SBO November 2010 by SBO School Band & Orchestra

NOVEMBER 2010 $5.00

Alexander Robinson Teaching the Whole Child Guest Editorial:

Reaching Students Through Mariachi Technology:

Percussion Tools

Contents

November 2010

Features

Upfront Q&A: Frank Battisti Conductor, educator and author Frank Battisti discusses the lessons his latest book, “The Best We Can Be: The Story of the Ithaca High School Band, 1955-196,” holds for music educators today.

Commentary: Balance SBO contributor Dr. Ken Thompson asserts that common notions of band balance should be expanded and reformed.

Guest Editorial: Engaging Students Through Mariachi Educators Kerry Bryant and Marcia Neel relay the story of the implementation and wildly successful results of a Mariachi program that was recently started in a Georgia public school music system.

UpClose: Alexander Robinson SBO catches up with Mr. Robinson, the director of bands at Alexandria, Virginia’s Washington-Lee High School, who shares the effects of his realization that music educators must teach the whole child, not just the musician in each student.

Roundtable: Percussion Ensembles Educators at four high schools featuring premier percussion ensembles weigh in on the best methods of starting and maintaining such groups, as well as how those ensembles benefit both students and the music program as a whole.

Technology: Percussion Tools John Kuzmich takes a look at the latest wave of innovative, hitech – and useful – devices for percussionists.

Columns 4 6 44

Perspective Headlines New Products

45 46 48

Playing Tip Classifieds Ad Index

Cover photo by Julie Seipp, Arlington, Va. SB&O School Band and Orchestra® (ISSN 1098-3694) is published monthly by Symphony Publishing, LLC, 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310, publisher of Musical Merchandise Review, Choral Director, Music Parents America and JAZZed. All titles are federally registered trademarks and/or trademarks of Symphony Publishing, LLC. Subscription Rates: one year $24; two years $40. Rates outside U.S.A. available upon request. Single issues $5 each. February Resource Guide $15. Periodical-Rate Postage Paid at Boston, MA and additional mailing offices. POSTMASTER/ SUBSCRIBERS: Send address change to School Band and Orchestra, P.O. Box 8548, Lowell, MA 01853. No portion of this issue may be reproduced without the written permission of the publisher. The publishers of this magazine do not accept responsibility for statements made by their advertisers in business competition. Copyright © 2010 by Symphony Publishing, LLC, all rights reserved. Printed in USA.

2 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

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Perspective

Remembering Harvey Phillips

here are scant few people who come along in the music world and become bigger than life, whose accomplishments transcend what could be imagined of only one human being. One of those rare individuals is Harvey Phillips, a man who probably did more for the tuba than nearly anyone in the history of the instrument. He was a big man with a big heart and a big instrument, and he brought the world a tremendous amount of joy and friendship, as well as a very clear understanding that the tuba can do far more than “Oom Pah.” He was called the Heifetz and Paganini of the Tuba by many highly regarded sources. Harvey died on Wednesday, October 20 at the age of 80, but his legacy in the tuba world and beyond will only become greater as time goes on. Many non-musicians and musicians had a pre-conceived notion of the capabilities of the tuba, until they heard Harvey play. Pieces that were unimaginable on such a large and “low” instrument he could play with great facility, delicacy, intensity, and musicality. According to the Indiana University Newsroom Nov. 27, 2007, “Harvey Phillips changed the way the world sees the tuba and revolutionized the brass idiom,” said Daniel Perantoni, who succeeded Phillips as tuba professor at the Jacobs School of Music. “Through his tireless efforts, he is responsible for the vast expansion of the tuba literature and increased awareness of the tuba as a musical instrument.” Marketing is not a word that is normally associated with musicians and educators, but Harvey was a great marketer of the tuba. His promotion of the instrument was global, especially with his development of the OcTubafest and Tuba Christmas. These events, featuring hundreds of “Harvey Phillips tuba players dressed up in Santa Claus suits playing Jingle Bells changed the way or some other uplifting holiday tunes, could often be seen on many morning news shows from Rockefeller Center. People the world sees who may have played tuba at one time or another during their the tuba.” lives would pull out their big horns, polish them up, and make their way to these annual gatherings. It didn’t matter how good a player you were, it just mattered that you would be willing to join with other folks who enjoy some time together playing music. Phillips maintained the “Tuba Ranch” at his home near the campus of Indiana University, and that was the scene of many exciting tuba-oriented occasions. There was an old barn on the property, and of course it had an old tuba hanging below the gable to let folks know that they had arrived at the right place. Although I didn’t know Harvey personally during my time at IU, many of my tuba-playing friends would come back with some great stories of the enjoyment that they had at the “Ranch.” It’s difficult to mention all of Harvey’s accomplishments in one short article, but he was elected to the American Classical Music Hall of Fame, an honor mostly given to conductors and string players, he commissioned dozens of new pieces for the tuba in order to add a quality passel of works to the previously limited solo repertoire, he founded the New York Brass Quintet, and performed with luminary classical and jazz musicians throughout the world. Though the tuba world has lost their greatest proponent, no doubt Harvey’s influence has given this instrument much greater respect and understanding among all musicians and music lovers.

November 2010 Volume 13, Number 11

GROUP PUBLISHER Sidney L. Davis sdavis@symphonypublishing.com PUBLISHER Richard E. Kessel rkessel@symphonypublishing.com Editorial Staff

EXECUTIVE EDITOR Christian Wissmuller

cwissmuller@symphonypublishing.com

EDITOR Eliahu Sussman esussman@symphonypublishing.com ASSOCIATE EDITOR Denyce Neilson dneilson@symphonypublishing.com Art Staff

PRODUCTION MANAGER Laurie Guptill

lguptill@symphonypublishing.com

GRAPHIC DESIGNER Andrew P. Ross aross@symphonypublishing.com GRAPHIC DESIGNER Laurie Chesna lchesna@symphonypublishing.com Advertising Staff

ADVERTISING SALES Iris Fox

ifox@symphonypublishing.com

CLASSIFIED & DISPLAY SALES Maureen Johan mjohan@symphonypublishing.com

SALES & MARKETING MANAGER Jason LaChapelle jlachapelle@symphonypublishing.com Business Staff

CIRCULATION MANAGER Melanie A. Prescott mprescott@symphonypublishing.com

ADMINISTRATIVE ASSISTANT Popi Galileos pgalileos@symphonypublishing.com Symphony Publishing, LLC

CHAIRMAN Xen Zapis PRESIDENT Lee Zapis lzapis@symphonypublishing.com CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER Rich Bongorno rbongorno@symphonypublishing.com Corporate Headquarters 26202 Detroit Road, Suite 300 Westlake, Ohio 44145 (440) 871-1300 www.symphonypublishing.com Publishing, Sales, & Editorial Office 21 Highland Circle, Suite 1 Needham, MA 02494 (781) 453-9310 FAX (781) 453-9389 1-800-964-5150

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Member 2010

Rick Kessel rkessel@symphonypublishing.com

4 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

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HeadLines SBO Essay Contest is Now Open! There is still time for your students to enter the SBO essay scholarship contest! All students in grades four-12 are eligible for ten $1,000 scholarships. In addition, winning students’ school music programs will be awarded matching music products from a host of sponsors, including Alfred Publishing, Sabian, Woodwind and Brasswind, Yamaha Corporation of America! Students are required to finish this essay in 250 words or less, “How My Music Teacher Has Influenced Me And My Goals In School…” Registration is available online at www.sbomagazine.com. Click on “essay contest” to submit an essay online, or send submissions to SBO Scholarship, 21 Highland Circle Suite 1, Needham, MA 02494. All entries for the contest must be in by December 31st, 2010.

Online Survey Results How many percussionists do you have in your instrumental music program?

44%

CMA Donates $2.9m to Music Ed, Flood Relief

28% 18% 10% 0-10

11-20

As VIP guests of the NAMM Foundation, music educators and school administrators have access to NAMM’s premier trade-only music products trade show, where attendees can explore musical instruments, products, and teaching concepts. Music educators will be encouraged to see and try the many instruments and products on display and to participate in the “Best Tools for Schools” recognition program, nominating products that are relevant and useful to today’s music classrooms. Symphony Publishing, developers of the program, will announce these selected products on Sunday in the Idea Center on the trade show floor. There will also be hands-on educator workshops and panel discussions in the “Learning Lounge” at the Anaheim Hilton and a welcome reception Saturday morning featuring a keynote address by Victor Wooten, composer, arranger, lecturer, producer, vocalist, and a five-time Grammy award multi-instrumentalist. Special welcome reception on Sunday morning will feature a keynote address from some of the 2009/2010 Abreu Fellows from the New England Conservatory of Music, sharing their experiences as educators working in urban areas throughout the United States. The 2011 “Best Tools for Schools” announcement will be made on Sunday afternoon For more information, visit www.nammfoundation.org.

21-35

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Visit www.sbomagazine.com and let your voice be heard in the current online poll – results to be published in the next issue of SBO.

Music Educators Invited to 2011 NAMM Show The NAMM Foundation is inviting music educators and school administrators from across the United States to come to Anaheim, Calif. to experience NAMM’s fourth annual “Music Education Days,” being held on Saturday and Sunday, Jan. 15-16 at the 2011 NAMM Show.

6 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

Tapping into proceeds from its 2010 CMA Music Festival – its most successful one to date – the Country Music Association has donated $2,924,936 to Nashville’s Keep the Music Playing educational initiative and to the Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee’s relief program for victims of the massive flood that struck the region in May. The donation was split evenly between the two charities. CMA chief Steve Moore, Nashville mayor Karl Dean and CMA board member Kix Brooks announced the contribution Wednesday, October 6 at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s Ford Theater. Duncan McPherson, a sophomore guitar student at the Nashville School of the Arts, one of the funds recipients, entertained the media and music industry figures by playing the semi-classical piece, “Mood for a Day.” So far, the CMA has donated $4,774,521 toward music education. Visit www.cmt.com to learn more.

Let Freedom Swing: Conversations on Jazz and Democracy A new educational project launched last month, Let Freedom Swing, includes a DVD featuring retired Supreme Court Justice, Sandra Day O’Connor, and musician, composer, educator, and artistic director of Jazz at Lincoln Center, Wynton Marsalis, in three 20minute videos that explore how jazz captures the essential principles of American democracy. Ten thousand copies of the DVD and accompanying study guide will be distributed to educators across the nation. The videos and study guide will also be available to down-

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load for free from the Web site. The videos present Oâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;Connor and Marsalis in three lively and engaging modules that middle and high school teachers can use in whole or in part to stimulate discussion in their classrooms: We The People, E Pluribus Unum, and A More Perfect Union. Set against historical footage, the videos include performances and commentary by young musicians as well as established jazz musicians such as Vijay Ayer, Ali Jackson, Erica von Kleist, and other artists and scholars. The project is a collaboration by Jazz at Lincoln Center, The Documentary Group, and Columbia Universityâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s Teachers College, with generous funding from The Rockefeller Foundation. To find out more, visit www.letfreedomswing.org

Tuba Legend Harvey Phillips, 1929-2010 â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mr. Tuba,â&#x20AC;? Harvey G. Phillips, passed away on Wednesday, October 20th, at his home outside of Bloomington, Indiana. Born Dec. 2, 1929, Phillips learned to play sousaphone in high school from a band teacher who was a former circus bandleader. He later attended the University of Missouri for a while before leaving school to join the Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Circus, where Phillips played in the circus band for several years. During his circus travels he met William Bell, then a member of the New York Philharmonic Orchestra. Recognizing the young tubistâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s talent and enthusiasm, Bell assisted Phillips in winning a scholarship to the Juilliard School of Music. Phillips earned degrees from both Jiulliard and the Manhattan School of Music. While in New York during the 1950s, Phillips played with the New York City Opera, the New York City Ballet and the New York Brass Quintet. Phillips came to Bloomington and joined the Indiana University faculty in 1971, at the recommendation of Bell, who had become an Indiana University faculty member. Two years later, Phillips organized the first TubaChristmas concert at Rockefeller Center in New York City and established the TubaSantas tradition in many cities across the country and the world. He launched Octubafest around the same time at his Tuba Ranch outside of Bloomington, also spreading that tradition to other cities. Phillipsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122; performance talent and his desire to promote the virtues of the tuba were unparalleled. The press labeled him the â&#x20AC;&#x153;Paganini of the Tubaâ&#x20AC;? and Bell, his mentor, dubbed him â&#x20AC;&#x153;Mr. Tuba.â&#x20AC;? The IU distinguished professor emeritus won numerous awards and citations during his illustrious career. Among them, in 2007, he was inducted into the Classical Music Hall of Fame, becoming the only brass instrument player to receive that honor.

Do you have something to say about an article youâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;ve read in SBO magazine? Share your thoughts by e-mailing editor Eliahu Sussman at esussman@symphonypublishing.com!

Letters Dear Mr. Kessel, I was very impressed not only with the writing but the content of your editorial in the recent SBO about the value of our Military Bands. I had heard [about the cost of military bands] on NPR and read the Post article, both of which were so negative about it. I have looked on the internet and I have not found any article or editorial that supports our country’s Military Bands, other than yours. Thank you so much for writing this and finding out the financial figures. Kathy Green Totem Middle School Band Director District Secondary Music Coordinator Dear Rick, I’ve just finished your “Perspective” article in the newest issue of SBO magazine. Bravo!! Thank you for putting into perspective all of those items that make American military music organizations so important to all Americans. We live in a time where quality music and music making have so very little understanding and respect. I think much of this comes from individuals who never had the benefit of being in a really wonderful music program at any point in their lives. They don’t know how important music instruction can be and how music education impacts all facets of education. I have numerous trumpet students that perform in military bands and jazz bands. These students are not only superb musicians but are also wonderful human beings and I believe that their life in music has shaped their persona. They contribute greatly to not only the men and women who serve in our military but also to those individuals who have an opportunity to hear them play around the world. So, regarding Walter Pincus’ article, wouldn’t you like to look at his music collection (if he even has one) and see just what he likes to listen to? Wouldn’t that be revealing? Regards, John Almeida Associate Professor of Music - Trumpet Studies University of Central Florida Dear Rick, As a middle school band director, longtime musician, and former Army Bandsman, thank you for your latest “Perspective” about the value of Military Bands. I’ve told these things to people over the years, 10 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

but you said it better and included details that everyone should know. Thanks again, Jeff Canter Band Director Thorne Middle School Middletown, N.J. Mr. Kessel, Thanks so much for your article on military band costs. I read Mr. Pincus’ article and also heard the same subject mentioned on NPR not too long ago. As the parent of two who attended USNA in Annapolis and are now naval aviators, I have had many opportunities to see and hear the Naval Academy Band. It’ s great! I have been a band director for over 30 years here in Oklahoma, and I have attended four or five President’s Own concerts (including one last week). That is a wonderful group! Thanks for your perspective and facts about military music in relation to the entire military! It certainly does shed much needed light on the entire topic. Of course, the readership of SBO is music educators and we all know the value of the military band tradition, or at least those of us who have been around a while. (Hopefully [your column] may have educated some teachers, young or old, who do not have much contact with military music.) Could you please send your article to the Washington Post and to NPR to help put all the facts out there? I believe the general population who reads the Post should also be given the entire picture. Thanks again for your support of the military and military bands! I appreciated your article very much! Respectfully, Eileen Ellison Instrumental Music Instructor Stillwater Public Schools Stillwater, Okla. Dear Mr. Kessel, Thank you so much for your Perspective Article in the Volume 13, Number 10 issue of SBO for October 2010. Mr. Pincus has no understanding of the importance for our Armed Forces to have military bands supporting not only our soldiers, sailors, marines and airmen, but also being a part of public events across the country and world. I recently [returned] from a tour of duty in Iraq, serving with the 34th Infantry Division Band of the Minnesota National Guard. During our time of deployment our band of 45 musicians were broken

down into two rock bands, a country/western band, sax ensemble, brass quintet and a small ceremonial band. These six groups had over 420 performances in a 10 1/2 month period of serving in Iraq. I saw firsthand the importance of music to our soldiers when they are away from friends and family. While performing, you would see smiles and tears often at the same time in the audience. You would see people singing along with you on a tune. Our job as military musicians was to bring a piece of home to those serving so far away. We made many trips in BlackHawk and Chinook helicopters, and in MRAP’s going down the highways of Iraq. I was honored to be a part of such a mission. Music is vital for the morale and well-being of our troops. This past July I retired from the Minnesota National Guard after serving 30 years in the military; 25 years with the 188th Army Band of the North Dakota National Guard and the last 5 years with the 34th Infantry Division Band of the Minnesota National Guard. I have performed countless times across this country and played taps for veteran’s funeral services more than 150 times. I am proud of my service to our nation, and to have someone comment on this subject without doing at least a little research into the effectiveness of such organizations shows gross lack of understanding on their part. For the past 18 years, my wife and family often celebrated birthdays and other occasions when I was absent serving my state and country. The sacrifices they made have never been taken lightly by me these past 18 years. And now my son, a senior in high school, is in the process of auditioning for a position in music with the Marine Corps. Nothing could make me prouder than to have my children follow in my footsteps. I am a music educator in South-Central Minnesota, in my 18th year of teaching. My tour of duty has re-invigorated my commitment to the importance of music education in our schools. When I look back and remember the smiles and tears I saw, the thank yous I received for playing music in Iraq, it reaffirms my reason for teaching our young people the importance of music in our lives. Thank you again, Mr. Kessel, for your editorial: “Beyond Cost: The Value of Military Bands.” Thank you for your advocacy for music education and military music. Musically Yours, SGT Craig A. Brenden, Retired 34th Infantry Division Band Minnesota Army National Guard

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SBOUpfrontQ&A: Frank Battisti

A Conversation on

“The Best We Can Be”

rank Battisti is a familiar name throughout the music world. As the founder and longtime conductor of the New England Conservatory Wind Ensemble, the founder of the World Association of Symphonic Bands and

Ensembles (WASBE), past president of the US College Band Directors National Association, as well as conductor and guest conductor of a wide array of premier ensembles throughout the world, Battisti’s resume speaks for itself. Frank Battisti

However, of particular note in this storied career is his tenure as a high school band director in Ithaca, N.Y., during which time the band at Ithaca High School, a small and unassuming institution in upstate New York, achieved some extraordinary feats. The band was so good, and so inspired by its director, Mr. B, as he was then known, that such luminaries as Frederick Fennell, Doc Severinsen, and Benny Goodman, among many others, were inspired to visit the school to work with students and guest conduct or perform. The litany of achievements is truly astounding, but perhaps the most impressive realization of just what those ensembles created and 12 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

achieved was indicated at a reunion of the 1955-1967 bands that took place during the summer of 2006. Some 50 years later, 235 of those former students, now well into their 50s and 60s, gathered to celebrate Battisti’s 75th birthday and recount the exploits of the Ithaca High School band. Touched by the impact that his teaching had had on so many people, Battisti was impelled to catalogue the accounts of the band, and has done so in a newly published book, “The Best We Can Be: The Story of the Ithaca High School Band, 1955-67,” co-authored by Battisti and R. Bruce Musgrave.

SBO recently caught up with the esteemed director to gain some insight into how the remarkable achievements of those ensembles relate to music education today. School Band & Orchestra: How would you describe your teaching style in your days at Ithaca High School? Frank Battisti: I would describe it as “individual-focused teaching”: I didn’t ever think I was teaching a group of people. I focused on the individual student and helping him or her grow musically. This meant I really had to get to know each student, know where he or she was in terms of both musical and personal development, and then map out a plan for his or her musical growth. I believed that as each student got progressively better, the band would also continually improve and achieve higher and higher musical results.

SBO: One of the quotes from the book that jumped out at me is you remarking, “This is the best band I have ever had at Ithaca High School,” along with a later note that you said that every year! FB: “This is the best band I have ever had at Ithaca High School.” I did say that every year, and it was a true statement every time I made it. The title of the book is the give away: “The Best We Can Be.” The IHS band never competed. It was never about being better than anyone else. The Ithaca Board of Education had a policy that music was not to be a competitive sport. They believed that the purpose of music in the curriculum was to enrich and enhance a child’s life, to help him or her develop understanding and appreciation. A student or a band shouldn’t have to prove they are better than somebody else – they should be challenged to be “the best they can be.” As I grew as a teacher, so did the achievements of my students and the band, and this, in turn, made the IHS band better and better each year.

is excited about music, someone who excites and intrigues them. In other words, we have to be the Pied Piper. SBO: What do you hope that music educators who read your book end up taking away from it? FB: I hope they’re inspired. I hope

they see how important it is for teachers to have big dreams for their students and their program. If you read the book, you’ll discover that I wrote

to all the great composers in the world – including Stravinsky, Bernstein, and Khachaturian – asking them to write pieces for my students. Why? Because I thought my students deserved to play music composed by the world’s best – students deserve the best! I wrote to Benny Goodman and asked him to come and play with the band. He came because he wanted to see “the band that commissioned all those compos-

SBO: There’s a fair amount of competition in many school music programs these days. Do you think it’s having a negative effect on music education in general? FB: There’s too much activity, and not enough music education. Music education should focus on teaching students music – helping them grow in their understanding and appreciation of the power of music, not the power of activity. Band students grow to love activity. After they graduate, they remain “active,” but do they continue to play their instruments, go to concerts, support musical art? SBO: Without dangling the carrot of competition and trumpeting the “activity,” how do you transmit that to a student who doesn’t understand the intrinsic value of music? FB: First, by getting him or her interested in you as a person. I remember one time when I was a young teacher, a student came into my classroom, stood in front of my desk and said, “Mr. Battisti, I don’t like music.” I responded, “Randy, well then why are you in band?” And he said, “Because you interest me. You’re different from the rest of them, and I’m watching you.” If music makes a difference, then when students look at their music teacher, they ought to see someone who is different: someone who loves and School Band and Orchestra, November 2010 13

ers.” And it didn’t cost us anything; he came on his own dime. SBO: What is the most effective measure of success for a music educator? FB: While the students are in school, we can measure our success by observing what they do in their free time – do they practice, do they go to concerts, do they listen to recordings, and so on? All of us reveal our priorities and values by the way we spend our free time and money. However, a better measurement of how successful we are as music teachers is to see what our students do and what they value after they’re out of school for 40 or 50 years. Do they still love music, do they still play their instrument, do they play in a musical group, do they go to concerts, and do they support the arts? SBO: There have been significant changes in the music world since the 1950s and ‘60s, particularly with how the Internet and new technology grant access to music. FB: There has never been a time when young people have been so plugged into music.

SBO: So how should music educators and programs capitalize on that? FB: With the electronic devices available to students today, many don’t feel the need to participate in school music programs. If we want to entice more young people into our music programs, we need to expand the musical offerings and the ways we teach music. Band directors need to coach small ensembles and assemble groups made up of whatever instruments and students are available. They also need to expand the kind of music they use with students. SBO: With popular music so pervasive, how would you go about building interest in the great literature of classical or jazz music? FB: You start where the student is. If the student likes rock and roll, you start with rock and roll. It’s a matter of making contact with the students – grabbing them by the hand and helping them expand their skills, understanding, and appreciation of music. You strike a deal: “I’ll listen to your music and you listen to some of mine.” Being respectful of what

the students like is important. You work at gradually influencing them – and I stress the word “gradually” – into contact with new and different kinds of music. You don’t take anything they like away. What you try to do is expand what they like – give them more music to love. When someone tells me, “I don’t like Stravinsky,” what I hear is, “I don’t understand it. It’s too complex.” It’s my job to help them figure it out. When they can understand it, there’s a possibility that they might come to like or love it. That’s my job as a music educator. I have a lot of opportunities to talk to young teachers, and I find many who have a deep passion for music and for teaching young people. They are worried about entering the profession because they see what goes on in public school music programs, particularly the inordinate amount of time music teachers spend preparing students to perform at events that have minimal musical value. What they want to do is teach music to young people. SBO: And how does this relate back to your book? FB: I wrote this book to inspire others as to what can be achieved. In a small town in central New York State, a teacher decided to dream way beyond the realities of what one should be dreaming about as a high school band director. I hope this book inspires others to see what can be created in a very normal kind of school setting. SBO: So the idea is that if this happened in Ithaca, N.Y., it can happen anywhere?

We make them. He plays them. You need them.

Scott Johnson, The Blue Devils

14 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

FB: I think it can. One shouldn’t and couldn’t replicate the IHS program, but educators should strive for the same objective – helping students find joy and excitement in making music and the creative endeavor. Fostering an interest among the students to pursue a creative way of life via their band musical experience was the desired goal of the IHS band program. All good music education is designed to meet the needs of the students in the local school district. We need music educators and band directors who are imaginative, inventive and passionate about music – excited about finding ways to share their love of music with young people.

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SBOCommentary: Balance

Escaping the Pyramid Trap:

Reconstructing Conceptions of Balance

ne of the most common strategies for creating

BY KENNETH WAYNE THOMPSON

what is typically referred to as a “band sound” is framed around the concept of pyramid balance. The premise of this model is readily explained in

detail in the text Effective Performance of Band Music, one of several important contributions by composer and teacher Francis McBeth.

Dr. Ken Thompson serves on the faculty in the College of Musical Arts at Bowling Green State University in Ohio. Additionally, he serves on the conducting staff of both the Detroit Symphony Orchestra where he directs the Detroit Symphony Orchestra Civic Wind Symphony, and the Toledo Symphony Orchestra, where he serves as Artistic Director of the Toledo Symphony Youth Orchestras and Conductor of the TYO Philharmonic.

16 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

Through the course of numerous conversations and observations, I have found that many conductors around the world adhere closely to concepts presented by McBeth, but often with what I would consider a limited application. To say that the band sound is a pyramid, simply functioning from low to high through the ensemble, does not fully consider the original ideas about balance presented by McBeth. Even writing in 1972, McBeth began to differentiate band sound by types of repertoire – in this case, contemporary repertoire – and the inherent balance required in order to achieve the composer’s specific intent. This is actually quite progressive for McBeth, especially considering that today, he might be viewed as musically conservative. When we discuss balance, and thus band sound, we must realize it is inextricably tied to the specific repertoire we intend to perform. The traditional application of the pyramid balance system in many ways may not be as efficient a vehicle for teaching ensemble sound as it once was, and hopefully the following discussion will offer a different perspective on how we might apply the principles of pyra-

mid balance into a more modern – and repertoire relevant – model. Before you line up the tar and feathers for me for seemingly going against decades of dogmatic ensemble pedagogy, let’s consider McBeth’s full discussion on balance. It is important to note that McBeth begins his discourse on balance with a conversation of pyramids, not the single pyramid we so often observe being taught to ensembles. Again, the progressive McBeth begins the explanation from the perspective of repertoire. The first presentation is one of a double pyramid based on instrument families, the brass and woodwinds, arranged from low to high. McBeth then proposes ways to incorporate this system in college, high school and even junior high ensembles. What I find interesting is that in the instructions for achieving these balances and sonorities, McBeth seems to indicate that it is indeed the repertoire which determines assignation of a specific voice to a portion of the pyramid; for example, in junior high pyramids, sometimes brass and woodwinds occupy the same space on a given pyramid. This is primarily due to the type of compositional style of much of the junior high music of that time. This music is constructed with a clearly defined SATB role for instruments based on tessitura, while high school and college repertoire tended to be more complex in role assignment to instruments, a scenario that to some extent is still true today. McBeth then describes in detail the idea of a “Christmas tree pyramid” comprised of pyramids that overlap and a numerical system for dynamic contrast. These indicate that higher voices crescendo less while lower voices crescendo more, and finally, McBeth presents the relationship of balance to pitch, and supporting the pyramid through the guise of listening, even going so far as to state, “hearing ‘down’ is the best way (I will almost say the only way) for young players to play in pitch.” I would like to begin by asserting that

the principles set forth by McBeth are both valid and valuable. Additionally, as with many theories or pedagogies, the principles are flexible if applied inquisitively and with intelligence and founded in good musicianship, rather than being applied through misunderstanding or inefficient pedagogy. Unfortunately, I also feel very strongly that using pyramid balance has simply been a justification for repetitions of chorales, and the pyramids balance is not the normal means of application. It has also served to propagate the “hearing down” system, which, when we move beyond SATB-type works, is irrelevant and impractical. A single SATB pyramid does work effectively with many pieces in the band repertoire. One need only listen to the great recordings of the Philadelphia Orchestra playing the Stokowski Bach transcriptions, or some of our great classics from the band repertoire like the chorales from Alfred Reed’s Russian Christmas Music to hear this beautifully presented. The laws and properties of physics define relationships between high and low sounds and how fundamental pitches affect tones higher in the harmonic/ overtone sequence. These points are irrefutable. However, when I listen to the greatest orchestrators from the orchestral genre: Respighi, Rimsky-Korsakov, Ravel, Stravinsky, and the list could go on, I don’t hear what I would consider a predominantly “dark” sound. Our concepts of balance should be considered, even as McBeth indicates, from the standpoint of repertoire. At one point in the development of the wind band, the band was an orchestra of winds, and it is not simply semantics when we say that today, the modern wind band is a wind orchestra. This has a dramatic impact on how the ensemble sounds, and has been driven not by a desire to make the band smaller, but instead the evolution has been demanded by changes in the rep-

The classic single pyramid

Layered (vertical) pyramid

ertoire. This, in effect, requires that we reconsider the sound model we teach students in developing an appropriate repertoire-based band sound. The weakness of the single pyramid balance system (see diagram) is that it always assumes specific instruments fulfill specific roles within a work. The tuba (bass) always plays louder, the flute (soprano) always plays softer. What if the flute and tuba are not playing music conceived within a traditional functionally harmonic framework? The tuba pitches would not be sounding resultant overtones for the flute. What if the registration for the flute is very high – or very low – in relation to the tuba? These are extreme examples to be sure, but we could cite School Band and Orchestra, November 2010 17

similar situations between a flute and a bassoon. It is perhaps more efficient to consider balance, again as McBeth indicates, in a series of overlapping pyramids, in which each instrument maintains its own pyramid. This system works because in almost all cases, the parts within same instrument groupings are aligned low to high, thus creating a situation in which a second clarinet should always have

18 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

slightly more volume than the first clarinet because when the tessitura is considered, the part would be sound balanced when in fact the volumes are different. If we then overlap instrument families on top of each other (see layered example) we get something that looks more like the Ziggurat of Ur (see diagram 2) than it looks like a pyramid. Instead, we create what I refer to as a vertical balance system, which is much more flexible than the

single pyramid. In the vertical system, the focus is placed on listening to the same instrument first (for example, the clarinet), the similar instruments next (such as woodwinds) and finally the entire ensemble. This is exactly how we tune, so why not create a balance system that relies on an identical type of hearing? It is efficient and it works. In a vertical system, each player, no matter where in the pyramid they fall, listens to the ensemble. The player then makes a determination based on the function of his or her part as to how loud it should be played. In a Bach chorale-type passage, players would hear an SATB alignment and lower parts would play out while upper parts might scale back – thus creating something that looks like one big pyramid perhaps. Unfortunately, I would argue that most of the music played today by wind bands does not conform to that model. At any given moment, a tuba could be assigned the “soprano” part, a texture part, a chordal part, a motivic gesture, a rhythmic ostinato, and the list goes on… and in each of these instances, the tuba player would need to listen to the ensemble and constantly adjust volume based on the role of their part. This would not only happen in sections of music, but often these shifts of role happen at every barline, which demands flexibility in order to achieve a proper balance. If the tuba player has been taught “I must always play louder,” then clarity will be an issue in the music. As I type this, I am listening to one of John Mackey’s new works, “Asphalt Cocktail,” and I can assure you if this were to be performed with a traditional single pyramid sound, it would not be the same piece of music. Why would we not want to teach a balance system based on listening and intelligent musicianship and decision-making? This most closely resembles what we want students to do in rehearsals, and seems to me to be the most efficient and effective way to create an ensemble sound that will reflect the repertoire we actively perform.

Before you see

your studentsâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;

, l a i t poten you have to hear it.

ÂŠ2010 Avedis Zildjian Company

SBOGuest Editorial: Mariachi

Engaging Students Through Mariachi A Model in the Barrow County, Georgia, Public Schools BY

KERRY BRYANT & MARCIA NEEL

ith the growing Hispanic population in Southern Nevada, a Clark County School District (CCSD) board member requested that the district consider implementing a district wide, standards-based Mariachi program. The program grew from approximately 250 students in three secondary schools in the fall of 2002 to approximately 3,000 students in 17 schools in the fall

of 2010. Because of this incredible success, I have been providing workshops across the country on how to successfully implement Mariachi programs. The how-to example provided below by Kerry Bryant, a Mariachi Workshop attendee, will assist any band, orchestra, or choral director in starting a high quality Mariachi Program in their school. â&#x20AC;&#x201C; Marcia Neel

20 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

In the spring of 2008, MENC hosted a week-long Summer Mariachi Workshop at their home office in Reston, Virginia. After attending that workshop, sponsored by Yamaha Corporation, I felt completely prepared pedagogically to move forward and start teaching the class. At the workshop presented by Marcia Neel, president of Music Education Consultants and former CCSD music supervisor and Adam Romo, full-time CCSD mariachi educator, it was recommended and reinforced that the best way to initiate a mariachi program is as a standards-based course meeting during the school day commensurate with other credit-bearing courses, rather than as an afterschool club which had been my initial intent. The unknown was how I was going to make this happen and the information below reflects my experience in getting the course adopted as part of the regular school curriculum. Hopefully, this will assist others looking to include classes in Mariachi as part of a comprehensive, standardsbased music course meeting during the school day. I distinctly recall the flutter in my stomach as I slumped in the chair in my superintendent’s office, almost embarrassed to ask, “What do you think of me starting a Mariachi program?” I dared not look up, as I hoped it might soften the “What are you… crazy?” comment that was sure to follow. Instead my superintendent replied: “Mariachi, as in the guys that walk around restaurants?” “Well, sort of, but not exactly that,” I responded. “What other kind is there?” “Well, this would be to create a full Mariachi ensemble, like a folk orchestra. It would engage all communities in our schools. It would draw beginner-level kids into music class that otherwise would never think of it. It would be a social studies, history, foreign language, and music performance class wrapped into one. And...” (dramatic pause), “it would be the firstever Mariachi course for credit offered in Georgia, that I know of.” Being the innovator and forwardthinking supervisor my boss thankfully

is, I knew that last one would grab him, and it did. “Well, if it’s a first, let’s look into it.” With that, I produced the documents I had prepared as part of the course proposal, a budget, and other background information. A few minutes of discussion, and I was out the door, embarking on an educational journey that began as a crazy idea and would take me to one of the most cherished musical and “life” moments I’d ever experienced. It all began with that germinal idea that I never imagined would come to fruition in such a rewarding way. And, it took my own willingness to step out of the traditional concert, marching and jazz band-only comfort zone and try something new.

“The best way to initiate a mariachi program is as a standards-based course meeting during the school day commensurate with other credit-bearing courses.” Course planning occurred in these three areas: I. Course adoption/administrative support II. Funding III. Instruction

I. Course Adoption/ Administrative Support “A journey of a million miles begins with a single step.” The best way to go about this was to introduce Mariachi as a curricular offering because we would see the students daily and have the leverage of grades as opposed to voluntary attendance as in an after-school club setting. To turn this into a course, I used the materials provided at the MENC Mariachi Workshop. Marcia Neel provided examples of her district’s standards-based Mariachi curriculum documents, which were of immense value.

One of the most helpful items in assisting me with making the curriculum even more relevant was the “¡Simplemente Mariachi!” Methods Series published by Northeastern Music Publications (www.themusicmentor.com). This course of study allows classes to be offered either homogeneously or heterogeneously. The teacher edition of this method includes a disk that has printable PDF versions of a standards-based lesson plan for each of the lessons. Each lesson plan specifies the following: • Concepts Taught • National Music Content Standards Addressed • Teacher Performance Objectives • Student Assessment Objectives The above elements are exactly those needed to write a course for any music class and having this specific lesson-by-lesson information for Mariachi made the process much easier in organizing the presentation for my immediate supervisor. I spent time going School Band and Orchestra, November 2010 21

through the method book and correlating the national arts standards used in each lesson to the corresponding Georgia state standards. We determined that the program would be implemented initially at Apalachee High School. We then worked with the principal in writing a letter of support to the school board officially requesting this new course. His overall concept was that he wanted to have increased student involvement and a Mariachi course would provide just this type of engaging learning experience. It was soon discovered that having a Mariachi Program also increases parent involvement, something that every principal in America is looking to achieve. In addition to having a standardsbased curriculum, it is important that a sound rationale for offering the program is also provided within the course proposal. For example, Mariachi programs: • Give students a high-quality musical experience • Help keep students in school • Provide an effective bridge to parental involvement • Enhance effective use of multiple intelligences • Serve as an impetus for learning life-long skills • Increase student self-esteem and self-confidence • Provide an opportunity for students to serve as role models to younger students (Ref: Academic ServiceLearning later in this article) • Celebrate cultural diversity and heritage • Strengthen K-12 Performing Arts Departments through increased enrollment • Enable high/positive community visibility and outreach • Create a school’s “Mosaic of Musical Experience”

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The next step was for the curriculum proposal to go before the school board for consideration for adoption. One thing I stressed was that we were not targeting a special ethnicity, but that we were providing a new course offering that even though it is rooted

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in the tradition of folk music from Mexico, has evolved, over time, from a variety of cultural influences. In addition, the following helped our Board Members understand that Mariachi is a legitimate course of study: • MENC has officially embraced Mariachi as a style of music to be studied within the school setting • A standards-based Mariachi method series is available for use in the school setting Another valuable tool provided at the MENC Mariachi Workshop was a video of the CCSD Mariachi Conference (found online here: www.musicedconsultants.org/mariachiworkshops/mariachiVid.phtml), which was shown at the initial presentation to the school board. We used the Clark County video so that students could see other students playing mariachi. The video includes the CCSD’s School Board president speaking, in school board terms, to the value of a standards-based Mariachi Program. The video allows those who know nothing about Mariachi to see what it is, how students participate, and how students, parents, and the community respond to it so enthusiastically. The intent of offering Mariachi was to draw new students to the music program so we made presentations to ELL and Foreign Language instructors as well. Their support helped to generate increased interest. A survey was given to see how many students might be interested in seeing a Mariachi Program offered

and we received a positive, cross-cultural response. Developing the Mariachi Program is similar to how Jazz Band became more mainstream back in the ‘60s (then called Stage Band). In hindsight, it would have been helpful to have the student survey numbers prior to the initial course proposal to the Board to demonstrate how many students were interested in enrolling in Mariachi. Survey responses were overwhelmingly positive and the Mariachi I and II courses were subsequently adopted in December 2008 with the first class starting in January 2009. Our superintendent, Dr. Ron Saunders, has supported the implementation of the Mariachi program because very simply, it is great for kids. He says this repeatedly and even provided the funding for me to attend the MENC Workshop initially. It was also of great assistance to partner with an employee of our district, who is highly regarded within the Hispanic community. Many towns have a Latin Chamber of Commerce which can provide great support when developing the program.

II. Funding One source of funding available is school-based instructional money which is provided to each school for instructional purposes. It can be textbooks (including methods books), equipment, supplies, etc. Another source of funding is from the district level. Private sector donations

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and grants are other possible revenue sources. Like many school districts, Barrow County had a Character Education Grant (www.ed.gov/programs/charactered/index.html) where Academic Service-Learning is a major component. In a nutshell, Academic ServiceLearning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities. (More info at: www.servicelearning. org/what_is_service-learning/servicelearning_is/index.php) The Mariachi program fits many such grants in that it uses the studentsteaching-students model so music educators should explore if their districts have such a funding opportunity. When we started in 2009, we enlisted the help of one violin student, one trumpet student, and one guitar student with prior experience and playing ability to help with instruction. All of our high school Mariachi students will eventually do lecture/demo concerts at the middle and elementary feeder schools with the entire program being organized and presented by the participants themselves. They will cover Mariachi history and performance techniques, as well as perform representative music from the genre. This is the students-teaching-students model at its finest. For information on such grant possibilities, visit: www.service-learningpartnership.org. Another grant was used for funding the teacher and student level methods books (“¡Simplemente Mariachi! Method Series” and “Libro Acompañante Músical de ¡Simplemente Mariachi!” which is a book of 10 mariachi songs that go along with the method books) so that there could be school resource copies. Like any other method book, students purchased their own copies. To start, three guitarrones and three vihuelas were purchased through Candelas Guitars in Los Angeles (www.candelas.com) which offers quality mariachi instruments at a greatly reduced rate to school districts. The other Mariachi instruments are the traditional violins, trumpets, and

guitars (nylon strings) provided by all varieties of dealers. An important item worth noting is that until this course, our district did not have a beginning level instrumental music course at the high school level. Mariachi represents the only place a high school student can enter an instrumental, performance-based music course with no prior playing experience whatsoever. The funding for this program thus provides an opportunity for any high school student who has not participated in music thus far, to begin. Music educators should embrace this concept. All across the country, there are so many high school students who have yet to be introduced to the magic of music-making because they simply missed starting it, for whatever reason, at a previous level. We’ve found that students who learn music beginning in high school, move much more quickly than do younger students and thus, they discover joy of music-making much earlier-on in the process. In fact, they may have a deeper appreciation for it. Finally, we sought out funds through a grant from Wal-Mart. Of the $1,000 awarded, $250 went toward the Mariachi program to assist in travel expenses as well as the purchase of moños ($5 and up each) to lend some authenticity to the beginning-level Mariachi uniform. We currently use black pants, white shirts, and gold moños purchased from Mariachi Connection (www.mariachiconnection.com/index.php).

III. Instruction Matt Fuller, the band director at Apalachee High School, has been wonderful and says that teaching Mariachi is now the highlight of his day because of the enthusiasm that has emanated from everyone involved. There are new students involved, new instruments to learn and play, and a whole new awakening to teaching music. What were Matt’s fears? He never had to teach violin, guitarron, or vihuela but he is over it and doing a great job. The beauty of the music is that students can play a number of songs once they get to a basic level of proficiency. He simply followed the book and “off he went.”

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Having a flexible, successful, experienced (Matt has 24 years experience as a band director), and enthusiastic music educator is essential to the initial success of the program. In fact, he will be presenting a session on How to Implement a Mariachi Program at the upcoming GMEA State Conference in January in Savannah. We drew students from Foreign Language classes, ESOL/ELL classes (placed by ELL teachers), and the general student population. We chose not to recruit from the band or choir programs. We have found that Mariachi has brought new students to music and that the other courses have not lost enrollment as a result. Mariachi has actually strengthened our overall program. I can’t tell you how valuable the Mariachi Program is and how it has had such an incredible impact on our community! In these tough economic times, enrollment is key. Mariachi is a great way to pump up the enrollment as well as the level of excitement for the Music Program. As a result of our very first Mariachi Concert, I was moved to write the following to our superintendent. Any educator starting a Mariachi Program will feel the same:

I have been reminded of how closely tied, to who we are and what we are, our music is, especially music so closely identified with a specific culture. How powerful a message of acceptance and equality we can send by involving all our kids in this type of experience. I doubt that most, if not all, of the Mariachi students think about these things – they just do it because it’s fun and engaging. But how valuable is a class that can project this kind of message and be fun, engaging, participatory, cross-cultural and educational all at the same time?

After 23 years in the business, I don’t get too excited, or should I say emotional, anymore very easily. But, last night was a unique musical experience for me. I truly witnessed how the power of music CAN bridge the gap that often exists between us everyday.

Marcia Neel, president of Music Education Consultants, Inc. and former Secondary Fine Arts coordinator for the Clark County School District in Las Vegas, Nevada, can be reached at (702) 361-3553 or via e-mail at marcia@musiceducationconsultants.net. She is available to assist music educators with the process of implementing a standardsbased, Mariachi Program into the comprehensive music curriculum and upon request, can provide curriculum documents (posted at musiceducationconsultants.net) as well as sample copies of “¡Simplemente Mariachi!” Attendance at next summer’s week-long Mariachi Workshop in Las Vegas, during the week of June 27th begins at $99. For information, visit: www.musiceducationconsultants. net/mariachiworkshops.

When the Mariachi ensemble launched in to “Cielito Lindo,” the crowd went nuts. They sang along, swayed, and had a look on their faces that I can’t describe, but it was something like total acceptance and validation – like this place, right here in Winder, Georgia, was a place they really feel a part of. As the concert progressed, the whole crowd, regardless of culture or race, began to really buy into it. Standing ovations after “La Bamba,” “De Colores,” and the rush to the stage by parents for pictures after it was over – it was truly special!

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SBOUpClose: Alexander Robinson

Teaching

the Whole

By Eliahu Sussman

Child

lexander Robinson is the longtime director of the Washington-Lee High School band from Arlington, Virginia. Twenty-six years ago, Mr. Robinson, as heâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s known throughout the school and the community, took over a music department that featured a ragtag

collection of 22 students. Since that time, Robinson has transformed the Washington-Lee bands into a first-rate program with over 125 students participating in Marching, Concert and Jazz bands, along with percussion and guitar ensembles. While the top groups consistently earn superior ratings with level five and six literature, there is more to this music program than music. At some point in his teaching career, Mr. Robinson realized that in order to make the bands as successful as he wanted them to be, it was in his best interest to engage students through any means necessary, whether connecting with them at the middle schools, working on multi-discipline projects, involving them in the decision-making process for most aspects of the various performing ensembles, or by simply recognizing and embracing the life lessons that occur in day-to-day teaching situations. 28 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

â&#x20AC;&#x153;My job is not to teach kids how to become musicians, but to teach them to appreciate music and understand how it fits into society.â&#x20AC;?

Washington-Lee High School Band At a Glance Location: 1301 N Stafford Street, Arlington, Va. On the Web: www.apsva.us/washingtonlee/site/default.asp Number of students at school: 1913 Students in band: 155 Ensembles Marching and Symphonic Band: 84 members Concert Band: 61 Jazz Big Band: 21 Jazz Combo: 8 Beginning Jazz: 21 Percussion Ensemble: 10 Accomplishments • • • •

Five-time Virginia State Honor Band Award Twelve-time Fiesta-val Grand Championship Award 2009 Blue Ribbon Award Music Department Countless Superior ratings at district and national band festivals and contests • W-L Jazz Big Band performs at most of the major jazz festivals on the East Coast

In a recent interview with SBO, Alex Robinson highlights some of the keys he’s learned in his career educator that have enabled him to work “smarter” instead of “harder,” while also achieving more. School Band & Orchestra: Let’s talk about your first years at Washington-Lee. How would you

describe the music department at that point? Alexander Robinson: The program had gone through a series of band directors, where every two years the directors would change. As a result, the program was relatively small. There were only 22 students in the program. I had my work cut out for me as far as

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building it up. The first year was kind of rough, but after that, I could see the changes begin to happen. SBO: What did you do to get the program moving in the right direction? AR: I really connected with the middle school directors. That had been a big problem, because if the feeder programs aren’t on track, then the end result is going to be felt at the high school level. Once we got the right teachers in place at the middle school level, things started to improve for us at the high school. We shot up to about 50 or 55 kids, and maintained that number for a longtime, which was a good quantity for the level. In the early years, we were playing grade 2 material, which is really a low middle school level. Now we’re up to playing grade 5 and 6 literature. SBO: What was the catalyst for making the leap from 50 students to over 150? AR: I started doing a different recruiting method. I arranged my high school schedule so that I could actually be in the middle schools in the morning, which meant that the younger kids started to get to know me. I would bring a horn or a mouthpiece and sit in and play with the groups, and assist the directors. That paid off in the long run because kids got to know what to expect coming to the high school. SBO: And what was it that they came to expect? How would you describe your teaching style? AR: My expectations are extremely high. I have zero tolerance for discipline problems; I hold students responsible for their actions and I’ve always felt that way. We’re all here for the same short-term and long-term goals: to be successful. I’ve never been one to be all about ratings – yes, it’s good if we can get a superior rating – the goal is to discover what we can learn from those ratings. A lot of times, we would tell the kids the grade of the level of music that they’re playing, and the kids would get stuck on that. Music is not supposed to be as competitive as we have made it. The art form itself isn’t intended to be that way.

SBO: Your marching band goes to several competitions a year. How do you frame those so that the competition doesn’t become the focus? AR: The first thing is that they have to please me. Regardless of what the judges are saying, I have to be satisfied with the end product because I know where we were when we started. We use each event as a stepping-stone towards the state competition at the end of the year. The state competition is something that’s measured similar to the Standards of Learning (SOLs) that we have here in Virginia. The curriculum is designed around the SOLs, as are my teaching and lesson plans. So when we go to the state festival – and it’s more that than a competition – our goal is to try to reach as high as we possibly can, while abiding by the requirements that are listed in the state’s manual. SBO: Do you mean reach high relative to other groups? Does that factor into it?

SBO: How do you keep the students’ focus on getting better as musicians? AR: For a long time, I was more of a dictator in my program. It was extremely hard, because I was trying to sell what I wanted to do, and the students didn’t have any input at all. About ten years ago, I decided to have my kids make more of an investment in the band. Now we have a collective team of student leaders, along with myself and my staff members. Now we sit down and look at our goals and decide how we want to get there, and the music that’s best suited to help us do that. It’s to the point now that I have kids that are arranging music for the band, I have kids doing input with the drill, and now they’ve made an investment. They sell that back to their sections and the end result is that the band has gotten much better. I’ve particularly seen a big difference in the marching band. SBO: How are you guys holding up in terms of funding?

AR: This is the first year that Arlington has seen the financial crunch. We’re fortunate because we have two major fundraisers that supply a lot of our funding. We have tag day, which is a door-to-door kind of thing, and then we have a fruit and nut sale that usually starts in October. We’re able to raise somewhere around 45 or 50 thousand dollars each year, and that has helped us a lot, especially with the Southern tour that we do each spring. We also use that money for uniform repair, new uniforms, new instruments that can’t be purchased for the county, marching shoes – just about anything that we need for the program. SBO: Would you elaborate on the tour? AR: Every year we take a four-day tour south from Virginia. We usually go as far south as Florida and then stop in Georgia, South Carolina, and other states in the area. We stop in major colleges in different cities, where we perform, have clinics, work with

AR: Not really. I would say we’re really in competition with ourselves. We strive to get a superior rating. And at the beginning of the year, our goal is to be better than the previous band, which means the previous WashingtonLee band. So it’s totally different from competing against the other bands that appear at that festival. Three or four other events we attend are literally competitions – first, second, third place and that sort of thing.

School Band and Orchestra, November 2010 31

what different schools offer when it comes to music education, and two, we get to work with the directors of bands at those schools – they give us master classes. The end result is that when we get to the event or wherever we are going at the end of the trip, the kids are extremely polished, and we normally do very well. SBO: Plus, that must get your students thinking about taking music – and their education in general – to the next level.

professors and meet with admissions officers, the kids do a tour of the campus, and then we move on to the next city. We do this for several reasons. For one, it’s important for the kids to see

AR: Exactly. I’m not a fan of amusement parks. My first few years, we would leave school, head to a competition and then go to an amusement park. I remember thinking to myself, “There’s got to be more to it than this.” That’s when I came up with the idea of visiting universities and finding out what was going on at that level. We’ve had a good line of communication with these universities, and some of our students

have actually ended up going to some of those schools to major in music. SBO: Looking back over the years, how do you think you’ve changed as an educator? AR: I don’t work as hard as I did before. I’m teaching the whole child now, and I don’t think I was doing that before. My job is not to teach kids how to become musicians, but to teach them to appreciate music and understand how it fits into society. In the jazz program, we’re looking at music from around the world, and how jazz has had an impact in so many different cultures. My kids are really getting into it, and I don’t think I would have done anything like that 15 years ago. I’m attracting more students to the program because of the way that we’re doing different things. We just won a grant from Wolf Trap [Foundation for the Performing Arts] to study music from the Harlem Renaissance, and we’re going to incorporate the art department, the history department,

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and the English department as a part of this, and we’re going to collaboratively come up with a final project in February. Honestly, I think I would have just focused on the music years ago. I’m also trying to have the kids look at how music fits into all parts of society, and even different disciplines. One thing that I strongly advise is that every band director or music teacher should work to develop a good rapport with the counseling department and administrative team, including the principal. Those other people need to have a basic understanding of what’s going on in your program, and not just through the final product. One of the biggest mistakes that band directors make is not inviting administrators into the classroom to see what is actually going on within the program. For example, I involved our principal in our concert. We gave him a part to play so he could see what’s going on in the classes and rehearsals from the students’ perspective. He came up afterward and told me, “You know, this

is a little bit harder than I thought. You’re not just teaching music, but also incorporating all of these different subject matters into the class.” And I don’t think he had ever looked at it from that point of view before. That’s certainly something I wouldn’t have done 20 years ago! SBO: Well, I imagine it takes some confidence to invite your boss into your classroom like that. AR: Right, and it’s not just about money. The more they can give us the better. However, I’d rather see administrators help out my kids with scheduling so they can continue to take band, rather than promise me $2,000 so we can take a bus trip. In the long run, the scheduling is going to be more beneficial to the program than that money for the bus. Having kids in the classroom is going to make or break any program. SBO: What’s the number one thing you want your students to take away from your program?

AR: I jokingly say this to my students all the time: “If you take nothing out of this class, I want you to be punctual and be respectful. When you become the CEO of some company, I want you to remember where you got your start from.” That has nothing to do with music, believe it or not. I have former students who are doctors, all kinds of professionals, and I get letters back that say, “If it wasn’t for you riding me to be on time and be prepared, I don’t think I would be where I am today. SBO: That level of discipline is pretty useful for anyone who wants to become a good musician, too. AR: Exactly. The way I see it with the discipline is that that approach that we strive for in the band class should carry over to the rest of the students’ classes. If people practice and prepare the way I encourage them to, that same focus should help in English, math, science and any other courses they take, as well.

SBORoundtable: Percussion Ensembles

What’s Good for Drummers is Good for All

n the music world, mastery of discreet and specialized techniques can make all the difference in terms of both individual musicianship and ensemble performance. Private study and practice are perhaps the best ways to hone skills, but

small groups of like – and complimentary – musical instruments can also provide a hotbed of learning. In fact, for budding percussionists, the opportunity to spend a block of time focusing exclusively on their particular skills and techniques – apart from the din and distraction of brass, woodwinds, and strings – can prove invaluable.

For a closer look at how percussion ensembles are successfully formed and maintained in schools, as well as what they bring to the table, SBO turned to four experts on the subject – educators who run highly successful and accomplished percussion groups. SBO: What is the key to establishing a successful percussion ensemble within a music program? Jason Walsh: The key is to evaluate one’s circumstances in a realistic fashion. Schedules, equipment, resources, and overall program goals will define a great deal of both the establishment and progression of the ensemble. Once you define those things, you can create a plan for working within the system to grow the program as a whole while creating a viable and productive ensemble. I also believe in designing the program around specific skills instead of specific pieces or performance opportunities. This helps train the ensemble and set standards for the techniques involved. It is also helpful to create an identity for both the ensemble and the sound you want to achieve. That way, you create a comfort zone for you and your students because they know what sounds you are trying to achieve. Matthew McCready: Organization is key. Specifically, it’s important that percussionists continue to meet the demands of the other ensembles they participate in. If a student is in our program as a percussionist, he or she is involved in at least one aspect of the percussion ensemble program, so there’s really not a recruiting process, other than the 5th-grade recruiting we do for all band classes.

34 School Band and Orchestra, November 2010

Rick Minnotte Director of Percussion Mt. Lebanon High School Pittsburgh, Pa. Rick Minnotte is director of Percussion Studies for the Mt. Lebanon School District in Pittsburgh, PA. He is an educational artist for both Remo and Vic Firth, while his concert ensemble is a Malletech Artist Ensemble.

Jason Walsh Assistant Director of Bands & Director of Percussion Dobyns-Bennett High School Kingsport, Tenn. Jason Walsh has served as the assistant director of bands and director of Percussion at Dobyns-Bennett High School since 2001. Mr. Walsh’s teaching responsibilities include conducting the concert band, multiple percussion ensembles, the marching percussion section, directing percussion at John Sevier Middle School, as well as arranging the percussion scores for both the football and competitive marching bands. Mr. Walsh is an active adjudicator, a member of the Vic Firth Education Team and is a regional artist for Pearl/Adams.

Matthew McCready Assistant Director of Fine Arts & Director of Bands Union High School Tulsa, Okla. Matt McCready began his tenure at Union Public Schools in early 2006 as the assistant director of Fine Arts and the director of bands. Under his direction, the band program has seen exponential growth in student participation while continuing to receive top ratings at numerous local, state, regional and national competitions. Prior to his arrival in Oklahoma, McCready was the director of bands at Blue Valley Northwest in Overland Park, Kansas. He was at BVNW for eight years, teaching all facets of the band program from grades 5 through 12.

Mark Stone Director of Bands Ayala High School Chino Hills, Calif. Mark Stone has been at Ayala High School since they opened the doors in the fall of 1990. Before coming to Ayala he taught for three years at Grant High School (Van Nuys, Calif.), five years at Don Lugo High School (Chino, Calif.) and two years at Townsend Junior High School (Chino Hills, Calif.). While in Chino Valley Unified, Mr. Stone has served as Performing Arts department chairperson and the district mentor teacher in Performing Arts. He has also received many awards and accolades, including Ayala High School ‘Teacher of the Year’ in 1999 and recipient of the Fidelity Investments ‘Inspire The Future’ award in 2006. He is presently a field adjudicator of SCSBOA and the vice president of the Western Band Association.

School Band and Orchestra, November 2010 35

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Mark Stone: I feel the key to a successful program is investment and commitment to the activity from all involved; performers, instructional staff, parents and band administration. It also takes serious investment in both equipment and time. The other key is the vision of the person in charge. My program is the result of the vision of my long time caption head and talented instructors. It’s also important to keep things in perspective. The indoor ensembles can and should be an important part of our programs, but it must be kept in the right place. I like to say that the indoor program is a beast: you can either ride it, or it will ride you! Rick Minnotte: Most importantly, you must have a band director that is supportive of creating a separate ensemble for the percussionists. As we all know, percussion is expensive, loud and requires a large amount of space to store the instruments. In most schools, additional funds, practice facilities and storage space are all fairly limited. Given these challenges, the idea of creating a percussion ensemble, when there might not even be an existing brass or woodwind ensemble, can be a difficult sell. At Mt. Lebanon, we solved these three issues by: 1. Creating our own parent group, separate from the traditional band booster organization, to provide funding. 2. Scheduling all of our rehearsals and private lessons after school hours or on weekends. 3. Transforming little used spaces into a percussion studio/storage room. SBO: What are the primary benefits to the overall music department of such groups?

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Jason Walsh: I have found that percussion ensemble has affected every aspect of our program in a positive way. The marching band/drum line has benefited from the students enhanced rhythmic knowledge. The concert bands and orchestra have benefited from the students ability to listen effectively for balance and phrasing in an ensemble setting. It also helped the students’ overall self-confidence, composure, and logistical awareness in performance situations.

Matthew McCready: We are producing a higher level of percussionist, which in turn raises the overall quality of any ensemble they are a part of. Not to mention the fact that the students in the ensemble become great ambassadors for the band program and Fine Arts department. Whether they are involved in jazz band, orchestra, jazz choir, concert band, marching band, pep band, or pit orchestra for the musical, well-trained percussionists can have a large and positive impact on a music program. We often use a smaller version of our drum-line to go out and perform on a rotating basis for our 13 elementary schools and the various assemblies that they have. In addition, the percussion ensemble sometimes plays for community events when it may be inconvenient to send a whole band. Moving just 10 or so of these students and their equipment seems to always please and it gives the audience a great bang for their buck. Rick Minnotte: Quite simply, the more a student plays, the better he or she will become. While private lessons will always be an essential element in any successful music program, knowing that you will have the opportunity to use your developing skills in a performance ensemble provides the student with a compelling reason to practice. The more the student practices, the better musician they become. In the end, all of the performing ensembles in the school benefit from the increased talent of the students. A win for the individual student and a win for the overall music program!

This is where the percussion ensemble can come to the rescue. Just seeing and hearing the many and varied instruments that we as percussionists get to play is exciting to most of the students that I have taught. To realize that your “wonderful” practice pad will eventually turn into a snare drum, concert tom, timpani, and that your tiny bell set will evolve into a full sized marimba/xylophone/vibe, gives a student hope. Then to hear that per-

small set of bells. Initially, the child is all excited and beats (I’m sorry, I meant plays) on the rubber pad and learns their first few patterns on the bell set. But then, they come back to school and hear their friends playing actual songs on their trumpets, flutes and clarinets. Now all of a sudden, that pad and limited set of bells is not quite as exciting as they thought. As time goes by, it can become even less so with a resulting decrease in practice time.

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Mark Stone: Because of the na-

tional stage, our percussion ensemble offers the program notoriety and the opportunity for the students to continue a competitive program through the second semester. SBO: How about for young percussionists – how do these ensembles help improve them? Rick Minnotte: Most beginning percussion students start with a snare drum (with the prerequisite rubber head cover so that their parents don’t call and ask why their son or daughter must practice at home) and maybe a

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cussionists can, in fact, play music all by themselves (without all those pesky winds and brass) causes self esteem to develop. The student realizes that percussionists are musicians, too (despite what their wind and brass friends, and maybe their band directors, say). And it is not necessary to have lots and lots of keyboard percussion instruments to have a percussion ensemble. We started off with one 3-octave marimba, a set of bells, an old beat up set of vibes and a set of chimes. Even without that limited instrumentation, a percussion ensemble can still be created using empty boxes or cans and accessory instruments such as triangles, tambourines, shakers, and so on. The idea is to provide the young percussionist with the opportunity to “see into the future” and realize that there is life beyond their practice pad and bell set. Most of us fell in love with percussion due to the unimaginable variety of sounds that we were able to create. By creating their own sounds, your students will become hooked for life, just like the rest of us. Mark Stone: The ensembles give the members an opportunity to perform and achieve on the highest level.

Rarely in our lives do we have a chance to say we were part of the best – not the best in the city or state, but simply one of the best. It also gives the parent boosters the opportunity to share the experience with their children. I think this is an aspect that is often overlooked and undervalued. Matthew McCready: Percussion ensembles have the potential to greatly improve students’ technique and performance skills. Here at Union, by necessity we have very large band classes. Small ensembles provide the opportunity for students to be individually and personally responsible for their performance. Jason Walsh: This activity is great for young percussionists! It teaches them great skills for musicianship like listening, phrasing, and confidence. It does this because it moves them to the front of the room instead of the back and usually they are playing solo parts. This increases their confidence and their ability to relate parts to each other. The biggest thing it does for me is that it gives me a chance to work with individuals and see how they are

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progressing and what they need work on which is invaluable. SBO: Do you have any specific tips for making the student experience during percussion ensembles a positive one? Rick Minnotte: With the youngest ensembles (grades 4-7), concentrate your energy on making it a fun experience for the kids. I have seen directors insist on trying to play music that was too difficult for the students and that ended up turning them off instead of turning them on. Let the students enjoy making new and different sounds, as well as the thrill of playing with others. Once they become hooked, they and their parents will be more interested in private lessons. Then their technique and music reading skills will begin to expand fairly rapidly, and the difficulty level of music they can perform will increase naturally. Jason Walsh: I think educators should be willing to try anything! The only thing I try to avoid is being stagnant in all of those areas. I want to be willing to try anything! Then assess what is most effective to create a plan for that specific group. Each year, the students have different ability levels, personalities, and so forth. I need to meet them on their level, create music from that level, and then hopefully raise it a notch or two. The thing I am most apprehensive about is losing my ability to connect with the students. The connection between student and teacher is where success is born and nourished. Once that connection is lost, it is difficult to rebuild. Matthew McCready: I am constantly trying to improve the use of our student’s rehearsal time. Try to stay open-minded to the concept that a percussionist may reap more benefits from working in a percussion ensemble during part of band class than sitting in the back of the rehearsal room while tacit on a piece.

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Mark Stone: You need to deal with the competitive nature of the activity and always teach positive competition and sportsmanship. You also need to have a good understanding of the students’ capability and design the program to match their potential skill set and the capability of the design and instructional staff.

SBOTechnology: Percussion Tools

And the Beat Goes On! BY JOHN KUZMICH, JR.

his time we’re going deep into the core of music: the beat. Going all the way back to the days of Beethoven, the metronome is perhaps the oldest music technology device, and it continues to lay a strong foundation for

the beat all over the world. But the metronome has come a long way over time, as there are some innovative and downright exciting options for keeping the beat in today’s music. Percussionists, in particular, have great new tools to help build their chops in record time.

Next Generation Practice Pads Beatnik

Since 1936, wind, string and brass instrumentalists have benefited from electric (strobe) tuners to nail their accuracy. Now there’s a piece of equipment that can objectively nail the drummer’s accuracy. The Beatnik is an interactive practice pad with an advanced built-in metronome. This super analyzer can help increase accuracy in ways never before possible. Learning drum rudiments coordinated with note-reading skills and real-time analysis of rhythmic accuracy makes it far more than your grandpa’s drum pad. While Beatnik’s multiple analyzers evaluate timing and rhythmic skills, its multiple views can give instant timing data of a student’s technical strengths and weaknesses. This visual feedback is a powerful motivator that can speed up progress toward total rhythmic fluency and accuracy. There are several models of Beatnik to choose from. The Beatnik RA880 P Rhythmic Analyzer is an interactive practice pad designed for beginners with an advanced built-in metronome. After you set the desired rhythm, simply start the playback and strike the touch-sensitive practice pad. Beatnik’s large graphic display records a visual representation of every stroke with pinpoint accuracy to the nearest 512th note. It can test any permutation. The Beatnik R1200 P is a workout tool for percussionists taking rhythm and timing exercises to a high level of achievement. Its five viewers include a Groove Analyzer, a Dynamic Analyzer School Band and Orchestra, November 2010 39

in AutoSwitch and a subdivision analyzer in real-time view, a tracking analyzer in History 1 view, and a phrase analyzer in History 2 view. The Beatnik’s phrase analyzer can improve accuracy in complicated and extended rhythmic phrases. Just set a rhythmic phrase up to eight beats in length, in-

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corporating any combination of note and rests, and it will record every stroke and give a review of the phrase performance history note by note. For a summary of both models’ capabilities, visit www.tuners.com and find the Beatnik brochure.

Scott Johnson Metro Pad

Another sophisticated practice pad option is the Scott Johnson Metro Pad by XymoX, which has a Korg MA-30 metronome that can be mounted in the drum pad. The Metro Pad represents a good all-around practice tool to get drummers actively using a metronome. The pad has built-in snare sound and a space to mount the included Korg MA-30 metronome. Scott Waggoner, a St. Louis, Missouri freelance composer, arranger, clinician, and adjudicator requires all of his percussionists to use this integrated drum pad because of the advanced functional metronome. “It allows the student to find different tempi with the tap option as well as use the preprogrammed rhythms as timing exercises,” he says.

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If you have a MIDI drum pad connected to a computer, your students can use Tap It and Tap It II by Freehandmusic.com to improve their music reading rhythm-skills. This drilland-practice software also assesses, with a quiz at the end of each level that drills rhythm accuracy. Each lesson has three skill levels with an option for a final quiz using the rhythms from level three, which is considered the All-Pro level. Tap It II includes more difficult rhythm patterns, including syncopation, eighth and sixteenth-note values, and rests. Actual note heads are introduced in this intermediate/early advanced level. Full record keeping with immediate accuracy feedback is included. Tap It Rhythm Creator allows teachers to build their own rhythm pattern drills so students can open and practice them with Tap It Rhythm Player. Popular MIDI drum pads are available from Roland, Yamaha and Alesis. If you have a digital keyboard such as an Axiom by Pro-Audio or by Akai, your drummers can play on the keyboard’s integrated drum pad with Tap It software.

Metronomes: the new generation The infusion of technology into metronomes has added a plethora of helpful, fascinating features, taking today’s metronome far beyond the single beat of yester-year. Marching band directors can now hold their drummers’ feet to the fire of the beat, perhaps through amplifying a digital metronome through a portable public address system that even keeps irregular tempos and meters.

Dr. Beat

Many drum lines are using the programmable Dr. Beat metronome, a Roland technology, which can be conveniently connected to a portable amplification system, such as the Lone

Body Beat Sync

Internalizing the beat was the goal and passion of Dr. Chris Parsons, inventor of the Peterson Body Beat metronome system. And the new and improved Body Beat Sync takes the concept of a metronome to a whole new level. First of all, the BodyBeat metronome clips onto your belt and a small separate “vibe clip” transmits with a pulsating vibration directly to your body. It can also be used like a regular metronome in both audible and visual modes. But that’s only beginning. The revolutionary, educational feature of the

BodyBeat Sync is the ability to form a network of musicians feeling and following the same pulsating beat. With powerful wireless technology, a band director can use a group of synchronized metronomes, and his master met-

Ranger by Letroscope. The Boss DB90 has the ability to memorize tempo and beat settings, as well as two click sounds plus a human voice count for multiple time signatures with as many as 15 beats per measure. Plus, it has an independent volume and tap function slider-based control that allows for finger tapping tempo. The device even mounts onto drum hardware. Dr. Beat’s programming function can memorize the tempos and measures, so changes in tempos are automatically synchronized to the band’s performance. The director never has to change speeds on the metronome in the middle of the rehearsal or show. This really helps with contemporary rhythmic patterns both in the classroom and on the practice field. School Band and Orchestra, November 2010 41

ronome broadcasts all pulsations to the members of the group, keeping them synchronized for up to 100 yards without losing a beat. The director could rehearse the whole band while controlling a master unit, and then have the students break off to form smaller BodyBeat groups for sectionals. The BodyBeat can store up to 100 custom presets, and each preset contains tempo, meter, subdivision, and “accent pattern” settings. The accent

pattern setting is unique to the BodyBeat Sync, allowing complex meters to be divided into every possible combination of twos and threes. The BodyBeat Sync can also import MIDI files. It extracts all meter and tempo information and will play back the entire score while showing the bar number on the screen of the master unit and to others in the group. Peterson also offers a free online tool on their Web site to design your own

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tempo and meter changes, which can then be saved to the BodyBeat Sync as MIDI Tempo Maps.

It Gets Better With the increased exposure of pop music on the Internet and TV, the newest generation of students we teach has been both visually and physically immersed in the exciting aural experience of music since they were toddlers. We cannot expect to succeed in reaching and teaching them if we deny that reality. Fortunately, music technology works in our favor, too, giving us many great tools to reach students. Virtual Drumline (VDL) by Tapspace is a software library of marching band and concert percussion samples for digital audio generation for music composition programs. It is designed to include every conceivable articulation and technique produced in authentic-sounding scores. If you are a Sibelius or Finale user, you already have a ‘lite” version of Virtual Drumline included. But note, this lite version is scaled down and only includes a limited selection of VDL sounds. The full version includes even more control over music notation while providing ultra-realistic virtual instrument playback. Virtual Drumline features the Santa Clara Vanguard percussion section and, it is bundled with Native Instruments Kontakt Player 2, which integrates directly into Sibelius 5 and Finale 2009, and virtually any sequencing/DAW software. There are also templates available for both Sibelius and Finale if you need to print out percussion parts in standard percussion notation. To get the best mileage from these advanced template tools, it’s important to use staves in Finale or Sibelius that contain percussion maps corresponding to the layout of Virtual Drumline’s advanced key-mapping. Note that for these latest template features, Finale 2010b and/or Sibelius 6 are required. Tapespace makes this available for about $10. To view the differences between the lite and full version for Finale go to: www.tapspace.com/pages.php?pageid=28.” Most of the other softsynth software competitors have come and gone.

Closing Comments Music education has gone global bringing us a wealth of rhythms and sounds and enriching what we teach. And teaching students to internalize the beat is paramount in this tsunami. I have presented just a few cuttingedge tools here. Percussionists and directors have a lot more options available, thanks to all the innovators in the industry. YouTube is loaded with demos for your classroom. Feel free to check out the links I’ve posted at www.kuzmich.com/SBO112010.html But this is only the beginning. As Bryan Harmsen, owner of Visaudio Designs, pointed out to me, “With the growing popularity of iPhones, iPod Touch, and iPads, as well as Androids, some pretty slick apps are being made for percussionists like the Tempo app and Mobile Metronome. In the near future, the Pocket Percussion Teacher app for iPhone will have recordings and exercises in a variety of genres.” … And the Beat Goes On! Dr. John Kuzmich Jr. is a veteran music educator, jazz educator and music technologist with more than 41 years of public school teaching experience. He is a TI:ME-certified training instructor and has a Ph.D.

in comprehensive musicianship. As a freelance author, Dr. Kuzmich has more than 400 articles and five textbooks published. As a clinician, Dr. Kuzmich frequently participates in workshops throughout the U.S., Europe, Australia, and South America. For more information, visit www.kuzmich.com.

Quality Instruments

The most formidable competitor still in production is Tonehammer High School Drum Corps. This offers a set of drumline sounds (www.tonehammer.com/?p=357) that requires a full version of the Kontakt sampler from Native Instruments. Tonehammer is a unique softsynth library focused on capturing the powerful, tight sound of high school marching drum corps. like the tight, harsh, mid-tones and truncated snap of marching drums. It is meant to be heard loud and clear over a whole football field providing realistic outdoor sounding acoustics.

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NewProducts New Works from KJOS

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PAGE #

SAVE THE DATE!

2nd Annual JEN Conference January 6-8, 2011 New Orleans, LA Historic Roosevelt Hotel – Famed Blue Room Details online NOW! • Exciting Headliners • Enlightening Clinics/Panels • Exhilarating School Ensemble Performances • Enticing Exhibits – 20,000 sq. ft.! All under one roof, two blocks from the French Quarter! Registration, Housing, Exhibitor & Volunteer Applications available online NOW!

Check the website often for updates as they materialize! www.JazzEdNet.org Your portal to the global jazz community!