Posted by glennled on December 23, 2010
Mr. McGinn leads the Jazz Band
Mr. Shawn McGinn, director of bands and orchestra at Skyview Jr. High in Bothell, wore a tuxedo with cummerbund, and the students were all dressed in solid black. That tells you how classy this concert was! It was held last Thursday in the 600-seat Northshore Performing Arts Center (NPAC), and the house was packed.
Like all of Mr. McGinn’s school concerts, this one was well-organized and well-rehearsed. The students knew what was coming and what to do when the time came…and they did it well! It was a very entertaining and impressive evening event.
More than anything, I am impressed with the breath and depth of the music program he is building. It has to be one of the best within the Northshore School District, and it’s getting bigger and better all the time. At this concert, the opening act was a self-directed jazz sextet with vocalist, and that was followed by the orchestra, conducted by Mr. McGinn. Next he led the 7th grade band, after which he conducted the 8th-9th grade band and the jazz band.
Wow! There are about 180 students under his tutelage. They are at about six levels of proficiency. Makes you wonder when and where all
The Orchestra
these groups practice. And remember, Mr. McGinn has been doing this for several years! That really pulls and stretches a teacher. Does this man have passion and drive? Does he have purpose? As an audience member, it’s a pleasure to witness all these people on stage, striving with their leader for excellence.
And just think: this is happening all over America and in some form or another, all over the world. Music is a giant. It pervades every culture. How did this come to be?—because the gifts of natural musical talent and ability are not rare. Yes, great talent is indeed quite rare, but many, many people worldwide are born with excellent musical talent and then develop outstanding abilities. It is quite common among us. Why? Is there some noble, universal purpose to this? For me, the answer is clearly yes—so we can express ourselves, so we can communicate with each other in infinite ways by infinite means, so we, too, can create beauty, so we can give and share among our communities. When we play our instruments and sing for others, even in the school cafeteria or NPAC or Husky Stadium, we are on the world stage.
Hear Ye, Hear Ye, Hear the Words of Aldous Huxley: After silence that which comes nearest to expressing the inexpressible is music.
Jazz Band
7th Grade Band
8th-9th Grade Band
Trumpeter takes a solo
Another trumpeter solos
Another trumpeter solos
Opening Act: Jazz Sextet with Vocalist
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: 7th Grade Band, 8th-9th grade band, Aldus Huxley, band, Bothell, Husky Stadium, jazz band, music, Northshore Performing Arts Center, Northshore School District, NPAC, Skyview Jr. High, trumpet, trumpeter | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on December 20, 2010
Photos by Blackberry camera
Early last Wednesday, about 150 parents and relatives swarmed into the cafeteria at Skyview Jr. High (SJH) in Bothell, WA, to see and hear their kids play in the winter concert by the two elementary bands conducted by Mr. Shawn McGinn. It was a standing room only crowd! The 1st-year and 2nd-year bands are comprised of about 85 students in the 5th and 6th grades from three elementary schools which feed into SJH: Crystal Springs, Canyon Park, and Fernwood. As you know, I’m Mr. McGinn’s assistant for brass instruction with both these bands (see my post on 6 September 2010).
1st-year band
First, the 1st-year band played “Jingle Bells,” followed by “Mr. Dreydl,” featuring the flutes. The clarinet section then played “Ode to Joy,” and the brass section (4 trombones and 22 trumpets) played a duet, “London Bridge is Falling Down.” Finally, the percussion section laid down a rock beat.
1st-year brass
Before the 2nd-year band played, one of its members treated the audience to an amazing solo, playing Metallica’s hit song, “Seek and Destroy,” on his electric guitar. Afterwards, the 2nd-year band played “Apollo Fanfare” and their favorite, “Cameroon.”
2nd-year band
The whole concert was very impressive. The kids were well-rehearsed, well-behaved, and played very well. They’re learning their horns. Everyone is proud to be in these bands!
1st-year brass
Guitar soloist
2nd-year brass
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: 1st-year, 2nd-year, Apollo Fanfare, band, Bothell, brass, Cameroon, Canyon Park, Crystal Springs, elementary, Fernwood, Jingle Bells, London Bridge is Falling Down, Metallica, Mr. Dreydl, Ode to Joy, parents, Seek and Destroy, Shawn McGinn, Skyview Jr. High, trombones, trumpets | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on December 17, 2010
What motivates a man to pick up the trumpet at 39 years old and start to play? In the case of my 14th student, it’s his love of jazz and specifically, his love and appreciation of the music played by one of the greats, Miles Davis. My student owns and works out of his 2.5-story home in Magnolia in Seattle, and we practice there weekly in his warm, spacious basement. In “X” years, he’d like to be playing locally in a small band, perhaps a quintet. But for now, like any 5th-grade beginner, the Magnolia Man must first learn the basics, the fundamentals. We started lessons on 9 December.
“Everyone who got where he is had to begin where he was,” wrote Robert Louis Stevenson, author of Treasure Island, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, and many other 
books. And so it was with Miles Davis, too. Miles, the son of a dentist in East St. Louis, got his first trumpet at age 13.
He was a prodigy—it was his horn. At 18, he went to New York City. During 1957-1963, he collaborated with Gil Evans, often playing both flugelhorn and trumpet. That’s when I first became acquainted with his music, including the albums ‘Round About Midnight, Miles Ahead, and Porgy and Bess, and this remains my favorite period of his music. To my young ears, it was stunningly beautiful.
Miles was an innovator. He experimented with and led several major developments in jazz music, including bebop, cool jazz, hard bop, modal jazz, and jazz fusion. After he died in 1991, eight digitally-enhanced box sets of his recordings have been released. The 6-CD set, Miles Davis and Gil Evans: The Complete Columbia Studio Recordings, won three Grammy Awards: Best Historical Album, Best Album Notes, and Best Recording Package (Boxed). This was only the third time in Grammy history that that trifecta was ever achieved.
In 1959, his magnum opus, Kind of Blue, was released. And 49 years later (2008), the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) issued its fourth platinum certification for 
this album, signifying sales of four million copies. In 2006, Miles Davis was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He is considered one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century.
I saw and heard him play only once. When I came back from Vietnam, there was a jazz place down in Pioneer Square, and one night I went there by myself to hear him play. Before going, I had read in a magazine article that he had the reputation of being cold, withdrawn, and distant. They said he would sometimes play with his back to the audience. He did, and I left, having drunk too many “stingers on the rocks” and feeling very alone.
For more about the life and work of Miles Davis, see http://www.milesdavis.com and http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Miles Davis.
I’ve found that my older students tend to identify with special trumpeters. With the Magnolia Man, it’s Miles Davis. With the downtown Seattle 50-year old, it’s Herb Alpert. When asked what trumpeters he admires, my Bothell 9th grader replied, “Dizzie Gillespie.” I should ask the Magnolia Man which of Miles’ periods, albums, and CDs he likes best. I’ll do that.
“A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step,” says a Chinese proverb. Three cheers for the Magnolia Man! He’s on the path.
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 'Round About Midnight, band, bebop, Bothell, cool jazz, Dizzie Gillespie, East St. Louis, flugelhorn, Gil Evans, Grammy Awards, hard bop, Herb Alpert, jazz fusion, Kind of Blue, lessons, Magnolia, Miles Ahead, Miles Davis, Miles Davis and Gil Evans: The Complete Complete Columbia Studio Recordings, modal jazz, New York City, Pioneer Square, Porgy and Bess, quintet, Recording Industry Association of America, RIAA, Robert Louis Stevenson, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, Seattle, The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde, Treasure Island, trumpet | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on December 13, 2010
How do they do that? That’s what I always wonder when I see people riding unicycles and doing their amazing moves and tricks. And that’s what made the half-time show so thrilling at the basketball game in Seattle between the University of Washington Huskies and the Texas Tech Red Raiders on Dec. 4. [I played trumpet in the Husky Alumni Pep Band at this game.] The half-time buzzer sounded, the two teams trotted off to the locker rooms, and out onto the court rolled about 40 dazzling members of the famous Panther Pride Unicycle Team (PPUT) from North Bend, WA in the Snoqualmie Valley. The riders range from age 7 and up.
How do they even get up on those things, much less keep from falling off? Well, as I learned from their website, www.pput.info, there are at least 11 different ways to mount a unicycle. And the Unicycling Society of America has defined 10 skill levels of unicycle riding (see http://www.unicyclingusa.org).
PPUT Photo
Last July, PPUT competed at the “U Games” in the San Francisco Bay Area (see http://ugames.caluni.org). These games are the North American Unicycling Championships and are the largest gathering of unicycle enthusiasts on the continent. PPUT brought back 60 gold, silver and bronze medals!
They appear on TV (see http://www.king5.com/new-day-northwest/Panther-Pride-Unicycle-Team-99467054.html). They ride in various parades, including Macy’s Holiday Parade, Salmon Days in Issaquah, and Autumn Leaves Festival in Leavenworth. They do shows at basketball games for UW, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University and others. They perform for corporate and group special events, local and statewide, and have tons of Flickr photos and YouTube videos (see http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=news/local /san_francisco&id=7561416&rss=rss-kgo-article-7561416).
See what happens when you play trumpet in the school or alumni band? You get to see marvelous shows like this–free! It broadens the mind and uplifts the spirit, that’s what it does.
PPUT Photo
I’m always amazed at how many people are engaged in so many volunteer activities like this, whatever they may be—from flying model airplanes to rock climbing to drum and bugle corps to Renaissance festivals and medieval fairs to dog shows and horse shows, et.al.—“you-name-it.” And very often these activities evolve into organized competitions from the local to national to world levels. Whatever the endeavor, we all appreciate, admire and honor excellence.
The next time you’re in the library, find a directory of societies and associations—-it’s thick!—and open its pages. You’ll be amazed at the variety of human interests and avocations. And we’re just like everyone else—it’s fun to play trumpet and ride unicycles for free at basketball games!
PPUT Photo
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PPUT Photo
PPUT Photo
- PPUT Photo
- PPUT Photo
Posted in HMBAA - Husky Alumni Band | Tagged: Alumni Pep Band, Autumn Leaves Festival, basketball, drum and bugle corps, half-time, Huskies, Husky, Issaquah, Leavenworth, Macy's Holiday Parade, North American Unicycling Championships, North Bend, Panther Pride Unicycle Team, PPUT, Red Raiders, Salmon Days, Seattle Pacific University, Seattle University, Snoqualmie Valley, Texas Tech, trumpet, U Games, unicycle, Unicycling Society of America, University of Washington, UW | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on December 10, 2010
7-ft N'Diaye at the line
While the UW Varsity Marching Band was away in Pullman for the Apple Cup football game—by the way, UW beat WSU, 35-28!—the Husky Alumni Band supplied the pep band for the home basketball game in Seattle against the Texas Tech Red Raiders from Lubbock, TX. It was no contest, as the Huskies won “going away” in dominating fashion, 108-79.
Husky Alumni Pep Band
What was the prime difference between the two basketball teams? the players? the coaches? the home court? the talent? the height, size, length? the quickness, speed, leaping ability? the offense, the defense? the bench depth? the experience level? Or was it something else, perhaps–some hidden ingredient? Maybe the secret advantage was the inspiration provided to the team and the crowd by that outstanding pep band, led by those 8 great trumpet players (including me)! Well, why not? why not make the claim? why not take the credit when something everybody wants to happen turns out just right? Our politicians do that every day!
And let’s give some extra credit to the fabulous half-time show, too, featuring the Panther Pride Unicyle Team from Snoqualmie Valley (see the next post on this blog). They must have helped the fans and Huskies some, too, huh?
Now if you want a better description of how the game was actually played, please go to http://www.gohuskies.com/sports/m-baskbl/recaps/120410aaa.html and watch the highlights on http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BDUwJMwtEFM&feature=player_embedded. Man, does this Husky team look tough! I think it’s the best team Coach Lorenzo Romar has ever assembled. We’ll see.
You remember last March, when the Huskies lost to West Virginia, 69-56, in the first round of the Sweet Sixteen in the NCAA Basketball Tournament? That game was “the men against the boys.” Their starters were taller, heavier, stronger, and just as quick and fast. We were no match.
Well, maybe it will be a different story this year against such teams. Maybe this year we will be the men. We have a better front line, and we have more depth. As the game against Texas Tech showed, we have a better Matthew Bryan-Amaning (“MBA”), a true center (Aziz
Justin Holiday at the line
N’Diaye), and a sterling Justin Holiday. Coach Lorenzo Romar says he has a 10-man rotation right now and is hard-pressed to narrow it to 8. Plus, Romar’s teams always seem to improve throughout the season. For example, N’Diaye is foul-prone; he fouled out last Saturday. We need him to rebound, block shots, and defend well. Let’s watch him improve. The Maui Tournament exposed our weaknesses, and we have about four months to work on them.
If we peak at the right time—post-season tournament time—we could be double-trouble for anyone! Next March, we want to at least break through the “Sweet Sixteen” into the “Elite Eight.” That’s what the Husky Alumni Pep Band is playing for. Come on, guys–let’s even aim to play in “The Big Dance!”—let’s be there, Reliant Stadium, Houston, TX, 2-4 April 2011. Book it!
Posted in HMBAA - Husky Alumni Band | Tagged: Apple Cup, Aziz N'Diaye, band, basketball, coach, Elite Eight, Houston, Huskies, Husky Alumni Band, Husky Alumni Pep Band, Justin Holiday, Lubbock, Matthew Bryan-Amaning, Maui Tournament, NCAA Basketball Tournament, Panther Pride Unicycle Team, pep band, Red Raiders, Reliant Stadium, Romar, Snoqualmie Valley, Sweet Sixteen, Texas Tech, The Big Dance, trumpet, trumpeters, TX, UW, UW Varsity Marching Band, West Virginia, WSU | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on December 9, 2010
So you like the trumpet and you like Christmas, right? Then put ’em together and either (1) give a CD to someone for Christmas or (2) add a CD to your own Christmas-gift wish list so that someone can give it you. Not just a CD of beautiful Christmas music—make it a CD that features great trumpeters playing great Christmas music!
Through the internet, I’ve conducted an informal poll, asking other trumpeters from around the world to name their favorite Christmas CDs featuring the trumpet. Here are the results (not in priority or genre order):
- Canadian Brass, “A Very Merry Christmas CD” (2010)
- Canadian Brass, “Christmas Tradition” (2007)
- Canadian Brass, “A Christmas Experiment” (2007)
- Canadian Brass, “Noel” (1994)
- Herb Alpert & The Tijuana Brass, “Christmas Album” (2005)
Herb Alpert's "Christmas Album" cover
- Tine Thing Helseth, “My Heart is Ever Present” (2009)
- Rick Braun, “Christmas Present” (1994)
- Chris Botti, “December” (2006)
- Doc Severinsen, “Christmas with Friends” (1991)
- Doc Severinsen, “Merry Christmas from Doc Severinsen” (2000)
- Phil Driscoll, “Heaven and Nature Swing” (2000)
- Boston Brass, “The Stan Kenton Christmas Carols” (2005)
- Wynton Marsalis, “Christmas Jazz Jam” (2009)
- Playboy’s “Latin Jazz Christmas: A Not So Silent Night,” featuring Arturo Sandoval (2001)
- Al Hirt, “Have Yourself A Merry Little Christmas” (2000)
- Harry Connick, Jr., “When My Heart Finds Christmas,” featuring Roger Ingram (1993)
- Philadelphia Brass, “Festival of Carols in Brass” (1991)
- Philadelphia Brass, “Christmas in the Grand Tradition” (2010)
- The Airmen of Note, “Cool Yule” (2009)
- The Airmen of Note, “A Holiday Note from Home” (2005)
- Tom Kubix Big Band, “A Jazz Musicians Christmas” (2002)
- James Morrison, “Christmas” (2000)
If you have a favorite not listed here, please click on “Leave a Comment” below this post, give me the artist and title, and I’ll add it to the above list.
If you want to learn more about these favorites and even listen to excerpts from some of them, simply copy the bulleted item, paste it into a search engine box, and hit “search.” You’ll find lots of results that link you to websites featuring that item in some way.
And I wish you and yours a Very Merry Christmas and Happy New Year, with God’s many blessings!
Posted in Selected Trumpet Music | Tagged: Airmen of Note, Arturo Sandoval, Boston Brass, brass, Canadian Brass, carols, CD, Chris Botti, Christmas, December, Doc Severisnen, festival, gift, Henry Connick, Herb Alpert, holiday, James Morrison, jazz, Jr., Noel, Phil Dirscoll, Philadelphia Brass, Rick Braun, Roger Ingram, Stan Kenton, Tijuana Brass, Tine Thing Helseth, Tom Kubix, trumpet, trumpeters, Wynton Marsalis, yule | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on November 27, 2010
Have you heard of the Marine Military Academy? Neither had I when I got an email from a parent in Lynnwood inquiring about private lessons for her son, a trumpeter, coming home from Texas for vacation during the Thanksgiving and Christmas holidays. At first, I wondered, does “marine” refer to the navy, merchant marine, oceanography, biology, or what? No, none of the above—it’s the U.S. Marine Corps, of course! We arranged four one-hour lessons while he’s home in November, and I now have my 13th student.
The Marine Military Academy (MMA) is in Harlingen in south Texas, only about 11 miles from the Rio Grande River and the border with Mexico. Forty-five years ago in 1965, it was established as a private college preparatory school for boys, grades 8-12 (see www.mma-tx.org). It is the only Marine prep school in the USA, and the typical enrollment is about 350-400.
My student is 17 and a senior. As a cadet at MMA, he plays in the school band. Three bugle calls get used regularly in the daily/weekly routine of school life: “Attention,” “Adjutant’s Call,” and “Taps.” For Pass in Review, the band plays the stirring march by John Philip Sousa known as “Semper Fi”—that’s short for Semper Fidelis (Latin, meaning “Always faithful”, the motto of the Marine Corps). And they play the moving “Marine Corps Hymn” (Halls of Montezuma), too, among many other pieces of music. For next year, he’s now considering three universities in Washington, Illinois, and Texas, and the Naval Academy in Maryland.
His dream is to play trumpet in The United States Marine Band, known as “The President’s Own” (see www.marineband.usmc.mil/). God bless the Marines and all our military and all our veterans, way back to the Revolutionary War, 1776-1783.
Trumpeters in “The President’s Own” Marine Band
Freedom is not free. It’s a universal, human desire, and its costs, for every generation on this precious globe, are high. In these Thanksgiving holidays, I pray he lives his dream, God willing.
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: adjutant's call, attention, band, bugle, cadet, Christmas, Halls of Montezuma, Harlingen, Illinois, John Philip Sousa, lessons, Lynnwood, march, Marine Corps, Marine Corps Hymn, Marine Military Academy, Maryland, Mexico, military, Naval Academy, prep, preparatory school, President's Own, Revolutionary War, Rio Grande River, Semper Fidelis, Taps, Texas, Thanksgiving, trumpet, trumpeter, United States Marine Band, Washington | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on November 15, 2010
When you’re chosen to accompany the choir at a Christmas concert, you’ve gotta practice your trumpet and be ready—especially when you’re a 6th grader and the music is written in the key of A (with three sharps) and the ending note is High A above the staff! And that’s how it came to be that I now have my 12th trumpet student. Besides being in band, he’s also a member of the choir at Canyon Creek Elementary School in Bothell. The choir will perform at the 600-seat Northshore Performing Arts Center (NPAC) in Bothell and the Seattle Center on 14 and 15 December, respectively.
At age 12, he’s a talented, enthusiastic, confident, responsible boy with a warm smile and pleasant, happy attitude. His trumpet tone is strong and solid, and he has an excellent sense of rhythm. For the concerts, he simply needs more practice of the right exercises to strengthen his embouchure and extend his range further into the upper register. Since he’s a quick learner, I think he’ll do very well when he plays at the Christmas concerts next month. We have about five more weeks of lessons to prepare…and that’s just enough time to “nail it!”
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 6th grade, band, Bothell, Canyon Creek Elementary School, choir, Christmas, concert, embouchure, lessons, Northshore Performing Arts Center, rhythm, Seattle Center, soloist, tone, trumpet, upper register | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on November 14, 2010
A piano sits in the living room—Mom wants live music in the home. Her 10-year old son (in 4th grade and my 11th student) has a head start. He’s a smart, friendly kid with a bright spirit and smile. And he likes music! He’d already had some music education before I arrived on the scene, so there are some basic things I don’t have to teach him. We can focus on the trumpet itself right away. He’s taking band at Lawton Elementary School in Magnolia in Seattle, but they meet only once a week. So when we ended our first lesson together last Wednesday, he got the usual assignment: practice for 30 minutes at least four times a week (or 20 minutes, five times a week). He seems eager to play the horn. They’re going to have some lovely, lively music in their home!
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 4th grade, band, education, Lawton Elementary School, lesson, Magnolia, music, piano, Seattle, trumpet | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on November 13, 2010
My newest (10th) trumpet student is unhappy with his current chair placement within the trumpet section of his junior high school band in Kenmore. He wants to move up toward the top. (I like students with goals and determination!)
We’ve now had two private lessons, and “we’re workin’ on it.” Now in his third year of playing, he was essentially self-taught. Not knowing anything different, he adopted a very unconventional way of placing the mouthpiece on his lips. As the band music became progressively more complex and demanding, his unusual embouchure became a major problem for him—but he didn’t realize it. He and his parents were smart enough to seek help. The fact is that he simply was not gonna get to the top playing that way—so “we’re workin’ on it.”
He’s accepting the challenge he’s facing. A wise man said this about challenges—“Every setback is a setup for a comeback.”
Once he turns the corner, catches on, and gains control of the new sounds he’s producing, he should advance quickly because he already has very strong practice habits and, for his age group, he already knows fingering and rhythm. I think he’ll soon be producing a better tone and will extend his range higher into the upper register. Then watch out, those of you trumpeters who are now sitting in the higher-placed chairs—move over, here he comes! 🙂
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts, Student Competitions, Honors & Awards | Tagged: 8th-grader, band, challenge, comeback, embouchure, fingering, junior high school, Kenmore, lessons, mouthpiece, practice, rhythm, setback, tone, upper register | Leave a Comment »
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 
