There has been a lot going on with me at UWM, which explains why I haven't been able to tend to this website too much. I've been performing almost every weekend, and this weekend is no exception. The Honors Band Festival is underfoot, where a number of middle school and high school band kids from around the area audition and are selected to come to UWM to play alongside each other in one of several bands. The selections have been made, and chair placements are to be determined today. The auditions for those take place today, and are judged by faculty, grad students and a few undergrads in the music department. I get the pleasure of listening to 15 middle school horn players and making judgement, with the help of UWM undergraduate horn student Josee Palamar. I also get to lead a masterclass tomorrow morning, with the assistance of another undergrad horn player, Kurt Heins. So, it's gonna be a great time for me, and I get to share it with some of my colleagues here. The UWM Wind Ensemble also performs on Sunday afternoon, marking the end of the festival. We're playing Ryan George's "Firefly", Gordon Jacob's "An Original Suite", and Smetana's "Dance of the Comedians".
On a different note, being an attendee of a Salvation Army Church and a bass trombonist (on a tenor trombone) with their brass band, I found my way into kettling. Y'know, those guys that stand in front of stores and ring the bell next to a red kettle that people drop money into. Instead of ringing the bell, since most everyone finds in quite annoying, I bring my horn (instead of trombone) and play for people. So far, since it's a little early for Christmas tunes, I have just been playing Rochut and other technically manageable and melodic etudes, and it fills the kettle right up. People love to hear live music, and the fact that the space I've been playing in at this particular grocery store is quite resonate makes makes my sound even better (and helps cover up chipped notes), and I get lots of complements. Work is underway on Christmas tune arrangements for brass quintet. I hope to make a book out of them, which will soon be posted on this site. Grab a copy if you've got a g
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Sean A. BrownAn up-to-date overview of my music career Archives
February 2024
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