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Sounds
from the Hudson Volume 11, Issue 1 LTC Thomas Rotondi, Jr. - Commander Contents: Winter
at West Point Chamber
Groups and Soloists on the Road The
Next Generation Saxophones
at West Point A
Sound Idea Winter
at West Point As a traditional West Point feature during the indoor concert season, the United States Military Academy Band annually presents its popular Chamber Music Series. The series acts as an outlet for individual musicians to organize, rehearse and execute repertoire of their own choosing. From a professional standpoint, the series develops musical and military leadership. Audiences enjoy the unusual and seldom performed works presented in an intimate setting.
Internationally respected jazz drummer, percussionist, clinician and educator Steve Houghton will join talents with the USMA Band this January. Houghton first received acclaim at age 20 as a drummer with Woody Herman's Young Thundering Herd. Houghton has shared stage and studio with luminaries Diana Krall, Toots Thielemans, Christian McBride, Toshiko Akiyoshi, Freddie Hubbard, Lyle Mays, Billy Childs, Pat LaBarbara, Arturo Sandoval, Joe Henderson and Maureen McGovern, with whom he tours today. Houghton enjoys more than 100 recordings to his credit as an included artist. As a percussionist, Houghton has performed with the Boston Pops, Philly Pops, and Hollywood Bowl Orchestra and frequently appears as a guest soloist with a variety of ensembles. Houghton holds the academic position of visiting associate professor at Indiana University, Bloomington, and serves on the faculty at the Henry Mancini Institute, Los Angeles. Additionally, he presents clinics and master classes to students around the world. A member of Percussive Arts Society board of directors, Houghton is in his third year as chair of the resource team of International Association of Jazz Educators. USMA
Band Gets Hyper Over New CD The USMA Concert Band, Jazz Knights and Hellcats recently entered into the computer age. Spearheaded by audio tech, Staff Sgt. Blair Ferrier the three groups just burned their first high-tech, computer ‘hyper-CD,’ a first for any U.S. service band. Playable on all PC platforms, the disk is aimed at Army recruiters and potential concert sponsors. The new ‘hyper CD’ contains video and audio clips demonstrating typical concert works and stage setups. Band
Commissions New Work The United States Military Academy Band commissioned many works in celebration of the academy’s recent bicentennial celebration. Despite the end of this commemorative period, the West Point Band continues to seek new works by noted composers. Presently, the Concert Band anticipates a newly commissioned piece written by the contemporary musician Evan Chambers. A music writer of rare intensity and emotional depth–his haunting lyricism and explosive energy have moved audiences around the world. Chambers'
compositions have been performed by the Cincinnati, Kansas City, Memphis,
and Albany Symphonies. He won
first prize in the Cincinnati Symphony Competition and he received the
Ithaca College (NY) 1998 Walter Beeler Prize.
He is currently Associate Professor of Composition and Director of
Electronic Music Studios at the University of Michigan.
A self-described traditional Irish fiddler, as well as a
composer, his music has deep roots in folk music and in the physicality of
performance–he appears frequently as an interpreter of his own works.
The USMA Band played Chambers’ exciting and unusual Polka
Nation this past summer. Chamber
Groups and Soloists on the Road Several
chamber groups and soloists from the U.S. Military Academy Band will
travel from West Point to various locations in the country to share their
musical talents, knowledge and expertise.
Some will attend conferences and others will perform at
universities and give master classes. If you have friends, family, music students or potential Army
bandsmen or women in any of the following locations, please inform them of
the opportunities to hear members of the U.S. Military Academy Band.
Below are several dates, times, places and phone numbers; please
call the sponsors for specific times on clinics and master classes.
All events are free and open to the public. WEST POINT SAXOPHONE QUARTET (Virginia and Massachusetts) The West Point Saxophone Quartet will travel to participate at the 26th International Saxophone Symposium at George Mason University in Fairfax, Virginia on January 11th at 3 p.m. The U.S. Navy Band will sponsor this event. Two events
will occur at Williams College in Williamstown, Massachusetts.
Staff Sgt. Wayne Tice will perform a new work for alto saxophone
with woodwind quintet by David Kechley.
The Academy Woodwind Quintet will assist Tice on this new untitled
work on February 7th. The
West Point Saxophone Quartet will be performing Kechley’s Rush,
which he wrote specifically for this ensemble, on 18 April.
Call Williams College for concert information (413-597-2127). EUPHONIUM
SOLOIST SSG JASON HAM (South Carolina, North Carolina and Georgia) Staff
Sgt. Jason Ham will have a short “Southern Tour” soloing on euphonium
and giving clinics. Clinic
information will include audition preparation for a military band audition
and is designed to motivate students toward a successful career in the
bands of various branches of the armed services. In recital, Ham will premier the piano reduction of Trygve
Madsen’s Concertino for euphonium and band. Recitals will occur on February 25th, 7:30 p.m. in the
Recital Hall at the University of South Carolina School of Music
(803-777-6059) in Columbia; February 26th, 7:30 p.m. at the Recital Hall
of the University of North Carolina Greensboro School of Music
(336-334-5002); and on February 27th, 7:30 p.m. at the Ramsey Concert Hall
at the University of Georgia (706-542-2725) in Athens. TROMBONE
SOLOIST SFC MARTIN TYCE (Michigan) Sgt. 1st Class Martin Tyce, trombonist,
will be presenting master classes/performances at Central Michigan
University in Mount Pleasant, Michigan, from January 27-31.
In recital SFC Tyce will be performing the Atlantic Zephyrs
by G. Simons and the second movement from Jim Pugh’s Trombone
Concerto. He will judge a
mock orchestra audition with the students, give individual lessons, and
explain how to prepare for a military band audition.
For information on specific times of concerts and master classes,
call the Central Michigan Director of Music Events (989-774-3738).
REGIMENTAL
BRASS QUINTET (Utah) The Regimental Brass Quintet will present master
classes/performances February 24th through March 2nd in Utah.
The quintet’s theme will be “Americans We: A Musical Portrait
of Our Nation” and will include such favorites as A Tribute to
Richard Rodgers, Barnum and Bailey’s Favorite and the Circus
Bee. The group will also
be featured playing Eric Ewazen’s Shadowcatchers for brass
quintet and band in separate events with the Weber State and the Utah
State University Bands. Concerts
at Weber State University (801-626-6443) occur each at 7:30
p.m. on Feb. 24-25. Utah
State University (435-797-3004) will host two concerts at 7:30 p.m. on
Feb. 27-28. Two more
community events will follow at the Temple Square Concert Series
(801-240-3323) at Assembly Hall, March 1st, 7:30 p.m. and at St.
Matthew’s Lutheran Church, March 2nd, at 7:30 p.m. WEST POINT
TUBA QUARTET (Texas) Universities in Texas will benefit from the low,
smooth sounds of the West Point Tuba Quartet.
William Byrd’s The Earle of Oxford’s March, the King’s
Singers arrangement of Londonderry Air and Scott Joplin’s Peacherine
Rag will highlight the four programs.
Concerts will occur on February 24th, 8:15 p.m. at the Music
Building Concert Hall of Texas A&M (903-886-5302) in Commerce;
February 25th, noon at the University of North Texas Recital Hall
(940-565-3741) in Denton; February 26th, 8 p.m. in Evans Auditorium of
Southwest Texas State (512-245-2651) in San Marcos; and on February 27th,
8pm in the School of Music Recital Hall of Sam Houston State
(936-294-1360) in Huntsville. CONCERT BAND
TROMBONE SECTION (Washington, D.C.) The Academy Band’s Concert Band
Trombone Section will be featured with “Pershing’s Own” U.S. Army
Band at the annual U.S. Army Band Eastern Trombone Workshop on Saturday
March 22nd. They will perform
Joseph Turrin’s Quadrille for three trombones and band, which was
commissioned for the bicentennial of the U.S. Military Academy.
The concert will occur at 7:30 p.m. in Brucker Hall (703-696-3644),
Fort Myer, Virginia. The
Next Generation The recent
retirements of many senior West Point musicians this past year emphasized
the importance of careful recruiting.
The USMA Band mission statement requires that it function in many
diverse capacities. Band
members march parades (of course), present concerts, prepare football
half-time shows and play cadet dances. Furthermore, most Academy Band musicians also work
behind the scenes, in what the Army refers to as additional duties.
These jobs range from publicity and other administrative work, to
computer programming, operations and even assisting in instrument repair.
The typical new USMA Band recruit already holds a bachelor or
masters degree and an ample amount of professional performing and teaching
experience. James
Barnard, Field Music trumpet/ bugle.
Staff Sgt. Barnard comes to West Point with extensive teaching and
Army credentials. Recruited
as a Hellcat bugler, he has recently performed at length with Jazz Knights
as they awaited the arrival of several new players.
Barnard received a Bachelor of Music Performance degree in 1988
from East Carolina University, Greenville, North Carolina.
He came to the Army from Chesapeake, Virginia and worked for seven
years as a Hampton (VA) middle school instrumental teacher.
His prior Army assignments include The United States Continental
Army Band, Fort Monroe, Virginia and The United States Army Europe Band,
Heidelberg, Germany. While in
Germany, Barnard had the opportunity to serve with Lt. Col. Rotondi, who
was unit commander. Katherine
Wilcox, Concert Band oboe and English horn.
Staff Sgt. Wilcox graduated from Adirondack Central High School in
Boonville, NY, in 1998, and earned a 2002 Bachelor of Music degree in oboe
performance from the prestigious Eastman School of Music (NY).
While at Eastman, she studied oboe and English horn with Richard
Killmer. Staff Sgt. Wilcox
has performed as a soloist, chamber, and orchestral musician with several
festivals throughout North America, including the Banff Centre for the Samuel
Kaestner, Concert Band clarinet. Born in 1978 in Richmond, Virginia,
Staff Sgt. Sam Kaestner began studying clarinet at age nine. At age 15 he began his private studies under clarinetist
Marta Weldon of the Richmond Symphony.
Kaestner attended the Peabody Conservatory, Johns Hopkins
University (VA) where he received instruction from Baltimore Symphony bass
clarinetist Edward Palanker, and Anthony Gigliotti, former Philadelphia
Orchestra principal clarinetist. After
his 2000 Peabody graduation (with honors), Kaestner went for graduate work
at Northwestern University (IL). His
Northwestern experience includes study with Chicago Symphony bass
clarinetist, J. Lawrie Bloom, and finishing as a finalist in the graduate
concerto competition. In
2002, Kaestner graduated with honors from Northwestern in 2002 with a
Masters degree. In addition
to his strength as a ‘legit’ clarinet virtuoso, Staff Sgt. Kaestner
also enjoys playing jazz and gave that field great consideration
before coming to West Point. Jason Ham,
Concert Band euphonium. Originally
from Columbia, South Carolina, Staff Sgt. Jason Ham began his musical
studies on piano at age seven. After
selecting the euphonium as his primary instrument in middle school, he
made quick progress and garnered many state and local awards.
He holds music education and performance degrees from the
University of Georgia. Ham
placed as a semi-finalist four times in the Leonard Falcone International
Euphonium and Tuba Competition (1997-2000) and finished third overall in
1997. In 1998, he won the state division (GA) of the Music
Teachers’ National Association Collegiate Brass Solo Competition and was
selected to perform as a member of the All-Star Tuba-Euphonium Ensemble at
the 1998 International Tuba and Euphonium Conference (ITEC) held in
Minneapolis, Minnesota. Additionally,
in 2000 as a member of the Georgia Tuba Quartet, he placed second in the
ITEC Tuba Quartet Competition held in Saskatchewan, Canada.
Since arriving at West Point, Jason has wasted no time and has
already appeared with the concert band as a featured soloist. Eric
Miller, Field Music trumpet/bugle.
A native of Sioux City, Iowa, Staff Sgt. Eric Miller earned his
Bachelor of Education degree from the University of Northern Iowa.
He continued his musical studies at Indiana University prior to
coming to the United States Military Academy Band. While at Indiana, he
held the position of Associate Instructor as a graduate student.
Eric's interest in a variety of genres has allowed him to perform
in a wide array of ensembles. They include the American Wind Symphony,
Cedar Rapids Symphony, Siouxland
Jazz Orchestra, Bloomington Camerata, Waterloo-Cedar Falls Symphony,
Theatre Cedar Rapids, Silver Strings Quartet, and the Brass-Section
chamber ensemble. In addition, he has performed throughout the United
States and Europe, including the Montreux Jazz Festival (Switzerland), the
North Sea Jazz Festival (Holland), and a tour of Hungary.
Saxophones
at West Point This March,
saxophonists from across the Northeast will attend the NASA Region 8
Conference at West Point hosted by the United States Military Academy
Band. What does the National
Aeronautics and Space Administration have to do with saxophones?
Nothing! The acronym
NASA also stands for North American Saxophone Alliance. The North
American Saxophone Alliance has existed for over thirty years as "a
professional music organization made up of individuals who share a common
enthusiasm for the saxophone. Members
include professional performers, university professors, public school
teachers, students of all levels and others who have an interest in the
saxophone." The Alliance is divided into ten regions to include the
United States, Puerto Rico and Canada.
Region 8 is comprised of Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New
Hampshire, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Vermont and
West Virginia. During even
numbered years, NASA holds a National Biennial Conference, and during the
"off-years" the Regions host separate conferences.
NASA asked the saxophonists of the Academy Band if they would host
such an event in 2003, and Lieutenant Colonel Thomas Rotondi agreed to
this paramount project. On March
21-22, 2003, the NASA Region 8 Conference, hosted by the Academy Band,
will be held at Eisenhower Hall on the grounds of the Academy.
The pinnacle of the conference will be the evening gala concerts in
Eisenhower Hall Theatre featuring two pre-eminent guest artists and
Academy Band soloists. The
Academy Concert Band will perform a concert on Friday Evening, March 21 at
eight o'clock with saxophonist Steven Mauk, and the Jazz Knights will
close out the conference with jazz saxophonist James Carter on Saturday
evening, March 22, also at eight o'clock.
The
conference officially begins on Friday afternoon, March 21st at one
o'clock in the afternoon. In
addition to the evening concerts, daytime recitals will be held in the
Eisenhower Hall Ballroom. These
recitals will feature performances by Region 8 members, both students and
professionals - soloists and ensembles.
A master class with Dr. Mauk is planned for Saturday morning, March
22nd, for high school and university students.
Vendors and exhibits from music stores specializing in saxophone
music and equipment will also be available at the conference. For more information, please visit the NASA web site at http://saxalliance.org/events.html, and as for all Academy Band performances, the conference is free and open to the public. Please visit West Point on March 21-22, 2003 for this special weekend of exciting saxophone performances! A
Sound Idea
The United
States Military Academy Band counts among its ranks some very specialized
and skilled soldiers. Audiences familiar with the three main performing groups (the
Concert Band, Jazz Knights and Field Music groups) may take for granted
the glorious notes reaching their ears.
What they may miss is the dedicated, behind-the-scenes work of the
band's professional sound technicians (techs); Sgt. 1st Class
Dave Hershey and Staff Sgt. Blair Ferrier.
They toil relentlessly to ensure that the crowds hear the USMA
Band's music at its fullest. They
hoist the speakers, string the wire and carefully position each microphone
necessary to bring music to countless Americans. While West
Point enjoys the service of these two full-time, specifically recruited
sound techs, some smaller Army bands must accomplish their missions with
fewer resources. They do this through the use of 'home-grown' talent. According to
Staff Sgt. Ferrier, "In the field, many Army musicians perform these
tasks as an assigned, additional duty.
Their units just don't have the personnel.
Band commanders realized that this caused problems.
First, there is no Military Occupation Specialty (MOS) for sound
tech. Second, there is no
continuity - soldiers assigned to sound duties gained proficiency, then
transferred to another unit through the normal PCS process.
Third, as in musicianship, sound engineering requires an aptitude,
or talent for setting up and designing complex systems.
Some people are just naturally better at this than others.”
"The
Army leadership realized the existence of these problems," Ferrier
continued, "and authorized the compilation of the Army's Standards
for Live Sound Reinforcement. As
an adjunct to this program, our USMA Band Audio Section recently held a
seminar for Army musician/sound techs.
The U.S. Air Force had also presented a similar gathering, but
their seminar dealt with material for fully trained sound engineers. This
approach was too advanced to meet the needs of Army musicians in the
field. Sgt 1st
Class Dave Hershey, USMA Band Audio Section Leader clarified, "We
made sure that our seminar covered all fundamentals.
In other words, we started from scratch!
We trained three soldiers: Sergeant Brian Dean, a bass player from
the 98th Army Band, Fort Rucker, Alabama; Specialist Victor Burns, a
percussionist with 434th Army Band, Fort Gordon, Georgia; and Specialist
Ray Brooks, a flautist with the 399th Army Band, Fort Leonard Wood,
Missouri. These soldiers all
came with various sound tech backgrounds.
For example, Specialist Brooks had already worked as a Marine Corps
band sound tech. Specialist
Burns, with no previous sound experience, received his additional duties
and was told to do his best. We
asked him to come a day early to give him some extra background. "We
used the Army's Standards for Live Sound Reinforcement as an
outline,” Hershey went on, "to ensure that we covered all relevant
topics. We spent the first
day going through this document and giving our own tips for meeting these
standards in the field. Also,
we had timed the seminar to coincide with some diverse USMA Band events.
These included a Trophy Point concert, the Cadet Ring Hop, and two
away concerts. The jobs
involved both the Jazz Knights and Concert Band, inside and outdoor
venues, and required mikes for instrumental and vocal soloists, 'out front'
and in section. "We
stressed two important issues to our attendees," Hershey explained.
"First, we provided training involving hands-on, real world
experience. Second, we
emphasized ways for the soldiers to train others, especially in setting up
and tearing down equipment. This
saves time, is less physically demanding, and allows the sound tech a bit
of ‘space’ to concentrate on the best mix.
Our own band uses this ‘tasking-out’ process.
We run it using teams from within the ranks.
We provided examples from our own SOP as a guide.
Our goal was to help each trainee organize and run their sound
shops when they returned and train people within their units, thus
bringing a measure of continuity to their sound teams.
Ultimately, as all band commanders know, no matter how well the
musicians perform, the sound tech controls what reaches the audiences,”
Hershey concluded.
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The
first recital of
Steve
Houghton Plays at West Point
WEST
POINT BRASS QUINTET (Colorado and Wyoming) The Denver Army Recruiting
Battalion is sponsoring a short tour of the West Point Brass Quintet. 
Rone
Sparrow, Concert Band percussion.
Dr.
Steven Mauk is Professor of Saxophone at Ithaca College.
James
Carter taught himself to play the saxophone when he was eleven years old
by playing along with his mother's Duke Ellington and Count Basie records.
