Glenn’s Trumpet Notes

News & Tips for Trumpet & Cornet Students

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Posts Tagged ‘song’

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My Trumpet Student Is a Standout at “Lessons In Your Home” Recital in Seattle

Posted by glennled on May 21, 2018

 

Recital_19 - Ferin Jones, The Serpent Song

Ferin, my 39th trumpet student, plays “The Snake Charmer” perfectly at LIYH Recital, 5 May 2018

 

Big things happened on 5 May, the 1st Saturday of this month. It was the opening day of boating season in Seattle. The Windermere Cup rowing races, as always, were held on the Montlake Cut near the University of Washington, followed by the Parade of Boats

Recital_66 by Joshua Diltz for LIYH

Audience gathers for the LIYH Spring Recital (2 p.m.). Photo by Joshua Diltz.

from Portage Bay through that waterway into Lake Washington. That afternoon, Justify won the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky (“Bourbon City”). And it was Cinco de Mayo (Fifth of May), celebrating Mexico’s victory over France at the Battle of Puebla in 1862, during the U.S. Civil War.

All this was important, of course, but in Seattle, the most important event of the day happened—at least for some 65 young musicians and almost 200 audience members, including me—the Spring Recital of Lessons In Your Home (LIYH) at Woodland Park Presbyterian Church in the Phinney Ridge neighborhood. The recital was so large that there were two sessions, one at 2 p.m. and the other at 4 p.m.

In the 2 p.m. recital session, there were 22 pianists, six guitarists, two vocalists, and one trumpeter—Ferin, my 39th private student (see blog post of 18 November 2017, using the Archives in left column).

He played “The Snake Charmer,” a traditional song, and nailed it! Perfect. His parents and I are so proud of him. Here’s a video, taken by Shilo Jones, of his performance:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1Nw_zQxkVsXfEzPTuIxT7IgYS5AH3kRHZ/view?usp=sharing.

LIYH is an online school of music that is based in Atlanta, Georgia. It offers carefully selected teachers who will come to your home for private music lessons in major cities, including Atlanta, Seattle, Denver, Houston, Dallas, Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Orlando, and Miami/South Florida. In some areas, lessons are taught at the students’ local schools. Scott D’Angelo is the excellent LIYH Seattle Director. At present, I have three trumpet students brought to me by LIYH. Please see http://www.lessonsinyourhome.net.

The two photos above are courtesy of Lessons In Your Home and were taken by Joshua Diltz. I took the four below. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

 

Scott D’Angelo greets guests at the church door
In Phinney Ridge, Seattle
Scott D’Angelo, LIYH Seattle Director, opens the Spring Recital in Woodland Park Presbyterian Church in Seattle
Audience applauds my 39th trumpet student after his performance

Posted in Recitals | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 6 Comments »

She Came, She Went–Trumpeter Deserted Band for Choir!

Posted by glennled on September 27, 2015

Woman singing clip art

My 20th trumpet student, a 6th-grader in 1st-year band, took private lessons from me for a few months starting on 8 November 2010. Apparently, she has a great voice, because she made the Northshore School District’s Honors Choir in 2011. And when she had to register for 7th grade classes at Skyview Jr. High School in Bothell, she chose choir, not band.

Today, when I was compiling a list of all my trumpet students since 2009, I found I’d never written a blog post here about her…until now. She must have been “out of sight, out of mind.”

But now I remember. That next year, when I would occasionally see her in a school breezeway, I would tease her about leaving and try to re-recruit her. She would just smile broadly and walk on by. It reminded me of John Benson Sebastian’s song, “Did you ever have to make up your mind? You pick up on one and leave the other behind…” Here’s The Lovin’ Spoonful singing it (1966): http://www.bing.com/videos/search?q=did+you+ever+have+to+make+up+your+mind&FORM=HDRSC3#view=detail&mid=670FAA7BDA3F05CECD73670FAA7BDA3F05CECD73.

She had come to a fork in the road, and “now she’s gone, gone, gone, o-o-o-o-oh.”  Just kidding. Best wishes for the Good Life, Young Lady! See you in the movies.

Posted in New Students - Intro Posts, Skyview Junior High | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

“A Time for Christmas,” the 2014 Musical at Alderwood Community Church, Lynnwood

Posted by glennled on April 23, 2015

"It's a Merry Christmas Eve!" sung on a city sidewalk by townspeople and carolers

“It’s a Merry Christmas Eve!” sung on a city sidewalk by townspeople and carolers

I confess–I love musicals more than I love opera. I’m simple. After most musicals, I walk out of the theater with some song in my head, some melody in my heart, some lyrics on my lips. I like that. But although some opera music is magnificently beautiful and I like it, too, I often can hardly hum even my most favorite arias.

And so it was when I was invited to play trumpet with the orchestra of Alderwood Community Church (ACC) last Christmas season. Each year, ACC stages a Christmas play, and in 2014, the choice was the superlative religious musical, “A Time for Christmas” by Paul McCusker, David T. Clydesdale, Steven Amerson, and Lowell Alexander.

Mistress Lewis and children sing and dance at the orphanage in 1850 to "With A Little Bit of Faith"

Mistress Lewis and children sing and dance at the orphanage in 1850 to “With A Little Bit of Faith”

The plot features the very hard-working Bill, a young businessman who gives lip service to Christmas but is too busy to celebrate it, and his consultant, Mary, who understands the meaning of Christmas and loves the joy and hope found in the celebration of it. In a dream, Bill encounters Bartholomew, a mysterious stranger, who leads Bill on a journey through five scenes of various Christmases past, from the birth of Christ to the present. It awakens Bill—through watching others in other times and places, he begins to realize what he’s missing and warms to Mary.

play2014-2The orchestra and choir were conducted by Linda Collins, and the musical was dedicated to Dave Ballbach, “whose support and encouragement has inspired this endeavor for two decades.” It was presented five times during the weekend of 5-7 December at the church, which is located in Lynnwood near the intersection of I-5 with 196th St.

What tune was I singing when I left the church after the performances? Well, sometimes it was “With a Little Bit of Faith,” but more often it was “It’s a Merry Christmas Day!” And you know it’s a truly special musical when there are TWO songs stuck in your mind and heart!

The photos in the gallery below were provided courtesy of the professional photographer, John Crozier of Edmonds (see http://www.crozierphotography.com). Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

 

 

Posted in Church Music | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

“A Room With a View” Musical at Fifth Avenue Theater in Seattle

Posted by glennled on June 6, 2014

George and Lucy. Photo by Tracy Martin

George and Lucy. Photo by Tracy Martin

My wife and I “opened” our Christmas gift on the 19th of April—that’s when we went to see the musical, “A Room with a View,” at the 5th Avenue Theater in Seattle with tickets given to us by our daughter and son-in-law last December. We had great seats on the main floor, mid-way down toward the stage.

The musical is based on the 1908 novel by E. M. Forster, English author of novels, short stories, and essays. He was the author I probably would have concentrated on, had I gone for a post-graduate degree in English literature. To me, he was the academic, the professor, the critic, who tried to do what he studied, reviewed, and taught. That is, he tried to defy the adage, “Those who cannot do, teach.” To me, his novels are excellent but never literary masterpieces.

E. M. Forster, 1879-1970

E. M. Forster, 1879-1970

A Rome with a View, the third of sixth published novels, is said to be his lightest, most optimistic, and popular. Like most of his other works, this one explores the conflicts of propriety and class as Lucy Honeychurch faces the choice of a husband–the free-thinking, high spirited George Emerson or the repressed, snobbish aesthete, Cecil Vyse.

These characters sing all the way through this romantic musical comedy. But it’s a funny thing—none of the 20 songs is easily memorable. I like to come out of a musical humming a great tune. Not here, not this one. Where’s a song like “Oh, What a Beautiful Mornin'” (Oklahoma!), “Tomorrow” (Annie), “Ya Got Trouble” (The Music Man), “What Do the Simple Folk Do?” (Camelot), “Get Me to the Church on Time” (My Fair Lady), and many more? Come on, guys, write a nice melody for your lyrics!

The 5th Avenue Theatre is renowned for producing and developing new musicals. Nine of the 17 new works which have premiered at The 5th since 2001, have later opened on Broadway. Whether “A Room with a View” will do so is yet to be determined. The 5th has more than 25,000 season subscribers. More than 300,000 audience members attend performances there each year. Incidentally, in The 5th Avenue Theatre Orchestra, the principal trumpet is Brad Allison, and Trumpet 2 is Paul Baron.

The production photos in this post are courtesy of The 5th Avenue Theatre. Please click on any photo to enlarge it.

 

Posted in Professional Concerts | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

Church Orchestra and Choir End Season with “Glory”

Posted by glennled on June 9, 2012

‘Twas the last Sunday of the season for the church orchestra and choir, 3 June. Now comes the summer break. Lucky me, I got to play 3rd trumpet when one of the regular players had a conflict. This church conducts three services every Sunday morning, and we played four songs—three at each service. It’s easy to see why our conductor favors the arranger, Dan Galbraith—he’s superb!  He arranged three of the pieces below. And B.J. Davis did a super job, too, arranging Nichole Nordeman’s beautiful song, “Glory.” She is a Dove Award-winning songwriter (see http://www.doveawards.com/).

If you want to look over the scores and hear samples of the orchestration and arrangements, please see the following:

Posted in Church Music | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a Comment »

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