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Disappearer221

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Everything posted by Disappearer221

  1. I was a participant (as a percussionist) at the International Festival Institute at Roundtop for two summers. Those summers gave me some of the best memories of my life so far, right up there with my summer of drum corps. I learned a whole lot from Tony Edwards and Tom Burritt, and the orchestra is absolutely top notch. The audition is very competitive, and they dont take anybody under 18. I say go for it, the audition rep list is basic, but at the same time very comprehensive. The audition for Roundtop is much more competitive than the Aspen audition, because Roundtop usually only takes 5 percussion players, as opposed to the 20 or so needed to staff all the orchestras at Aspen. If you have any specific questions, let me know.
  2. I didnt think that was on the PML...
  3. I dont think a single band in this state has it "dropped in their lap." It doesnt matter how good the design, teaching or feeders are, greatness cannot be achieved without blood, sweat and tears from the students.
  4. There were only 2 people from the Reagan Drumline there actually... Alot of the best programs in Texas each had a handful of players there though. The level of instruction these kids recieve at their high school programs compared to many other states is going to be one of the things that really makes the Crossmen special this year. In my opinion, there was enough talent at the first camp to make 3 entire amazing battery sections.
  5. Bell 05 at the end of the show... Lux Aramque facing backfield... Amazing moment, always gives me goosebumps. What a sonority. Scott Dean's Double C at the end of his solo in the Sketches of Spain/Rodrigo concerto movement of Blue Devils 03... so emotional. Another one of my favorite moments. And definitely several moments in Reagan 03 and 05. That design team places hits so masterfully in context.
  6. Some great videos of the Churchill and Bowie Percussion Sections can be found Here. Enjoy some Texas drummers representing well...
  7. Nice job with the self hype... But Seriously, I just checked out all the vicfirth vids, and there were some lines drummin' for sure up in Indy.
  8. I personally never judge a band from a backfield read...
  9. My favorite "deception" in the show was one of the subtle ones... near the end of the 2nd movement the brass have a chord with a little crescendo on it, and the trumpets mimic like their in on it with a slight move up to the box. Only when their horns come down, you realize that their horns were backwards. Cool little effect.
  10. Calling a UIL Judge an "****" on this forum is a very immature, unprofessional thing to do, and reflects badly on yourself and on your band program. Remember that judging is always going to be a little bit subjective, such is the nature of music. Im sure the judge had his reasons for the placement, and Im sure that he has the resume to give some weight to his opinion.
  11. All of the 5A's at Alamo Stadium Tonight recieved 1's except for Highlands I believe.
  12. Hmm... Fire Garden Suite by Steve Vai? A little BD 97 in the works?
  13. "My only beef with the shows were that there were hardly any major swing sections and high squealers, and the pits. Almost every single pit was amped. " I dont understand what you have against an amplified front ensemble. Amplification allows the instrument to be played how it is meant to be played, with a dark, characteristic sound quality instead of the bright, harsh overplaying that had to be done to cut through a horn line unamplified. Also, the best front ensembles have become much less xylophone heavy due to amplification. Again, adding to the beautiful, balanced tone quality that the best pits are putting out now with amps. Xylophone is now being used more as a special effect. So coming from a former DCI front ensemble member, and current front ensemble teacher, amps are a god-send that allow us to play beautifully instead of harshly.
  14. Looks like revo is taking the highest scores in div 3 right now... rock on Texas!
  15. I love Blue Cathedral. Jennifer Higdon is a real rising star in orchestral music. I also really dig her concerto for orchestra.
  16. A 78.45 is HUGE at this time of year! Go Devs! I just hope they dont peak out too early. They pulled in a 16.5 in drums, which is also huge for June. Rule of 6's...
  17. Of course it is possible. But i must say, i think that scores this time of year dont mean much. Alot of corps with really hard shows are still real dirty this time of summer, and will peak later than alot of corps who are scoring very high right now.
  18. Id say Ludwig Silver Dots on everything. Those heads ROCK.
  19. Just to clarify... Pictures at an Exhibition is not a song. Songs are sung, and typically have words. Pieces are played. Sorry, dont want to seem snooty, just a personal pet peeve.
  20. Just for the record, its ROSSINI, not RISIGNI. word
  21. I performed Drumming by Steve Reich at a summer festival I was in a few years ago. One of the most difficult, but one of the most rewarding musical experiences ive ever had. Phase shifting is incredibly difficult to pull off.
  22. First of all, John Cage is definitely not minimalism. Most of his works are described by the terms indeterminacy, or aleatory. I think his most amazing compositions are his early works for percussion, which show a heavy indonesian influence. As far as minimalism goes, no one has mentioned Terry Riley yet. His "In C" is one of the truest examples of the genre. A constant motoric eighth note groove is one of the defining characteristics of minimalism, of which "In C" is a great example, with the piano pounding out a constant pulse on high octave C's. The true beauty of minimalism to me is gradualism, or as Steve Reich put is "Music as a Gradual Process." Reich said "I am interested in perceptible processes. I want to be able to hear the process happening throughout the sounding music." I believe this came about as a reaction against serialism, in which at times the process is only apparent if you happen to have the row and a babbit square in front of you. I find it so beautiful hearing an idea morph so gradually, that you dont even notice that it has changed until well after the fact. In Reich's own words again: "Performing and listening to a gradual musical process resembles: Pulling back a swing and observing it gradually come to rest; turning over an hourglass and watching the sand slowly run to the bottom, placing your feet in the sand by the oceans edge and listening to the waves gradually bury them." Anyways, my favorite minimalist pieces are: Eight Lines, Six Marimbas, Sextet, and Music for 18 Musicians by Steve Reich Music in Fifths (such an amazing process he uses!) by Phillip Glass Its hard to pigeonhole John Adams as minimalist. His rhythms sometimes are characteristic of the minimalist style, but his harmonies are so thick, almost romantic! John Adams is my favorite composer, partially because he cannot be pigeonholed. I reccomend by Adams: Century Rolls Grand Pianola Music Nixon in China (opera) Harmonlehre (one of the HARDEST pieces for orchestra ever written!) Johns Book of Alleged Dances (string quartet with electronics) Common tones in simple time I would also like to reccomend all of Michael Torke's music to anyone who is a fan of the above composers, as well as Arvo Part. Dang, that was a long post. I have too much free time these days. STERN
  23. My faves are 97, 2000, and 2004. Stern BD Pit 2k2
  24. Seeing how this thread started as a query about Reagan's music selection, I have no idea how this puerile bashing of the Marcus drumline, a class act group, started. Some people need to grow up. But the reason I am posting is to contribute my two cents to the discussion on whether Reagan "actually played" the pieces. Montoya's post says it all. The show is basically a set of themes used as a point for a myriad of variations. A strikingly simlilar process was used by Hindemith to compose "Symphonic Metamporphois." The main themes of S.M. are based on piano pieces by Carl Maria Von Veber. Hindemith kept many of the themes almost verbatim, but added much more sophisticated harmonies. So my question is, why would someone want to hear a complete orchestral piece on the marching band field? Extensive alteration is necessary in almost every case to make it fit the idiom. It just so happens that Reagan's arranger is an amazing composer, who basically performed a "metamorphosis on a metamorphosis." I dont think it gets much cooler than that. By the way, I think its funny that the poster who was arguing that they didnt "play the pieces" has a blue devils logo on their signature, because Blue Devils 03 is another great example of a "fantasy on the themes of..."
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