But there were a number of firsts on this concert, besides it being the first Penn Cove Brass performance. It was the first time that both the Harbor Brass and Penn Cove Brass performed on a piece together (obviously). It was also the world premiere of my Harbor Brass March No. 2. And, it was the first performance by either group that consisted of an antiphonal piece; we did the Gabrieli Canzona per Sonare No. 2 with the Penn Cove Brass antiphonally.
But another unique first about last night was that my assistant conductor of the Harbor Brass, who is going to be a high school junior this year, conducted the entire Harbor Brass program, as well as the Gabrieli for the Penn Cove Brass. Why, do you ask? Well, I think I mentioned this in an earlier blog, but I'll tell the story again. When the summer season began, I knew I was going to have 3 trumpet players, so for two pieces of our program, I wrote there to be 3 trumpet parts. About midway through the summer, one of my trumpet players had to drop out. We couldn't leave their parts out, so the best solution was for me to play trumpet with the group and have my assistant conductor take on the whole program.
Now, let me explain some things about this assistant conductor. She hadn't stood on a podium for a second before this last February. She was a very shy person that was very nice and communicated with me okay, but said she wasn't a super social person, and definitely not one to stand in front of a group of people. However, after I had been teacher her trombone lessons for about 6 months, I presented to her the idea of conducting the Harbor Brass Choir. I felt it was a good idea to have an assistant anyways, a high schooler who was thinking about majoring in music in college. Anyways, she had never conducted before, but surprisingly was quite interested in learning. I gave her a piece to conduct in March with the Harbor Brass, and it was a really great experience for her. She seemed fearless, although she was a little nervous. And I had to teach her from the very beginning, about technique and pattern, which was the primary focus for a while. But we kept working on it, and she has improved and has developed a huge interest in conducting. She's not a shy person anymore, it seems. And she's eager to take on any conducting task I give her. Now what I've been doing is having her learn every piece that the Harbor Brass plans on performing. And I tell you, it paid off this summer.
When I found out I wasn't going to have my 3rd trumpet for this summer concert, I made the quick decision of having her conduct the whole program, but before I broke the news, I told her the situation and what I should do about it. Surprisingly enough, she suggested to have me play trumpet and her conduct, which was something she was really secretly hoping she could do. We were conversing via text about this, and I can't imagine the anticipation this girl had when she was waiting for me to tell her what the plan was. I finally responded saying that the Harbor Brass was hers for the summer concert, and according to her mother, she spent the next few minutes jumping around the house cheering and hollering.
That's the kind of student conductor I want to have. One that is enthusiastic. I trusted her completely to conduct this entire program because I know she really wanted to do it, and because of that, she would work really hard to do it. And that's exactly what happened. Her conducting performance at the concert last night was exceptional. Not just because she's a shy high schooler--it was just plain amazing. And she willingly talked to the audience and introduced two of the pieces. And she did it all with a smile on her face. Such a great performance and attitude deserved a lot of recognition, which I will always give to her, and I'm very proud.
But she's not the only student conductor I have. I also have a student who's going to be a senior this year and is a fine hornist and multi-instrumentalist. She's all set on being a band teacher, and serves as my student conductor for the Penn Cove Brass and the Whidbey Island Horn Club. She also really enjoys conducting, and I've given her many great opportunities which she's seized. I had her just conduct one piece on the program last night, but it was very challenging: The first Promenade from Pictures at an Exhibition. Those of you that know this piece understand how difficult it is to conduct. The time signatures and the changes between them present a very interesting challenge, but by the 2nd rehearsal this girl was nailing them all, and keeping us very well in tempo. Her conducting at the concert was just perfect, and aside from that really represented herself as a brass player, playing horn, trumpet and tuba all very well. I'm very proud of her.
And the Harbor Brass and Penn Cove Brass themselves have a lot of my pride. They took on some very difficult music this summer, and dealt with he fact of people missing rehearsals. Every week, it seemed, someone was missing. And it made things challenging, for sure. But everyone was there for the concert, and they really stepped up and put on one hell of a show. I'm just proud of them all. It's so great to be the teacher of such a great brass studio.
So yeah, as I've said before many times, I love my job.
Oh, and I've begun practicing my concerto for the November concert. It's very challenging, but an absolute blast to practice. I'll keep you updated.
Take care and value music.