I am quite amazed by Gunther Schuller's biographical life as an orchestral and jazz hornist, a composer, the president of New England Conservatory, a conductor... the list seems quite endless.

Although his book, The Compleat Conductor, is not one that I would recommend to everyone, it certainly brings up a number of points that seem quite relevant to music education.

Throughout the book, Schuller suggests that audiences over-glorify conductors for their miraculous, unattainable talents, while performers are underwhelmed by what they consider to be "beating time."  Instead he believes that it takes an incredible amount of specific musical and social skills to be a great conductor.

Pertaining more to masterworks, Schuller suggests that a conductor shouldn't focus on "interpreting" the music, but rather "realizing" the music.  The quality of the music should speak for itself.  This reminds me that I need to spend time searching for quality music for my ensembles.  It is rather easy to become sucked into the vortex of "educational" music which usually fails to engage students musically.

Most of us educators at some point have probably heard some variation of the phrase "Say more with less."  Schuller puts forth a simple definition of conducting: yielding the maximum of accurate acoustical results, with the most appropriate minimum of conductorial gestures.  All of our physical gestures amount to nothing if they "represent an insufficient (intellectual) knowledge of the score and an inadequate (emotional) feeling for the music."

Check the resources page for the first of my SATB settings of chorales.  "Faithfulness" is taken from the first half of the hymn, "Great is Thy Faithfulness" and will have an accompanying powerpoint presentation that addresses phrasing and expression in a band setting.

The purpose of this website is to encourage critical thinking amongst music educators and to provide helpful, quality resources.

Check out the  Resources  tab for updates.  I will soon be adding a Young Band repertoire sheet, created by Dr. Brian Harris, which helps educators evaluate and compare young band literature.

Over the summer I plan to introduce a set of chorales that offer an SATB line for every instrument, so that each student can play the melody, the bass line, easily discover who has which chord member, etc.

If you have any contributions to the resource page, I highly encourage you to contact me.

I have had the wonderful opportunity to be a student manager of the Wind Band Institute held at Concordia College.  I highly encourage any band director to attend!

"WBI recognizes that a successful music educator is not only an exceptional musician, pedagogue and technician, but also a flesh-and-blood human being who is fully engaged in changing the lives of students through the powerful medium of music. The exploration of this philosophical approach to teaching wind band provides a foundation that sets WBI apart from other workshops – and transforms the professional lives of participants in meaningful ways.

The Wind Band Institute offers band directors from across the country specific content to increase their knowledge of repertoire, instrument pedagogy, instructional strategy, philosophy, conducting, and rehearsal techniques. This year, Richard L. Saucedo is joining us as guest clinician and will share his unique perspectives and insights on teaching in the wind band setting. It promises to be an event that will invigorate, rejuvenate, and inspire all who attend!"

For more information, please click here

Welcome to the new and improved Music Education for All blog.

I had the pleasure of observing composer and conductor, Dr. Mark Camphouse this weekend at the Concordia College Honor Band.   The Concordia College Band had the distinct privilege of performing Whatsoever Things under Camphouse's baton as part of the Instrumental Collage concert held at Concordia.  

Camphouse had this to say to aspiring music educators:
"Be the best performer you can be.  Nothing can replace your own musicianship." Camphouse also encouraged educators to become more familiar with the piano and to take every opportunity to develop the ear.

As to the score study process, Camphouse said, "Some like to take a micro-approach to score study.  They examine one measure at a time and memorize everything about it.  That might work for some people, but I think the most important thing is to understand the macro-architecture of a piece.  Take staff paper, write out the main themes.  This is the best way you can take ownership of the music."  

To composers, he encouraged them to "Learn how to write transitions.  Beethoven was the best at this.  You can study with Beethoven, all you need are his scores, and you too can study with him." 

Mark Camphouse was guest conductor at the second annual Concordia Honor Band.  The 2010 honor band will bring composer David Gillingham as well as the American Brass Quintet to the Concordia College campus in Moorhead, MN.