A book for Summer reading

For those days when you have time on your hands, but it's a rainy day
and you can't go outside, and you have already practiced on your
instrument, there's a book you might want to buy and read. The book
is "Note Grouping" by James Morgan Thurmond. This classic is now
available in paperback. I lost my hardcopy book a number of years ago
and just ordered the new paperback version from Amazon.com. Thurmond
started his career as a French Horn player in the Philadelphia
Orchestra, was the main person in establishing the Armed Forces School
of Music at Little Creek (starting it as the Navy school of music),
and finished up as a college professor. Along the way, about 30 years
ago, he conducted regional bands in this area and judged my high
school band on several occasions (and gave us a superior rating, by
the way.) The book explains WHY you accent the pickup note. It will
greatly help you in playing with expression. Happy reading!

Concert Season 2009 is here!

Thirty-Four years in the park for me, 121 years for the band, and 154
years of continuous operation for the band. Wow!

Frank Sampson and Ray Hoaster continue as assistant directors, with
each taking a full concert and Frank conducting about a third of most
of the concerts.

This year's concert lineup features premiere performances of several
pieces written for the band by members and band friends. Ray Hoaster
wrote a nice arrangement of the Rodgers and Hart tune "Mountain
Greenery" to showcase the clarinet talents of Al Winters, our oldest
member, who at age 83 is still going strong. Bob Moody did
transcriptions of two pieces for the band. First there's the
Victorian church anthem "The Lord Is My Strength" by the british Caleb
Simper, and then there's one that is given as a Carl Broman tribute,
Healy Willan's Organ Chorale Prelude on the hymntune "Now God Be
Praised In Heaven Above." On the joint concert with the 29th Army
Band we will do the premiere performance of "Afghan Andy" by Randolph
Cabell, honoring Army Major Andrew Ashley upon his return from
Afghanistan.

Concerts are held regardless of weather in the Stonewall Brigade
Bandstand in Staunton's Gypsy Hill Park. Directions and concert
programs can be found on the band's web site www.stonewallbrigadeband.com
under the "concert series" tab.

Come and enjoy an old-fashioned band concert under the stars every
Monday evening at 8 in June, July, and August.

Concert Season is Here!

The Stonewall Brigade Band's Summer season starts this weekend with
two of our annual events.

Saturday we will be playing at the New Market Battlefield Park as a
part of the annual reenactment of The Battle Of New Market. The
concert is at noon in a tent just outside the Hall of Valor at the
park. There is an admission charge to the park (but of course band
members get in free.)

Sunday will be the 31st year that the band will play for the
Baccalaureate and Commencement at Mary Baldwin College in Staunton.
We play a 30-minute "prelude" concert at 9:30 am, then the
processional, a hymn, and after the conferring of degrees we play the
Mary Baldwin Hymn and the recessional. I arranged "God of Grace and
God of Glory" for this event 31 years ago, and our librarian, Cindy
Hosaflook, updated it by putting it in to Finale and undoing a
modulation to the last verse about 5 years ago. I also arranged the
MBC hymn which is sung to the tune of "Children of the Heavenly
Father" at the same time. Our processional is the typical "Pomp and
Circumstance" main melody, as arranged by James Ployhar, and our
recessional is Alfred Reed's arrangement of R. Vaughan Williams' "Sine
Nomine". The event is held on the terrace on the "uphill side" of the
library, and moves to Augusta Expo half an hour later in the event of
rain.

Our Brass Ensemble will be playing for two annual Memorial Day events
over Memorial Day weekend. All band events can be found on the
"schedule" link on the band web page.

The 120th annual season of Summer Concerts in the Park will begin on
June 2 and will continue every Monday at 8 pm at the Stonewall Brigade
Bandstand in beautiful Gypsy Hill Park in Staunton VA. Concerts are
held "rain or shine," and the programs are shown on our web site.  

This is Bob's 33rd year of conducting the Summer Concert Series.  It is the 120th-annual season of concerts in Gypsy Hill Park, going back to the year the park was established and the trees were planted.  This is the 154th continuous year of service for the band. 

We have added over 20 new members to the band since last Summer, and
expect this season to be one of the best ever. As always, band
members begin setup about 7 pm, with tune-up at 7:40 and downbeat at 8
pm. Concertgoers should bring lawn chairs or blankets, as there is
limited permanent seating at the bandstand. In addition there are now
several "pull in" parking spaces available on the "horseshoe" section
of the park drive so that handicapped persons can listen from their
cars. Come early for best parking.

Band Festival Results

Virginia band festival results can be seen at:
http://www.vboda.org/Festival/festresults.htm
All results should be complete by the end of March.

List of Districts and included cities/counties at:
http://www.vboda.org/VBODADistricts.htm

Some groups may petition to be included in an
adjacent district.

District 5 Band Festival schedule now online

The District 5 Band Festival, sponsored by the Virginia Band and Orchestra Directors' Association (VBODA)
is being held March 7 and 8, 2008, at Turner Ashby High School in Bridgewater VA.

The schedule is located at this link:

www.stonewallbrigadeband.com/Festival.html

Special Musical Event at UVA on March 29, 2008

When I was a student at the University of Virginia from 1958 through 1963 I practiced on the Ernest Skinner pipe organ in Old Cabell Hall.  This organ is the oldest surviving Ernest Skinner instrument in its original location and in its original condition.  Along with the Tannenberg organ, 200 years old, in Hebron Lutheran Church, Madison VA, The Cabell Hall Skinner is one of the musical treasures of the nation.  

The McIntire Department of Music is having a special Skinner Organ Centennial event on Saturday March 29, 2008.  There is a 2 pm symposium and an 8pm concert by renowned organist Ken Cowan.  The event is free.  

Here is a link to the event:

http://www.virginia.edu/music/pressrelease/07-08/organ032908.html

Here is a link to a description of the instrument from the restorer:

http://www.thompson-allen.com/uva.html

Cabell Hall was designed by Stanford White and completed in 1898.  The building includes an auditorium that seats 994 with a Skinner organ, a gift of Andrew Carnegie in 1906. 

Here is a 360 degree virtual tour of the auditorium on the Tuesday Evening Concert Series web site.

http://www.tecs.org/cabell

This event will be quite worth your time, particularly if you are interested in history.  

The best location for parking is the Central Grounds Parking Garage on Emmett Street, as shown on the McIntire Department of Music web site:
http://www.virginia.edu/music/parking/

A job posting but not for a band

The church that I attend, Hebron Presbyterian, has a beautiful Taylor and Boody pipe organ that needs an organist.  

Here's the church web site advertisement:

http://www.faithwebsites.com/hebronpc/newsfile12627_1.pdf

Here is the Taylor and Boody web site about the instrument:

http://www.taylorandboody.com/opuses/opus_46.htm

The instrument is only the second one in the world to be built using the tuning system devised by J. S. Bach and "hidden" in the "squiggles" at the top of the first page of his "Well Tempered Clavier."  This was discovered by Bradley Lehman, and is explained on this page:

http://www.larips.com/

Here is a sound clip from the organ's dedication. It includes Walther's prelude on "Praise to the Lord The Almighty, the King of Creation", some congregational singing, Bach's prelude on the same tune, and more congregational singing.

http://www.stonewallbrigadeband.com/Priase%20to%20the%20Lord%20the%20Almighty.mp3

Here is a sound clip of three movements (1,2,4) from Mendelssohn's First Organ Sonata:

http://stonewallbrigadeband.com/Sonata%20in%20F%20Minor,%20mvt%201,%202,4%20Mendelssohn.mp3

Here is a sound clip of Buxtehude's Praeludium in D

http://www.stonewallbrigadeband.com/Praeludium%20in%20D..%20Buxtehude.mp3

Mark Brombaugh is the organist on the sound clips. 

Contact information: 

Hebron Presbyterian Church
423 Hebron Road
Staunton, VA 24401
Phone: 540-885-1648
Fax: 540-885-9512

www.hebronpc.com
hebronchurch@msn.com

The church is directly across the road from the Taylor and Boody organ factory.