SOGO October Newsletter

What do jazz, marimba & Schumann have in common?

Come and find out at the SOGO concert Sunday, November 7, 4 p.m.

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SOGO - So Y’Know Newsletter

YOUNG LIVES being shaped THROUGH MUSIC

October 2010 Vol. 11 No. 2

SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 7, 4 P.M. Washington Center

Marimba Concerto by Kurka

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he American composer Robert Kurka was born in Cicero, Illinois.

Although primarily a self-taught musician, he did study for brief periods with composers Darius Milhauld and Otto Luening. Kurka received a masters degree from Columbia University and taught at City College of New York, Queens College and Dartmouth College.

His best-known work is the instrumental suite and subsequent opera The Good Soldier Schweik. In addition to the Concerto for Marimba, Kurka also produced 2 symphonies, 5 string quartets, works for violin, piano, and vocal music. Kurka died at age 39 from leukemia on December 12, 1957. Kurka was named in Life Magazine as one of the “seven leading composers in America” of his time.

CONSERVATORY ORCHESTRA John Welsh, conductor Weber, Overture to Oberon Kurka, Concerto for Marimba - Drew Norton, soloist Schumann, Symphony No. 4

Kurka’s Marimba Concerto was commissioned by Vida Chenoweth, the first classical marimbist. It was performed posthumously at Carnegie Hall on November 11, 1959 by the Orchestra of America conducted by Richard Korn, with Chenoweth as soloist. The premiere received rave reviews from both The New Yorker and Time Magazine as a “tuneful, crisply rhythmic, shot through with jazz echoes and a spirit of jaunty sophistication”. Critic Jay S. Harrison wrote about the Carnegie Hall premier: “... Mr. Kurka located innumerable means of displaying the marimba at its best, and his concerto is everywhere lively and zestful. It is mostly diatonic, filled with smart and leaping tunes, and it exploits the agility of its soloist to the utmost.”

ACADEMY ORCHESTRA Featuring Jeff Brooks Jazz Ensemble

Drew Norton will perform this colorful piece in the genre of Kurt Weill (famous for Mack the Knife) at the “Sunday at 4 p.m.” concert November 7th. Drew says learning the music for the Marimba Concerto has been a very good challenge for him. He recommends the audience be prepared for something different and advises us to listen for a touch of jazz influence along with many interesting scale patterns throughout the work.

Contributed by Jilyna Dick Kimberly Witort, Photography

BRASS CHOIR Greg Allison, conductor Thome, II-V Fanfare - celebrating the 25th anniversary of the WCPA Grainger, Australian Up Country Tune Reed, Two Bagatelles

Also appearing: Debut Orchestra What is the II-V

Fanfare with Jazz Ensemble?

One of the most basic of skills a jazz musician needs in their improvisatory toolbox is to be comfortable and capable with the II-V-I chord progression. It is made of chords built from the second, fifth and first tones of the major scale and is prevalent in numerous jazz standards. Learning to improvise over it is essential... so essential that it is possible to find jazz tunes consisting almost entirely of this one progression.

Equally essential to our performing community is the Washington Center for the Performing Arts. Since 1985, the Center’s primary purpose has been to support local performing organizations like SOGO and to provide a quality environment in which to connect artists with audiences. In celebration of the Washington Center’s 25th Anniversary, SOGO will open its November concert with II-V Fanfare for Brass Choir and Jazz Quartet by Mark Thome.

Continued on page 2.

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II-V Fanfare continued...

Careful listeners will detect many variations of the II and V themes throughout the piece. As you might guess, there is the famous progression through the second and fifth chords, but there are also significant repetitions of those chords (two and five repetitions, for example) and various other auditory puzzles for the audience to solve. Composer, Mark Thome, spoke of his composition and said, “I always like a challenge... a set of parameters or guidelines to work with and for there to be more to the music than what is expected.” When asked whether this piece differed significantly from his other works like The Little Pernambuco Tree Mark said, “I feel like this piece is probably something that is within my signature style. I’m excited to hear it performed and hope it’s even better than I imagined!”

A key element of SOGO’s performance of the II-V Fanfare is the jazz quartet featuring Jeff Brooks on clarinet. In addition to opening the concert with the Brass Choir, the ensemble will play with the Academy Orchestra during their performance of An American Rhapsody by Richard Meyer... and here’s the twist: Jeff took elements of Meyer’s composition to fashion a jazz combo introduction to the piece and a surprise in the middle! He is very excited about the work and the whole process of putting it all together.

100 Books Signed!

W

ell, this season of SOGO has kicked off with a bang! Those of you who attended the Children’s Concert in October will probably agree that it was a fabulous total experience. From the host of activities before the concert to the line-up of artists, author, and composer to sign copies of our very own book after... what a delight for all who participated.

One of our guests was Virginia Warren and her family. Her son is in Greg Allison’s cadet band class at Washington Middle School and they attended the concert to fulfill a homework assignment. Here’s what she had to say about their experience: “I’m shocked at how much we fun we had together that day. Playing with all the instruments in the petting zoo, learning about our local water and the deforestation of Pernambuco trees was informative but stimulating and just a ton of fun! The concert was entertaining for not only myself and my middleschooler but also for my five year old son. We laughed and listened to beautifully composed music that complimented a wonderful book.

We even had ice cream afterwards to talk about the concert and the instruments. Every single person involved in the making of this fun afternoon did an outstanding job. Congratulations!”

Drew Norton, a senior and 9 year veteran of SOGO had a fantastic time himself playing the xylophone during the concert. His piece: “Flight of the Bumblebee” by Rimsky-Korsakov! Drew told me it was exciting to learn and confided that he had always wanted to perform it, so jumped at the chance. When I mentioned that every young musician I knew wanted to play that piece he laughed and shared, “I was one of those kids!”

The November concert will have a bit of a new sound... a different feel to it than those from seasons past. As Jeff said, “I think there’s a new trend that’s happening in the music world... a fusion happening: jazz with classical, rock with country... and I’m glad SOGO is a part of that.” The audience is in for a dynamic treat!

Tom Iovanne, Washington Center’s Executive Director says, “It’s very exciting that SOGO is taking this on. The Washington Center has enjoyed its relationship with SOGO for many years and I look forward to the concert!”

Contributed by Jilyna Dick

$12.95 The Little Pernambuco Tree children’s book can be purchased at the concert or by contacting SOGO.

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I spoke with Claire Bushnell, one of our student artists and a cellist in our Academy Orchestra. Claire has taken a few art classes and loves watercolor, so when she heard about the opportunity to contribute art to the book she was excited to do it. She loved the whole concert and seeing her big sister Ella perform on the violin, but her favorite part of the day was getting to sit with the other artists to sign books for fans. “It was fun to feel famous and it was really cool meeting the other artists. I expected my hands to be more sore than they were!”

I also spoke with her mother, Carol, about the concert and she raved about the performance and the variety and selection of music. She noted, “The pieces were short and little kids didn’t have time to get bored.” Carol loved the presentation of The Little Pernambuco Tree our featured piece. “I liked the reading aloud of the book, and watching the pages turn in the projection... I felt like I was a little kid again being read a story!” She also described how the audience was divided into parts for the rain and the wind and how when those things were referred to in the story they got to make sound effects. Carol loved it, saying, “it was clever and fun for the kids.” Carol admired the entire production and thought, “Everything was professionally done,” and about her little artist sitting at a table with pen in hand, “I loved how artists got to sign books... I just thought that was very cool.”

Contributed by Jilyna Dick

The Truth About Practicing--Part I

Y

our SOGO conductors, your music teachers and your parents have probably told you repeatedly to practice your instrument. But how much practicing is enough? The answer depends on the answer to this question: “How good do you really want to be?” (Or as Mr. Allison would ask “How much fun do you want to have?”) Still looking for a magic number of hours? Try 10,000! That’s right--the general consensus among folks who study this type of thing say that achieving excellence in any area is ONLY 10,000 hours away. So, what does that come down to per day? If you practiced on average 3 hours a day, you’d reach it after a decade.

You’re probably thinking “Well, of course it takes a long time for normal people to accomplish this degree of excellence. But come on, what about child prodigies?” True -- prodigies have an enormous amount of aptitude for their subject, but children don’t get out of bed one day and start playing trumpet like Wynton Marsalis. It takes thousands of hours of diligent work to become one of the best. Music historians say that the “child prodigy” Mozart had actually racked up thousands of hours of practice before he began astonishing European royalty. And this “10,000 Hour” rule isn’t limited just to musicians either. Chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer and sports phenomena David Beckham, Roger Federer, Michael Jordan and the Williams sisters are all examples of those who put in a considerable amount of time at a young age to become the best. In any and every field, excellence comes with time and effort.

“I don’t have that kind of time,” I hear you say.

“Who has that kind of time?” Well, apparently teenagers do. According to a recent study published in the New York Times, the average American adolescent spends over 2500 hours a year using various electronic devices, including phones, computers, televisions and mp3 players. That translates into an unbelievable seven to eleven hours a day-what a waste! Texting and facebooking nonstop may provide some momentary distraction, but who’d say ten years and 25,000 hours later that it was time well spent? Who could say that it was actually even fun? Don’t forget what Mr. Allison also says, “The more you practice, the better you get. The better you get, the more fun it gets. The more fun it gets, the more you want to practice,” and so on. He’s right. Of course not everyone aspires to play like Yo-Yo Ma. But in case you do, just remember to start checking off, one by one, the ten thousand hours left to become truly “great”.

Will Wertjes - Student Board Trumpet, Conservatory Orchestra

What is SOGO-MOJO?

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n the surface, SOGO-MOJO is a fun acronym for Student Orchestras of Greater OlympiaMusicians Out Jammin’ Olympia.

However, underneath the surface, is an experience many young musicians consider their musical highlight each year. That experience is Chamber Music, or small ensemble involvement. Beyond their growing years, the skills these musicians learn will enable them to be competent musicians of any genre throughout life, but seasoned chamber musicians are convinced that they enjoy the deepest joys music can offer. So just what is it about playing chamber music that uniquely satisfies listeners and performers alike?

One human need that comes to mind is intimacy. We enjoy intimacy in a variety of human relations; in the shared memories of love, joy, and hard times in a family; in the shared experiences of trauma; in the company of a small group of friends who enjoy a shared activity, etc. Chamber music, which by definition takes place in a small room, provides a healthy intimate relationship among musicians whose shared goal is to present an intimate regale. Unlike the symphonic venue, each participant has the sole (or one could say “soul”) responsibility for their own part, but with that responsibility comes the joy of self expression and a unique position in the group. Each time a group meets to practice, they are also “playing for each other,” and so they share vulnerability, and positive feedback from one another. Add to this the shared public performance experiences and the group really provides incredibly important social needs of belonging to a significant group, and validation for positive accomplishment.

There is so much more to the chamber music experience, I could go on all day. For instance, consider the basic human needs that the respected educator Dr. William Glasser outlined; Survival, Focus of Control (Power), Belonging, Freedom, and Fun. It’s wonderful how completely and excellently the chamber music experience fulfills them. But enough!

I’m sure you would be interested in some of the upcoming presentations some of our SOGO-MOJO groups. There will be plenty of MOJO activity in November and December. String Quartets and other ensembles will present musical works at The Children’s Hands On Museum November 5th, 6-8pm along with Drew Norton on marimba. Toward the end of the month string ensembles will play repertoire specially prepared for the “Light Up A Life” service organized by our local Hospice organization, and a community fund raiser in which Panowitz Jewelers participate and invite SOGO musicians to play. The Hands On Museum event is open to the public but the other two presentation are by invitation only.

Then, in the first weekend of December, all groups will perform at Barnes and Noble for the Gala SOGO fundraiser sponsored there. Be sure to plan on buying those “to purchase” books on your list during that weekend and use the SOGO voucher number. You may want to read while listening to some beautiful SOGO-MOJO music relaxing in the chairs Barnes and Noble provides for your listening and reading pleasure. What could be better?

If you are interested in a SOGO-MOJO ensemble performing for your event, or in participating in an ensemble, call the Coordinator, Mrs. Mary Jo Rydholm at 556-0819 or 754-8473.

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2010 SOGO BOARD & STAFF Executive Board of Directors Soo-Myong Chung, President Colleen Welch, Vice President Peter Despot, Secretary John Fleckenstein, Treasurer Board of Directors Joyce Allen Joan Armstrong Wendy Clark Jilyna Dick Susan Hill Dr. Tina Husseini Susan Myers John Oliver Dana Phelps Dr. Tim Scholes Joel Williams

3RD ANNUAL

S G December 3 - 8 1530 Black Lake Blvd. SW, Olympia Help support the Student Orchestras of Greater Olympia: Hear SOGO small ensembles perform December 3, 4, and 5.

• Get more information on what we do and how you can be involved.

• When making purchases, tell the cashier you are supporting SOGO or use the SOGO Bookfair ID 10255842!

Student Board Keadrin Dick, cello Dakota McRostie, violin Will Wertjes, trumpet

Visit us at www.studentorchestras.org for more information.

Music Director John Welsh

Purchase on-line Dec. 3-8 using SOGO’s Bookfair ID10255842 at bn.com/bookfair during checkout.

Artistic Director Greg Allison

10 – 20% of your Barnes & Noble purchases will benefit SOGO.

Administrative Staff Krina Allison, Executive Director Pat Kabler, Finance Director Mary Jo Rydholm, Librarian Doug Ford, Orchestra Festival Coordinator

O SOG r u o y r e ! re to ord ay Gift Be Su great Holid ra wear fo

Purchase your 22” Noble fir wreaths & florist quality poinsettias for gifts and holiday decorating.

Download your order form at studentorchestras.org