I guess I'll start with the most recent first. Yesterday I had quite an amazing experience. I got hired to play with the Anacortes High School Wind Ensemble. I hadn't heard their program or been that school since I was in high school 14 years ago, so I had no idea what to expect as far as skill level. I got the music ahead of time from their first-year band teacher Chris Dyel, and by looking at it I was kinda surprised how hard it was. I though the band director was nuts!
How wrong I was! Apparently, the band director before him, the beloved Ian Simensen who died of cancer last year (so very sad), was amazing, and Chris is amazing, too. And because of that, his wind ensemble is very, very good. His lower band, the symphonic band, is also very good. They handled that music like it was the norm for them. I was absolutely impressed. And these kids have such a great attitude and care so much about each other, their director, and the program. So they're nice and friendly, they support each other, and they work very hard. They are very dedicated. And it showed at their awards ceremony before the concert, which I watched. Yes, they have a band program awards ceremony! Chris showed emotion at this ceremony, after his first year of teaching. That shows to me how much he cares and dedicates himself. I really respect him, and that whole program, and I wish I could get involved in some way. Unfortunately, I have no students of his in lessons, and being a dad of two little boys at home prevents me from going to a school during normal school hours. The distance from Anacortes to Oak Harbor is about a half hour drive, which isn't very appealing to most folks.
Anyways, not only was hearing the amazing Anacortes band program a highlight yesterday, but I got to share the experience with my high school horn teacher, Bev. She played next to me in the band, also as a hired ringer. It was great to catch up with her, the woman responsible for sending me to Central Washington University to study with Jeff Snedeker. Man, do I owe her a lot!
This past weekend was quite a busy one. On Friday, I had my 3rd annual Brass Studio Recital, a chance for my students to perform solos, duet, and all together as one big group. I only had about 2/3 of my studio there, since the rest weren't able to make it, but there was still a lot there, and each one of them performed exceptionally well. I was so proud of them, and I recorded their performances, so hopefully I can get those videos shared up here soon. At the end of the recital, I had everyone together on stage to play an arrangement from Lord of the Rings, which we had a great time with. That was definitely a crowd pleaser.
On Sunday, Holly and I hosted quite a unique event: A joint performance of her newly formed elementary Marimba Band from her school and my Whidbey Island Horn Club. I wonder if that's ever been done before? Anyways, it was a lot of fun! The marimba band, consisting of 16 of her 4th grade students, played 4 tunes of Walt Hampton's that were really well played, then my horn ensemble played 4 tunes, including Basler's Harambee and some of the Franz Strauss Quartets. Then, we came together and played a new work by me called Marimba Call, which was a lot of fun and was really well-liked. I will be putting some videos up of this concert on the "Video & Photo Gallery" page shortly, so have a look and a listen!
This has just been a great last couple weeks with great performances all over, and now things slow down just a bit while I prepare for the summer. I've got a fun summer for my brass ensembles and horn ensemble planned, as well as some new students to teach. I also have the camp. Yay, summer!
There. I guess this wasn't the longest blog I have written. Oh well, thanks for reading! More soon!
Take care and value music.