11/07/07

Permalink 10:46:15 am, Categories: Daniel Sanchez, 2700 words   English (US)

2007 UIL 4A State Review (From TxBLive)

During the 2007 UIL 4A State Marching Band Contest, I was busy doing live reviews of all the bands on http://live.txbands.com. For historical purposes, I have copied those postings to here from the TxBLive Blog and re-ordered them so that it reads from top-down instead of bottom-up.

=> Read more!

10/14/07

Permalink 11:37:17 pm, Categories: Daniel Sanchez, 1977 words   English (US)

2007 BOA Arlington Review

OK, now that the Cowboy's penalized themselves out of the Patriots game, I guess I can start writing this review. :-O There were lots of good shows here including a clash of some of the most anticipated shows in the state.

Unlike BOA Houston where most of the shows were straight forward and powerful/moving, the name of the game here was innovative and/or creative show design.

Oh, and this is the first time since BOA Arlington started in 2001 that any band other than LD Bell or Ronald Reagan has won this regional.

=> Read more!

10/08/07

Permalink 06:17:05 pm, Categories: 3rd Party, 2088 words   English (US)

Regional Review- Colorado Edition!

Zach's first adventure in to the world of Colorado marching band.
I wasn’t really sure what to expect going into the competition but I was more than satisfied by the time it ended...

=> Read more!

10/07/07

Permalink 09:33:53 pm, Categories: Daniel Sanchez, 2019 words   English (US)

2007 BOA Houston Review and Commentary

Wow, there's lots to talk about after this amazing competition from Brazoswood winning Music and not making finals to Ronald Reagan coming in 5th.

=> Read more!

09/30/07

Permalink 07:44:12 pm, Categories: Daniel Sanchez, 1771 words   English (US)

2007 HEB Marching Contest Review

Ah, the first competition of the season! I had a good time baking out in the sun and getting my farmer's tan back. This competition is a good preview of what is to come in the 4A Area B competition and we get our first taste of the final installment of LD Bell's trilogy that started with Ascension.

=> Read more!

11/05/06

Permalink 11:15:43 pm, Categories: Daniel Sanchez, 1657 words   English (US)

Random Thoughts on BOA San Antonio 2006

First off, I want to just come out and say that this is going to go down as one of the best years for Marching Band (both Texas and National) in all of history.

Alan Irons will be doing a full review on ALL of the bands at BOA San Antonio, so I’m not even going to try to match or keep up with him (it’s not possible). Here are some of my random thoughts on BOA SA and a number of bands that were there (mostly Finals).

=> Read more!

10/11/06

Permalink 08:16:20 pm, Categories: Daniel Sanchez, 2317 words   English (US)

2006 BOA Arlington Finals Review

BOA Arlington, the first Texas BOA Regional of the season. Dan Valdez, myself, and a few other forums members had an amazing time sitting in the stadium baking in the sun to witness every awesome band in attendance. This review is only of the Finalist bands, but all of the bands in attendance put on great shows.

=> Read more!

10/07/06

Permalink 11:38:45 am, Categories: BOA News, 110 words   English (US)

BOA Arlington & Houston Regional Schedule

2006 Bands of America Regional & Grand National Championships

Prelims schedules for the Bands of America Arlington & Houston Regional Championships have been posted.

Arlington: http://www.bands.org/public/events/regionals/06.info/tx-hn.asp
(Schedule Change: L.D. Bell High School has a new Prelims performance time of 10:15am.)

Houston: http://www.bands.org/public/events/regionals/06.info/tx-hn.asp

The Arlington Regional is currently taking place at the University of Texas at Arlington Stadium while the Houston Regional is next Saturday, October 14th, in Pearland, TX.

Also, more information on the UIL Area & BOA San Antonio Super Regional Championships lineups as they become available. Stay tuned.

----
Michael Bui
mbui@txbands.com
Texas Bands Network Staff Writer

10/02/06

Permalink 01:07:23 am, Categories: Daniel Sanchez, 2448 words   English (US)

2006 Carrollton Tournament of Champions Review

The 2006 Carrollton Tournament of Champions was a very nice contest with lots of great competition very early in the season. I got there during the first break so I'll only be reviewing 22 bands instead of the amazing 30 that were there.

=> Read more!

08/29/06

Permalink 12:50:40 pm, Categories: BOA News, 772 words   English (US)

August BOA Update

Quick update on the Texas BOA Regionals.....

-------
Disclaimer: The following list is subject to change at any time. It does not a guarantee that a band will perform at the competition but only confirms that BOA has the band's registration form. Additions to the list will be made as the season approaches.

---------------------

October 7, 2006:
Arlington, TX Regional

University of Texas at Arlington Stadium

Boswell H.S. - Fort Worth TX
Connally H.S. - Austin TX
Coppell H.S. - Coppell TX
Creekview H.S. - Carrollton TX
Edmond North H.S. - Edmond OK
Haltom H.S. - Haltom City TX
Hebron H.S. - Carrollton TX
James Bowie H.S. - Austin TX
Keller H.S. - Keller TX
L.D. Bell H.S. - Hurst TX
Lewisville H.S. - Lewisville TX
Mabank H.S. - Mabank TX
Mansfield H.S. – Mansfield TX
Marcus H.S. - Flower Mound TX
Martin H.S. - Arlington TX
Newman Smith H.S. - Carrollton TX
Putnam City H.S. - Oklahoma City OK
Richland H.S. - N. Richland Hills TX
Ronald Reagan H.S. - San Antonio TX
Ryan H.S. - Denton TX
Saginaw H.S. - Saginaw TX
Stephen F. Austin H.S. - Sugar Land TX
The Colony H.S. - The Colony TX
The Woodlands H.S. - The Woodlands TX
Tomball H.S. - Tomball TX
Victoria Memorial H.S. - Victoria TX
Winnsboro H.S. - Winnsboro TX

Additions:
Mabank HS - Mabank, TX
Ryan HS - Denton, TX
Saginaw HS - Saginaw, TX
Stephen F. Austin HS - Sugar Land, TX
Winnsboro HS - Winnsboro, TX

Withdrawals:
Georgetown HS - Georgetown, TX
---------------------
October 14, 2006:
Houston, TX Regional

Pearland ISD Stadium – Pearland, TX

Brazoswood H.S. - Clute TX
Brenham H.S. - Brenham TX
Cameron Yoe H.S. – Cameron TX
Clear Brook H.S. - Friendswood TX
Clear Lake H.S. - Houston TX
Conroe H.S. - Conroe TX
Cypress Falls H.S. - Houston TX
Hidalgo H.S. - Hidalgo TX
Judson H.S. - Converse TX
Klein Forest H.S. - Houston TX
Klein H.S. - Spring TX
Lamar Consolidated H.S. - Rosenberg TX
MacArthur H.S. – San Antonio TX
Navasota H.S. - Navasota TX
Oak Ridge H.S. - Conroe TX
Pasadena Memorial H.S. – Pasadena TX
Pearland H.S. - Pearland TX
Rice H.S. - Altair TX
Ronald Reagan H.S. - San Antonio TX
Sharyland H.S. - Sharyland TX
Spring Woods H.S. - Houston TX
Texas City H.S. - Texas City TX
The Woodlands College Park H.S. - The Woodlands TX
The Woodlands H.S. - The Woodlands TX
Vandebilt Catholic H.S. - Houma LA
Waller H.S. - Waller TX
Westfield H.S. - Houston TX
William B. Travis H.S. - Richmond TX
Winston Churchill H.S. - San Antonio TX

Additions:
Conroe HS - Conroe, TX
Navasota HS - Navasota, TX
Pearland HS - Pearland, TX
Rice HS - Altair, TX
Sharyland HS - Sharyland, TX

Withdrawals:
Stephen F. Austin HS - Sugar Land, TX

---------------------
November 3-4, 2006:
San Antonio, TX Super Regional Championships

Alamodome

Americas H.S. - El Paso TX
Bel Air H.S. - El Paso TX
Cedar Park H.S. - Cedar Park TX
Clear Brook H.S. - Friendswood TX
Clear Lake H.S. - Houston TX
Colleyville Heritage H.S. - Colleyville TX
Coronado H.S. – El Paso TX
Cotulla H.S. - Cotulla TX
Creekview H.S. - Carrollton TX
Del Valle H.S. - El Paso TX
East Central H.S. - San Antonio TX
Haltom H.S. - Haltom City TX
Harlingen H.S. - Harlingen TX
Harlingen South H.S. - Harlingen TX
Hebron H.S. - Carrollton TX
Hendrickson H.S. - Pflugerville TX
Hidalgo H.S. - Hidalgo TX
James Bowie H.S. - Austin TX
Judson H.S. - Converse TX
Klein H.S. - Spring TX
L.D. Bell H.S. - Hurst TX
Loveland H.S. - Loveland CO
Marcus H.S. - Flower Mound TX
Richland H.S. - N. Richland Hills TX
Ronald Reagan H.S. - San Antonio TX
Seguin H.S. - Seguin TX
Seven Lakes H.S. – Katy TX
Smithson Valley H.S. - Spring Branch TX
South San Antonio H.S. – San Antonio TX
The Colony H.S. - The Colony TX
The Woodlands H.S. - The Woodlands TX
United H.S. - Laredo TX
Victoria Memorial H.S. - Victoria TX
W. Charles Akins H.S. - Austin TX
Waller H.S. - Waller TX
Westfield H.S. - Houston TX
Westlake H.S. - Austin TX
Whitesboro H.S. - Whitesboro TX
Winston Churchill H.S. - San Antonio TX

Additions:
Harlingen HS - Harlingen, TX
W. Charles Akins HS - Austin, TX

Withdrawals:
None


November 8-11, 2006
Bands of America Grand National Championships

RCA Dome - Indianapolis, Indiana

Grand National Roster can be viewed at: http://www.bands.org/public/events/regionals/06.info/gn.asp

For more information on Bands of America, please visit their website at: http://www.bands.org

Stay tuned to TXBands.com for the latest updates.
----
Michael Bui
mbui@txbands.com
TXBands.com Staff Writer

08/01/06

Permalink 11:56:46 pm, Categories: BOA News, 179 words   English (US)

Quick BOA Update

Due to lack of entries at the BOA La Joya Regional Championships, Bands of America has decided to cancel the competition for the 2006 season. No word if BOA will return the Valley in 2007. Prior to the cancellation, there were only three bands registered for the Regional.

The Stephen F. Austin HS Marching Band of Sugar Land, TX has officially withdrawn from the 2006 Bands of America Grand National Championships. Sources have told me that it was due to the lack of funds. No word if SFA will compete at the BOA San Antonio, TX Super Regional instead.

This means 6 Texas bands will be making the trip to Indianapolis for Grand Nationals.

Cypress Falls HS (Houston)
James Bowie HS (Austin)
John B. Connally HS (Austin)
L.D. Bell HS (Hurst)
The Woodlands HS (The Woodlands)
Winston Churchill HS (San Antonio)

This ties the most Texas bands at Grand Nationals since the 2002 season when Haltom, Ronald Reagan, Spring, Stephen F. Austin, The Woodlands & Winston Churchill attended.

More updates as they become available.

-----
Michael Bui
mbui@txbands.com
Staff Writer - TexasBands Network

06/20/06

Permalink 12:24:40 am, Categories: BOA News, 1453 words   English (US)

BOA - June Update

An update on the 2006 Bands of America Regional & Grand National Championships....

UPDATE: June 19, 2006

*Sites have been confirmed for the BOA McAllen & Houston, Texas Regionals. The McAllen Regional will now be held at Veterans Memorial Stadium in McAllen. And, due to a conflict with the Rice University football team on October 14th, the Houston Regional will no longer be held at Rice Stadium. The competition has been moved to the Pearland ISD Stadium, also known as “The Rig”, in Pearland, TX.

The stadium was built in 2001 and is regarded as one of the finest high school facilities in the Houston area. The stadium boasts a two story press box and a seating capacity of close to 9,500. Pictures of The Rig can be found at the following links.

Field view
View of press box and home side

*Mansfield HS of Mansfield will be traveling to St. Louis, Missouri to compete at the St. Louis Super Regional Championships. This marks the second time that a Texas band will be in attendance at the competition. L.D. Bell HS of Hurst went in 2004 and was named the St. Louis Super Regional Champion.

*Several bands have registered or withdrawn from several of the Regionals. Look under each Regional roster for more details.

-------
Disclaimer: The following list is subject to change at any time. It does not a guarantee that a band will perform at the competition but only confirms that BOA has the band's registration form. Additions to the list will be made as the season approaches.


September 30, 2006:
McAllen, TX Regional

Veterans Memorial Stadium

Hidalgo H.S. - Hidalgo TX
PSJA Memorial H.S. - Alamo TX
Samuel Clemens H.S. - Schertz TX
Sharyland H.S. - McAllen TX

Additions:
Sharyland HS – McAllen, TX

Withdrawals:
William B. Travis HS – Richmond, TX
---------------------
October 7, 2006:
Arlington, TX Regional

University of Texas at Arlington Stadium

Boswell H.S. - Fort Worth TX
Connally H.S. - Austin TX
Coppell H.S. - Coppell TX
Creekview H.S. - Carrollton TX
Edmond North H.S. - Edmond OK
Georgetown H.S. - Georgetown TX
Haltom H.S. - Haltom City TX
Hebron H.S. - Carrollton TX
James Bowie H.S. - Austin TX
Keller H.S. - Keller TX
L.D. Bell H.S. - Hurst TX
Lewisville H.S. - Lewisville TX
Mansfield H.S. – Mansfield TX
Marcus H.S. - Flower Mound TX
Martin H.S. - Arlington TX
Newman Smith H.S. - Carrollton TX
Putnam City H.S. - Oklahoma City OK
Richland H.S. - N. Richland Hills TX
Ronald Reagan H.S. - San Antonio TX
The Colony H.S. - The Colony TX
The Woodlands H.S. - The Woodlands TX
Tomball H.S. - Tomball TX
Victoria Memorial H.S. - Victoria TX

Additions:
Mansfield HS – Mansfield, TX

Withdrawals:
Cedar Park HS – Cedar Park, TX
Colleyville Heritage HS – Colleyville, TX
---------------------
October 14, 2006:
Houston, TX Regional

Pearland ISD Stadium – Pearland, TX

Brazoswood H.S. - Clute TX
Brenham H.S. - Brenham TX
Cameron Yoe H.S. – Cameron TX
Clear Brook H.S. - Friendswood TX
Clear Lake H.S. - Houston TX
Cypress Falls H.S. - Houston TX
Hidalgo H.S. - Hidalgo TX
Judson H.S. - Converse TX
Klein Forest H.S. - Houston TX
Klein H.S. - Spring TX
Lamar Consolidated H.S. - Rosenberg TX
MacArthur H.S. – San Antonio TX
Oak Ridge H.S. - Conroe TX
Pasadena Memorial H.S. – Pasadena TX
Ronald Reagan H.S. - San Antonio TX
Spring Woods H.S. - Houston TX
Stephen F. Austin H.S. - Sugar Land TX
Texas City H.S. - Texas City TX
The Woodlands College Park H.S. - The Woodlands TX
The Woodlands H.S. - The Woodlands TX
Vandebilt Catholic H.S. - Houma LA
Waller H.S. - Waller TX
Westfield H.S. - Houston TX
William B. Travis H.S. - Richmond TX
Winston Churchill H.S. - San Antonio TX

Additions:
Cameron Yoe HS – Cameron, TX
MacArthur HS – San Antonio, TX
Pasadena Memorial HS – Pasadena, TX

Withdrawals:
None
---------------------
November 3-4, 2006:
San Antonio, TX Super Regional Championships

Alamodome

Americas H.S. - El Paso TX
Bel Air H.S. - El Paso TX
Cedar Park H.S. - Cedar Park TX
Clear Brook H.S. - Friendswood TX
Clear Lake H.S. - Houston TX
Colleyville Heritage H.S. - Colleyville TX
Coronado H.S. – El Paso TX
Cotulla H.S. - Cotulla TX
Creekview H.S. - Carrollton TX
Cypress Falls H.S. - Houston TX
Del Valle H.S. - El Paso TX
East Central H.S. - San Antonio TX
Haltom H.S. - Haltom City TX
Harlingen South H.S. - Harlingen TX
Hebron H.S. - Carrollton TX
Hendrickson H.S. - Pflugerville TX
Hidalgo H.S. - Hidalgo TX
James Bowie H.S. - Austin TX
Judson H.S. - Converse TX
Klein H.S. - Spring TX
L.D. Bell H.S. - Hurst TX
Loveland H.S. - Loveland CO
Marcus H.S. - Flower Mound TX
Richland H.S. - N. Richland Hills TX
Ronald Reagan H.S. - San Antonio TX
Seguin H.S. - Seguin TX
Seven Lake H.S. – Katy TX
Smithson Valley H.S. - Spring Branch TX
South San Antonio H.S. – San Antonio TX
The Colony H.S. - The Colony TX
The Woodlands H.S. - The Woodlands TX
United H.S. - Laredo TX
Victoria Memorial H.S. - Victoria TX
Waller H.S. - Waller TX
Westfield H.S. - Houston TX
Westlake H.S. - Austin TX
Whitesboro H.S. - Whitesboro TX
Winston Churchill H.S. - San Antonio TX

Additions:
Coronado HS – El Paso, TX
Seven Lakes HS – Katy TX
South San Antonio HS – San Antonio, TX

Withdrawals:
Cypress Falls HS – Houston, TX


November 8-11, 2006
Bands of America Grand National Championships

RCA Dome - Indianapolis, Indiana

Avon H.S. - Avon IN
Avon H.S. - Avon OH
Bassett H.S. - Bassett VA
Beechwood H.S. Ft. Mitchell KY
Bellbrook H.S. - Bellbrook OH
Ben Davis H.S. Indianapolis IN
Blackhawk H.S. - Beaver Falls PA
Blue Springs H.S. - Blue Springs MO
Bourbon County H.S. - Paris KY
Brentwood H.S. - Brentwood TN
Broken Arrow Sr. H.S. - Broken Arrow OK
Brunswick H.S. - Brunswick OH
Carlisle H.S. - Carlisle OH
Carmel H.S. - Carmel IN
Carroll H.S. - Dayton OH
Cary H.S. - Cary NC
Castle H.S. - Newburgh IN
Center Grove H.S. - Greenwood IN
Centerville H.S. - Centerville OH
Central Crossing H.S. - Grove City OH
Central Hardin H.S. - Cecilia KY
Clayton H.S. - Clayton NC
Cleveland H.S. - Cleveland TN
Clinton H.S. - Clinton TN
Collinsville H.S. - Collinsville IL
Columbus North H.S. - Columbus IN
Connally H.S.- Austin TX
Croatan H.S. - Newport NC
Cypress Falls H.S. - Houston TX
Davenport Central H.S. - Davenport IA
Eastern H.S. - Middletown KY
Farmington Harrison H.S. - Farmington Hills MI
Firestone H.S. - Akron OH
Francis Howell North H.S. - St. Charles MO
Gallatin County H.S. - Warsaw KY
Godwin Heights H.S. - Wyoming MI
Grandville H.S. - Grandville MI
Greeneview H.S. - Jamestown OH
Hart County H.S. - Munfordville KY
Herscher H.S. - Herscher IL
Indian Hill H.S. - Cincinnati OH
Jackson Academy Jackson MS
James Bowie H.S. - Austin TX
Jenison H.S. Jenison MI
Kennesaw Mountain H.S. - Kennesaw GA
Kings H.S. - Kings Mills OH
L.D. Bell H.S. - Hurst TX
Lake Central H.S. - St. John IN
Lake Park H.S. - Roselle IL
Lakeland H.S. - White Lake MI
Lawrence Central H.S. - Indianapolis IN
Lebanon H.S. - Lebanon OH
Louisville Male H.S. - Louisville KY
Marian Catholic H.S. - Chicago Heights IL
Marietta H.S. Marietta - OH
Marion County H.S. - Lebanon KY
Martinsville H.S. - Martinsville IN
Meade County H.S. - Brandenburg KY
Mercer County H.S. - Harrodsburg KY
Metamora Township H.S. - Metamora IL
Miamisburg H.S. - Miamisburg OH
Milford H.S. - Highland MI
Milford H.S. - Milford OH
Moore H.S. - Moore OK
Morton H.S. - Morton IL
Normal West H.S. - Normal IL
Northmont H.S. - Clayton OH
Norton H.S. - Norton OH
Norwell H.S. - Ossian IN
Paul Laurence Dunbar H.S. - Lexington KY
Plymouth-Canton Ed. Park - Canton MI
Rampart H.S. - Colorado Springs CO
Roosevelt H.S. - Sioux Falls SD
Seminole H.S. - Seminole FL
South Lyon H.S. - South Lyon MI
Springboro H.S. - Springboro OH
Stephen F. Austin H.S. - Sugar Land TX
Summerville H.S. - Summerville SC
Tarpon Springs H.S. - Tarpon Springs FL
The Woodlands H.S. - The Woodlands TX
Tippecanoe H.S. - Tipp City OH
Upland H.S. - Upland CA
Victor J. Andrew H.S. - Tinley Park IL
Walton H.S. - Marietta GA
West Johnston H.S. - Four Oaks NC
Western Brown H.S. - Mt. Orab OH
William Mason H.S. - Mason OH
Winston Churchill H.S. - San Antonio TX
Wright City H.S. - Wright City MO

For more information on Bands of America, please visit their website at: http://www.bands.org

Stay tuned to TXBands.com for the latest updates!!
----
Michael Bui
mbui@txbands.com
TXBands.com Staff Writer

06/17/06

Permalink 06:31:42 pm, Categories: Daniel Sanchez, 931 words   English (US)

TMEA Honor Band

This weekend, I went to one of the most amazing competitions that I have ever witnessed. No, I didn’t fly out to an early season DCI competition. But what other competitions are going on during the summer you ask? TMEA Honor Band!

=> Read more!

04/19/06

Permalink 10:11:36 am, Categories: Composer of the Week, 876 words   English (US)

Composer of the Week - Hector Berlioz

Hector Berlioz
Born - La Côte-St-André, Isère, 11 December 1803
Died Paris, 8 March 1869

As a boy he learnt the flute, guitar and, from treatises alone, harmony (he never studied the piano); his first compositions were romances and small chamber pieces. After two unhappy years as a medical student in Paris (1821-3) he abandoned the career chosen for him by his father and turned decisively to music, attending Le Sueur's composition class at the Conservatoire.

=> Read more!

Permalink

04/05/06

Permalink 07:08:45 pm, Categories: Composer of the Week, 1259 words   English (US)

Composer of the Week - Franz Schubert

Franz Schubert
Born - Vienna, 31 January 1797
Died - Vienna, 19 November 1828)

The son of a schoolmaster, he showed an extraordinary childhood aptitude for music, studying the piano, violin, organ, singing and harmony and, while a chorister in the imperial court chapel, composition with Salieri (1808-13). By 1814, at age 17, he had produced piano pieces settings of Schiller and Metastasio, string quartets, his first symphony and a three-act opera.

=> Read more!

Permalink

03/25/06

Permalink 04:48:03 pm, Categories: Work of the Week, 361 words   English (US)

Work of the Week - Peterloo Overture

Sir Malcolm Arnold
Peterloo Overture, Op. 97 - Date: 1967
Born: October 21, 1921, Northampton, England

Sir Malcolm Arnold was born October 21, 1921, at Northampton, England. In 1938, he gained a scholarship to the Royal College of Music. While there, he won the Cobbett Composition Prize in 1941. He joined the London Philharmonic as third trumpet and assumed the post of principal trumpet in 1942.

=> Read more!

Permalink

03/22/06

Permalink 12:48:56 pm, Categories: Composer of the Week, 868 words   English (US)

Composer of the Week - Modest Mussorgsky

Modest Mussorgsky
Born - Karevo, 21 March 1839
Died - St. Petersburg, 28 March 1881

His mother gave him piano lessons, and at nine he played a Field concerto before an audience in his parents' house. In 1852 he entered the Guards' cadet school in St Petersburg. Although he had not studied harmony or composition, in 1856 he tried to write an opera; the same year he entered the Guards. In 1857 he met Dargomïzhsky and Cui, and through them Balakirev and Stasov. He persuaded Balakirev to give him lessons and composed songs and piano sonatas.

=> Read more!

Permalink

03/13/06

Permalink 07:02:13 pm, Categories: Alan Irons, 3843 words   English (US)

The Greatest High School Marching Band of All-time

(Note: this is a re-post of something I wrote three years ago. I believe, in many respects, what happened "then" continues to influence the marching arts of "now." Enjoy!)

The Greatest High School Marching Band of Alltime

Bands of America 1993: A Ten Year Retrospect

By Alan R. Irons

It was ten years ago that a band from Spring, Texas won the 1993 Bands of America Grand National Championships. From then on this band has become somewhat of a legend in the high school marching band community. The 1993 Spring High School band is considered by many as "the best high school marching band of all time."

=> Read more!

03/11/06

Permalink 05:23:20 pm, Categories: Composer of the Week, 314 words   English (US)

Work of the Week - Aegean Festival Overture

Andreas Makris
Aegean Festival Overture - Date: 1967

Click here to listen!

Andreas Makris was born in Salonika, Greece. After graduating as an honor student from the National Conservatory of Greece, Makris continued his studies at Phillips University, the Kansas City Conservatory (UMKC), the Mannes School of Music, the Aspen Music Festival, and with Nadia Boulanger in Paris. For many years he served as a first violinist in the National Symphony Orchestra under the leadership of Mstislav Rostropovich who appointed Makris music advisor and Composer-in-Residence to that orchestra.

=> Read more!

03/08/06

Permalink 02:43:12 pm, Categories: Composer of the Week, 859 words   English (US)

Composer of the Week - Franz Liszt

Franz Liszt
Born - Raiding, 22 October 1811
Died - Bayreuth, 31 July 1886

He was taught the piano by his father and then Czerny (Vienna, 1822-3), establishing himself as a remarkable concert artist by the age of 12. In Paris he studied theory and composition with Reicha and Paer; he wrote an opera and bravura piano pieces and undertook tours in France, Switzerland and England before ill-health and religious doubt made him reassess his career. Intellectual growth came through literature, and the urge to create through hearing opera and especially Paganini, whose spectacular effects Liszt eagerly transferred to the piano in original works and operatic fantasias. Meanwhile he gave lessons and began his stormy relationship (1833-44) with the (married) Countess Marie d'Agoult. They lived in Switzerland and Italy and had three children.

=> Read more!

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03/04/06

Permalink 10:53:12 am, Categories: Work of the Week, 574 words   English (US)

Work of the Week - Profanation

Leonard Bernstein
Profanation from Symphony No. 1 "Jeremiah" - Date: 1942

Listen to Profanation here!

Leonard Bernstein was born in Lawrence, Massachusetts on August 25, 1918 and died in New York City in 1990. He is considered to be the first internationally-known musician to be entirely the product of American schooling and was one of the few composers who was equally at home in the popular theater and concert hall. He studied at Harvard University and the Curtis Institute of Music in New York.

=> Read more!

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03/01/06

Permalink 01:40:11 pm, Categories: Composer of the Week, 1130 words   English (US)

Composer of the Week - Béla Bartók

Béla Bartók
Born - Sînnicolau Mare, 25 March 1881
Died - New York, 26 September 1945

He began lessons with his mother, who brought up the family after his father's death in 1888. In 1894 they settled in Bratislava, where he attended the Gymnasium (Dohnányi was an elder schoolfellow), studied the piano with Laszlo Erkel and Anton Hyrtl, and composed sonatas and quartets. In 1898 he was accepted by the Vienna Conservatory, but following Dohnányi he went to the Budapest Academy (1899-1903), where he studied the piano with Liszt's pupil Istvan Thoman and composition with Janos Koessler. There he deepened his acquaintance with Wagner, though it was the music of Strauss, which he met at the Budapest premiere of Also sprach Zarathustra in 1902, that had most influence. He wrote a symphonic poem, Kossuth (1903), using Strauss's methods with Hungarian elements in Liszt's manner.

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02/23/06

Permalink 05:06:23 pm, Categories: Composer of the Week, 1076 words   English (US)

Composer of the Week - Johann Sebastian Bach

Johann Sebastian Bach
Born - Eisenach, 21 March 1685
Died - Leipzig, 28 July 1750

He was the youngest son of Johann Ambrosius Bach, a town musician, from whom he probably learnt the violin and the rudiments of musical theory. When he was ten he was orphaned and went to live with his elder brother Johann Christoph, organist at St. Michael's Church, Ohrdruf, who gave him lessons in keyboard playing. From 1700 to 1702 he attended St. Michael's School in Lüneburg, where he sang in the church choir and probably came into contact with the organist and composer Georg Böhm. He also visited Hamburg to hear J.A. Reincken at the organ of St. Catherine's Church.

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12/30/05

Permalink 11:48:36 am, Categories: Composer of the Week, 965 words   English (US)

Composer of the Week - Paul Hindemith

Paul Hindemith
Born - Hanau, Germany, November 16, 1895
Died - Frankfurt am Main, December 28, 1963

Hindemith was the oldest of three children born to his father who was a housepainter. Hindemith always had a knack for music but did not begin to study it formally until the age of 9. Though once he started, his progress was astounding. Until he went off to the Conservatory in Frankfurt at age 13, he played viola in a string trio with his brother and sister. While at the conservatory he progressed amazingly on the viola and in his theoretical skills.

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12/23/05

Permalink 12:09:20 pm, Categories: Work of the Week, 704 words   English (US)

Work of the Week - Lincolnshire Posy

Lincolnshire Posy
Percy Aldridge Grainger
July 8, 1882 – February 20, 1961

Grainger was a native Australian and lived there until 1896 when he was sent to Europe to hopefully study with Clara Schumann, wife of the deceased master Robert Schumann. Shortly after his arrival there though, Clara died also.

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