Thursday Interlude: Some MENC Staffers to Learn Web Spinning

John Mayer, a 1998 alumnus of the Berklee College of Music in Boston, is nominated for Best Male Pop Vocal Performance Grammy Award. Scroll down for the other Berklee grads or faculty members who were nominated. This photo and the one below are by Phil Farnsworth.

And a happy Thursday to Y'all. Actually, I have trouble believing today is Thursday. Busy, busy week. What? You've heard me say that before? When, I guess, you are wondering, is it not busy around here. Um, let me get back to you on that.

A lot of us are trying to clear the decks because we have a Web writing class coming up the next few days that will take up a chunk of time. As EWL and SR told you in their blogs earlier in the week, we have a really cool Web redesign coming up in a few weeks, so we are getting ready for that.

I do spend a lot of time writing stuff for the Web (like my blog stuff, for example), but I have never really had instruction in it. My goal once we have the new Web site in place is to update my news online as frequently as possible. I am looking forward to learning something new.

Right now I update the news once a month. I basically take the news that is printed in the magazine for the upcoming month and add stuff. I include information there wasn't room for in the print version. I include tons more photos, that kind of stuff. That is what I spent a lot of time on this week, preparing the February online news, the text and photos. I think I have mentioned that DP then takes all of that stuff and creates my online version. He is wiz. The February news will be up sometime next week.

I am sure you are aware of the the tug of war that is going on between print and Web right now. I grew up with print, worked for a daily newspaper and this is my second magazine job. I really think both mediums have strengths and weaknesses.

I love the immediacy of the Web, the fact that you can link video, audio, photos and text for a complete multi-media experience. On the other hand, it is all so instant gratification. There isn't as much time for reflection and context. The 24-hour news cycle has been a reality for quite some time now.

My husband is a newspaper editor and his reporters cover politics. Throughout the day they are writing for the paper's Web site, updating when necessary and writing for print. It is almost a never-ending job, if you want to get it right.

Now, am I saying I will be updating my MENC news around clock once our new Web site is up and running? Uh, no. But I want to make it fresher and more-up-to date, so look for my news once the Web site is launched in the spring.

Hmm. Music stuff I discovered this week. I found this cool story ab0ut Beethoven's lost opera on the NPR music site this week. Actually, the story discusses whether Leonore is a first draft of Fidelio its own piece. Check out the arguments and the music.

Also recently I received a press release from the Berklee College of Music headlined:

Berklee Alumni and Faculty Earn 24 Grammy Award Nominations

Nominees include John Mayer, Steve Vai, Howard Shore, Diana Krall, Juan Luis Guerra, and Quincy Jones. Click here to read Berklee's press release.

As for Berklee, the photo below, right is of Oscar Stagnaro, one of the nominees for best Latin Jazz album, is a professor of bass at Berklee. He performs Funk Tango in the Paquito D'Rivera Quintet along with Diego Urcola '90, Pernell Saturnino '95, Alon Yavnai '95,

and Mark Walker, a Berklee associate professor of percussion.

The 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards will take place live on Sunday, Feb. 10 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. And yes, they will take place, despite the strike by the Writer's Guild. The Grammy folks were granted a waiver for writers to "script" that witty chatter presenters utter before they hand out those cute little grammophones the nominees are dying to get their hands on. I can't wait.

Nominees Alicia Keys, Brad Paisley and the casts of "The Beatles LOVE by Cirque du Soleil" and Across The Universe in a special Beatles segment are the latest performers announced for the 50th Annual GRAMMY Awards telecast by the Recording Academy.

Two summers ago, my husband, son and I saw "Beatles LOVE" in Las Vegas. It was so fabulous, both the reworking of the Beatles' music and the Cirque du Soleil performers. Can't wait to see that on Feb. 10. I am an awards show geek. Truly. And especially for the Grammys.

For a complete list Grammy nominees, click here.

I include the snippet below from the Grammy press release. Click here to read the whole thing.

Well, as they say in France, C'est tout for this week.

Hope things around your neck of the woods (as weather man Al Roker says) are going well. Let's chat next week about the music performances at the Super Bowl this Sunday. You know you want to.

Til Next Thursday. RF

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany xxxxvi: Endings, and Beginnings!

Well, it's the end of January, and I say whew! Seems like the longest month of the year to me every year, most likely because of the cold, dreary drab weather, the post holiday let down, the disappearance of holiday decor and cheer, and reality fully back on one's plate in the form of work, taxes, exercise, and general "no more holidays on the horizon for a while!". (One colleague at MENC, however, did a very smart thing - she spent two weeks just after the holidays in HAWAII on a well deserved vacation....talk about a good way to spend the first two weeks of January!! Here's a quick view to help you forget winter gloom!)

Now, don't you feel better!?

I for one am glad the short and sweet month of February is upon us! Days are longer, birds are starting to chirp (at least in Virginia!), and you get a good sense that Spring IS On the way....

(candy always helps, too!)

And speaking of short and sweet, this will be a short and sweet blog today....!

A quick update to last week's (1/23) posting about the MENC Social.....On Friday 1/25, Dr. M hosted the MENC Monthly staff social. The Theme? Ice Cream Sundaes!
You may think it strange to have ice cream in January....but, it went down WARMLY and WELL thanks to the wonderful member who made a Christmas gift of her state's famous hot fudge sauce. A VERY big thank you to member RAK for her generous "donation" ! The large can of the milk chocolate sauce was gently heated in a pot of warm water, until just the right consistency for spooning and drizzling.......here's one of the finished creations....(although, it seems to be missing a cherry!)

And here are three happy MENC staff (2 of the super hardworking mail room/handyman/know how to get it done guys...and one staffer who I'm sorry I'm not able to identify..... ) pausing from their labors to have the treat:

There were several other interesting photos, particularly of Dr. M drizzling the sauce from on high like a chef........and another of him sitting with staff with a diet soda in his hand! Many other photos (courtesy of BS, super photographer!) of staff in various states of ice cream enjoyment and concentration as they constructed their sundaes...but, you will have to imagine these scenes........Overall, staff enjoyed and got the appropriate sugar high to see them through Friday afternoon on a dreary winter day!

As for the endings, in addition to the month disappearing........today we say goodbye to MENC Teaching Music Managing Editor, BP. She has been a real boon to MENC. BP contributed to MENC not only with her fine managing editorship, but she co-directed, and performed in the MENC Recorder ensemble (playing AND singing!), and one summer she even ran a yoga class for interested staff! BP is also a licensed pilot, an accomplished singer and choral conductor, and Mom! She will be missed!

And, a new beginning: this week, a handful of staff will be receiving special "write for the web" training, as soon, the MENC website will be completely converted with a new look for members (sometime late spring, early summer), and it will have a new technical interface for staff, so staff can post materials directly to the website themselves, instead of having to rely on our production/web team. Stay tuned!

Hope to bring you, in coming weeks, comments and segments from our monthly on-line survey, The Question of the Month, most recently about musicians and health. Some good suggestions and feedback received in January from members! February's question of the month topic will be TECHNOLOGY in the music classroom, and, separately, RETIRED MUSIC EDUCATORS..... Please take a look after 2/1! (and see below for some TECH in MUSIC links!)

Knowing you are all busy, so below are just a few bits and pieces of resources/interest. Hope your week goes well, and til next week, SR

BITS AND PIECES/RESOURCES

TECHNOLOGY
MENC's Opportunity to Learn Standards for Music TECHNOLOGY

The Technology Institute for Music Educators (TI:ME)

Music Tech Teacher

VERMONT MIDI PROJECT

WHY TECH ENHANCES STUDENT SUCCESS

write to info@menc.org if you would like a few more sites with useful info about classes and other tips!

AFRICAN AMERICAN HISTORY MONTH

NAEP: National Assessment of Educational Progress, Arts Assessment 2008

How I Won the Meeting

I go to a lot of meetings here at MENC. Not as many as do some other people, but still, a lot. Meetings are ok, even good, when they are productive and the participants have good attitudes. Coming out of a meeting with a lot more work to do can be a little discouraging if the goal of all the new work hasn't been made clear. A meeting where someone drones on and on, saying the same thing over and over, is the worst. (I'm probably guilty of that, so I try to be careful.)

Sometimes, however, a meeting can be quite fun. Just now, I had a very fun meeting with the Web team. Our project list is really long right now, and while we're doing everything on the list, we're also dealing with the gigantic project of overhauling the whole Web site for a spring launch. We spent a good portion of the meeting chuckling about the staff members who think they are going to bypass procedure to get their project done before any others (i.e., "cut in line"). We also discussed how great it would be to be a judge on "Iron Chef" and how a little office gossip isn't always a bad thing. We prioritized and set deadlines and had good attitudes. Fun, productive, and not too long. (Because I had another meeting to get ready for!)

I was watching a DVD of the first season of "30 Rock" recently and I liked the way Liz Lemon called for "two minute dance break" during a long brainstorming meeting. The characters instantly cranked up the boom box and started boogie-ing around the conference room. I thought this was a great thing to add to any long meetings at MENC. Of course on the show, Liz Lemon's boss showed up in the middle of the dance break and didn't seem to think it was that great of an idea! I'll have to check MENC's policy on dancing during meetings.

Last weekend's Dilbert comic strip was about how to know when you've "won a meeting" -- I thought it was hilarious!

After lunch, two more meetings. So I'll leave you with a link to the Web site of one of my all-time favorite musicians, Richard Thompson. I saw him for the manyith time last week in DC. He tours frequently, either with a four-piece electric band or solo acoustic, performing his wonderful catalog of songs dating back to the late 60s and his days with the group Fairport Convention. Last week's show, however, was his "1000 Years of Popular Music," a tongue-in-cheek performance of the best pop songs of the last millennium. Highlights included music from the Mikado, "Shenandoah," tunes from Abba, the Korgis, the Beatles, the Kinks, and Nelly Furtado (!), some Cole Porter and Ella Fitzgerald, an English madrigal, an Italian renaissance song, and much more -- all performed "shamelessly" by RT on acoustic guitar/voice, Judith Owen on keyboards/voice, and Debra Dobkin on percussion/voice. (Harry Shearer, a voice from "The Simpsons" and "This is Spinal Tap," was sitting just in front of us. He is married to Judith Owen.) Highly recommend you check "1000 Years" out on CD or DVD.

Onward -- EWL

Thursday Interlude: Takin' Care of Business

Hi,
If you read my blog post last week, you may recall that I was on my way to the Midwest to visit my family for a long weekend. We celebrated my mom's birthday and my parents' wedding anniversary with a party and it was nice seeing my parents, as well as my sister and brother and assorted nieces and nephews. The weather there was cold to put it mildly. I don't think the temperature got much above 20 or so the whole time I was there and at night the temps were below zero.

I know, I know, I grew up there, but Northern Virginia, with its relatively mild winters, has turned me into a wimp. I readily admit that.

Anyway, before I forget, I want to express my appreciation to airport workers everywhere. Last Thursday it started snowing as I headed to Dulles Airport and I sat in there terminal watching the snow fall and inside the airport beleaguered gate agents were trying to placate upset passengers ("What do you mean all of the flights to Denver are full!"). Outside as the snow fell, workers labored in the cold, blustery weather to keep runways clear, plane wings deiced and and help planes to take off. Those people work really hard to keep all of us going where we are going, whether it is a business trip or a family reunion.

There are some kind of new rules about how long people sit on planes, how many planes can be in line to leave when the weather is bad. So, we got on our plane, we got off our plane, we got on the plane, we waited on the plane and finally five hours later, after the de-icing and watching a stuck plane get towed back to the gate, we took off.

Personally, I had a good book to read (and a book club meeting coming up) and since I spend so much time rushing about, I was perfectly happy to just sit and read. In fact, most of the people on my plane took it all in stride, talking, calling whomever to say they were being delayed or reading like I was.

When we finally landed, the flight attendant actually got on the intercom and thanked everyone for being so nice and polite and not yelling or throwing things at the crew. I was immensely proud of all of us.

Anyway, since returning to the office, I worked on finishing up final revisions for March Music Educators Journal stories and catching up on a gazillion emails. Oh, and I made flight reservations to head out to Bismarck, North Dakota for the North Dakota Music Education Association conference in March. (And, no, I am not skittish about getting on a plane again. I know in March, they can still have snow in the upper Midwest, but hey, I know those people know how to clear runways.

I just wanted to pass along a link for a story I heard last weekend on Weekend America, the American Public Media show. The story is called "An Architect's Morning Music." It is a interview with architect Daniel Libeskind, who says "I don't think I would have a good day if I wasn't able to start by listening to music." It is a fascinating story about how closely he links music and creativity.

His projects include the Jewish Museum in Berlin and in February 2003, Studio Daniel Libeskind's design study was chosen as the master site plan for the rebuilding of the World Trade Center Site in New York City.

Oh, and Ameican Idol? I didn't see it last night because of my aforementioned book club meeting. Feel free to add a comment if anyone has touched a nerve for you during the competition thus far.

Well, gotta go. My day job calls.
Til next Thursday
RF

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany XXXXV: Sunshine, Moons, Music Man and Puccini!

Well, today is as bright, sunny and blue as yesterday was gloomy and grey. This is a nice respite before another dose of winter dull daze tomorrow!

(*and we have had, the last few nights, the MOST HUGE, BRIGHT, silvery, beautiful dollar coin sized full moon beaming down from 5am - 7am lighting the commute and early morning risers! Amazingly beautiful! If you ever saw the 1980's movie "MOONSTRUCK", you will get it....and there's even a musical tie in to this BELOW!)
(looked like this, only SILVER, not yellow)

In honor of winter (or perhaps to make us think "SUMMER!"), on Friday this week, Dr. Mahlmann is treating MENC staff (during our monthly "socials") to ice cream sundaes!

As explained before, these "socials" give busy staff a brief respite from the computer and phones and meetings and moving the mail, to enable us to have some "face to face" time and remember staff birthdays and anniversaries of working at MENC.

The fudge sauce to be served on the ice cream is the motivation for the social's theme, as Dr. M was gifted the fudge sauce from one very wonderful and involved MENC member at Christmas time. Thank you, RAK! (and Dr. M of course for sharing the bounty!).

So, the Exec dept (ML, CW, MJ, PS, LE, and me tagged on as an orphan department) will be hosting and setting up and all - come Friday.....

Ice cream and of course, the MENC staff "social" always remind me of .....ICE CREAM SOCIALS!!! You know (if you're of a certain age), those "old fashioned" gatherings families, churches, and schools used to have to bring folks together.....it was always a treat when I was a kid, all the ice cream you wanted! MENC still holds over from those times the old word "social"....I love it! keeps me connected to childhood!

(trivia: It's official - Two Rivers is recognized by the Wisconsin State Historical Society as the REAL birthplace of the ice cream sundae. There is a Sundae Week every summer, and the city gathers in Central Park for an old fashioned band concert and ice cream social during the annual Sundae Thursday. (courtesy of THIS SITE

Speaking of ice cream socials....THAT always reminds me of THE MUSIC MAN! (Meredith Willson, you know, the musical, starring Robert Preston and Barbara Cook in the original broadway version, Shirley Jones in the 1962 Movie ...click HERE for more details!

That scene of the ice cream social...the footbridge.....Class of "aught five", and "Pick a little talk a little.... Chaucer..Rabellaise...BALZAC!"....Marian the Librarian.....76 Trombones......

and the Salesmen Train Conversational Song about "But ya gotta know the territory!"; Gary Indiana, The Sadder but Wiser girl for me, Goodnight my someone, Lida Rose/Dream of Now, Trouble (in River city!).... need I say more?! (well, guess who played my brother Winthrop when I was Marian in 8th grade? 7th grader Paula Poundstone! She was GREAT!).

And speaking of LIDA ROSE/Dream of now - (my absolutely all time favorite song in the entire show, it was a joy to sing against that full barbershop harmony!)......this brings me back full circle to "ICCCEEE CREEEEAMMM!" - the first words sung by Jacey and his fellow town managers after being beguiled into harmonizing by the conniving Prof. Harold Hill, as he distracted them with their vocal chops and made his escape onto conning more townspeople of River City Iowa into buying band instruments and uniforms!

Now that I've had my little nostalgia trip (how many of YOU have been in the Music Man, either as a musician, or cast member on stage? Comment below!)......(and wasn't it at LEAST a bit more interesting to read than hearing about how I'm slogging through survey #2 sent to 2000 members, and the about to start sorting another 2000 names for sending for survey #3?)..........let me leave you with a few resources on China, barbershop singing, civil rights (in honor of Dr. Martin Luther King's recent birthday/holiday), and a wonderful 6 minute video/sound clip for those who love Puccini (and maybe were intrigued by my mention of Andre Rieu in the last few blogs).... this is something special, worth seeing! SEE BELOW!

Hope you have a good week, and see you next! SR


RESOURCES:

SPEBSQUA: Society (for the) Preservation (and) Encouragement (of) BarberShop QUartet (singing in) America; AKA Harmony Foundation (singing valentines! only three weeks away!)

One of the most beautiful renditions ever: Carmen Monarcha of Brazil, in Cortona, Italy, singing "O Mio Babbino Caro" ( Oh my dearest daddy) with Andre Rieu and his Johann Strauss Orchestra...click HERE

Synopsis of the Puccini opera Gianni Schicchi, from which O Mio Babbino Caro comes

With the world's largest population and an exploding economy, China may represent the future for international touring artists. Click HERE

Eyes on the Prize/ PBS/History of Civil Rights movement (saw this again after many years, SO worth seeing and sharing with others!):

PBS SITE

WIKIPEDIA description

RIVER CITY IOWA: AKA as MUSIC MAN SQUARE, Mason City Iowa - click HERE

(and did you know MENC's first meeting in 1907 was also in Iowa? see www.menc.org and go to the INDEX and click on CENTENNIAL!)

Gray Tuesday

A little depressing today -- as I plug away at my projects, I can see out my window a construction crew clearing a formerly lovely spot of forest in which to build a new office building. Too bad.

It's already mid afternoon and I have so much to do that I must leave it at that! Back next Tuesday!

Onward -- EWL

Closed for Martin Luther King, Jr., Holiday

Follow your dream

MLK did

You can too

Of "Primary" Concern

Oh wow. I really should write for a supermarket tabloid, shouldn't I? Sorry, that headline was just too easy. It was ripe for the pickin! ;-)

But seriously, what a BLAST these presidential primaries have been so far!! I've been involved in politics and government relations for quite a while now, and I can't remember an election season so wrought with endless campaign drama and intrigue!

Given the importance of the 2008 election, and what it's results will ultimately mean for music education, NCLB reauthorization, and the American education system generally, I feel that the outcome of the Dem and GOP primaries, respectively, should be of particular interest to all of us as music advocates.

If you're a Republican, oh man, where do you even start? If you are to trust CNN, Fox News, or any of the other major cable news pundit-lands, you would have THRICE thought that your party had nominated its candidate:

First, Iowa --> Mike Huckabee surprises (it must be Huckabee!)

Second, New Hampshire --> John McCain rebounds from out of nowhere (we were wrong, it's McCain all the way to 1600!)

Third, Michigan --> Mitt Romney has arrived! (reports of his death were GREATLY exaggerated, Mitt Romney will win the nomination for sure!)

Sigh.

Woweeeeeeeee. Can we all just pleeeeeease take a deep breath? None of this is to say anything of former front-runner Rudy Giuliani, former Senator and one-time TV star Fred Thompson, or even of... (yes, that's right, you knew it was coming!!) Representative Ron Paul, who believe it or not, is STILL running for president (and not out of it quite yet, either, by some accounts!!)

All of this leaves Republicans with their first legitimate chance to head into a brokered convention in many, many years. For those of you who are curious, a brokered convention (while it would make for incredibly CAPTIVATING television) would truly horrify GOP leaders.

They fear that it would display a fractured, frustrated Republican party, unable to unify behind one candidate, wildly debating the issues of the day (just like the good old days!!) for countless hours on end in front of a mesmerized national TV audience (seriously, that sounds like SO much fun to me!! haha I love it!). Old school politics at their BEST!

Hey, maybe they'd even discuss music education!! I'm all for it ;-)

Now on to the Democrats.

Man alive has this been exciting to watch! Both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton are running landmark, historically significant presidential campaigns, and if either one of them is to ultimately win the nomination (which seems highly likely at this point), it would be a tremendously significant event for America (even if you don't like either one of them at all!).

For now, however, neither Hillary nor Barack can seem to pull away in this race (each having netted one primary, thus far, respectively), and in spite of the media's insistence that the Democratic contest has become nothing more than a two candidate show, former North Carolina Senator John Edwards still remains very much alive and kicking, elbowing his way back into the conversation whenever possible, and continuing to remind Democrats that this race truly ain't over yet!

My opinion on this one? Don't be so quick to assume that the nomination will ultimately come down to a direct choice between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama. If I've seen this kind of thing once, then I've seen it a thousand times: John Edwards may or may not still have a legitimate chance at the Democratic crown (see his finish in this Saturday's upcoming Nevada caucuses for more on his realistic chances...), but even if he does begin to slowly but surely fade away, he may still not be even be close to done raising havoc and chaos for the other two candidates.

Should John Edwards enter the Democratic convention in Denver with a heapin' helpin' of delegates himself (a VERY likely scenario), Edwards could effectively play kingmaker, deciding at his leisure and discretion whom to award (Barack or Hillary) with the remainder of his committed delegates and hence, effectively swinging the Democratic nominating contest to the candidate of his choice (can anyone say back room VP deal in exchange for the keys to the White House ?!?! haha).

Sorry, I never could deny myself the pleasure of a juicy conspiracy theory! ;-) Plus, stranger things have certainly happened in the course of American politics!!

Anyways, in the meantime, make certain to stay tuned to these epic races! The next President of the United States will have a LOT to say about the role of music education in this country, and we, as music advocates, need it to be someone who cares and will listen to what we have to say!

And now, for a final, light-hearted look at what goes into the sometimes amusing process of "presidential campaign music" song selection, check out this super cool Washington Post article tracked down by the equally awesome SR!! Enjoy!
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/01/16/AR2008011604152_pf.html

Thursday Interlude: Leavin' on a Jet Plane (I Hope)

Hi
Just a quick note here. I leave in a few hours for a visit with my family in the Midwest for a few days. I am thinking positive, though, because snow is on the way here and it is already snowing out west where I am headed. My friend BS here at the office told me to think positive and I am doing that. I.will.be.airborne.this.afternoon!

So did you catch Amercian Idol on Tuesday and Wednesday night? Apparently fewer of you did. The ratings were down. I watched on Tuesday from Philly. Seemed like a nice mix of zanies, really good singers who also looked like pop idols (whatever they look like), and tear jerker stories. Yes, that was me boo-hooing when the 16-year-old female linebacker sang in tribute to her (sniff, sniff) got a group hug when Paula and Randy and Simon had to tell her that, well, she can't sing. Her Mom and dad were sad, too. I gotta give her props for trying out.

I also liked the guy named Joey who has lost a gazillion pounds and also was told by Randy, "Dude you can definitely blow. Welcome to Hollywood, dog!) He did a Maroon 5 song, which sounded pretty good.

My week this week was pretty crazy, as I continued to work on both March Music Educators Journal (stories finished, thank you very much) and February Teaching Music pages (finished
ditto).

I also started to make plans to go out to North Dakota in March for the NDMEA conference where I will do the MENC resource shop. I went out there two years ago and really enjoyed it so I am looking forward to going back. Hi North Dakota folks!

Well, fellow blog babies, I shall leave you two neat stories I heard Tuesday on the NPR story Fresh Air, about a German photographer from Hamburg who photographed the Beatles before they were the Beatles. In the same show there was a story about Vee-Jay Records, a blues and R&B label done in by its own success. This link will take you to both stories.

Well, til next Thursday.
RF

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany XXXXIV: Studies and More Studies!

Short and sweet, as I'm still trying to catch up/ keep head above water with students surveys, and now a rash of advocacy (Help, our program is threatened! Help, my teaching situation is being squeezed...) and parent requests!

Let's see....
....got one survey out finally to 2000 members (on assessment)
.... two more to go: one more to 2000 different members on general music, and 2000 different members on special needs...
....despite good intentions, never did get around to unpacking from my move to a new office....boxes boxes everywhere!. Maybe this MLK Day holiday on Monday 21st will be the day I face them, as MENC Offices will be closed......

In response to the member requests that came in this week, below please see some of the resources we dug up in response to ....a teacher asking about resources to help her teach a deaf 2nd grader....a parent asking about resources/research she can share with the band director at the school her son will be attending, to help the teacher work more effectively with her son, who has dyslexia and motor planning challenges....

And after the resources, you'll see some links to articles/info which may or may not be of interest to you, in general....a study of seven different countries examines cultural consumption, and divides culture consumers into four "Types" (see which one YOU are!)......Aretha Franklin wins yet ANOTHER award.....an unusual "Globalfest" of music....and ....an 83 year old puts out an album!
Have a good week - see you next! SR

RESOURCES
(click on the word/line)
GREAT list of resources/websites about deaf musicians and resources for deaf musicians

TEACHING INSTRUMENTAL MUSIC TO DEAF AND HARD OF HEARING STUDENTS

Teaching Strategies in Inclusive Classrooms With Deaf Students

Resources for Teachers of Deaf Students

Hearing Impairments and Music therapy/List of internet articles

DYSLEXIA resources:

Music as a Second Language; article in the 11/07 NH MEA journal reprinted from the ND MEA journal of 10/07

CASE STUDIES and resources for teachers

DYSLEXIA in adults, resources

Another Dyslexia Resource site

(Articles on general issues BELOW)

ARTICLES of possible interest

ARETHA FRANKLIN To Receive 2008 NAACP VANGUARD AWARD on FEBRUARY 14th "The NAACP VANGUARD AWARD is presented to a person whose groundbreaking work increases our understanding and awareness of racial and social issues. Read more HERE

CULTURAL STUDY: Social Status, Lifestyle and Cultural Consumption
article about

summary of study

GLOBAL FEST: a five-hour, 12-band showcase of world music .....a MOST Unusual mix of talents, acts, musical offerings......

83 year old records album! CLICK HERE to read about him, and hear two audio clips!

Tuesday, Tuesday

I'm back from FMEA, where the weather was warm and sales were brisk. I probably spent about 30 minutes total outside, but they were very pleasant minutes! It was great to meet a lot of members at the conference and get a chance to talk to them about the upcoming World's Largest Concert, our plans for the overhauled MENC Web site, what's happening at the MENC National Conference in April, and the many new books MENC has recently published and that are coming up.

Coming back yesterday was a little intimidating due to the looming e-mail build up, deadlines, and meetings. But it was a productive day. I have two volunteers helping me this week with Music In Our Schools Month kit preparation. There was an interesting staff meeting about what ideas we had for making our time at the Milwaukee conference really count for our members, and another about writing assignments for new Web content plan (coming in April). Today, there is a meeting about membership promotions; there is the weekly Web meeting of course; and now, I also have a weekly production meeting -- that's our graphic designers and production assistant meeting with me to go over the project list, prioritize, and assign. So it's basically the Web meeting ... without the Web projects or the Web guys.

I was just catching up on my fellow bloggers' recent posts and I see that Harley the Tri-M Dog is getting more and more important around here. Apparently now he is hanging out on conference calls with MENC leadership and rock stars! I feel I must finally disclose that Harley has a rival ... Coda, the MusicFriends Bear.

Adorable as Harley is, he was outsold at the FMEA resource shop by Coda 4-2!! I was relieved, because I don't really like seeing my yellow friend sitting there in a sealed plastic bag.

Coda doesn't actually do as much as Harley, but he's very cute. He likes to hang out with the Web guys. Here he is helping Web assistant DP with ... something. (I probably need to find something more productive for him to do.)

If you'd like your own Coda, or your own Harley for that matter, or your very own MusicFriends t-shirt! ... you can order them from MENC!

Onward -- EWL

GLORY BE in our world

Hello boys and girls, can anyone tell me where the Glory Be is on Harley? Well if you look closely at the photos of Harley this week you will be able to know where the Glory Beeeee is.... Yes, Harley has been one busy little bee.

To begin with, last week he helped moderate a conference call with our Deputy Executive Director for Development on the Rock and Roll High School. As you will remember (Harley and Steven Van Zandt hang tight with each other) MENC is involved with Little Steven's Rock and Roll High School project which is also supported by Scholastic. President Lynn Brinckmeyer has appointed a Rock and Roll curriculum committee who are now beginning to work to oversee the materials.

Harley was also involved in getting out the monthly newsletter to the MENC Leadership. Of interest in the newsletter is additional information on the November 2007 national poll on the correlation of music education experience with lifetime educational attainment and financial success. This time Harris conducted a survey of 150 senior executives in Fortune 1000 companies. The results basically support the earlier data, which strongly imply that music education contributes to individuals' success. Further data will be posted to the MENC web site.

Be sure to preregister for the upcoming national in-service conference in Milwaukee, WI by February 15th for the early bird special. Let's see is it the early bird that gets the worm or the bee..... Hmmmmmm. Harley will have to consider that one. (# 2 Hmmmm, Harley digresses and wonders if it won't be the Green Bay Packers vs New England Patriots in the Super Bowl in February?) ALSO, volunteers are needed to preside at sessions. Yes, we need YOU! You are us! # 2 Also -- be sure to vote when you receive your ballot. Some of you will be voting for division presidents-elect (those of you in the Western, North Central, and Southern divisions), everyone will be voting for a national MENC president-elect, and everyone will be voting to amend the MENC Bylaws. We will need your ballots back in the MENC office on March 21. Stay in touch. If you need anything, you can reach us by mail, e-mail, or phone. We are here for you! ; )

Have you found Harley's Be? It certainly isn't in his bonnet! Talking about a bee in his bonnet -- shame on some of those Dallas Cowboy football players headed to Mexico with a well known blond singer on the arm of Tony during the "bye" week before their playoff game. Guess it was a bye bye kind of week - they lost to New York - no kidding, Sherlock! Even Harley knows they should have been concentrating on the game - of football. Oh well, have a Harley kind of glory bee kind of week y'all.

...It's Back To Work We Go!

Happy 2008 everyone!!

What an exciting year we have in front of us! An MENC National Conference in Milwaukee to look forward to! A presidential election steamrolling down the tracks! Arts Advocacy Day on Capitol Hill JUST around the corner! And a million exciting projects coming down the pipeline! Ah yes, I can feel it... 2008 will be a GOOD year for music education. Plus, I just really like even numbers much better than odd ;-)

My new year kick started off in an interesting fashion. For starters, I've been sick as a dog for about two weeks now (finally starting to get better!), but alas, music education advocacy breaks for NO one -- and so, I have continued my visits to Capitol Hill (hopefully not infecting anyone in the process) on behalf of our great cause!

It's been a really exciting week, actually. On Tuesday I attended the Education Sector's "Missing Link in the Teacher Quality Debate" event at the National Press Club , on Wednesday I sat in on Education Week's release of the "2008 Quality Counts Report" addressing state level educational performance (also at the National Press Club), and on Thursday, I attended Secretary of Education Margaret Spellings' address on NCLB and federal education policy generally, at... you guessed it -- the National Press Club AGAIN. I practically could be considered a member at this point! (see upcoming Legislative ALERT for more details on ALL of these exciting events!!)

In the meantime, SKJ and HLS have been hard at work on a relaunch of MusicFriends Challenge, a really cool MENC corporate support program that we've decided to bring back! They're also working on a number of other great projects, so stay tuned for more info on that soon enough!

Here at MENC, we're all keeping a close eye on the upcoming election (and watching the primaries because GOSH they're fun!!), but all that matters to us is that which ever candidate ultimately wins the general makes music education a TOP priority! That's our most important job. To make CERTAIN that Congress understands the importance of increasing its support for MUSIC MUSIC MUSIC!

...Until next time music fans! :-)

Thursday Interlude: When Months Collide

MENC's U.S. Army All-American Marching Band performed on Saturday January 5
at the All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas.
San Antonio Photos by Pierre Beelendorf

When you read this, I assume it will be January something. Maybe not January 10 as it is as I toss together my blog entry this week, but January something.

Here in my office here in Reston it is January, February and March. January because the 2008 serenity calendar on the wall opposite my desk tells me it is. February because I spent a good portion of the week sorting through photos from MENC's U.S. Army All-American Marching Band, which performed last Saturday at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl in San Antonio, Texas, (see EWL's post on Tuesday.) They will appear in the February TM, out in a few weeks.

March because I have been working on news stories for the March issue of Music Educators Journal, including interviews with high school seniors designated as marching All-Americans who talked about what a great experience they had at the Alamodome last week. They talked about several days of hard work with amazing instructors and how pleased they were to master an intricate marching routine and challenging music.

The U.S. Army All-American Bowl, produced by SportsLink, is the premier high school football game in the nation. It features the nation's top 80 high school senior football players and for the first time this year, the 91 finest high school senior marching musicians.

Bob Buckner currently in his seventeenth year as the Director of Athletic Bands at Western Carolina University in Cullowhee, NC, directed the band operation, putting together a high respected staff of marching band experts for MENC.

Bob Buckner (center) on the Alamo Dome field during the halftime show.

One student I interviewed this week said it was the hardest he had ever worked in his life, but added. "It was so great being challenged like that. I learned so much, not only from the instructors, but also from the other musicians. It was great meeting kids from all over the country. I will never forget what a great experience it was."

If you will be a high school senior in January 2009, or if you have an excellent student who would benefit from a life-changing experience, not to mention an all-expenses paid trip, visit this MENC site to learn about the application process for the 2009 band.

Look for more USAAAMB interviews and photos in the in February Teaching Music and March Music Educators Journal.

MENC President Lynn M. Brinckmeyer addresses Marching All-Americans in San Antonio (above)

I talked to a lot of other people for March stories this week as well, including a college professor who is leading an educational trip with students to South Africa to bring the beginnings of a music program to a school beset by AIDs and poverty and a general music teacher whose students performed a video that will be part of the World's Largest Concert DVD.

I guess I need to get writing. Oh, right and reviewing those February news pages. Months colliding. I hope the new year is treating you well.

Til next Thursday
RF

Midweek Meanderings and Miscellany XXXXIII: New Year's Spirit lives on!

Thick in the middle of many surveys (see last week's blog)...and requests from members and others back after the holidays. So will try to keep this short! (and I'm sure YOU are busy too!)

Trying to prolong the holiday feeling....I decided on New Year's day to write in the blog about this....hope it will give you the uplift it gave me!

On New Year's day, while taking care of things at home post -holiday, I had PBS on most of the day....our local PBS station out of Maryland. They were running a fundraiser, and were showing a marathon of concerts. These were not ordinary orchestral symphony hall concerts. What I saw was a middle aged but youthful looking slender man with curly long hair, a twinkle in his eye, in a tux, playing a violin, while moving around the stage, making eye contact with the audience, the orchestra, and smiling as he played. He even turned his back to the audience from time to time, as he conducted his orchestra......

The orchestra was a smaller version of a full orchestra, it was more like a chamber group.....yet a full orchestra....all the ladies were dressed in pastel colored satin evening/party dresses evocative of the late 1800's, and men in tuxes/formal evening wear of that time. The members of the orchestra were smiling and making eye contact with one another and obviously enjoying themselves. They were playing a waltz; and then they moved onto some folk music.

The audience and setting? The scene revealed a packed town square, hard to tell what country it was, but clearly European.....a crowd was standing shoulder to shoulder, arm in arm, linked into one mass of swaying, happy, attentive, enraptured humanity....even old ladies in black dresses hung out their upper story windows on the perimeter to catch a glimpse of the goings -on.

I couldn't turn away at this point....obviously, it was entertaining, and not really serious, but the juxtaposition of classical music to folk, formal concert wear to the informal outdoor setting, the theatrical nature of the orchestra to the reality of the modern day audience, the joyous countenance of the orchestra and crowd.....it all kept me enthralled, enough to wait until the fundraising break to find out who this person was, and where this concert was, and what he was doing.......

The mystery conductor/violinist/orchestral leader was ANDRE RIEU and his Johann Strauss Orchestra. I had never heard of them, but apparently, they are like rock stars in Europe and have been for years. Through the day, I witnessed Rieu addressing his different audiences in Italian, Dutch, German, English, French and Spanish.....so at first, I was unsure what nationality HE was! Turns out he is Dutch. He travels the world with his orchestra, performing in different countries, in different venues, performing music of Strauss and other waltz composers, as well as music of whichever country he is visiting. His mission is to bring the joy of music to all. Sounds simplistic, but really, when you see these concerts, you will have to agree it is different than anything you've ever seen (aside from maybe the British PROMS).

I hate to admit it, but after the first 1/2 concert I saw (Tuscany), I kept the TV on through fundraising break after fundraising break to see his Maastricht (Homecoming) concert, concert in France, I believe, one in Germany at Christmas, and finally, I had to see him at Radio City Music Hall! He regularly showcases local talent, and in NY, he featured the Harlem Gospel Choir. He speaks sincerely of, and affectionately for, each of the showcased talents, as well as the city in which he is a guest. His orchestra is a true ensemble and the interactions and lively repartee keep it interesting. The members are nearly all youthful, and I witnessed several antics during these concerts (blowing whistles, the staid cello player during one folk number; timpani player taking a vocal solo; all male members of the orchestra leaving their instruments behind to don top hats and canes to do a vocal number at Radio City....).....

None of it was campy, everything done was done gracefully, with sincerity, and beauty and joy.

Yes, the music is easy listening classical and show music and such, (pops), but, it was perfect for being transported from day to day drudgery and reality to the beauty and joy that music brings. If you go to Rieu's website, you can read how he started this unusual orchestra/group/mission.....as a young boy, he could not understand why the audience at the orchestra concert he was attending was not dancing and moving to the music, which was bringing him such joy. He could not understand why everyone in the audience was sitting there motionless.....CLICK HERE to READ MORE.....

I wish I could show you a picture of this orchestra/event, but technically and legally speaking, I'm not sure I can. So please just CLICK HERE to see his site and get more info about this amazing group! And to see articles and video excerpts of concerts....

Whether or not you may think this kind of music is "good" music, I pass it along to you as a potential resource especially perhaps for younger kids, and even those in high school, in case they've become jaded or thought there was only "one" way to play music. There are many avenues to take musical skills once out of school......kids should be encouraged to explore them! Contact MENC at info@menc.org for some career resources you may want to share with your students, and/or see THIS SITE!
(see more below....)

I leave you with a few articles you may want to read in your free (haha!) time, below!
See you next week! SR

RESOURCES

MUSIC TECH LAB for high school students who are not performers

STRADIVARIUS MARKET

CONCERT GOERS, "please shout or clap anytime!" A short history of concert-going...how the audiences of old used to be much more animated than we are today! Worth signing up for a free NYTimes on-line subscription for access to this article!

Tuesday Back in the Office

Happy New Year! We're off to a bustling start for 2008. I have only two days to cram everything in this week, as I depart tomorrow for the Florida Music Educators Association conference to staff the MENC resource shop. Ironically, it's about 75 sunny degrees here today, so I'm not really escaping any winter chill by going to Florida. MENC marketing manager BS, on the other hand, is leaving for Alaska tomorrow for the Alaska MEA conference. I think her bags will be quite a bit heavier than mine!

Over the weekend I checked out the All-American Bowl on NBC, hoping to see our wonderful first-ever All-American Marching Band at halftime. Alas, while I could see the students in the background performing their choreography and faintly hear the music while commentators discussed the game and the athletes, the AAMB wasn't really spotlighted by NBC. Hope that changes next year. The students got great exposure in the offical program book of the game, and I heard from MENC staffer PB that it was a fantastic experience for the band members.


I got to catch up with my nephew over the holidays. He's playing alto sax in his middle school jazz band! Here's a photo of him with his teacher, MENC member Wendy Milstead of Autry Mill Middle School in Alpharetta, GA. Warren also got a guitar for Christmas. I'm very happy he is so interested in music!
Well, our centennial year is officially over! And we've made some (semi) final updates to the MENC Centennial Web site, including photos and reports from the Keokuk symposium and the Orlando celebration. Please visit if you haven't already.

That's all for today! I'll have a report from FMEA next week.

Onward -- EWL

Where oh where did the Holidays Go? And when did they Go?

Why are we at work and not at home? Who knows. It seems like it has been forever since Harley and I visited with you. Harley was very very busy over the past weekend putting away all of the holiday decorations and getting the condo back into normal living quarters. He was such a good little worker trying not to get in the way. And over all he did pretty good! Except we have a little secret which I can't tell right now, maybe at the end of the post.

After being out of the office for two weeks, we have done pretty well in getting back into the groove of things. The election ballots should be in the mail by Friday, Jan. 11. They will be sent out bulk so keep your eye on the snail mail box. Please be sure to vote!

A couple of other housekeeping items: 1) Be sure to pre-register for the upcoming National In-Service Conference in Milwaukee this coming April. Deadline for early preregistration is February 15; 2) If you are a state leader, don't forget the upcoming National Assembly meeting April 8-9, 2008, just prior to the national convention; 3) The next NEB meeting will be April 6-8, 2008, just prior to the national assembly meeting which is prior to the national convention (I just love prior stuff); and 4) Ballots will need to be returned into MENC Headquarters by March 21.

Hope you all have a good week while Harley and me still try to get a few more things done today. Harley is having a little bit of a tough time right now. He hated to see all his "buds" get packed up into boxes and put under the stairs. He knows he won't get to see all the little holiday criters until next year and so he was having a tough time coming out of the box we were trying to pack up. By next week I'm sure he will be fine. It is going up to 70 degrees here tomorrow and I promised him that he could go play tennis with me. Yes, he is starting to cheer up and looking for those yellow tennis balls.

Thursday Interlude: Everything Old is New Again

I don't know if I ever mentioned it, but I am a huge fan of the late, great Bob Fosse, love his loosey-goosey choreography, the languid limbs of the dancers, the nonchalance and the same time furious precision of his dance steps. Cabaret, Sweet Charity, Chicago, Pippin! Oh, my gosh, Pippin. Anyway, I to0k a bit of time off for Christmas and New Year's and I decided to watch a couple of movies I hadn't seen in a while. One was All That Jazz, in which the brilliant but self-destructive, workaholic (and other-aholic) Fosse is played by Roy Scheider (probably better known for Jaws). Hadn't seen that movie in ages, but in most ways it held up for me.
Not so much the subplots about the Gideon and his various dalliances, but the dancing and the music.

Now as the new year has begun, there is a song, Everything Old is New Again, (Written by Peter Allen and Carole Bayer Sager) that for me sums up the beginning of every year. In part the lyrics say:

"Don't throw the past away
You might need it some rainy day
Dreams can come true again
When ev'ry thing old is new again"

My philosophy is that you keep the stuff that worked and jettison the rest.

As we begin the year there so many things I am looking forward (baseball spring training before too much longer and by association, spring!). In March, I am going to North Dakota to work at the Resource Shop held during their all-state conference. MENC's biennial conference is in Milwaukee in April. Check out the conference Web site if you haven't already. Good stuff.

Oh, and yes, my annual obsession with American Idol (cannot believe it is time for that already.) January 15 and 16. And by the way, did you see Jordin Sparks on the 30th Anniversary of the Kennedy Center Honors? CBS broadcast the event, on December 26. I look forward to that ever year, an after Christmas present
The 2007 honorees were Leon Fleisher, Steve Martin, Diana Ross, Martin Scorsese and Brian Wilson. Jordin sang a tribute song for Diana Ross and not only did she sound great, she looked great, too. But then ditto for another favorite of mine Vanessa Williams.

Hope the time off allowed you to recharge your batteries, jettison what doesn't matter and look forward to finding out what does.

Hope the new year brings you good things.

Til Next Thursday
RF