Articles

Performance: Embouchure

Insights on Dealing with Braces

When I was in the second grade, I had an accident that knocked out a top front tooth and chipped the corner of the tooth beside it. Over the years, the gap closed up somewhat, shifting inward, but it was still quite noticeable. I also had a tooth on the lower set that protruded out in front of the other teeth. This may have been my biggest obstacle to playing trombone.

Guest Editorial: Honor Bands

Organizing an Honor Band

Honor bands are a rewarding experience for students, clinicians, teachers, and families. They represent an opportunity for motivated students to come together and create something special in a short amount of time. During the honor band experience, learning occurs in several ways: students learn from each other, students learn from a section coach, students experience a new director, and students perform new music.

When getting a brand new honor band off the ground, there are a lot of details to consider. Each situation is unique, but let’s consider the three main phases in the organizational process: preparation, the day of, and wrap-up.

From the Trenches: All-Star Orchestra

World-class musicians and technology converge to support music education

What if it were possible to bring together the greatest classical musicians to perform and record the masterpieces of classical music? What if these world-class musicians could exploit new technologies to bring these great works to new audiences? What if these same musicians were to become musical guides, mentors, and teachers for a new generation of musicians, enthusiasts, and advocates? And what if one of the great conductors of our time were to lead the way?

Well that is exactly what has happened as a result of the vision and passion of the legendary Maestro Gerard Schwarz with the creation of the All-Star Orchestra, a modern variation of Leonard Bernstein’s Young People’s Concerts on CBS. This time, they are not just for the young, and new technologies unleash the power to benefit from these first-rate musicians in your own music room.

Perspective: Advocacy Ammo Incoming

So, how’s that national conversation about the impact of music education going?

If Internet search results are any indication, there may be sunny days ahead for music advocates, teachers, and directors, even those whose school programs are under siege by budget-focused administrators looking to wield the proverbial axe.

A recent search for “music education” in Google’s “News” search bar yielded the following headlines:

Study: Music Education Could Help Close The Achievement Gap ... (Huffington Post-Sep 2, 2014)

UpFront: WGI Winds

Winter Guard International (WGI) is well known for hosting a series of competitive performance opportunities for winter guard and percussion groups. After years of brainstorming and deliberation, the organization has decided to expand their offerings, opening up a third branch of activity called “WGI Winds.”

“WGI Winds is something that we had been considering for a long time,” says Bart Woodley, director of operations for WGI. “We finally just decided that it was time to do it. We wanted to throw it out there and see if it was something that people were interested in.”

The new program will be run by Wayne Markworth, an active adjudicator and clinician who was also the director of bands at Ohio’s Centerville High School for 35 years. “In November of last year a committee was formed,” says Markworth. “We met in Indianapolis around Bands of America Grand Nationals weekend. Throughout the winter, that committee formulated the rules, regulations, judging sheets, and just about everything else about it.”

SBO Seeks Nominees for 2014 ‘Directors Who Make a Difference’ Report

CMA Foundation Donates $125K to Music Ed

The CMA Foundation’s donation to Education Through Music will benefit music education programs in NYC public schools

The CMA Foundation has donated $125,000 to benefit music education programs for New York City’s public school students through a partnership with Education Through Music, a nonprofit provider of music education to New York City schools. 

The presentation of the grant was made Wednesday, September 4 during a press conference at the Best Buy Theater in New York to announce the final nominees for the 48th annual CMA Awards.

Zildjian Launches “My Pit’s the Pits” HS Marching Band Video Contest

Four High Schools Can Win Over $25K in Prizes

In an effort to help out a few deserving high school marching band programs, Zildjian has teamed up with Calderwood Percussion, Remo, Vic Firth, Steve Weiss Music, Lone Star Percussion, Music & Arts Centers and Woodwind & Brasswind to launch the "My Pit's the Pits!" video contest. Music programs across the United States are being given a chance to win over $25,000 in amazing prizes from some of the top names in percussion equipment.

Students in high school band programs and percussion ensembles from across the country are being asked to rally their percussion pals to create a brief, entertaining video detailing who they are, why they need new percussion equipment, and what they’re going to do with it, should they win.

Frost School of Music Hires New Director of Athletic Bands

Jay Rees returns home to direct the athletic bands for his alma mater

The Phillip and Patricia Frost School of Music at the University of Miami has appointed Jay C. Rees as the new director of Athletic Bands. Rees previously served as director of Athletic Bands at The University of Arizona in Tucson. Jay Rees will lead the Frost Band of the Hour, the marching and pep bands of the University of Miami, at UM sporting events such as nationally televised Miami Hurricanes football and basketball games – as well as expand the band’s reach and reputation throughout the region.

Rees takes over a band program with an 86-year history that includes performing at national bowl games and international competitions and events. He is charged by the Frost School’s Dean Shelton G. Berg to achieve prominence in three distinctive areas:

Music Study Enhances Brain Function In At-Risk Children


Research shows that two years of musical training in community music programs improves auditory brain function

A new Northwestern University study funded by the NAMM Foundation provides the first direct evidence that a community music program for at-risk youth has a biological effect on children’s developing nervous systems. Two years of music lessons improved the precision with which the children’s brains distinguished similar speech sounds, a neural process that is linked to language and reading skills.

“This research demonstrates that community music programs can literally ‘remodel’ children’s brains in a way that improves sound processing, which could lead to better learning and language skills,” said study lead author Nina Kraus, the Hugh Knowles professor of communication sciences in the School of Communication and of neurobiology and physiology in the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern.

Joint Rehearsals

Recording: Prepping the Choir