britain, Scandinavia, Spain, Italy, France, etc. 

_Toccata Marziale (Ralph Vaughan Williams, 1872-1958)_.  _Toccata Marziale_ is 1 of the British band classics -- along with Vaughn Williams's Folk Song Suite & Gustav Holst's 2 _Suites For Military Band_ -- that effectively defined the 20th century concert band & established it as a legitimate concert ensemble. According to Frederick Fennell (1914-2004), who guest-conducted the City Of Fairfax Band in 1999, _Toccata Marziale_ is 1 of the most significant pieces of music which have been contributed to band literature, an original work the musical materials of which are entirely the composer's own. Continuing, Dr. Fennell wrote, "The _Toccata Marziale_ is a 1st-rate work by any standard of measurement. It, like Holst's _Suite in E-flat_, was conceived for the medium, its contrapuntal textures having been calculated by the juxtaposition of massed effects in larger sections of reeds and brasses. It is difficult to imagine this work being performed by any ensemble but a large wind band. Harmonically, it is typical of Vaughan Williams's style in the year of its composition (1924). A great rhythmic vigor, synonymous with its title, permeates the whole score, propelling strong contrapuntal lines throughout its complicated but vividly clear harmonic textures. The fundamental properties of the band’s sonority, its instrumental virtuosity & color, with strong emphasis upon the find gradations between long and short, forte & piano, are all most brilliantly revealed in its superb scoring." 

-- oOo --​
_Symphonic Dances, Op. 64 (Edvard Grieg, 1843-1907)_. As a child, Grieg learned piano from his mother. Her brother-in-law, recognizing the boy's outstanding talent, persuaded the family to let the young Edvard attend conservatory in Leipzig. Edvard liked the concerts he got to hear but hated conservatory discipline & gained little inspiration from it, though he completed the 4-year course. He held his first concert back home in Bergen, Norway, in 1861. Grieg completed a symphony in 1866 that was performed several times. Later Grieg later disavowed his symphony & refused to acknowledge it, prominently inking "Never To Be Performed" right on the score. Grieg's _Piano Concerto In A Minor_ (1868) is his 1st great masterpiece. His other best-known pieces are the _Holberg Suite_ for strings, 10 volumes of _Lyric Pieces_ for piano, & a suite of  incidental music to Ibsen's play _Peer Gynt_. Grieg's _Four Symphonic Dances_, Op.64 (1898), are orchestrations of pieces Grieg wrote for piano 4 hands (that is, 2 players side by side at 1 piano). The orchestral versions are considered among Grieg's strongest & most mature pieces for orchestra. The concert band arrangements of the 4 dances are by Randy Dahlberg, a member of the City Of Fairfax Band. 

-- oOo --​
_Amparito Roca (Jaime Teixidor, 1884-1957)_.  Teixidor, a Spanish musician, army bandsman, & composer, wrote this paso doble in 1925 & named it after one of his piano students, Senorita Amparo Roca (age 12). The piece premiered September 1925 in the El Siglo theater in the Spanish town of Carlet, where the composer lived & led the town band at the time. Amparito Roca is Teixidor's best known composition as well as one of the world’s best known and most frequently performed examples of Spanish band music. 

-- oOo --​ 
_Overture To Italian In Algiers (Gioachino Rossini, 1792-1868)_. Rossini wrote operas fast.  Between 1810 & 1829 he completed 38 of them. It took him 27 days to write _The Italian Girl in Algiers_. Its Venice premiere in 1813 (when the composer was 21) boosted Rossini's reputation as a gifted artist with uncommon talent for creative melody, original harmonies, & dazzling orchestrations. The opera is a showcase for singers who can meet the heavy demands of ornamented coloratura & challenging _bel canto_ style. Over the years, fewer singers had what it takes for Rossini operas & therefore fewer Rossini operas were staged. Marilyn Horn, who definitely had what it takes, was credited with reviving interest in Rossini, & her performance as the Italian Girl is regarded as the benchmark performance of recent generations. In the opera's "story," Mustafa, the Bey of Algiers, is getting ready to dump his wife Elvira onto Lindoro, an Italian slave. Mustafa dreams of having an Italian wife & it just so happens that Isabella, a girl from Italy, is captured after the wreck of her ship. In a classic _opera buffa_ preposterous coincidence, Isabella is searching for her own lost lover, who just happens to be -- you guessed it -- that same Lindoro. But now, because of Mustafa’s shenanigans, Lindoro is engaged to Elvira. Isabella plot a wily escape with Lindoro. Mustafa repents & takes Elvira back. Everybody lives happily ever after. The concert band transcription of the opera overture is by Lucien Cailliet. 

-- oOo --​
_Suite Francaise (Darius Milhaud, 1892-1974)_. As a Paris Conservatory student, Milhaud won awards in violin, counterpoint. & fugue. Back in Paris after World War I, he became part of a group of composers known as _Les Six_ who believed that only artistic simplicity could liberate French music from the cultural effects of impressionism. _Les Six_ became an influential force in French music, & Milhaud eventually became recognized as France’s leading composer. In 1945 Milhaud accepted a commission from Leeds Music Company to write an extended work for band. The result was _Suite Francaise_, which Milhaud based on folk tunes from the 5 French provinces where Allied Forces & the French Underground fought together (Normandie, Bretagne, Ile de France, Alsace-Lorraine, Provence). 

-- oOo --​
_Polka & Fugue from “Schwanda” (Jaromir Weinberger, 1896-1967)_. Weinberger, born in Prague, grew up hearing Czech folk songs at his grandparents' farm & started playing the piano at age 5. By age 10 he was composing & conducting. At age 14 he entered the Prague Conservatory as a 2nd-year student. In 1939, after extensive travels in the USA, Bratislava, & Vienna, Weinberger fled Czechoslovakia to escape the Nazis. He taught in New York & Ohio, & became a U.S. citizen in 1948. Of the 100 or so pieces Weinberger composed -- including operas, operettas, choral pieces, & orchestral music -- just about the only 1 still remembered is his opera _Schwanda The Bagpiper_, which became popular world-wide after its 1927 premiere. The opera is still performed occasionally, & the _Polka and Fugue From Schwanda_ has become a favorite band & orchestra program piece.  The Polka is a jolly tune in a bumptious folk style that suggests peasants dancing.  The contrasting Fugue adds musical sophistication with deliberate, charming simplicity.  The symphonic band arrangement is by Glenn Cliffe Bainum. 

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Concert Afterglow.*

It went even better than expected, & I enjoyed playing even more than I thought I would. 

Who'd a-thunk I'd still be playing as well as ever (more or less) at age 65+ ? 

Next Fairfax Band concert = 8PM on March 29, 2008.

Theme = _Hooray For Hollywood ! _

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Subba-Subba-Subba.*

The horn player I was filling in for with The Cathedral Brass -- because he underwent major serious surgery back in December & is still on the mend -- does not yet feel up to playing 1 rehearsal + 2 church service performances, so once again I will be substituting for him in church, this coming Sunday morning in fact. 

Meanwhile, the other regular horn player in The Cathedral Brass is fully recovered & once again good to go.  Unfortunately, however, she forgot all about next Sunday's scheduled rehearsal & performance, & will be out of town.  So the other substitute horn player who subbed side by side with me last time is also signed up to sub with me again this next time. 

When the 1st string players are ailing or away, it's an advantage to have decent 2nd stringers warming the bench. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## naudette

I was a choir director in junior high / high school and church for many years.  There are too many pieces for me to mention that are emotional for me.  But it's interesting that when I would direct or perform, not a tear would come.  But let me watch it later on tape and boy would the flood gates open.


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## Emily

When I think of music that brings about emotion, on the extreme, there is Hitler and the Wagner's selections that were approved by the third Reicht.  The music he used was like a force.

On the other spectrum would be "Unchained Melody" by the Righteous Brothers which is the song that played during the potter wheel scene between Demi Morre and Patrick Swayze in the movie "Ghost".

Music is purposely used in our society to manipulate in several forms. Most of the time I don't think we have time to pay attention.

My DH has a MA in conducting and chose 4th of July to do a performing thesis. Many people love to be stirred up with patriot compositions.  It was a great success.  it was done in richmond.  He also played trumpet in the richmond symph.

The current piece I like (which is odd because I've grown out of "liking" groups or musicians) is http://tinyurl.com/2w799x   Its has an emotional or moving composition and although its a newer song, the original piece made Verdi famous in the 1800s.


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## AwayWeGo

*Subba-Subba Follow-Up.*

At 8AM we rehearsed 3 tunes for 2 church services later in the morning.  We also ran through another tune planned for Palm Sunday. 

Same as last time, the brass musicians got to leave before the sermon rolled round a 2nd time, then discretely came back for the postlude. 

Prelude:  _The Church's 1 Foundation_ 
Offertory:  _Fairest Lord Jesus_ 
Postlude:  _Thine Is The Glory_​
Afterward I got a nice thank-you to the group via E-Mail from the church music director, forwarded to each regular & substitute player by the brass ensemble leader.  Also, the guy I was subbing for sent me his own E-Mail thank-you, which included a compliment on our actual playing.  He said was there for the 2nd service, seated inconspicuously up in the balcony where he could hear just fine.  Nice playing, he said. 

The same guy I subbed for in church was at band rehearsal last night.  But he got tuckered out from playing his part & went home at halftime.  Here's hoping he's all the way back into playing condition for Palm Sunday & Easter. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Musical Stars Among The Younger Generation.*

Four outstanding young musical artists performed last night in competition for the City Of Fairfax Band's 2008 Young Artist Scholarship . . . 

*Sarah Dickson* (clarinet - McLean High School) 
_Concertino For Clarinet_ by Carl Maria von Weber 

*Jenna Hunter* (flute - Robinson Secondary School) 
1st movement from the _Concerto For Flute_ by Jacques Ibert 

*Stephen Houck* (trombone - Thomas Jefferson Science & Technology High School) 
_Morceau Symphonique_ by Alexandre Guilmant 

*Dinah Steele* (flute - home school student) 
_Poem_ by Charles Griffes​
These kids are _good_ -- not just a little good, but _really_ good.  It was hard to believe the mature, polished performances I was hearing were by high school students.  Conservatory-level performers would have been more believable.  The panel of judges must have had a tough time picking a winner from among such 4 talented & accomplished young instrumentalists.  I'm glad I was in the peanut gallery & not at the judges' table. 

After prolonged deliberations by the judges, while the contestants & their accompanists & their families & members of the audience shmoozed & had refreshments upstairs at Old Town Hall in Fairfax VA, the Fairfax Band music director announced this years $2*,*000 scholarship winner -- Sarah Dickson, clarinet. 

I don't know how many kids entered the competition.  The initial round is by written application & sending in a recorded solo performance.  From those, the music director selects the finalists, who perform live in recital for the judges.  The winner not only collects $2*,*000 to further his or her musical development, but also performs as guest soloist in concert with the City Of Fairfax Band on May 4, 2008. 

The Devil made me mention to the winner's mom & dad -- during the shmooze session before the winner was announced -- that not only am I an alumnus of McLean High School Band where their daughter plays, but so are both my sons.  Not only that, I said, The Chief Of Staff is an alumna of the a capella chorus & the madrigal singers at McLean High School.  Plus, we both went to All-State in 1958 -- I made 2nd chair 2nd horn & The Chief Of Staff sang alto.  

That wasn't my only personal connection with the soloists.  Steve Houck lives literally right across the street from The Chief Of Staff & me -- well, across the circle if you want to get technical, but in any case his family's front door is straight across from our front door.  He & some of his trombone- & euphonium- & tuba-playing buddies are the ones who came round last Christmas playing carols door to door on low brass.  It would have been great if he won -- but, shux, it was great that Sarah won & it would likewise have been great if Jenna or Dinah took home the prize.  They all put on outstanding performances. 

Dinah was the only 1 of the 4 who played her solo piece from memory -- making an impressive performance even more so given that the Griffes _Poem_ has lots & lots of notes & couldn't have been easy for anyone to learn without lots & lots of work, even someone with Dinah's level of musical talent. 

So that's it till next year's Fairfax Band Young Artist Competition.  The contest is open to any Northern Virginia high school junior or senior (or home school equivalent) who plays brass or woodwind or percussion -- no fiddles, no piano, no pipe organ, no banjo, no guitar (acoustic or electric _mox nix_ ), no mandolin, no harmonica, no accordion, no singers.   It's not too soon for promising candidates to start thinking about giving it a shot in 2009. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Off The Hook For Palm Sunday & Easter Services.*

The horn player for whom I was subbing is back in playing condition after major serious surgery back in December.  He'll be playing in the Cathedral Brass for Palm Sunday & Easter Sunday, & so I will go back to warming the bench. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## hipslo

Springsteen's "Thunder Road".  Gets me every single time.  Must be because it brings me back to my teenage years spending summers at the jersey shore, with the the limitless possibilities of youth and young love captured oh so perfectly in that song.


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## AwayWeGo

*Shaking Hands With Returning Horn Player & Dealing Out Home Brew.*

I could have slept in this morning, but I got up anyway & shaved & got dressed & drove over (hornless) to Cathedral Brass rehearsal for 2 purposes . . . 

-- To shake hands with the horn player I substituted for, congratulating him on his return after major medical adventures & enjoying seeing him back where he belongs.  (He plays rings around me.  So does the other regular horn player who was also out briefly with her own medical adventure.  So it goes.) 

-- To hand over to 1 of the trumpet players my remaining small supply of 2-oz. bottles of secret formula home-brew valve oil.  I brew the stuff up a gallon at a time.  Even using it liberally as I do, a batch lasts a long time.  Last time I mixed up a batch, I used about 1/2 of it to fill a huge pile of little bitty plastic squeeze bottles I got for next to nothing on eBay.  Then I handed those out to brass-playing friends & acquaintances in various ensembles I belong to or play in on a fill-in or substitute basis.  Last time I played with the Cathedral Brass, 1 of the trumpet guys asked for more oil for his trumpet students, but I didn't have any more with me.  So this morning before their rehearsal started, I handed over my last dozen or so little bottles of home brew to the Cathedral Brass trumpet guy.  The rest of that batch of home brew is upstairs in some 16-oz. containers that should last me another few years.  Waste not, want not. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## AwayWeGo

*Hooray For Hollywood !*

The next Fairfax Band concert -- March 29, 2008 -- is another of our famous theme concerts, _Hooray For Hollywood_, featuring concert music from the movies. 

_Star Wars Trilogy_ (John Williams, 1932- ).  In 1977, John Williams collected 3 Grammies and an Oscar for the music he wrote for _Star Wars_. When Williams took on the project, all he had to go by was a temporary music track which film director George Lucas had been using that included works by Gustav Holst & William Walton, plus Miklos Rozsa’s score from _Ben-Hur_. With those pieces telling Williams all he needed to know about the kind of score Lucas wanted, Williams promptly created deeply romantic musical visions of his own for the Hutts, Ewoks, Sand People, Jedi Knights, Darth Vader, and Obi-Wan (Ben) Kenobi. The immense success of the _Star Wars_ soundtrack music led to sequel scores by John Williams for _The Empire Strikes Back_ & _Return of the Jedi_, the other 2 movies in the film trilogy. The trilogy suite arranged by Donald Hunsberger has 5 movements:  I. The Imperial March (Darth’s Vader’s Theme), II. Princess Leia’s Theme, III. Battle in the Forest, IV.Yoda’s Theme, V. Star Wars (Main Theme). 

-- oOo --​
_Hooray For Hollywood_ (arranged by Warren Barker, 1923-2006).  Warren Barker always came through with appetizing arrangements of tasty tunes, including this collection of favorites from major Hollywood films. Featured are “Tara’s Theme” (from _Gone With The Wind_, 1939), “As Time Goes By” (from _Casablanca_, 1942), “Swanee” (from _Rhapsody In Blue, The George Gershwin Story_, 1945 – also from _The Jolson Story_, 1946), “Hooray For Hollywood” (from _Hollywood Hotel_, 1937), & “Merrily We Roll Along” (from the _Merrie Melodies_ animated cartoons, 1937-1969), plus the title songs from _The High And The Mighty_ (1954), _A Summer Place_ (1959), _42nd Street_ (1933), _Born Free_ (1966) , _The Days Of Wine & Roses_ (1962), & _Lawrence Of Arabia_ (1962). 

-- oOo --​
_The Magnificent Seven_ (Elmer Bernstein, 1922-2004). In _The Magnificent Seven_ (1960), a Westernized remake of _Seven Samurai_ (1954), 7 hardened gunslingers get hired to put a stop to the vicious bandits who for years have been preying on a Mexican village. The thrilling action, the tough-guy lines, & the tale of underdogs who do OK are punched up by 1 of Hollywood’s best scores ever. Elmer Bernstein’s _Magnificent Seven_ main title cut is just about the greatest Western movie theme around, instantly recognizable & still popular all these years after the picture hit the big screen. The score became a standard from which other Western film scores were derived, including 3 _Magnificent Seven_ sequels & a TV series. 

-- oOo --​
_Lord of the Rings - The Two Towers Symphonic Band Suite_ (Howard Shore, 1946 - ).  Shore’s multiple talents gave him the choice of going into writing, acting, or music, & he chose music. When he was fairly young, he had a band called Lighthouse that did more than 1*,*000 performances in 4 years on the road as the opening act for such headline rock stars as Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, & Jefferson Airplane. Graduating to TV, he was musical director & saxophonist for the original NBC _Saturday Night Live_ show beginning in 1975. In addition to _Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers_, his motion picture scores include _Silence of the Lambs_, _Mrs. Doubtfire_, _Philadelphia_, _The Client_, _Analyze This_, _Lord of the Rings: Fellowship of the Ring_, & _Gangs of New York_. The symphonic band suite was arranged by Jerry Brubaker, former chief arranger of the U.S. Navy Band & now a member of the City of Fairfax Band. 

-- oOo --​
_Symphonic Highlights from Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man’s Chest_ (Hans Zimmer, 1957 - ). Hans Zimmer’s motion picture music work earned him a reputation as a master at integrating electronic music with traditional orchestration. His Hollywood breakthrough was in 1988 when he was asked to score _Rain Man_ for director Barry Levinson. The film went on to win the Oscar for Best Picture of the Year and earned Zimmer his 1st Academy Award Nomination for Best Original Score. The next year, Zimmer composed the score for another Best Picture Oscar recipient, _Driving Miss Daisy_, starring Jessica Tandy & Morgan Freeman.  With 2 Best Picture winners to his credit, Zimmer went on to compose the award-winning score for _The Lion King_ (1994). That soundtrack album sold over 15 million copies & earned Zimmer an Academy Award for Best Original Score, plus a Golden Globe, an American Music Award, a Tony, and 2 Grammy Awards. So far, Zimmer’s output has been nominated for 7 Golden Globes, 7 Grammies, and 7 Oscars -- for _Rain Man_ (1988), _Gladiator_ (2000), _The Lion King_ (1994), _As Good as it Gets_ (1997), _The The Preacher’s Wife_ (1996), _The Thin Red Line_ (1998), _The Prince of Egypt_ (1998), & _The Last Samurai_ (2003). When Disney Studios decided on a sequel to their 2003 hit _Pirates of the Caribbean: The Black Pearl_, they turned to Hans Zimmer’s creativity for the musical accompaniment to the swashbuckling further piratical adventures of Jack Sparrow & Will Turner & the whole crew. Zimmer also scored _Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End_, the sequel to the sequel. (The score to the initial film in Disney’s Pirates series is by another German composer, Klaus Badelt.)   

-- oOo --​
_Highlights From Exodus_ for Concert Band (Ernest Gold, 1921-1999). Gold was born into a musical family in Vienna, & wrote a full-length opera at age 13. He left for New York with his family in 1938 after the Nazis took over Austria. The following year he wrote his 1st symphony, which was performed & broadcast by the NBC Orchestra. Gold moved to Hollywood in 1945 & began writing scores for motion pictures. His best known work is the music for the 1960 movie _Exodus_, the film version of Leon Uris’s passionate story summarizing the inhuman treatment of the Jewish people in Europe, their exodus in the 19th & 20th centuries to Palestine, & the triumphant founding of the new nation of Israel. That film score won Gold an Academy Award & 2 Grammies. Gold received 2 more Academy Awards nominations -- best score & best song -- for the spectacular 1963 Cinerama feature _It’s a Mad, Mad, Mad, Mad World_, plus nominations for _On the Beach_ (1959) & _The Secret of Santa Vittoria_ (1969). 

-- oOo --​
_Disney at the Oscars_ (arr. John Moss). During a 43-year Hollywood career, Walter Elias Disney (1901-1966) , along with members of his staff, received more than 950 honors & citations from every nation in the world, including 7 Emmy awards & 48 Academy Award Oscars during Disney’s lifetime, & lots more for Disney Studios after that. Disney creativity spans not just the pictures on the screen but also the music in the air, including 5 favorite movie numbers arranged by John Moss in _Disney at the Oscars_ -- “Zip-A-Dee-Doo-Dah” from _Song of the South_ (1946), “Chim Chim Cher-ee” from _Mary Poppins_ (1964), “When You Wish Upon a Star” from _Pinocchio_ (1940), “The Bare Necessities” from _The Jungle Book_ (1967), & “Under the Sea” from _The Little Mermaid_ (1989).  

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## easyrider

We dont care too much for rap. Rap should be called crap music, or probally just crap.


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## AwayWeGo

*Princess Leia's Theme.*





Princess Leia 
(hotlinked)​
I just now got home after playing in the big Fairfax Band "Hooray For Hollywood" concert, featuring music from the movies. 

The big number on the program -- the final number of the 2nd half of the concert -- was music from the Star Wars Trilogy.  The 2nd movement of that -- titled _Princess Leia’s Theme_ -- opens with a big horn solo, played tonight by old Uncle Alan. 

I am happy to report that it went OK -- no major screwups, minor flaws (1 or 2) detectable mainly to the ears of the maestro & the other horn players on stage with me. 

As we were tuning up after intermission the lady seated next to me, who is highly accomplished on horn, piano, & voice, expressed surprise when I said I get keyed up in anticipation of a big solo.  "Do you really get nervous before a big solo?" she said.  "I always thought you just played everything with such confidence."  I took that as a compliment, because even if I _am_ nervous I'm for sure not supposed to _sound_ nervous.  The music is supposed to sound confident whether I feel that way or not. 

Backstage after the concert, as people were milling around & packing up their instruments to go home, I got some handshakes & compliments from my band colleagues, which I appreciated greatly.  The maestro & the co-principal hornist of the band both shook my hand too, which I specially appreciated.

By now with all my years of performance experience, I do not get stage fright.  But if I have to play a number that requires more than my usual level of ability, you bigtime betcha I get nervous.  The way I handle it is via _practice, practice, practice_.  That only works in advance, obviously.  Retroactively, it doesn't work at all.  When I can honestly say I've done all reasonable preparation via practice, that usually shows at rehearsal.  Then when the stick comes down at showtime, the 1 thing I know for certain is that if I mess up it _will not_ be for lack of preparation.  That is, I accept that I've done all that I can to get ready for the big solo, so beyond that there's really no need to worry -- the performance will go as well as possible, and almost always over the years the performances have been OK.  

Plus, tonight, with the big solo coming as it did in Star Wars, I was also able to _Let The Force Be With Me_.  And as it turned out The Force was with me, pretty much, for which I am ever so grateful. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Last Night Of Spotlight.*

Here are program notes for tunes coming up at the next big Fairfax Band concert set for 7PM on May 4, 2008 . . . 

_Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini_ (Sergei Rachmaninoff, 1873-1943).  Niccolo Paganini (1782-1840) was the first of the great 19th century virtuosos, a violin wizard who was the most famous musician of the early 1800s.He began a concert career at age 11. By age 16 he had composed some of the most difficult music ever written for violin in his 24 _Capricci_. Paginini’s works have inspired other composers, including Liszt, Schumann, and Brahms, who wrote 2 books of variations on a single Paganini caprice -- the same caprice that Rachmaninoff used in his _Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini_. Rachmaninoff made his 1st concert tour of the United States in 1909, & wrote his Piano Concerto No. 3 specially for that series of American performances. When he emigrated to New York following the Russian Revolution of 1917, his music was already highly popular in this country. The _Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini_, 1 of Rachmaninoff’s best known works, was written in the United States in 1934. He made the U.S. his permanent home in 1935, 1st on Long Island in New York & later in suburban Los Angeles, California. He became an American citizen a few weeks before his death. The _Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini_ was composed originally for solo piano with orchestra, in the style of a concerto. The transcription for piano solo with wind symphony is by Maestro Robert Pouliot. Tonight’s concert features the premiere performance of the wind transcription. 

-- oOo --​
_Nobles of the Mystic Shrine_ (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932). Sousa became a Master Mason in 1881. He was knighted in the Columbia Commandery No. 2 of the Knights Templar, Washington DC,  & became the honorary director of Washington’s Almas Temple Shrine Band. In 1923, he composed _Nobles of the Mystic Shrine_ -- in “Turkish style” – as a tribute to the Masonic Lodge. 

-- oOo --​
_Concertino for Clarinet, Op. 26_ (Carl Maria von Weber, 1786-1826). Carl Maria von Weber, a cousin of Mozart’s wife Constanze, was born into a musical family & trained in music from childhood. He made a positive impression as a pianist & then as a music director in the opera houses of Prague & Dresden, where he introduced significant reforms & pioneered the technique of conducting without the use of violin or keyboard. He earned a lasting reputation with the 1st important Romantic German opera, _Der Freischütz_ (1821). He was an innovative composer for the clarinet who broke new ground by giving the instrument a new measure of prominence & showcasing its wide-ranging expressive & virtuoso capabilities. The King of Bavaria, who was present at the 1811 premiere of the Concertino, was so enthusiastic at hearing it that he commissioned from Weber 2 full-scale clarinet concerti. Those 2, together with the _Concertino_, represent milestones in the history of the instrument as well as cornerstones of its repertoire to the present time. 

-- oOo --​
_His Honor_ (Henry Fillmore, 1881-1956). Henry Fillmore is a name to remember.  In fact, it’s but 1 of the 8 names he composed under (including Henrietta Moore) because Fillmore’s output was so prolific he didn’t think people would believe so much music was all written by the same person. During his 50 years of music making, he wrote hundreds of compositions, lots of them for his own professional band. He also became known as The Father of the Trombone Smear, writing 15 tunes over a period of 21 years featuring ostentatious, not to say raucous, trombone glissandi in numbers like _Lassus Trombone_, _Bones Trombone_, _Bull Trombone_, & a dozen more cut from the same cloth. From 1921 to 1926 Henry Fillmore led the Syrian Temple Shrine Band, Cincinnati, Ohio. The professional band that he organized in 1927 was the last in a long line of great American professional bands. By then Sousa’s band & Gilmore’s band had already stopped performing. Fillmore’s march _His Honor_ premiered that same year, dedicated by the composer to His Honor, the Mayor of Cincinnati. 

-- oOo --​
_Tribute to Irving Berlin_ (arr. Warren Barker, 1923-2006).Irving Berlin (1888-1989), a Russian immigrant & self-taught piano player, was allegedly unable to read music. Yet he published more than 1*,*500 songs & is remembered today as the most versatile & successful American songwriter of the 20th century. Warren Barker wove together a musical tapestry featuring just a few of the many hit tunes by Irving Berlin  --  “Always” ... “No Business Like Show Business”  ...  “This Is The Army, Mr. Jones”  ... “Alexander's Ragtime Band,” . . .  & “God Bless America,” from which all royalties go to the Boy Scouts of America. According to Wikipedia, (the Internet encyclopedia), Irving Berlin’s American patriotism was real & deep. Too old for military service at the start of WW2, he devoted his time & energy to writing new patriotic songs (such as “Any Bonds Today?”) & donating the proceeds from This Is the Army to the army itself, also entertaining the troops with a road company of that show, performing as a member of the cast himself. After stateside performances, the show played in London in 1943 when the city was still under German air attack. After the British Isles, the show went on to North Africa & Italy, playing in Rome only weeks after that city was liberated. Next came the Middle East & the Pacific, where some of the shows went on not far from battle zones. In recognition of his important & courageous contribution to troop morale, Irving Berlin was awarded the Medal of Merit by President Truman. 

-- oOo --​
_American Civil War Fantasy_ (Jerry H. Bilik, 1933- ).  Many tunes that were popular on both sides of the Mason-Dixon Line during the Civil War have endured in the national consciousness to this very day. This montage by arranger Jerry Bilik assembles several of the best-known into a musical experience shaped by the rhythm of battle -- the quiet marshaling of forces, the quick-step of troops on the move, the homesick melancholy of soldiers around their campfires, the onset of battle, the clash of armies, the rumble of artillery, & after the battle the roll call of the dead. The City of Fairfax Band recorded this stirring arrangement for its 1976 United States Bicentennial album titled _Music of Our American Heritage_, directed by Dr. Thomas Hill. 

-- oOo --​
_American Overture for Band_ (Joseph Wilcox Jenkins, 1928- ).  Joseph Wilcox Jenkins received a pre-law degree from St.Joseph’s College but turned to a profession in music instead of law.  He studied composition with Vincent Persichetti at the Philadelphia Conservatory of Music, then earned Bachelor & Master of Music degrees from the Eastman School of Music & a Ph.D. at the Catholic University of America. Jenkins began his musical career as a composer & arranger for the United States Army Field Bands & the Armed Forces Network. He became Professor of Theory & Composition at Duquesne University, where he joined the faculty in 1960. He wrote nearly 200 original compositions, including works for band, orchestra, chorus, solo instruments, & theater.  In addition, he has hundreds more vocal & instrumental arrangements to his credit.  His most successful composition is the 1st piece he wrote for band, _American Overture_.  Jenkins wrote _American Overture_ for the U.S. Army Field Band, dedicating the piece to Chester E. Whiting, leader of the Field Band at that time. The musical architecture of _American Overture_ is a free adaptation of sonata form.  It calls for skillful playing by several sections, the French horns in particular (not that there's anything wrong with that). 

-- oOo --​
_American Salute_ (Morton Gould, 1913-1996). While Gould was growing up during the depths  of the Great Depression, he helped his family by taking jobs as a vaudeville pianist, accompanying a famous ballroom dance team & playing in a piano duo. While still in his teens, he performed as the house pianist for Radio City Music Hall’s opening in 1932. Gould joined the American Society of Composers, Authors & Publishers (ASCAP) in 1935, became extremely active in the organization, & before long became ASCAP president. As a recording artist, Gould received 12 Grammy nominations & won a Grammy award in 1966. He received the Kennedy Center Award in 1994 & the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1995. For concert band, he wrote the _Ballad for Band_ & a _Mini-Suite for Band_, plus _Santa Fe Saga_ & _Jericho Rhapsody_. He wrote his _American Salute_ in just one day -- 24 hours -- for a special broadcast over radio station WOR in New York City during World War II. Based on the tune “When Johnny Comes Marching Home,” this high-energy  music presents the familiar theme in a number of settings, steadily increasing in tension & excitement right up to the exciting close. 

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## talkamotta

It was a Christmas concert in Abravanel Hall in Salt Lake.  Kurt Bestor sang "Can You Hear the Prayer of the Children".  It was the last song he sang for the concert and everyone walking out was either mesmerized or talking about that song.  I found it on his cd "Innovators".   This is a wonderful cd for everyone. It has great synthesisors and piano music; Im usually a classic rock person but I love this one. 

Its always nice to know the background of a certain song, so here it is:

Kurt Bestor - Prayer of the Children

From 1977 to 1979, Kurt Bestor lived in the former country of Yugoslavia. Living and traveling extensively throughout this beautiful land, Bestor learned to love the people of Croatia, Serbia, and Bosnia & Herzegovina. When the devastating civil war broke out there; he struggled with just what to do. There was no financial contribution to be made or opportunity to fight alongside his friends. Besides - which side could he choose to be allied with? He loves them all equally. In a moment of frustration, Bestor sat at his keyboard and started humming a simple plaintive melody and with it penned the words, "Can you hear the prayer of the children?" In a matter of a few hours, he had written the entire song. After singing it for a few friends and family members, Bestor put it aside, never intending to sing it again.

Then, on a whim, he sang it in a concert. The response was overwhelming. At the end of the performance, the deafening silence followed by thunderous applause, convinced the composer/perfomer that he would never perform again without including this special anthem. Usually sung with the vocalist vocal synthesizer, Bestor has performed the piece thousands of times for a myriad of causes.

Prayer of the Children is unique in its universal message, sacred - yet simple melody, and haunting words. Today - it's message is as pertinent as it was at its conception when Bestor dedicated it to the children of the former country of Yugoslavia.


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## AwayWeGo

*Guest Piano Soloist's Web Site.*

Elena Ulyanova will be the featured soloist at the big Fairfax Band concert coming up 7PM May 4, 2008, in Fairfax VA. 





-- hotlinked --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Internet Audio Of Soloist Performing Rachmaninoff.*

Click here for a link to audio of Elena Ulyanova's recording of Rachmaninoff's _Rhapsody On A Theme of Paganini_ with the Russian Philharmonic Orchestra -- among plenty of other audio links for your enjoyment. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Back To Back Horn Gigs -- Not For The 1st Time, Either.*

A 5-piece brass ensemble I've been part of since the mid-1980s has back to back graduation gigs Saturday -- George Mason University School Of Law (Fairfax VA) in early afternoon, then George Washington University School Of Professional Studies (Washington DC)  in late afternoon spilling over into Saturday evening. 

Fortunately I still have chops of steel. 

Only 2 of the 5 players have been with the group continuously since the beginning -- me & 1 of the trumpet players.  We're now on our 2nd trombone player & our 2nd tuba player & our 4th lead trumpet player. 

When I retired from the Interior Department in 1998, I set up my own retirement send-off (with permission of [most of] the appropriate authorities). 

I sent out a photocopied flyer consisting of a cartoon-style drawing of the 5 of us brass players on stage in concert attire, plus a general invitation to all & sundry as follows . . . 

*Alan Cole's Retirement Send-Off 
featuring
The Potomac Brass Quintet (Of Virginia) 

1:00 p.m., Thursday, September 3, 1998
South Interior Building - The Auditorium 
1951 Constitution Avenue NW
Washington DC

Free.  No collection.  No boring speeches. 
Just a live performance by the Potomac Brass Quintet (Of Virgina) plus a
gathering of Alan's friends & his past & present colleagues to eat cookies & 
cake & drink coffee & punch, greet Alan, & hear the music. 

The Potomac Brass Quintet will be playing about 1 hour.  Socializing & 
refreshments will continue as long as they last.  Be there & be a part of the send-off.* ​
Afterward, my daughter-in-law said she overheard somebody in the audience say to another person in the audience, "I knew he played some kind of horn, but I didn't know he was any good."  I remember it like it was yesterday.  A good time was had by all. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Concert Line-Up Of Tunes For Sunday Evening, June 1, 2008.*

Here's the Fairfax Band concert program for Sunday, June 1, 2008 -- 

_City Of Fairfax March 
American Overture 
Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine 
Exodus
His Honor
Cole Porter Spectacular 
El Dorado
Emperor Waltz
Funiculi, Funicula
Oklahoma !
Encore: America The Beautiful_​
Downbeat is 7:30 p.m.  

Concert venue is Mason District Park, Annandale, Virginia. 

Free admission. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Free Brass Quintet Concert June 5 & Free Band Concert June 6.*

Tonight (Thursday, June 5, 2008) The Potomac Brass Quintet [Of Virginia] plays a free concert on the lawn in front of City Hall in Fairfax VA beginning at 8PM.  The line-up of tunes is . . . 

_Stompin' At the Savoy 
Ain't Misbehavin' 
Four Hits For Five by George (Gershwin Medley) 
Blues in The Night Train 
As Time Goes By 
Fairest Of The Fair 
It Don't Mean A Thing If It Ain't Got That Swing 
String Of Pearls 
Do You Know What It Means To Miss New Orleans ? 
Amparito Roca 
Don't Get Around Much Any More 
Jada 
Satin Doll 
Our Love Is Here To Stay 
National Emblem 
St. Louis Blues 
Till There Was You 
The Thunderer 
God Bless The USA _​
The Potomac Brass Quintet [Of Virginia] is made up of 2 trumpets + 1 trombone + 1 tuba + 1 horn.  As it happens Uncle Alan not only plays horn in that group, but is also the designated talker, introducing the music & offering off-cuff comments about the pieces or the arrangements or the composers.  So if you're in the area & want to see what I look like live & in person, come on by.  And if you stay for the whole show, be sure to come up afterwards & say Hi. 

Then at 7:30 on Friday evening, June 6, 2008, at Lake Acotink Park in Springfield VA, the City Of Fairfax Band will be putting on another free concert, a repeat of the concert program from last Sunday evening -- 

_City Of Fairfax March 
American Overture 
Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine 
Exodus
His Honor
Cole Porter Spectacular 
El Dorado
Emperor Waltz
Funiculi, Funicula
Oklahoma !
Encore: America The Beautiful _​
Be there or be square.  And if you are there, come up & say Hi afterwards.  It would be great seeing some fellow TUG folks in person. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*If You Missed June 1 & June 6, Here's 1 More Chance . . .*

Tonight's free concert at 8PM in front of City Hall in Fairfax VA will be a repeat of the programs performed by Fairfax Band on June 1 & June 6. 

Scroll up -- or down, depending on your individual viewing settings -- to see the play list of tunes. 

Bring your own lawn chairs or blanket.  Bring your own picnic supper if you like.  After the show, come on up & say Hi. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Another Free Outdoor Band Concert In Fairfax, Virginia.*

Tonight's free Fairfax Band concert at 8PM in front of City Hall in Fairfax VA will feature . . . 

_Gloria_ (military march)
_Emperata Overture_ (concert piece)
_Star Wars Marches_ -- from the movies, World Premiere Performance of arrangement by Jerry Brubaker 
_Gershwin !_ (medley, arranged by Warren Barker) 
_Invercargill_ (military march) 
_Clarinet Capers_ (novelty number featuring dozens of clarinets) 
_American Patrol_ (familiar American tune) 
_American Civil War Fantasy_ (montage of historic tunes from that era) 
_Tribute To Irving Berlin_ (another medley arranged by Warren Barker) 
Encore: _Stars & Stripes Forever_ (official national march of the USA)​
Bring your own lawn chairs or blanket.  Bring your own picnic supper if you like.  After the show, come on up & say Hi. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## AwayWeGo

*New Flugelhorn Picture (To Replace The One That Vanished).*

The hotlinked flugelhorn picture in Post #35 in this thread has grown cold & gone away. 

So here's a replacement picture, also hotlinked, showing another maker's flugelhorn. 




-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Children's Concert 7:30 P.M. On July 17 In Fairfax VA -- Free.*

Concert venue is City Hall Lawn in Fairfax VA.  

The line-up of tunes . . . 

_Barnum & Bailey's Favorite_ (circus march) 
_What's Up At The Symphony?_	(Bugs Bunny favorites) 
_Disney At The Oscars_ 
_The Magnificent Seven_ 
_Star Wars - The Marches_ 
_Pirates Of The Caribbean - At World's End_ 
_Children's March_ 
_Highlights From "Pocahontas"_
Encore: _Stars & Stripes Forever_​
Free ice cream.  Free balloons.  Lots of fun. 

Bring your own lawn chairs, picnics, beach blankets, etc. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Rock & Roll Percussion.  (Not That There's Anything Wrong With That.)*

I recently attended a wedding -- my younger son's -- at which the reception band was a good 5-piece rock combo. You know, rhythm guitar & lead guitar & bass guitar & electronic keyboard & drums -- all players doubling from time to time on vocals. Rock & roll is not my favorite item on the musical menu, but I'll order it once in a while. Those guys did a good job.

On a few numbers, by prearrangement, the husband of the Matron Of Honor sat in on drums. He's a professional percussionist from the San Francisco Bay Area who mainly plays marimba & electronic marimba. But, shux, professional percussionists can play any percussion instrument in any style of music -- rock, jazz, swing, military, orchestral, polka, German band, Latin, disco, country-western, & I don't know what-all.

The fact that the guest percussionist sitting in didn't actually know the particular tunes the rock band was getting ready to play while he was on the throne was _mox nix_.  He played'm anyway. And not only played'm, but played'm great -- to my ear, the band sounded even better during the guest percussionist's set than during the rest of the show with the regular drummer playing.

Professional is as professional does, no ?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Midnight Saxophone Repair.*

Well, late night actually -- but you get the idea. 

After band practice ended at 9:45 Wednesday evening, my son whipped out his cell phone & made a call to a saxophone fixer.  My son usually plays bass clarinet in concert band, but lately has been filling in on baritone saxophone.  Baritone is not the largest possible saxophone, but it's about the biggest you're apt to see in most regular ensembles. 





-- hotlinked --​
The trouble was, the G-sharp key or pad was sticking & there are concerts Thursday night (Fairfax VA) & Friday night (Bethany Beach DE) & Saturday night (Rehoboth Beach DE).  It was just good luck there was an instrument repair guy whose shop was open till 11PM. 

We got there about 10:30.  The guy said to leave the case outside & bring the saxophone inside.  That's what my son did.  The repair guy, a saxophonist himself, hooked it up to his neck strap, stuck on a mouthpice (with reed already installed), & started honking away.  "This is a really good horn," he said.  And it sounded good, even to a non-saxophonist like me. 

The guy checked everything out, made some minuscule adjustment on 1 of the many complicated-looking features of the keywork, & pronounced the instrument good to go.  "Just put a little key oil on the edge of the tone hole," he said.  "Use a Q-tip.  It won't stick & it won't hurt the pad."

He refused payment, saying the sax was OK & he didn't really do anything.  My son bought some key oil & a replacement generic tenor saxophone case handle, both of which he needed, so it wasn't a total no sale for the saxophone fixer.  

Those Thursday-Friday-Saturday concerts by Fairfax Band are this year's summer season-enders.  The line up of tunes will be the same for all 3 shows.  

_City of Fairfax March
Zampa Overture 
His Honor (march)
Opening Night On Broadway 
A Tribute To Kurt Weill	(arranged by Jerry Brubaker, member of Fairfax Band)
Pirates Of The Caribbean: At World's End	
Themes Like Old Times	
Big Fun In The Sun 
Armed Forces Salute 
Symphonic Dances From Fiddler On The Roof 
Encore: America, The Beautiful​_
I'm skipping the Thursday performance, but will be right there in the thick of things Friday & Saturday. 

Thursday's concert is in front of City Hall in Fairfax VA -- downbeat 8PM. 

Friday's concert is on the boardwalk bandstand at Bethany Beach, DE -- downbeat 7:30 PM. 

Saturday's concert is on the boardwalk bandstand at Rehoboth Beach DE -- downbeat 8PM. 

If you're there for the Bethany Beach or the Rehoboth Beach concert, come on up afterwards & say Hi. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Rap?  Hippity-Hop?  Mox Nix?*




easyrider said:


> We dont care too much for rap.


Me neither -- but that's mostly because the lyrics (best I can even make them out) are so full of vulgarity & misogyny & violence.  

The actual _sound_ -- putting aside the ugly words -- can be interesting & semi-appealing.  (Although a little of it goes a long way with an old non-diverse guy like me.) 

Any TUG-BBS musicalologists out there who care to explain the difference (if any) between _rap_ on the 1 hand & _hippity-hop_ on the other ?   

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Passepartout

*Sun Valley Summer Symphony*

Last night we drove the 75 miles to Sun Valley, Idaho to attend the performance of Joshua Bell and the Symphony conducted by Alisdair Neale. It was stunning! These are the largest group of free concerts in the country. There is a new Pavilion this year. One can bring a picnic and sit on the lawn outside the pavilion as we and a couple thousand others did.

The repertoire consisted of Mendelssohn's Midsummer Night's Dream:
Overture
Scherzo
Nocturne
And the famous Wedding March.

Followed by Saint-Saens:
Introductions and Capriccoso, Opus 28
And 
Ravel's:
Tzigane, Concert Rhapsody for Violin.

This has been the 24th season and it just gets better. 

If anyone is looking for a wonderful place and time to go somewhere, I recommend Sun Valley. There are at least 3 TS's and the fishing, shopping, eating, white water and just good living is awfully good from late July through most of August.

Check out www.svsummersymphony.org or www.sunvalley.org

I have no interest in this other than a fairly nearby resident sharing a wonderful experience.

Jim Ricks


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## AwayWeGo

*The March King.*





-- hotlinked --​
Click here for an article about John Philip Sousa, who was an author as well as a composer & bandmaster.  Who knew ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*2008 U. S. Marine Band Concert Tour.*

_October 1 - Bedford PA 

October 2 - Pittsburgh PA 

October 3 - West Liberty WV 

October 4 - Pickerington OH 

October 5 - Springfield OH 

October 6 - Limo OH 

October 7 - Muncie IN 

October 8 - LaFayette IN 

October 9 - Bloomington IL 

October 10 - Freeport IL 

October 11 - Lake Geneva WI 

October 12 - Middleton WI 

October 14 - Eau Claire WI 

October 15 - Rothschild WI 

October 16 - Appleton WI 

October 17 - Fond du Lac WI 

October 18 - Frankfort IL 

October 19 - Evanston IL 

October 20 - Warsaw IN 

October 21 - Kalamazoo MI 

October 22 - Ann Arbor MI 

October 23 - Rochester MI 

October 25 - Gaylord MI 

October 26 - Muskegon MI 

October 27 - East Lansing MI 

October 28 - Bryan OH 

October 29 - Toledo OH 

October 30 - Youngstown OH 

October 31 - Washington PA​_
Tickets are free. 

Concert tour details are on the Marine Band web site. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## ronandjoan

Thanks for all the info

and how about this one with Celine Dion and FRank Sinatra
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=sxps4ggfoy4


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## AwayWeGo

*New Tunes In The Fairfax Band Folder.*

_Tulsa -- A Symphonic Portrait In Oil_ (Don Gillis) 
_Hoe Down from Rodeo_ (Aaron Copland) 
_Buckaroo Holiday from Rodeo_ (Copland) 
_Scenes From Billy The Kid_ (Copland) 
_Silverado_ (Bruce Broughton) 
_The Cowboys_ (John Williams) 
_On The Trail_ (Ferde Grofe)​
These tunes are for the big _Westward Ho!_ concert by Fairfax Band concert coming up Saturday, October 18, 2008, starting at 8 PM.  (Tickets are on sale now.) 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*It's A Golden Nugget 'Cause Your Mother Dug It -- Moldy Oldies On-Line.*

Click here for a story about ways to hear audio recordings online dating from the wax-cylinder era. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Westward Ho !*

Here are informative notes about the tunes coming up October 18 at The City Of Fairfax Band's _Westward Ho!_ concert.  Downbeat is 8PM. 

_The Cowboys_ (John Williams, 1932- ).  Even before succeeding Arthur Fiedler as musical director of the Boston Pops, John Williams had earned a towering reputation as a top Hollywood composer of scores for such mega-hits as _Star Wars_, the _Indiana Jones_ adventure series, & _E.T., The Extra-Terrestrial_.  John Williams's special creative gift is the ability to enrich a film story with a descriptive & practically narrative musical score. An example is his music that takes us to the Old West & gives us a sense of the joys & hardships of cowboy life. Taken from the 1972 motion picture _The Cowboy & The Girl_, starring John Wayne & Colleen Dewhurst, this music portrays the high spirit of wild horses & the task of taming them for the saddle. The jollity around the ranch is contrasted, musically, with the loneliness of the open range, & we sense the beauty of the plains though the song of a lark. The hard work of the cattle drive, including a push across the wide, muddy river, is rewarded in the end. John Williams's film music, _The Cowboys_, was arranged for concert band by Jim Curnow. 

-- oOo --​
_Tulsa -- A Symphonic Portrait In Oil_ (Don Gillis 1912-1978). Born in Missouri & educated in Kansas, Don Gillis received B.A. & B.M. degrees & an honorary doctorate in music from Texas Christian University & an M.M. degree from North Texas State University. At TCU he played trombone in the university band & served as assistant director, in addition to writing music for 2 musical shows. He served as musical director for NBC radio during a long series of Toscanini broadcasts & was a promoter for the National Music Camp. He wrote in excess of 200 musical works for choral & instrumental ensembles. His most popular scores include _Ballet for Band_ & _The Man Who Invented Music_. At the time of his death, Don Gillis was Director of the Center for Media Arts Studies & Composer-in-Residence at the University of South Carolina. In _Tulsa -- A Symphonic Portrait In Oil_ (1950) Gillis gave free rein to his artistic goal of interpreting his American background musically. His music draws liberally on popular material, particularly jazz, which Gillis viewed as a dynamic element in revitalizing American music. He assimilated popular influences in a simple & straightforward style aimed at connecting with his audiences through clear, accessible, melodic music. His music's popular appeal gave it notable success, & his pieces have been performed by major orchestras including the NBC Symphony & the Boston Pops. 

-- oOo --​
_On The Trail_ (Ferde Grofé, 1892-1972)  Ferdinand Rudolph von Grofé, was born into a musical family in New York City. His father, a baritone, mainly sang mainly light opera. His mother, a professional cellist, was a versatile music teacher who taught Ferde to play violin & piano.  She took him to Leipzig, Germany, to study piano, viola, & composition after the boy's father died. Ferde became a good player on a several instruments including piano (his favorite), violin, viola, baritone-euphonium, alto horn, & cornet. He left home at age 14 & worked as a milkman, truck driver, usher, newsboy, elevator operator, book bindery helper, & iron factory worker. He also got jobs playing piano in a bar for $2 a night. By age 15 he was playing piano with dance bands & alto horn in brass bands. About 1920, he played jazz piano with the Paul Whiteman orchestra & was Whiteman's chief arranger from 1920 to 1932, arranging hundreds of popular songs, Broadway numbers, & tunes of all types for Whiteman. Grofé's best known arrangement is of George Gershwin's _Rhapsody In Blue_, which cemented Grofé's reputation. Gershwin wrote _Rhapsody In Blue_ for 2 pianos. In arranging it for Whiteman's jazz orchestra, Grofé enhanced Gershwin's musical canvas with the sonic colors & creative instrumental touches for which it is so well known. Grofé's 1942 arrangement of _Rhapsody In Blue_ for full orchestra is the version most frequently heard today. In 1916, Grofé drove with some his friends across the Arizona desert to watch the sun rise over the Grand Canyon. During a radio interview 40 years later, Grofé recalled what he saw & felt that morning. He & his friends got up before dawn. At 1st, it was virtually silent. Then, as the brightness grew, the sounds of nature started softly. When suddenly the sun was up, the vision was so dramatic that Grofe could not express it in words. The memory of that inspiration led Grofé in 1929 to compose a movement, called "Sunrise," of what would become the _Grand Canyon Suite_. In 1930, he sketched out the "Sunset" & "Cloudburst" sections, then completed his _Grand Canyon Suite_ in the summer of 1931. In November of that year, the _Grand Canyon Suite_ was premiered in Chicago at the Studebaker Theatre by Paul Whiteman's band. Grofé later scored the piece for symphony orchestra, & it was also published in a version for solo piano. "On The Trail" is the best known movement from the _Grand Canyon Suite_ -- a melodic & rhythmic rendition of the experience of a day's ride on the back of a donkey, clippity-clopping along the canyon trails, beginning & ending the ride with a raucous hee-haw. 

-- oOo --​
_Silverado_ (Bruce Broughton, 1945-  ). An accomplished composer of concert music, Bruce Broughton has conducted & recorded many original works, including "Mixed Elements," commissioned by and premiered at the Sunflower Music Festival; "Modular Music," composed for the Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra; "The Magic Horn," commissioned jointly by the Chicago, Seattle & National Symphonies for the Magic Circle Mime Company; "Excursions," commissioned & premiered by The United States Air Force Band, Washington, D.C.; "Fanfares, Marches, Hymns & Finale," commissioned by The Bay Brass; "English Music" for Horn & Strings; "And on the Sixth Day" for oboe & orchestra; "Tyvek Wood," commissioned by the Debussy Trio; a piccolo concerto; a tuba concerto; several solo works for winds; numerous chamber works, & more. In the entertainment industry, Bruce Broughton is 1 of America's star composers for the large & small screens. He earned an Oscar nomination with his 1st major movie score, written for the Lawrence Kasdan 1985 western feature, _Silverado_. The concert band arrangement of the film music is by Randol Bass. 

-- oOo --​
_Oklahoma !_ (Robert Russell Bennett orchestral arrangement, adapted for band by R. Mark Rogers). Independently of each other, Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) & Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960) both wanted to create a musical based on Lynn Riggs's stage play _Green Grow the Lilacs_. After Jerome Kern declined Hammerstein's offer to work on the project & Lorenz Hart turned down Rodgers's offer to do the same, Rodgers & Hammerstein began their 1st creative collaboration. The result, _Oklahoma!_ (1943), revolutionized musical drama. Although not the 1st musical to tell a story of emotional depth & psychological complexity, _Oklahoma!_ brought new storytelling elements & techniques to the musical stage, including a focus on emotional empathy; characters & situations far removed from the audience by time & geography; use of American historical & social materials; & developing plot & character via dance & song rather than just using those as an intermission or lively diversion from the story. The show's first title was "Away We Go, Oklahoma!" It opened in the Shubert Theatre in New Haven CT during March 1943. It opened on Broadway after just a few changes, but 2 of those were big -- adding a show-stopping number ("Oklahoma!") and giving that title to the whole show. The original Broadway production opened March 31, 1943, at the St. James Theatre. At the time, roles in musicals were usually filled by actors who could sing, but Rodgers & Hammerstein reversed that, casting singers who could act. No star performers were on stage opening night -- Alfred Drake was Curly & Joan Roberts was Laurey. Even so, _Oklahoma!_ ran for 2*,*212 performances. It kept going on Broadway till May 29, 1948. Arranger Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981), who started working with Richard Rodgers in 1927, was vital to the show's success, reworking what started as an elaborate and possibly out-of-place number into the title song of the show. Bennett's orchestral arrangement of _Oklahoma!_ selections was adapted for concert band by R. Mark Rogers.

-- oOo --​
_Buckaroo Holiday & Hoe Down from "Rodeo"_ (Aaron Copland, 1900-1990). Copland began his study of music at age 13 & progressed rapidly. His 1st piano piece, titled _The Cat & The Mouse_, was published in 1921, the same year that Copland went to Paris to study with Nadia Boulanger -- until then Americans who studied music abroad customarily went to German conservatories. Copland returned to the USA in 1924, won the 1st Guggenheim fellowship ever awarded in 1925, & started on the path to many other music prizes & commissions. He won the Pulitzer Prize for his ballet _Appalachian Spring_ (1944). The original _Rodeo_ ballet was choreographed by Agnes de Mille, who danced the lead part in the original production. The October 16, 1942, premiere at the Metropolitan Opera House received 22 curtain calls. Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein II, who were in the audience that night, approached Agnes de Mille afterward to ask her to choreograph their upcoming production of _Oklahoma!_ Copland later arranged the _Rodeo_ ballet music as a symphonic suite for orchestra titled _Four Dance Episodes From Rodeo_, which brought _Rodeo_ even greater success, premiering at the Boston Pops in 1943. The concert band transcription of _Buckaroo Holiday_ is by Kenneth Megan. The concert band transcription of _Hoe Down_ is by Mark Rogers. 

-- oOo --​
_Scenes From Billy The Kid_ (Aaron Copland, 1900-1990). Along with 2 other ballets -- _Rodeo_ (1942) & _Appalachian Spring_ (1944) -- _Billy The Kid_ represents some of Copland's most popular & widely performed music. _Billy The Kid_ is notable for its use of authentic cowboy tunes & American folk songs. The premiere performance was October 16, 1938, in Chicago, danced to a 2-piano score. The story follows the life of Billy the Kid, notorious outlaw. The opening shows pioneers heading west until the action shifts to a small frontier town, home of the young Billy & his mother. An outlaw kills Billy's mother. Billy in turn kills the murderer & goes on the run, living as a fugitive out in the desert. After a percussive gun battle, a posse takes Billy to jail. He gets away by stealing the warden's gun during a card game. Back in his hideout, Billy thinks he's safe, but Pat Garrett finds Billy & kills him. The concert band arrangement of music from the ballet suite is by Quincy C. Hilliard. 

-- xXx --​
I have taken myself out of the rotation for playing horn in the _Westward Ho!_ concert -- going on Medical Leave, actually, for some surgery October 15 followed by several weeks of non-playing recuperation.  I hope to be back into some kind of playing condition for December.  (We'll see.)  My medical condition is Serious But Not Critical -- that is, it's cancer surgery (prostate), but it's early stage cancer that the doctors say was detected about as early as it could possibly have been detected.  Full recovery is expected  So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*I'm Playing The Concert After All -- Practicing Like Crazy.*

The plan was that by now I'd be rolling right along in post-surgical convalescence & so would not be playing the Fairfax Band concert this evening. 

Then I decided to go with a different doctor & with an all-new treatment schedule ( -- which hasn't even been established yet -- ) so I don't have to miss the concert after all. 

That's the good news.  

The bad news that I've been dogging it on practicing the tunes. 

I wasn't going to play the concert, so why practice the tunes ?  

Now I'll be playing after all, & so I have been practicing like crazy trying to learn the hard parts. 

If you're at the concert, be sure to come up & say _Hi_ after the closing number.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## GrampyBill

*Hawaii Lovers*

Check out "The Meaning of Aloha" by Melveen Leed.  Tears should be flowing at about the 39 second mark.


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## mepiccolo

Not a rap expert but I believe the difference between rap music and hip hop is that hip hop is more dance music and rap is more about the words/lyrics put to music.  The old school rap was way better than the crap they have nowadays.  I have the Best of The Sugarhill Gang CD and there are so many great songs to dance to, and the words were not vulgar.  Back then, rap tended more to have a message than today's rap which just sounds like a bunch of angry, violent, woman-hating thugs.  I don't get the appeal of today's rap at all (how do they make all that money?  I don't know anyone who buys it).  Also, the rap from the eighties was pretty much rapped to original music with a good beat that you could dance to.  Now, most of the decent hits are set to old school music so where is the originality?  Maybe it's because of my age, but the old school hip hop music is better than today's also.  Might be why the clubs today still play the music from the 80's to get the dance floor full.  It just doesn't seem like musicians nowadays have as much originality as they used to.  Rihanna's Umbrella song annoys the heck out of me.  Isn't that just someone repeating themselves over and over with an echo.  Yuch.


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## mepiccolo

Wow, this thread just made me go onto Youtube for an hour and I had such a great time remembering all the great dance songs from the eighties.  Also, I noticed that originally rap wasn't the nasty crap it is today.  Their messages tended to be good, inspiring and children could listen to it.  One of my favorite hip hop songs started off with "Sing it Now God's Children!" (Joy and Pain by Rob Base).  Here's an example of a great early rap song:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7sjCcg123Y8

Notice the children dancing to it and the good message the song was about.  
What happened to this music, geez.  It was like taken over by thugs and now it's for the most part glorifies violence, woman-bashing and drugs.  It would be nice if it went back to the "old school" ways when it was about dancing, hanging out with your friends without having to do drugs.


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## AwayWeGo

*Free -- Symphony Downloads -- Free.*

Click here for a web page offering free downloads of symphony performances by the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Sight-Reading The Gig.*

I have to practice plenty to be able to keep up with the good players.  So I don't like committing to any horn performances unless I have some rehearsal & practice time.  (Although I did sight-read a pit orchestra performance of _South Pacific_ 1 time -- nailed the opening horn solo.  Everybody was impressed.) 

This morning when the phone rang at 8AM, I was already up -- was getting ready for our grandson to come over for the morning.  The person calling was asking me to come to church right away because everybody had forgotten that the lead horn player was away on vacation (at an Aruba timeshare, but that's another story), so they were putting in a desperate request for me to come right over as quick as possible to fill in on 1st horn.  

I jumped into my clothes, put on a clean shirt & tie, grabbed my horn, & drove on over, skipping breakfast & not taking time to shave.  By the time I showed up, the ensemble was already wrapping up the pre-service rehearsal, but I got out my horn & was able to go through 1 of the tunes that were about to be performed. 

Then we took our places in the sanctuary & lit into the prelude (which I had not rehearsed).  Fortunately, it went OK.  The offertory was the tune I had been able to run through, once, with the ensemble, & that went OK too.  That left the postlude following the benediction, & that also went OK.  Three out of 3 -- not bad at all.  We had a brief break between services, then we got back in place & played'm all again for the 2nd service. 

Prelude*:* _Immortable, Invisible._ 
Offertory*:* _Gold's Right Hand & Mighty Arm. _
Postlude*:* _Lead On, O King Eternal._​
The truly odd thing is that I was not planning on being home Sunday morning.  We were on the Delmarva Peninsula near Rehoboth Beach DE -- our last hurrah at Port Delmarva for this season, closing up & locking down our dinky non-traveling travel trailer.  We had planned to stay all weekend & come home Monday, but Friday afternoon our grandson (age 6) had a schoolyard accident (fell after hanging by his feet from the jungle gym rings) that broke his arm  -- resulting in surgery (4 pins) plus an overnight stay in the hospital.  He was a brave little guy all through his surgery & brief hospitalization.  

That made us want to come home right away so we could add to the TLC the little boy is already getting from his mom & dad.  So we hit the highway right at dark Saturday & got home by 9:30 Saturday night.  Sure enough, our grandson was there bright & early Sunday morning to show off his cast & tell us about the whole thing.  But Papa Alan was off at church playing horn. 

Grandson & Grandma Carol played games & had breakfast.  Then they fixed up a teddy bear with its own styrofoam-wrap "cast" & matching sling.  

I got back from the church gig in time for a rousing game of Monopoly Junior with my grandson, plus several made-up games featuring hand-drawn playing boards & multi-color dice borrowed from a home-made Yahtzee game.  I never was clear on the rules, but we had a nice time playing anyway.  Grandma Carol gave me a sandwich & grandson had snacks.  

Life is good. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Final Band Rehearsal For Several Weeks (At Least).*

I showed up at band practice last night & rehearsed all the tunes as usual, knowing that this time I really will be out of the rotation for a while with surgery coming up next Monday. 

Here's hoping I'm out of Depends by Thanksgiving & back playing horn again by Christmas. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Playing Horn Again After A Full Month Out.*

I was semi-apprehensive about getting back into horn playing after a month out on medical & convalescent leave, but after band practice last night & brass quintet rehearsal tonight I think I'm on the way back. 

A good thing, too.  Between now & January I'm signed up to play 1 band concert (on last horn) & 3 brass quintet gigs (the only horn), & 2 performances with a larger brass ensemble (various horn parts). 

The only complicating factor is a schedule conflict of my own making.  (The doofus factor kicked in again.)  One of the brass quintet gigs is for the same afternoon as my 6-week post-surgical medical appointment, & there's no way I can get from the doctor's office to the performance venue in time for the gig.  (What a doofus -- me, not you.)  But it should be possible to get the appointment date or time changed so I can keep both commitments. 

Life is good. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## SueDonJ

That's great news, Alan.  After what you've been through, what you're going through still, it must be wonderful to lose yourself in the music.  Your Chief of Staff must be thrilled!  You're right - life IS good.


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## AwayWeGo

*Playing Horn & Keeping The Chief Of Staff Happy.*




SueDonJ said:


> Chief of Staff must be thrilled!


Usually The Chief Of Staff is a band & ensemble groupie when I'm playing -- very enthusiastic. 

Other times -- as when a rehearsal or performance date introduces a family event schedule conflict -- not so much. 

With Christmas coming up & lots of preparations to make & guests to get ready for, the upcoming schedule of rehearsals for The Potomac Brass Quintet (2 December performances) & the City Of Fairfax Band (1 big concert) & The Cathedral Brass (2 same day performances), The Chief Of Staff gets semi-irritated over the times The Old Man will be out playing tunes instead of home helping. 

Some women are golf widows.  A few are horn widows.  So it goes.  At least I'm not out drinking beer & playing pool -- not that there's anything wrong with those activities (in moderation). 

The Potomac Brass Quintet plays December 19 & 31.  Rehearsals have already been held for those gigs. 

Coming up December 20 is the annual Holiday Concert by City Of Fairfax Band.  Two rehearsals are left for that. 

December 21, The Cathedral Brass will be participating in 2 performances of  The Glorious Sounds Of Christmas.  One rehearsal to go before the show. 

Then I'll put the horn away for a while & rejoin Fairfax Band for rehearsals after The Chief Of Staff & I get home from our 2-week after-Christmas Florida vacation. 

In most previous years I've taken my road horn to Florida with me so I can sit in with the Lakeland Concert Band if we're staying somewhere not to far away on rehearsal night.  Kissimmee FL qualifies -- just barely -- so it's possible I'll take a horn along next month, too.  We'll see.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*From Atlantic To Pacific, Oh The Traffic Is Terrific !*

_Whoa !_ 

I was 1 minute -- as in 60 seconds -- late to a brass quintet gig Friday afternoon because the traffic was so bad that it took close to an hour to drive what's usually just a 25-minute trip. 

That's on me.  I should have anticipated bad traffic.  Unprofessional to say the least. 

The other players were getting ready to light into a 4-part arrangement of _O Tannenbaum_ as I took my place & got out my horn. 

By the time the opening tune was done, I was good to go & lit right into _Ring! Christmas Bells_ with the others. 

I would say No Harm & No Foul, except that by not showing up on time I created a great deal of anxiety among the rest of the ensemble.  They didn't know if I'd been mugged or had been in an accident or maybe just forgot about the gig.  (It's been known to happen -- forgetting, I mean.  I forgot about a concert I was supposed to play some 25 years ago, & I still feel bad about it.) 

I sure hadn't reckoned on all that midday traffic yesterday -- Christmas shoppers, I suppose, who didn't know that there's spozed to be a recession on. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*What You Missed Saturday Night.*

Saturday night's _Christmas In Fairfax_ concert featured plenty of great music for the holiday season, including several choral numbers by the Fairfax Choral Society accompanied by the City Of Fairfax Band. 

M.C. was John Lyon (formerly of WMAL radio in the days before it went all talk), who also sang to the accompaniment of his own guitar & narrated _'Twas The Night Before Christmas_. 

_Star Carol_ (John Rutter), chorale & band. 
_Babes In Toyland_, band. 
_Greensleeves_ (Alfred Reed arrangement), band. 
_Gloria_ (Randol Alan Bass) chorale & band. 
_Christmas Songs & Stories With John Lyon._ 
_Farandole_ (Bizet), band. 
_Silent Night_ (Robt. Pouliot arrangement), band & chorale & soloists & narrator. 
_'Twas The Night Before Christmas_, narrator & band. 
_Ding Dong Merrily On High_, chorale & band. 
_Sleigh Ride_ (Leroy Anderson), band. 
_Festival Of Carols_ (sing-along).​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*What You Missed Sunday Afternoon & Night.*

The Cathedral Brass participated in 2 performances -- 4PM & 7PM -- of _The Glorious Sounds Of Christmas_ at Vienna (VA) Presbyterian Church. 

_Russian Christmas Music_ (Alfred Reed), Cathedral Brass. 
_Let All Mortal Flesh Keep Silence_ (Gustav Holst arrangement), orchestra & choir, with soloists.
_Hark! The Herald Angels Sing_ (sing-along). 
_For Unto Us A Child Is Born_ (Handel), choir & orchestra. 
_The Shepherds' Farewell_ (Berlioz), choir & orchestra. 
_Angels We Have Heard On High_, choir & orchestra. 
_Quelle Est Cette Odeur Agréable?_ (solo saxophone with orchestra).
_O Come, All Ye Faithful_ (sing-along). 
_What Child Is This?_ (youth choir). 
_The Little Drummer Boy_ (youth choir with percussion). 
_Go, Tell It On The Mountain_ (youth choir). 
_The Christmas Story_ (bible reading with orchestral background). 
_Infant Holy, Infant Lowly_ (choir). 
_What Shall We Give?_ (choir & orchestra). 
_Joy To The World_ (sing-along).​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Glorious Sounds Of Christmas (2008).*

A recording of the _Glorious Sounds Of Christmas_ event that the Cathedral Brass participated in last month can be heard via Internet on the World Wide Web.  Click here for access to the web page. 

The recording includes the entire performance program, not just the numbers the Cathedral Brass played.  The opening number, however, is just by the Cathedral Brass -- a brass ensemble transcription of _Russian Christmas Music_ by Alfred Reed.  (Reed's original composition is for symphonic band.) 

I am not a regular member of the Cathedral Brass, but by now I have participated with that ensemble so many times as a substitute or extra player that I feel like I'm a member of the Cathedral Brass Auxiliary.  I was playing 3rd horn with the Cathedral Brass during the 2008 _Glorious Sounds Of Christmas_ performance. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Amazing Trombone Soloist -- Must Be Seen (& Heard) To Be Believed.*

Click here for 3 minutes & 16 seconds of musical amazement. 

Enjoy. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Horn Orchestra Of Russia (Russian Horn Band).*





-- hotlinked from the British Horn Society --​
Generally each player is responsible for playing just 1 note. 

Bands like that were said to be extremely fashionable in Russia about 1750 to 1830 or so. 

The Russian Horn Capella (Horn Orchestra Of Russia) is a contemporary revival and reconstruction of an old-time Russian horn band.  Click here to listen to an audio excerpt of their performance of the _William Tell Overture_.  

Click here for more on-line audio examples of the organ-like sound of the Russian horn band. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Tunes Coming Up February 28, 2009 -- Broadway, Yesterday & Today*

The big show is 8PM Saturday, February 28, 2009, in the Fairfax High School Auditorium, Fairfax VA -- _Broadway, Yesterday & Today_, presented by the City Of Fairfax Band, Robert Pouliot music director, with guest vocalists Holly Bingham & Steve Cramer.  Host & MC = Rich Kleinfeldt. 

The playlist includes *. . . *

_Symphonic Dances From Fiddler On The Roof (arr. Ira Hearshen)._ _Fiddler On The Roof_ was the 1st Broadway musical to reach the 3*,*000-performance mark. For 10 years _Fiddler_ held the Broadway record for longest-running musical. Today it stands at 13th on the list. (By contrast, _Oklahoma!_ is No. 26 & _South Pacific_ is No. 30.) The show's title comes from a Marc Chagall painting of eastern European Jewish life picturing a fiddler, who symbolizes survival through tradition & joyfulness in a life of uncertainty & imbalance. The show's book is by Joseph Stein. The lyrics are by Sheldon Harnick. Jerry Bock wrote the music. The highly acclaimed production was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won 9 -- including best musical, best score, best book, best direction, & best choreography (by Jerome Robbins). The music behind the show's ethnically styled dance numbers has been recast as a lively symphonic suite by arranger Ira Hearshen, featuring the Chava Sequence, Perchik and Hodel Dance, Dance To Life, Tradition, and the Wedding Dance #1 (the Bottle Dance).

--oOo--​
_Encores From West Side Story__ (arr. James Kessler)._ After Jerome Robbins suggested to Leonard Bernstein the idea of doing a modern musical based on Romeo & Juliet, it took 6 years before _West Side Story_ premiered. Originally, the action was to take place on New York’s Lower East Side, with tensions flaring between Catholics & Jews at the convergence of Passover & Easter -- a project that went nowhere. But shifting the conflict to the Polish-American Sharks & the Puerto Rican Jets fired up the authors’ imaginations so much that they took some dramatic and musical risks -- not all of which were well received. One of the original producers backed out 2 months before the start of rehearsals. Columbia Records initially declined to record Bernstein’s score -- too depressing & too difficult, they said. Despite all the setbacks, the authors & producers kept at it because they knew they were creating something extraordinary. After its Broadway debut in 1957, _West Side Story_ played 732 times before going on tour. The 1961 film version won 10 Academy Awards. The show's music gained immense popularity through innumerable popular, symphonic, & jazz recordings & concert performances. The suite of blockbuster encore numbers from the show was arranged by James Kessler.

--oOo--​
_Opening Night On Broadway__ (arr. Michael Brown)_. A musical feast made up of tasty ingredients from 5 hit Broadway shows -- _The Producers_ (“Springtime For Hitler”), _Avenue Q_ (“Avenue Q Theme”), Monty Python's _Spamalot_ (“Always Look On The Bright Side Of Life”), _Wicked_ (“For Good”), and _The Lion King Broadway Musical_ (“Circle Of Life”).

--oOo--​
_Highlights From Beauty & The Beast (Alan Menken)._ Alan Menken won the 1991 Oscar for Best Original Score for the music he wrote for Disney’s _Beauty and the Beast_. The film also won the Oscar for Best Song: “Beauty & The Beast” by Alan Menken with lyrics by Howard Ashman. After big success in animation on the silver screen, Disney's version of the “tale that's old as time” was remade as a smash live-show hit, playing 5*,*461 times during its 1994-2007 run on Broadway. John Moss arranged a pleasing selection of musical highlights from the movie & the Broadway show, including “Prologue,” “Belle,” “Gaston,” “Be Our Guest,” “Beauty & The Beast,” & "Transformation.”

--oOo--​
_Broadway Show-Stoppers Overture (Warren Barker, 1923-2006)._ Warren Barker wove together an irresistible instrumental pastiche of musical favorites from the Broadway stage. The overture melds “Everything’s Coming Up Roses” (from _Gypsy_, 1959), “People” (from _Funny Girl_, 1964), “With A Little Bit Of Luck” (from _My Fair Lady_, 1956), and “Try To Remember” (from _The Fantasticks_, 1960 [off-Broadway]), plus the title songs from _On A Clear Day You Can See Forever_ (1965) & _That’s Entertainment_ (1972).

--oOo--​
_“On A Wonderful Day Like Today” (from The Roar Of The Greasepaint - The Smell Of The Crowd)._ Anthony Newly co-wrote the show, directed the show, co-wrote the song, & sang the song in the show. That won him two 1965 Tony awards -- best musical director, & (with co-writer Leslie Bricusse) best composer & lyricist.  

--oOo--​
_“Anything You Can Do I Can Do Better” (From Annie Get Your Gun – words & music by Irving Berlin)._ The duo who sang this tune in the original 1946 Broadway show were Ethel Merman (as sharpshooter Annie Oakley) & Ray Middleton (as Annie's husband Frank Butler). In the 1950 movie version, Betty Hutton & Howard Keel were Annie & Frank. Other duos who had notable success singing this same vocal debate are Doris Day & Robert Goulet; Bernadette Peters & Tom Wopat; John Barrowman & Ruthie Henshall; Ethel Merman & Miss Piggy; Mary Martin & John Raitt; Ethel Merman & Bruce Yarnell; and Ethel Merman & Neilson Taylor.

--oOo--​
_“Luck Be A Lady” (from Guys & Dolls, music & lyrics by Frank Loesser)._ The Broadway hit of 1950, & the 1951 Tony award winning musical, was _Guys & Dolls_, subtitled _A Musical Fable Of Broadway_. Robert Alda, in the lead role of Sky Masterson, sang “Luck Be A Lady” & won a Tony award for best actor in a musical. The show ran for 1*,*200 performances through November 28, 1953.

--oOo--​
_“Memory” (from Cats, music by Andrew Lloyd Webber, lyrics by Trevor Nunn based on poems by T.S. Eliot)._ “Memory" is the climax of the musical _Cats_ & by far the most popular & best known song from the show. _Cats_ opened on Broadway in 1982, won loads of 1983 Tony awards, & continued running on Broadway for 7*,*485 performances through September 10, 2000. Betty Buckley's electrifying rendition of “Memory,” in her role as has-been glamour-cat Grizabella, established her reputation as a stand-out performer. Betty Buckley went on to record 13 solo albums & to appear in numerous stage, film, & TV musical & dramatic presentations.

--oOo--​
_“Cornet Man” (from Funny Girl, music by Jule Styne, lyrics by Bob Merrill)._ Barbra Streisand beat out some tough competition to win the role of Fanny Bryce in _Funny Girl_. Candidates for the role included Mary Martin, Anne Bancroft, Carol Burnett, & Eydie Gormé. _Funny Girl_ got 8 Tony award nominations, but won zero mainly because of the popularity of _Hello, Dolly_, which was in the running at the same time. _Funny Girl_ opened on Broadway in 1964. The movie version, also starring Barbra Streisand, came out in 1968.

--oOo--​
_“On My Own” (from Les Misèrables, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer)._ After successful Paris & London productions, _Les Misèrables_ opened in New York on March 12, 1987. The show got 12 Tony award nominations & eight wins, including Best Musical & Best Original Score. _Les Miz_ ran through May 18, 2003, closing after 6*,*680 Broadway performances -- the 3rd-longest-running Broadway show in history. “On My Own” is the opening number of Act II.

--oOo--​
_“The Song That Goes Like This” (from Spamalot, music by Eric Idle & John Du Prez, lyrics by Eric Idle)._ Monty Python's _Spamalot_ is a musical comedy that not only takes off on the 1975 movie _Monty Python & The Holy Grail_ (a King Arthur parody), but also sends up the Broadway theatre while it's at it -- a Broadway show that mocks Broadway shows. The original 2005 production of _Spamalot_, directed by Mike Nichols, won 3 Tony awards, including Best Musical of 2004-2005. “The Song That Goes Like This” is sung by Sir Dennis Galahad & The Lady Of The Lake 

--oOo--​
“As Long As You're Mine” (from _Wicked_, music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz). _Wicked_ is the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch Of The West, & her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch Of The North, in a setting that takes place mostly before Dorothy arrives in Oz from Kansas. The show makes references to scenes & dialogue in the _The Wizard of Oz_ movie (1939). _Wicked_ opened on Broadway October 30, 2003, & is still running. It received mixed reviews & was panned by _The New York Times_, but became a favorite of theater-goers. _Wicked*'*_s success on Broadway led to productions in Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Melbourne, & Stuttgart, along with 2 North American touring shows that have played more than 30 U.S. & Canadian cities. _Wicked_ got 10 Tony nominations & won in three categories (scenic design, costume design, & best actress). 

--xXx--​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Passepartout

*Beethoven's Eroica Symphony*

I was going to PM Alan with this, but decided to share with the group.

Last night we watched a video of BBC's production of Beethoven's 3rd Symphony, the Eroica.  We thought the producers tried to make it historically accurate as much as possible. It's the story of the initial run-through of the piece, in Lobkowitz Palace in Vienna. It is performed on period instruments, in the hall, now called the Eroica hall in the palace, Vienna's oldest.

In the story, one could see the emotions the piece evoked. Haydn was in attendance, as an old man, and said after hearing it,(it was reported) "Nothing will ever be the same".

There is a complete performance on the disc as well as the movie story, and the viewer gets to see the score in Beethoven's hand. One can see the big hole in the frontispiece that any schoolboy would recognize as being caused by erasing clear through the paper. You see, Beethoven, who was just starting to exhibit hie impending deafness, had originally called the piece, "Napoleon", but when the French leader declared himself Emperor, Beethoven angrily changed the name to Eroica (Heroic).

We rented it through Netflix, but surely in larger markets, it's available in libraries. I recommend this video.

Jim Ricks


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## AwayWeGo

*Professional Quality Playing By Non-Professional Soloist.*

Click here for audio of an outstanding performance of a Mozart horn concerto played by a talented soloist who has a day job. 

The soloist is Dr. Martin Layman DDS. 

He can drill my molars any time. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Concert Sunday Afternoon (March 8th) By The Cathedral Brass.*

The event is titled _Cathedral Brass & Friends_ because of all the percussion instruments augmenting the brass ensemble, plus organ & piano on some tunes.  The venue is the sanctuary of Vienna Presbyterian Church in Fairfax County VA.  

The performance begins at 4PM Eastern Daylight Time.  It's free, but don't be surprised if they pass around a collection plate. 

On the podium will be L. Thomas Vining, conductor of The Cathedral Brass. 

The program embraces a wide variety of musical moods & eras & styles -- 

_Canzona duodecimi toni_ (Giovanni Garbieli, Robert King arrangement).  
_Symphony For 5-Part Brass Choir_ (Victor Ewald, Robert King arrangement). 
_Keystone Celebration_ (John Cheetham). 
_On A Hymnsong Of Philip Bliss_ (David Holsinger, Christopher Prentice arrangement). 
_Presto Barbaro_ (Leonard Bernstein, Frank Erickson arrangement). 
_Lotus Blossom_ (Billy Strayhorn, Alec Wyton arrangement). 
_Glory_ (Stan Pethel arrangement). 
_Fairest Lord Jesus_ (Anita Kerr arrangement). 
_Pebble Beach Sojourn_ (Ron Nelson). 
_Joshua_ (arrangement by Dan Marvin & Steven Bulla). 
_Russian Christmas Music_ (Alfred Reed, Bruce Fraser arrangement).​
I'll be playing 3rd horn. If you're there for the performance, be sure to come up afterward & say Hi. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*City Of Fairfax Band Formal Photograph.*

Click here for the formal photographic portrait of The City Of Fairfax Band. 

Enter the drawing for a free bar of Timeshare Soap if you can find my picture somewhere in the crowd. 

_Hint*:*_  I am not playing saxophone or tuba.  (Not that there's anything wrong with tubas or saxophones.) 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Audio Via Internet -- Recording Of March 8 Cathedral Brass Concert.*

Click here for a web page containing a link to an audio recording of the March 8, 2009, performance by the Cathedral Brass. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*An Evening Of Jazz With Dick Hyman (March 28, 2009).*

The City Of Fairfax Band is presenting _An Evening Of Jazz, With Dick Hyman_ 8PM March 28, 2009, at Fairfax High School Auditorium in Fairfax VA. 

Be there or be square.  

Here is some descriptive information about the tunes that will be on the program *. . .* 

_Themes Like Old Times (Warren Barker, 1923-2006)._ With all the musical work for film, radio, & television that kept Warren Barker occupied & in demand, it's hard to imagine how he also found time to do so many special arrangements for reeds & brass & percussion that have enriched the concert band repertoire. In _Themes Like Old Times_, Warren Barker revived some good old tunes that take us way back to the good old days, featuring some of America's best loved 24-karat golden oldies like “Alexander’s Ragtime Band” & “Peg O’ My Heart” -- plus “I Want A Girl (Just Like The Girl That Married Dear Old Dad)” & “By The Light Of The Silvery Moon,” with “12th Street Rag” added to the mix. When you hear numbers like those, it really does seem like old times. 

--oOo--​
_Down Home Melody (Dick Hyman)._ All through the 1950s & 1960s, no top pianist was busier with studio recording sessions of all kinds than Dick Hyman. Yet he also managed to record many albums as leader of his own group during that same period, including _The Dick Hyman Trio_ featuring Osie Johnson (drums) and Joe Benjamin (bass). The three recorded Hyman's _Down Home Melody_ on a 1961 album. In the fleeting time between studio sessions, Dick Hyman created a special arrangement of _Down Home Melody_ for concert band, which was published in 1961. Tonight's performance is not just for band, but for band & piano solo, with the composer at the keyboard.

--oOo--​
_Three Preludes (George Gershwin, 1898-1937)._ George Gershwin’s music has penetrated the culture so thoroughly that it is a part of our musical subconscious. We can hum or whistle a Gershwin tune spontaneously without a thought as to who composed it, or even that it was composed at all, because it seems to be so much a part of the American fabric. Gershwin did not show much interest in music as a child. His family didn’t even have an instrument in the house until George was 12, when his parents bought a 2nd-hand piano for George’s brother Ira.. But it turned out George already knew how to play from noodling on a neighbor’s piano. By age 15 George had a job as a song-plugger pianist with a Tin Pan Alley publishing firm. He was only 20 when he wrote “Swanee,” which became a big hit after Al Jolson put it in a show. From then on Gershwin had nothing but success. He composed for stage shows & films, creating songs with staying power. The director of the 1st performance of _Porgy & Bess_, said: “I've heard many pianists & composers play for informal gatherings, but I know of no one who did it with such genuine delight & verve... George at the piano was George happy. He would draw a lovely melody out of the keyboard like a golden thread, then he would play with it & juggle it, twist it & toss it around mischievously, weave it into unexpected intricate patterns, tie it in knots & untie it & hurl it into a cascade of ever changing rhythms & counterpoints.” Gershwin performed his 5 preludes for piano for the 1st time on December 4, 1926. He published 3 of them in 1927. The adaptations on tonight’s program were arranged for concert band by Robert Pouliot, music director of the City Of Fairfax Band. 

--oOo--​
_Cuban Overture (George Gershwin, 1898-1937)._ Workaholic George Gershwin practically knocked himself out in 1931 on his musical _Of Thee I Sing_ & his soundtrack music for the movie _Delicious_, not to mention his _Second Rhapsody_, which premiered in January 1932. So to unwind in February 1932, he spent a couple of weeks in Havana --  more for fun than for relaxation. Gershwin described his Havana vacation as “2 hysterical weeks in Cuba, where no sleep was had.” A big part of the experience was total immersion in exotic tunes & rhythms -- the street musicians practically everywhere & the Afro-Cuban dance numbers featured in the clubs. He came home with a set of claves -- Gershwin called them “Cuban sticks” -- plus bongos, maracas, & a gourd. He also brought back the idea for a Cuban-style orchestral piece he wanted to write. He began in July & finished just in time to conduct the premiere at the New York Philharmonic's 1st All-Gershwin concert August 16, 1932. Gershwin wrote that it was “the most exciting night I have ever had *. . .* 17*,*845 people paid to get in & just about 5*,*000 were at the closed gates trying to fight their way in.” Gershwin's original title for the symphonic overture was simply _Rumba_. But when Gershwin conducted the piece at a Metropolitan Opera benefit concert 3 months later, he renamed it _Cuban Overture_ in case anybody might assume it was simply a juke box number or a novelty tune. “_Cuban Overture_ gives a more just idea of the character & intent of the music,” he said, which was to “embody the essence of the Cuban dance.”

--oOo--​
_Tribute to Ferdinand "Jelly Roll" Morton (1890-1941), arranged by Dick Hyman._ Ferdinand Joseph Lamothe was born in a Creole community of downtown New Orleans. He took the name “Morton” by anglicizing “Mouton,” his stepfather's name. By age 14 he was playing piano in the Storyville red light district. When his church-going great-grandmother found out, she threw him out of the house. (She thought he worked at a barrel factory.) After that, Morton rolled around the South playing minstrel shows & composing lively tunes. He got to Chicago by 1910, made it to New York City in 1911, & got all the way to Hollywood in 1917. Back in Chicago in 1923, Morton started commercially recording piano rolls & gramophone records. After Victor Records signed him in 1926, he was able to have a well-rehearsed band record his arrangements in Victor's Chicago studios. He moved back to New York in 1928, but his Victor recordings there never matched the success of his Chicago sessions. Then the record business tanked with the onset of the Great Depression & his Victor contract was not renewed in 1931, leaving him to try radio & then play in a traveling burlesque show. In 1935, Morton moved to Washington DC to manage and play piano at a joint called at various times the “Music Box,” “Blue Moon Inn,” & “Jungle Inn” at 1211 U Street NW in the Shaw neighborhood, where he was also the MC, bouncer, & bartender. The business was not a success, partly because the club owner let all her friends in free and & let them have free drinks. A knife fight in which Morton got stabbed in the head & chest in 1938 put an end to Morton's sojourn in the Nation's Capital. He never fully recovered. He died in Los Angeles while trying to restart his career with a new band & some new tunes. Morton's accomplishments as an early innovator are so immense that he had no need to stretch the truth by claiming as he sometimes did that he himself invented jazz outright in 1902. Regardless of all self-promotion, Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton was the 1st major serious composer of jazz, naming & popularizing what Morton called “the Spanish tinge.” In a Library of Congress interview, he said, “Now in one of my earliest tunes, 'New Orleans Blues,' you can notice the Spanish tinge. In fact, if you can't manage to put tinges of Spanish in your tunes, you will never be able to get the right seasoning, I call it, for jazz.” 

_The Finger Breaker_ (from the 1930s). Morton wrote this flashy, furious piano solo not just to show off his own talent in front of audiences but just as much to challenge other pianists to try, if they could, to summon the talent & technical dexterity needed to play this bravura showpiece. Alternate titles for the piece are “The Finger Buster" and “The Finger Wrecker.” After you hear Dick Hyman play it live & in person tonight, you can watch how he does it up close via You Tube on the Internet.

_Grandpa's Spells_ is a ragtime stomp that Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton 1st recorded as a piano solo in 1923. Commenting on a recording that Morton made the following year in Cincinnati, a reviewer at Jazz Dot Com says: “'Grandpa’s Spells' is nearly a rag in feeling, except with a swing beat & a generally rougher feel. A lot of the time Morton plays overtones in the left hand (usually the 5th note up from the bottom) that imply drums while the brilliant graces on top imply New Orleans-style clarinetists. The F-major trio features a left-hand smash, a dark cluster tossed off casually like a whiskey bottle kicked under the piano.”

_The Crave _is an example in Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton's work of the Latin influence that no doubt came from the blends of Spanish & French creole styles heard all over New Orleans when Morton was growing up -- what he referred to as “the Spanish tinge.”

_The Pearls,_ composed in 1919, is one of the most attractive works by Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton.

Mr. Hyman recorded the compositions heard in tonight's Jelly Roll Morton Tribute in 1974. About these pieces, he said, “This is an attempt to present Ferdinand 'Jelly Roll' Morton as 1 of those neglected composers who, like Scott Joplin, are now being given their due as creators of uniquely American music. Jelly Roll Morton's composing derived from his piano playing, which was shaped by the times & places where he lived & were very much improvised. We can hear this in the differing versions of his compositions which he left us. He was a true _Jazz Man_ in this sense, & his constant inventiveness presents us with an interesting challenge in deciding which versions of his works are the ideal ones to orchestrate.” Mr. Hyman arranged the ensemble pieces in marching band style, with jazz underpinnings. They are scored for 3 trumpets, 3 trombones, 3 flutes, 2 clarinets, 2 horns, banjo or guitar, string bass, drum set, & percussion, with solo piano. 

--oOo--​
_Dancin' Into The 20's, arranged by Donald Hunsberger (1932- )._ Dr. Hunsburger led the Eastman Wind Ensemble (1965-2001) & was Professor Of Conducting at the Eastman School of Music. He has arranged transcriptions of orchestral music for concert band, including pieces by Shostakovich, Kabalevsky, Grafulla, & Khachaturian. Dr. Hunsberger has conducted performances with major symphony orchestras & has appeared as guest conductor with the City Of Fairfax Band.

_Piccalilli Rag_ by George A. Reeg Jr. was published as a solo piano piece by Joseph M. Daly Music Publisher, 665 Washington Street, Boston, Massachusetts, copyright MCMXII. All rights for mechanical instruments [player pianos] reserved. International copyright secured. A PDF facsimile of the music as published (5 pages) is in the digital sheet music library of Mississippi State University.

_The Richard's Tango_ by Elizabeth Scates was included in _Dancin' Into The 20s_, according to the publisher, to reflect some of the styles of music used for social dancing during the period, each example in the suite chosen to serve as a special representation of music from a bygone era in American musical & theatrical history. 

_Hunkatin - A Half Tone One-Step (Sol Paul Levy, 1881-1920)._ Sol Levy was born in Chicago & studied music with his father. He was 1st clarinetist in both the John Philip Sousa Band & the Arthur Pryor Band, & later was in charge of the foreign orchestrating department for Victor Records. His songs included “Because You Say Goodbye,” “Hunka-Tin,” “Roses That Die Bloom Again,” & “That Naughty Waltz.” He was one of the founders of Belwin Music. According to the National Museum of the U.S. Air Force, “Hunka Tin” was the name of a poem (a take-off on _Gunda Din_ ) about Model-T Fords that were converted to WWI ambulances*...*
_Yes, Tin, Tin, Tin.
You exasperating puzzle, Hunka Tin.
I've abused you and I've flayed you,
But by Henry Ford who made you,
You are better than a Packard, Hunka Tin.​_
--oOo--​
_Ragtime Fantasy (Dick Hyman)._ Before there was jazz, there was ragtime -- a wholly original American musical form whose heyday was from 1897 to 1918. Ragtime's popularity faded when jazz took hold. But ragtime never completely disappeared, nor did jazz ever lose its historical kinship with ragtime. The defining characteristic of ragtime music is its special variety of syncopation -- what Scott Joplin called _that weird & intoxicating effect_ -- in which melodic accents occur between the steady beats of the accompaniment. The result is a melody that seems to be getting ahead of the beat sometimes & just as often seems like it's falling behind, as the tune emphasizes notes both anticipating & then lagging the music's pulse in ragged fashion. The apt phrase “ragged time” -- describing the creative mismatch between steady pulse on the 1 hand (on piano, usually the left) & the syncopated melody on the other (right) hand -- soon got shortened to “ragtime.” Ragtime's origins are closely associated with the piano, but not exclusively. Famed trombonist Arthur Pryor (1870-1942) left the Sousa band in 1903 & formed not only his own touring band, but also his own small orchestra exclusively for recording in New York City & Camden NJ. Pryor's ensemble recordings helped spread the popularity of ragtime, & his recording library of sheet music, thought to have been destroyed in the 1920s, was rediscovered in 1985 -- a treasure trove of ragtime gems in a heap of what the owner thought was old scrap paper. Just as the popularity of ragtime was spread both by piano & by bands, so Dick Hyman's original & evocative _Ragtime Fantasy_ highlights both the soloist at the keyboard & the accompanying instrumental ensemble. Dick Hyman said, “I wrote _Ragtime Fantasy_ in 1976 after recording several albums of music by Scott Joplin, Ferdinand “Jelly Roll” Morton, Zez Confrey, & others. That concentrated experience of performing in the styles of those early greats inspired me to compose a ragtime concert piece of my own. I wrote _Ragtime Fantasy_ for piano & orchestra, & I have performed the piece with many symphony orchestras. I am grateful to Paul Murtha for rescoring the piece for piano & concert band. Tonight's premiere performance of _Ragtime Fantasy_ is my first time playing it with concert band accompaniment.”

--xXx--​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*5 Guys Playing Danny Boy.*

I'm 1 of the 5. 

Click here for the U-Tube video. 

See if you can figure out which players own timeshares. 

_Clarification & Full Disclosure*:*_  It's not literally 5 guys.  It's 1 woman & 4 men.  (Not that there's anything wrong with that.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Jazz Master Class By A Jazz Master.*

While Dick Hyman is in town for the big Fairfax Band concert on Saturday night (March 28), he's also putting on a free jazz master class 2PM that same afternoon at Grand Tier III of the Center For The Arts at George Mason University, Fairfax VA. 

Admission is free, but seating is limited.  

RSVP by calling 703-757-0220. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Suspicion Confirmed.*

The connection I suspected between the tune "Hunkatin -- A Half Tone One-Step" & the nickname for those converted Model-T WW1 ambulances, which I found out about via the National Museum Of The U.S. Air Force web site, turned out to be correct. 

I had a hunch but I didn't know it for sure at the time I was putting together the program notes for the March 28 Fairfax Band concert.  I just figured it must be true, not only because the whimsical title of the piece matches the nickname for the Model-T ambulances, & but also because the tune was popular in the WW1 era.  

Then at band rehearsal last night, another piece of evidence showed up that confirms the suspicion. 

Back in the percussion section, the drummers reached into their toy box & pulled out two -- 2 -- squeeze-bulb antique auto horns to be used for sound effects while the band plays  "Hunkatin -- A Half Tone One-Step." 

Case closed. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Fairfax Band Concert Coming Up April 18, 2009.*

While we are still in serious afterglow from our March 28 Fairfax Band concert, the band is busy getting ready for our next performance set for 8PM on Saturday, 18 April 2009, in the auditorium of Fairfax High School, 3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax VA, under the baton of Robert Pouliot, Music Director.  

Tickets are on sale now. 

Here is descriptive information about some of the music on the program *. . . * 

_Festive Overture (Dimitri Shostakovich, 1906-1975)._ Shostakovich’s musical career was a roller-coaster with ups of universal acclaim & downs of official disgrace from Soviet authorities who tried to control his work out of concern for its perceived political content rather than its musical substance. External pressures like that made it extremely difficult for Shostakovich to express himself musically in his own way, which tended to be inward-looking & dark. There is nothing gloomy about _Festive Overture,_ however; it’s 1 of his most straight-ahead upbeat pieces. It was written in 1954, shortly after the death of Stalin, the main source of the composer's artistic repression, & in the same year that Shostakovich was awarded an international peace prize. _Festive Overture_ is crafted very conventionally for a very large orchestra, & is a favorite in the “pops” repertoire. Shostakovich arranged _Festive Overture_ for the Russian Military Band in 1958. The piece is simply 6 minutes of sheer exuberance & fun, showcasing the composer’s talent for combining a sustained melodic line with pulsating rhythmic drive, truly a _festive_ overture. The edition on tonight’s program was arranged for American band by Donald Hunsberger.

--oOo--​
_The American Road (Jerry Brubaker)._ The piece was commissioned by The Association Of Concert Bands in memory of Dr. Herbert L. Schultz, Past President. This new work by Jerry Brubaker is a musical excursion into the American driving experience. The piece has subtitles for each section. Most need little or no explanation.
"Call of the Open Road"
"Wide Open Spaces" -- Imagine the grandeur of a road where you can see for miles.
"Purple Mountain Majesty" -- Inspired by Trail Ridge pass in Colorado.
"Morning Rush Hour" -- The joy of the daily commute into the city.
“The Expressway" -- Picture the Washington Beltway on any weekday at 8:00 AM !
"Gridlock" -- Suddenly all traffic stops. The clock tower you hear chiming in the distance tells you that you are late for work.
"Covered Bridges" -- Seek out 1 of America's treasured covered bridges & you are bound to find yourself on a picturesque 2-lane country road that takes you back to a simpler time.
"Our Favorite Road" -- This can be the road to the beach or to the mountains or just cruisin' on a sunny day with the top down !
The composer, a member of the City of Fairfax Band, hopes that this piece makes you want to pack up the car & see the U.S.A!  Tonight's performance is technically the unofficial world premier of the piece. The official world premiere will be in April 2010 at the Association Of Concert Bands convention in Plano TX.

--oOo--​
_Third Movement from Symphony No. 2 (Howard Hanson, 1896-1981)._ Howard Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, & ardent champion of American classical music. As director of the Eastman School Of Music for 40 years, he built a top quality conservatory & provided unmatched opportunities for commissioning & performing American music. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his _4th Symphony_ & received numerous other awards. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, its conductor Serge Koussevitzky commissioned Hanson's _Symphony No. 2 (“Romantic”),_ & conducted the premier performance November 28, 1930. This piece was to become Hanson's best known & most recorded work. With its unmistakable emotional content, it is also regarded as Hanson's most characteristic composition. Hanson himself commented, “The Symphony for me represents my escape from the rather bitter type of modern musical realism [that] occupies so large a place in contemporary thought. Much contemporary music seems to me to be showing a tendency to become entirely too cerebral. I do not believe that music is primarily a matter of the intellect, but rather a manifestation of the emotions. I have, therefore, aimed in this Symphony to create a work that was young in spirit, lyrical & romantic in temperament, & simple & direct in expression.” The concert band arrangement of the 3rd movement is by W. Francis McBeth, who studied composition with Howard Hanson at Eastman & who has appeared with the City Of Fairfax Band as guest conductor.

--oOo--​
_Concerto for Flute & Orchestra (Jacques Ibert, 1890-1962)._ Jacques François Antoine Ibert studied at the Paris Conservatoire & won the 1919 _Prix de Rome_ for his cantata _Le poète et la fée._ He became director of the French Academy in Rome in 1937, & from 1955 to 1957 he directed the Paris Opéra-Comique. Ibert's music is light in texture, often witty, colorfully orchestrated & full of attractive melodies. Ibert composed for virtually every musical classical genre, including 7 operas, 6 symphonic works, 5 ballets, and 3 choral works, plus scores of incidental pieces, songs, concertos, & film scores. He specially favored woodwinds, composing a number of works for wind ensembles, including a concerto for oboe, concerto for cello & winds, & chamber works for wind ensembles. His _Flute Concerto_ is now a standard in the flute repertory. Ibert's music displays its own distinctive personality, which by design does not follow any particular school or musical style of his era while remaining throughly French in its humor, whimsy, & lightness. The concert band arrangement of Movement III of Ibert's _Flute Concerto_ was arranged by Al “Corky” Fabrizio & dedicated to Rita George Simmons.





Jessie Nucho
-- hotlinked -- ​
_NOTE*:*  Jessie Nucho of McLean High School, McLean VA, will perform the 3rd Movement of the Ibert_ Concerto For Flute _with the City of Fairfax Band on Saturday, April 18, 2009.  Jessie is the 2009 scholarship winner of the City Of Fairfax Band's annual_ Young Artists Competition.  



--oOo--​
_Canzona Duodecimi Toni (Giovanni Gabrieli, 1556-1612)._ Giovanni Gabrieli was a prolific composer of High Renaissance music in Venice, where he was organist at St. Mark's Cathedral for 20 years. Well known for his choral works, he was one of the 1st to orchestrate instrumental music, & his polychordal compositions are popular among brass instrumentalists & ensembles right up to the present. When church music 1st employed brass instruments during the late 16th century, the fanfare-like qualities of the early brasses were joined with the _cori spezzati_ (broken choruses) style of the Venetian school of composition. With 2 or more “choirs” of instruments performing together while placed apart in separate galleries of a chapel, the imitative style of the music was enhanced by the spatial separation of the different groups. Such instrumental techniques led to the elaborate antiphonal sonatas & canzonas by Andrea Gabrieli (1520-1596) & his nephew Giovanni Gabrieli. _Canzona Duodecimi Toni_ is an example of the Venetian polychordal style as applied to brass instruments. The onset of the Gabrielis & others represents possibly the greatest architectural influence on music & marks the beginning of the acceptance of brass instruments into the sphere of art music. Their use with ceremonial and church music also laid the foundation for the rich outpouring of brass composition that continues today. _(Note adapted from liner notes of _Tower Music,_ 1992 compact disc recording by the United States Air Force Ceremonial Brass, Captain Robert A. Pouliot conducting.)_

--xXx--​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## rhonda

T_R_Oglodyte said:


> I shared this with Alan, but I guess I'll put it up here.  Here's a link to our church choir performing a superb arrangement of _Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing_.


Wow - absolutely beautiful!  Thanks for posting this!


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## EAM

EAM said:


> The music that is most likely to bring on an emotional response is music associated with one of life's major transitions: birth, the transition from childhood to adulthood, marriage, and loss of a loved one (by whatever means).
> 
> At this point in my life, as the mother of a teenager, the music connected with the transition from childhood to adulthood seems most touching, e.g. Pomp and Circumstance, and the Kingston Trio's song that starts "Where are you going, my little one, little one, where are you going, my baby, my own?"



And the one that now brings a smile to my face is "Plant a Radish" from The Fantasticks.  It is also about children growing up, but with humor.


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## AwayWeGo

*Recording Marches & Processionals.*

Fairfax Band has a recording session coming up June 5-6.  The maestro has selected a number of marches & processionals for the session, including *. . .* 

_The Chimes Of Liberty (Edwin Franko Goldman) 
Washington Grays March (Claudio Grafulla) 
The Pelican Pushers March (Jerry Brubaker) 
Rakoczy (Hungarian March from Damnation Of Faust) (Hector Berlioz) 
Army Of The Nile (Quick March) (Kenneth Alford) 
Elsa's Procession To The Cathedral (from Lohengrin) (Richard Wagner) 
The City Of Fairfax March (Virginia Wayland) 
Crown Imperial (Coronation March, 1937) (William Walton) 
His Honor (Henry Fillmore) 
American Patrol (F.W. Meacham) 
Marche Des Parachutistes Belges (Pierre Leemans) 
March & Procession Of Bacchus (Leo Delibes) 
Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine (John Philip Sousa) 
Children's March "Over The Hills & Far Away" (Percy Grainger) 
March From "1941" (John Williams) 
Procession Of Nobles (from "Mlada") (Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov) 
Toccata Marziale (Ralph Vaughn Williams) 
Kitty Hawk (John Cheetham) 
March From Symphonic Metamorphosis Of Themes By Carl Maria Von Weber (Paul Hindemith) 
The Chimes Of Liberty (Edwin Franko Goldman)_​
I had been thinking about going to my 45th anniversary college class reunion that weekend, but I canceled plans for that when the maestro scheduled the recording session.  I can picture myself bored out of my skull hanging out with a bunch of old guys down in Charlottesville VA, thinking to myself that instead of being there I could have been up in Fairfax playing tunes with my band friends.  So the reunion is _out_ & the recording session is _in._ 

Is this a great country or what ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Hey, Mr. Tambourine Man.*

At today's Fairfax Band recording session, we had 9 horn players covering 4 horns parts -- i.e., 2 players on a stand plus a fresh set of chops waiting in the wings.  That enabled us to swap players around on various parts & to let players sit out in rotation to prevent face fatigue during the day-long session.  

I took myself off stage for Sousa's _Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine._ But as I was heading out to the auditorium seats while everybody else got set to record _Nobles,_ the maestro sent me back to the percussion section instead to help out with the "Turkish" instruments -- tambourine or triangle.  I got tambourine.  A clarinet player got the triangle. 

"Turkish" instruments mean cymbals, tambourines, triangles, etc., that produce various exotic clangy-zangy sounds.  The granddaddy of all "Turkish" instruments is the _Jingling Johnny_, also known as Turkish crescent. 

Sousa may well have had the sound of the Jingling Johnny in mind for _Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine._  But today Fairfax Band had to make do with tambourine & triangle, shaken & jangled in furious fashion during the appropriate places in the march tune. 

It's not like I have never played percussion before.  During the entire summer of 1966, I was the regular cymbal player of the 75th Army Band (Ft. Belvoir VA) during all marching appearances.  I was a PFC (E-3) at the time.  Besides zinging the cymbals together at the right time & not zinging them at the wrong time, I also was responsible for keeping the cymbals gleaming bright via frequent vigorous applications of Brasso & elbow grease.  The percussion section leader was also the band First Sergeant (E-8), so I paid meticulous attention to every detail of the job.  At other than marching appearances, I played horn (same as now). 

But playing tambourine today was a new experience -- actually _playing_ a real percussion-instrument tambourine, I mean, in a real concert band performance, not just clowning around with some lame toy tambourine.  

There's a 1st time for everything, eh ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*In The Can.*

The June 5-6 Fairfax Band recording session was a big success.  Plus, it was lots of fun.  I'm glad I blew off my schedule-conflicting college 45th anniversary class reunion in order to play the sessions instead.  

The master tapes are now awaiting expert digital editing & mastering by the maestro, who as it happens also has expertise in that area.  Most of the marches & processionals on the maestro's list of possibilities for the recording session are in the can, to wit*:*

_The Chimes Of Liberty (Edwin Franko Goldman) 
Washington Grays March (Claudio Grafulla) 
The Pelican Pushers March (Jerry Brubaker) 
Army Of The Nile (Quick March) (Kenneth Alford) 
The City Of Fairfax Band March (Samuel Laudenslager Sr.) 
American Patrol (F.W. Meacham) 
Marche Des Parachutistes Belges (Pierre Leemans) 
March & Procession Of Bacchus (Leo Delibes) 
Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine (John Philip Sousa) 
March From "1941" (John Williams) 
Procession Of Nobles (from "Mlada") (Nicholas Rimsky-Korsakov) 
Toccata Marziale (Ralph Vaughn Williams) 
Kitty Hawk (John Cheetham) 
The Chimes Of Liberty (Edwin Franko Goldman)​_
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*What You Missed June 12, 2009, At Lake Acotink Park, Springfield VA.*

Welcome to this evening's performance by the City of Fairfax Band, an all-volunteer community musical ensemble now completing its 39th performing season & getting ready to mark its 40th straight year of continuing musical performance in & around Northern Virginia.  

Tonight, under the baton of Associate Conductor Rick Parrell, the City Of Fairfax Band presents a lively & varied program of musical selections all linked together by their connection to the world of Hollywood & the movies.  Ever since the silent screen gave way to the talkies, music has been as big a part of the moviegoing experience as the words & the costume & the action & the special effects, & much Hollywood music has gone on to equally great success on record & in concert even beyond its supporting role in the movies it was written for. 

Our opening selection originated a long way from Hollywood.  It is by a British composer, Eric Coates, who wrote the piece for a 1955 English war movie about daring R.A.F bombing missions against German dams in the Ruhr Valley during World War II.  Although declining the job of composing a soundtrack score for the entire film, Eric Coates agreed to write a march to serve as the main title piece, & that march has remained popular in Britain & around the world.  The title of the film -- & the title of the march -- is _The Dam Busters,_ by Eric Coates. 

_Paint Your Wagon_ is a 1951 Broadway musical comedy, with book & lyrics by Alan J. Lerner & music by Frederick Loewe, set in a mining camp in Gold Rush-era California. The setting was the same but the story line was revised somewhat for the 1969 movie version of _Paint Your Wagon,_ starring Clint Eastwood & Lee Marvin, who both did their own singing. Notable tunes from the show are “I Talk to the Trees,” I'm On My Way,” “There's A Coach Comin' In,” “A Million Miles Away Behind the Door,” & “They Call the Wind Mariah.” Here is the _Symphonic Scenario for Concert Band From Paint Your Wagon,_ arranged by John Cacavas.

Howard Hanson, born in Wahoo, Nebraska, in 1896, became director of the Eastman School Of Music at the University of Rochester, & served 40 years in that capacity while also composing some of America's most enduring symphonic music.  Excerpts from Howard Hanson's Symphony  No. 2 -- the _Romantic Symphony_ -- were used to accompany several exterior sequences & the end credits in the original 1979 release of the movie _Alien._ But you had to catch that movie in the theaters to hear the excerpts, because for some reason they were not included in the DVD versions that came out later.  Tonight, you don't even have to watch the movie (which is way too scary anyway) to hear the final movement of the _Romantic Symphony._  Here is the finale from Howard Hanson's _Symphony No. 2, the Romantic Symphony._ 

No movie out of Hollywood has more musical staying power than _The Wizard of Oz,_ released in 1939, starring Judy Garland, Ray Bolger, Jack Haley, Bert Lahr, & Frank Morgan, with Billie Burke, Margaret Hamilton, Charles Grapewin, Clara Blandick, & the Singer Midgets as the Munchkins.   “We're Off to See the Wizard,” “If I Only Had a Brain,” “The Merry Old Land Of Oz,” Ding Dong! The Witch Is Dead,” & “Somewhere, Over the Rainbow” are all unforgettable, & all of those are from _The Wizard of Oz,_ & they are the songs up next in _The Wizard of Oz Fantasy,_ arranged for band by Paul Yoder. 

Next up is music by Michael Giacchino, educated at Julliard in music & film production.  His 1st major composition was for DreamWorks Studios for the video game adaptation of the 1997 movie _Jurassic Park, The Lost World: Jurassic Park._  That was the 1st PlayStation & Sega Saturn video game to be recorded with an original live orchestral score. Giacchino has since continued his relationship with DreamWorks, providing full orchestral scores for many of their popular videogames.  Since then he has gone on to work for Disney Pictures & Pixar Films, writing original soundtrack music for the 2004 computer-animated super hero film titled _The Incredibles._  As it happens, the next selection on our program is music from _The Incredibles,_ composed by Michael Giacchino & arranged for band by Jay Bocook. 

Our next selection is by Samuel Barber, originally part of a string quartet he wrote in 1938 that, because of its somber and reflective mood, has taken on a life of its own in many other forms, including versions for saxophone quartet, brass quintet, large brass ensemble, _a capella_ voices, woodwinds, & now also for concert band.  The piece is Barber's _Adagio for Strings,_ which made an indelible mark on the American consciousness after it was played repeatedly on the radio following announcement of the death of President Franklin Roosevelt in 1945.  Samuel Barber's _Adagio for Strings_ is heard on many film & TV soundtracks, including Oliver Stone's Oscar-winning film _Platoon,_ David Lynch's 1980 Oscar-nominated film _The Elephant Man,_ and Jean-Pierre Jeunet's Oscar-nominated 2001 film _Amélie._  Samuel Barber's _Adagio for Strings,_ arranged for concert band by Calvin Custer.

The series of movies featuring James Bond Double-Oh Seven is so long-running that a whole string of actors have portrayed the dashing Commander Bond since 1954, starting with Barry Nelson in a 1-hour Double-Oh Seven show in 1954, followed by Sean Connery & Roger Moore & Timothy Dalton & Pierce Brosnan & most recently Daniel Craig.  Besides romance & danger and action, the hallmarks of the James Bond movies are sultry ladies & lavish music, including the selections we are going to play next -- the "James Bond Theme," followed by "Live & Let Die," & concluding with "Goldfinger" -- the _James Bond Suite._ 

In 1982 Stephen Spielberg charmed America and the world with his movie about a friendly extra-terrestrial being who is stranded on planet earth & has several exciting adventures with the children who discover him, plus some exciting narrow escapes before E.T reunites with his space ship so he can return home.  Original soundtrack music by John Williams helped make _E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial_ a special & spectacularly successful movie.  Here is a composition of music from the film _E.T.,_ titled _Adventures On Earth,_ composed by John Williams & arranged for concert band by Paul Lavender. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Jy-Normous Saxophone.*





-- hotlinked --​
Click here & then click on the MP3 links to hear the wondrous sound of this enormous instrument. 

Hard to imagine how such an ungainly piece of hardware can play with such agility. 

Who'd a-thunk ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Last Chances This Season To Hear City Of Fairfax Band.*

OK, folks.  This is it -- the _Grand Finale_ of the 2008-2009 concert season of Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band.

You have 3 chances to catch the (free) show *. . .* 

*●*  8PM Thursday, July 30, Veterans Amphitheatre (City Hall), Fairfax, VA 

*●*  7*:*30 PM Friday, July 31, boardwalk bandstand, Bethany Beach, Delaware 

*●*  8 PM Saturday, August 1,  boardwalk bandstand, Rehoboth Beach, Delaware.​
If you're able to be there -- & I hope you will -- come on up & say _Hi_ after the show. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Is Jazz Music Dying ?*

Click here for a thought-provoking article on the subject. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Industrial-Strength Flutes.*

Check out the various king-size bass & contrabass flutes deployed by The Columbia Flute Choir. 





-- hotlinked --​
Arrayed in there among the regular flutes & the piccolos, etc., are some major serious low-range flutes.  The 1 with the triangular section near the top, at the right edge of the picture, is the only stand-up flute I've ever seen.  

Click here for an interactive close-range picture of the small & medium & large & extra-large & jumbo flutes, with links to sound samples of all the different sizes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Rose Pink

Wow, I didn't even know flutes came in all those sizes!


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## AwayWeGo

*The Sound Of The Flute.*




Rose Pink said:


> Wow, I didn't even know flutes came in all those sizes!


A long time ago in the funny papers, a 3-panel episode in the daily Funky Winkerbean strip featured the high school band in formation.  

The uniformed bandmaster, cap pulled low hiding his eyes as always, was out in front.  

In the 1st panel, huge capital letters indicated a resounding _BOOM BOOM BOOM !_ coming from somewhere in the band. 

In the middle panel the band director says, _"No, no -- you're not getting the proper sound ! "_

In the 3rd panel, the band director says, _"That's no way to play a flute ! "_ 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*The Sound Of The Extra-Large Flute.*




Rose Pink said:


> I didn't even know flutes came in all those sizes!


Click here for U-Tube video of a guy playing a jazzy improvisational solo (with overdubbing & effects) on 1 of those super-humongous flutes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*They Came For Freedom.*

The Fairfax Band 2009-2010 season-opener is set for 8PM on Saturday, October 24, 2009, in the Fairfax High School auditorium, Fairfax VA.  

The concert theme for the opener is _They Came For Freedom_ -- celebrating the contributions to American culture by immigrant composers, many coming to America to escape tyranny & oppression.  The program includes music written for stage, screen, concert hall, and circus ring.  Tickets are on sale now. 

Here is descriptive information about selections on the program *. . .* 

_Naughty Marietta Overture_ (Victor Herbert, 1859-1924). Set in 1870 New Orleans, _Naughty Marietta_ tells in song & dance the story of Captain Richard Warrington's campaign to unmask & capture the notorious French pirate known as _Bras Pique,_ with the help & hindrance of Contessa Marietta, a high-spirited runaway. The score includes well-known songs like "I'm Falling In Love With Someone" & “Ah, Sweet Mystery of Life.” After opening on Broadway November 7, 1910, _Naughty Marietta_ played 136 performances at the New York Theatre. It had a revival in 1929 at Al Jolson's 59th Street Theatre & was revived again in 1931 at Erlanger's Theatre, New York. _Naughty Marietta_ was Victor Herbert's greatest success. A film version of _Naughty Marietta_ was released by MGM in 1935 starring Jeanette MacDonald & Nelson Eddy. The concert band transcription of the overture is by F. Campbell-Watson.

_Irish Tune From County Derry_ (Percy Grainger, 1882-1961). After an eccentric & creatively misunderstood life, George Percy Aldrige Grainger -- Australian-born American composer, conductor, pianist, author, teacher, army bandsman, & folk-song collector -- died in 1961 at the age of 79 in White Plains, New York. Aside from his wonderful tunes, there are some memorable stories that capture a sense of his personality. At a concert he conducted at Hollywood Bowl, he performed a piano concerto & premiered a new work on the 1st half, got married before the audience of thousands during intermission, then got back on the podium & conducted the 2nd half. One time in Wisconsin he was mistakenly arrested for vagrancy & had to be bailed out of jail in time to perform as guest artist at a local concert. But mainly there is the rich legacy of Grainger's music, including what many consider his masterpiece of harmonization, the _Irish Tune From County Derry._ According to Frederick Fennell (1914-2004), an authority on Grainger and his music, Grainger harmonized _Irish Tune From County Derry_ in memory of his Irish childhood friends in Australia, & wrote a number of versions for various combinations of instruments. Grainger's _Irish Tune From County Derry_ is regarded round the world as a concert band classic. The City Of Fairfax Band's June 14, 1996, performance of the piece in New Orleans for the National Band Association Convention was issued on digital compact disk recording.

_Circus Polka: For a Young Elephant_ (Igor Stravinsky, 1882-1971). _Circus Polka_ was originally choreographed by George Balanchine for circus elephants, on commission from the Ringling Bros., Barnum & Bailey Circus. Some months after he got the ballet commission, Balanchine called his old friend Igor Stravinsky.
Balanchine: I wonder if you'd like to do a little ballet with me.
Stravinsky: What kind of music ?
Balanchine: A polka.
Stravinsky: For whom ?
Balanchine: For some elephants.
Stravinsky: How old ?
Balanchine: Very young.
Stravinsky: All right. If they are very young elephants, I will do it.
And he did. The piano score's dedication reads: "For a young elephant." Balanchine choreographed _Circus Polka_ for 50 elephants & 50 human dancers, with his wife Vera Zorina as principal ballerina. By then, Stravinsky was no longer involved, so David Raskin arranged the piano piece for organ & for concert band. The elephants, including the bulls, were dressed up in pink ballet tutus. The show, advertised as a "choreographic _Tour de Force,”_ premiered April 9, 1942, at Madison Square Garden. Ringling Bros. staged the ballet 42 more times. Stravinsky never attended any of the elephant shows, but he did rearrange _Circus Polka_ for orchestra. It was premiered by the Boston Symphony Orchestra in January 1944 with Stravinsky himself on the podium.

_A Tribute to Kurt Weill_ (1900-1950), arranged by Jerry Brubaker. Kurt Weill, son of a cantor, grew up in Dessau, Germany, & studied music there & in Berlin. He kept busy as a composer, conductor, teacher, & music critic before starting to compose music for the stage. Weill's best known work is _The Threepenny Opera_ (1928), a reworking of John Gay's _Beggar's Opera_ written in collaboration with Bertolt Brecht. Weill's successful collaboration with Brecht ended in 1930 over Brecht's Marxism. According to Weill's wife, Weill said the split with Brecht happened because Weill found himself unable to "set the communist party manifesto to music." When Hitler took power, Weill, a prominent & popular Jewish composer, became a target of Nazi authorities. With no option but to leave Germany, Weill went to Paris, where he worked once again with Brecht, & then to the United States. Weill & his wife, singer-actress Lotte Lenya, settled in New York City in 1935. Weill became a naturalized U.S. citizen in 1943. Believing that most of his work had been destroyed in Germany, Weill seldom spoke or wrote German again, except for letters to his parents, who had escaped to Israel. Jerry Brubaker's _Tribute to Kurt Weill_ features the “Bilbao Song” (from the show _Happy End,_ 1929), the “Saga of Jenny” _(Lady In The Dark, 1941),_ "September Song” (_Knickerbocker Holiday, 1938),_ and “Mack The Knife” (_The Threepenny Opera, 1928)._

_March from Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber_ (Paul Hindemith, 1895-1963). Hindemith tried collaborating with a choreographer on a ballet based on music by Carl Maria von Weber. They eventually dropped the project over artistic differences -- Hindemith felt he was just being used as an arranger; the choreographer thought the music was too complex for dancing. Hindemith was able to save some of his musical ideas 3 years later, when he completed his _Symphonic Metamorphosis of Themes by Carl Maria von Weber_ (1943). The work was originally written for orchestra, but the composer believed that it should be available for band as well. Hindemith’s Yale colleague Keith Wilson transcribed the piece in 1961. The _March_ -- the 4th & concluding movement of the composition -- is based on a Weber piano duet. The 2-bar opening statement by the brass comes back in other forms throughout the piece. The woodwinds underscore the rich brass melodies with driving rhythm & articulation that take the movement to its finale. 

_Italian Rhapsody_ (Julie Giroux. 1961- ). While working toward her Bachelor of Music in Performance degree at Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge, Louisiana, Julie Giroux composed concert band works that were published by Southern Music Company. After graduation she went to Los Angeles & began doing television orchestrations for the _North & South_ mini-series. She was nominated for Emmy awards 3 times, & won the Emmy in 1992 for Outstanding Individual Achievement in Music Direction. Her TV-film orchestrations include music for _April Fool's Day, Dynasty, North & South I & II, The Karate Kid II, Broadcast News, Masters of the Universe, White Men Can't Jump,_ & _Blaze._ In 1997, Julie Giroux switched to full-time composing for concert bands & orchestras, moving to publisher Musica Propria. This year she performed as soloist on her own most recent composition, _Cordoba for Solo Piano & Concert Band._ Her _Italian Rhapsody_ is a creative blend of folk songs from Italy with a few excerpts from Italian opera, scored with Italian gusto. Melodic materials include "The Wedding Tarantella,” "Caderna," “Musetta’s Waltz” from _La Bohème,_ "Funiculi_!_ Funicula_!_," the Anvil Chorus from _Il Trovatore,_ & a portion of _The Barber of Seville._ Julie Giroux wrote the piece on commission from Arnaldo Domenico Antonio Gabriele, better known as Col. Arnald Gabriel (USAF, ret.), commander & conductor 1964-1985 of the United States Air Force Band, Washington DC. Col. Gabriel dedicated the commission to Ferdinando & Filomena Gabriele, his parents. 

_The Sea Wolf_ (Erich Korngold, 1897-1957), arranged by Jerry Brubaker. Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a child prodigy whose remarkable talent was noted by Gustav Mahler & Richard Strauss, among others. He wrote his 1st orchestral score at age 14, then began writing operas. His opera _Die tote Stadt_ became an international success in 1920. Korngold was just 23. Actor & director Max Reinhardt, with whom Korngold had collaborated on operas, asked the composer to come to Hollywood from Austria in 1934 to adapt Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for _A Midsummer's Night's Dream_ for Reinhardt's film version of the play. Over the next 4 years, Korngold became a pioneer in composing film scores that have been recognized ever since as classics of their kind. In 1938, Korngold was conducting opera in Austria when he was asked by Warner Bros. to come back to Hollywood & compose a score for their new (and very expensive) film, _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ (1938) starring Errol Flynn. Korngold agreed & returned to the U.S. by ship. Shortly after he arrived in California, the Nazis came to power & the condition of Jews in Austria became very perilous. Korngold later would say the film score of _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ saved his life. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for that film, & later received Oscar nominations for _The Private Lives of Elizabeth & Essex_ (1939) and _The Sea Hawk_ (1940). In 1943, Korngold became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He stopped writing original film scores after 1946. His final score at Warner Bros. was for _Deception_ (1946) starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, & Claude Rains. Despite his achievements & considerable popularity with the musical public, Korngold for years attracted almost no positive critical attention, but considerable critical disdain. That started changing in 1972, when RCA Victor released an LP titled _The Sea Hawk,_ featuring excerpts from Korngold's film scores performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra (in Britain), conducted by Charles Gerhardt & supervised by the composer's son George. More recently, new digital recordings of Korngold's film scores have been issued, as well as recordings of some of his concert works, especially his violin concerto & his symphony. Tonight's presentation of _The Sea Wolf,_ Jerry Brubaker's arrangement of music by Erich Korngold, is a world premiere performance. [Note adapted from material at Wikipedia.org]  

_Yiddish Dances_ (Adam Gorb, 1958- ). Adam Gorb was born in Cardiff, Wales, & started composing at age 10. His 1st work broadcast on British national radio was written when he was 15. He studied at Cambridge University (1977-1980) & the Royal Academy Of Music (1991-1993), where he graduated with highest honors including the Principal's Prize. He has been on the staff at the London College Of Music & Media, the junior academy of the Royal Academy Of Music &, since 2000, he has been the Head of School Of Composition at the Royal Northern College Of Music in Manchester. At his web site (adamgorb.co.uk), he writes: “Yiddish Dances, written for [hornist & conductor] Timothy Reynish's 60th birthday in 1998, is very much a party piece. It brings together 2 of my abiding passions: the Symphonic Wind Orchestra & Klezmer -- the folk music of the Yiddish-speaking people. The 5 movements are all based on set Klezmer dances:
_Khosidl_ -- A medium tempo 2/4 in which the music moves between satire, sentimentality, & pathos.
_Terkishe_ -- An up-tempo Jewish tango.
_Doina_ -- A free recitative in which various instruments in the band get a chance to show off.
_Hora_ -- Slow 3/8 time with a characteristic rocking rhythm.
_Freylachs_ -- Very fast 2/4 time recalling themes from the previous movements, ending in a riotous “booze-up” for all concerned." 

_My Fair Lady Selection For Concert Band_ (arr. Robert Russell Bennett, 1894-1981). Even though Richard Rodgers wanted Julie Andrews for the lead role in _Pipe Dream_ (which had the briefest run of any Rodgers & Hammerstein Broadway musical), Rodgers advised her instead to take the lead part, if it was offered to her, in the Frederick Loewe & Alan Jay Lerner musical _My Fair Lady._ Julie Andrews got the part & in 1956 she appeared in _My Fair Lady_ as Eliza Doolittle opposite Rex Harrison as Professor Henry Higgins. Julie Andrews was a fine singer & gained stardom worldwide as Liza Doolittle. Rex Harrison was a fine actor but not a singing star, & in many musical numbers on stage, he would actually say the song or speak along to the music instead of singing straight out. Together Rex Harrison & Julie Andrews made Broadway history, stars of a smash hit that set the record at that time for the longest run of any major musical theatre production. Two numbers from _My Fair Lady_ -- “On the Street Where You Live” & “I Could Have Danced All Night” -- became major stand-alone hits even apart from the show. The concert band selection includes both of those, plus “With A Little Bit Of Luck,” “I've Grown Accustomed To Her Face,” & “Wouldn't It be Loverly?” Robert Russell Bennet, who was the arranger for the original Broadway production, also arranged the concert band transcription.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Storm Of The Century Caused Cancellation Of Tomorrow's Fairfax Band Concert.*

We went through with dress rehearsal this evening even though everybody on stage knew the chance was slight that the performance could go on as scheduled tomorrow night. 

Plan B is to put on the same show 8PM next Wednesday, December 23, 2009. 

Not only that, the Cathedral Brass (in which I participate as an extra player when needed) is scheduled for 2 performances Sunday afternoon & evening of _The Glorious Sounds Of Christmas_ in Vienna VA. It's too soon to know whether the aftermath of the storm -- e.g, snow up to the window sills & ice up to the hubcaps, etc. -- will affect that performance schedule.  

Meanwhile, just in time for Christmas, the new Fairfax Band compact disc recording, titled _Marchfest!_, is now available for purchase.  (Click here for ordering information.) 

Tunes on the new CD are *. . .* 


_The Virginians_ (James Hosay)
_March Of The Belgian Parachutists_ (Pierre Leemans) 
_March & Procession Of Bacchus_ (Leo Delibes) 
_Chimes Of Liberty_ (Edwin Franko Goldman) 
_March From Symphonic Metamorphosis On Themes By Carl Maria von Weber_ (Paul Hindemith)
_Wings & Shield_ (Jerry Brubaker) 
_Kitty Hawk_ (John Cheetham) 
_Army Of The Nile_ (Kenneth Alford) 
_Toccata Marziale_ (Ralph Vaughn Williams) 
_Amparito Roca_ (Jaime Texidor) 
_Enrtry March Of The Boyars_ (Johan Halvorsen) 
_Washington Grays_ (Claudio Grafulla) 
_Procession Of The Nobles_ (Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov) 
_The City Of Fairfax Band March_ (Samuel Laudenslager, Sr.) 
_American Patrol_ (F.W. Meacham) 
_Zacatecas_ (Genaro Codina)  
_The March From 1941_ (John Williams) 
_Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine_ (John Philip Sousa) 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## riperoo

swift said:


> We went to our God daughters wedding this last summer. For the father/bride dance they played Butterfly Kisses. There wasn't a dry eye in the room. I about lost it! http://www.lyricsondemand.com/onehitwonders/butterflykisseslyrics.html



Butterfly Kisses by Bob Carlisle, that is the guaranteed one for me, I have it on my Ipod, and I can't even listen to it. Everytime I hear it, guaranteed I am blubbering like a little girl by about the mid way point. Broke down in an elevator once while it was playing on the PA. I am sure I made quite a site, 6' foot, 280 pounds, shaved head, long beard, stepping off the elevator sobbing!!! Had my head down to try and save a little dignity, but I am sure some heads were turning. 

There are definitely other songs that hit me, Ripple by the Dead is another one that makes me reflect, but Butter fly kisses if the only one that is Guaranteeed every time!!!


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## riperoo

Alan, great thread by the way, might have found some new music!


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## AwayWeGo

*Clean Sweep -- Sunday Performances Snowed Out, Too.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Not only that, the Cathedral Brass (in which I participate as an extra player when needed) is scheduled for 2 performances Sunday afternoon & evening of _The Glorious Sounds Of Christmas_ in Vienna VA. It's too soon to know whether the aftermath of the storm -- e.g, snow up to the window sills & ice up to the hubcaps, etc. -- will affect that performance schedule.


It keeps snowing harder & harder around here -- 2 feet or so stacked up outside already, with no let-up in sight.  

It's so bad that by noontime Saturday the plug had already been pulled on Sunday's _Glorious Sounds Of Christmas_ performances. 

No word yet on whether there will be a make-up date for that. 

So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## Rose Pink

*Susan Boyle*

I've been listening to her CD that just came out.  I cry.  I get goosebumps.  I am enjoying her voice very much.  When she sings, "I am who I was born to be" I get double goosebumps.  Absolutely beautiful.


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## AwayWeGo

*"American Treasures" -- The City Of Fairfax Band In Concert  February 20, 2010*

Date: February 20, 2010 
Time:  8PM
Place: Auditorium, Fairfax High School, Fairfax VA 
Tickets:  $13 (seniors $7)    Click here to order. 
-- Free Admission for students 18 & under --​
The music *. . .* 

_Canzona (Peter Mennin, 1923-1983)._ After study at Oberlin College Conservatory & the Eastman School Of Music, Peter Mennin won the 1st Gershwin Memorial Award in 1945 for his Symphony No. 2. He taught at Juilliard School Of Music (1947-58), became director of the Peabody Conservatory in Baltimore (1958-62), & was president at Juilliard (1962-83). In addition to 9 symphonies & some other orchestral pieces, Mennin wrote concertos for violin, cello, & piano. He also produced 2 string quartets, a piano sonata, & other chamber and keyboard pieces. His vocal compositions include the _Cantata de Virtute_ for narrator, soloists, chorus, & orchestra. He wrote just 1 short work for band, _Canzona_ (1951), which has become a classic of American concert band literature.

-- oOo --​
_Pavanne (Morton Gould, 1913-1996)._ While Gould was growing up during the depths of the Great Depression, he helped his family by taking jobs as a vaudeville pianist, accompanying a ballroom dance team & playing in a piano duo. While still in his teens, he performed as the house pianist for Radio City Music Hall’s opening in 1932. As a recording artist, Gould received 12 Grammy nominations & won a Grammy award in 1966. He received the Kennedy Center Award in 1994 & the Pulitzer Prize for music in 1995. For concert band, he wrote the _Ballad For Band_ (1946) and a _Mini-Suite For Band_ (1968), plus _Santa Fe Saga_ (1956) & _Jericho Rhapsody_ (1941). All Gould's music is full of novelty, cleverness, & creativity, tempered by an unerring showmanship. Gould’s most popular short piece, _Pavanne_ from his 2nd _American Symphonette_ (1939), was a major hit which caught on with the public just as the composer intended. Gould knew full well that _pavane_ (from the French, meaning a stately court dance) is spelled with just one N. He also knew that if he spelled it that way, disk jockeys all across American would pronounce it p_a-vain,_ so he used his own foolproof double-N spelling. The City Of Fairfax Band performed Gould's _Pavanne_ in New Orleans at the 1996 convention of the National Band Assocation, with Associate Conductor John Mauro directing.

-- oOo --​
_Catfish Row (George Gershwin, 1898-1937)._ Originally titled S_uite from Porgy & Bess,_ the suite _Catfish Row_ is an orchestral work by George Gershwin based on music from his opera _Porgy & Bess_ (1935). Gershwin completed the suite in January 1936. It premiered at the Academy Of Music in Philadelphia on January 21, 1936, with Alexander Smallens conducting the Philadelphia Orchestra. Gershwin divided his work into 5 sections: (1) The “Introduction” contains "Jazzbo Brown's Piano Blues," which was cut from the opera until 1976 (a discordant development of the overture theme), plus the 1st iteration of "Summertime" with a short coda. (2) “Porgy Sings” contains 2 of Porgy's arias: "I Got Plenty o' Nuttin'" & "Bess, You Is My Woman Now." (3) “Fugue” contains the dark music from the murder of Crown in Act III scene 1 of the opera. (4) “Hurricane” features the music from the _Porgy & Bess_ hurricane sequence. (5) “Good Morning, Brother” contains much of the cut material from the end of the opera, as well as the final song, "Oh, Lawd, I'm on My Way." The suite was arranged for wind ensemble by Donald Hunsburger. [Note adapted from Wikipedia.org .]

-- oOo --​
_The Black Horse Troop (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932)._ In 1925, John Philip Sousa wrote 1 of his best marches, a regimental march of classic content & proportions. According to Frederick Fennell (1914-2004), Sousa wrote _The Black Horse Troop_ for Troop A, a famous unit of Cleveland horsemen, a magnificent mounted unit of the most beautiful black animals ever ridden by humans. Fennell, who grew up in Cleveland, said that he saw Troop A riding many times during his youth, including their performance at a concert by the Sousa Band which Frederick Fennell’s father took him to when Sousa played the march for the 1st time. Fennell recounts that Sousa was a devoted horseman himself, & owned a beautiful black Arabian mount named Aladdin which threw him once, injuring Sousa’s shoulder & causing him to adopt a conducting style in which he moved his arm from the elbow rather than from the shoulder. Again according to Frederick Fennell, much more than Sousa’s talent for writing marches is on display in _The Black Horse Troop,_ & that is his love for horses, which surely must have helped make this 1 of the March King's finest marches.

-- oOo --​
_Psalm For Band (Vincent Persichetti (1915-1987)._ Vincent Persichetti established himself as a leading figure in contemporary music. He was a virtuoso keyboard performer, scholar, author, & energetic teacher. To his credit are more than 80 compositions, including major works in almost every genre. Dr. Persichetti was graduated from Combs College, Philadelphia Conservatory, & Curtis Institute. He was head of the composition department of the Philadelphia Conservatory (1942-62) & joined the faculty of the Juilliard School Of Music in 1947. The influence of his musical mind is widely felt, thanks to his expert teaching & his book on harmonic practices of the 20th century. _Psalm For Band_ was commissioned by the Pi Kappa Omicron music fraternity at the University Of Louisville & premiered on May 2, 1952. It was Persichetti’s 2nd composition for band, following his _Divertimento_ written in 1950. The composer provided the following program note: “_Psalm For Band_ is a piece constructed from a single germinating harmonic idea. There are 3 distinct sections -- a sustained chordal mood, a forward moving chorale, followed by a Paean culmination of the materials. Extensive use is made of separate choirs of instruments supported by thematic rhythms in the tenor & bass drums. [Note courtesy of the Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos Hills, California, www.windband.org/foothill/ .]

-- oOo --​
_South Pacific Symphonic Scenario (music by Richard Rodgers, 1901-1979)._ South Pacific was a long-running Broadway musical by Richard Rodgers & Oscar Hammerstein that won the Pulitzer Prize in 1950. The original Broadway production, starring Mary Martin as Nellie Forbush & Ezio Pinza as Emille De Becque, was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won all of them, including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Libretto. It was the only musical production ever to win all 4 Tony Awards for acting. Between them, Rodgers & Hammerstein were responsible for a revolution on Broadway, so much so that the American musical became more important than serious drama. Of Rodgers's music, his partner Oscar Hammerstein said, "Each melody adheres to the purpose for which it was put into a play. It is romantic, funny, or sad according to the situation for which it was written & the character required to sing it." Even after South Pacific's 1st run on Broadway ended in 1954, the show kept playing in several foreign & domestic touring productions & numerous revivals, including a new Broadway production that opened April 3, 2008. That show won 7 Tony awards, including special recognition for Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981) for "his historic contribution to American musical theatre in the field of orchestrations.” The 1958 Hollywood movie version, starring Mitzi Gaynor as Nellie & Rossano Brazzi as Emille, did big box office, & the songs from _South Pacific_ continue to be heard in concert halls & band shells all over the country. Robert Russell Bennet's _South Pacific Symphonic Scenario_ for orchestra was adapted for concert band by R. Mark Rogers.

-- oOo --​
_Third Movement from Symphony No. 2 (Howard Hanson, 1896-1981)._ Howard Hanson was an American composer, conductor, educator, music theorist, & ardent champion of American classical music. As director of the Eastman School Of Music for 40 years, he built a top-quality conservatory & provided unmatched opportunities for commissioning & performing American music. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his 4th Symphony & received numerous other awards. To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the Boston Symphony Orchestra, its conductor Serge Koussevitzky commissioned Hanson's _Symphony No. 2 (“Romantic”),_ & conducted the premier performance November 28, 1930. This piece was to become Hanson's best known & most recorded work. With its unmistakable emotional content, it is also regarded as Hanson's most characteristic composition. Hanson himself commented, “The _Symphony_ for me represents my escape from the rather bitter type of modern musical realism [that] occupies so large a place in contemporary thought. Much contemporary music seems to me to be showing a tendency to become entirely too cerebral. I do not believe that music is primarily a matter of the intellect, but rather a manifestation of the emotions. I have, therefore, aimed in this Symphony to create a work that was young in spirit, lyrical & romantic in temperament, & simple & direct in expression.” The concert band arrangement of the 3rd movement is by W. Francis McBeth, who studied composition with Howard Hanson at Eastman & who has appeared with the City Of Fairfax Band as guest conductor.

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Music Hath Charms To Sooth The Savage Breast.*

Click here for 1 example. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Rose Pink

Was that you, Alan?  I am not sure if that beast was soothed or agitated.  Hard to tell.


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## AwayWeGo

*You Calling Me A Donkey ?*




Rose Pink said:


> Was that you, Alan?  I am not sure if that beast was soothed or agitated.


Shux, the donkey was having so much fun that he joined right in with the music. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*The Sound Of Beethoven's Piano. Also Mozart's & Schubert's & Brahms's & Debussy's.*

Click here for an on-line article about  the Frederick Historic Piano Collection, Ashburnham, Massachusetts. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## rosebud5

Yeah, I get choked up when I hear "Paradise by the Dashboard Light" by Meatloaf. Reminds me of my younger years.


----------



## ScoopKona

I know that this is Alan's thread, but I thought I'd drop my favorite song in and see what you think:

Duke Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," performed by Joe Jackson. Great freakin' arrangement. I saw him play this song live in Vegas, in a room with better acoustics than this video.

If you're a fan of the very, very old school, enjoy:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiDmHRBwOtQ&feature=related


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## AwayWeGo

*Everybody's TUG-BBS Thread.*




ScoopLV said:


> I know that this is Alan's thread, but I thought I'd drop my favorite song in and see what you think:
> 
> Duke Ellington's "Don't Get Around Much Anymore," performed by Joe Jackson. Great freakin' arrangement. I saw him play this song live in Vegas, in a room with better acoustics than this video.
> 
> If you're a fan of the very, very old school, enjoy:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iiDmHRBwOtQ&feature=related


Great tune.  Great performer. 

BTW, the Potomac Brass Quintet (Of Virginia) has that tune in the play book -- an arrangement by Paul Chauvin of Brasswagon Music featuring horn on lead. 

And, shux, even though I got the ball rolling on this particular TUG-BBS discussion topic, I can't think of it as "mine."  Participants welcome.  The more the merrier. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Fairfax Band 40th Anniversary News Story.*

Click here to read all about it. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Prepare To Be Blown Away.*

Over the years I have heard plenty of daring, virtuoso horn playing, none more than in these performances. Makes the hair on my arms stand up.

Click here, then click on any of the sound samples.  Shux, click on all of'm. 

Amazing playing -- would be even on state-of-art modern horns & just all the more so on those oddball Vienna horns.

Be sure to scroll down to the embedded U-Tube video so you can get a good look at those oddball horns in action. 

Irreverent extraneous thought: Do you suppose John Williams listened to Korngold's "Kings Row" before writing "Star Wars" ? 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## NWL

AwayWeGo said:


> Click here to read all about it.
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



Very nice article!  I'll be visiting my parents in Fairfax in May.   Wish I could stay for the big gala on June 5th.  Don't forget to post a summary!

Cheers!


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## AwayWeGo

*Spotlight On Women In The Arts -- The City Of Fairfax Band In Concert April 17, 2010.*

Date: April 17, 2010 
Time: 8PM
Place: Auditorium, Fairfax High School, Fairfax VA 
Tickets: $13 (seniors $7) Click here to order. 
-- Free Admission for students 18 & under --

Guest Conductor:  Capt. Michelle Rakers, USMC
Associate Conductor, United States Marine Band ("The President's Own")
Washington DC​
The music *. . .* 

_Morceau de concert_, in F minor, Op. 94 (Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835-1921). Saint-Saëns was 1 of the great child prodigies in the history of music. He began playing piano while still an infant, & at age 5 performed the piano part of a Beethoven sonata with a professional violinist. He began writing music at age 6 & completed his 1st symphony by age 15. Saint-Saëns was a versatile & prolific composer, conductor, & pianist, as well as the author of 11 books on music, plus collections of poetry & scientific studies in astronomy & archeology. As he matured, he chose to compose in the lyric forms of the Germanic tradition, rather than taking the more modern direction of his younger French contemporaries Debussy & Ravel. According to the French art historian and dramatist, Romain Rolland, writing in 1915, Saint-Saëns “has a clarity of thought, an elegance & precision of expression, & a quality of mind that make his music noble.” The composer's greatest contribution to the musical life of his time was establishing the importance of instrumental composition in France, where opera had long been supreme. Saint-Saëns wrote a large number of short instrumental works like his engaging _Morceau de concert_ (“Concert Piece”) for horn, composed in 1887 during the middle of his career. It begins with a grandly dramatic musical gesture & a noble melody. Following it come 2 progressively livelier variations on the melody, then 2 sections of musical ideas distantly derived from it. The 2nd brief movement features a short cadenza-like passage in which the horn displays virtuoso pyrotechnics. Saint-Saëns dedicated this highly agreeable work to the horn virtuoso Henri Chaussier, winner of the 1st prize at the Paris Conservatory in the year of the work's composition. (Note adapted from CarnegieHall.org )   

--oOo--​
_Concertante for Alto Saxophone & Symphonic Band_ (Clare Grundman, 1913-1996). Clare Grundman earned his bachelor’s degree in 1934 from Ohio State University. He taught instrumental music in Ohio & Kentucky public schools before returning to Ohio State in 1936 to earn a master’s degree while teaching orchestration & woodwinds. At the Berkshire Music Center in New Lenox, Massachusetts, he studied under Paul Hindemith, whom he credited with providing him the practical techniques for composition. During WW2, Grundman served in the U.S. Coast Guard. He took a special interest in composing for school bands & has over 70 published band compositions to his credit. His arrangements brought the works of Leonard Bernstein & Aaron Copland to the band world. Grundman also provided scores & arrangements for radio, television, movies, & Broadway musicals. In addition to the _Concertante for Alto Saxophone & Symphonic Band_, some of his notable works include _Fantasy on American Sailing Songs_, _Tuba Rhapsody_, _Irish Rhapsody_ & his _American Folk Rhapsody_ in 4 movements. _Concertante_ makes the alto saxophone alternately principal & subordinate to the symphonic band which accompanies it. While the introduction possesses some of the rhapsodic themes typical of most of Grundman’s work, the composition is predominately a spirited interplay between the solo saxophone & the ensemble. The soloist launches packets of melody as the theme develops, while also having an opportunity to display technical talent in the cadenzas. Composed in 1973, the work is dedicated to alto saxophone soloist Dale Underwood & the U.S. Navy Band. (Note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Palo Alto, California.)

--oOo--​
_No Finer Calling_ (Julie Giroux, 1961- ). Julie Ann Giroux was born in 1961 in Fairhaven MA, & grew up in Phoenix AZ & Monroe LA. Her formal education is from Louisiana State University & Boston University. She studied composition with John Williams, Bill Conti, & Jerry Goldsmith, among others. Although an accomplished performer on piano & horn, her 1st love is composition. She began playing the piano at age 3 & published her 1st piece at age 10. In 1985, she began composing, orchestrating, & conducting music for television & films, & now has over 100 film & television credits. She won 3 Emmy Awards. _No Finer Calling_, a symphony in 3 movements, celebrates the 60th Anniversary of the United States Air Force (1947-2007). Each movement is based on 1 of the Air Force Core Values that set a common standard for conduct – I. Integrity First (fanfare, processional, & march); II. Service Before Self (echoes of _America, The Beautiful_), III. Excellence In All We Do (musical portrait of the Air Force in peace & war, culminating in the hymn, _A Military Prayer_).
_Lord, God, My Saving Grace. In Your Hands My Soul I Place,
Dear Lord, God Forgive My Sins, Please Let My Faith Not Falter
Lord, God. Please Grant Me Strength. Let Your Spirit Flow Through Mine.
Dear Lord, God. Let Wisdom Reign and Courage Guide My Journey.
Oh Lord, God. The King of Kings. Armor Born of Love Be Mine.
Dear Lord, God. When My Days End Let Heaven's Light Shine On Me._

--oOo--​
_The Slavonic Dances, A Symphonic Suite_ (Antonin Dvorak, 1841-1904), transcribed by Jim Curnow (1943- ). Dvorak left home at age 16 to avoid having to become a butcher. He entered Prague Organ School & graduated in 1862. He worked playing violin & viola in the Prague National Theater orchestra, & received encouragement as a composer from Liszt & Brahms. He wrote 9 symphonies and many other works for orchestra. Inspired by Brahms's Hungarian Dances, Dvorak originally wrote his 16 _Slavonic Dances_ for piano, 4 hands. They became such a success as piano pieces after their publication in 1878 that Dvorak did the full orchestration, & they are extremely popular in orchestral form to this day. Jim Curnow's symphonic suite of Slavonic Dances by Dvorak includes dances No. 1, No. 2, No. 8, No. 4, and No. 3.

--oOo--​
_Celebration Fanfare_ (Joan Tower, 1938 - ). Joan Tower was born in New Rochelle NY & grew up in South America. She took courses in composition & studied piano at Bennington College, receiving her B.A. In 1961. Continuing her studies at Columbia University, she earned her M.A. in 1964 & D.M.A. in 1978. She organized the DaCapo Players in 1969 & was their pianist when they won the Naumburg Award in 1973. In 1972, she began teaching at Bard College, NY, where she is still a professor. She has been recognized with a 1976 Guggenheim fellowship, NEA fellowships in 1974, 1975, 1980, & 1984, & an Academy and Institute of Arts & Letters award in 1983. The music for the ballet _Stepping Stones_ (1993) was commissioned by choreographer Kathryn Posin for the Milwaukee Ballet. Joan Tower's rhythmically & harmonically muscular score was developed in close collaboration with Posin’s choreography. Tower commented: “As a composer, I've always thought of myself as a closet choreographer. Texture, space, speed, direction – all the words that apply to dance, also apply to music.” Friend & fellow composer Jack Stamp suggested to Tower that the ballet's final movement, _Celebration Fanfare_, would transcribe well into an arrangement for wind band, not suspecting that she would give him the task. The rising tones of _Celebration Fanfare_ are fitting for the progressive stages of a woman’s development, which is the subject of the ballet. (Note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Palo Alto, California.)

--oOo--​
_Early Light_ (Carolyn Bremer, 1958- ). After training as an orchestral double bass player, Carolyn Bremer developed an interest in composition at age 24. She studied at the Eastman School of Music & CalArts, before receiving her Ph.D. in composition from the University of California, Santa Barbara. Bremer was Chair of Composition at the University of Oklahoma 1991-2000, where she directed the New Century Ensemble & the New Improv! Century Ensemble. She composes in a wide variety of genres, from electronic to music for chamber groups, band, & orchestra. Currently, Bremer is Professor & Area Director of Composition & Theory at California State University, Long Beach. _Early Light_ was written for the Oklahoma City Philharmonic & received its premier performance in July 1995. The material is largely derived from _The Star Spangled Banner_. One need not attribute an excess of patriotic fervor in the composer as a source for this optimistic homage to our national anthem; Carolyn Bremer, a passionate baseball fan since childhood, drew upon her feelings of happy anticipation at hearing the anthem played before ball games when writing _Early Light_. The slapstick heard near the end evokes the crack of the bat powering a long home run. (Note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Palo Alto, California.)

--oOo--​
_Midway March_ (John Williams, 1932- ). John Williams studied composition at UCLA & later attended Juilliard. In 1956, he started working as a session pianist in TV & film orchestras. He wrote the music and served as music director for over 70 films, including _Jaws_, _E.T_., _Star Wars_, _Superman_, _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, _Schindler’s List_, _Jurassic Park_, _Catch Me If You Can_, & _Memoirs of a Geisha_. John Williams won 2 Emmys, f5 Oscars, & 17 Grammy Awards, & earned several Gold & Platinum records. He has written many concert pieces & is also known for his Olympic themes & fanfares. John Williams served as conductor of the Boston Pops 1980-1995, succeeding Arthur Fiedler. _Midway March_ is from the 1976 Hollywood film _Midway_, which tells the story of the famous WW2 battle in the Pacific. The jaunty lilt of the piece comes from its compound meter (12/8), & throughout the work, there is a subtle suggestion of the Scottish highlands. The energetic concert march abounds with syncopation, & is full of colorful & consistently building intensity. (Note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Palo Alto, California.)

--oOo--​
_Kelly's Field_ (Jennifer Higdon, 1962- ). Program Note by the composer: _Kelly’s Field_ is a tribute to conductor Mark Kelly, my former band director & conducting teacher at Bowling Green State University. It was commissioned by Midwest in honor of a gentleman who has given so much in the fields of wind ensemble performance & music education, touching thousands of lives through many years of service. Thinking of what type of music would be appropriate to honor “Chief,” I felt that a tapestry of playful gestures & bold statements would most accurately reflect his knowledge and gifts that always become evident upon his ascending a podium. Some of my most vivid musical memories come from performing as a member of 1 of his various bands at Bowling Green, including a truly inspiring performance at Midwest. To this day, when I write music, I recall the thrill of the sound of an ensemble coming together to communicate through the power of music, & I aspire to climb to that level of excitement in the pieces that I write. Only a profound musician, such as he, can create such distinct memories in the minds & hearts of so many young musicians, striving to grow & growing to play, in a field that I distinctly consider . . . _Kelly’s Field_. This work was commissioned by the Midwest Band Clinic in 2006 & premiered at the festival in Chicago, Illinois, in December of that year.
--Jennifer Higdon​
--xXx--​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Passepartout

Alan, 
Your upcoming concert sounds like a real fine shindig. If we ever take the opportunity to visit the vicinity of the Nation's capitol, we can only hope the City of Fairfax Band is performing.


Paula is at rehearsal as I type. Somebody has to stay with the dog. The Spring Pops concert is coming April 30. This year is the 50th anniversary of our little Magic Valley Symphony Orchestra. 

50 years ago, a small group of thespians put on _Carousel_, and the pit orchestra morphed into today's symphony and the little group of thespians built a fine performing arts auditorium and has put on 1-or-2 shows a year ever since.

They will perform a full _Concert_ production of _Carousel_. No sets, minimal costumes, just orchestra, vocalists and chorus. The principals who performed 50 years ago are still active in the local arts scene, selected the leads for this concert, and will appear on stage.

Incidentally, Paula, my DW, is president of the symphony as well as principal horn player. For more info www.mvsymphony.org - Oh, she did the web page design, too.

Jim Ricks


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## AwayWeGo

*March of the Women Marines.*

_March of the Women Marines_ (Louis Saverino, 1915-2003). The official march of the U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve. Probably the most colorful of all the Women's Reserve units was the Marine Corps Women's Reserve Band formed in November 1943 by Captain William F. Santelmann & trained by members of the Marine Band. Prominent music schools & colleges were canvassed for candidates & talented enlisted women were auditioned to find the requisite 43 musicians. Director of the band was Master Sergeant Charlotte Plummer, formerly director of the Portland, Oregon, public school system band & member of the city's municipal band. The Camp Lejeune-based band gave concerts at Parris Island, Cherry Point, & Henderson Hall, & performed on national radio programs. It played at guard mounts, inspections, graduations, dances, & occasionally at the officers club. It may be best remembered for stirring performances at the weekly Saturday morning MCWR recruit depot reviews, marching to the rhythm of its own _March of the Women Marines_, written especially for it by Louis Saverino of the Marine Band. Saverino was a conductor, arranger, & performer on tuba, contrabass, & bass clarinet. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 1938 & joined the U.S. Marine Band (“The President's Own”) in 1939. In addition to writing _The March of the Women Marines_, Louis Saverino arranged the current official version of _Hail to the Chief_. According to the website Dead Rock Stars Club Dot Com, after Saverino retired from the Marine Band in 1963, he played standup bass in a jazz ensembles.

http://www.nps.gov/archive/wapa/indepth/extcontent/usmc/pcn-190-003129-00/sec16.htm 

http://www.thedeadrockstarsclub.com/2003.html 

http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Louis_Saverino 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_TgX9tZvtLY 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Free Concert Sunday Night By The Cathedral Brass, Vienna VA -- May 2, 2010.*

The selections *. . .* 

_Musica Mobilis_ (by James A. Beckel, Jr.)
_Quintet No. 3_ (by Victor Ewald) 
_Ballade, Pastorale & Dance_ (by Eric Ewazen) 
_Ita Missa Est_ (by Brian Balmages) 
_Amazing Grace_ (traditional, arr. Jari Villanueva) 
_The 1st Circle_ (by Pat Metheny & Lyle Mays, arr. Bob Curnow)​
Performance venue = Vienna Presbyterian Church, 124 Park Street NE, Vienna VA 22180

7PM -- Sunday, May 2, 2010

If any TUG people attend (& I hope you will), come on up afterward & say Hello.  (I'll be playing 3rd horn.)

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Ita Missa Est.*

For a recording, click here to go to the composer's web site, then scroll down.  

Links for flash audio of _Ita Missa Est_ are about halfway down the page -- 1st item under the heading _Chamber Music_. 

Outstanding brass ensemble music, & certainly appropriate for performance in church. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Bravo Broadway !*

Click here for information on TUG-BBS about Fairfax Band's Bravo Broadway! concert set for June 5, 2010, as a benefit fund raiser for the Alzheimer's Association. 

In addition to the big Broadway numbers, the performance features 3 major concert pieces *. . .*

_Festive Overture (Dimitri Shostakovich, 1906-1975)._  Shostakovich’s musical career was a roller-coaster with ups of universal acclaim & downs of official disgrace from Soviet authorities who tried to control his work out of concern for its political content rather than its musical substance. External pressures like that made it extremely difficult for Shostakovich to express himself musically in his own way, which tended to be inward-looking & dark. There is nothing gloomy about _Festive Overture_, however; it’s one of his most straight-ahead upbeat pieces.  It was written in 1954, shortly after the death of Stalin, the main source of the composer's artistic repression, & in the same year that Shostakovich was awarded an international peace prize. _Festive Overture_ is crafted very conventionally for a very large orchestra, & is highly popular in the "pops" repertoire. Shostakovich arranged _Festive Overture_ for the Russian Military Band in 1958. The piece is simply 6 minutes of sheer exuberance & fun, showcasing the composer’s talent for combining a sustained melodic line with pulsating rhythmic drive, truly a festive overture. The edition on tonight’s program was arranged for American band by Donald Hunsberger.    

-- oOo --​
_Variations on a Shaker Melody, Aaron Copland (1900-1990)_. Aaron Copland set America's soul to music. After studying with Rubin Goldmark & then, in 1921, with Nadia Boulanger in Paris, he returned to the USA in 1924 seeking a style “that could speak of universal things in a vernacular of American speech rhythms.” He seemed to know what to remove from the music of the European tradition, simplifying the chords & opening the melodic language, in order to speak in a fresh idiom. The strains of Copland's ballet & theater scores -- _Appalachian Spring_, _Billy The Kid_, & _Rodeo_ -- & his orchestral & recital repertory -- _El Salon Mexico_, _Lincoln Portrait_, _Fanfare For The Common Man_, & _Quiet City_ -- open visions of the beauty & grandeur of the composer's homeland & of its heroes & workers.  Aaron Copland was a great teacher, both to classes of composers at the Tanglewood Festival & to a broad spectrum of lay audiences. In his later years, after he became known as the “dean of American music,” he was often called upon to conduct & narrate his own works. Copland's set of 5 variations on the Shaker song _‘Tis the Gift to Be Simple_ was derived from the music Copland wrote for his ballet _Appalachian Spring_, produced in 1944 in collaboration with Martha Graham. The ballet features a bride & her young farmer husband at a springtime pioneer celebration around a newly built farmhouse. Elegantly & simply, the Shaker melody evokes a sense of the pioneer American spirit, full of youth, optimism, & hope. _(Note adapted from the Foothill Symphonic Winds, Palo Alto, California, windband.org )_ 

-- oOo --​
_The Shining City (Mark Camphouse, 1954- )_. Mark Camphouse got his formal musical training at Northwestern University & has taught at universities in Illinois, Minnesota, Oklahoma, & Virginia. He started young at composition; his _1st Symphony_ premiered when he was just 17. Several of his compositions have won band association awards. Camphouse has served as guest conductor, lecturer, & clinician in North America & Europe. He is Professor of Conducting & Composition in the Music Department of George Mason University's College of Visual & Performing Arts. On commission from the City Of Fairfax Band Association, Mark Camphouse wrote _Foundation_ (published 2007) in memory of Ray Abell, longtime member & president of the City Of Fairfax Band._ The Shining City_ interprets Ronald Reagan’s vision of America through music & narrated selections from speeches & letters by the 40th U.S. president. The piece has earned a place on the _USS Ronald Reagan_ & in the Reagan Presidential Library, Simi Valley, California. Nancy Reagan wrote a personal letter to Camphouse thanking him for the tribute to her husband. The Reagans listened to the composition together. The narration concludes with words from President Reagan's farewell letter to the American public, dated November 5, 1994:  
_My fellow Americans, I have recently been told that I am one of the millions of Americans who will be afflicted with Alzheimer's disease.
Upon learning this news, Nancy and I had to decide whether as private citizens we would keep this a private matter or whether we would make this news known in a public way. 
We feel it is important to share it with you. In opening our hearts, we hope this might promote greater awareness of this condition.
Unfortunately, as Alzheimer's disease progresses, the family often bears a heavy burden. I only wish there was some way I could spare Nancy from this painful experience. 
When the Lord calls me home, whenever that day may be, I will leave with the greatest love for this country of ours and eternal optimism for its future.
I now begin the journey that will lead me into the sunset of my life. I know that for America there will always be a bright dawn ahead...(bringing us ever closer to the shining city upon a hill).
Thank you, my friends. May God always bless you.​_
-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Less To This Than Meets The Eye, I Believe.  (Correlation Does Not Mean Causality.)*

A _Time_ magazine article reports that French horn playing is the No. 1 highest suicide-prone job in the U.S. Army.  

Click here to see for yourself. 

I never once felt like ending it all during the nearly 3 years I was a U.S. Army French horn player. 

It is possible that conditions have worsened since then, but somehow I doubt it. 

So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Rose Pink

That seems really odd about the suicide rate.

Okay, just read the short article.  Seems results are skewed due to lower numbers of people in certain jobs.


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## AwayWeGo

*Fright Night -- October 16, 2010.*

The City Of Fairfax Band opens its 41st concert season with a night of "spirited" entertainment including Bach’s _Toccata & Fugue in d minor_, Mussorgsky’s _Night on Bald Mountain_, and "Gollum" from Johan de Meij’s _Lord of the Rings Symphony_. Also, S_ymphonic Suite From Harry Potter & The Prisoner of Azkaban_, _Ghost Train_, _Deserted Ballroom_, and _The Nightmare Before Christmas_. Witches and goblins young & old are invited to dress up for the show in their most “boo-tiful” Halloween costumes. 

_Date & Time_:  Saturday, October 16, 2010, 8 pm

Place:  Fairfax High School 
3501 Rebel Run 
Fairfax, VA 22030

Click here to order tickets.​
Notes on the music *. . .* 

_A Night on Bald Mountain_, based on an ancient Russian legend, was composed in 1860 for a play titled _The Witch_. Bald Mountain, near Kiev, is the legendary gathering place of witches from all over Russia. One day each year, they come to celebrate a Black Mass. They dance insanely to gain Satan's favor. At the height of their frenzy, a church bell tolls the coming of the dawn and breaks the spell. A songbird welcomes the daybreak. From the valley shadowed by Bald Mountain, a song greets the sunrise. Good triumphs over evil. The sacred trumps the profane. This music, the first and only tone poem by Modeste Moussorgsky (1839-1881), entered the mass media in 1940 when it was featured in Walt Disney's animated feature _Fantasia_.

-- oOo --​
_Gollum, from Symphony No. 1, The Lord of the Rings (Johan de Meij, 1953 - )_. Well before the films based on J.R.R. Toklien’s fantasy-trilogy _The Lord of the Rings_ reached the big screen, the Dutch composer Johan de Meij retold the story musically in his _Symphony No. 1_. His creation won the Sudler International Wind Band Composition competition in 1989 on its way to becoming one of the world’s most popular works for winds & percussion. The symphony's 3rd movement is Gollum’s malicious yet pitiful lament over the theft of his cherished magic Ring, as the creature searches for his lost treasure.

-- oOo --​
In 1708, the 23-year-old Johann Sebastian Bach began a 7-year term as court organist in Weimar. It was the start of 1 of his most productive periods. Unlike the stiff, formal image suggested by painted portraits from Bach’s maturity, the young Bach was a fiery musician. He created wildly energetic music that showed off his formidable performing talent on the organ keys & pedals. From that period came Bach’s _Toccata & Fugue In D Mino_r, a piece full of barely restrained passion & power. (Remember, the organ is a wind instrument.) Closer to our time, the piece found a home in late-night horror movies. Its trademark opening has inspired loads of sound-alikes. Few can hear it without thinking of Frankenstein _and_ Dracula, at least for a moment.

-- oOo --​
_Ghost Train (Eric Whitacre, 1970 - )_. Eric Whitacre studied composition & choral conducting at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His Master's degree in composition is from Juilliard. He won the ASCAP Harold Arlen Award & the Richard Rodgers award, & received 10 Ovation Award nominations. He has received composition awards from the Barlow International Composition Competition, the American Choral Directors Association, & the American Composers Forum. In 2001, Eric Whitacre became the youngest recipient ever awarded the Raymond C. Brock commission by the American Choral Directors Association. _Ghost Train_ is the composer’s musical depiction of an imaginary supernatural machine that roars along the tracks at night through forgotten towns & empty canyons. The opening flute cadenza evokes the call of a distant train whistle before the train comes to life slowly & with effort, in a halting rhythm. The drums pick up the tempo as the great train rolls through the countryside. Written in 1993-94 as a composition project at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas, the work was dedicated to the UNLV Wind Symphony & premiered by that ensemble at the 1994 College Band Directors National Association regional convention in Reno.

-- oOo --​
_The Deserted Ballroom (Morton Gould, 1913-1996_). Summer is gone. The luxury resort is locked up tight for the season. Outside, the chilly winds of autumn swirl, a foretaste of winter. The ballroom is shuttered & deserted, dark now as a tomb. But is it _quiet_ as a tomb? Well, not just exactly. When nobody is around to see, the spooks & the spirits throw their own ghostly Halloween ball. What does it sound like when dancing goblins & gremlins kick up their heels? Morton Gould’s _Deserted Ballroom_ gives our imagination a pretty good idea.

-- oOo --​
_Selections From The Nightmare Before Christmas (Danny Elfman, 1953 - )_. Danny Elfman is best known for composing music for TV & movies, & for leading the rock band Oingo Boingo as singer/songwriter from 1976 until the band broke up in 1995. He is a frequent collaborator with long-time friend Tim Burton & has scored all but 2 of Burton's films. Danny Elfman was nominated for 4 Academy Awards & won a Grammy Award (for Tim Burton's _Batman_). Elfman won an Emmy for the _Desperate Housewives_ TV theme. Elfman is famous for creating _The Simpsons_ main title theme, & for his 1993 role as Jack Skellington's singing voice in _The Nightmare Before Christmas_. In 1985, Tim Burton & Paul Reubens invited Elfman to write the score for their 1st feature film,_ Pee-Wee's Big Adventure_. Elfman was apprehensive at 1st because of his lack of formal music training, but with orchestration assistance from Oingo Boingo guitarist & arranger Steve Bartek, he achieved his goal of emulating the mood of such composers as Nino Rota & Bernard Herrmann. Elfman described the 1st time he heard his music played by a full orchestra as 1 of the most thrilling experiences of his life. Selections from _The Nightmare Before Christmas_ were arranged for concert band by Michael Brown. (Program note adapted from wikipedia.org )

-- oOo --​
_Symphonic Suite From Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban (John Williams, 1932 - _). The Academy Award nominated score to the film _Harry Potter & The Prisoner Of Azkaban_ was composed & conducted by John Williams & released on CD on 25 May 2004. As with the Williams scores for the earlier _Harry Potter_ movies, the music for the 3rd film in the series features distinct medieval influences in the instrumentation. One of the new themes, "Double Trouble," was written during production so that a children's choir could perform it in Hogwarts's Great Hall in an early scene. There are brief quotes of themes from the earlier Harry Potter films, although most of the material in this Prisoner of Askaban score is new, including statements of "Double Trouble" and & several other entirely new themes. The symphonic suite for concert band was arranged by Victor Lopez. (Program note adapted from wikipedia.org )

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## ricoba

Here's a little ditty sung by Johnny Cash (written by Jack Clement) that I think is kind of cute, especially since I now attend a Methodist Church that had a touring folk group during the 1960's and early 70's.


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## AwayWeGo

*Free Concert Next Sunday Night By The Legacy Brass, Springfield VA -- Dec. 5, 2010.*




-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*A Jazzier Christmas.*




> Free Concert Next Sunday Night By The Legacy Brass, Springfield VA -- Dec. 5, 2010.



_Joy To The World 
Jingle Bells 
Away In A Manger 
Hark!  The Herald Angels Sing 
Sheep May Safely Graze 
The Christmas Song 
O Christmas Tree _

--- INTERMISSION --- 

_Feliz Navidad 
O Holy Night 
Santa Claus Is Coming To Town 
I'll Be Home For Christmas 
It Came Upon A Midnight Clear 
Ceremonial For Christmas Brass_​
All the tunes are familiar -- traditional & popular favorites -- but some of the arrangements are strictly non-traditional (e.g., Cajun zydeco version of _Jingle Bells_, bossa nova version of _O Holy Night_, jazz version of _Hark! The Herald Angels Sing_, etc.).  That's why the theme of the performance is _A Jazzier Christmas_.  

7PM -- December 5, 2010 
St. John's United Methodist Church
5312 Backlick Road
Springfield VA  22151​
If you attend the recital, be sure to come up after the show & say _Hi_. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## SueDonJ

Sounds great, Alan.     Wasn't it last year that you all had snow out the wazoo that caused cancellations of your holiday program?  If so, better luck this year.


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## AwayWeGo

*Snow Up To The Window Sills.  Ice Up To The Hubcaps.  (Last Year.)*




SueDonJ said:


> Wasn't it last year that you all had snow out the wazoo that caused cancellations of your holiday program?  If so, better luck this year.


Heavy snow wiped out last year's December concerts by both the City Of Fairfax Band & the Cathedral Brass (of Vienna VA).  

Fairfax Band is putting on this year the program that got snowed out last year -- all the same tunes & everything. 

The Cathedral Brass will be doing all different tunes from last year's Glorious Sounds Of Christmas event that was canceled because of heavy snow.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Uncle Alan On Fairfax Band Video.*

Click here for the Fairfax Band web site, where you can download a 15-minute WMV-format video about the history of the City Of Fairfax Band since 1969. 

Several on-screen band personalities are featured as commentators, including Tom Hill (Director Emeritus), Bob Pouliot (Music Director), Rick Parrell (Associate Conductor), Daria Parrell (Eb clarinetist), Jack Mauro (clarinetist & former Associate Conductor), & Uncle Alan (horn player).  

The producers did a nice job.  The video is shown on endless loop at the City Of Fairfax Museum & Visitor Center -- or you can download the WMV file & watch it in the privacy of your home on your own electric computer. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Glorious Sounds Of Christmas -- December 19, 2011 -- Vienna VA*

Click here for information about this year's Glorious Sounds Of Christmas presentation, featuring the Cathedral Brass of Vienna VA. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*The Program Is Still ON But Tonight's Rehearsal Is OFF.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Glorious Sounds Of Christmas -- December 19, 2011 -- Vienna VA


Snow up to the windowsills with ice up to the hubcaps has caused cancellation of tonight's Cathedral Brass rehearsal. 

Plan B is a final rehearsal early Sunday, before the scheduled 4PM early performance.  (Late performance starts 7PM Sunday.) 

_Full Disclosure*:*_  It's really only 2-3 inches of snow (so far), but that's enough to cause plenty of early school closures plus a number of activity cancellations -- & the snow is still coming down.  So it goes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*All Over But The Shouting For 2010.*

Last Saturday evening's Fairfax Band concert, with host singer-songwriter John Lyon & the Fairfax Choral Society, played to a capacity crowd & was a big success.  Santa Clause even put in an appearance & joining in with the audience & chorus for _The Ultimate Christmas Sing Along_.  

All the pews were full Sunday's afternoon & evening presentations of _The Glorious Sounds Of Christmas_ featuring The Cathedral Brass (of Vienna VA).  Both performances were uplifting & moving -- specially the numbers played on handbells by The Friendship Chimes, an ensemble of adults & teens with physical & mental disabilities, whose appearance was just about the most uplifting & moving of all.  

All that's left now is a private club performance tomorrow evening in Manassas VA by the Legacy Brass of Northern Virginia -- the same group that put on the _Jazzier Christmas_ recital on December 5, 2010.  

Merry Christmas & Happy New Year to everyone. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Movie Mania Concert Coming Up February 26, 2011, In Fairfax VA.*

_*Movie Mania*_ is the theme of the next City Of Fairfax Band concert coming up February 26, 2011, at the auditorium of Woodson High School in Fairfax VA.  (NOTE:  This is a change of venue.  Most Fairfax Band concerts are at Fairfax High School, just a few miles away.)  The show starts at 8PM.  Tickets are on sale now. 

Featured at the concert will be memorable Hollywood movie music *. . .* 

*Adventures On Earth (John Williams, 1932 - ).* John Williams studied composition at UCLA and later attended Juilliard. In 1956, he started working as a recording pianist in film and TV, including the groundbreaking 1958 _Peter Gunn_ soundtrack sessions with Henry Mancini.  (He was listed as “Johnny T. Williams” on the album credits.) Williams followed in Mancini's footsteps, becoming composer and music director for over 70 Hollywood films, including _Jaws_, _Star Wars_, _Superman_, _Raiders of the Lost Ark_, _Schindler’s List_, _Jurassic Park_, _Memoirs of a Geisha_, and more. Williams has received two Emmys, five Oscars, and 17 Grammy Awards, plus several gold and platinum records. From 1980 to 1993, Williams was conductor of the Boston Pops. He has written many concert pieces and is also known for the Olympic themes and fanfares he wrote for the 1984, 1988, and 1996 games. In 1982 Stephen Spielberg charmed America and the world with his movie about a friendly extra-terrestrial being stranded on planet Earth. After some exciting adventures with the children who discover him, and several narrow escapes from the authorities, E.T reunites with his spaceship so he can return home. Original soundtrack music by John Williams helped make_ E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial_ a special and spectacularly successful movie. Paul Lavender has arranged for symphonic band a concert piece, titled _Adventures On Earth_, fashioned from the film music for _E.T._, composed by John Williams.

-- oOo --​
*The Red Pony - Film Suite For Band (Aaron Copland, 1900-1990).* Copland wrote the music for the 1949 film _The Red Pony_ during a 10-week period in 1948 on the film studio lot in the San Fernando Valley of California. An orchestral suite was completed that same year, commissioned by Efrem Kurtz of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Four of the original movements were transcribed for performance by the U.S. Navy Band in 1968. The film is based on John Steinbeck's story about a 10-year old-boy, Jody (renamed Tom Tiflin in the movie) growing up on a California ranch. Steinbeck drew on his own experiences growing up in California's Salinas Valley near King City, and a pony he had once cared for. The story derives its warmth and sensitive quality from the character studies of the boy, his parents, his grandfather, and cowhand Billy Buck. The narrative is filled with the emotions of daily living, from the joy of a boy receiving a pony of his very own to the bitter reality of death and dying. _Dream March_ and _Circus Music_ depict two of Tom Tiflin's daydreams -- Tom at the head of an army of knights in silvery armor, and Tom as the whip-cracking ringmaster of the circus. The _Walk to the Bunkhouse_ shows Tom's admiration for Billy Buck's talents, especially his ability with horses. _Grandfather's Story_ tells of how Tom's grandpa led the wagon train “clear across the plains to the coast.” But Grandpa's bitterness that the “Westerning has died out of the people” can't stay hidden from Tom. The suite's last movement suggests the open air quality of country living as it mounts to the climax of a _Happy Ending_. _(Program note adapted from the Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos Hills, California, www.windband.org/foothill )_

-- oOo --​
*Selections From Disney/Pixar's “Up” (Michael Giacchino, 1967 - ).* Michael Giacchino was educated at Julliard in music and film production. His first major composition was for DreamWorks Studios for the video game adaptation of the 1997 movie _Jurassic Park, The Lost World_. That was the first PlayStation and Sega Saturn video game to be recorded with an original live orchestral score. Giacchino has since continued his relationship with DreamWorks, providing full orchestral scores for many of their popular videogames. Since then he has gone on to work for Disney Pictures and Pixar Films, writing original soundtrack music for the 2004 computer-animated super hero film titled _The Incredibles_. Continuing with Disney/Pixar, he wrote the soundtrack score for the 2009 computer-animated comedy-adventure film _Up_, the story of an elderly widower and an earnest young wilderness explorer who fly to South America in an airborne house suspended by helium balloons. _Up_ won Academy Awards for Best Animated Feature and for the Best Original Score (by Michael Giacchino). Musical elections from the movie were arranged for concert band by Michael Brown. 

-- oOo --​
*Chicken Run – Main Titles (John Powell, 1963 - , & Harry Gregson-Williams, 1961 - ).* _Chicken Run_ is a 2000 British stop-motion claymation film made by the Oscar-winning Aardman Animations studios. Set in Yorkshire, England, in 1959, the story revolves around a flock of farm chickens who see a smooth-talking Rhode Island Red rooster named Rocky as their only hope for escape when the farm owners decide to quit selling eggs and start selling chicken pot pies. The style of the chicken enclosure and the daily routine at the henhouse can be seen as a spoof of WW2 prisoner of war movies like T_he Great Escape_. British composer John Powell moved to the USA in 1997 and in 1998 scored his first major film, _Antz_, the first film produced by Dreamworks Animation, which he co-scored with fellow British composer Harry Gregson-Williams. Two years later they collaborated again in composing the score to _Chicken Run_, and also the following year on _Shrek_. In addition to his collaborations with John Powell, Harry Gregson-Williams scored _The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe_, as well as the second installment in the series, The _Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian_. _Chicken Run – Main Titles_ was arranged for concert band by Paul Murtha.  

-- oOo --​
*Soundtrack Highlights from Disney's Hunchback Of Notre Dame (Alan Menken, 1949 - ).* Victor Hugo's 1831 gothic novel takes place in France in 1482, the day of the Festival Of Fools in Paris. Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, is crowned Pope of Fools. Esmeralda, a beautiful Gypsy with a kind and generous heart, captures the hearts of many, including Captain Phoebus, but especially Quasimodo and his adopted father, Archdeacon Claude Frollo, who is torn between lust for Esmeralda and the rules of the church. He orders Quasimodo to kidnap Esmeralda, but the hunchback is suddenly captured by Phoebus and his guards, who save Esmeralda. Quasimodo is sentenced to be whipped. Esmeralda, seeing that Quasimodo suffers from thirst, offers him water. That act of kindness saves her, for in it she captures Quasimodo's heart. Esmeralda is later charged with the attempted murder of Phoebus, whom Frollo actually attempted to kill in jealousy, and she is sentenced to hang. As she is being led to the gallows, Quasimodo swings down by the bell rope of Notre Dame and carries her off to sanctuary in the cathedral. Clopin, known as King Of The Criminals, rallies the criminals of Paris to charge the cathedral and rescue Esmeralda. King Louis XI, seeing the chaos, cancels the law of sanctuary and commands his troops to kill Esmeralda. When Quasimodo sees the criminals, he assumes they are there to hurt Esmeralda, so he drives them off. Frollo betrays Esmeralda by handing her to the troops and watches while she is hanged. Quasimodo pushes him from the heights of Notre Dame to his death. Quasimodo then crawls off to Esmeralda's tomb with his arms around her body and eventually dies of starvation. Two years later, Esmeralda's skeleton is found with a broken neck, locked in embrace with Quasimodo's bones. When people try to pull them apart, Quasimodo's bones turn to dust. The Disney version (1996) takes major G-rated liberties with the original. In Disney's animated feature, as Frollo prepares to burn Esmeralda at the stake in front of a rioting crowd, Quasimodo, chained to the bell-tower, feels hopeless to save her. Frollo offers Esmeralda her freedom in exchange for her love. She refuses, and the execution commences. Seeing this, Quasimodo becomes enraged and breaks free. He swings down and rescues Esmeralda, taking her back to the cathedral and angrily declaring sanctuary for her. Frollo, however, breaks into the cathedral just as the prisoners begin to break free in revolt with the citizenry. Upstairs, Frollo finds Quasimodo crying over Esmeralda, who is apparently dead. Frollo, attempting to stab Quasimodo is overpowered by Quasimodo instead. Just as Quasimodo prepares to kill Frollo, Esmeralda awakens. Quasimodo runs off with her onto the cathedral's balconies, with Frollo pursuing, sword in hand. As Quasimodo and Frollo struggle, they fall from the tower. Frollo falls to his death. Quasimodo is caught in mid-air by Phoebus and the two of them reunite with Esmeralda. Quasimodo comes to accept that Esmeralda and Phoebus love each other. With Esmeralda's help, he reluctantly emerges from isolation in the cathedral, and is finally accepted into society. Alan Menken's score for the film was nominated for an Academy Award. Calvin Custer's concert band arrangement of the soundtrack highlights features the songs “The Bells Of Notre Dame,” “Out There,” “Topsy Turvy,” “God Help The Outcasts,” and “Hellfire.”

-- oOo --​
*Avatar Soundtrack Highlights (James Horner, 1953 - ).* Composer James Horner and director James Cameron collaborated on the two highest-grossing motion pictures of all time – _Titanic_ (1997) and _Avatar_ (2009). _Avatar_ broke several box office records during its release and became the highest-grossing film of all time in the U.S. and Canada, also worldwide, surpassing _Titanic_, which had held those records for the previous 12 years. _Avatar_ was nominated for nine Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Score.  (The film won three Oscars, but not in those categories.  So it goes.)  Soundtrack highlights arranged for concert band by Jay Bocock feature “The Destruction Of 'Hometree,'” “The Bioluminescence Of The Night,” and “War.” 

-- oOo --​
*Music from Catch Me If You Can (John Williams, 1932 - ).* An FBI agent tracks down and catches a young con artist who successfully impersonated an airline pilot, a doctor, an assistant attorney general, and a history professor, cashing more than $2*.*5 million in fraudulent checks in 26 countries. That (true) story line is the raw material for Steven Spielberg's 2002 hit crime movie, _Catch Me If You Can_, with screenplay by Jeff Nathanson. When his parents file for divorce and he has to chose between them for custody, Frank Abagnale Jr. (Leonardo DiCaprio) runs away from home. He begins to con his way around, getting better and better at it with each ruse. Posing as a pilot, a lawyer, and a doctor, he gets his money by cashing forged checks. As the numbers go up, FBI agent Carl Hanratty (Tom Hanks) starts tracking Frank in a game of cat and mouse. John Williams's original score for _Catch Me If You Can_ was nominated for an Academy Award. Music from the film was arranged for concert band by Jay Bocock.  

-- oOo --​
*Film Music from Titanic (James Horner, 1953 - ).* James Horner was born in the USA (Los Angeles) but was in Britain as a child, studying at the Royal College of Music. Back in California, he received a bachelor's degree in music from USC and a master's from UCLA. Horner's first major movie score was for the 1979 film, _The Lady in Red_. His work steadily gained notice in Hollywood, leading to larger projects. Horner's breakthrough was in 1982, when he scored _Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan_, which established him as a mainstream Hollywood composer. Through the 1980s, he scored _48 Hours_ (1982), _Krull_ (1983),_ Star Trek III: The Search for Spock_ (1984), _Commando_ (1985), _Cocoon_ (1985), _Aliens_ (1986), _Willow_ (1988), _Glory_ (1989), and _Field Of Dreams_ (1989). Horner's greatest financial and commercial success came in 1997 with the film score for _Titanic_. The album became the best-selling primarily orchestral soundtrack in history, selling over 27 million copies worldwide. The movie won 11 Academy Awards, including Best Picture. James Horner took home two Oscars – for Best Original Dramatic Score, and for Best Original Song for “My Heart Will Go On” (with Will Jennings, who wrote the lyrics). The concert band arrangement by Calvin Custer features “Southampton,” “Take Her To Sea, Mr. Murdock,” “Hard To Starboard,” and “My Heart Will Go On.” 

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## sparkmanmendy

i still remember when the star spangled banner use to play...my eyes use to get watery during our college days...its very emotional thing for me...my dad was in US army


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## AwayWeGo

*The National Anthem.*




sparkmanmendy said:


> i still remember when the star spangled banner use to play...my eyes use to get watery during our college days...its very emotional thing for me...my dad was in US army


Click here for an electrifying rendition of _The Star Spangled Banner_. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*The Sounds Of Springtime.*

*Cathedral Brass Concert
Sunday, April 3, 2011 - 7:00 PM - in the church sanctuary
Vienna Presbyterian Church - 124 Park Street NE - Vienna VA 22180 
Brass ensemble with percussion & organ  
Special appearance by Danielle Talamantes*




-- hotlinked --​
Program selections *. . .*

_Fanfare Canzonique
A Mighty Fortress
What Birds See
The Binding
Canzona Bergamasca (for brass quintet)
Little Suite For Brass.
Auf dem strom (for horn, piano, voice)
Pines Of The Appian Way
The Fire Of Eternal Glory_​
The performance is free -- no tickets required.  (But I expect they'll pass a free-will offering plate at halftime.  So it goes.)

If you attend the concert, be sure to come up after the final number & say _Hi_. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Spotlight On Virginians -- Saturday - April 16, 2011 - 8PM*

This year's Spotlight on the Arts concert by the City Of Fairfax Band shines on Virginia talent, including saxophonist Ainsley Kilgo, winner of the 2011 Young Artist Competition, and the contributions of Virginia composers. The evening showcases the premiere performance of _And the Grass Sings in the Meadows_, a new work commissioned by the City Of Fairfax Band composed by Travis Cross, Director of the Virginia Tech Wind Ensemble.  The concert features a reprise performance of Mark Camphouse's Foundation, commissioned and premiered by the the City Of Fairfax Band in 2006. A "Meet the Composers" panel discussion precedes the concert at 7PM.

Click here for the concert flyer. 

Some information about the concert selections *. . .* 

_*1607 – The Dream Comes Alive* (James L. Hosay, 1959 - )._ James L. Hosay was born in Nashville, Tennessee, but spent most of his life (so far) in Virginia. He grew up in Norfolk. He began arranging music for his school band at age 13. He composed his first original piece 2 years later. After high school he joined the U.S. Army as a bandsman and trumpet player, graduating from the U.S. Armed Forces School of Music. After 3 years of musical performance, he started as a music copyist with the United States Army Band (“Pershing’s Own”), Washington, D.C. That assignment gave him the opportunity to build composition & orchestration skills by studying the techniques of top arrangers -- work that paid off, as in 1981 he won the position of staff arranger with the Army Band. His did special musical arrangements for well known recording artists, including Patti Labelle, Amy Grant, Reba McIntire, & Lee Greenwood. His music was performed for U.S. & foreign dignitaries, heads of state, & the President Of The United States. Now retired from the U.S. Army, James Hosay once again resides in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia, writing music for concert, symphonic, brass, & military bands at all levels. _1607 – The Dream Comes Alive_ was commissioned by the Virginia Symphony Orchestra (JoAnn Falletta, Music Director) to open their 2006-2007 concert season & launch America's Birthday Festival, celebrating the 400th Anniversary of the founding of Jamestown, the 1st English settlement in North America. _1607 – The Dream Comes Alive_, a fanfare prelude, was transcribed for symphonic band by the composer. The Jamestown Festival events also prominently featured performances by the Alte Kameraden German Band, an ensemble of the City of Fairfax Band. The Alte Kameraden performed at Anniversary Park's Democracy Stage on May 12, 2007, as part of a program commemorating America's 1st Germanic settlers. The program included 4 selections that had been heard 100 years earlier at the 1907 Jamestown Exposition (Norfolk World's Fair). The Alte Kameraden also performed at the dedication of a historical monument commemorating the First Germans In America. 

-- oOo --​
_*A Jubilant Overture* (Alfred Reed, 1921-2005)._ Alfred Reed was born in New York City. He started musical training at age 10, on trumpet. In his teens, he played in hotel combos in the Catskills. In 1938, he started work in the Radio Workshop, New York, as a staff composer/arranger & assistant conductor. With the outbreak of WW2, he joined the 529th Army Air Corps Band. During 3½ years in uniform, he wrote close to 100 band compositions & arrangements. Upon discharge, Reed enrolled at Juilliard, where he studied composition with Vittorio Giannini. In 1953, Reed enrolled at Baylor University, serving as Symphony Orchestra conductor while earning the Bachelor of Music degree (1955) & Master's degree (1956). His interest in educational music led him to Hansen Publishing, where he was executive editor (1955-1966). He left that position to become professor of music at the University of Miami, where he served until retiring in 1993. After that, he continued composing & made many guest conductor appearances around the world, notably in Japan. Here is a clue in the composer’s own words to the exciting, joyful, & exuberantly youthful character of Reed’s _Jubilant Overture_: “There are many technical matters that the writer of music concerns himself with in order for the listener to follow the composer’s ideas without difficulty, and so following, grasp and understand them so that the listener can respond to them in a way that all creative artists hope the majority of those experiencing their works will respond: gladly, joyously, and with uplifting of the human spirit. This comes from the sharing of thoughts and ideas through the medium of words, tones, of pictures that constitutes what we call a work of art.” (Alfred Reed “On Composing,” _The Instrumentalist_ magazine, June 1990.) 

-- oOo --​
_*And the Grass Sings in the Meadows* (Travis J. Cross, 1977- )._ When the City of Fairfax Band obtained grant support to commission a promising young Virginia composer to write an original work for concert band, attention quickly turned to the conductor of Virginia Tech's Symphonic Wind Ensemble, Travis J. Cross, whose musicianship is well known to members of Fairfax Band's board of directors. Travis Cross is an assistant professor of music who teaches courses in conducting in addition to his own conducting responsibilities. He completed doctoral coursework at Northwestern University, Evanston IL, where he studied with Mallory Thompson. He previously earned the Bachelor of Music degree _cum laude_ in vocal & instrumental music education from St. Olaf College, Northfield MN, & the Master of Music degree in conducting from Northwestern. His original works & arrangements for band, choir, & orchestra are published by Boosey & Hawkes, Daehn Publications, & Theodore Music. _And the Grass Sings in the Meadows_, being premiered at tonight's performance, evokes the musical moods of springtime, as reflected poetically in the closing stanza of the _Spring Carol_ by Scottish poet Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894). 

_So when the earth is alive with gods,
And the lusty ploughman breaks the sod,
And the grass sings in the meadows,
And the flowers smile in the shadows,
Sits my heart at ease,
Hearing the song of the leas,
Singing the songs of the meadows._

-- oOo --​
_*Concerto For Saxophone* (Paul Creston, 1906 - 1985)._ Paul Creston was born in New York City to Italian parents. Self-taught except for some early piano & organ lessons, Creston studied theory, composition, literature, & philosophy while working to support himself & his poor immigrant family. Fiercely independent by nature, Creston developed his own style free of any particular school of thought or any 1 teacher’s influence, viewing Bach, Scarlatti, Chopin, Debussy, & Ravel as his greatest “teachers.” Creston made rhythm the foundation of his work, often emphasizing shifting subdivisions of regular meters. He wrote in various musical genres including 5 symphonies, concertos for violin, piano, saxophone, trombone, & marimba, several dance works & songs, plus choral, chamber, & instrumental pieces. Creston’s awards & honors include a Guggenheim Fellowship & the New York Music Critics’ Circle Award. He is the author of _Principles Of Rhythm_ and _Rational Metric Notation_ as well as articles analyzing 400 years of rhythmic practice.

-- oOo --​
_*Foundation* (Mark Camphouse, 1954 - )_. Composer-conductor Mark Camphouse was born in Oak Park, Illinois, in 1954 & received his formal musical training (B.M., M.M.) at Northwestern University. He began composing at an early age, with the Colorado Philharmonic premiering his First Symphony when he was 17. His works for concert band have received widespread critical acclaim & are performed frequently throughout the United States & abroad. Engagements as a guest conductor, lecturer, & clinician have taken him to 36 states, Canada, & Europe. Mr. Camphouse is an elected member of the American Bandmasters Association & serves as conductor of the National Band Association’s Young Mentor Project. He is a full-time faculty member at George Mason University. _Foundation_ (2006) is not only a significant addition to the concert band repertoire, but also a work of special importance to the City Of Fairfax Band. The piece was a commissioned as a memorial to the late Ray Abell, long-time Fairfax Band president. Ray Abell was an extremely important part of the band and the local community. His leadership was vital to the band’s continuity & to its continued record of success during the transitional period following the retirement of Dr. Thomas Hill as music director in 1993. Ray & his wife Sharyl Abell received official recognition from the City Of Fairfax for their many years of volunteer service to the community through their work with the City Of Fairfax Band. After Ray’s death in December 2002, a special Ray Abell Memorial Fund was created at the request of members of his family, who still participate actively in the band. Through private donations to the memorial fund & a grant from the Virginia Commission For The Arts, the City of Fairfax Band was able to commission this special new work for symphonic band in Ray’s memory. The piece was titled by the composer. As melodic material it draws on two of Ray Abell’s favorite hymn tunes:  _How Firm A Foundation_ and _Be Still My Soul_.  

-- oOo --​
_*George Washington Bicentennial March* (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932)._  To mark the 200th anniversary of the birth of the 1st President Of The United States, a special United States George Washington Bicentennial Commission was established by Senate Joint Resolution 85 (approved December 2, 1924) to plan & carry out appropriate remembrances. For the gala Washington DC celebration set for February 22, 1932, Sousa wrote a commemorative march in 1930 at the Commission’s request to memorialize the Father Of Our Country. In 1 of Sousa's last public appearances, Sousa conducted the combined bands of the U.S. Army, Navy, & Marine Corps at the Washington Bicentennial gala celebration. 

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## pablowest

My response for that music is really emotional. I think that I cried when I heard that.


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## AwayWeGo

*Cathedral Brass Ensemble Recording On Internet.*




AwayWeGo said:


> _Fanfare Canzonique
> A Mighty Fortress
> What Birds See
> The Binding
> Canzona Bergamasca (for brass quintet)
> Little Suite For Brass.
> Auf dem strom (for horn, piano, voice)
> Pines Of The Appian Way
> The Fire Of Eternal Glory_​


A recording of the April 3 Cathedral Brass concert is on the internet. 

Click here, then select Cathedral Brass Concert (April 3, 2011). 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*TUGger Musical Grandchildren On U-Tube*

Click here for U-Tube video of my grandson Graham Cole (age 8) at his piano recital last Sunday, performing a piece that he composed himself. 

Click here for a menu of U-Tube trumpet performances by Natalie Dungey, granddaughter of TUG-BBS friends ronandjoan.  Natalie's playing is exceptional, not just for someone so young but for a trumpeter of any age.   

_Full Disclosure*:*_  We had the pleasure of meeting & visiting with Ron & Joan last January & the previous January in Orlando FL.  It is great fun getting to meet personally with TUG-BBS friends we formerly only knew vicariously via internet.  Is this a great web site or what?

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## T_R_Oglodyte

AwayWeGo said:


> A recording of the April 3 Cathedral Brass concert is on the internet.
> 
> Click here, then select Cathedral Brass Concert (April 3, 2011).
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



Alan - wondering if you ever played with Irwin Frankel, clarinetist with City of Fairfax Band.  Just saw an obit for him, and thought that perhaps your paths might have crossed.


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## AwayWeGo

*R.I.P. Irwin Frankel.*




T_R_Oglodyte said:


> Alan - wondering if you ever played with Irwin Frankel, clarinetist with City of Fairfax Band.  Just saw an obit for him, and thought that perhaps your paths might have crossed.


Irwin Frankel was a Fairfax Band friend from way, way back.  

Irwin was our main man on clarinet for many years, & he remained in the 1st clarinet section after the torch passed to other principal players on clarinet, only reluctantly hanging up his horn when the ravages of dementia robbed him of the ability to keep on playing. 

In the early years of Fairfax Band, Irwin also played in a woodwind quintet that was active for several years.  (Others in that group were Debbie Overson on bass clarinet -- as a substitute for bassoon -- plus Sue Jaster on oboe, a smashing red-haired woman whose name eludes me on flute, & Uncle Alan on horn.  That was a long time ago.)

Irwin Frankel was a jazz fan as well as a classical performer, & he headed a dixieland jazz band comprising players from the larger City Of Fairfax Band.

Irwin Frankel was a man of accomplishment, well liked throughout Fairfax Band.  Not only that, he remembered Fairfax Band via a bequest in his will, loyally supporting the organization even after he passed on. 

He was a good guy & we miss him. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Fairfax Band 2011-12 Season Opener -- "Tribute To The Greatest Generation."*

Enjoy the musical sounds of a bygone era as the City Of Fairfax Band presents music in honor of those who fought defending our nation in World War II. Joining us in our production of the swing classics of the era will be vocalist and trombonist Eric Felten, and a female vocal trio, The Swing Set. Also on the program, Louis Saverino's _March Of The Women Marines_ & Mark Camphouse's stirring _Symphonic Prelude: The Cemetery at Colleville-sur-Mer_. 

8PM Saturday, October 22, 2011

Fairfax High School Auditorium
3501 Rebel Run 
Fairfax VA 22030

Tickets are on sale now.  Click here to order.​
*Symphonic Prelude -- The Cemetery at Colleveille-Sur-Mer (Mark Camphouse, 1954 - ).* Normandy American Cemetery in France sits on a cliff overlooking Omaha Beach & the English Channel, 170 miles west of Paris. The 173-acre cemetery site contains the graves of 9*,*387 of America's military dead, most of whom lost their lives in the 1944 D-Day landings & ensuing operations. On the Walls of the Missing in a semicircular garden on the east side of the memorial are inscribed 1*,*557 names. Rosettes mark the names of those later recovered & identified. Program note by the composer: _Symphonic Prelude (The Cemetery at Colleveille-Sur-Mer)_ was inspired by a visit to the Normandy region of France in June, 2005. I found the cemetery to be an overwhelmingly moving landmark to the American people & our heritage. It is immaculately maintained, & the seemingly endless rows of white crosses & Stars of David are a powerful reminder of the staggeringly high cost of freedom. This work was written to commemorate the 50th anniversary season of the Northshore Concert Band. It is my sincere hope that the qualities of beauty, dignity, & sacrifice which provided the inspiration for this work will help bring special significance to the Northshore Concert Band's 50th anniversary season theme of "honoring the past & embracing the future." _Symphonic Prelude_ received its premiere performance by the Northshore Concert Band under the direction of Dr. Mallory Thompson on February 19, 2006, in Pick-Staiger Concert Hall on the Northwestern University campus in Evanston, Illinois.

-- oOo --​
*Victory At Sea – Symphonic Scenario for Concert Band (Richard Rodgers, 1902-1979).* Victory At Sea was an award-winning (Peabody & Emmy) NBC television documentary series telling the story of life & death during American naval warfare in all the oceanic theaters of action in the Second World War. Linking the authentic combat motion picture photography with the gripping narrative was original music composed by Richard Rodgers, orchestrated & arranged by Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981). The complete 1952-1953 television score was 13 hours long, covering all 26 half-hour Sunday afternoon programs. Musical themes heard in the series are featured in Robert Russell Bennett's transcription for concert band: “Song of the High Seas,” “The Pacific Boils Over,” “Guadalcanal March,” “D-Day,” “Hard Work & Horseplay,” “Theme of the Fast Carriers,” “Beneath the Southern Cross,” “Mare Nostrum,” and “Hymn of Victory.” According to Wikipedia Dot Org, Richard Rodgers's music for _Victory At Sea_ consisted of several short piano compositions, each a minute or two long. Robert Russell Bennett not only arranged & transformed Rodgers's original themes for a variety of moods to complement the extensive filmed action, but also composed much more original material for the score. Even so, Bennett received production credit only for arranging the score & conducting the soundtrack recording sessions. 

-- oOo --​
*March Of The Women Marines (Louis Saverino, 1915-2003).* The official march of the U.S. Marine Corps Women's Reserve. Probably the most colorful of all the Women's Reserve units was the Marine Corps Women's Reserve Band formed in November 1943 by Captain William F. Santelmann & trained by members of the United States Marine Band (“The President's Own”). Prominent music schools & colleges were canvassed for candidates, & talented enlisted women were auditioned to find the requisite 43 musicians. Director of the band was Master Sergeant Charlotte Plummer, formerly director of the Portland, Oregon, public school system band & member of the city's municipal band. The Camp Lejeune-based Women Marines band gave concerts at Parris Island, Cherry Point, & Henderson Hall, & performed on national radio programs. It played at guard mounts, inspections, graduations, dances, & occasionally at the officers club. It may be best remembered for stirring performances at the weekly Saturday morning MCWR recruit depot reviews, marching to the rhythm of its own _March Of The Women Marines_, written especially for it by Louis Saverino of the U.S. Marine Band. Saverino was a conductor, arranger, & performer on tuba, contrabass, & bass clarinet. He graduated from the Eastman School of Music in 1938 & joined the U.S. Marine Band in 1939. In addition to writing the _March Of The Women Marines_, Louis Saverino arranged the current official version of _Hail To The Chief_. According to the website Dead Rock Stars Club Dot Com, after Saverino retired from the Marine Band in 1963, he played stand-up bass in jazz ensembles.     

-- oOo --​
*The Homefront: Musical Memories Of World War II (arranged by James Christensen, 1935- )*.  Jim Christensen’s credits include stints as music director, composer, and arranger for Walt Disney Studios and Warner Brothers and guest conductor of the City Of Fairfax Band. His talent as a music arranger is on full display in his nostalgic musical return to hometown America during the World War II era, featuring famous popular tunes from that time, including “It’s Been a Long, Long Time,” “Thanks for the Memory,” “Bell Bottom Trousers,” “(There’ll be Bluebirds Over) The White Cliffs of Dover,” “I’ll Be Seeing You,” “Don’t Sit Under the Apple Tree (With Anyone Else But Me),” and “Praise the Lord and Pass the Ammunition.”  

-- oOo --​
*In The Miller Mood (arranged by Warren Barker, 1923-2006)*. Glenn Miller’s recording of “Tuxedo Junction” sold 115*,*000 copies the 1st week it was out. Not only that, the 1st gold record ever awarded went to Glenn Miller (1904-1944) for his 1942 million-seller, “Chattanooga Choo-Choo.” When the U.S. entered World War II, Glenn Miller joined the Army Air Corps as a captain, later rising to the rank of major. He was too old for the draft, but volunteered for service anyway “to put a little more spring into the feet of our marching men & a little more joy into their hearts.” During the war, Miller’s band entertained more than a million G.I.s. On the night of December 15, 1944, Miller boarded a military flight to Paris to make arrangements for a Christmas broadcast to the troops. The plane took off in fog & was lost over the English Channel. Warren Barker’s Glenn Miller tribute, titled _In the Miller Mood_, evokes the distinctive Glenn Miller style & sound through a creative blend of jazz & swing, featuring “In the Mood,” “Moonlight Serenade,” “I’ve Got a Gal In Kalamazoo,” “Serenade in Blue,” “Little Brown Jug,” “At Last,” & the “Anvil Chorus.” _In the Miller Mood_ was commissioned by & dedicated to the Coastal Communities Concert Band of San Diego County, California, Don Caneva, director. 

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Just Like Old Times -- Fairfax Band Performance In the Style of a Sousa Concert.*

*Presidential Polonaise (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932).* Sousa was leader of the United States Marine Band from 1880 to 1892. The Marine Band is known as "The President's Own" because of its historic connection with the President of the United States, beginning New Year's Day 1801 when President John Adams invited the Marine Band to perform at the Executive Mansion. Later that year, Thomas Jefferson asked that the Marine Band perform at his inauguration, and ever since the Marine Band has played at all U.S. presidential inaugurations. As “The President's Own,” the Marine Band performs in approximately 50 events every year including state funerals, state arrival ceremonies, state dinners, parades, White House concerts, & other official social events. The Marine Band also goes on concert tour across the U.S. each October & November, a tradition that began in 1891 under the band's most famous director, John Philip Sousa. The _Presidential Polonaise_ (1886) was written at the request of Chester Alan Arthur (1829-1886), who was elected vice president and served as president 1881-1885 following the assassination of President James Abram Garfield. _Presidential Polonaise_ is a composition with a purpose: to keep visitors moving briskly through the White House receiving line. President Arthur left office & died before the piece was ever performed.  _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_ 

-- oOo --​
*Fairest of the Fair (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932).* John Philip Sousa was born in Washington DC in a section known at the time as the Navy Yard. As he put it, his home was “in the shadow of the Capitol dome.” He enlisted as an apprentice in the U.S. Marine Band at age 13 & ended up spending 19 years in military service. He had a passionate love of the USA & took every opportunity to let the world know. If someone asked him about his occupation, he typically answered, “I’m a salesman of Americanism.” His true colors shine through in his patriotic titles: “America First,” “Hail to the Spirit of Liberty,” “The Invincible Eagle,” “The Messiah of Nations,” “Liberty Bell” &, of course, the most famous of all Sousa compositions, “The Stars & Stripes Forever.” But not all Sousa compositions, including his marches, were patriotic & military-flavored. The March King also wrote what he considered concert marches, & he liked the ladies. Women were a favorite subject & "The Fairest of the Fair" fits into both categories -- a melodic concert march inspired by a woman. Sousa wrote “Fairest of the Fair” in 1908 for the Boston Food Fair, & it is claimed that the memory of a pretty girl he had seen at an earlier fair inspired the composition. “Fairest of the Fair” was popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Music publisher John Church Co. sold sheet music of “Fairest of the Fair” not only for bands & orchestras, but also in arrangements for piano (2 hands, 4 hands, even 6 hands), also (solo & duet) for zither, mandolin, banjo, violin, plus other instrumental combinations.  

-- oOo --​
*The Rifle Regiment (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932).* Sousa composed “The Rifle Regiment” in 1886. It is one of many marches he sold outright to Harry Coleman, a Philadelphia publisher, for $35 a title. “The Rifle Regiment” is one of Sousa's finest regimental marches & contains unusual structural features, such as an extended introduction, which is repeated, and an intermezzo or break-strain ("dogfight") which is similarly lengthy & equally unique. The march is titled after The Third U.S. Infantry Regiment ("The Old Guard"), the oldest active unit of infantry in the U.S. Army, which originated as the First American Regiment in 1784. Today the Old Guard, headquartered at Ft. Meyer VA, is a major component of the Military District of Washington. It is  the Army's premiere ceremonial unit, whose mission is to conduct memorial affairs to honor fallen comrades, and ceremonies & special events to represent the U.S. Army. 

-- oOo --​
*Thunder & Lightning Polka (Johann Strauss Jr., 1825-1899).* Johann Strauss The Younger composed more than 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, & other dance pieces, plus several operettas & a ballet. Known as "The Waltz King,” he was largely responsible for the popularity of 19th century Viennese waltzes. But he also contributed to the growing popularity of the polka. The actual dance & accompanying music called "polka" got started in Bohemia about 1834. Within a year the dance appeared in the ballrooms of Prague. It got to Vienna by 1839 and reached Paris in 1840. The polka craze spread across all of Europe & even to America within a decade. Polka dancing remained dominantly popular until crowded out by jazz and the dance crazes of the Roaring Twenties. Even so, weekly polka dances are still held many parts of the U.S. In the Vienna of Johann Strauss The Younger, the concert polka was associated with stage spectacles that required special percussive effects -- including whip-cracks, & sometimes even pistol shots. Strauss’s _Thunder & Lightning Polka_, with lots of rolling timpani and crashing cymbals, is a prime example of the “explosion polka” or schnell (fast) polka. _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_ 

-- oOo --​
*Air Varié (Arthur Pryor, 1870-1942), arr. Scott Shelsta.* Arthur Pryor started young in music, playing valve trombone by age 11, moving on to slide trombone, & mastering that by age 15. He played in his his father's band, among others, joining the John Philip Sousa Band in 1892 & becoming Sousa's assistant conductor 1895-1903. Pryor played his 1st solo with the Sousa Band at age 22 during the 1893 Chicago Columbian Exposition. In 12 years with Sousa's Band, Pryor estimated that he performed as soloist about 10,000 times. Pryor later formed his own band, whose debut was at the Majestic Theatre, New York City, November 15, 1903. The Pryor Band played on tours until 1909, when Pryor & the band settled down in Asbury Park NJ. No longer touring, Pryor became a staff conductor & arranger for the Victor Talking Machine Company, Camden NJ, forerunner of RCA Victor. Arthur Pryor composed some of the most famous & most enduring solo trombone showpieces, including the _Bluebells of Scotland_, as well as novelty numbers for band like _The Whistler & His Dog_. Pryor wrote the _Air Varié_ (based on the tune Annie Laurie) for solo trombone with piano. The concert band arrangement is by Scott Shelsta.  _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_

-- oOo --​
*Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White (Louis Guglielmi, 1916-1991).* Gugliemi was a Spanish musician of Italian heritage who used the pseudonym Louiguy as composer. His best known piece is a 1950 Latin jazz number made famous with its English title "Cherry Pink & Apple Blossom White," which became a monster hit for Cuban bandleader Pérez Prado in 1955. The smash record features a memorable solo turn by trumpeter Billy Regis. The record held the Hit Parade's top spot for 10 consecutive weeks. Lots of recording artists subsequently released their own versions -- Chet Atkins, Pat Boone, Xavier Cugat, Bing Crosby, Devo, Georgia Gibbs, Harry James, Liberace, Billy Vaughn, & Lawrence Welk among plenty more. Spike Jones even released a parody version under the pseudonym Davey Crackpot, featuring George Rock on trumpet. This big-band mambo has remained popular in all sorts of arrangements, including the solo trombone showpiece arranged by Scott Shelsta. 

-- oOo --​
*Simón Bolívar (by Eric Cook), arr. Scott Shelsta.* Simón José Antonio de la Santísima Trinidad Bolívar y Palacios Ponte y Blanco, better known as Simón Bolívar (1783-1830), was a Venezuelan military & political leader whose key role in colonial South America's successful struggle for independence from the Spanish Empire made him one of the most influential figures in Latin American history -- hero, visionary, revolutionary, & liberator. During his lifetime, he led Colombia, Panama, Venezuela, Ecuador, Peru, & Bolivia to independence, & helped lay the foundations for democracy in much of Latin America. His heroic story inspired music by composer Eric Cook, whose Latin-flavored solo piece for trombone, titled _Bolivar_, arranged by Norman Richardson, was published in 1955 in London, as No. 57 in the Boosey & Hawkes Standard Military Band Journal. Eric Cook is not well known on the internet, even on trombone web sites. Only 4 items by Eric Cook are in the Boosey & Hawkes on-line catalog, & all 4 are versions of Bolivar (concert band score & parts, band score alone, solo trombone part alone, and a version of the piece for trombone & piano). According to the British brass band web site *4barsrest.com*, a brass band version of _Bolivar_, arranged by Derek Ashmore, was performed by the Scottish Co-op Band (with Paul Kiernan as trombone soloist) in the 2005 Brass In Concert Championships at Gateshead, in northeastern England. Tonight trombone soloist Scott Shelsta plays his own arrangement of the piece, titled _Simón Bolívar_.  

-- oOo --​
*Somewhere Over the Rainbow (Harold Arlen, 1905-1986).* Judy Garland's signature song, originally titled simply “Over the Rainbow,” was written in 1939 for her starring role in _The Wizard of Oz_. The song won an academy award for composer Harold Arlen & lyricist Yip Harburg (1896-1981). “Over the Rainbow” was taken out of the film after a preview showing because the producer & the MGM studio chief thought the song "slowed down the picture" & that "the song sounds like something for Jeanette MacDonald, not for a little girl singing in a barnyard." Sustained efforts by the associate producer & by Judy Garland's vocal coach managed to keep the song in the picture. Scott Shelsta has arranged the song as a feature for solo trombone. _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_ 

-- oOo --​
*Lassus Trombone and Shoutin' Liza Trombone (Henry Fillmore, 1881-1956).* James Henry Fillmore Jr., the eldest of 5 children from Cincinnati, Ohio, learned piano, guitar, violin, & flute when he was very young. He also secretly learned to play the slide trombone, which he had to keep quiet because his conservatively devout father believed slide trombones to be uncouth & sinful. Fillmore began composing at 18, & entered the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music in 1901. After that, he traveled through the USA as a circus bandmaster with his wife, an exotic dancer named Mabel May Jones. In the 1920s he went back to Cincinnati, directing the Shriners Temple Band, which he turned into 1 of the country's best marching bands. Fillmore wrote so much music that he resorted to various pseudonyms because he didn't think people would believe so many pieces came from just 1 composer. Fillmore was famous for his series of 15 novelty numbers for trombone in ragtime style featuring slide-glissando smears. His first 3 -- "Miss Trombone" (1908), "Teddy Trombone" (1911), & especially "Lassus Trombone" (1915) -- were such hits that Fillmore kept on writing more.  The rest of the list is "Pahson Trombone" (1916), "Sally Trombone" (1917), "Slim Trombone" (1918), "Mose Trombone" (1919), "Shoutin' Liza Trombone" (1920),"Hot Trombone" (1921), "Bones Trombone" (1922), "Dusty Trombone" (1923), "Bull Trombone" (1924), "Lucky Trombone" (1926), "Boss Trombone" (1929), & "Ham Trombone" (1929). Soloist Scott Shelsta has done special arrangements of 2 of the best -- “Shoutin' Liza Trombone” & “Lassus Trombone” (for 5 trombone players).  _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_ 

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Just Like Old Times -- Fairfax Band Performance In the Style of a Sousa Concert.*

The City Of Fairfax Band presents "Just Like Old Times," a re-creation of a turn-of-the-century concert in the style of John Philip Sousa's band.  Trombonist Scott Shelsta appears as guest soloist in a program including works by Wagner, Mendelssohn, Pryor, Fillmore, Johann Strauss Jr., von Suppé *. . .* and, of course, Sousa !

Downbeat is 8PM Saturday, February 25, 2012.  

Concert venue is Fairfax High School, 3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax VA 22030. 

Tickets are on sale now via the Fairfax Band web site.  ( Click here. )









Program*:*

*Overture to Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Richard Wagner, 1813-1883).* Wagner started writing opera at age 17, completing some and abandoning others until his first successful opera, _Rienzi_, was staged in 1842. _Die Meistersinger_ was an immediate success after its 1st performance in Munich on June 21, 1868. The story takes place in  the 16th century, when Imperial Free City Nuremberg was a center of the Renaissance in Northern Europe. The story revolves around the historic guild of Master Singers, an association of amateur poets & musicians, mostly from the middle class, many of whom were master craftsmen in their main (non-musical) professions. The Master Singers developed a craftsmanlike approach to their music-making, with an intricate system of rules for composing & performing songs. The opera draws much of its charm from its faithful depiction of the era, & of historical Nuremberg & the traditions of the Master Singers guild.  _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_ 

-- oOo --​
*Poet & Peasant Overture (Franz von Suppé, 1819-1895).* Suppé was an Austrian composer of Italian & Belgian ancestry. His parents named him Francesco Ezechiele Ermenegildo Cavaliere Suppé Demelli, a name that he simplified & Germanized in Vienna. (Outside German-speaking areas, his name appeared on some programs as Francesco Suppé-Demelli.) He started music lessons & began composing at an early age, with no encouragement from his father but with help from a local bandmaster & the cathedral choirmaster. At age 16, he began the study of law -- not his choice -- but he continued studying music too. Suppé was also a singer, making his debut in 1842 as a basso profundo in an opera. He composed about 30 operettas & 180 farces, ballets, & other stage works. Most of those have disappeared into obscurity, but the overtures -- particularly _Poet & Peasant_ (1846) & _Light Cavalry_ (1866) -- have lived on, not only on their own as band & orchestra “pops” concert pieces but also as soundtrack ingredients for movie & TV cartoons & commercials.  _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_

-- oOo --​
*Fingal's Cave (Felix Mendelssohn, 1809-1837).* Mendelssohn composed Fingal's Cave in 1830 after touring England & Scotland. In a note to his sister Fanny, Mendelssohn sent several measures of music outlining the opening phrase of the overture. "In order to make you understand how extraordinarily the Hebrides affected me,” he wrote, “I send you the following, which came into my head there." Mendelssohn's inspiration was a cavern known as Fingal's Cave on Staffa, an island in the Hebrides archipelago off the west coast of Scotland. The cave was approximately 35 feet high & more than 200 feet deep, containing colorful pillars of basalt. The overture inspired by Fingal's Cave, unlike overtures that introduce plays or operas, is a concert piece that stands on its own. The piece was dedicated to King Frederick William IV of Prussia. The overture's original title was _The Lonely Island_. Mendelssohn revised the score & gave the music a new title, _The Hebrides_, in 1832, but he still used the title _Fingal's Cave_ as well. (Mendelssohn labeled the orchestral parts _The Hebrides_, but he titled the score _Fingal's Cave_.) The overture was premiered in London on May 14, 1832. The piece is an early example of romantic program music, creating a mood & setting a scene rather than trying to tell a story. The opening of the overture -- the theme Mendelssohn wrote while touring the Hebrides -- suggests the power & beauty of the cave. The 2nd theme depicts movement of the sea  rolling waves surrounding the islands. _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_

-- oOo --

( --- continued in next entry --- )​


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## AwayWeGo

*Springtime Pops! -- March 24, 2012.*

*--- continued from above ---*​
*Blue Tango (Leroy Anderson, 1908-1975).* Leroy Anderson was a gifted arranger, composer, & Boston Pops viola player in the 1950s. He created with musical sounds what Norman Rockwell created with paint on canvas:  masterpieces of creativity that are so familiar, so recognizable, & so comfortable that they are all too often taken entirely for granted, as though they were inevitable & had always been there with us. Rockwell's paintings are so easy to look at & Leroy Anderson's tunes are so easy on the ear that the talent & workmanship that crafted these gems of American popular art are effectively hidden from view. _Blue Tango_ was a Top Ten record for Arthur Fiedler & the Boston Pops on the Hit Parade of 1954.   

-- oOo --​
*If Thou Be Near (Johann Sebastian Bach, 1685-1750).* Eighteen months after the death of Bach’s 1st wife, Bach married the singer Anna Magdalena Wilcken, daughter of the court trumpeter of Prince Saxe-Weissenfels. She was 20, he was 36. Their devotion to each other is shown in the 2 notebooks they compiled together. The first, _A Little Clavier Book for Anna Magdalena_, came in 1722. The 2nd, finished in 1725, contains 5 beautiful verses linking Bach’s love of Anna Magdalena with his love of God & his readiness for death: 

_If thou be near, I go rejoicing
To peace and rest beyond the skies, 
Nor will I fear what may befall me, 
For I will hear thy sweet voice call me, 
Thy gentle hand will close my eyes. _​
-- oOo --​
*Orpheus In The Underworld (Jacques Offenbach, 1819-1880).* Offenbach was accepted for study at the Paris Conservatoire at age 14. He was too bored to stick with it, so he dropped out after a year. Even though he earned a living playing cello & became famous as a conductor, what he really wanted was to compose comic pieces for the musical theatre. Having no luck with the Paris Opéra-Comique, he leased a small theatre in the Champs-Élysées for a series of his own small-scale pieces, many of which became popular. In 1858, Offenbach re-did the story of Orpheus & Eurydice from Greek mythology as a comic operetta, his 1st full-length production. In Offenbach’s 2-act spoof, Orpheus is teaching music at the conservatory of Thebes. He is married to Eurydice but they are not in love with each other. Eurydice runs away with the King of the Underworld. Orpheus is glad she’s gone, but a powerful character in the operetta named Public Opinion makes Orpheus venture into the underworld try to get Eurydice back. Orpheus eventually succeeds in losing Eurydice completely. They live happily ever after -- separately. The overture, & the entire production, are full of humor, fun, color, & great tunes, including the famous Can-Can. The military band arrangement of the overture is by A. Hebert.

-- oOo --​
*Radetzky March (Johann Strauss Jr., 1825-1899).* Johann Strauss The Younger composed more than 500 waltzes, polkas, quadrilles, & other dance pieces, plus several operettas and a ballet. Known as "The Waltz King,” he was largely responsible for the popularity of 19th century Viennese waltzes. But he also wrote a number of famous polkas & marches. Strauss composed the light & charming _Radetzky March_ under a commission from Field Marshall Lieutenant Peter Zanini, who was organizing a "victory festival" in recognition of the exploits of the Austrian Army in Italy. Field Marshall Johann Joseph Count Radetzky de Radetz was the army commander, and so the march was named for him. The 1st performance was conducted by the composer on August 31, 1848. The piece has been played often ever since, notably as the closing number every year at the Vienna Philharmonic's New Year Concert.

-- oOo --​
*Zampa Overture (Louis Joseph Ferdinand Hérold, 1791-1833).* Ferdinand Hérold enrolled in the Paris Conservatoire in 1806, studying piano, harmony, violin, & composition. He won 1st prize in an 1810 piano competition by playing 1 of his own pieces. In 1812, he won the _Prix de Rome_. The following year, he wrote his 1st symphony & completed the last of his 4 piano concertos. He composed another symphony in 1815, & (under an Italian pseudonym) a moderately successful opera. His next operas were not all successful, but not all were failures either, so he kept writing operas, with mixed results. _Zampa_ (subtitled _The Marble Bride_) premiered May 3, 1831, at the Opéra-Comique. The opera's story revolves around the young Count of Monza, who seduced & deserted Alice Manfredi. After squandering his family fortune, Monza goes off to sea as a pirate under the adopted name Zampa. Alice Manfredi, meanwhile, roaming in search of her treacherous lover, is taken in & sheltered by Lugano, a wealthy merchant. After Alice dies of a broken heart, Lugano has a marble statue of her placed in his palace. The local people venerate the statue as the image of a saint. _Zampa_ met with success in France & Germany. Despite reaching 500 performances by 1877, Zampa faded from repertoire in the 20th century, except for the overture, which remains a concert hall staple. The opera was revived at the Paris Opéra-Comique in 2008. The concert band arrangement of the overture is by Vincent Frank Safranek (1867-1955), who served 30 years as a U.S. Army bandmaster & became chief band arranger for Carl Fischer music publishers. 

-- oOo --​
Cable Car (Sammy Nestico, 1924 - ). Samuel Louis Nestico came from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he played trombone in his high school band. He received a music education degree from Duquesne University in 1946. For 15 years, he was a staff arranger for the United States Air Force Band.  Later he was a staff arranger for 5 years with the United States Marine Band. He toured with Woody Herman’s and Tommy Dorsey’s big bands & appeared in performance with the Boston Pops. Tunes he wrote or arranged have been on at least 60 television shows, including _M*A*S*H_  & _The Love Boat_. Sammy Nestico’s _Cable Car_ is sprightly music that plugs in to the imagination. As you listen, you can picture the cable cars running along California Street, you can hear the clang of the cable cars on the Powell Street line, & you can almost feel the exhilaration of riding in an open-air cable car in the City by the Bay.  

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Springtime Pops! -- March 24, 2012.*

Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band, Robert Pouliot music director, heralds the arrival of spring with a lighthearted program of classical & popular selections in the concert format made famous by Arthur Fiedler & the Boston Pops. Fiedler’s programming formula set the musical diversity standard for mixing up styles and tempos for variety & fun. Fairfax Band's version of "An Evening at Pops" is set for 8PM Saturday, March 24, 2012, at Fairfax High School, 3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax VA 22030. 

Click here to order tickets. 

Musical selections on the program *. . .* 

*The Magic Of Andrew Lloyd Webber (arranged by Warren Barker, 1923-2006).* The Right Honourable Lord Andrew Lloyd-Webber was knighted by Queen Elizabeth II in 1992. Five years later, Queen Elizabeth made him a life peer as Baron Lloyd-Webber, of Sydmonton in the County of Hampshire. The title makes him a sitting member of the House of Lords. Those royal honors are in addition to a list of show business awards as long as your arm -- including, among many more, 4 Grammy awards, 7 Tony awards, an Academy Award, a Golden Globe award, Kennedy Center honors, the Woodrow Wilson Public Service Award, & the American Songwriters Hall of Fame. (And he's not even American!) Andrew Lloyd Webber composed 13 musicals, a song cycle, a set of variations, 2 film scores, and a Latin _Requiem Mass_. Several of his songs became stand-alone hits beyond the shows they came from, and have been widely recorded & performed in concert, including the selections chosen by Warren Barker for _The Magic of Andrew Lloyd-Webber_ -- “Superstar” & “I Don't Know How to Love Him” (from _Jesus Christ Superstar_, 1970), “_Don't Cry For Me, Argentina_” (from Evita, 1978), “Memory” (from _Cats_, 1981), and “Phantom of the Opera” (1986).

-- oOo --​
*Entry March Of The Boyares (Johan Halvorsen, 1864-1935).* Halvorsen was a violinist, concertmaster, conductor, & music professor, as well as composer of dramatic incidental music, 3 symphonies, and 2 Norwegian rhapsodies. Halvorsen's music belongs to the national romantic tradition exemplified by Edvard Grieg. Halvorsen married Grieg's niece, & orchestrated some of Grieg's piano works, including the funeral march played at Grieg's funeral. _Entry March Of The Boyares_ is 1 of Halvorsen's best known pieces. From the 10th through 17th centuries, the Boyars were some of the highest ranking members of the Bulgarian, Romanian, Russian, & Ukrainian aristocracy, 2nd only to the ruling princes. Halvorsen’s March portrays the ceremonial entrance of those aristocratic figures in a theatrical setting. The piece was 1st used as stage music at the Bergen theatre where Halvorsen was director of music. Two years later Halvorsen published an arrangement of the piece for symphony orchestra. The concert band arrangement is by Clifford P. Barnes. 

-- oOo --​
*Theme From Lawrence Of Arabia (Maurice-Alexis Jarre, 1924-2009).* Jarre enrolled in the engineering school at the Sorbonne, but decided to study music instead. Against his father's will, he entered the Conservatoire de Paris, majoring in percussion & studying composition & harmony. He became director of the Théâtre National Populaire & recorded his 1st film score in France in 1951. British film producer Sam Spiegel asked Jarre to write the score for the 1962 epic _Lawrence Of Arabia_, directed by David Lean. That score won Jarre his 1st Academy Award. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's subsequent films. _Lawrence of Arabia_, starring Peter O'Toole in the title role, is considered 1 of the greatest & most influential films in the history of cinema. The film depicts Lt.Col. T.E. Lawrence's experiences in Arabia during WW1, in particular his attacks on Aqaba & Damascus & his involvement in the Arab National Council. The film's dramatic themes involve Lawrence's emotional struggles with the personal violence inherent in war, his personal identity, & his conflicted allegiances with his native Britain & its army and his new-found comrades of the Arabian desert tribes. The concert band arrangement of the _Theme From Lawrence Of Arabia_ is by Alfred Reed (1921-2005).   

-- oOo --​
*Pachinko (Paul Yoder, 1908-1990).* Yoder produced more than 1*,*500 original compositions & arrangements. His writing & arranging focused on music for young bands, & he produced several instructional method books for learning to play band instruments. Yoder's biographer, Steven Kelly, said it is unlikely any band student in America between the 1930s & 1970s would go without experiencing Yoder's music. Yoder co-founded the Japanese Band Directors Association, served as President of the American Bandmasters Association, & belonged to the Board Of Directors of the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic. Yoder met many band directors in Japan interested in performing western music, beginning an involvement with music education & concert bands in Japan that led to coordinating performances at the MidWest Clinic by many Japanese bands. Alfred Reed called Yoder "an unofficial ambassador of band music between the US & Japan." While in the country, Paul Yoder might have tried his hand at pachinko, a Japanese arcade game that combines some of the action of pinball with features of Las Vegas slot machines. A pachinko machine resembles a vertical pinball machine, without flippers, that uses lots of metal balls smaller than marbles. After a player launches balls into the machine, the balls cascade down through a thick array of pins. In certain locations, the balls may be captured inside the machine. Other sequences of events can trigger release of more balls. Players try to capture as many pachinko balls as they can, to exchange those for prizes. The original pachinko machines were strictly mechanical. Newer versions are heavily into electronics, like video slot machines. Yoder's catchy band number _Pachinko_ evokes the spiky bounce & herky-jerky movement of little steel pachinko balls bounding around inside the arcade amusement devices.  

-- oOo --​
*Gigi – Selection For Concert Band (music by Frederick Loewe, 1901-1988).* Collette's spicy 1944 novella _Gigi_, about a French girl being groomed for a career as a courtesan, & her romance with a rich man who eventually marries her, had to be toned down lots for Hollywood. MGM studios accomplished that by making it a $3*.*3 million musical, featuring songs composed by Fritz Loewe with lyrics by Alan Jay Lerner, who also wrote the screenplay. The 1958 movie was a big success. It not only sold $13 million worth of tickets, it also won 9 Academy Awards, a record at the time, including the Oscar for Best Picture. Lerner & Loewe won the Oscar for Best Song (“Gigi”). André Previn, who arranged & conducted the soundtrack music, won for Best Original Score. Gigi's other Academy Awards were for Best Director (Vincente Minnelli), plus “bests” for Adapted Screenplay, Art Direction, Cinematography, Costume Design, & Film Editing. All that success led Lerner & Loewe to adapt _Gigi_ for the musical stage, but their 1973 production was not successful. Top tunes from the show are “Thank Heaven for Little Girls,” “The Night They Invented Champagne,” “Gigi,” “I Remember It Well,” “I'm Glad I'm Not Young Anymore,” & “Say a Prayer for Me Tonight.” The music was arranged for concert band by Robert Russell Bennett (1894-1981).

-- oOo --​
*Malagueña (Ernesto Lecuona, 1895-1963).* Lecuona graduated from the National Conservatory of Havana at age 16, receiving a gold medal for interpretation. His 1928 piano recitals in Paris led to a rise in European interest in Cuban music. Lecuona composed prolifically for stage & film, making heavy use of Cuban & Afro-Cuban rhythms. His most famous songs include "Siboney," "Malagueña," & "The Breeze & I." Much of Lecuona's music was introduced to American audiences by fellow Cuban Desi Arnaz (1917-1986). Malagueña was arranged for concert band by Sammy Nestico (1924 - ).   

-- oOo --​
*A Tribute To Jerome Kern (arranged by Warren Barker, 1923-2006).* Jerome Kern (1885-1945) was born in New York City. His 1st music teacher was his mother, who taught him piano. He later studied at the New York College of Music, & after that studied music in Europe. After working in the London theater, Kern returned home, where the only work he could find was as a music publisher's song plugger & pianist. His 1st published score was an operetta, _The Red Petticoat_ (1912). Between 1914 & 1929 Kern was represented on Broadway by at least 1 show a season. His prolific output included _Rock a Bye Baby_ (1918), _Sally_ (1920), & _Sunny_ (1925). In 1926 he wrote the score for a musical adaptation of an Edna Ferber novel. Oscar Hammerstein II wrote the lyrics. The result was the Broadway classic _Show Boat_, which opened in 1927 & ran for 572 performances. Hollywood film versions of Show Boat were made twice, 1936 (Universal) & 1951 (MGM). Other than _Show Boat_, Kern is better known for his songs than for his shows. Warren Barker's _Tribute To Jerome Kern_ features “I Won't Dance” (from _Roberta_, 1935), “Long Ago and Far Away” (from _Cover Girl_, 1944), “Pick Yourself Up” (from _Swing Time_, 1936), and “All the Things You Are” (from _Very Warm For May_, 1939).

-- oOo --

*--- continued, next entry ---*​


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## AwayWeGo

*Potomac Brass Quintet (Of Virginia).*






Left to right, 
Alan Cole, horn
Sharyl Abell, trumpet
Mark Herzing, tuba
Scott Fridy, trombone
Dan Thomas, trumpet​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Rose Pink

Nice photo!


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## AwayWeGo

*Cathedral Brass Performances May 6 & May 20, 2012.*




I will be there (on 3rd horn). 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Dancing Down Broadway -- 8PM, Saturday, May 12, 2012.*

The City Of Fairfax Band
Fairfax, Virginia
Robert Pouliot, Music Director




America’s Broadway musicals have brought to the stage a treasure trove of dance music and dance segments. Fairfax Band's May 12 "Dancing Down Broadway" program features dance music from two Leonard Bernstein Broadway classics, _West Side Story_ and _On The Town_, along with symphonic dance sequences from _Fiddler On The Roof_ and more Broadway hits. Also featured on the program is the 2012 winner of the City Of Fairfax Band’s annual Young Artist Competition, Ava Oaxaca, an oboe player who attends H.B. Woodson High School, Fairfax VA.





Ava Oaxaca, guest soloist​
The show starts at 8PM in the Woodson High School auditorium, 9525 Main Street, Fairfax VA 22031.  

Tickets are on sale now.  ( Click here. )

*Symphonic Dances From West Side Story (Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990).* Leonard Bernstein wrote three symphonies, two operas, five musicals, and lots more musical compositions. During the 1960s, his series of televised Young People’s Concerts made him famous nationwide. After Jerome Robbins came up with the idea of doing a modern musical based on Romeo & Juliet, it took six years before West Side Story premiered. Originally, the action was to take place on New York’s Lower East Side, with tensions flaring between Catholics and Jews at the convergence of Passover and Easter. That project went nowhere. But shifting the conflict to the Polish-American Sharks and the Puerto Rican Jets fired up the authors’ imaginations so much that they took some dramatic and musical risks, not all of which were well received. One of the original producers backed out two months before the start of rehearsals. Columbia Records initially decided against recording Bernstein’s score -- too depressing and too difficult, they said. Despite all the setbacks, the authors and producers kept up their work because they knew they were creating something extraordinary. After its Broadway debut in 1957, West Side Story played 732 times before going on tour. The 1961 film version won 10 Academy Awards. _Symphonic Dances From West Side Story_ was premiered by the New York Philharmonic on February 13, 1961. The 2008 transcription for concert band is by Paul Lavender.

-- oOo --​
*Symphonic Dances From Fiddler on the Roof (arr. Ira Hearshen).* _Fiddler on the Roof_ was the first Broadway musical to reach the 3,000-performance mark. For 10 years _Fiddler_ held the Broadway record for longest-running musical. Today it stands at 15th on the list. (By contrast, _Oklahoma!_ is No. 29 and _South Pacific_ is No. 32.) The show's title comes from a Marc Chagall painting of eastern European Jewish life picturing a fiddler, who symbolizes survival through tradition and joyfulness in a life of uncertainty and imbalance. The show's book is by Joseph Stein. The lyrics are by Sheldon Harnick. Jerry Bock wrote the music. The highly acclaimed production was nominated for 10 Tony Awards and won nine -- including best musical, best score, best book, best direction, and best choreography (by Jerome Robbins). The music behind the show's ethnically styled dance numbers has been recast as a lively symphonic suite by arranger Ira Hearshen, featuring the “Chava Sequence,” “Perchik and Hodel Dance,” “Dance to Life,” “Tradition,” and the “Wedding Dance #1” (the Bottle Dance).

-- oOo --​
*Three Dance Episodes from On The Town (Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990).* After Leonard Bernstein wrote the Broadway music for _On the Town_, Roger Edens and Lennie Hayton teamed up to score Bernstein’s music for MGM. Their achievement won the 1949 Academy Award for best scoring of a musical picture. Three dance scenes from the show (“The Great Lover,” “Lonely Town: Pas De Deux,” and “ Times Square: 1944"), were transcribed for band by Maurice Stith.

-- oOo --​
*El Capitan (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932).* According to Frederick Fennell (1914-2004): “The military march is a deceivingly simple form of musical composition. Its obvious and square balance of dynamics, even musical phrases, and a certain preoccupation with heavy orchestration of the belt-and-suspenders variety, have often led casual amateurs and seasoned professionals to the rude awakening that a good march is not as easy to write as it would seem on the surface to be. In the case of the prolific John Philip Sousa, a great gift of writing 'music for the feet instead of the head' brought forth a bountiful production of countless examples in this form.” Sousa was also fond of operetta, and contributed music to 10 works for the stage, including _El Capitan_, Sousa's first successful operetta and his most successful stage work. A tryout of _El Capitan_ opened April 13, 1896, at Boston's Tremont Theatre. The show opened in New York a week later and ran for 112 performances at The Broadway Theatre. _El Capitan_ toured the USA and Canada for four years, and ran for 140 performances at the Lyric Theatre in London. Now and then the show resurfaces, including a 2009 production by the Lake George Opera (Saratoga Springs NY) and one in 2010 by the Ohio Light Opera (Wooster OH). _El Capitan's_ best known legacy is the famous Sousa military march.

-- oOo --​
*Shall We Dance? (arr. Akira Miyagawa, 1961 - ).* The fifth Broadway collaboration of Richard Rodgers (1902-1979) and Oscar Hammerstein II (1985-1960) resulted in _The King and I_, the musical adaptation of a fictionalized account of a British widow's experience in the palace of the King of Siam as governess and instructress of the king's children. The relationship between the king and the Englishwoman Anna is marked by personal and cultural conflict, as well as by tender affection that neither is able to express. By the end of “Shall We Dance” (Act II), the king still cannot accept the Western monogamous ideal, but it is apparent that he is attracted to Anna, and that he has started to understand the illogical ideal, if only a little. Anna sings *. . .* 

Shall we dance?
On a bright cloud of music shall we fly?
Shall we dance?
Shall we then say "Goodnight” and mean "Goodbye"?
Or perchance,
When the last little star has left the sky,
Shall we still be together
With our arms around each other,
And shall you be my new romance?
On the clear understanding
That this kind of thing can happen,
Shall we dance?
Shall we dance? Shall we dance?

-- oOo --​
_Haydn's Concerto for Oboe in C major (1st movement)._ Music historians recognize the _Haydn Oboe Concerto_ as a superior example of the classical wind concerto, with finely contoured melodic lines richly exploiting the full range of the instrument's technical possibilities available at the time. Music historians believe the oboe concerto dates from the first decade of the 19th century. Not only are they unable to authenticate the precise date of the piece, but they likewise cannot identify the true composer. They agree, however, that the _Haydn Oboe Concerto_ was not composed by Franz Joseph Haydn (1732-1809). No matter who composed it, the concerto's melodic distinction and high degree of craftsmanship have earned it a place in the concerto literature for oboe. Historians think it likely that Haydn's name was added only speculatively to the manuscript, where it is inscribed in unknown handwriting (conclusively not Haydn's) on the title page of the only surviving copy in the monastic library at Zittau. (_Note adapted from classicalarchives*.*com_ )

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Tribute To Greatest Generation -- June 2 American Legion & Fairfax Band Fund Raiser*



​
Concert selections & guest performers will be the same as Fairfax Band's "Greatest Generation" tribute concert presented in October 2011.  Click here for a description & program notes. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Exuberance Replaced By Wistfulness.  (But With Reason For Optimism.)*




AwayWeGo said:


> Tribute To Greatest Generation -- June 2 American Legion & Fairfax Band Fund Raiser


Worsening auditory problems (hearing loss, tinnitus, etc.) have led me to take a timeout from playing in Fairfax Band.

I did not play the June 2 _Greatest Generation_ concert, or the rehearsals leading up to that performance.

I have been playing (French) horn in concert bands 55+ years, & so I miss it terribly when I am not playing, but I am optimistic about the possibility of accommodating myself to improved hearing protection (advanced earplugs, etc.), & I will be searching also for appropriate medical advice so that I can resume participation in concert band.  I think I am still OK for brass quintet & brass ensemble, & I look forward to more participation with Fairfax Band in the future.

During this timeout, I am not just sitting around moping.  Amid this hearing loss fuss, I am striving not to drift into a _Poor Me_ mood, which not only is unhelpful but also is extremely inappropriate in view of the wonderfully full & rich life I have been given to live.

I have an appointment next month with Dr. Charles Limb at Johns Hopkins.  He's not only a top hearing specialist, but also a musician.  He has a couple of engaging video presentations on TED.  Click here & here for those.

So now I am optimistic in a specific way, not just in general.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Rose Pink

Alan, I hope you can get an accurate diagnosis and treatment that will help you.  I know music is so important in your life.  I wish you well.  

Your optimism is inspiring.

Keep us posted.  Hugs.


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## AwayWeGo

*Thank You.*




Rose Pink said:


> I hope you can get an accurate diagnosis and treatment that will help you.


Your good wishes & encouraging words are much appreciated. 

The doctor said, "I cannot imagine life without music & I know you can't either.  I think we can help you."   He divided the problem into 2 parts -- protecting the hearing that remains despite hearing loss, & making the most out of what I still have. 

For hearing protection, the doctor recommended sound shields (which may or may not be practical for the ensembles I'm part of -- we'll see) & special musician ear plugs, custom-fitted to my ear canals, that provide more protection than over-the-counter plugs.  I was fitted for those last week & should have them before Fairfax Band rehearsals resume next month.  They will not only protect against exposure to loud sounds, they will also affect how I hear what I hear while playing, which the doctor & the audiologist both say will take some getting used to. 

For tinnitus, the doctor recommended eliminating caffeine -- not cold turkey, but gradually.  The mix I'm loading into Mr. Coffee in the morning is now 6 to 1 decaf, so I'm getting there.  He also recommended ginkgo biloba, which he said is not proven to help nor FDA approved for that but which so many patients find helpful that he said it can't hurt to give it a try.  (So far, no improvement from ginkgo biloba, but maybe it takes more time, I don't know.)

As another measure to help with tinnitus, the doctor prescribed a tranquilizer at an extremely low dose.  The idea is not that the drug will reduce the tinnitus directly, but that it might make it less intrusive & less tension-building.  He said not to take it if I'm going to drive -- which virtually means not to take it, because I drive at least a little practically every day, if only to Planet Fitness & back for alternating daily turns on the hamster wheel (bike & elliptical machine) & Nautilus weight machines.  He did say that exercise can also help by promoting health & reducing tension -- good to know, I guess, although I haven't noticed any tinnitus improvement since I started daily exercise 2 years ago. 

To hear more of what I'm missing due to irreversible hearing loss, the doctor said I might want to try high-tech digital hearing aids.  They can help with those right there at Johns Hopkins, he said, although there are plenty of good audiologists closer to where I live so that I don't need to drive to Baltimore to get fitted.  He did say it's important to get connected with an audiologist who understands the needs of musicians & who will be willing to work with me as long as it takes to get the adjustments right.  Apparently hearing aids these days are remarkably advanced, with all sorts of tricky features like Blue Tooth wireless linkage to cell phones & iPods & concert venue sound-loop systems.  Various settings can be tailored to my audio spectrum & loaded into memory as needed for everything from recital hall to rehearsal room to social gatherings.  I guess I'll need to take'm out before I go swimming, & I doubt it's a good idea to wear'm while sleeping.  No doubt the audiologist will coach me on that.  From what I'm told, top-line feature-laden hearing aids do not come cheap, & until recently -- i.e., before I saw the doctor -- I have not been open minded about the idea of sticking electronic amplifiers in my ear holes.  Now that I am warming up to the idea, I don't think I will mind the cost if the results are good. 

Some of the people I know who wear advanced hearing aids use the over-ear type.  The doctor said the in-ear kind, by contrast, can be designed to include hearing protection, so I'll ask about those when I take the hearing aid plunge.

The doctor said to come back in 6 months & maybe he'll order MRI of my brain because of the asymmetry in my hearing loss left to right & because tinnitus occurs in the brain rather than anywhere in the anatomy of the ears.  

Even though the doctor offered no miraculous means of reversing my hearing loss & taking away my tinnitus, the encouragement & practical measures he outlined left me feeling better about my predicament & about the prospects for dealing with it better than I have been. 

BTW, the audiologist who fitted me for musician earplugs no longer does clinical work, other than helping musicians & doing that out of her home.  Her day job is in the halls of the speech & hearing national association, so maybe she can help steer me to a top practicing audiologist locally.  A friend I've known since we were both GS-7s in the civil service already gave me the name & number of his audiologist, so that's a start.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*"Musician" Ear Plugs.*

I was fitted for special custom-made sound-reducing musician ear plugs last month.  The fitting is done by an audiologist, who fills the ear canals (1 at a time) with fast-setting silicone goo.  A few minutes after the goo goes in, the silicone comes out in exactly the shape of the little empty space between my ear holes & my eardrums.  The congealed silicone shapes are used to make earplugs for hearing protection that completely fill the ear canals.  Each 1 has a sound filter on the opening at the outside end of the plug.  Reduced sound volume comes out of the filter & goes through a narrow tube at the core of the earplug, emerging at the eardrum. 

When the plugs are in, my ears feel like I'm under water. 

When I'm playing horn with the plugs in, the tone of the horn sounds (to me) more like the tone of a kazoo.  

At brass quintet rehearsal this afternoon, I was able to play 4-5 tunes with the new ear plugs in.  That was all I could take.  After that, I took out 1 of the new plugs & stuck in 1 of my old non-custom Etymotic ear plugs.  After another couple of tunes, I took out the other "musician" ear plug & installed the other Etymotic plug.  

Clearly, the new Sensaphonic "musician" earplugs are going to take some major serious getting used to.  

So it goes.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## MULTIZ321

AwayWeGo said:


> I was fitted for special custom-made sound-reducing musician ear plugs last month.  The fitting is done by an audiologist, who fills the ear canals (1 at a time) with fast-setting silicone goo.  A few minutes after the goo goes in, the silicone comes out in exactly the shape of the little empty space between my ear holes & my eardrums.  The congealed silicone shapes are used to make earplugs for hearing protection that completely fill the ear canals.  Each 1 has a sound filter on the opening at the outside end of the plug.  Reduced sound volume comes out of the filter & goes through a narrow tube at the core of the earplug, emerging at the eardrum.
> 
> When the plugs are in, my ears feel like I'm under water.
> 
> When I'm playing horn with the plugs in, the tone of the horn sounds (to me) more like the tone of a kazoo.
> 
> At brass quintet rehearsal this afternoon, I was able to play 4-5 tunes with the new ear plugs in.  That was all I could take.  After that, I took out 1 of the new plugs & stuck in 1 of my old non-custom Etymotic ear plugs.  After another couple of tunes, I took out the other "musician" ear plug & installed the other Etymotic plug.
> 
> Clearly, the new Sensaphonic "musician" earplugs are going to take some major serious getting used to.
> 
> So it goes.
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​



Hi Alan,

I sent you a PM.


Richard


----------



## AwayWeGo

*Thank You.*



MULTIZ321 said:


> Hi Alan,
> 
> I sent you a PM.
> 
> 
> Richard


Got it, Richard.  Thanks. 

I responded via E-Mail. 

Thanks again. 

-AC.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Musical Journeys -- Fairfax Band Concert November 3, 2012.*

8PM, Saturday, November 3, 2012

Musical Journeys
Subscription Series Concert by
The City Of Fairfax Band 
Conductor*:* Robert Pouliot, music director

Guest artist*:* Eric Moore, french horn 
Host*:* Rich Kleinfeldt

Location*:* Chantilly High School 
4201 Stringfellow Road 
Chantilly, Virginia





Eric Moore
-- hotlinked --

-- oOo --​
_*Overture to Barber of Seville* (Gioacchino Rossini, 1792-1868)._  Rossini was born into a musical family. His mother sang and his father played horn, so he learned horn and sang in the opera at Bologna, where he studied music and began a career in opera. Because of its elegant melodies, fresh wit, exhilarating rhythms, and inventive ensemble writing, _Il barbiere di Siviglia_, which dates from 1816, is among the greatest of all Italian comic operas. Despite having no success at first, it survived to became the best loved of Rossini’s comic works, and a favorite of both Beethoven and Verdi. The arrangement of the overture by Mayhew L. Lake (1879-1955) has become a concert band classic.

-- oOo --​
_*Marche des Parachutistes Belges* (Pierre Leemans, 1987-1980)._ Pierre Leemans, a native of Schaarbeek, Belgium (near Brussels), studied piano, harmony, orchestration, and composition the Etterbeek Music Academy, where he began a teaching career in 1917.  At age 23, after a year of military duty, he resumed music teaching until 1932, when he became the pianist-conductor-program director for the official Belgian broadcasting company. In 1934, he won the composition contest for writing the official march of the 1935 Brussels World Exposition. He founded the Schaarbeek High School Choir in 1940 and won a composition contest for school songs three years later. From entries by 109 anonymous composers, works by Leemans were selected for first and second prizes for the 1958 Brussels World's Fair. During his year of military duty, the regimental commander asked Leemans to compose a march. He started writing it but never got it finished. Near the end of World War II, a group of paratroopers asked Leemans to compose a march. As the group commander drove Leemans home, the march theme that he started years before came back into his mind, and he wrote out all the parts for the official _March of the Belgian Paratroopers_ after reaching home. The piece is in the form of a “patrol,” with the music heard softly as from a distance, growing louder as the troops pass near, and getting quiet again as the formation marches off. The first USA performance of _The March of the Belgian Paratroopers_ was of the version arranged by Charles A. “Pete” Wiley (1925- ), done at the request of his band students at Lamar University (Beaumont TX).

-- oOo --​
_*Villanelle* (Paul Dukas, 1865-1935)_. Dukas entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 16, studying piano, harmony, and composition. Although he won prizes for some of his pieces, disappointment over losing the _Prix de Rome_ (he came in second) led him to leave the conservatory. After military service, he started working as a music critic and composer. _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_, the brilliant and inventive tone poem Dukas wrote in 1897, overshadowed everything else the composer wrote, even in his own lifetime. A perfectionist, he destroyed many of his own incomplete as well as finished compositions. Little of his output survives. Dukas wrote his _Villanelle_ as a demanding exam piece for the horn class of the Paris Conservatoire in 1906. The title, referencing a cheerful traditional vocal genre that originated in 16th century Italy, shows that the piece is by no means a dry etude. Alongside the technical challenges (hand-stopped notes, fast scales, playing without valves using natural horn techniques), the piece is successful because of its refreshing melodies, for which reason the _Villanelle_ is still one of the most popular performance pieces for horn. The first edition was originally for horn and piano. The piano part was expanded for full orchestra in 1966 by Vitaliy Mikhailovich Buyanovsky (1928-1993), principal horn player of the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestration for horn and wind ensemble is by Donald Miller. _(Note adapted from web sites of G. Henle Publishers, Munich, Germany, and Compozitor Publishing House, St. Petersburg, Russia.)_

-- oOo --​
_*Variations on a Korean Folk Song* (John Barnes Chance, 1932-1972)._ John Barnes Chance, a Texas native born in Beaumont, played percussion instruments in high school and tried his hand at composing music. On scholarship at the University of Texas, he earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in music, studying under Clifton Williams. After college, he enlisted for a 3-year tour of duty in U.S. Army bands in Texas and Korea as a percussionist and arranger. After his discharge, under a grant from the Ford Foundation’s Young Composers Project, he was assigned to the public schools in Greensboro, North Carolina. He wrote 7 pieces for school ensembles including _Incantation and Dance_. In 1966, his _Variations on a Korean Folk Song_ received the Ostwald Award from the American Bandmasters Association. The following year he was appointed to the faculty of the University of Kentucky, where he was later appointed head of the theory-composition program. While serving with the 8th U.S. Army Band in Korea, Chance was attracted by the popular folk melody _Arirang_, a traditional Korean song of love and heartbreak found in many versions, possibly dating back 1*,*000 years, which he used as the basis for his _Variations on a Korean Folk Song_. The pentatonic (5-tone) theme which opens the piece is developed through 5 contrasting variations marked _Vivace_, _Larghetto_, _Allegro con brio_, _Sostenuto_, and _Con Islancio_ ("with impetuousness").       

-- oOo --​
_*Aspen Jubilee* (Ron Nelson, 1929- )_. Ron Nelson has described Aspen Jubilee as a “flashy, high-energy overture.” Commissioned in 1984 by the Manatee High School Band in Bradenton FL, Aspen Jubilee is in a 3-part form (slow-fast-slow). The featured soprano vocal line provides additional tonal color. Nelson credits several influences to conceiving this work. He states, “I was thinking of the stupendous beauty of the Rockies in general, of blinding sunlight of snow-covered peaks; of the frontier spirit of old Aspen with its brash, funny dynamism, its corny ragtag Fourth of July parades and firework displays. I was also thinking about indescribably beautiful nights under star-filled skies (the middle section is titled _Nightsong_).” Ron Nelson began composing at age six, and by 17 had already written and performed a piano concerto with symphonic band. He went on to study composition with Howard Hanson and Bernard Rogers at the Eastman School of Music, where he earned three degrees. A Fulbright Grant in the mid-1950s took him to Paris, where he studied with Tony Aubin and Arthur Honegger. The composer joined the music faculty of Brown University in 1956, where he remained until his retirement in 1993 and was named Professor Emeritus. His works have earned him numerous composition awards, including the American Bandmasters Association Ostwald Award. In addition to over 90 works written for orchestra, wind symphony, and chorus, Nelson has also composed film scores for Columbia Pictures, Eastman Kodak, and NBC. _(Program note from_ American Treasures _CD recording by the U.S. Air Force Band, Washington DC, Colonel Dennis M. Layendecker, commander & music director.)_

-- oOo --​
_*Mannin Veen* (Haydn Wood, 1882-1959)_.  Haydn Wood was born in Yorkshire, but grew up on the Isle of Man, an island of 227 square miles in the Irish Sea between Ireland and England. Wood’s talent on violin got him into the Royal College of Music, and he went on to become a popular composer. The Manx phrase _Mannin Veen_ translates to Dear Isle of Man, reflecting nostalgic feelings for the land where Wood spent so much of his childhood, as reflected in Wood’s 1933 creation of a tone poem for concert band using four Manx folk tunes. (The composer later rescored the piece for orchestra.)  The four tunes are “The Good Old Way,” “The Manx Fiddler,” “Sweet Water in the Common,” and “Harvest of the Sea.”

-- oOo --​
_*South Pacific Symphonic Scenario* (Richard Rodgers [1902-1979], adapted by R. Mark Rogers)_. _South Pacific_, the long-running musical show by Richard Rodgers and Oscar Hammerstein II (1895-1960), is one of  Broadway's greatest Broadway musicals. _South Pacific_ premiered in 1949 and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1950. Several of its songs, including “Bali Ha'i,” “I'm Gonna Wash That Man Right Out of My Hair,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” “Happy Talk,” “Younger Than Springtime,” and “I'm in Love with a Wonderful Guy,” became popular standards. Beside winning 10 Tony Awards (including Best Musical, Best Score, and Best Libretto) _South Pacific_ is the only musical production ever to win all four Tony Awards for acting (to Ezio Pinza, best musical actor as Emile de Becque*;* Mary Martin, best musical actress as Ensign Nellie Forbush*;* Myron McCormick, best supporting or featured musical actor as Luther Billis*;* and Juanita Hall, best supporting or featured musical actress as Bloody Mary). The show's critical and box office success spawned many successful revivals and tours, including a 1958 Hollywood film and other adaptations. Together, Rodgers and Hammerstein were responsible for a revolution on Broadway, to the point where the American musical became more important than serious drama. Of Rodgers's music, his partner Oscar Hammerstein said, “Each melody adheres to the purpose for which it was put into a play. It is romantic, funny, or sad according to the situation for which it was written and the character required to sing it.” Even after _South Pacific's_ Broadway run ended, the Hollywood movie version of it did big box office, and the songs from _South Pacific_ continue to be heard in concert halls and band shells all over the country, as in the _South Pacific Symphonic Scenario_, adapted for concert band by R. Mark Rogers.

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*The Lighter Side of Life -- Fairfax Band Concert March 23, 2013.*

8PM Saturday, March 23, 2013.

The Lighter Side Of Life
Subscription Series Concert by
The City Of Fairfax Band 
Conductor*:* Robert Pouliot, music director

Host*:* Rich Kleinfeldt

Location*:*  Fairfax High School 
3501 Rebel Run 
Fairfax, Virginia




*Alpha & Omega (Paul Yoder, 1908-1990).* Paul Yoder graduated from the University of North Dakota & earned a masters degree from Northwestern University, Evanston, Illinois. He co-founded the Japanese Band Directors Association, was President of the American Bandmasters Association, & served on the board of directors of the Midwest International Band & Orchestra Clinic. Yoder wrote more than 1*,*500 original compositions & arrangements, with a focus on works for young bands. He also produced a number of instrumental method instruction books. According to biographer Steven Kelly, Yoder's “emphasis on ensemble class instruction changed the manner in which bands were taught," such that no American band student between the 1930s & 1970s would be likely to go without experiencing a Yoder piece. Paul Yoder was noted for for his warm, humorous personality, which is reflected in his music. He wondered, “What would it sound like if a concert piece had no middle, just famous beginnings (“alpha”) & famous endings (“omega”)?  To find out, Yoder wrote a unique piece in which there are no middle sections at all, just some of the concert hall's best known opening and closing phrases. The result is _Alpha & Omega_.

-- oOo --​
_*Turkey In The Straw* (traditional, arr. Lewis J. Buckley)._ Lew Buckley joined the U.S. Coast Guard Band in 1969 as principal trumpet & trumpet soloist. In 1975, he became Coast Guard Band director, becoming the longest-tenured conductor (over 29 years) in the history of senior U.S. military bands. Under his baton, the Coast Guard Band became a famed national touring organization, released some 20 recordings, & earned its reputation as 1 of the world's most accomplished wind bands. He composes, arranges, & publishes music that is widely performed. Lew Buckley continues as an active trumpet performer, frequently combining solo appearances with conducting, often in premiere performances of his own commissioned works. Composer's note on _Turkey in the Straw_*:* This arrangement came about as a result of my getting the tune stuck in my head as I was driving to work 1 morning. At first, I was just hearing the basic fiddle tune; however, I soon began imagining the kinds of things one could do in arranging it into a set of variations for band. At 1 point, I could just hear the trombone section playing a set of glissandi in the final section of the song, & I wanted to actually hear that sound so badly that the die was cast -- I went home that very day & started writing it. Another of my favorite parts of the arrangement is the flute cadenza that takes itself oh-so-seriously, considering the relative frivolity of the tune itself. I have been gratified that both bands & audiences alike seem to enjoy this arrangement.

-- oOo --​
_*Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik* (Adam Gorb, 1958- )._ Adam Gorb, born in Cardiff, Wales, started composing at age 10. The 1st piece of his music broadcast on British national radio was written when Gorb was 15. He studied at Cambridge University (1977-1980) & the Royal Academy of Music (1991-1993), where he graduated with highest honors, including winning the Principal's Prize. He has been on the staff at the London College of Music & Media, the junior academy of the Royal Academy of Music, & since 2000 he has been the Head of School of Composition at the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. Many of Gorb's compositions celebrate two of his abiding passions*:* symphonic wind ensembles & klezmer, the folk music of the Yiddish-speaking people. With those, _Gorb's Eine Kleine Yiddishe Ragmusik_ spins in some witty & jazzy ragtime rhythms. The tune's title is a tip of the hat to Mozart's _Serenade No. 13_ for strings
(_Eine Kleine Nachtmusik_).

-- oOo --​
_*The Homeowners Guide To Making Music* (Hiram Power)._ The roster of modern band instruments ranges from woodwinds & reeds (oboe, flute, saxophone, clarinet, bassoon, etc.) through percussion (drums, cymbals, bells, chimes, gongs, etc.) to the brasses (trumpets, cornets, horns, trombones, euphoniums, tubas, etc.). Varied as the sounds from those instruments are, they're not wide-ranging enough for composer Hiram Power, who creatively augmented those traditional music makers with “instruments” from the catalog of Home Depot (power saw, drill, etc.) and Sears (vacuum cleaner, blender, etc.). The result is _The Homeowners Guide To Making Music_, which raises the question: Is it still music if the sound source is non-musical? Well, as Duke Ellington put it, _If It Sounds Good It *Is* Good_.

-- oOo --​
_*Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!* (Eric Whitacre)._  Usually the script comes 1st, then the casting, the story boards, the shooting schedule, & later on the composition of the film score. That’s if you’re really making a movie. But what if the movie is only a figment of the imagination, & not a fully realized work of the imagination? That is, what if the movie does not exist on film, but the idea of the movie takes hold in a composer’s whimsical imagination? If the composer is Eric Whitacre, then the answer is you go right ahead with the score anyway. And that’s what Eric Whitacre has done, creating on commission from the Wind Symphony of the University of Nevada at Las Vegas some extremely energetic movie music minus the movie, telling the story in sound but not in pictures of how the hideous movie monster Godzilla accosts the Las Vegas Strip, crushing cars, frightening tourists, & triggering a military counterattack which gets nowhere until a fearless army of Elvises (the “Elvi”) target the savage brute with bombs, tanks, & cannon balls. Meanwhile, in the clubs & casinos the showy glitter & neon glitz proceed with no awareness of the devastation that is about to descend on gambler & showgirl alike. From the earliest distant rumblings of foreboding to the triumphant annihilation of Godzilla, musically speaking it’s all there. _Godzilla Eats Las Vegas!_ had its premiere with the UNLV Wind Symphony in November 1996. Since then, bands all over Japan, North America, Europe, Asia, & Australia have shared in the fun, including the City of Fairfax Band.

-- oOo --​
_*A Rhapsody of Reruns* (arranged by Paul Jennings)._ The TV shows that were on the longest are the ones with the most familiar theme songs, even if it was a long time ago when they were on, way back during the days of black & white TV. Then again, only the pictures were in black & white; the music & soundtracks were in living color -- at least that’s the way some of us remember it. Musical arranger Paul Jennings has a fondness for the tunes associated with some of those long-running shows, & he has woven them together in a concert band medley. See how many of these television theme songs you remember, from *. . .*
McHale’s Navy
The Addams Family
Leave It To Beaver
Roy Rogers & Dale Evans
The Lone Ranger
Maverick
Dragnet
Gilligan’s Island
The Groucho Marx Show (_You Bet Your Life_)
Perry Mason
M*A*S*H

-- oOo --​
_*Kadiddlehopper March* (Red Skelton, 1913-1997)._ Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton, from Vincennes, Indiana, auditioned for a medicine show at age 10. An accidental fall from the stage broke bottles on the way down, getting laughs from the audience & convincing the boy that his talent for clowning could earn him a living. By 15, Red was on the Vaudeville circuit. At 16, he was clowning in a circus. He started working for RKO in short Hollywood films in 1937, & got a long-term contract with MGM in 1940. Red introduced his character Clem Kadiddlehopper on his NBC network radio show in its initial season (1941). (Later, Red thought the voice of Bullwinkle Moose on TV sounded so much like Red's voice pattern as Clem Kadiddlehopper that Red was ready to sue the actor who voiced Bullwinkle.) Red's weekly hour-long TV comedy shows ran 20 years on CBS. After that, his half-hour TV series ran on NBC, & he appeared on HBO specials. Red never quit making people laugh. He said, “In the morning, when I open my eyes & look around, if I don't see candles or smell flowers, then I figure I'm still alive so I get up.” He said, “I want to live long enough to see who gets Brooke Shields.” Red Skelton's talents & energies went beyond show business. He was a prolific writer & composer. After typically sleeping 4-5 hours, he would get up at 5AM and begin writing stories, composing music, & painting pictures. He wrote at least 1 short story per week & composed some 8*,*000 songs during his lifetime. Red's _Kadiddlehopper March_ was performed on an April 1969 episode of _The Red Skelton Show_ by conductor Arthur Fiedler & the Boston Pops, along with another of Red's pieces plus some light classical numbers & show tunes. Red Skelton excelled at pantomime, with minimal props. A poignant example is of an old man watching a parade, a sketch rooted in personal tragedy. Red's son Richard, who died of leukemia at age 9, asked his father what happens when people die. Skelton told him, "They join a parade & start marching." Who knows if they might possibly be marching to the strains of the _Kadiddlehopper March_?  _(Note adapted from Wikipedia*.*com & IMDB*.*com )_

-- oOo --​
_*Symphony No. 5½, A Symphony For Fun* (Don Gillis 1912-1978)._ _Symphony No. 5½_ is the best known of 13 symphonies written by Don Gillis, some with names & numbers, other with names only (no numbers). Gillis acknowledged his _Star-Spangled Symphony_ as his “Ninth,” but he was reluctant to number it _Nine_ because he didn’t want people to get the idea it would “compete with Beethoven.” With his 5th symphony completed, and while at work on composing his sixth, Gillis put No. 6 aside as his mind was drawn to some entirely different and light-hearted musical material. Coming after Five but before Six, the intervening symphony became No. 5½, which Gillis subtitled _A Symphony For Fun_ -- an unconventional symphony with an odd factional number, plus punny titles for 2 of the 4 movements & unusual punctuation for the other 2*:*
_Perpetual Emotion
Spiritual ?
Scherzophrenia
Conclusion !_​The symphony was premiered in May 1947 by the Boston Pops, conducted by Arthur Fiedler. In September 1947 _Symphony No. 5½_ received its 1st radio broadcast performance with Arturo Toscanini conducting the NBC Symphony Orchestra. The 4 short movements, drawn on American jazz & folks idioms, are full of good humor, sly wit, & sparkling orchestration. The concert band arrangement is by Maurice Ford.

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Spotlight On The Pops! -- 8PM Saturday, May 11, 2013.*



​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


----------



## AwayWeGo

*Spotlight On The Pops! -- 8PM Saturday, May 11, 2013.*

Spotlight On The Pops! -- 8PM Saturday, May 11, 2013.

City Of Fairfax Band 
Robert Pouliot, Music Director 
Guest Artist*:* Andrea Hsu, flute (2013 Fairfax Band Young Artist Competition Winner) 
Guest Artist*:* Paul Fadoul, xylophone (1996 Fairfax Band Young Artist Competition Winner) 
Host*:* Rich Kleinfeldt

Auditorium Location*:*  W.T. Woodson High School 
9525 Main Street 
Fairfax, Virginia

Click here for tickets.

--oOo--​
*Blue Shades (Frank Ticheli, 1958 - ).* Frank Ticheli, born in Monroe, Louisiana, received his Bachelor of Music in Composition from Southern Methodist University and his Masters Degree in Composition and Doctorate of Musical Arts from the University of Michigan. He is Associate Professor of Music at the University of Southern California and Composer-in-Residence of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra. He has written works for bands, wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber ensembles, and the theatre. His music has garnered many prestigious awards including the Goddard Lieberson fellowship and Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy and Institute of Arts and Letters; the 1989 Walter Beeler memorial Composition Prize; the Ross Lee Finney Award; and 1st prize in the 11th annual Symposium for New Band Music in Virginia. The _New York Times_ has described his music as “lean and muscular and above all, active, in motion.” _Blue Shades_ reflects Frank Ticheli’s love for the traditional jazz music that he heard so often while growing up near new Orleans. _Blue Shades_ was his opportunity to express his own musical style in this medium. Here is his own description of the piece*:* As its title suggests, the work alludes to the Blues, and a jazz feeling is prevalent -- however, it is in not literally a Blues piece. There is not a single 12-bar blues progression to be found, and except for a few isolated sections, the eighth-note is not swung. The work, however, is heavily influenced by the Blues: “Blue notes” (flatted 3rds, 5ths, and 7ths) are used constantly; Blues harmonies, rhythms, and melodic idioms pervade the work; and many “shades of blue” are depicted, from bright blue, to dark, to dirty, to hot blue. At times, _Blue Shades_ burlesques some of the clichés from the Big Band era, not as a mockery of those conventions, but as a tribute. A slow and quiet middle section recalls the atmosphere of a dark, smoky blues haunt. An extended clarinet solo played near the end recalls Benny Goodman’s hot playing style, and ushers in a series of “wailing” brass chords recalling the train whistle effects commonly used during that era. _(Note courtesy of the Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos, California.)_

--oOo--​
*The Complete Harry Potter (arranged by Jerry Brubaker).* Program note by the arranger*:* The Wizard Lives On! _The Complete Harry Potter_ marks the culmination of my six-month(+) project to arrange and incorporate the most beautiful and most exciting themes from all of the Harry Potter movies into one manageable work. Over a 10-year period, four different composers contributed poignant and truly magical scores to eight different award-winning films. This music is now brought together in a suite for Symphonic Band. In less than 12 minutes the listener can experience Hedwig’s Theme, Hogwarts, Quidditch, Harry’s Wondrous World, Fawkes Phoenix, Harry in Winter, Dumbledore’s Farewell and the intense Elder Wand theme where Voldemort wickedly thrusts Dumbledore’s Wand to the sky! More themes abound, including the mysterious Lily’s Theme. A fitting finale, John Williams’s compelling Family Portrait theme used in the finale of the concluding film in the series, to send off future wizards as they board Hogwarts Express! Published by Alfred Music.

--oOo--​
*Russlan and Ludmilla Overture (Mikhail Glinka, 1804-1857).* Glinka, the first Russian composer to gain wide recognition within his own country, is considered the father of Russian classical music. He was an important influence on future Russian composers (especially Balakirev, Borodin, Cui, Mussorgsky, and Rimsky-Korsakov), who created a distinctive Russian style of music following Glinka's lead. _Russlan and Ludmilla_ (1842 premiere) is the second of Glinka's two operas.  (The first is _A Life For the Tsar_, 1837.) _Russlan and Ludmilla_ was not much appreciated at its St. Petersburg premiere because Italian operas were in vogue at the time. In the years since, _Russlan and Ludmilla_ has become a mainstay of the Bolshoi Opera, which staged over 700 performances of it in 9 different productions over the past 165 years. Beyond its native country, _Russlan and Ludmilla_ is mainly known for its rollicking overture, which is a famous orchestral showpiece. The concert band transcription is by Mark H. Hindsley (1905-1999).

--oOo--​
*The Thunderer (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932).* Sousa wrote 136 marches, 15 operettas, 70 songs, 11 waltzes, and lots of incidental music. His most famous march, _The Stars & Stripes Forever_, is the official march of the United States, by Act of Congress. Sousa was quoted saying, "My religion lies in my composition.” Beyond music, John Philip Sousa wrote three novels -- _The Fifth String_, _Pipetown Sandy_, and _The Transit of Venus_ – plus a full-length autobiography titled _Marching Along_. Sousa is enshrined in the Trapshooting Hall of Fame as one of the all-time greats in that sport. He was a regular competitor representing the United States Navy in trapshooting competitions, particularly against the United States Army. In his Hall of Fame biography, he remarks, "Let me say that just about the sweetest music to me is when I call, ‘Pull,’ the old gun barks, and the referee in perfect key announces, ‘Dead’." _The Thunderer_ (1889) is among Sousa's best known and most performed marches. Its title may or may not refer to the thunderous blast from a shotgun. The 1998 edition of _The Thunderer_ was arranged by Sousa experts Keith Brion and Loras John Schissel. 

--oOo--​
*Selections From Les Misérables (arranged by Warren Barker, (1923-2006).* The show that broke records on Broadway and London has been produced in 14 languages reaching audiences that have totaled well over 50 million people worldwide -- and that was before the movie version of _Les Misérables_ came out. For such a smash hit, the production with music by Claude-Michel Schönberg and English libretto by Herbert Kretzmer got off to a rough start. After the London opening of _Les Misérables_ (October 1985), the _Sunday Telegraph's_ reviewer called the show "a lurid Victorian melodrama produced with Victorian lavishness." A review in the _London Observer_ said the show was “witless and synthetic entertainment." But the theater-going public saw it differently. The original sold-out 3-month theater engagement was renewed indefinitely. _Les Misérables_ has been on the stage in London continuously ever since. In New York, _Les Misérables_ opened in 1987 and ran through 2003, the 4th longest-running Broadway show ever. The show was nominated for 12 Tony Awards and won eight, including Best Musical and Best Original Score. A 2006 Broadway revival ran through 2008. Warren Barker's arrangement of _Selections From Les Misérables_ features “At The End Of The Day,” “I Dreamed A Dream,” “Master Of The House,” “On My Own,” and “Do You Hear The People Sing.”

--oOo--​
*Bacchanale from Samson & Delilah (Camille Saint-Saëns, 1835-1921).* Camille Saint-Saëns was born in Paris in 1835. He began learning piano at age 2½ and memorized all of Beethoven’s piano sonatas by age 10. He entered the Paris Conservatoire in 1848. He based his most famous opera, _Samson & Delilah_ (1877), on the Old Testament story. In the opera, after Samson succumbs to Delilah’s wiles, there is a riotous celebration in the temple of Dagon. Samson is led in. Delilah joins others in mocking him, telling him of her duplicity. Samson is taken to the two pillars that support the building. In a final exertion of strength, he brings the temple down on himself and the whole assembled company. The _Bacchanale_ was arranged for concert band by Fred M. Hubbell (1924-2007).

--oOo--​
*1st Movement, Concerto No. 2 for Flute in D Major K.V. 314 (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-1791).* Mozart's _Flute Concerto No. 2 in D Major_ started out as a concerto for oboe in C Major, written for an Italian oboist  in 1777. In 1778, Mozart rewrote the piece as a flute concerto in D Major for a Dutch flautist who commissioned four flute quartets and three flute concertos from Mozart. Of those the composer completed three of the commissioned flute quartets and only one new flute concerto. Instead of starting over on a new work for the second flute concerto, Mozart rearranged his oboe concerto from a year earlier, delivering that as the second commissioned flute concerto, although in a new key and with substantial changes in accord with the composer's conception of performance characteristics more suitable for flute. Mozart's client, however, did not pay for the second flute concerto because instead of being all new, it was based on the earlier oboe concerto. Before long, the written music for the oboe version of the concerto was lost, not to be rediscovered until 1920 in Salzburg, although references to it in the literature suggested to music historians that the surviving _Flute Concerto No.2_ had its origin as a concerto for oboe. With versions for both instruments restored to the Mozart catalog, the concerto K.V. 314 has become an important part of the repertory for flute as well as oboe. The piece was transcribed and arranged for concert band by Ervin Monroe, former principal flute of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra. _(Note adapted from Wikipedia*.*com )_

--oOo--​
*The Golden Age of the Xylophone (arranged by Floyd E. Werle, 1929-2010).* The orchestral debut of the wood-bar xylophone was in 1874, with the instrument's crisp, bright staccatos evoking the sounds of dancing skeletons in _Danse Macbre_ by Camille Saint-Saëns, who used xylophone again to suggest rattling fossils in _Carnival of the Animals_ (1886). About that time, John C. Deagan, an English clarinetist who became interested in percussion tuning, established the Musical Bells Company in St. Louis, Missouri. By 1897 he started producing fully chromatic xylophones (equipped with all the flats and sharps) of consistent orchestral quality and consistency. Deagan's company helped make xylophones popular in community and military bands all over the United States and around much of the western world. By the early 20th century the xylophone had become an attention-getting solo instrument because its bright and piercing tone color stood out above all the other instrumental sounds. The xylophone's bright woody vibrations had carrying power which greatly suited the early acoustic recordings that worked by sound power alone, before the invention of electronic amplification. Thus the xylophone was widely featured in ragtime and early jazz recordings. Bandleaders like Paul Whiteman used the xylophone as a solo instrument, as did John Phillips Sousa and Arthur Pryor, showing off the virtuoso talents of players like Arthur Racket, George Lawrence Stone, and brothers George Hamilton Green and Joe Green, who were all famous back in that Golden Age of solo xylophone playing. Evoking those old-time xylophone fireworks, arranger Floyd Werle created a show-stopping ragtime novelty xylophone solo, with band accompaniment, featuring eight lively tunes that were big favorites in the 1900s. Premiered by Randy Eyles and the United States Air Force Band, _The Golden Age of the Xylophone_ since then has been performed around the world, including a 1987 live radio broadcast in China that reached an audience estimated at 60 million people.

-- xXx--​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Tell Me A Story -- October 26, 2013, Concert By Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band.*





Tell Me a Story -- Theme Concert by the City Of Fairfax Band
Robert Pouliot, Music Director
8PM Saturday, October 26, 2013
Fairfax High School
3501 Rebel Run 
Fairfax, VA​
_*“Hobbits,” from Symphony No. 1, The Lord of the Rings* (Johan de Meij, 1953 - )._ Dutch composer Johan de Meij received his musical education at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, where he studied band conducting & trombone performance. After graduation de Meij gained an international reputation as an arranger of classical as well as popular music. Well before the epic films based on J.R.R. Tolkien’s fantasy-trilogy _The Lord of the Rings_ reached the big screen, de Meij retold the story musically via his _Symphony No. 1_. His creation won the Sudler International Wind Band Composition competition in 1989 on its way to becoming one of the world’s most popular works for winds & percussion. The symphony was written between March 1984 and December 1987. The premiere was performed in Brussels by the Military Band of the Belgian Guides under the baton of Norbert Nozy on March 15, 1988. The City of Fairfax Band performed the complete symphony in 1996. In 2001, the orchestral version was premiered by the Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and recorded by the London Symphony Orchestra. The concluding 5th movement of the symphony, titled “Hobbits,” reveals the carefree & optimistic character of the Hobbits in a happy folk dance. The hymn that follows expresses the determination & nobility of character of the Hobbit folk. The symphony does not end on an exuberant note, but concludes peacefully with quiet resignation, in keeping with the symbolic mood of the saga's last chapter, “The Grey Havens,” in which Frodo & Gandalf sail away in a white ship & disappear slowly beyond the horizon.

-- oOo --​
_*A Symphony of Fables* (Julie Giroux, 1961- )_. Julie Ann Giroux was born in 1961 in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, & grew up in Phoenix, Arizona, & Monroe, Louisiana. Her formal education is from Louisiana State University and Boston University. She studied composition with John Williams, Bill Conti, & Jerry Goldsmith, among others. Although an accomplished performer on piano & horn, her first love is composition. She began playing the piano at age three & published her 1st piece at the age 10. In 1985, she began composing, orchestrating, & conducting music for television & films, & now has over 100 film & television credits. She won 3 Emmy Awards. _A Symphony of Fables_ was commissioned by the United States Air Force Band of Flight, Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Ohio, Lt. Col. Alan Sierichs, commander & conductor. _Notes from the composer_*:* Once I had decided upon composing a work based on fables & had chosen the 5 fables that I would musically tell, I was faced with the decision of style. Taking to heart the often spoken phrase “write what you know about,” I decided after great debate to compose all the fables in what I consider to be “old school” style. What I mean by that is I used styles which I believe I would have heard as “background” music in my head or at the movies when I was young. Keep in mind that when I was a child, my favorite musical story compilation was Disney's _Fantasia_. I knew I did not want this work to come off as “cartoon” music, but as an emotionally serious & highly programmatic work with several options for the performers in its “telling.” Each movement has been composed to stand alone & is capable of being performed in that manner with no introduction other than the normal program notes as a guide. Any combination of the movements in any order is also perfectly acceptable. The published “order” is what I feel to be the best if the entire work is being performed. But, again, I will leave that to the performers.

-- oOo --​
_*L'Apprenti Sorcier* (Paul Dukas, 1865-1935)._ Dukas entered the Paris Conservatoire at age 16, studying piano, harmony, & composition. Although some of his pieces won composition prizes, his disappointment at not winning the _Prix de Rome_ (he came in 2nd) led him to drop out of conservatory. After military service, he started working as a music critic and composer. _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_, the brilliant & inventive tone poem Dukas wrote in 1897, overshadowed everything else the composer wrote, even in his own lifetime. Dukas subtitled the piece “Scherzo after a ballad by Goethe,” because his inspiration for the music came from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe's poem, also titled _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_, written in 1797. The tone poem by Dukas was already popular among concert-goers when Walt Disney took it to a much larger audience by featuring it in his 1940 animated feature _Fantasia_. Disney had acquired the music rights in 1937 for a separate Mickey Mouse film he was planning. At the suggestion of maestro Leopold Stokowski, Disney's plan blossomed into _Fantasia_, with Mickey Mouse starring as the apprentice in the _Sorcerer's Apprentice_ sequence. For that sequence, Stokowski conducted a Hollywood studio orchestra. In all the other musical sequences recorded for _Fantasia_, Stokowski directed the Philadelphia Orchestra. _The Sorcerer's Apprentice_ was transcribed for concert band by Frank Winterbottom. 

-- oOo --​
_*Songs of Abelard* (Norman Dello Joio, 1913-2008)_. The composer was regarded during his lifetime as one of the foremost figures in modern American music. His compositions show clear formal structure as well as partiality to variation technique. A New York City native, he was descended from three generations of Italian organists, & became a church organist himself at age 14. He attended Juilliard, studied under Paul Hindemith at Yale, then taught composition at Sarah Lawrence College, Bronxville NY (1944-50), before becoming Professor of Music at the Mannes College of Music in New York City. Dello Joio earned wide respect for his fine craftsmanship. He won the 1957 Pulitzer Prize in music for _Meditations on Ecclesiastes_ for string orchestra. He received an Emmy for _Scenes from The Louvre_, his original score for a 1964 NBC television special. _Songs of Abelard_ (1969) was inspired by the medieval French legend of Abelard and Heloise. In 12th century Paris, Heloise strives for an answer to the question of human existence. Only one teacher, the famous scholar Abelard, can provide the wisdom that she seeks. Though 20 years older than Heloise, Abelard is intrigued by the young woman's rare intelligence. The pair soon find themselves powerless over a spiritual and physical desire for each other, despite knowing that any such relationship is forbidden. When Heloise becomes pregnant, they flee. To protect the dignity of his fallen niece, Cathedral Canon Fulbert arranges a secret marriage between Heloise and Abelard. But soon the lovers discover that Fulbert has plotted to ruin Abelard & keep Heloise for himself. Heloise escapes to the convent at Argenteuil. But for Abelard, it is too late. A brutal attack in Paris leaves him mutilated. After that, Abelard no longer considers himself capable of teaching at Notre Dame. Heloise & Abelard decide that their only option is to take holy orders as monk & nun even though Heloise knows that in doing so she must give up her child & will never see him again. Through 20 years of correspondence, the love between Heloise & Abelard survives their physical separation. Years later, upon reuniting briefly at a ceremony in Paris, Heloise & Abelard comprehend that their reason for human existence is their shared love. Though they never meet again, their love endures through the ages. _Program note by the composer_*:* This band composition is a symphonic synthesis culled from the music of _Time of Snow_, a dance score choreographed by Martha Graham. Its three movements are the dramatic & tragic musical expression of the Abelard and Heloise legend. The text for the vocal solos is based on poetic material from the medieval period in which the events of this compelling love story took place in Paris. This early 12th century romance between the foremost scholar of his day and the niece of a canon of the Notre Dame Cathedral, which stunned the academic & clerical world at the time, is still recalled in an inscription upon a small house on the _Isle de la Cité_*:* 
Heloise, Abelard lived here.
Sincere lovers. Precious models. 
The year 1118.

-- oOo --​
_*Jericho Rhapsody* (Morton Gould, 1913-1996)_. Gould developed an interest in concert band music & especially the burgeoning phenomenon of school bands. His 1st original work for band was his _Cowboy Rhapsody_, composed in 1940 at the behest of William Revelli for the University of Michigan Band. Gould was clearly impressed by the experience and immediately began proselytizing on behalf of bands, as evidenced by his comments in the October 1940 issue of _Etude_ magazine*:* _Band composing and arranging has been an exclusive field, and its importance to today’s musical idiom has not yet been fully realized by those composers who seek out only the orchestral field. I have found this field most intriguing and propose to compose other works exclusively for band._ The work that followed this bold statement was _Jericho Rhapsody_, composed in 1941 for the Pennsylvania School Music Association. As with _American Salute_ (1942), the composer wrote _Jericho Rhapsody_ under such a tight deadline that he had to create the work overnight. The piece itself may have been written quickly, but the idea had gestated over a longer period of time, beginning with the composer’s reading of the biblical _Book of Joshua_. As one might expect from the title, the melody at the core of this fantasy is the spiritual song “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho,” but the work is also a programmatic accounting of the battle. In order to tell the story Gould adds several melodies of his own invention in the 7 episodes that correspond to the narrative. Although the scene of the original Battle of Jericho is geographically far removed from this country, the themes, styles, & tonalities of this work are thoroughly American. The opening scene is set with a dramatic and declamatory “Prologue,” a sequence that portends a conflict of epic proportions. Next is the “Roll Call,” in which God instructs Joshua to select 12 men, one from each tribe, to take into battle. The melody of the “Chant” that follows is original to Gould, but is clearly inspired by the African-American spiritual tradition. The next episode, “Dance,” features the 1st appearance of “Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho” in a jazzy back-and-forth treatment between the trumpets and the rest of the band. Gould provides 2 secondary melodies in this section that are as memorable as the one he borrowed & that evoke images of American dance halls in the 1920s and 1930s. A solo snare drum escorts us into the “March and Battle,” a scene that gradually builds in excitement & intensity, especially when “Joshua’s Trumpets” (and cornets!) are engaged in the conflict. As expected, “The Walls Come Tumblin’ Down” is represented by a host of cacophonous percussion effects. In the denouement following the battle, we hear final echoes of the trumpets, followed by a reprise of the chant, which is now offered in thanks. A final rousing “Hallelujah” leads the work to its joyous conclusion.
_Adapted from liner notes to_ Morton Gould: An American Salute, _2012 CD recording by the United States Marine Band, Col. Michael J. Colburn, director._

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Cathedral Brass Performance 5PM Sunday, October 20, 2013, In Burke VA.*

The musical program includes *. . . *

Feierlicher Einzug (Richard Strauss)
Little Suite For Brass (Malcolm Arnold)
Canzona Bergamasca (Samuel Scheidt)
Ite Missa Est (Brian Balmages)
Grand Choeur Dialogue (Eugene Gigout)​
Click here for the Cathedral Brass web site. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Local News Feature About Fairfax Band "Tell Me A Story" Concert.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Tell Me A Story -- October 26, 2013, Concert By Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band.


Click here for the story. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Gershwin, By George! -- Fairfax Band's All-Gershwin Concert -- March 22, 2014.*

Fairfax Band's all-Gershwin concert is set for 8PM on March 22, 2014.  Click here for tickets. 

George Gershwin
(1898 - 1937)​
George Gershwin was born 2 years after his brother Ira. With their parents and their younger brother Arthur and younger sister Frances, they moved from place to place in New York City as their father chose a different residence with every new job & each new business activity. George & Ira grew up near the Yiddish theater district, frequently attending the shows. George also ran errands for cast members & appeared sometimes onstage as an extra. 

George was not into music until age 10. Then, when he heard his friend Maxie Rosenzweig playing violin, George was captivated. The Gershwin family bought a piano so that Ira could take lessons, but it was George who started playing. After a couple of years of different piano teachers, Gershwin was introduced to Charles Hambitzer, who taught George piano technique, introduced him to European classical music tradition, & encouraged Gershwin to attend orchestra concerts. Following such events, young Gershwin would try to play on the family piano the concert music that he had just heard. Gershwin later studied with the classical composer Rubin Goldmark & avant-garde composer-theorist Henry Cowell. 

On leaving school at age 15, Gershwin got his first job: “song plugger" for a Tin Pan Alley music publisher in New York City.  George earned $15 a week. His own 1st published song (“When You Want 'Em, You Can't Get 'Em, When You've Got 'Em, You Don't Want 'Em”) was published in 1916. Gershwin was 17 years old. The song earned him $5. Gershwin's 1917 novelty rag, "Rialto Ripples,” became a commercial success, and in 1919 Gershwin's song, "Swanee,” (with words by Irving Caesar) became a big hit after Al Jolson sang it on stage.  

Before long Gershwin met songwriter & music director William Daly, who collaborated with him on Broadway musicals. In 1924, George & Ira Gershwin started working together on stage musicals that not only succeeded financially, but that also featured tunes which are still popular today ( e.g., “Strike Up The Band,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Oh, Lady Be Good!").  In the mid-1920s, when Gershwin was staying in Paris, he applied to study composition with the Nadia Boulanger, who, along with several other prospective tutors such as Maurice Ravel, decided against teaching Gershwin, fearing that rigorous classical study might impair Gershwin's jazz-influenced creative style. While abroad, Gershwin wrote _An American in Paris_, which received mixed reviews upon its first performance at Carnegie Hall on December 13, 1928, but thereafter became part of the concert repertoire in Europe & the USA. 

Although Gershwin's 1922 1-act jazz-opera _Blue Monday_ flopped on Broadway, it still impressed Paul Whiteman so favorably that Whiteman asked Gershwin to compose a symphonic jazz piece for a concert Whiteman was planning. The resulting concert piece, _Rhapsody in Blue_, became Gershwin's most famous composition. Arts consultant Jeffrey James claims that _Blue Monday_ is "the missing link in Gershwin's evolution into the _Rhapsody in Blue_" as well as a source to Gershwin's _Preludes_, the _Piano Concerto in F_, and _Porgy & Bess_.

_Porgy & Bess,_ which Gershwin called a "folk opera,” is now generally regarded as 1 of the most important American operas of the 20th century. Theater historian Robert Kimball noted that "From the very beginning, it was considered another American classic by the composer of _Rhapsody in Blue_ — even if critics couldn't quite figure out how to evaluate it. Was it opera, or was it simply an ambitious Broadway musical?”  _Porgy & Bess_ crosses the barriers, says Kimball. It elicits both musical & dramatic response while remaining beyond either the limits of either category.

_Porgy & Bess_ was not a money maker. Gershwin moved to Hollywood after the opera's commercial failure. RKO Pictures commissioned Gershwin in 1936 to write music for the film _Shall We Dance_, starring Fred Astaire & Ginger Rogers. Gershwin's extended score, a novel blend of ballet & jazz, took Gershwin several months to write and orchestrate.

Headaches, hallucinations, & severe coordination problems that affected not just piano performance but also routine daily activities led to Gershwin's hospitalization at Cedars of Lebanon in Los Angeles. He was released after inconclusive tests. The condition worsened, & after a collapse Gershwin was rushed back to Cedars of Lebanon, where he lapsed into a coma. Doctors diagnosed brain tumor. Surgery was unsuccessful, and Gershwin died July 11, 1937, at age 38.

George Gershwin was not prone to grand statements about his music. Yet he believed that "true music must reflect the thought & aspirations of the people & time. My people are Americans. My time is today."

_(Note adapted from wikipedia.org )​_
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Gershwin, By George! -- Fairfax Band's All-Gershwin Concert -- March 22, 2014.*




AwayWeGo said:


> Fairfax Band's all-Gershwin concert is set for 8PM on March 22, 2014.  Click here for tickets.



Concert selections *. . .* 

_*Gershwin!*_ This rich montage features a broad spectrum of instrumental colors & musical effects showcasing songs by of 1 of America’s premiere composers. Arranger Warren Barker brought creative wit & dazzling skill to his appealing concert band arrangement of some great George Gershwin tunes: “I Got Rhythm,” “Fascinating Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” “Somebody Loves Me,” & “Someone To Watch Over Me.”

-- oOo --​
*Rhapsody In Blue.* First heard in 1924, _Rhapsody In Blue_ was a major success for George Gershwin. The 1st attempt at using jazz on an extended scale to achieve great popularity, this landmark of American music paid for it by being misrepresented for several decades, the tide only turning in recent years. It was commissioned by Paul Whiteman for “An Experiment in Modern Music,” the first formal jazz concert given in America, in New York, 1924. Gershwin responded with a loosely structured Lisztian rhapsody in the jazz idiom of that time, its manuscript headed “for jazz band and piano.” But it came to be performed almost exclusively by large ensembles, even symphony orchestras, & this inflation made parts of the Rhapsody sound rather elephantine. When the original instrumentation & tempos (demonstrated on  Gershwin's 2 recordings of the piece with Whiteman) are restored, an extraordinary transformation occurs, & the music explodes with galvanic energy. Commissioning such a piece was characteristic of Whiteman, who had the sort of musical curiosity that will always be uncommon in the field of popular entertainment. His band was long assigned a dubious position in jazz history, yet his remarkable ear for talent led to his maintaining an ensemble that decisively raised the level of performance of popular music. The scores it played, including in the 1920s the work of Ferde Grofé (who orchestrated _Rhapsody In Blue_), display an orchestral technique that is imaginative & resourceful. _(Adapted from liner notes to a 1987 London Sinfonietta CD recording titled _The Jazz Album: A Tribute to the Jazz Age.)

-- oOo --​ 
_*An American In Paris.*_ During most of 1928, Gershwin was busy with the composition of his tone poem _An American In Paris_, which he started during a trip to Europe that year. Gershwin was greeted as a musical celebrity, & he met many outstanding composers during that journey, including Prokofiev, Milhaud, Poulenc, Ravel, Walton, & Berg. The next summer Gershwin had his debut as a conductor at an outdoor concert in New York City conducting the New York Philharmonic in both _An American in Paris_ and _Rhapsody In Blue_, playing the _Rhapsody_ piano part himself, to an audience of more than 15*,*000. In _An American In Paris_, Gershwin succeeds in richly & subtly blending materials representing both musical impressions of 1920s Paris & of an American artist’s response to those impressions. Yet just 4 years earlier, as he prepared for the premiere of _Rhapsody In Blue_, Gershwin felt fearful that he might not have anything of lasting merit to offer the audience. That performance forever labeled George Gershwin as the man who took jazz into the concert hall. The music for tonight’s performance of _An American In Paris_ was transcribed & arranged for symphonic band by Jerry Brubaker, a former member of the City of Fairfax Band. 

-- oOo --​
_*Cuban Overture.*_ Workaholic George Gershwin practically knocked himself out in 1931 on his musical _Of Thee I Sing_ and his soundtrack music for the movie _Delicious_, not to mention his _Second Rhapsody_, which premiered in January 1932. To unwind in February 1932, he spent a couple of weeks in Havana, more for fun than for relaxation. Gershwin described his Havana vacation as “two hysterical weeks in Cuba, where no sleep was had.” A big part of the experience was total immersion in exotic tunes & rhythms, with street musicians practically everywhere & Afro-Cuban dance numbers rocking the clubs. He came home with a set of claves -- Gershwin called them "Cuban sticks" -- plus bongos, maracas, & a gourd. He also brought back the idea for a Cuban-style orchestral piece he wanted to write. He began in July & finished just in time to conduct the premiere at the New York Philharmonic's first All-Gershwin concert August 16, 1932. Gershwin wrote that it was "the most exciting night I have ever had . . . 17*,*845 people paid to get in & just about 5*,*000 were at the closed gates trying to fight their way in." Gershwin's original title for the symphonic overture was simply _Rumba_. But when Gershwin conducted the piece at a Metropolitan Opera benefit concert 3 months later, he renamed it _Cuban Overture_ in case anybody might assume it was simply a juke-box number or novelty tune. "_Cuban Overture_ gives a more just idea of the character &  intent of the music," he said, which was to "embody the essence of the Cuban dance."

-- oOo --​
_*Three Preludes.*_ George Gershwin’s music has penetrated the culture so thoroughly that it is a part of our musical subconscious. We can hum or whistle a Gershwin tune spontaneously without a thought as to who composed it, or even that it was composed at all, because it seems to be so much a part of the American fabric. Gershwin created songs with staying power. The director of the 1st performance of _Porgy & Bess_, said, "I've heard many pianists & composers play for informal gatherings, but I know of no one who did it with such genuine delight and verve... George at the piano was George happy. He would draw a lovely melody out of the keyboard like a golden thread, then he would play with it & juggle it, twist it & toss it around mischievously, weave it into unexpected intricate patterns, tie it in knots and untie it & hurl it into a cascade of ever changing rhythms & counterpoints." Gershwin performed his 5 preludes for piano for the 1st time on December 4, 1926. He published 3 of them in 1927. The adaptations on tonight’s program were arranged for concert band by Robert Pouliot, music director of the City of Fairfax Band. They appear on the City of Fairfax Band's compact disc album titled _Made In America_ (2002).

-- oOo --​
_*Lullaby.*_ This 1-movement piece started out as a homework assignment. In 1923, Gershwin was supposed to complete a harmony exercise for his 3rd lesson with Rubin Goldmark (nephew of Hungarian composer Karl Goldmark & a pupil of Antonin Dvořák). Gershwin was too busy (working on music for George White's _Scandals_), so he handed in a 1-movement composition that he had written several years earlier as a harmony exercise when he was studying with Edward Kilenyi. Gershwin later had fun telling the story of how Goldmark, looking over the piece we know as _Lullaby_, told Gershwin, "It's plainly to be seen that you have already learned a great deal of harmony from me!" (That turned out to be Gershwin's final lesson with Goldmark.) Gershwin wrote _Lullaby_ both as a string quartet and as a piano piece. The piano piece remained unfinished & unpublished. The version for strings was played by the composer's friends in the months following its composition, but only at private events. The public 1st heard the piece (part of it) in 1922. Gershwin borrowed the main musical idea of _Lullaby_ for his 1-act opera _Blue Monday_, in the form of an aria titled “Has Anyone Seen My Joe?” _Lullaby_ disappeared for the next 40 years except in rare revivals of _Blue Monday_. Then in 1962, harmonica virtuoso Larry Adler happened to mention to Ira Gershwin that he planned to overdub his own harmonica playing 4 times in recording a film score. Somehow the word “four” triggered Ira's recollection of the 4-part string version of _Lullaby_ & prompted him to show his brother's score to Adler. On August 29, 1963, Adler premiered his transcription of the piece for harmonica & string quartet in an appearance with the Edinburgh String Quartet at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. Later, he recorded Morton Gould's arrangement for harmonica & string orchestra. On October 29, 1967, _Lullaby_ was at last performed publicly as Gershwin had written it. The Juilliard String Quartet played it as part of a concert at the Library of Congress. When _Lullaby_ was published the following year, Ira Gershwin wrote of it, “It may not be the Gershwin of _Rhapsody in Blue_, _Concerto in F_, & his other concert works, but I find it charming & kind.” The arrangement for concert band is by Robert Pouliot, music director of the City of Fairfax Band. _(Adapted from a program note by Walter Rimler at RedRoom.com ) _

-- oOo --​
*Porgy & Bess Selection (concert band arrangement by Robert Russell Bennett, 1894-1981)*. Robert Russell Bennett was home-schooled by his musically talented parents. He started harmony & counterpoint studies at age 15. Seven years later, he was leading army bands, arranging music, & composing. In 1926, he began a period of European study that included 4 years of work with renowned teacher of composition Nadia Boulanger. Bennett is best known for his orchestrations of famous Broadway & Hollywood musicals by top composers like Irving Berlin, George Gershwin, Jerome Kern, Cole Porter, & Richard Rodgers. In arranging & orchestrating Gershwin's Broadway music, Bennett typically started with annotated short piano scores containing general suggestions for which instruments should play what. Bennett worked closely with Gershwin as the composer's assistant while Gershwin composed his score for the 1937 Fred Astaire-Ginger Rogers film _Shall We Dance_, often spending late nights with Gershwin while they rushed to complete scores on deadline. After Gershwin's death, Bennett was called upon to create the definitive orchestrations of some of Gershwin's music, resulting in _Porgy and Bess*:* A Symphonic Picture_ and an orchestral medley titled _Gershwin in Hollywood_. Bennett spent the better part of 1942 arranging portions of _Porgy & Bess_ at the request of Fritz Reiner, music director of the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra at the time. Reiner's plan, which Bennett followed, was for an independent musical portrait rather than a straight rendering of the opera’s story line. In Robert Russell Bennet's _Porgy and Bess Selection_ for concert band, “Summertime” and “A Woman Is a Sometime Thing” stand out for their prominent cornet solos, followed by a spirited euphonium lead in “I Got Plenty of Nothing.” Alto saxophone, alto clarinet, cornet, euphonium, & oboe solos are featured in “Bess, You Is My Woman,” followed by a cornet-trombone dialogue in “It Ain’t Necessarily So.” “Picnic Parade” makes a splashy introduction to the medley’s grand finale, “Oh Lawd, I’m on my Way.” 

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Gershwin, By George! At The Association Of Concert Bands Convention.*

The City Of Fairfax Band performed (by invitation) at this year's convention of the Association Of Concert Bands in Allentown PA.  

The convention performance was last Friday night, March 28, 2014.  It featured the same numbers that the band played in Fairfax at its March 22 concert, minus _Rhapsody In Blue_ and _Porgy & Bess Selections_. 

Fairfax Band was introduced at the Allentown convention by Jerry Brubaker*,*a member of the board of directors of the Association Of Concert Bands, who not only composed Fairfax Band's musical opener but also arranged the concert band version of _American In Paris_ that Fairfax Band played at the concert & at the convention. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Springtime Pops 2014.*

Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band presents its Springtime Pops concert, featuring the winner of Fairfax Band's 2014 Young Artist Competition.

Time & date*:* 8PM, Saturday, May 17, 2014. 
Place*:* WT Woodson High School 
9525 Main Street 
Fairfax VA
Conductor*:* Robert Pouliot, music director 
Guest Artist*:* Alison Dettmer, flute 
  2014 Young Artist Competition Winner 
Host*:* Rich Kleinfeldt​
Tickets are on sale now.  ( Click here*.* )

-- oOo --​
*La Belle Hélène Overture (Jacques Offenbach, 1819-1880).* Jacques Offenbach (originally, Jakob Wiener) grew up in a musical family, the son of a synagogue cantor in Cologne, Germany. He moved to Paris in 1833 to study cello, earning a living on the instrument by playing in the orchestra of the Opera Comique. He thrived in light opera, became conductor of the Theatre Français in 1850, and got to be well known as a composer of light, bright music & witty operettas. In 1855 he started his own theatrical company, the _Bouffes-Parisiens_, which put on many of his shows. He became a French citizen in 1860. Offenbach wrote close to 100 works for the stage, & his music was popular just about everywhere. He went on tour in the USA and Britain. Offenbach’s 1st success was _Orpheus in the Underworld_ (1858). His biggest hits are from in the 1860s, notably _La Belle Hélène_ (1864), _La Vie Parisienne_ (1866), _La Grande-Duchesse de Gerolstein_ (1867), and _La Perichole_ (1868). If Offenbach’s music is humorous, his story lines can be downright comic. In _La Belle Hélène_, Helen, the air-headed wife of the King of Sparta, hears of a divine beauty contest that’s fixed. When the bribe offered is the most beautiful woman in the world, the judge allows himself to be bribed. Helen, knowing that she is the most beautiful woman in the world, realizes she is going to be tangled up in the outcome. The contest judge who shows up in Sparta turns out to be Paris, son of the king of Troy. Over the mighty objection of Helen’s husband the king, Paris & Helen become so powerfully attracted to each other that they contrive to sail away together bound for Troy, where they aim to live happily ever after. The band arrangement of the opera overture is by Lawrence Odom.

-- oOo --​
*Overture to Candide (Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990).* Bernstein’s _Candide_ has 1 of the most glorious scores ever heard on Broadway. Despite that, the original 1956 production never reached a large audience & the show closed in February 1957. Fortunately, an original cast album was commercially released. Record sales grew, the music thrived, & Bernstein’s score gained a cult following. Revisions, revivals, & new productions of _Candide_ were staged in London (1959,  1989, 2013), Los Angeles (1966, 1971), Brooklyn (1973), New York (1982, 1997, 2004, 2013), Glasgow (1988), Chicago (1994), Paris (2006), Seattle (2010), & London (2013), suggesting that _Candide_, like its hero, may never find a single perfect form & function. If so, that outcome could prove philosophically appropriate. Somewhere, Voltaire’s ghost is smiling. The overture to _Candide_ was transcribed for concert band by Walter Beeler (1908-1973).

-- oOo --​
*Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise, Op. 26 (Albert Franz Doppler, 1821-1883).* Doppler was born in a section of Poland that is now part of Ukraine. He learned flute from his father, Joseph Doppler, who played oboe. Franz & his younger brother Karl toured Europe as a flute duo. The pair joined the orchestra of the German Theater, Budapest, in 1838, & moved to the Hungarian National Theater in 1841. Franz & Karl, while continuing their European concert tours, helped establish the Hungarian Philharmonic Orchestra in 1853. At age 18, Franz was 1st flutist at the opera in Budapest. He went on to be 1st flutist & stand-in conductor, & eventually chief conductor, of the Vienna Court Opera, as well as becoming Professor Of Flute at the Vienna Conservatory (1864-1867). As composer, Franz Doppler wrote operas that were staged in Budapest. Beside those, he composed music mainly for flute, creating concertos, showpieces, & duets that he performed with his brother Karl. Franz Doppler was regarded as a brilliant orchestrator. His 7 operas and 15 ballets were popular in their time. Doppler's _tour de force_ showpiece _Fantaisie Pastorale Hongroise, Op. 26_, was arranged for soloist with concert band by Col. John R. Bourgeois (USMC, ret.), who from 1979 to 1996 was director of the United States Marine Band (“The President's Own”).  _(Note adapted from_ Wikipedia.org _)_

-- oOo --​
*The Gallant Seventh March (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932).* Sousa wrote _The Gallant Seventh_ for the New York National Guard's 7th Regiment, 107th Infantry, whose band at the time was 1 of the most famous in New York City. The 1922  premiere performance of _The Gallant Seventh_ was played by members of the 7th Regiment's band combined with members of Sousa's own band at the New York Hippodrome (future site of Radio City Music Hall). The Seventh Regiment band's conductor, Francis Sutherland, had been a cornet player in Sousa's band after Sousa completed service with the United States Marine Band (“The President's Own"). _The Gallant Seventh_ score was edited by Frederick Fennell (1914-2004). 

-- oOo --​
*The Hounds Of Spring (Alfred Reed, 1921-2005).* Reed was born in New York City. He started learning trumpet at age 10. In his teens he played in hotel combos in the Catskills. At the onset of WW2, he joined the 529th Army Air Corps Band, where during 3½ years of service he produced nearly 100 compositions & arrangements for band. After military discharge, he studied composition with Vittorio Giannini at Juilliard. In 1953, he enrolled at Baylor University, serving as symphony orchestra conductor while earning bachelor's (1955) and master's degrees (1956) in music. He was executive editor of Hansen Publishing (1955-1966), then become professor of music at the University of Miami, where he served until retirement in 1993. He continued composing & guest-conducting as a post-retirement career. Reed's concert overture for winds titled _The Hounds Of Spring_, composed in 1980, takes inspiration from verses written by English poet Algernon Charles Swinburne (1837-1909).

When the hounds of spring are on winter’s traces,
The mother of months in meadow or plain

Fills the shadows & windy places
With lisp of leaves & ripple of rain

And soft as lips that laugh & hide
The laughing leaves of the trees divide,

And screen from seeing & leave in sight
The god pursuing, the maiden hid.​
As hounds follow a trail, spring follows winter's path. The trees, barren in winter, in springtime regrow their covering canopy of beauty. _The Hounds Of Spring_ expresses the exuberance of youth through a spirited & driving opening section. The lyric & melodic section that follows conveys the sweetness of tender love. A fugue-like conclusion juxtaposes the 2 earlier themes. The City of Fairfax Band 1st performed the piece in 1996, both in concert at home & again at the National Band Association convention in New Orleans, Louisiana.   _(Note adapted from_ windband.org, _web site of the Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos, California.)_

-- oOo --​
*Pique Dame Overture (Franz von Suppé, 1819-1895).* _The Fortune Teller_, an 1862 operetta in 1 act by Franz von Suppé, is based loosely on a story of the supernatural by Alexander Puskin. Unfortunately for the composer, _The Fortune Teller_ was a flop. Undeterred, von Suppé went back into his studio to rework his material. He elaborated the story, which  involves a ghost a & enchantment & sudden death & betting on card games. He lengthened the operetta, expanding it into 2 acts. He scrapped the old title, naming the new operetta _Pique Dame_ (The Queen of Spades). Its 1864 premiere in Graz (Austria's 2nd-largest city), supervised by von Suppé himself, not only went well but led to an 1865 opening in Vienna. Although _Pique Dame_ went on to reasonable success in its day, the operetta is practically never performed today. Not so its overture, which was published separately in 1867 & is still popular in concert halls & on recordings. _Pique Dame Overture_ has been arranged for 2- & 4-hand piano performance, & was also adapted for mechanical organ by the Aeolian Company, which included a description of the piece in their 1919 catalog*:* _At the beginning there is heard a mysterious theme, several times repeated, and this theme then turns out to be simply the accompaniment for a lyric melody which is now voiced above it and which proves to be an important musical factor in the overture, culminating in a big climax. After this a merry theme makes its appearance, its brisk, happy character supplying ideal contrast to the foregoing music. Another fine lyric theme and a gay melody are added, and a rushing brilliant coda brings the overture to a happy conclusion. Pique Dame Overture_ was played often in movie theaters during the silent film era, when deluxe screenings included an overture or other concert piece played by a live orchestra before the movie started. The film music director & composer Hugo Riesenfeld ranked _Pique Dame Overture_ as one of the 10 most frequently performed pieces of music in the silent film era. _Pique Dame Overture_ was arranged for concert band by Theodore M. Tobani (1855-1933), & rearranged for modern bands by H.R. Kent. _(Adapted from_ Wikipedia.org _)_

-- oOo --​
*Promenade (Leroy Anderson, 1908-1975).* Leroy Anderson studied composition at Harvard with Walter Piston & Georges Enescu. After receiving a Master of Arts in Music degree in 1930, Anderson stayed at Harvard, working toward a PhD in German & Scandinavian languages. At the time he was working as organist & choir director at the East Milton Congregational Church, leading the Harvard University Band, & conducting & arranging for dance bands around Boston. In 1936 his arrangements came to the attention of Arthur Fiedler, who asked for any original compositions by Leroy Anderson. Anderson's 1st composition was _Jazz Pizzicato_ (1938). At just over 90 seconds, the piece was too short for a 3-minute 78-rpm single record. Fiedler suggested writing a companion piece, so Anderson wrote _Jazz Legato_ later that same year. The combined recording went on to become one of Anderson's signature tunes. In 1942 Leroy Anderson joined the U.S. Army, & was assigned to Iceland as a counterintelligence translator & interpreter. In 1945 he was reassigned to the Pentagon, where his duties did not prevent him from composing. In 1945 he wrote _The Syncopated Clock_ and _Promenade_. In 1951 Anderson wrote his 1st big hit, _Blue Tango_, which became a Gold Record and reached No. 1 on Billboard. Leroy Anderson's many 3-minute gems were huge commercial successes. _Blue Tango_ was the 1st instrumental record to sell a million copies. His most famous tunes -- _Sleigh Ride_, for example, and _The Syncopated Clock_ -- are instantly recognizable to millions. For his contribution to the recording industry, Leroy Anderson has a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. He was posthumously inducted into the Songwriters Hall Of Fame in 1988, & his music continues to be a staple of pops repertoire. In 1995 Harvard University Band's new headquarters was named the Anderson Band Center in honor of Leroy Anderson. _(Note adapted from_ Wikipedia.org _)_

-- oOo --​
*The Silver Quill (Sammy Nestico, 1924- & Dale L. Harpham, 1917-1993). *Samuel Louis Nestico came from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where he played trombone in his high school band. He received a music education degree from Duquesne University in 1946. For 15 years, he was a staff arranger for the United States Air Force Band.  Later he was a staff arranger for 5 years with the United States Marine Band (“The President's Own”). He toured with Woody Herman’s & Tommy Dorsey’s big bands & appeared in performance with the Boston Pops. Tunes he wrote or arranged have been on at least 60 television shows, including _M*A*S*H_ and _The Love Boat_. Dale Harpham was a cellest & trombonist with the Marine Band & was its director, 1972-74. Together, Sammy Nestico & Dale Harpham collaborated to create the crisp & lively concert march, _The Silver Quill_, published in 1967. 

-- oOo --​
*Pop & Rock Legends: Music of the Beatles (arranged by Michael Sweeney, 1952 - ). *Michael Sweeney is Director of Band Publications for Hal Leonard Corporation in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. He is a 1977 graduate of Indiana University, where he earned a bachelor's degree in music education & studied composition with Bernard Heiden, John Eaton, & Donald Erb. Before joining Hal Leonard Corp., he was a band director in Ohio & Indiana. A winner of several ASCAP awards, Michael Sweeney has received commissions ranging from middle & high school bands to the Eastman Wind Ensemble & the Canadian Brass. His music appears on numerous state band contest lists & is regularly performed throughout the world. He is in demand as a clinician & conductor for honor bands & music festivals. In _Rock & Pop Legends: Music of the Beatles_, Micheal Sweeney re-imagines a dozen of the Fab Four's tunes in symphonic big band style: “All My Loving,” “Ticket to Ride,” Hard Day's Night,” “Yesterday,” “Got to Get You Into My Life,” Norwegian Wood,” Here, There & Everywhere,” The Fool on the Hill,” Maxwell's Silver Hammer,” “Something,” “Penny Lane,” and “Lady Madonna.” 

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*I Will Miss The Concert Owing To A (Timeshare) Schedule Conflict. (So It Goes.)*




AwayWeGo said:


> Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band presents its Springtime Pops concert, featuring the winner of Fairfax Band's 2014 Young Artist Competition.
> 
> Time & date*:* 8PM, Saturday, May 17, 2014.


I knew when I signed on as a member of the Owner Advisory Committee at Cypress Pointe Resort that there would be schedule conflicts affecting rehearsals & performances back home.  Even so, I made the commitment as a committee member to be there for everything I'm spozed to attend, schedule conflicts _mox nix_. 

So on May 17, 2014, when my Fairfax Band colleagues are gathering on stage tuning up & getting ready to perform, & audience members are settling into their seats for Springtime Pops, I will be at the resort with my game face on, ready to be of service to the owners in any way that I can within the limitations of an Owner Advisory Committee member. 

With the recent death of our esteemed friend & HOA-BOD president John Chase, what the future holds for the committee, and for the resort, is more of a question-mark than it was before. Possibly the situation will gain clarity following the events of May 17 (HOA special meeting & BOD meetings).  We'll see, eh? 

Meanwhile, the Cathedral Brass of Vienna VA has an outstanding Russian Masterworks program coming up May 11, 2014, featuring guest piano soloist Raffi Kasparian in a unique brass & piano rendition of _Pictures At An Exhibition_.  Fortunately for me, I will be in town for that. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Heroes, Villains, & Legends -- Concert By The City Of Fairfax Band, November 1, 2014.*

_Heroes, Villains, & Legends_ -- that's the theme of the 2014-15 season-opening concert by Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band, set for 7:30 PM November 1, 2014. 

Tickets are on sale now.  (Click here*.*)

Music Director: Robert Pouliot

Host: Rich Kleinfeldt

Location: Fairfax High School 
3501 Rebel Run 
Fairfax, Virginia​
Music has often been used to depict characters from legend, lore, & literature. The concert presents musical portrayals of Heroes, Villains, & Legends which have populated stories, poems, movies, and adventures over the ages. (Children are invited to participate in a costume contest and trick-or-treating before the concert.)

*Overture to the Flying Dutchman (Richard Wagner, 1813-1883).* Money problems dogged Wagner virtually all his life, mainly because of his extravagant lifestyle. In 1839, he was so deep in debt that to get away from creditors & bill collectors, he fled his opera director position in Riga, Latvia (then part of the Russian Empire). Headed to London by ship, he ran into stormy seas that he later said helped inspire _Der fliegende Holländer (The Flying Dutchman)_. In nautical folklore, the _Flying Dutchman_ is a ghost ship that can never make port, condemned to sail the oceans forever. Claimed sightings through the ages report the doomed ship as glowing with ghostly light. According to legend, if another ship hails the _Flying Dutchman_, its ghost crew will try to send messages to land, or across the great beyond to persons long dead. In maritime tradition, the sight of the phantom ship is a sign of impending doom. “The voyage through the Norwegian reefs made a wonderful impression on my imagination,” Wagner wrote, and “the legend of the _Flying Dutchman_, which the sailors verified, took on a distinctive, strange coloring that only my sea adventures could have given it.” Wagner went to Paris in September 1839 & stayed there until 1842, eking out a living writing articles & arranging other composers' operas for a music publisher. During that period he managed to complete his 3rd opera (_Rienzi_) and his 4th (_The Flying Dutchman_). Wagner based the story on a satirical tale in which the narrator attends a performance of a stage play on the theme of a sea captain cursed to sail forever for blasphemy. In Wagner's adaptation, the eternally wandering captain can be redeemed only by the love of a faithful woman. In 1852, Wagner saw _The Flying Dutchman_ as a new artistic beginning for himself.  "From here begins my career as poet, and my farewell to the mere concoctor of opera-texts," he wrote to friends. Ever since, _The Flying Dutchman_ has been generally regarded as the start of Wagner's mature output. The opera's overture, with its dramatic representation of swelling seas & crashing waves, was the part Wagner completed last, finishing the orchestration in November 1841. _The Flying Dutchman_ was staged in Dresden in 1843, with Wagner conducting. The overture was transcribed for concert band by Mark H. Hindsley.  _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_

-- oOo --​
*Superman March (John Williams, 1932 - ).* The superhero genre in popular culture pretty much started with Superman. The character was dreamed up in 1933 by Jerry Siegel (writer) & Joe Shuster (artist), high school students in Cleveland, Ohio. In 1938 they sold him to Detective Comics. Superman's pulp debut was in _Action Comics #1_ (June 1938), and the rest is history -- radio & TV serials, more comic books, movies, a musical, newspaper comic strips, Halloween costumes, lunch boxes, T-shirts, video games, back packs, & just about everything. John Williams's involvement with Superman started after schedule conflicts led Hollywood composer Jerry Goldsmith to drop out of the 1977-78 project for _Superman: The Movie_. Williams wrote the Oscar-nominated _Superman_ score & conducted the London Symphony Orchestra's recording of the soundtrack music. In the movie, _Superman March_ is heard over the opening title sequence & the end credits. The interlude between sections of the march is a portion of "Can You Read My Mind," the love theme heard during extended flying scenes with Superman & Lois Lane and when Lois & Clark Kent are alone together. The concert band transcription is by Paul Lavender.

-- oOo --​
*The  Imperial  March  (Darth  Vader's  Theme)  by  John  Williams, 1932 - .*  In 1978, John Williams collected 3 Grammies & an Oscar for the music he wrote for _Star Wars_. When Williams took on the project, all he had to go by was a temporary music track which film director George Lucas had been using that included works by Gustav Holst & William Walton, plus Miklos Rozsa’s score from _Ben-Hur_. With those pieces telling Williams all he needed to know about the kind of score Lucas wanted, Williams promptly created deeply romantic musical visions of his own for the Hutts, Ewoks, Sand People, Jedi Knights, Darth Vader, & Obi-Wan Kenobi. _The Imperial March_ is best known as the musical theme representing Darth Vader, the movie character ranked by the American Film Institute as the 3rd greatest screen villain in 100 years of cinema, right up there with Hannibal Lecter in _Silence of the Lambs_ (1991) and _Norman Bates_ in Psycho (1960). The march accompanies Darth Vader's appearances in _The Empire Strikes Back_ and _Return of the Jedi_. Premiere performance of _The Imperial March_ was April 29, 1980, at the 1st concert conducted by John Williams as the Boston Pops Orchestra's official conductor-in-residence, 3 weeks ahead of the official film debut of _The Empire Strikes Back_. The Imperial March was arranged for concert band by Donald Hunsberger (1932 - ).

-- oOo --​
*Casey At The Bat (Randol Alan Bass, 1953 - ).* Randol Alan Bass grew up in Midland, Texas. He studied piano, worked in community theater, played a number of instruments, & sang with community ensembles, including the Midland-Odessa Symphony. He earned his bachelor's degree in 1976 from the University of Texas at Austin, a master of music degree in choral conducting in 1980 from the College-Conservatory of Music in Cincinnati, & pursued doctoral studies in choral & wind conducting at both Ohio State University’s Robert Shaw Institute & the University of Texas at Austin. Bass works actively to further the non-professional musician's understanding & appreciation for the musical arts. He has led a number of civic performing groups, helping provide others with opportunities like those he enjoyed as a young performer in amateur musical & theater groups. He founded the Austin Symphonic Band in 1982. Active as an arranger since the late 1970s, Bass is now concentrating on original composition because of growing demand for his music. _Casey at the Bat_ was commissioned in 2001 by the Dallas Symphony Orchestra as a part of their Americana concert series. The work is a colorful & highly descriptive narrative setting of the famous 1885 poem _Casey at the Bat_ by Ernest Lawrence Thayer. The tune from the chorus of "Take Me Out to the Ballgame," written in 1908 by Jack Norworth & Albert Von Tilzer, is woven into the fabric of _Casey At The Bat_. 

-- oOo --​
*Tam O'Shanter Overture (Malcolm Arnold, 1921-2006)*. Malcolm Arnold completed this work in March 1955 & dedicated it to Michael Diack, one of his publishers. Esteeming Robert Burns as one of the greatest of poets, Arnold expressed the hope that his own enjoyment of the work of the remarkable Scotsman, as reflected in this music, will encourage others to read Burns's potery also. The overture has a well-defined program, though one’s response to it is by no means wholly dependent on its literary background. _Tam O’Shanter_, commonly accepted as one of Burns’s finest works, is the grimly humorous legend of a hard drinker who ignores his wife’s warning that he will one day be “catch’d wi’ warlocks” for his misdeeds. Late one momentous night, in tempest & roaring thunder, Tam sets out recklessly from the inn & drives his mare, Meg, on the homeward road. When they reach the haunted kirk, they witness a wild orgy of witches & warlocks, with many ghastly trimmings that Burns describes in detail: 

_Wi’ mair o’ horrible and awfu’ 
Which ev’n to name wad be unlawfu’​_
One dancer, wearing a garment “in longitude tho’ sorely scanty” (a short shirt, called cutty-sark in the native Doric), pleases Tam so well that he cries out “Weel done, cutty-sark!” In an instant all is dark, & the hellish legion chases him. If Tam reaches the bridge he is safe, for the fiends cannot cross running water. He escapes narrowly -- but his gallant mare loses her tail, which had been grasped by a witch. The moral, embodied in the last lines of the poem is that one should remember Tam O’Shanter when tempted by thought of drink and cutty-sarks: 

_Now wha this tale o’truth shall read, 
Ilk man and mother’s son tak heed 
Whene’er to drink you are inclin’d, 
Or cutty-sarks run in your mind, 
Think ye may buy the joys o’er dear, 
Remember Tam O’ Shanter’s mare. _​
The overture's slow beginning forms background for characteristic woodwind & brass quips that establish the atmosphere. Clarinets put in a bagpipey drone fifth; piccolo whistles a fragment of melody with a Scottish flavor; bassoons amble along with inebriated rhythm & copious “Scotch snap;” muted brass slither in glissandi (a recurring device). Soon, with growing velocity, Tam is on his wild ride into the storm. Lightening flashes & thunder roars, with gong, cymbals, & drums much in evidence. Tam gallops harder and harder, cracking his whip. Brass & drums suddenly lead to shivering treble tremolos, as Tam watches the impious dance. Burns tells us that this is no new cotillion from France, “but hornpipes, jigs, strathspeys and reels.” The Scottish character of the music is evident. “Weel done, Cutty-sark!” cries Tam, via a trombone solo that all but articulates the words -- and the devilish hunt is up. It comes to a sudden end & there is a short scud of woodwind solos (as Tam disappears in the distance) ending in a high trilling notes. Flutes & clarinets, perhaps sarcastically, point the moral of the story & with a terrific flurry, the overture ends. _Tam O’Shanter_ was 1st performed at a Henry Wood Promenade Concert in August 1955, with Malcolm Arnold conducting the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra. It was received with tremendous enthusiasm, and was, without doubt, the most popular novelty during the 1955 season of Promenade Concerts. The concert band arrangement of the overture is by John P. Paynter (1928-1996). _(Note adapted from www.musicsalesclassical.com )_

-- oOo --​
*Fairest of the Fair (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932).* John Philip Sousa was born in Washington DC in a section known at the time as the Navy Yard. As he put it, his home was “in the shadow of the Capitol dome.” He enlisted as an apprentice in the U.S. Marine Band at age 13 and ended up spending 19 years in military service. He had a passionate love of the USA & took every opportunity to let the world know. If someone asked him about his occupation, he typically answered, “I’m a salesman of Americanism.” His true colors shine through in his patriotic titles: “America First,” “Hail to the Spirit of Liberty,” “The Invincible Eagle,” “The Messiah of Nations,” “Liberty Bell” and, of course, the most famous of all Sousa compositions, “The Stars & Stripes Forever.” But not all Sousa compositions, including his marches, were patriotic and military-flavored. The March King also wrote what he considered concert marches, and he liked the ladies. Women were a favorite subject and "The Fairest of the Fair" fits into both categories -- a melodic concert march inspired by a woman. Sousa wrote “Fairest of the Fair” in 1908 for the Boston Food Fair, and it is claimed that the memory of a pretty girl he had seen at an earlier fair inspired the composition. “Fairest of the Fair” was popular on both sides of the Atlantic. Music publisher John Church Co. sold sheet music of “Fairest of the Fair” not only for bands & orchestras, but also in arrangements for piano (2 hands, 4 hands, even 6 hands), and (solo & duet) for zither, mandolin, banjo, violin, plus other instrumental combinations.  

-- oOo --​
*Hymn to the Fallen (John Williams, 1932 - )*. With _Saving Private Ryan_, John Williams has written a memorial for all the soldiers who sacrificed themselves on the altar of freedom in the Normandy Invasion of June 6, 1944. Pay particular attention to the cue titled _Hymn to the Fallen_, which never appears anywhere in the main text of the film, only at the end credit roll. It’s a piece of music and a testament to John Williams’s sensitivity and brilliance that, in my opinion, will stand the test of time and honor forever the fallen of this war and possibly all wars. In all of our 16 collaborations, _Saving Private Ryan_ probably contains the least amount of score. Restraint was John Williams’s primary objective. He did not want to sentimentalize or create emotion from what already existed in raw form. _Saving Private Ryan_ is furious and relentless, as are all wars, but where there is music, it is exactly where John Williams intends for us the chance to breathe and remember. _(From the soundtrack album note by producer-director Steven Spielberg.) _

-- oOo --​
*Hercules Soundtrack Highlights (Alan Menken, 1949 - ).* Much of the artistic & commercial success of the great Disney animated features comes from the wonderfully fitting music that energizes the air while the cartoon characters animate the screen. While taking liberties with the story of Heracles from Greek & Roman mythology, Disney's _Hercules_ (1997) gets a big energy boost from its musical accompaniment in rock & jazz style. The composer is Alan Menkin, winner over the years of 8 Academy Awards. Lyrics for the _Hercules_ songs are by David Zippel (1954 - ). Selections from the soundtrack music include “The Gospel Truth,” “One Last Hope,” “Go The Distance,” and “Zero To Hero.” The _Hercules Soundtrack Highlights_ were arranged for concert band by Calvin Custer.  

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Fairfax Band Concert Emblem -- Heroes, Villains, & Legends.*



​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Passepartout

Nice program, Alan. Too bad we were there last week, not next week. DW has played all of them, I think. I have a hard time with "Hymn to the Fallen", a bit like visiting the Viet Nam wall town the road a bit.

Jim


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## AwayWeGo

*Local Coverage Of Fairfax Band's 45th Anniversary.*

*City of Fairfax Band Turns 45*
The band kicks off their 45th season on Nov. 1.
( Click here*.* )




-- hotlinked --

_Note*:*_  My son, on bass clarinet, is the man visible in the center of the picture, below the maestro's extended sleeve.​

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Cathedral Brass Christmas Performance -- December 6 & 7, 2014 -- Fairfax VA*




_Full Disclosure*:*_  I will be playing 3rd horn -- also, narrating _'Twas the night before Christmas & all through the house . . ._ .

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Disaster Averted.*

The flyer for today's Cathedral Brass perfornance gave the address wrong -- Lee Highway, when the location is actually on Lee-Jackson Memorial Highway.  

I had given a flyer to somebody who wanted to attend.  Unfortunately I didn't notice the address mix-up till I showed up at the Lee Highway address, which was not the right place.  I figured out right away where I should have gone instead of where I went, having lived in the area long enough to know that Lee Highway (Rt. 29) is not the same road as Lee-Jackson Highway (Rt. 50), that Ox Road has nothing to do with West Ox Road, Sully Road has nothing whatever to do with Sudley Road, & that there are several different & unconnected sections of Old Lee Highway, etc.  Makes sense to us locals.  Baffles nearly everybody else.  

Even so, I felt some anxiety over whether the person who got the flyer from me would get lost, or would figure it out as I had done.  It was a big relief when I saw him enter the seating area about 20 minutes before the show started. 

Meanwhile, 1 of the other horn players left me a telephone message (which I did not receive till I got back home after the performance) asking if I had a spare mouthpiece because he discovered only when he got to the performance venue that there was no mouthpiece in his horn case.  When I showed up, 1st thing he did was tell me I could disregard that message, because he was able to borrow a mouthpiece from somebody else. 

All's well that ends well. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Christmas In Fairfax [VA] -- Fairfax Band Concert December 20, 2014.*




-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Give Our Regards To Broadway.*

Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band (Robert Pouliot, music director) goes Broadway with hits of yesterday & today, presenting classic medleys from the Golden Age of Broadway & featuring George Mason University's Mason Cabaret as guest artists.

The show starts 7:30 PM on Saturday, March 28, 2015.  Tickets are on sale now.  (Click here for tickets.)

Location = Fairfax High School, 3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax, Virginia.

-- oOo --​
*Candide Suite (Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990).* Bernstein’s _Candide_ has one of the most glorious scores ever to hit Broadway. But a musical show based on an 18th century French satire, portraying Candide's slow, painful disillusionment as he sees & suffers great hardships, did not make for big box office. “Too serious,” according to a New York Times critic. The original 1956 Broadway production never reached a large audience & the show closed in February 1957. Fortunately, an original cast album was commercially released. Record sales grew, the music's popularity thrived, & Bernstein’s score gained a cult following. _Candide_ has gone on since to achieve enormous popularity. It is specially popular at conservatories & music schools because of the quality of its music & the opportunities it presents to student singers. Revisions, revivals, & new productions of _Candide_ were staged in London (1959, 1989, 2013), Los Angeles (1966, 1971), Brooklyn (1973), New York (1982, 1997, 2004, 2013), Glasgow (1988), Chicago (1994), Paris (2006), Seattle (2010), and London (2013), suggesting that _Candide_, like its protagonist, may never find a single perfect form & function. If so, that outcome could prove philosophically appropriate. Somewhere, Voltaire’s ghost is smiling. The _Candide Suite_ was adapted for concert band by Clare Grundman (1913-1996).

-- oOo --​
*Broadway Journey (arranged by James Christensen, 1935 - ).* Arranger Jim Christensen takes us on a whirlwind tour of 25 years of classic numbers from Broadway's golden age. Beginning in 1934 with “Anything Goes” (by Cole Porter), the excursion takes us all the way to 1959 with “Let Me Entertain You” (by Jule Styne, from _Gypsy_). Along the way are “It Ain’t Necessarily So” (1935, from George Gershwin’s _Porgy & Bess_), “It’s De-Lovely” (1936, Cole Porter, _Red Hot & Blue_), “My Funny Valentine” (1937, from _Babes in Arms_, by Richard Rodgers), “Oklahoma!” (Rodgers, 1943), “How Are Things in Glocca Morra?” (by Burton Lane, 1947, from _Finian's Rainbow_), “Another Opening, Another Show” (1948, from Cole Porter’s _Kiss Me Kate_), “Some Enchanted Evening” (from _South Pacific_, 1949, by Richard Rodgers), “Getting To Know You” (Rodgers, 1951, from _The King & I_), “Stranger In Paradise” (1953, from _Kismet_ by Robert Wright & George Forrest, based on a theme by Alexander Borodin), and “On the Street Where You Live” (1959, from _My Fair Lady_, by Frederick Loewe). Jim Christensen, meanwhile, is a member of the American Bandmasters Association & serves on the advisory board of the Association Of Concert Bands. During his 37+ years with Walt Disney Productions, Jim served as music director for both Disneyland & Walt Disney World, & conducted the All-American Marching Band at the grand opening of Euro-Disneyland in Paris on April 12, 1992. Jim has guest conducted the City Of Fairfax Band & also appeared as guest conductor with the symphonic orchestras of Houston, San Diego, Winnipeg Honolulu, New Orleans Pops, Los Angeles Chamber Orchestra, the Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, & the Hollywood Bowl Orchestra, among others. His musical arrangements are heard at theme parks around the world -- all the Disney parks, plus Knott’s Berry Farm, Canada’s Wonderland, Hershey Park, Lotte World (Korea), Everland, & Movie World (Germany). He has arranged & orchestrated music for the Boston Pops, the London Philharmonic, several Super Bowls, & the Music Educators National Conference’s World Largest Concert. Jim continues to guest conduct for high school, college, & community bands and has conducted the Community Band of America (Band at Sea) since 1994.

-- oOo --​
*Jerome Robbins’ Broadway (arranged by Warren Barker, 1923-2006).* This selection features smash tunes from the Broadway musical theater, each of them associated with Jerome Robbins, his staging & choreography. The medley features “Comedy Tonight” (from _A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum_ by Stephen Sondheim, 1962), “Somewhere,” (from Leonard Bernstein’s _West Side Story_, 1957) “New York, New York” (Bernstein, _On The Town_, 1944), “Sunrise, Sunset” (from Jerry Bock’s _Fiddler On The Roof_, 1964), and “America” (from _West Side Story_).

-- oOo --​
*Crazy For You Overture (Music by George Gershwin, 1898-1937. Arranged by Jerry Brubaker).* _Crazy For You_ is a “new” musical (1992) using old Gershwin songs. It evolved because of producer Roger Horchow’s love for Gershwin’s music, a love that started when Horchow, at age 5, heard Gershwin himself playing on the family piano in 1934. After Horchow grew up, he did a production of _Girl Crazy_ and, along with co-producer Elizabeth Williams, hired playwright Ken Ludwig (known for _Lend Me A Tenor_) to write a new script using old Gershwin songs. The result was _Crazy For You_. Horchow's passion paid off bigtime when _Crazy For You_ won a Tony award for best musical. (The London production of the show won the Laurence Olivier Award for best musical.) The musical ingredients of the Overture are “Shall We Dance,” “Someone To Watch Over Me,” “Stiff Upper Lip,” “I Got Rhythm,” “Embraceable You,” and “I’ll Build a Stairway to Paradise.”

-- oOo --​
*“The Song That Goes Like This” (from Spamalot, music by Eric Idle & John Du Prez, lyrics by Eric Idle).* Monty Python's _Spamalot_ is a musical comedy that not only takes off on the 1975 movie _Monty Python & The Holy Grail_ (a King Arthur parody), but also sends up the Broadway theatre in the process -- a Broadway show that mocks Broadway shows. The original 2005 production of _Spamalot_, directed by Mike Nichols, won 3 Tony awards, including Best Musical of 2004-2005. “The Song That Goes Like This” is sung by Sir Dennis Galahad and The Lady Of The Lake.

-- oOo --​
*Selections From Wicked (Stephen Schwartz, 1948 - ).* _Wicked: The Untold Story Of The Witches Of Oz_ is a musical with music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz & a book by Winnie Holzman. It is based on the 1995 Gregory Maguire novel _Wicked: The Life & Times Of the Wicked Witch Of The West_, an alternative telling of _The Wizard of Oz_. The musical unfolds from the perspective of the witches of the Land of Oz, starting before Dorothy & Toto get there from Kansas. The story follows 2 unlikely friends with completely different destinies -- Elphaba (Wicked Witch of the West) & Glinda the Good. With contrasting personalities & opposing viewpoints, they compete over the same love-interest, they struggle against the Wizard's rule, & ultimately they confront Elphaba's public fall from grace. For his concert band arrangement of _Selections From Wicked_, Jay Bocock (1953 - ) included “No One Mourns the Wicked,” “Dancing Through Life,” “No Good Deed,” “For Good,” & “Defying Gravity.”

-- oOo --​
*“On My Own” (from Les Misèrables*_, music by Claude-Michel Schönberg, English lyrics by Herbert Kretzmer)._ After successful Paris & London productions, _Les Misèrables_ opened in New York on March 12*,* 1987. The show got 12 Tony award nominations and 8 wins, including Best Musical & Best Original Score. _Les Miz_ ran through May 18*,* 2003, closing after 6*,*680 Broadway performances -- the 3rd-longest-running Broadway show in history. “On My Own” is the opening number of Act II.

-- oOo --​
*“Aquarius / Let the Sun Shine In,” from Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical (music by Galt MacDermot, 1928 - ).* Galt MacDermot was born in Montreal & educated at Upper Canada College & Bishop's University (Sherbrooke, Quebec, Canada). He received a Bachelor Of Music degree from Cape Town University, South Africa, & specialized in the study of African music. MacDermot won his 1st Grammy Award for the Cannonball Adderley recording of his song "African Waltz" in 1960. Galt moved to New York City in 1964 where he wrote the music for the hit musical _Hair._ The show's Broadway cast album won a Grammy Award in 1969. “Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In" is a medley of 2 songs from _Hair_ that were released as a single by The 5th Dimension. In the spring of 1969, the tune peaked at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart, & stayed there for 6 weeks. It's listed at No. 66 on Billboard's Greatest Songs of All Time list. More recently, the medley was featured at the City Of Fairfax Band's _Bravo Broadway_ concert in 2010.

-- oOo --​
*“As Long As You're Mine” (from Wicked, music & lyrics by Stephen Schwartz).* _Wicked_ is the story of Elphaba, the future Wicked Witch Of The West, & her relationship with Glinda, the Good Witch Of The North, in a setting that takes place mostly before Dorothy arrives in Oz from Kansas. The show makes references to scenes & dialogue in the _The Wizard Of Oz_ movie (1939). _Wicked_ opened on Broadway October 30*,* 2003*,* and is still running. It received mixed reviews & was panned by _The New York Times_, but became a favorite of theater-goers. Wicked's success on Broadway led to productions in Chicago, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, Melbourne, & Stuttgart, along with 2 North American touring shows that have played more than 30 U.S. & Canadian cities. Wicked got 10 Tony nominations & won in 3 categories (scenic design, costume design, & best actress). “As Long As You're Mine” is from Act II of _Wicked_, a duet between Elphaba & Fiyero Tiggular, lovers who are both involved in a resistance movement against the Wizard of Oz. Elphaba saves Fiyero from harm by casting a spell that transforms him into the Scarecrow. The concert band vocal arrangement is by Jerry Brubaker.

-- oOo --​
*Fly, Fly Away (Marc Shaiman, 1959 - ).* _Catch Me If You Can_, a Broadway musical with theatrical score by Marc Shaiman & Scott Wittman, follows the story of con artist Frank Abagnale, Jr. The story line comes from the 2002 non-musical film of the same name, based on Abagnale's 1980 autobiography. After opening on Broadway in 2011, _Catch Me If You Can_ received 4 Tony Awards nominations, including Best Musical. “Fly, Fly Away,” is sung near the end of Act 2 by Brenda Strong, a hospital nurse Frank is in love with. (Frank tells Brenda that he has seen the 7 Wonders Of The World, but none of them can compare to her beauty.) The concert band arrangement of “Fly, Fly Away” is by Jerry Brubaker. (Note adapted from _Wikipedia.org_ )

-- oOo --​
*Lost & Found (Cy Coleman, 1929-2004).* After opening on Broadway in 1989, the musical show _City Of Angels_ ran for 879 performances. Set in Hollywood in the late 1940s, it blends together 2 stories playing out at the same time -- a movie comedy & a private-eye detective drama, with live-action scenes in color & movie scenes in black & white. “Lost and Found” is sung in Act 1 by Mallory Kingsley. Mallory is the stepdaughter of socialite Alaura Kingsley. Alaura hires a tough-guy detective named Stone to find Mallory. (Note adapted from _Wikipedia.org_ )  

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Song & Dance.*

Concert presented by *. . . *
The City Of Fairfax Band
Robert Pouliot, music director
7:30 PM - Saturday - May 16, 2015
W.T. Woodson High School 
9525 Main Street 
Fairfax, Virginia

Tickets are on sale now.  ( Click here*.* )​
On this program Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band features 2 modern musical collections*:* Robert Russell Bennett's _Symphonic Songs_, incorporating distinctly American song styles, and Ira Hearshen's _Divertimento_, a collection of dance styles ranging from march to mambo. The program also features the winner of the 2015 City of Fairfax Band Young Artist Competition, Hunter Lorelli, as guest (bassoon) soloist in performance with the band. 

-- o0o --​
*Symphonic Songs (Robert Russell Bennett, 1894-1981).* Robert Russell Bennett was for most of his career the dean of American musical arrangers, creating what seemed like an endless stream of orchestrations for more than 200 Broadway shows. While studying composition with Carl Busch & Nadia Boulanger, he became acquainted with Aaron Copland & Roger Sessions. His most famous collaborations as arranger & orchestrator were with Richard Rodgers & Jerome Kern. On his own, he wrote film music, opera, symphonies, chamber music, & choral works. In 1957 he wrote _Symphonic Songs for Band_. Each of the movements (“songs”) reflects the era it seeks to project, and the titles of the movements (“Serenade,” “Spiritual,” & “Celebration”) indicate precise & appropriate moods. The piece was commissioned by Kappa Kappa Psi National Collegiate Honorary Band Fraternity & had its premiere performance at their 1957 national convention. The suite is featured on the City of Fairfax Band's 2002 CD recording titled _Made In America_.

-- o0o --​
*Symphonic Dances From Fiddler On The Roof (arr. Ira Hearshen).* _Fiddler On The Roof_ was the 1st Broadway musical to reach the 3,000-performance mark. For 10 years _Fiddler_ held the Broadway record for longest-running musical. Today it stands at 16th on the list. (By contrast, _Oklahoma!_ is No. 30 and _South Pacific_ is No. 33.) The show's title comes from a Marc Chagall painting of eastern European Jewish life picturing a fiddler, who symbolizes survival through tradition and joyfulness in a life of uncertainty and imbalance. The show's book is by Joseph Stein. The lyrics are by Sheldon Harnick. Jerry Bock wrote the music. The highly acclaimed production was nominated for 10 Tony Awards & won 9 -- including best musical, best score, best book, best direction, & best choreography (by Jerome Robbins). The music behind the show's ethnically styled dance numbers has been recast as a lively symphonic suite by arranger Ira Hearshen, featuring the Chava Sequence, Perchik and Hodel Dance, Dance To Life, Tradition, and the Wedding Dance #1 (the Bottle Dance).

-- o0o --​
*Divertimento for Band (Ira Hearshen, 1948 - ).* In creating his 5-movement _Divertimento for Band_, Ira Hearshen built upon traditional American compositional and harmonic ideas, but he did it with his own twist. He steeped his “Ragtime” & “Blues” movements in be-bop harmony. He got the band swinging via the rhythmic structure of “Mambo Loco.” He named “Susan's Song” for his wife, to whom the movement is dedicated. And in “March Of The Little People,” he borrowed a sing-song interval chanted by children all over the world -- something like _nanny-nanny-boo-boo_. The premiere of _Divertimento for Band_ was performed by the United States Air Force Band in April 1998. _(Note adapted from liner notes to_ American Premieres _CD recording by the United States Air Force Band.)_

-- o0o --​
*Nobles of the Mystic Shrine (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932)*. Sousa became a Master Mason in 1881. He was knighted in the Columbia Commandery No. 2 of the Knights Templar, Washington DC, & became the honorary director of Washington’s Almas Temple Shrine Band. In 1923, he composed _Nobles of the Mystic Shrine_ -- in “Turkish style” -- as a tribute to the Masonic Lodge.

-- o0o --​
*Bassoon Concerto in B-flat major, 1st mvt. (Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, 1756-1791).* The exceptional mind of Mozart encompassed broad & deep understanding of all the instruments of the orchestra. The full range of their capabilities & characteristics -- how they sound, what they can do, the challenges facing their players -- is on display in the concertos he wrote for flute, oboe, clarinet, bassoon, & horn, in addition to his _Concerto for Flute & Harp_ and his _Sinfonia Concertante_ for violin & viola. Mozart composed his 1st concerto for a wind instrument at age 18 -- his _Concerto in B-flat major_ for bassoon, completed in 1774. (Scholars believe that Mozart possibly wrote 3 bassoon concertos, but only the 1st survived.) As engaging as the concerto is, it is also serious business for bassoon players. No other piece of bassoon music is performed & studied more often. Just about every professional bassoonist's performing career will include this concerto at some stage, & practically every orchestral bassoon audition calls for major excerpts from the first 2 movements. Concert band accompaniment for the 1st movement was transcribed by Charles T. Yeago. _(Note adapted from Wikipedia.org )_

-- o0o --​
*Chorale & Shaker Dance (John P. Zdechlik, 1937 - ).* John Zdechlik is a Minnesota native from Minneapolis. His degrees in music education, composition, & theory (Ph.D.,1970) are from the University of Minnesota. He has written music extensively for high school & college concert bands, & has conducted in 35 states as well as in Japan, England, & Scotland. He belongs to the American Bandmasters Association. _Chorale & Shaker Dance_ (1971) is Zdechlik's most famous composition, which he himself has guest-conducted at least 500 times. Featuring variations on the hymn-tune “Simple Gifts,” the piece uses the compositional technique of augmentation & diminution, as well as examples of call-&-response between instrumental groups, all based on 1 simple Shaker melody. _Chorale & Shaker Dance_ was commissioned by the Jefferson High School Band of Bloomington, Minnesota, in honor of their conductor, Earl Benson. _(Note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos CA, and from Wikipedia.org )_

-- o0o --​
*Country Dance (Frank Ticheli, 1958 - ).* The composer is from northern Louisiana. He received his Bachelor Of Music degree in composition
from Southern Methodist University, & advanced degrees from the University Of Michigan (Masters in composition; Doctorate of Musical Arts). Ticheli is Associate Professor Of Music at the University of Southern California & Composer-in-Residence of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra, Santa Ana, California. He has written for band, wind ensemble, orchestra, chamber ensemble, & the theatre, winning prestigious awards such as the Goddard Lieberson fellowship & Charles Ives Scholarship from the American Academy & Institute of Arts & Letters; the 1989 Walter Beeler memorial Composition Prize; the Ross Lee Finney Award; & 1st prize in the 11th annual Symposium For New Band Music in Virginia. _Country Dance_ is from Ticheli's second setting of Cajun folksongs, published in 2012. The music evokes the energy & style of a Cajun 2-step from the dance halls of southern Louisiana. It has stylistic kinship with Scottish folk dances & the American hoedown. _Country Dance_ celebrates the birth of the composer’s nephew, Ryan Paul Ticheli, in 1996. _(Note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos, California.)_

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*End Of An Era.*

For 20+ years I played horn with an active brass quintet that got lots of gigs -- parties, graduations, retirement homes, concerts, weddings, community events, retirement homes, & I don't know what-all. 

( When I retired from the Interior Department, in lieu of a retirement luncheon featuring boring speeches, etc., I got the group to come on down to the building's auditorium in the middle of the work day & play an hour or so of our most popular numbers.  My daughter-in-law, who was there, said she overheard somebody in the audience say, "I knew he played some kind of horn, but I didn't know he was any good." )

A year or so ago the group broke up because (some of) the members lost their enthusiasm & quit attending rehearsals -- meaning there was no point in trying to schedule any rehearsals.  Without rehearsals to keep everyone up on the music, the play list got stale & the performances began to lose their edge.  After a while, the founder & leader pulled the plug.  So it goes. 

Last night, the founder & leader of the group turned over to me 2 double Trader Joe paper shopping bags loaded with scores & parts (tuba, trombone, horn, 2 trumpets) for the tunes I had purchased for the group's use over the years.  Not sure what I'll do with all that sheet music -- the brass quintet I currently play in has its own books of tunes (duplicating some of the pieces the defunct group used to play). 

It's the end of an era for sure. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## pedro47

First, I hope you are enjoying your retirement. Second, why not donate the sheet music to a school or some start up youth church groups or just some youth/college groups in your area..Also your thread is eight (8) years old and it sounds liked you missed playing sheet music with the old guys. Good luck.


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## AwayWeGo

*America Dances !*

On Saturday, October 24, 2015, at 7:30 PM, Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band, Robert Pouliot music director, presents a concert featuring American dance-music styles through the years.

The concert venue is Fairfax High School Auditorium, 3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax VA. 

Tickets are on sale now.

The musical selections  *. . . *

*Suite Of Old American Dances (Robert Russell Bennett, 1894-1981).* Robert Russell Bennett was for most of his career the dean of American musical arrangers, creating what seemed like a ceaseless stream of orchestrations for more than 200 Broadway shows. His most famous collaborations as arranger & orchestrator were with Richard Rodgers & Jerome Kern. On his own, he wrote film music, opera, symphonies, chamber music, choral works, & concert band music. At a 1948 Goldman Band concert in New York City, Bennett recalled, “I suddenly thought of all the beautiful sounds the American concert band could make that it hadn’t yet made. That doesn’t mean that the unmade sounds passed in review in my mind at all, but the sounds they made were so new to me after all my years with orchestra, dance bands, & tiny 'combos' that my pen was practically jumping out of my pocket begging me to give this great big instrument some more music to play.” From that musical impulse, an early result was Bennett's 5-movement _Suite Of Old American Dances_. The Goldman Band premiered the suite, with the composer conducting, in New York's Central Park in June 1949, & gave it several additional performances that summer. “Cake Walk” is a strutting, march-like dance, once a staple of minstrel shows. “Schottische” is one of the oldest of all dances, based on something like a polka, only slower, & with an added circular hop -- simply a step & a hop on each foot alternately while turning clockwise in place. Schottische dance partners originally faced each other throughout the number. Then sometime in the 1890s the Schottische went to an open position for the 1st part and a closed position for the turning part. “Western One-Step,” a forerunner of the foxtrot with slightly quicker pace, was also known in other places as the 2-step. (One step per beat and 2 steps per bar are just 2 ways of saying the same thing.) The 1-step was so popular that it spread to nightclub shows & even the Ziegfeld Follies, where the 1-step was called the Castle Walk. The home-spun “Wallflower Waltz,” though plainer than those fancy Viennese waltzes, is still the same familiar turning dance with three beats to the measure. The “Rag” is aptly named for its bright & highly syncopated “ragged” rhythm. Ragtime music really started something. Raggy tunes not only paved the way for Swing but also led to dance crazes like the Charleston, the Shimmy, & the Black Bottom.

-- oOo --​
*Danzon (Leonard Bernstein, 1918-1990).* As composer, conductor, & educator, Leonard Bernstein became 1 of just a few 20th century figures who recontoured the musical landscape. He composed 3 symphonies, the film score for _On the Waterfront_ (1954), & a significant collection of stage works, including _West Side Story_ (1957). He was the 1st American-born conductor to reach the heights of international superstars. His dynamic & sometimes flamboyant manner on the podium generated plenty of criticism. But Bernstein’s fans way outnumbered the scoffers who wrote him off as a flashy exhibitionist. _Fancy Free_ was Leonard Bernstein’s 1st try at composition for ballet. The ballet story (which Bernstein recycled in _On The Town_) takes place in New York City, where 3 sailors are on shore leave. They meet 3 girls in a bar, dance with them, & fight over them before deciding it’s stupid to let women ruin friendships. Bernstein used music from his ballet to create a concert suite for orchestra in 6 movements, 1 of which includes _Danzon_.

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*Hoe Down (Aaron Copland, 1900-1990).* Aaron Copland was the youngest of 5 children in a family of Russian immigrants. Despite his outstanding talent, he got no formal musical education until age 21, when Nadia Boulanger made him her 1st American student. Copland was in a generation of American composers (including George Gershwin) who successfully wove popular American musical idioms into formal concert music. Copland's _Rodeo_ orchestral suite was derived from ballet music that Copland wrote on commission for the _Ballet Russe de Monte Carlo_ in 1942. The music has a southwestern American tang drawn from cowboy folk songs. The suite’s finale, the famous foot-stompin’ “Hoe-Down” barn dance tune, delivers non-stopl fun peppered by dazzling brass & brilliant percussion. The concert band arrangement is by Mark Rogers. (Note adapted from the Carson City Symphony – ccsymphony*.*com )

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*The Gliding Girl (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932).* John Philip Sousa earned his “March King” title by composing 136 march tunes, an amazing body of work. But he did not stop there. He wrote in virtually all musical forms, including suites, songs, waltzes, fantasies, dance tunes, & operettas. Although _The Gliding Girl_ is subtitled “Tango,” some conductors & directors hear it as more of an impression of a tango than actual dance-tune. The piece has been described as having a strutting feel that gives it more of the character of a 2-step than an actual tango. Regardless, Maestro Sousa conceived it as a tango, which he wrote in 1912 and & dedicated to his daughter Priscilla (1882-1958). The edition being performed tonight was edited by Loras John Schissel.

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*Fandango (Joseph Turrin, 1947 - ).* Turrin was born in Clifton NJ. He studied composition at the Eastman School of Music & the Manhattan School of Music. He has appeared as a conductor with the Pittsburgh, Baltimore, New Orleans, Detroit, & New Jersey Symphonies. He is a recording artist on piano, & has performed as orchestral pianist for the New Jersey Symphony. Turrin has composed on commission for a variety of orchestral forms, including concertos for flute & trumpet. He is active in composition for film & theater. _Fandango for Trumpet, Trombone, & Wind Symphony_ was commissioned in 2000 by the University of New Mexico Wind Symphony for Philip Smith (trumpet) & Joseph Alessi (trombone). The piece builds on the rhythmic, melodic, & syncopated elements of the Spanish fandango -- a lively dance form in triple time for 2 dancers. The piece falls into 3 sections, starting with a combination of lively melodic & articulated interplay between the trumpet, trombone, & band. A stately woodwind chorale opens the middle section. A short cadenza leads into the 3rd section, which recapitulates the opening material with both soloists weaving the musical themes into a canon. The chorale returns in brief for the full ensemble before a rhythmic coda drives the piece to its conclusion.

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*Dance Suite – Aragon 1945-1952 (Ira Hearshen, 1948 - ).* Ira Hearshen is 1 of America's most popular & successful orchestrators & arrangers. He has written for many Hollywood films, such as _Toy Story_ and _The Scorpion King_. He has also written for the concert stage, especially wind band, notably his Pulitzer-nominated _Symphony on Themes of John Philip Sousa_ (1997). On commission from the City of Fairfax Band Association, Hearshen has just completed an original suite of concert music inspired by popular dance tunes from the heyday of Chicago's Aragon Ballroom. Built in 1926, the Aragon Ballroom by the end of WW2 was drawing thousands of people every week. The crowds were attracted by the danceable sounds of just about every top group from the big band era. Each night, listeners throughout the Midwestern U.S. & Canada tuned in to powerhouse radio station WGN for an hour-long program of dance music live from the Aragon stage. The music of Ira Hearshen's _Aragon 1945-1952 Dance Suite_ is all original. Yet it is enriched by tantalizing hints & suggestions of unforgettable hit dance songs like “Sentimental Journey,” “Tennessee Waltz,” “Dance Ballerina Dance,” “Some Enchanted Evening,” & "Ac-Cent-Tchu-Ate the Positive." Tonight's presentation of Ira Hearshen's _Aragon Dance Suite_ is the world premiere performance of this specially commissioned concert band music.

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Music At The Box Office.*

The City of Fairfax Band (Robert Pouliot, music director) welcomes the coming of spring with an evocative selection of classic compositions for the silver screen. The program features music of famous 20th century Hollywood composers Erich Korngold, Jerry Goldsmith, & Aaron Copland. Clarinetist Dennis Strawley, concertmaster of one of the nation's premiere military bands, will perform John Williams's Viktor's Tale, from the Spielberg film The Terminal.

Tickers are on sale now*.*

*Place**:*  Fairfax High School, 3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax VA
*Time**:*  7:30 PM, Saturday, March 19, 2016​
*The Red Pony - Film Suite For Band (Aaron Copland, 1900-1990).* Copland wrote the music for the 1949 film _The Red Pony_ during a 10-week period in 1948 on the film studio lot in the San Fernando Valley of California. An orchestral suite was completed that same year, commissioned by Efrem Kurtz of the Houston Symphony Orchestra. Four of the original movements were transcribed for performance by the U.S. Navy Band in 1968. The film is based on John Steinbeck's story about a 10-year old-boy, Jody (renamed Tom Tiflin in the movie) growing up on a California ranch. Steinbeck drew on his own experiences growing up in California's Salinas Valley near King City, & a pony he had once cared for. The story derives its warmth & sensitive quality from the character studies of the boy, his parents, his grandfather, & cowhand Billy Buck. The narrative is filled with the emotions of daily living, from the joy of a boy receiving a pony of his very own to the bitter reality of death & dying. "Dream March" & "Circus Music" depict 2 of Tom Tiflin's daydreams – Tom at the head of an army of knights in silvery armor, & Tom as the whip-cracking ringmaster of the circus. The "Walk to the Bunkhouse" shows Tom's admiration for Billy Buck's talents, especially his ability with horses. "Grandfather's Story" tells of how Tom's grandpa led the wagon train “clear across the plains to the coast.” But Grandpa's bitterness that the “Westerning has died out of the people” can't stay hidden from Tom. The suite's last movement suggests the open air quality of country living as it mounts to the climax of a "Happy Ending." _(Program note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos Hills, California, _www.windband.org _)_

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*Sea Hawk Suite for Symphonic Band (Erich Korngold, 1897-1957), arranged by Jerry Brubaker.* Erich Wolfgang Korngold was a child prodigy whose remarkable talent was noted by Gustav Mahler & Richard Strauss, among others. He wrote his 1st orchestral score at age 14, then began writing operas. His opera _Die tote Stadt_ became an international success in 1920. Korngold was just 23. Actor & director Max Reinhardt, with whom Korngold had collaborated on operas, asked the composer to come to Hollywood from Austria in 1934 to adapt Felix Mendelssohn's incidental music for _A Midsummer's Night's Dream_ for Reinhardt's film version of the play. Over the next 4 years, Korngold became a pioneer in composing film scores that have been recognized ever since as classics of their kind. In 1938, Korngold was conducting opera in Austria when he was asked by Warner Bros. to come back to Hollywood & compose a score for their new (and very expensive) film, _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ (1938) starring Errol Flynn. Korngold agreed & returned to the U.S. by ship. Shortly after he arrived in California, the Nazis came to power & the condition of Jews in Austria became very perilous. Korngold later would say the film score of _The Adventures of Robin Hood_ saved his life. He won the Academy Award for Best Original Score for that film, & later received Oscar nominations for The _Private Lives of Elizabeth & Essex_ (1939) & _The Sea Hawk_ (1940). In 1943, Korngold became a naturalized citizen of the United States. He stopped writing original film scores after 1946. His final score at Warner Bros. was for _Deception_ (1946) starring Bette Davis, Paul Henreid, & Claude Rains. Despite his achievements & considerable popularity with the musical public, Korngold for years attracted almost no positive critical attention, but considerable critical disdain. That started changing in 1972, when RCA Victor released an LP titled _The Sea Hawk_, featuring excerpts from Korngold's film scores performed by the National Philharmonic Orchestra (in Britain), conducted by Charles Gerhardt & supervised by the composer's son George. More recently, new digital recordings of Korngold's film scores have been issued, as well as recordings of some of his concert works, especially his violin concerto & his symphony. _The Sea Hawk Suite_ was arranged by Jerry Brubaker. The City of Fairfax band's 2009 performance of the piece was the world premiere of that arrangement. _[Note adapted from _Wikipedia.org _]_ 

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*James Horner: Hollywood Blockbusters.* The silver screen gets its magic not just from dramatic plots played out in romantic locales by glamorous movie stars.  The fabulous music of the Hollywood soundtracks has lots to do with the magic of the movies. Among the giants of Hollywood composers is the late James Horner, who died last summer when his single-engine airplane crashed in the Los Padres National Forest in California. His musical legacy lives on in some memorable Hollywood blockbusters. Arranger John Moss has served up a generous sampling of those for concert band, including the Main Title music from _Apollo 13_, “Somewhere Out There” from _An American Tail_, “Bannockburn” from _Braveheart_, & from _Titanic_, “Southampton” & “My Heart Will Go On.”  

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_*Symphonic Suite From Star Trek.*_  Starting in 1966, _Star Trek_ has been a major entertainment phenomenon in the form of long-running series on prime-time television, several animated adventures, & a dozen major Hollywood motion pictures. The music has been a big part of the long-lasting success of _Star Trek_, on TV as well as on the big screen, involving composers Alexander Courage (1919-2008) & Michael Giacchino (1967- ), as well as series originator Gene Roddenberry (1921-1991). Their work is combined in a suite of music arranged by Jay Bocock titled _Symphonic Suite from Star Trek._ 

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_Viktor's Tale (John Williams, 1932 - )._ Only a tremendous catalog of widespread musical accomplishment could overshadow the music from _Star Wars_ (1977), named by the American Film Institute as the greatest American film score of all time. For composer-director-pianist John Williams, success did not begin or end with _Star Wars_. He started writing Hollywood film scores in 1958, the same year he played piano on Henry Mancini's breakthrough _Peter Gunn_ recording sessions. In the 1970s, before _Star Wars_, he scored _Jane Eyre_, _The Cowboys_, _The Paper Chase_, _The Sugarland Express_, _The Towering Inferno_, _Jaws_, _Midway_, _Black Sunday_, & a dozen more feature movies. He  has been associated with director Steven Spielberg since 1974, composing music for most of Spielberg's feature films. In 2004, Spielberg & Williams collaborated on _The Terminal_, Spielberg's comedy-drama about Viktor Navorski, who got stuck for 9 months in JFK International Airport in New York City because a revolution in his home country invalidated his passport so that he could neither enter the U.S. nor return home. With no other choice, Viktor settled in at a closed-off terminal gate, with nothing but his suitcase & a peanut can. The John Williams score evokes eastern European styles & moods of Viktor's imaginary homeland Krakozhia. Stephen Spielberg, a former clarinetist himself, was so favorably impressed by the performance of soloist Emily Bernstein (1959-2005) that he made sure her name appeared in the film's end credits, even though individual musicians in film studio orchestras traditionally remain anonymous. The piece was transcribed for solo clarinet with concert band by Paul Lavender.

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_Star Wars Main Title (John Williams, 1932 - )._ The _Star Wars_ phenomenon had wider and more lasting impact on pop culture than anything since Mickey Mouse & the Disney entertainment empire -- so much so that in 2012 the Walt Disney Company bought out the Lucasfilm studio that brought us _Star Wars_. The original 1977 film was such a financial blockbuster that stock in 20th Century Fox jumped from $6 to $25 per share & generated revenues of $1*.*2 million per day, transforming Fox from a nearly bankrupt production company to a booming media conglomerate. The Reagan Administration's strategic defense initiative was nicknamed _Star Wars_ by supporters & detractors alike. In the 2001 census, more than 390,000 respondents in Britain said their religion was Jedi. Conversational references to _Star Wars_ characters & themes are made all over the English-speaking world with safe assumption that the references will be understood. Darth Vader is an iconic villain. Phrases like Evil Empire & May The Force Be With You are commonplace, with or without reference to the movie or its many spin-offs. In 2013, President Obama quipped that some people expect him to do a "Jedi mind meld" on members of Congress. John Williams's compositions for the _Star Wars_ films, particularly the "Main Title" theme & the recurring “Imperial March,” have become thematic standards heard not just in concert halls but at major public attractions & sporting events. The original film score was recorded over 8 sessions at Anvil Studios in Denham, England, in March 1977. The music was performed by the London Symphony Orchestra with Williams himself conducting. The score was orchestrated by Williams's frequent associate Herbert W. Spencer, who also orchestrated _The Empire Strikes Back_ & _Return of the Jedi_. The music was transcribed for concert band by Stephen Bulla. 

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*The Wind & The Lion Symphonic Suite for Concert Band (Jerry Goldsmith, 1929-2004).* Sean Connery, Candice Bergen, Brian Keith, & John Huston starred in MGM's 1975 action-adventure movie titled _The Wind & The Lion_, set in 1904, in which an American woman & her 2 children are kidnapped in Morocco, prompting U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt to order an armed invasion & rescue mission. The film was nominated for Academy Awards in 2 categories, including Best Original Score (by Jerry Goldsmith). Michael Davis arranged a symphonic suite for concert band based on Goldsmith's Oscar-winning score. 

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*Selections from The Great Race (Henry Mancini, 1924-1994)*. Basking in the success of _Breakfast at Tiffany's_, _The Pink Panther_, & _A Shot in the Dark_, director Blake Edwards got green-lighted by United Artists, & later Warner Bros., to the make the funniest comedy movie ever, based loosely on a 1908 New York to Paris auto race, with slapstick adventures spread over 3 continents. (One scene filmed over 5 days is regarded as the greatest pie fight ever, with some 4,000 pies flung.) The budget started out at $6 million. Actual costs doubled, making _The Great Race_ the most expensive comedy feature film ever at the time (1965). The score by Henry Mancini includes an overture, plus “He Shouldn't-A, Hadn't-A, Oughtn't-A Swang on Me,” The Sweetheart Tree,” They're Off,” “Push the Button, Max!", “The Royal Waltz," & "The Great Race March." The concert band selections were arranged by Stephen Bulla.

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*Harry's Wondrous World (John Williams, 1932 - ).* _Harry's Wondrous World_ is the musical theme that represents Harry Potter in 2 of the Harry Potter movies -- _Harry Potter & the Philosopher's Stone_ and _Harry Potter & the Chamber of Secrets_. The theme is heard during the closing credits of both of those films, & in key action moments during both. The theme opens with the familiar strains of "Hedwig's Theme" before transitioning into a tender & hopeful theme that develops into a lively & triumphant passage. _Harry's Wondrous World_ was played during certain DVD special features for both films, but was not used in later Harry Potter feature films once the series moved on to other composers & darker dramatic themes.

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Around The World In 80 Minutes.*

Concert Theme*:*  Around The World In 80 Minutes
Ensemble*:*  City Of Fairfax Band 
Conductor*:* Robert Pouliot, music director 
Host*:* Rich Kleinfeldt

When*:*  Saturday, May 7, 2016 -- 7:30 PM 

Venue*:*  Ernst Theater 
Richard J. Ernst Community Cultural Center 
NOVA Annandale 
8333 Little River Turnpike, CE 
Fairfax, Virginia​
Travel with the City Of Fairfax Band on a musical journey via musical selections from across the world. Through this rich & varied program, imagine old Europe, stroll the English countryside, pass through the vibrant Southwest on the way to exotic Mexico, & experience the intrigue of Japan. All with no jet lag!

Tickets are on sale now*.*​
*Hands Across The Sea (John Philip Sousa, 1854-1932).* This favorite Sousa march was composed in 1899 & premiered at the Philadelphia Academy Of Music the same year. (The academy audience was so enthusiastic that the band had to play the march 3 times.) The origin of the march's title is uncertain, even though the phrase is consistent with the good will that the Sousa Band built on its multiple European & world tours. Sousa wrote on the score a quotation from the English diplomat John Hookham Frere (1769-1846): “A sudden thought strikes me; let us swear eternal friendship.” Sousa biographer Paul Bierley (1926-2016), noting that the march was composed when the memory of the Spanish-American War was fresh, wrote that the march is “addressed to no particular nation, but to all of America's friends abroad.” 

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*Mardi Gras (Ferde Grofé, 1892-1972).* Ferde Grofé was born in New York City. After studying piano, viola, & composition in Leipzig, Germany, he became proficient on a wide range of instruments including piano, violin, viola, baritone-euphonium, alto horn, & cornet. After leaving home at age 14, he worked as a milkman, truck driver, usher, newsboy, elevator operator, book bindery helper, iron factory worker, & piano player in a bar for $2 a night. By age 15 he was performing with dance combos & playing alto horn in brass bands. He started playing jazz piano with the Paul Whiteman orchestra & was Whiteman's chief arranger from 1920 to 1932. Grofé's most memorable arrangement is George Gershwin's _Rhapsody In Blue_. Gershwin wrote it for two pianos. Grofé rewrote it for solo piano accompanied by jazz orchestra. Grofé's best known original compositions are _Grand Canyon Suite_ (1931) & his 4-movement _Mississippi Suite_ (1925), which the composer described as a “tone journey” down the Mississippi from its Minnesota headwaters all the way to New Orleans. “Mardi Gras,” the concluding movement of the _Mississippi Suite_, was scored for concert band by Erik W. G. Leidzén ( 1894-1962).

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_*The Lion King Soundtrack Highlights* (arranged by Calvin Custer, 1939-1998)._ Disney's animated feature _The Lion King_ tells the story of Simba, a young lion who is in line to succeed his father, Mufasa, as king. But after Simba's uncle Scar murders Mufasa, Simba is deceived into believing that he was responsible, so he flees to exile in shame & despair. Growing up after living with a meerkat & a warthog, Simba gets some valuable perspective from his childhood friend, Nala, & his shaman, Rafiki, before returning to challenge his uncle & put an end to Scar's tyranny. Elton John & lyricist Tim Rice wrote 5 original songs for _The Lion King_ -- “Circle of Life,” “I Just Can't Wait to Be King,” “Be Prepared,” “Hakuna Matata,” & “Can You Feel the Love Tonight.” The film's score was composed by Hans Zimmer. _The Lion King_ won 2 Academy Awards -- Best Original Score & Best Original Song (“Can You Feel the Love Tonight”). 

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*Jamaican Rhumba (Arthur Benjamin, 1893-1960).* Arthur Benjamin was born in Sydney, Australia, & lived with his parents there & in Brisbane. In 1911, he won a scholarship to the Royal College Of Music (London), where he studied composition, harmony, counterpoint, & piano. After military service in WW1, he returned to Australia in 1919 to become piano professor at the New South Wales State Conservatorium Of Music, Sydney. He returned to England in 1921 to become piano professor at the Royal College Of Music. He composed music for orchestras, chamber ensembles, & voices. He also wrote operas & film music. Arthur Benjamin is best known today for a suite titled _Two Jamaican Pieces_ (“Jamaican Song” & “Jamaican Rhumba”), written in 1938 using melodies from the West Indies. "Jamaican Rhumba" is the composer's best known & most frequently heard piece, often in an arrangement by the composer for 2 pianos. The concert band arrangement of "Jamaican Rhumba" is by Philip J. Lang (1911-1986). 

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_*A Yorkshire Overture* (Philip Sparke, 1951 - )._  Born in London in 1951, Philip Sparke studied composition, trumpet, & piano at the Royal College Of Music, where he earned an Associate degree. His participation in wind band at the college, together with a brass band that he formed, spurred his interest in music for wind instruments & percussion & led him to compose music both for brass band & for concert band. Favorable interest in his initial published pieces resulted in his receiving several commissions, including _The Land Of The Long White Cloud_ written for the Centennial Brass Band Championships in New Zealand. He has written for brass band championships in the United Kingdom, Switzerland, Holland, Australia, & New Zealand. In 1997, his _Dance Movements_, commissioned by the U.S. Air Force Band, won the prestigious Sudler Prize. Sparke wrote _A Yorkshire Overture_ in 1991 on commission from Banks & Son Ltd., a Yorkshire-based music retailer. The piece was composed for a music festival featuring school bands through Yorkshire, England. 

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_*Australian Up-Country Tune* (Percy Aldridge Grainger, 1882-1961)._ Percy Grainger was born in the town of Brighton in Victoria, Australia. He was such a prodigy on piano that the proceeds of a series of concerts he played at age 12 paid for 6 years of conservatory study in Frankfurt, Germany. He toured Europe as a concert pianist, settling in London in 1901. When WW1 broke out, Grainer moved to the USA & enlisted in the U.S. Army as a saxophonist with the 15th Coastal Artillery Corps Band in New York City. He also worked on learning to play oboe, writing that “I long for the time when I can blow my oboe well enough to play in the band.” He became a U.S. citizen in 1918. After leaving the army in January 1919, Grainger refused an offer to become conductor of the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra & resumed his career as a concert pianist. He was soon performing about 120 concerts a year. At the conclusion of a concert at the Hollywood Bowl in 1928, Grainger married Ella Ström, a Swedish-born artist he had known since 1926. At the wedding, a choral version of Grainger's _Australian Up-Country Tune_ was performed. Describing the piece, Grainger said, “I had wished to voice Australian up-country feeling as Stephen Foster had with American country-side feelings in his songs.” The piece was arranged for concert band by Glenn Cliffe Bainum (1888-1974).

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_*Kaddish* (W. Francis McBeth, 1933-2012). _ The Kaddish is one of the most important & central elements in the Jewish liturgy. Kaddish cannot be recited alone. Along with some prayers, it can only be recited with a minyan of 10 believers. The central theme of the Kaddish is the magnification & sanctification of God's name. Kaddish often refers specifically to the mourner's Kaddish, said as part of the mourning rituals in Judaism in all prayer services, as well as at funerals (other than at the burial site). When mention is made of “saying Kaddish,” this unambiguously refers to the rituals of mourning. Mourners say Kaddish to show that despite the loss they still praise God. The central line of the Kaddish in Jewish tradition is the congregation's response: “May His great name be blessed for ever, and to all eternity” -- a public declaration of God's greatness & eternality. _Kaddish_ is the title, chosen by the composer, for a solemn piece written by W. Francis McBeth for a concert band, based on the chant of the prayer. McBeth composed _Kaddish_ as a memorial for his teacher J. Clifton Williams (1923-1976). 

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_*Orpheus In The Underworld* (Jacques Offenbach, 1819-1880)._ The story of Orpheus & Eurydice from Greek mythology is so wonderful that many writers & composers have done their own interpretations.  In the 1850s, Jacques Offenbach re-did it as a comic operetta. In Offenbach’s 2-act spoof, Orpheus is teaching music at the conservatory of Thebes. He is married to Eurydice but they are not in love with each other. Eurydice runs away with the King Of The Underworld. Orpheus is glad she’s gone, but a powerful character in the operetta named Public Opinion makes Orpheus venture into the underworld try to get Eurydice back. Orpheus eventually succeeds in losing Eurydice completely. They live happily ever after in complete separation. The overture, & the entire production, are full of humor, fun, color, & great tunes, including the famous can-can. The overture was arranged for military band by A. Hibbbert.

-- oOo --​
_*Morning, Noon, & Night In Vienna Overture* (Franz von Suppé, 1819-1895). _When Suppé's father sent him to study law, Franz studied music on the side. When his father died, Franz gave up law & went all-in for music. He composed about 30 operettas plus 180 farces, ballets, & other stage pieces. Though he composed some sacred works late in his life, his output is almost entirely theater music -- popular entertainment that in its own era was on a par with Broadway musicals of today. _Morning, Noon, & Night In Vienna_ is one of Suppé's earliest works. The overture did not relate to the story line so much as serve to grab the attention of the audience, quiet down the house, & set the mood for the entertainment to come. Even at age 24, Suppé had a feel for how to win over an audience through a pleasant, unpretentious bit of fluff. The original stage comedy sank into an obscurity fitting a so-so entertainment in a form longer in vogue, but its vibrant, charming overture lives on as a pops concert favorite. The overture was arranged for concert band by Henry Fillmore (1881-1956). _(Note adapted from Immaculata Symphony, Immaculata PA.)_

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_*El Torero* (Hudson Nogueira)_. Hudson Nogueira was born in Itapetininga in rural São Paulo State, Brazil. He grew up in the small city of Porangaba, which is also located in rural São Paulo. At an early age, he began his studies & graduated from the Escola Superior de Música Mazarteum in São Paulo in 1997 with a bachelor's degree in clarinet performance. In 1995, he began his career as a composer with his 1st pieces written for chamber ensembles. Receiving great success, he was inspired to take his 1st steps in the world of symphonic music. Many works followed, all currently being registered by official recordings. In 1998, he became the resident composer at the Conservatório Dramático e Musical Dr. Carlos de Campos in Tatuí, São Paulo. His pieces have been performed by many various chamber, symphonic, & popular ensembles throughout Brazil & other various countries including Hungary, Ukraine, France, Italy, Spain, & the United States. Along with his work as a classical composer, Hudson has never forgotten his passion for Brazilian popular music, which can always be seen in his chamber & symphonic works. _El Torero_ is a Latin-style march in _pasodoble_ style.  _(Information taken from_ brazilianmusicpublications.com _)_

-- oOO --​
_*Ryukyuan Fantasy For Band* (Ito Yasuhide, 1960 - )._ Ito Yasuhide is best known as a concert pianist & composer of band music. He majored in composition at Tokyo National University Of Fine Arts & Music, graduating in 1986. While still at the university, he started gaining national and international acclaim by winning several musical competitions, including 1st prize at the 1980 Shizuoka Music Competition for piano & 3rd prize at the 1982 Japan Music Competition for piano. He won an award at the 1987 Competition for Saxophone Music, & the 1994 Academy prize from the Band Masters Academic Society of Japan. Japan's Ryukyu Islands are a chain extending southwest from Kyushu to Taiwan. The largest of the islands is Okinawa. _Ryukuan Fantasy For Band_ had its premiere performance May 14, 1999, by the NTT East Tokyo Wind Ensemble, conducted by Yamada Masahiro. 

-- oOo --​
_*Valdres March* (Johannes Hanssen, 1874-1967)._ Johannes Hanssen was one of Norway's most active & influential bandmasters, composers, & teachers during the 1st half of 20th century. He was born in Ullensaker, a small town near Oslo, & played in a military band in Oslo as a young boy. He was bandmaster of the Oslo Military Band 1926-1934 & 1945-1946. Hanssen received many honors in his lifetime, including the King's Order Of Merit In Gold & King Haakon VIII's Jubilee Medal. _Valdres March_, written in 1902, is Hanssen's most famous composition. The title has geographic as well as musical meaning. Valdres is a beautiful region in Norway between Oslo & Bergen. The 1st 3 measures of the march contain a signature fanfare, based on an ancient melody, for the Valdres Battalion. Other melodies in the piece derive from a Hardanger fiddle tune & a pentatonic folk song heard over a typical Norwegian drone bass. _Valdres March_ was 1st performed in 1904 by the band of the Second Regiment Of Norway, with the composer himself playing baritone horn. _(Note adapted from Foothill Symphonic Winds, Los Altos, California.)_

-- xXx --​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Ghosts, Ghouls, & Goblins -- Fairfax Band "Fright Night" Concert October 22, 2016.*

Virginia's City Of Fairfax Band, Robert Pouliot music director, is putting on a Halloween-themed concert 7:30 PM on October 22, 2016, in the auditorium of Fairfax High School, 3501 Rebel Run, Fairfax VA.  Tickets are on sale now.

The musical selections *. . . *

*Phantasmagoria (Randol Alan Bass, 1953 - ).* Before the invention of motion pictures, there were no horror movies. Poducers who wanted to put on scary shows featuring special effects were pretty much limited to phantasmagoria -- a form of horror theatre which used magic lanterns to project frightening images like skeletons, demons, devils, witches, vampires, ghosts, zombies, monsters, & various unspeakable horrors onto surfaces, into smoke, or through semi-transparent screens, frequently using rear projection. Movable & portable projectors were used, allowing the projected image to move & change size on the screen. Multiple projecting devices allowed for quick switching of different images. Phantasmagoria got started in late 18th century Germany, to lend an air of believability to spirit-summoning seances. The effect was chillingly scary in its day, & phantasmagoria gained popularity through most of Europe, & England especially, all through the 19th century. Phantasmagoria came to the United States in May 1803 at Mount Vernon Garden, New York. A few modern theatrical troupes in the United States & Britain still put on phantasmagoria projection shows, especially at Halloween. Composer Randol Alan Bass evokes the shifting, frightening, terror-inspiring mood of the old magic-lantern specters & shadows in his 2011 concert band piece titled _Phantasmagoria_. The three movements are subtitled _Prelude_, _Buried Alive_, and _Demon Dance_.  

--oOo--​
*The Inferno (Robert W. Smith, 1958 - ).* With more than 600 publications in print, Robert W. Smith is one of the most popular & prolific composers  currently writing concert band & orchestral music. He received a bachelor's degree in music education from Troy University (Alabama) & a master's degree in music & media writing & production from the University of Miami (Florida), where he studied under legendary composer Alfred Reed. _The Inferno_, commissioned by the James Madison University Band, &  published in 1995, is the opening movement of Robert W. Smith's _Symphony No. 1_, titled _The Divine Comedy_. The music follows the events of Dante's epic 14th century poem, building musical references to the certain cantos of _The Inferno_. Enormous crescendos, furious percussion, & towering blocks of sound imaginatively portray Dante’s vision of hell. Dante's _Divine Comedy_ relates the poet's travels through the 3 realms of the dead -- _Inferno_, _Purgatorio_, & _Paradiso_ -- a journey lasting from the night before Good Friday to the Wednesday after Easter in the spring of 1300. The Roman poet Virgil guides Dante through Hell and Purgatory. Beatrice, Dante's ideal woman, guides him through Heaven. 

--oOo--​
*The Witch & The Saint (Steven Reineke, 1970 - ).* Steven Reineke is a conductor, composer, & arranger from Cincinnati, Ohio, now living in New York City where he is music director of the New York Pops. He showed early musical talent on trumpet & taught himself to play piano at age 15. He continued trumpet studies at Miami University of Ohio, receiving bachelor of music degrees, with honors, in trumpet performance & music composition. Reineke's tone poem titled _The Witch & the Saint_ is a musical description of  the lives of twin sisters Helena & Sibylla, who were born in Germany at the end of the 16th century, a time when the phenomenon of twin births was seen as a bad omen. And in fact the girls both had the gift of clairvoyance, an uncanny ability to see events to come that had not yet taken place. Sibylla was called witch & sorceress & was hated and feared for that. The best she could do was to learn midwifery & serve in that way to be helpful. Helena, who was sent away to a convent to be raised as a nun, by contrast was revered as a saint & a sage once her supernatural ability was discovered. The tide turned for both sisters when Sibylla was jailed as a witch & Helena attempted to rescue her. Their lives did not end happily. _The Witch & the Saint_ was commissioned as a gift to the Youth Brass Orchestra of Ellwangen (Germany) in recognition of the ensemble's 50th anniversary. _(Note adapted from_ Wikipedia.org _)_

--oOo--​
*Dream of a Witches’ Sabbath, (Hector Berlioz, 1803-1869).* In 1827 Berlioz attended a performance of Hamlet in which a charismatic actress played the role of Ophelia. Struck by her beauty & stage presence, Berlioz fell desperately in love. Over the next 2 years he conceived a way to channel his agitated feelings into a work of art -- a “fantastic symphony” created out of the subjective experiences of a young musician in love. It was also an attempt to attract the unattainable woman's attention. The idea took shape during 1829 & was completed by mid-April 1830. A revolutionary treatment of melody, an audacious form, & Berlioz's brilliantly innovative instrumentation made the _Symphonie Fantastique_ a keystone of Romanticism in music. The premiere was December 5, 1830, at the Paris Conservatoire. Over the next 2 years, Berlioz not only revised the score extensively but also successfully courted the actress. The pair married in 1833. The concert program that Berlioz wrote & published before the premiere reveals the _Symphonie Fantastique_ as a romantically heightened self-portrait. In the 5th movement, he sees himself in the midst of a frightful throng of ghosts, witches, monsters of every kind, who have assembled for his funeral. Strange noises, groans, bursts of laughter, distant cries. A beloved melody reappears, but it has lost its modesty & nobilty; it is no more than a vulgar dance tune, trivial & grotesque; it is she, coming to the sabbath. A joyous roar greets her arrival.... She joins in the devilish orgy.... A funeral knell, a parody of the _Dies irae_. A sabbath round-dance. The _Dies irae_ & the round-dance are combined. (The symphonic band transcription is by R. Mark Rogers.)

--oOo--​
*Funeral March of a Marionette (Charles Gounoud, 1818-1893).* Gounod intended to dedicate the piece satirically to a noted music critic. But the critic died before the piece could be published, so Gounod's English patron, Georgina Weldon (1837-1914) came up with the idea of a story for the music based on a funeral procession for a string puppet killed in a duel. Even though it is an orchestral concert piece, its fanciful nature puts it in the same mock-spooky category as “The Munsters,” “The Addams Family,” and “Monster Mash.” _Funeral March of a Marionette_ has been recorded many times, including by John Philip Sousa's own band in 1903. It was used in a number of Hollywood movies as musical accompaniment in the silent film era & in the talkies starting in 1929. For 10 years it was television theme music in a variety of arrangements for the long-running series, _Alfred Hitchcock Presents_ (1955-1965), reaching a wider audience than all the concert halls in the world. The concert band arrangement is by Miguel C. Mayrelles (1830-1900).

--oOo--​
*A Night on Bald Mountain (Modeste Moussorgsky, 1839-1881).* The piece was composed in 1860, but never used, for a play titled _The Witch_, which was based on an ancient Russian legend. Bald Mountain, near Kiev, is the legendary gathering place of witches from all over Russia. One day each year, they come to celebrate a Black Mass. They dance insanely to gain Satan's favor. At the height of their frenzy, a church bell tolls the coming of the dawn & breaks the spell. A songbird welcomes the daybreak. From the valley shadowed by Bald Mountain, a song greets the sunrise. Good triumphs over evil. The sacred trumps the profane. This music, Moussorgsky's 1st and only tone poem, was not performed in any version during the composer's lifetime. Five years after Moussorgsky died, Nikolai Rimsky-Korsakov published an arrangement of the piece, which he described as a "fantasy for orchestra." It became a concert favorite following its 1886 premiere, & entered the mass media in 1940 when an arrangement of it by Leopold Stokowski was featured in Walt Disney's animated feature _Fantasia_. _Night on Bald Mountain_ was scored for concert band by William A. Schaefer.

--oOo--​
*Soundtrack Highlights from Disney's Hunchback Of Notre Dame (Alan Menken, 1949 - ).* Victor Hugo's 1831 gothic novel takes place in France in 1482, the day of the Festival Of Fools in Paris. Quasimodo, the deformed bell-ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, is crowned Pope of Fools. Esmeralda, a beautiful Gypsy with a kind & generous heart, captures the hearts of many, including Captain Phoebus, but especially Quasimodo & his adopted father, Archdeacon Claude Frollo, who is torn between lust for Esmeralda & the rules of the church. He orders Quasimodo to kidnap Esmeralda, but the hunchback is suddenly captured by Phoebus & his guards, who save Esmeralda. Quasimodo is sentenced to be whipped. Esmeralda, seeing that Quasimodo suffers from thirst, offers him water. That act of kindness saves her, for in it she captures Quasimodo's heart. Esmeralda is later charged with the attempted murder of Phoebus, whom Frollo actually attempted to kill in jealousy, & she is sentenced to hang. As she is being led to the gallows, Quasimodo swings down by the bell rope of Notre Dame & carries her off to sanctuary in the cathedral. Clopin, known as King Of The Criminals, rallies the criminals of Paris to charge the cathedral & rescue Esmeralda. King Louis XI, seeing the chaos, cancels the law of sanctuary & commands his troops to kill Esmeralda. When Quasimodo sees the criminals, he assumes they are there to hurt Esmeralda, so he drives them off. Frollo betrays Esmeralda by handing her to the troops & watches while she is hanged. Quasimodo pushes him from the heights of Notre Dame to his death. Quasimodo then crawls off to Esmeralda's tomb with his arms around her body & eventually dies of starvation. Two years later, Esmeralda's skeleton is found with a broken neck, locked in embrace with Quasimodo's bones. When people try to pull them apart, Quasimodo's bones turn to dust. The Disney version (1996) takes major G-rated liberties with the original. In Disney's animated feature, as Frollo prepares to burn Esmeralda at the stake in front of a rioting crowd, Quasimodo, chained to the bell-tower, feels hopeless to save her. Frollo offers Esmeralda her freedom in exchange for her love. She refuses, & the execution commences. Seeing this, Quasimodo becomes enraged & breaks free. He swings down & rescues Esmeralda, taking her back to the cathedral & angrily declaring sanctuary for her. Frollo, however, storms into the cathedral just as the prisoners begin to break free in revolt with the citizenry. Upstairs, Frollo finds Quasimodo crying over Esmeralda, who is apparently dead. Frollo, attempting to stab Quasimodo, is overpowered by Quasimodo instead. Just as Quasimodo prepares to kill Frollo, Esmeralda awakens. Quasimodo runs off with her onto the cathedral's balconies, with Frollo pursuing, sword in hand. As Quasimodo & Frollo struggle, they fall from the tower. Frollo falls to his death. Quasimodo is caught in mid-air by Phoebus and the 2 of them reunite with Esmeralda. Quasimodo comes to accept that Esmeralda & Phoebus love each other. With Esmeralda's help, he reluctantly emerges from isolation in the cathedral, & is finally accepted into society. Alan Menken's score for the film was nominated for an Academy Award. Calvin Custer's concert band arrangement of the soundtrack highlights features the songs “The Bells Of Notre Dame,” “Out There,” “Topsy Turvy,” “God Help The Outcasts,” and “Hellfire.”

--oOo--​
*Shadow Waltzes (Brian Balmages, 1975 - ).* Brian Balmages received his bachelor's degree in music from James Madison University (Virginia) & his master's degree from the University of Miami (Florida). _Shadow Waltzes,_ an original composition for concert band, draws on the fleeting shapes of darkness against light, generating moods that are menacing at times, innocent at others, & seemingly out of control at the most volatile moments. An unchanging rhythmic pulse forms the backdrop for the entire piece as the shadows flicker into & out of the darkness, sometimes playfully & other times in a more somber mood. 

--xXx--​
-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Salvation Is Created (By Pavel Chesnokov).*




AwayWeGo said:


> One of the tunes, _Salvation Is Created_ (by Pavel Tchesnokov, 1877-1944), gets me choked up whenever I hear it -- to the point that my throat narrows & it's hard to keep on playing.  It had that effect even before I selected it as music for my mother's funeral 25 years ago.  I suppose that's why I selected it.  The combination of the music's beauty & its association with remembrance of my mother packs a powerful emotional wallop.


Click here for Salvation Is Created*.*

The emotional impact is still powerful, but over the past 6 years I've played the tune so many times that now I get through it just fine.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## MULTIZ321

Alan,

Thanks for sharing. What a nice tribute to your mom whose spirit remains with you.

Richard


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## AwayWeGo

*Barber, Bernstein, & Broadway — March 25, 2017, Concert By The City of Fairfax Band.*

*Information & program notes for Fairfax Band concerts have migrated to Mox Nix Blog . . .   *

*https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2017/0...-25-2017-concert-by-the-city-of-fairfax-band/*

NOTE:  Much of what's on Mox Nix Blog from its beginning originated on the pages of TUG-BBS over the years, mainly the TUG Lounge general discussion section. 

*-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.*​


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## AwayWeGo

Legends Of The Air -- City Of Fairfax Band Concert set for March 13, 2017. 

Program notes are on the internet at . . . 

https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2017/0...-13-2017-concert-by-the-city-of-fairfax-band/ 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

Halloween Music That's Scary But Not Too Scary . . . 

https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2017/1...alloween-music-thats-scary-but-not-too-scary/

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## MULTIZ321

AwayWeGo said:


> Halloween Music That's Scary But Not Too Scary . . .
> 
> https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2017/1...alloween-music-thats-scary-but-not-too-scary/
> 
> -- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


Hi Alan,

Thanks again for keeping this thread going.

I'm curious, what did you decide to do with all the sheet music?


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## AwayWeGo

MULTIZ321 said:


> Hi Alan,
> 
> Thanks again for keeping this thread going.
> 
> I'm curioua, what did you decide to do with all the sheet music?



The published scores & instrumental parts belong to Fairfax Band.   

The City Of Fairfax Band & Fairfax High School Band share their music libraries, an arrangement that benefits both groups. 

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Polkas & Fugues & Foxtrots — Music Meant For Motion.*

https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2018/03/14/polkas-fugues-foxtrots-music-meant-for-motion/

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*The Americans — (musical composers of the USA, not the Soviet spy TV show).*

https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2018/0...posers-of-the-usa-not-the-soviet-spy-tv-show/


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## AwayWeGo

*Music Of The Stars.*

https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2018/09/12/music-of-the-stars/


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## AwayWeGo

*City Of Fairfax Band Goes Hollywood. *

*https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2019/02/23/city-of-fairfax-band-goes-hollywood/ *


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## AwayWeGo

*Virginia’s City Of Fairfax Band Presents American Vistas.*

*https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2019/04/26/virginias-city-of-fairfax-band-presents-american-vistas/*


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## DrQ

Amazing thread. Standing ovations Alan!


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## AwayWeGo

*ORIGINALS — A Concert Of Music Specially Composed For The City Of Fairfax Band.*

*https://moxnix.wordpress.com/2019/1...cially-composed-for-the-city-of-fairfax-band/*


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## AwayWeGo

​-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

Cathedral Brass Virtual Ensemble Rendition Of Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee.


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## b2bailey

If there has been one bright spot for me during this time, it would be the wonderful assortment of music makers who have used this technology to share their gifts.


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## AwayWeGo

The social distancing & other safeguards that were put in to protect against spreading coronavirus just happened to blow up the entire rehearsal & performance schedules of just about all my musical groups.  I'm really feeling the loss -- not just of the horn playing experience but also of the social contact with my band & brass ensemble friends.  

Virtual ensemble internet performances are a pale shadow of the real thing.  Even so, they are highly welcome in their own right & even more so in contrast to going completely without.  

Hats off to all the Cathedral Brass people who participated in _Joyful Joyful We Adore Thee_ -- & special thanks to Bill Wright for his creativity & skill in bringing together all the separate recorded segments into a nicely polished finished product.  

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## MULTIZ321

Thanks Alan. You've lifted our hearts!

Richard


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## chapjim

Dave M said:


> The Star-Spangled Banner does it to me - every time!



One of the reasons I like baseball.  They always play my favorite song!


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## AwayWeGo

More "virtual ensemble" performances by the Cathedral Brass . . . 
















-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## Passepartout

Very nice, Alan!  Thanks!


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## pedro47

That was outstanding Alan ! Thanks.


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## AwayWeGo

Cathedral Brass "Virtual Ensemble" Performance
_On A Hymnsong Of Philip Bliss_


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## AwayWeGo

Cathedral Brass "Virtual Ensemble" Performance
_O Come, O Come, Emmanuel_


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## AwayWeGo

*Virtual Christmas Concert by the Cathedral Brass of Vienna VA*






The 2020 Christmas concert was recorded outdoors last Saturday (Dec. 12, 2020).  The U-Tube program includes selections recorded for some prior Christmas seasons, just to round things out.  

It was a strange & strained musical season.  I'm glad we could salvage something out of the effort everybody put in.

-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## AwayWeGo

*Virtual Christmas Concert by ensembles of the City Of Fairfax Band Association, Fairfax VA*





​"Virtual ensemble" selections recorded specifically for the 2020 Christmas holiday season. Maybe next year, we can once again put on a holiday concert the old fashioned way.  Here's hoping. 
​-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​​


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## AwayWeGo

*Cathedral Brass "Virtual Ensemble" Performance.*
_Before The Throne Of God Above. _





The Cathedral Brass, Vienna, Virginia, USA​


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## AwayWeGo

*Cathedral Brass "Virtual Ensemble" Performance.*
_O Sacred Head Now Wounded._






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

*Cathedral Brass Socially Distanced Outdoor Recording.*
_Vienna Philharmonic Fanfare._





The Cathedral Brass, Vienna, Virginia, USA​


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## AwayWeGo

*2021 Memorial Day "Virtual Concert" By Ensembles Of The City Of Fairfax Band, Fairfax VA.*






The City Of Fairfax Band, Fairfax, Virginia, USA.​


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## MULTIZ321

Thanks Alan for our Memorial Day Concert!


Richard


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## T_R_Oglodyte

For those who like Swing, this is pretty sweet.  Is it just me, or do others also think that the Brits do this kind of thing better than anybody else?


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## AwayWeGo

​Click here for details, plus link for ordering tickets.
​-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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## easyrider

The only song that I really like and played when it came out and has become a total tear jerker almost anytime I hear it is Gun's and Roses Sweet Child of Mine. 

Bill


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## AwayWeGo

​-- Alan Cole, McLean (Fairfax County), Virginia, USA.​


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