Entertainment & Art

From a discussion recently in Rockford Aces rehearsal: Write “Entertainment” and “Art” on opposite sides of the page, and a line connecting them. Now place the following things on that line: The arrangements of Alice Parker The arrangements of Deke Sharon The Hi-Lo’s N’Sync Seussical The Musical Into The Woods […]

Arranging Puzzles

I often think of arranging a song as a puzzle. You’re given a melody and original harmony, and you have to figure out a logical solution with acceptable voice leading, chord structure, bass line, balance, voicing, rhythmic interest, faithfulness to the original, creative departure from the past, needs of the […]

Why Compete?

My dad loves sailing – from his youth in Rhode Island to sailing his J35 on Lake St. Clair in my youth, he’s always made time to sail. When he owned the Cross Check, he had with him the most wonderful crew of friends who regularly crewed with him on races. They were […]

Fanfares

In 1942-43, Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra conductor Eugene Goossens led a commission program of eighteen Fanfares to open each orchestral concert series. He apparently intended them to be an artistic call-to-arms during World War II – he had embarked on a similar project in England during World War I. Seventeen of those Fanfares […]