Emotional Response To Music.

[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.​

 

[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.

 

[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.​

 

[easyrider]

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

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[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.

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[AwayWeGo]

Rap? Hippity-Hop? Mox Nix?

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.​

 

[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

 

[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.​

 

[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.​

 

[ronandjoan]

Thanks for all the info

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