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Emotional Response To Music.

AwayWeGo

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[triennial - points]
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

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[triennial - points]
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

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[triennial - points]
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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[triennial - points]
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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[triennial - points]
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.jpg

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.​
 

rhonda

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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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[triennial - points]
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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[triennial - points]
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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[triennial - points]
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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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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Jy-Normous Saxophone.

Realbigblues_v50kbps_a80kbps.jpg

-- 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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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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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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Industrial-Strength Flutes.

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

cfc-2008-04-02-700x450.jpg

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

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The Sound Of The Flute.

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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The Sound Of The Extra-Large Flute.

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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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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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 . . .


  1. The Virginians (James Hosay)
  2. March Of The Belgian Parachutists (Pierre Leemans)
  3. March & Procession Of Bacchus (Leo Delibes)
  4. Chimes Of Liberty (Edwin Franko Goldman)
  5. March From Symphonic Metamorphosis On Themes By Carl Maria von Weber (Paul Hindemith)
  6. Wings & Shield (Jerry Brubaker)
  7. Kitty Hawk (John Cheetham)
  8. Army Of The Nile (Kenneth Alford)
  9. Toccata Marziale (Ralph Vaughn Williams)
  10. Amparito Roca (Jaime Texidor)
  11. Enrtry March Of The Boyars (Johan Halvorsen)
  12. Washington Grays (Claudio Grafulla)
  13. Procession Of The Nobles (Nicolai Rimsky-Korsakov)
  14. The City Of Fairfax Band March (Samuel Laudenslager, Sr.)
  15. American Patrol (F.W. Meacham)
  16. Zacatecas (Genaro Codina)
  17. The March From 1941 (John Williams)
  18. Nobles Of The Mystic Shrine (John Philip Sousa)

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

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

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Clean Sweep -- Sunday Performances Snowed Out, Too.

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.​
 

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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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"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.

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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 pa-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.

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Catfish Row (George Gershwin, 1898-1937). Originally titled Suite 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 .]

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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.

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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/ .]

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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.

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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.

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