"Our Strong Refuge" had its premiere performance by the Brazosport College and Community Band on April 22. The good news is that the performance went very well. The bad news is that, due to a technical glitch, the concert wasn't recorded. :o We recorded it in rehearsal a couple of weeks later, but several key players were missing, and the reharsal room acoustics aren't nearly as good as the concert hall. Some tuning problems, too, but I can live with it.
If you go back to p. 292 of this thread, you can hear last year's march, "Jacob." It's a much better recording. :)
Kathy is right.. I am thrilled as she said. You are truly talented but I have to lament the sad state of our performing bands.. and you say this was a *COLLEGE* and community band? They sound like a 7th grade band back when I was in high school. I understand that the quality of high school bands today is abysmal and this recording of your superb composition seems to confirm that don't you think? Here's two songs from a poor recording of my high school band done in the 60's.
Listen to the musicianship. These were high school kids and the intonation was remarkable. I was first chair French horn. :)
Name the first one.. (this IS still the Nostalgia thread after all even if nobody's coming here anymore!! Hee-hee!) by author and/or name. Click HERE! for a typical Messick high school band performance and... Click HERE! for a march that I doubt anyone will know but I post it because its just so typical of the musicianship of high school bands of the 1960's.
Look at this "album cover" and see the name of the director.. T.W. Swayzee
We still get together the first Saturday in August, bring our axes and play music directed by Mr. T.W. Swayzee who is now 84 years old. I don't know how much longer we'll have him around but he is a treasure and beloved by all of us. Has anyone seem Mr. Holland's Opus?? Well T.W. wrote music regularly for school plays. Phttttttt on Mr. Holland!!! He couldn't hold a candle to T.W. Swayzee! :)
I have not seen it but have wanted to for some time, I will make a point to do that.
And how fun that y'all get together. I bet it's something to look forward to and y'all are still too young for members to be dying between the years you meet like my father-in-law had going on with his WW11 buddies that ended up being mostly the wives attending in the end.
I have no idea what to say about those, except they're well done. The first one I remember as 'finiculi, finicula', but I don't know by who, and have never heard the second.
Re:"I have no idea what to say about those, except they're well done."
Thank you! My point entirely. The piece you remember as 'finiculi, finicula' is Napoli by Bellstadt but why I posted it was because of the artistry of our "lowly" high school band. As I said, I was 1st chair French horn and went on to become 1st chair at Ole Miss.... starting my sophomore year. I *think** I deserved 1st chair my freshman year as well but was denied it because the band director felt he owed it to the senior horn player, IMO. But I could out play him and everyone in the symphonic band dang well KNEW it.
You hear how good our high school band sounded?? Well I was the *only* member of that senior band that won being in the Tennessee All State band all the years in high school. So I'm not really bragging in telling you guys I could really wail on that French horn. And yeah.. I'm still ticked that I didn't make 1st chair my Freshman year at Ole Miss. However, after the senior guy that still retained his 1st chair after I joined the band graduated, I was the undisputed 1st chair for the next three years. But I shoulda' had it even my freshman year.
Now I know you guys don't know the intricacies of what the French horn can do but George does. So George... When I tried out at Ole Miss when I was a senior in high school the Ole Miss band director at the time Dr. James Ferguson ( a $%@& head) started off the audition by asking me to play a C scale. I then played for him the whole three octaves that the French horn was capable of doing without missing or slurring a note knowing that he was expecting me (a high school student) of playing two octaves like a trumpet player. After that he didn't ask me to play anything else.. he right then offered me the maximum band scholarship he was authorized to offer. Not a full scholarship as I wasn't a music major but pretty dang close. It's how I was able to attend Ole Miss.. out of state for a Memphis boy.
And the new director of bands ( Ferguson left after my freshman year) really wanted me to change my major to music but I refused even though I was better than his music major French hornists. I now see that my anger at being denied my rightful place had consequences on others.
I go on and on don't I? Well I'm just trying to make a few points... the first being that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to marches and George's march is very very good. The second is that I'm disappointed in the quality of our bands today and I wish George had a a good quality recording of his very good composition.
I had no idea you had such French horn skills. There's something soothing about a French horn.
The bands in my hometown would curdle your ears. I played clarinet-BADLY- from 6-8th grade, then mercifully bowed out before I poisoned the high school band.
In retrospect, they did enough damage without me.
I did enjoy marching in the Memorial Day parade though. I can get real home town nostalgic when I think on that.
"Funiculi, Funicula" was actually written by Luigi Denza, and inadvertently plagiarized by Richard Strauss, who thought it was a traditional Italian song and incorporated it in his "Aus Italien" symphony. He wound up having to pay royalties to Denza. I presume that the adaptation for cornet solo was written by Bellstadt.
I don't recognize the march. From its style, I would expect a European origin, probably German or British. American marches, a la Sousa or King, are more densely orchestrated.
As to the quality of high school bands, we actually have a few excellent bands in my area. The problem with the community band is that the (junior) college kids in it usually aren't the music majors (who probably got scholarships at larger colleges), and that the older folks do it for fun but often don't have a lot of commitment. We rehearse once a week, and I think most of the musicians don't practice between rehearsals. I should point out that the recording of "Jacob" was ALSO by the Brazosport College and Community Band. When everyone is there, and the venue is more suitable for recording, we sound pretty good!
One of the companies that hubby was working for before we left Florida laid the carpets for the filmed houses in Edward Scissorhands he just found out. And we live within a stones throw of the street it was filmed on here in Lutz. This subdivision was about 4 years old at the time.
I might have mentioned that we lived in Illinois where they filmed 1,000 Acres and an HBO movie called Normal. I had an antique booth in a mall there outside the town they filmed in and the stage crew came in and bought some of my stuff for the Normal movie. I've never seen it but a friend did and she recognized some of my things in it.
It's not nostalgia but I thought it was kind of neat.
Sure a pom pom girl in junior high counts! I bet you were just as cute as a button, too!! but George.. the march was The Thin Red Line by Kenneth Alford. T.W. Swayzee loved this guy's marches nearly as much as he liked Sousa's. Here's a link about Alford.. Click HERE! and a link to his most famous march that I'm sure you'll recognize even if you didn't remember the name..Click HERE!
Now was I right?? You guys have heard that march, huh? I see a river when I hear it. A river in an Asian country.. Hee-hee! It's Colonel Bogey On Parade. And we played that one too!
As I suspected, a British composer. I didn't know Alford wrote it, but I knew he did "Colonel Bogey." Looking at the Wikipedia article, I see he also wrote one called "The Standard of St. George." I've been able to hear bits and pieces of it on the internet, but not the whole song.
He was in our parade once and we girls were goof-balls slobbering all over ourselves to get the position behind him in the parade. As if he even noticed a bunch of crazy girls anyway.
I'm a guy so what do I know but John Davidson doesn't look like much to ME! Now shall we talk about high school marches (thinking this is a really nerdy topic) or on to bigger and better things? Any suggestions, Kathy?? I'm open to new ideas.
I think you guys have some cool stuff going on and more than a couple of you enjoy this stuff so I would stay on it at least for the time being. It seems to go with the theme of the weekend. Unless of course you want to do war things. :(
And John Davidson does nothing at all for me so that goes to show what a young girl thinks is hunky.
We had a huge marching band(110). That was nice because the "so-so" guys like me were able to hide somewhat.
I marched trumpet and baritone. We did a new half-time show every week so we had to learn 10 new shows a year.
Everything we did was "high-step" and formal, complete with flip turns. It kinda bugs me when I see a halftime show now and the whole band seems to drag their feet. Same thing with the majorette routines of the present day. I much prefer the the crisp, precise moves of the past.
Our director was an alumnus of TBDBITL so we even did a version of "Script Ohio" using our town's name(five letters).
We did that one to a piece named "Piccadily", not sure on the writer. It was a tough piece to march to so I sorta--ahem-- rewrote my part to bury some of the triple tongue stuff. Shhh! Don't blow my cover.
And parades:BRRR!----Those white cotton dress gloves were definately not meant for long stints in parade formation.
Welcome to The Nostalgia thread. We aren't very active lately but we've been a thread for many many years. And now come to find out you are a Nostalgia and marching band kind of person.. Bless my soul. Here's a little nostalgia for you.. if you consider our parents' generation and WWII as nostalgia. This *IS* Memorial day after all.
I intentionally left the tags in the file... Naw... he didn't sing Western. Its Roger Whittaker and he's singing about WWII from a British perspective but tell me this... doesn't it make you a little weepy eyed?? It does me
I'm trying to remember some of the things you've already done so you wouldn't have to do more work (just bring that old link here) and it seems like you did some thing but heck if I can remember what it was.
I was just listening to the recording of last night on talkshoe so am now ready to get away from the screen for a bit so I won't be here if you reply probably.
I do want to thank you for all you have put into this thread and I have a clue the work load and I more than have a clue of the heart behind it.
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GeorgeStGeorge
"Our Strong Refuge" had its premiere performance by the Brazosport College and Community Band on April 22. The good news is that the performance went very well. The bad news is that, due to a technical glitch, the concert wasn't recorded. :o We recorded it in rehearsal a couple of weeks later, but several key players were missing, and the reharsal room acoustics aren't nearly as good as the concert hall. Some tuning problems, too, but I can live with it.
If you go back to p. 292 of this thread, you can hear last year's march, "Jacob." It's a much better recording. :)
George
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ChattyKathy
Will do.
OMG I am getting old. I even listened and commented then.
Excuse the lady behind the screen I think she needs a long mental vacation.
And wait 6 months and do this again and see if I don't remember it then. :blink:
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Sudo
George,
Kathy is right.. I am thrilled as she said. You are truly talented but I have to lament the sad state of our performing bands.. and you say this was a *COLLEGE* and community band? They sound like a 7th grade band back when I was in high school. I understand that the quality of high school bands today is abysmal and this recording of your superb composition seems to confirm that don't you think? Here's two songs from a poor recording of my high school band done in the 60's.
Listen to the musicianship. These were high school kids and the intonation was remarkable. I was first chair French horn. :)
Name the first one.. (this IS still the Nostalgia thread after all even if nobody's coming here anymore!! Hee-hee!) by author and/or name. Click HERE! for a typical Messick high school band performance and... Click HERE! for a march that I doubt anyone will know but I post it because its just so typical of the musicianship of high school bands of the 1960's.
We still get together the first Saturday in August, bring our axes and play music directed by Mr. T.W. Swayzee who is now 84 years old. I don't know how much longer we'll have him around but he is a treasure and beloved by all of us. Has anyone seem Mr. Holland's Opus?? Well T.W. wrote music regularly for school plays. Phttttttt on Mr. Holland!!! He couldn't hold a candle to T.W. Swayzee! :)
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ChattyKathy
I have not seen it but have wanted to for some time, I will make a point to do that.
And how fun that y'all get together. I bet it's something to look forward to and y'all are still too young for members to be dying between the years you meet like my father-in-law had going on with his WW11 buddies that ended up being mostly the wives attending in the end.
Well I meant y'all not Mr. Swayzee.
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hiway29
I have no idea what to say about those, except they're well done. The first one I remember as 'finiculi, finicula', but I don't know by who, and have never heard the second.
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Sudo
Hiway29,
Re:"I have no idea what to say about those, except they're well done."
Thank you! My point entirely. The piece you remember as 'finiculi, finicula' is Napoli by Bellstadt but why I posted it was because of the artistry of our "lowly" high school band. As I said, I was 1st chair French horn and went on to become 1st chair at Ole Miss.... starting my sophomore year. I *think** I deserved 1st chair my freshman year as well but was denied it because the band director felt he owed it to the senior horn player, IMO. But I could out play him and everyone in the symphonic band dang well KNEW it.
You hear how good our high school band sounded?? Well I was the *only* member of that senior band that won being in the Tennessee All State band all the years in high school. So I'm not really bragging in telling you guys I could really wail on that French horn. And yeah.. I'm still ticked that I didn't make 1st chair my Freshman year at Ole Miss. However, after the senior guy that still retained his 1st chair after I joined the band graduated, I was the undisputed 1st chair for the next three years. But I shoulda' had it even my freshman year.
Now I know you guys don't know the intricacies of what the French horn can do but George does. So George... When I tried out at Ole Miss when I was a senior in high school the Ole Miss band director at the time Dr. James Ferguson ( a $%@& head) started off the audition by asking me to play a C scale. I then played for him the whole three octaves that the French horn was capable of doing without missing or slurring a note knowing that he was expecting me (a high school student) of playing two octaves like a trumpet player. After that he didn't ask me to play anything else.. he right then offered me the maximum band scholarship he was authorized to offer. Not a full scholarship as I wasn't a music major but pretty dang close. It's how I was able to attend Ole Miss.. out of state for a Memphis boy.
And the new director of bands ( Ferguson left after my freshman year) really wanted me to change my major to music but I refused even though I was better than his music major French hornists. I now see that my anger at being denied my rightful place had consequences on others.
I go on and on don't I? Well I'm just trying to make a few points... the first being that I know what I'm talking about when it comes to marches and George's march is very very good. The second is that I'm disappointed in the quality of our bands today and I wish George had a a good quality recording of his very good composition.
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hiway29
I had no idea you had such French horn skills. There's something soothing about a French horn.
The bands in my hometown would curdle your ears. I played clarinet-BADLY- from 6-8th grade, then mercifully bowed out before I poisoned the high school band.
In retrospect, they did enough damage without me.
I did enjoy marching in the Memorial Day parade though. I can get real home town nostalgic when I think on that.
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ChattyKathy
I was a pom-pom girl in jr high school. Does that count. :P
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GeorgeStGeorge
Can we see your pom-poms?
"Funiculi, Funicula" was actually written by Luigi Denza, and inadvertently plagiarized by Richard Strauss, who thought it was a traditional Italian song and incorporated it in his "Aus Italien" symphony. He wound up having to pay royalties to Denza. I presume that the adaptation for cornet solo was written by Bellstadt.
I don't recognize the march. From its style, I would expect a European origin, probably German or British. American marches, a la Sousa or King, are more densely orchestrated.
As to the quality of high school bands, we actually have a few excellent bands in my area. The problem with the community band is that the (junior) college kids in it usually aren't the music majors (who probably got scholarships at larger colleges), and that the older folks do it for fun but often don't have a lot of commitment. We rehearse once a week, and I think most of the musicians don't practice between rehearsals. I should point out that the recording of "Jacob" was ALSO by the Brazosport College and Community Band. When everyone is there, and the venue is more suitable for recording, we sound pretty good!
George
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ChattyKathy
:)
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ChattyKathy
One of the companies that hubby was working for before we left Florida laid the carpets for the filmed houses in Edward Scissorhands he just found out. And we live within a stones throw of the street it was filmed on here in Lutz. This subdivision was about 4 years old at the time.
I might have mentioned that we lived in Illinois where they filmed 1,000 Acres and an HBO movie called Normal. I had an antique booth in a mall there outside the town they filmed in and the stage crew came in and bought some of my stuff for the Normal movie. I've never seen it but a friend did and she recognized some of my things in it.
It's not nostalgia but I thought it was kind of neat.
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Sudo
Kathy,
Sure a pom pom girl in junior high counts! I bet you were just as cute as a button, too!! but George.. the march was The Thin Red Line by Kenneth Alford. T.W. Swayzee loved this guy's marches nearly as much as he liked Sousa's. Here's a link about Alford.. Click HERE! and a link to his most famous march that I'm sure you'll recognize even if you didn't remember the name..Click HERE!
Now was I right?? You guys have heard that march, huh? I see a river when I hear it. A river in an Asian country.. Hee-hee! It's Colonel Bogey On Parade. And we played that one too!
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GeorgeStGeorge
As I suspected, a British composer. I didn't know Alford wrote it, but I knew he did "Colonel Bogey." Looking at the Wikipedia article, I see he also wrote one called "The Standard of St. George." I've been able to hear bits and pieces of it on the internet, but not the whole song.
George
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ChattyKathy
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ChattyKathy
Sudo,
He was in our parade once and we girls were goof-balls slobbering all over ourselves to get the position behind him in the parade. As if he even noticed a bunch of crazy girls anyway.
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Sudo
Kathy,
I'm a guy so what do I know but John Davidson doesn't look like much to ME!
Now shall we talk about high school marches (thinking this is a really nerdy topic) or on to bigger and better things? Any suggestions, Kathy?? I'm open to new ideas.
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ChattyKathy
I think you guys have some cool stuff going on and more than a couple of you enjoy this stuff so I would stay on it at least for the time being. It seems to go with the theme of the weekend. Unless of course you want to do war things. :(
And John Davidson does nothing at all for me so that goes to show what a young girl thinks is hunky.
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waysider
High school marching band.
Wowzer! that sure was a long time ago.
We had a huge marching band(110). That was nice because the "so-so" guys like me were able to hide somewhat.
I marched trumpet and baritone. We did a new half-time show every week so we had to learn 10 new shows a year.
Everything we did was "high-step" and formal, complete with flip turns. It kinda bugs me when I see a halftime show now and the whole band seems to drag their feet. Same thing with the majorette routines of the present day. I much prefer the the crisp, precise moves of the past.
Our director was an alumnus of TBDBITL so we even did a version of "Script Ohio" using our town's name(five letters).
We did that one to a piece named "Piccadily", not sure on the writer. It was a tough piece to march to so I sorta--ahem-- rewrote my part to bury some of the triple tongue stuff. Shhh! Don't blow my cover.
And parades:BRRR!----Those white cotton dress gloves were definately not meant for long stints in parade formation.
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Sudo
Waysider,
Welcome to The Nostalgia thread. We aren't very active lately but we've been a thread for many many years. And now come to find out you are a Nostalgia and marching band kind of person.. Bless my soul. Here's a little nostalgia for you.. if you consider our parents' generation and WWII as nostalgia. This *IS* Memorial day after all.
Click HERE!
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ChattyKathy
Sudo,
Listening now and I think I've heard his voice but can't recall who he is. Did he sing western songs also?
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Sudo
Kathy,
I intentionally left the tags in the file... Naw... he didn't sing Western. Its Roger Whittaker and he's singing about WWII from a British perspective but tell me this... doesn't it make you a little weepy eyed?? It does me
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ChattyKathy
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Sudo
Kathy,
We agree then. It's Memorial Day and I'm here at home wondering what I could post that folks would really like to see or hear....
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ChattyKathy
I'm trying to remember some of the things you've already done so you wouldn't have to do more work (just bring that old link here) and it seems like you did some thing but heck if I can remember what it was.
I was just listening to the recording of last night on talkshoe so am now ready to get away from the screen for a bit so I won't be here if you reply probably.
I do want to thank you for all you have put into this thread and I have a clue the work load and I more than have a clue of the heart behind it.
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