...whoops. (with new and improved text!)

That's about the only word I can use to describe this dismal mistake on my part.

WHOOPS.


Anyways, back on track.

I realize, looking back at my last post, that I haven't edited this thing since last October. Trick or Treat?

In more recent news though, we have a concert tomorrow night!
I'm excited. Of course I get to play the accordion, and open up Jazz-a-ma-Tazz (the suggested spelling of "tazz" was "tizz"...) with a few words.
Not everyone gets the honor of playing such a beautiful instrument. People have been brought to tears by the accordion...I'm sure they have some where.

We'll be playing a nice mix of music, a fruit salad of notes if you will.
In true Sylvan Hills fashion we'll be playing music about a pirate/ship.
This time it's about Black Beard, the most notorious pirate on the high seas. Well, was the most notorious pirate on the high seas...until his head was lopped off by a rival ship commander.

The Lion King: Broadway Selections is on the list for tomorrow night as well!
Which begs the question, where is my Lion Suit Mr. Bailey? Hm? We can't have a proper Lion King Broadway show without acceptable costume! Although, if you listen to the last few measures of it, you'll here a little auxiliary noise. A creative choice by Mr. Bailey that I whole heartedly agree with! (though honestly, it's hilarious to listen too...)

And of course, we have the mandatory slow, yet challenging piece "A Quiet Music." My opinion may be biased because no one thinks to write music for the stunning contra-alto clarinet (we're people too!), but this song is truly beautiful when played as an entire band. Truly a piece to savor with the ears (do ears have taste-buds?)

Lastly, we come to the cream of the crop in our show, the song Declaration and Flourishes. Conducted by none other than our own Natalie Kerr, this song is a romp through the classical, semi-march style that will leave bass clarinet and contra-alto clarinet players craving more of it's low, hard-hitting tones. I for one would enjoy more pieces that include a bass clarinet solo, or two, or five. Mr. Bailey should really consult me before purchasing music.

The Jazz Band will be performing as well, but hey, I can't ruin all the surprises. Though I can say, the Sylvan Hills Jazz Band has a rockin' auxiliary percussion section (wink, wink.)

Some other band news, includes that of State Solo and Ensemble as well as The Festival of Winds.

Solo and Ensemble first though. Now, to put this into perspective: You have normal Region Solo and Ensemble where you have a piece prepared for a judge, who you will then play for, and receive a rating of 1 through 5. 1 being the best, 5 being an "Oh my gosh, why did you come?" Now imagine that, on a scale 10x bigger. That's State Solo and Ensemble. Each of the participants worked a little more on their prepared piece, and played it for a judge (with an audio accompaniment.) Please realize, this is STATE. Nothing is ever easy on the STATE LEVEL.
Having said that, everyone who participated received the best possible rating of a 1.
Let me say that again, EVERYONE GOT A 1.

Festival of Winds! Oh, Festival of Winds how you've come and gone so quickly.
I can tell you this though, it is some of the most fun I've had playing my instrument. Once again let me set the tone for this: You are given an application (much in the vain of a job application), you must fill this application out with your most outstanding musical achievements and merit (all-region, all-state, solo and ensemble). You then give the application to your band director who, will then confirm and add notes and comments to anything you've written. The applications are sent in, and young musicians are selected to play in the Festival.
The music was given to us about 2 weeks before the concert, and we were asked to practice and learn the music. It was our responsibility (oh, how I dread that word!)
We received some pretty off the wall pieces like Interruption Overture and MetaMarch, and some other slower, calm pieces like Bloom and Sleep.
The best part was the fact that the composer of three of our pieces (MetaMarch, Interruption Overture, and Bloom) was our guest conductor, none other than Steven Bryant.
He graciously accepted the job, and it was a joy to work with him on his own music.

Story time!
There once was a very handsome Contra-Alto Clarinet player who was excited to play in the Festival of Winds! He sat down eagerly, barely able to contain his excitement, when he pressed his High B key down, and to his dismay it was loose! What was he too do? They were about to go on stage! The handsome Contra-Alto player dashed through the auditorium looking for someone to help fix it! He ran to his band director who wanted to help, but his magical tools were in the his car, three blocks away, and it was raining (...). Just then, a magical giant from the Arkansas Wind Symphony said, "I know someone who could help!"
We ran to the chapel (don't ask) and to our dismay the magical instrument fixer-guy (names are hard to come up with) was nowhere to be seen! Just then, like an winged-seraphim descending from heaven, came the Bass Clarinet player for the Arkansas Wind Symphony (who earlier that day the Contra-Alto player had a sectional with!) said, "I have just the tool!" And in front the young mans eye's the Bass Clarinet player took out a magical screwdriver (there is a lot of magic at the Festival of Winds...) and fixed his Contra-Alto in a snap! "Thank you..." replied the lowly Contra-Alto. "No problem," said the Bass Clarinet, "Do you think you'll need this tool again?" The handsome young man pondered the question and replied with a stern "Yes!" The Bass Clarinet player then handed the tool to the young man who was ever grateful for the gift bestowed upon him. He ran back to the auditorium, overwhelmed with pride and joy. He then layed out some phat beats on his Contra-Alto, saved the Galaxy from Darth Vader, and slayed the dragon.
The End.

The moral of this story?
It pays off to be a handsome Contra-Alto Clarinet player...
PSH. No, I'm playing.
The real moral?
It pays to have connections to professional musicians.
That was serious.


Till' next time!