Superior Ratings!

It was a long day for me yesterday. We left the school at 8 a.m. with 120 students. My first group played great. I have a hard time accepting a overall rating of Excellent for them but as they say "Judging is judges". It was by far the best performance they have had. I was very proud of how well they sightread too. Then it was on to the Symphonic band. Maybe I was bit puzzled about the Excellent for the other band or maybe it was just the way I am but I decided to do it the Brady way. We played very, very well and did not hold back at all. Maybe it was a bit aggressive or even, dare I say,...LOUD. On no, I said it. My concert bands play with air. We usually don't sound like high school bands for a reason. In the end, we did earn a Superior rating though. It is not often when a judge makes a comment about overplaying the hall (this is when you play a bit too loud for the size of where you are playing) and the hall seats over 1000! but we did. I listened to the recording and it may have been, just a bit, too loud. I must say though the people who know me and my bands were pleased. They thought it was great. Even my band director, Mrs. McBride, thought it was great. This was the first time she had ever heard one of my concert bands. Now that is a rating that I will take with no reservations. Yesterday was not about ratings. It was about meeting a standard and that standard was met. The standard that was met was one that was established by myself. My groups performed with emotion and excitement. Remember it is supposed to be performed for an audience after all.

Concert Festival is almost here

We have a one last rehearsal tomorrow and then Tuesday is the real deal. I am taking two different groups as I did last year. Many schools will claim to take two or three groups but in reality they truly are not. You see there is no rule about using the same students in different groups meaning that many schools will take an advanced group in say grade V or VI and then take a lower group but supplement that group with players from the advanced group. This is definite advantage especially in the sight reading room. I guess it goes back to the ego thing for some but I would rather teach my best and see how my groups stack up to the others. My two groups are going in class III and V. I am sure we could have gone in a higher class and played easier music too. How is this? Well, the director picks the music so it is easy to find a grade VI composition that is actually easier than a grade V. For me, I think the ultimate would be getting straight superior ratings in a class before you move up. I always said until you can play every grade V on the list, you aren't ready to move up. Last year both of my groups received a superior and that was really great. I certainly hope to match that again but truth is that my groups both play much better this year and I feel they are more prepared too. Isn't that what it is really about? Wish us luck anyway!

Happy St. Patrick's Day

It seems a shame for a fine Irish boy like myself to be a work on this day. Shouldn't I be in Savannah or even Chicago? Of course I should! but as is the case I am at work today. Where as many know about St. Patrick's Day and celebrate it, I carry my Irish with me every day. It doesn't take much insight to figure it out. Just look at me. Today there are over 36,000,000 people in the United States that claim Irish ancestry. Watch out if we ever teamed up we could take over. I am proud to be Irish. I still think there are some people who hold the typical stereotypical grudges against us though. I have even been told by a few "I just don't like the way you look." That is ok because at least I am easy to remember. Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all and you can all borrow a bit if the Irish if you need it today as they say everybody is Irish today but just don't get too use to it.

Pre-Festival Concert Tonight

The pre-festival concert is in just one hour. Here is the program:

Concert and Symphonic Band
Juno Beach March by John Edmondson
Brandon Bay by Ed Huckeby
Shackelford Banks by Jay Bocook

Symphonic Winds
Brighton Beach March by William P. Latham
Chorale and Shaker Dance by John P. Zdechlik
Abram's Pursuit by David R. Holsinger

Don't Be a Sad Pig

What is the opposite of Love? Hate? Nope it is apathy. Don't be a sad pig. Follow this link and join in today. I did! All it costs is one dollar. Give 100 cents to support the Arts 100 percent.

http://www.100percentclub.org/

A Morning with Me

I sit in my hotel room alone on this last day of all state band and have bit of time off (Well not really, because there are still 8 kids here under my supervision) but I have some time to think. This is always an interesting weekend of band directing for many reasons other than the actual event we are here for. This is our last band directing meeting of the year and it is also when things that have been brewing of the school year come usually come out in the open. This year is a bit different. There are not many jobs to speak of due to the state of the economy and most are happy just to have a job. But other traditions continue. There are still little "Clicks" of band directors that posture each other. Some speak as they go by while others seem to not remember you were friends just a few years ago. As for my "Click", well I don't really have one. I have friends and that is important. I am often friends with people who can offer me very little professionally except gossip and conversation, but you know what? I enjoy that. It is not doubt that I have thought of doing something else with my career. I have often been asked about going into administration. It makes sense with what I do now. I basically run a small school of music. I control the budget. I arrange travel. I create the curriculum. I hire...and fire staff. I deal with discipline. I deal with parents. All the good stuff. This weekend I am a travel and entertainment coordinator. I have also thought about going into the private sector. There are companies that hire teachers to work for them. One of my oldest and most trusted advisers and friends told me I would miss it too much though and she asked me what part of band I loved the most. I surprised myself with me answer. What was my answer? Not what most would think. It's not winning competitions or even performances at all. It's not the fact that I get to work all weekend basically for free. (One my students asked Friday how much overtime I got paid for being away from home and working all weekend. I just smiled and said none. She looked surprised. And believe me this weekend has been work. I have 8 kids that I have been transporting and supervising all weekend.) What do I enjoy the most about being a band director? Here is the answer...rehearsing and practicing. I enjoy the work part of it all. I enjoy sweating in the summer and working on one measure for 30 minutes. I enjoy adding the stuff not on the music that takes a piece of paper and ink and turns it into a work of art. I would miss that. I would not miss talk about how many students I have signed up for band. My answer to that is always the same. I have the all the "right ones". When I start hearing talk about numbers I start looking at the job postings again. My philosophy on this topic has always been the thought that it is my job to produce the best possible band program and give every student the opportunity to be a part of it. The choice to be a part of the program is theirs alone. So I will continue to rehearse, practice, and teach my students. There are only about 9 hours of All State Band Weekend. I miss home for sure but then I have some time off because I have worked all weekend...RIGHT! That just doesn't happen in this job.

Gone Again

I am gone to yet another band event this weekend. All state band is at Furman University all weekend. It seems that things just keep getting more and more busy for me lately. I really can't see much return for the hard work (or at least what I perceive as hard work) I have been doing lately. It gets very lonely at these types of events lately too. Maybe I'll just find someplace to practice a bit. This should be my last weekend away from home for a while anyway although band stuff won't slow down for sometime now.

THE BLOG!!!

I think this blog thing is funny. I went to region band last weekend and quit a few people asked me about the blog. Of course this blog's author is completely known. I mean look at it! It's me and it's basically about me. It is not really about other things and that is the way it is meant to be. I hear different things about THE BLOG and I love it when somebody says "We are going to tell" well tell away because everybody knows about it but that is not what this post is about it is about this..."That is too many words." This what I was told by a friend of mine. He said it is just too many words. He would rather read a "Text Message". OH NO! What a Text? If you know me, you know it takes me about 30 minutes to send this text..."YES" or this on takes a bit less time "NO". I hate text messaging, but anyway, back to the topic. I wonder how many other people are this way...too many words. Well I think words are good. Too many people think expressions can be made into a few symbols. Mine can not. So I hope most of my readers will continue to read not expect a text type post.

PS...It was Cindy's brother that said it was too many words. I still love you though Mike! You are one of my Dawgs!

Some recent events...

We went to region band this past weekend and things were great except for one big thing. The bus got stuck in the mud. I mean really stuck. Like up the axle stuck. The ground was nice and hard when it was frozen but then it melted. So it goes. I felt bad for the kids because we didn't get to go anywhere for lunch but they were great. We ordered pizza and they ate at the school. So we got a tow truck to pull us out. Unfortunately that tow truck only succeeded at pulling the bumper off the bus. The second tow truck looked like something off of "Ice Road Truckers" and it got us out pretty easily. Needless to say, we stayed on pavement for the rest of the trip. Again though, the kids were great throughout the entire trip.

Tomorrow I will go to the sixth grade school and conduct the Crossroads Honor Band. They are all beginners and I am looking forward to it. I am not the typical clinician because I don't tell funny stories and stuff like that. I just teach. This is where my band program begins and I hope I can help them.

Friday I am walking my Symphonic Band class to the middle school to, hopefully, recruit some more talent for the high school. It is an easy trip because we will walk and the largest 8th grade brass and percussion class meets at the same time. Again, the more visible we are the better.

Yes, it would easier to just "stay the course" but then again...I ain't into easy!