Thursday Sessions — Report
Many delegates at the WASBE conference this year have travelled from afar, so the following analogy may work for them: when the aeroplane cabin de-pressurizes and the oxygen masks drop down from their compartments, we should always put on our own masks on first before attending to any children who may be travelling with us. How does this apply to what I've been learning this week? The workshops have been a fresh source of vital oxygen for me and sometimes I need to improve and invigorate myself as a band director or the "child" and myself may both die a musical death. This conference has been an eye-opener so far (or lung opener, sorry).
Repertoire Session III: Music From Asia, New Zealand and Australia
Again, this was a rewarding session where we were shown a buffet of musical delights. This time the band in attendance was the Senzoku Gakuen College of Music Wind Ensemble from Japan. Afterwards, I overheard a delegate tell Jim Cochran (the man behind these sessions) that these repertoire sessions alone were worth the price of the conference. I couldn't agree more.
Open Rehearsal with the International Youth Wind Orchestra
Conducted by Felix Hauswirth and Yasuhide Ito
We've all been to "open rehearsals" before and we often get the feeling that somewhere along the line the orchestra/band had already rehearsed in preparation for the open rehearsal. No folks, this session gave us a glimpse of a real practice. In fact, Yasuhide Ito even had an MP3 recorder running to take "audio notes" of what he could fix later. It all began with Felix Hauswirth conducting Husa's Concerto for Brass Quintet which featured special guests the Boston Brass. We were seated so close to the action that I could hear the members of the Boston Brass communicating subtle changes to each other. Next, Yasuhide Ito chose to rehearse the most difficult movement of Korean Dances by Korean composer Koh Chang Su. It was an experience for me to see a great musician who is willing to show us how much hard work it actually takes. In many ways, this was an inspiration.
Masterclass with the Boston Brass
This was no run-of-the-mill master class. As with most of the classes I've attended this week, we were challenged as an audience. This time it was a physical challenge; we were taught how to breathe deeply. The session began with some wonderful music and then immediately segued into a chat about allowing stagefright and performance anxiety. The Boston Brass were dynamic presenters with a relaxed and humourous approach to their subject matter. The exercises they taught us were practical and relevant to our work as band directors. As one of those lucky enough to have the conference come to his/her city, I received the added benefit of being able to immediately try out some of the techniques I have been shown this week. The best part is that you can always go back the next day and ask the clinician to clarify some finer points for you. I had a rehearsal last night and managed to use the breathing exercises demonstrated by the Boston Brass to great effect. My band had one of their most productive rehearsals ever.
Masterclass with the Boston Brass
A Detailed Report
“Magnificent,” “fantastic,” “awesome” and “inspiring” are just a few of the adjectives that could be used to describe the Boston Brass Quintet. These five incredibly talented men provided a clinic which included superb playing, outstanding rapport with the audience and just plain great fun.
This fully professional quintet opened their clinic with the Moscow Cheryomushki Galop by Dimitri Sostakovich. This piece demonstrated the virtuosic ability of each member of the quintet and was performed, as is every work in their repertoire, from memory. This is a marvellous feat in itself.
They then introduced themselves: Richard Kelly and Jeff Conner on trumpet, J.D. Shaw on Horn, Ed Clough on Trombone and Andrew Hitz on Tuba. They are a fully professional quintet which has been together with this line up for the past 5 years, although, the quintet has been around for 18 years. After this brief introduction they played a work by Pee Wee Ellis called The Chicken
which was recorded by the group Weather Report and featured their electric bass player. In the Boston Brass version it featured Andrew Hitz on tuba, who was just sensational — I have never heard a tubist play so fast before!!
Each member of the quintet has a role to play in the management of the organisation and they have an equal share of the business. J.D. is the arranger and he spoke to us about the need for effective communication in music performance. J.D. said that as performers we must be aware that our role is to entertain. The audience needs to hear that we really enjoy what we do and that we want the them to enjoy the experience with us. This may mean taking a risk in performance to do something special — don’t just play the notes on the page and if something does go a little wrong learn how to recover so the audience is unaware that you “stuffed up.” Chamber music is the best way to have your students think for themselves rather than always being directed by a conductor or teacher. If all students were involved in chamber music, it would make them better large ensemble players — they would listen more and learn how to communicate.
The next section of their clinic was focussed on breathing and this was presented in the main by the tubist Andrew Hitz. Andrew gave practical hints on breathing based on his experience as a student at Arizona State University and following the methods outlined by his teacher. All members of the quintet follow the same breathing routines and his demonstration for us certainly proved that keeping breathing simple is the best way to improve lung capacity. No fancy diagrams, medical terms or intricate knowledge of anatomy is required; just do some basic exercises every day and the improvement in lung capacity and air flow will be amazing. Andrew recommended the website www.thebreathinggym.com as a great resource to check and to check out the exercises. A DVD is also available of these exercises being explained. All members of the quintet were involved in demonstrating the exercises and this was truly an interactive clinic for all the delegates.
The Boston Brass followed this masterclass with a concert that evening, and will be performing with the IYWO on Saturday — a special treat for all those young musicians.
The Purple Cow & the Wind Band
Evan Feldman, one of our 2003 Conference web writers, reviewed the Brown Bag session presented by Cynthia Johnston-Turner on Thursday. Appropriately enough, Johnston-Turner's session was itself a follow-up to her session in 2003 on the future of the wind band movement, including how we attract audiences and make our concerts relevant. Read Evan's detailed review on this separate page.
©2005 WASBE