Posts Tagged ‘concert’
Posted by glennled on May 25, 2010
Surprise! the condu
ctor at the spring concert last night at an elementary school in downtown Seattle also conducted at the previous
school concert I attended two weeks ago in North Seattle (see post below). He does double duty–whew! That would exhaust me.
At this school, the music program consists of four parts: beginning strings, brass, and winds; intermediate winds and strings; advanced band and strings; and orchestra. For the concert program, there were 8 group performances. My fourth-grade cornet student is in the Intermediate Winds group, along with two trumpet players. I recognized his tone. He has progressed so fast and far this year! His group played “Sawmill Creek,” “Regal March,” and “Minor Rock.” He played well and was very well behaved the entire night.
I was proud of him, but not nearly as much, I’m sure, as were his grandparents, sister, and parents, who filmed the event. They said many musicians from this school eventually feed into Garfield High School. And as we know, Garfield recently won the nationwide Essentially Ellington jazz competition in New York for the fourth time. Is that the direction my guy is headed? Let’s just wait and see what happens next year…one step at a time, please. Remember the adage, “A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step.”
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: advanced, band, brass, concert, cornet, downtown Seattle, elementary, Essentially Ellington, Garfield High School, intermediate, jazz, Minor Rock, music, New York, North Seattle, orchestra, Regal March, Sawmill Creek, school, trumpet | 4 Comments »
Posted by glennled on May 12, 2010
Last night I went to hear one of my trumpet students play in the spring music concert at his elementary school. In his introduction, the principal alluded to the 1st place finish by Garfield High School’s jazz band in the Essentially Ellington jazz competition in New York City on Monday. It was their second victory in two years and their fourth (a record) in the 15-year history of this nationwide competition. He endorsed music education and wished his elementary students success in their music endeavors.
Six groups performed: Beginning Strings, Advanced Orchestra, Beginning Brass, Beginning Winds, Beginning Clarinets, and Advanced Band. He’s in Beginning Brass, along with four other trumpeters and one trombonist. The band director commented that they were going to play some Christmas music. It was a typically cool night on an overcast day in Seattle, but Christmas in May?! Yes, we heard the brass ensemble play “Good King Wenceslas” and “Jolly Old St. Nicholas,” as well as “Crusaders March” and “Frere Jacques,” in the school cafeteria with the stage. My student and another played lead trumpet, and I could clearly distinguish his strong, confident tone and clean articulation. Way to go!
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: articulation, band, brass, Christmas, concert, director, education, elementary, ensemble, Essentially Ellington, Garfield, high, jazz, music, New York City, school, Seattle, spring, tone, trombonist, trumpet, trumpeters | Leave a Comment »
Posted by glennled on February 19, 2010
Last night, I attended an excellent band concert at Kamiakin Junior High School in Kirkland, where one of my 6th grade students plays trumpet in the Intermediate Band. What fun! First came the Beginning Band (80 students), then the Intermediate Band (~50), then the Symphonic Band, and finally the 8th Grade Band–four bands! They were all well-rehearsed and well-behaved. And they played well! All totaled, there must have been about 35-40 young trumpeters on stage. The stands were filled with about 300-400 parents, siblings, grandparents and other relatives, friends, and other interested parties like me. Soloists, duets, and trios also played and were given medals for doing so. It’s one of the strongest band programs I have seen and is a great credit to the enthusiastic, energetic, pleasant, and obviously competent Band Director. Congratulations!
Posted in School Concerts | Tagged: band, concert, director, Eastside, Jr. High, trumpet, trumpeters | 4 Comments »
Posted by glennled on December 30, 2009
"O Holy Night"
The Christmas Eve tradition in our family, hosted in our home, goes like this. All family members who are in town come over for dinner. (We have two grown sons, a daughter and three grandkids in southern California, Las Vegas, and New Zealand.) This year we were 10 locals (including four grandchildren) around our dining room table. After dinner, we sing Christmas carols. My wife is a piano instructor. While she plays, everyone sings the lyrics from the songbook she created a few years ago, especially for this annual occasion. Once, one of our local grandsons played the clarinet for us. This year it was my turn to solo at the family concert. I played “O Holy Night,” accompanied by my wife. Our daughter videoed our duet. I encouraged all my students to play something for their families during their own holiday festivities.
After Bible readings from Luke and Isaiah about Jesus Christ, the Messiah, and prayer, we do what the kids have been patiently waiting for: open presents! Finally, there is an evening snack, and they all go home, stomachs full, arms and hands laden with prize gifts, faces beaming, and eyes sparkling. Santa Claus is coming tonight!
My cornet is a “Super Olds” model with the nickel-silver rimmed bell, made by F.E. Olds & Son in Los Angeles. Miles Davis, Freddie Hubbard, Lee Morgan, Louis Prima, and Raphael Mendez are among those who played various Olds instruments. Olds started making trombones in about 1910, and later added other brass instruments, introducing the Super Olds line in 1932. My cornet ranked in the mid-range of the various Olds models of its time. Today, the equivalent horn probably costs about $1,700. Mine cost my parents $250, and I was so proud! Why did I choose a cornet? Simple: our high school band director specified that we all play cornets, not trumpets. He preferred the cornet’s more mellow tone and wanted a cornet section, not a trumpet section, in his band.
My Super Olds has been around. I played it all through high school and college. It took me to All-State Band in Texas and on music scholarship to Abilene Christian College and the University of Washington. It went to the Rose Bowl when we marched in the Rose Bowl Parade and gave a half-time performance during the football game: UW Huskies beat U of Minnesota Gophers, 17-7. Now I play it in the Husky Alumni Band.
I’ve played my Super Olds in concert, jazz, dance, and pep bands, in orchestras for operas and musicals, and in a U.S. Navy bugle corps. It’s traveled from Texas to Washington to Rhode Island. And now I’ve played it in a duet with my lovely wife in our own warm living room for our own special family. Yes, my horn looks a little worn, but it plays as well as ever. I like that.
Posted in Musical Events at Home | Tagged: Abilene Christian College, carols, Christmas, concert, cornet, duet, F.E. Olds & Sons, Freddie Hubbard, Husky Alumni Band, Isaiah, Jesus Christ, Louis Armstrong, Luke, Messiah, O Holy Night, parade, piano, Raphael Mendez, Rose Bowl, solo, Super Olds, trumpets, University of Washington | 2 Comments »
Posted by glennled on November 21, 2009
Today I went to the Northshore Performing Arts Center (NPAC) in Bothell to hear my 9th grade trumpet student play with his school group in the “Northshore Jazz Festival.” I sat next to his Dad at the end of the row of seats occupied by their family, including his Mom, siblings, and one set of grandparents.
There were 25 jazz ensembles and bands on the program, some traveling from far away places such as Wenatchee, Langley (on Whidbey Island), Bremerton, Arlington, Monroe, and Snoqualmie. They played from 8 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. Each group played three pieces. During lunch, the jazz ensemble from Central Washington University, Ellensburg, WA, played a concert. The festival was not a contest. It was a show. Each group got to show how well they’re playing at this stage of the school year, and a group of professional musicians, instructors and conductors critiqued each band. They made written notes and recorded audio comments, as feedback for the band directors and members to consider later.
I started snapping photos with my Blackberry phone camera when my student’s group appeared on stage. They sounded good and were well-rehearsed. Several key players seem to form the core of the group. My student is lead trumpeter. In the middle of the second piece, he improvised a solo! Afterwards, his Dad proudly said to me, “He nailed it!” I gave him thumbs up and a broad smile. Those lessons are paying off. Way to go, man!
Posted in Festivals & Competitions | Tagged: 9th, Arlington, arts, bands, Blackberry, Bothell, Bremerton, center, Central Washington Unversity, concert, contest, critiqued, Ellensburg, ensembles, Festivals & Competitions, grader, improvised, Island, jazz, Langley, lead, lessons, Monroe, nailed, northshore, Northshore Jazz Festival, Northshore Performing Arts Center, NPAC, performing, show, Snoqualmie, solo, trumpeter, Wenatchee, Whidbey | 4 Comments »
Posted by glennled on November 18, 2009
This afternoon during our first private trumpet lesson, I heard my newest student, the 4th of this school year, play the sweetest tones on his trumpet! Trouble is, he cannot yet read music fluently. He’s sort of stuck at that stage where he still has to think about the name of each note and then recall the fingering. But when he finally blows, his attack is clean and his tone is big, solid, full, round and fat! It’s so natural to him.
He’s been thrown into a 6th grade band class, handed a band book, and told to go learn to play Exercise __ or Song __ on pages __ with little or no guidance or instruction about the horn and technique. It’s forced “do it yourself” learning. Well, with this teaching approach, what results does the band director at this north Seattle elementary school expect?! Struggles, frustration, and a probable band drop-out someday.
It is my pleasure to help this gentle boy overcome these obstacles. Let’s give the kid some successes! and who knows? maybe we’ll be listening to him play in the jazz, concert and marching bands soon…maybe in the symphony or opera orchestras someday…maybe on some CDs or in the movies when he’s that good. Let him dream! Help him dream! Help him achieve his potential. Or maybe he’ll simply enjoy playing in the school band with his friends for a few years and never take it any further…that’s fine, too. You find good people in bands. Good memories accumulate with the many events, and lifetime friendships often form–even marriages!
Thanks to his Mom for giving me the opportunity to help him come to love music and the trumpet. Let’s motivate him to practice more. Let’s have fun while we work hard. Let’s see what he can do, if he really wants to.
Posted in New Students - Intro Posts | Tagged: 4th, 6th, attack, band, CDs, concert, director, dream, fingering, grade, grader, jazz, lesson, marching, movies, opera, orchestra, sweet, sweetest, symphony, technique, tone, trumpet | 2 Comments »
ctor at the spring concert last night at an elementary school in downtown Seattle also conducted at the previous
school concert I attended two weeks ago in North Seattle (see post below). He does double duty–whew! That would exhaust me.
Glenn's Trumpet Notes 
