Journal Entry - "The First Year" 05/25/12

I've officially survived my first year! I feel like I saw an "Achievement Unlocked" pop up earlier, or at least felt one. I know I was in the middle of a series about student motivation, and I do want to finish that, but I also want to take a post to reflect on this past semester. Combined with some of my other entries this year and we'll have a pretty decent record of my experience this year: I Found a Job!, Thing Are Getting Better, Three Tips to Make Your Next Concert a Hit and Journal Entry 3-24-12.

In the last journal entry I talked about how I believed the band was hitting a major turning point. At UIL we made a 2 in Sight Reading and a 1 in Concert. The concert rating was significant because it was the first 1st Division in Concert Contest since 2009 for this group, also because we got a 3 at Marching Contest, and also because that meant they would get to perform at the UIL State Wind Ensemble Festival. It generated a lot of excitement, not just for the kids, but for the community as well.

Inspiring Video About Classical Music in the Congo

CBS' 60 Minutes recently aired a segment about the only symphony orchestra in Sub-Sahara Africa, located in one of the poorest countries in the world, the Congo. In a city of 10 million people, there are currently 200 members whose lives now revolve around learning and performing classical music.

I won't go into the details, but instead just wanted to set up this video. It's really very inspiring, and reminds me of El Sistema, which has for a few years now both inspired me and influenced the curriculum and system I'm trying to build in the town where I teach. It is another reminder of how classical music is life changing, and how what we do as music teachers has the powerful potential to change lives for the better. 

Enjoy the video!

Here is the link to the internet article: Producer finds musical "sweet spot" in the Congo.

Musically yours,

Mr. Cooper

Bernstein on Conducting, from Omnibus

Greetings!

When I began studying conducting, one of the first things I did was hop on YouTube to try to find good videos to watch. It can really help to get inspired by the greats. Originally I only found an excerpt of this show, but lucky for all of us it is now available in full. On this Omnibus show, Leonard Bernstein, for a national audience, discusses the role of the conductor by explaining the technical knowledge and abilities a conductor must posses, as well as the process one goes through when studying a score.

No doubt for most of you it won't be anything new, but I think you'll find many interesting or inspiring things in this video even if you don't learn a whole lot. After all, this show was produced for laymen. Of course, I just find it inspiring to see Bernstein talk about conducting, and to see him at work, educating the public and helping them to understand and develop a love for classical music. We should all aspire to be that good at it.

One other quick note. I don't know if anyone else has this problem with YouTube videos, but for me they occasionally stop part way through. Simply reload the page, then drag the time indicator over to where you left off. I hope you enjoy the video, and if you do, I encourage you to check out the other Omnibus videos on YouTube, where you'll no doubt learn much more.











Musically yours,
Mr. Cooper

"Estancia" by Ginastera

Greetings!

Please enjoy "Estancia" by Ginastera, performed by the Simon Bolivar Youth Orchestra with Gustavo Dudamel at the 2007 BBC Proms. The 2nd and 4th movements are my personal favorites.

By the way, did you know there is an arrangement of this for band? It's not on the Texas Prescribed Music List, but I'd love to play it with a band some day. I only know of it because I found a recording of the Marine Band playing it on iTunes. Well, that's it! Thanks for watching, and until next time, take care!

Musically yours,

Mr. Cooper

Ben Zander on Music and Passion

Hello again! 

On weekends I occasionally like to pass the time by surfing for cool, music related videos. Some are simply of great performances, while others are more inspirational. I've gathered quite a collection of them, and while I've always eagerly shared them with my friends over facebook, I wasn't quite thoughtful enough to share them on the blog, which after all is also a journal for my musical thoughts and ideas. My friend, John Benton over at Music Dreams does something like this, except that he posts mostly education and music related videos that he finds on TED.com.As a reader of his, I appreciate him finding those for me. I don't know why it took me so long to wise up and do this at my blog as well.

Anyway, speaking of TED, this first video is from their website. It is of one of my personal heroes, Benjamin Zander. In less than 20 minutes he explains the basics of understanding Classical Music to an audience full of non-musicians, and spreads his passion for Classical Music. I love this video, and if you haven't watched it, I can assure you that you'll love it, too. Enjoy!

Musically yours,

Mr. Cooper