Due: Friday, December 5, 2008 Name: Jocelyn

Putnam
Please circle the ensemble(s) you are in: Concert Band Wind Ensemble

CONCERT BAND JOURNAL REPORT NO.2

1) GRADE 9 WINDS/ Wind Ensemble performance – Which is your favourite piece and give
three reasons why.
My favourite piece was “Into the Raging River”, performed by the Wind Ensemble. This I my
favourite piece because I loved the dramatic character changes. The adventurous section had a
great feel the way the arranger used timbre and that also applied to the dangerous section. I
thought the tuning and articulation was outstanding in this song. Everyone seemed on pitch and
the song was very clear and you could really hear the chords in the trumpets. (Not just the top
note). I also liked the dynamic contrast used in this piece. It went from the quiet soft beginning
with beautiful harmonies to the building up of the scales played by a soft instrument then moving
to the loudest which was very invigorating.

2) What is your favourite selection you performed and give three reasons why.
Out of the selection the Concert Band performed my favourite was Barry Manilow on tour. I loved
the dramatic changes in character and the swing feel of “Copacabana”. I also enjoyed the upbeat
feel to the entire song.

3) Explain what important musical aspects are important when performing a warm up at
the beginning of a rehearsal or performance.
Some musical aspects that are important when warming up at the beginning of a rehearsal or
performance are tuning, how you listen to everyone (always assume that you’re wrong). You also
have to know how to adjust you instrument and ombishure to match the pitch of the entre band.

4) Outline the form of the piece War March and Battle Hymn of the Vikings.
The piece starts out with the “Call to Arms”. The warriors are being called out the battle field.
Then once all of the warriors have assembled they begin their “War March”. After Marching they
begin their “Battle Hymn”. After their “Battle Hymn” they resume their “War March” until the end
of the song.

5) What 3 parts of the pieces you performed in the Concert Band did you find the most
difficult and why? Give the exact location in each piece.
During War March and Battle Hymn of the Vikings, around bar 37 the slurred triplets. There is also
a very similar section around bar 95 that is higher than the first. I find these sections to be
challenging because they are high, slurred and moderately fast. The last line (bar 130) is also
difficult because of the high A’s that we play. I find these hard because they are long, and by the
end of this piece I am very out of breath. The 3rd difficult part in the pieces I performed would be
the last line of Pageant of Light (bar 140). This is difficult because I can only hit a C for a very
short time and it is very quite. I usually drop down to the harmonized G written in our part.

Due: Friday, December 5, 2008 Name: Jocelyn

Putnam
Please circle the ensemble(s) you are in: Concert Band Wind Ensemble

6) War March and Battle Hymn of the Vikings is written by Alfred Reed. Write a brief
biography of this composer and include any special musical accomplishments.
Alfred Reed was born on January 25, 1921 in Manhattan and died on September 17, 2005. He has
more than two-hundred published compositions for concert bands, wind ensembles, orchestras
and more. Alfred Reed began his study of music when he was 10 years old. He attended Julliard
School of Music. But before that he served in World War II in the Air Force. During his years at
Julliard he studied music under Vittorio Giannini. He also attended Baylor University where he was
conductor in 1953. He earned a BM there in 1955 and a MM in 1956. He wrote a thesis called
"Rhapsody for Viola and Orchestra" which was awarded the Luria Prize in 1959. Reed was
executive editor of Hansen Publications from 1955-66. Directly after that he became the director
of music and professor at the University of Miami. During his years at the University he worked
along side the composer/arranger Robert Longfield. Some of his more famous compositions
include “Greensleeves”, “Viva Musica!”, “Russian Christmas Music”, “Armenian Dances”, and
“Rushmore”.

7) Barry Manilow on Tour was arranged by Robert Lowden. Write a brief biography of this
composer/arranger and include and special musical accomplishments.
Robert Lowden was born on Jul 23, 1920 in Camden, New Jersey and dies on October 30, 1998 in
Medford New Jersey. He was the first arranger and composer for the 101 Strings and the Somerset
label. He worked with the label for 10 years. Lowden studied at Temple University as a teacher
and served in the army in World War II. After his service he arranged for Claude Thornhill's
innovative big band with Gerry Mulligan. Lowden arranged and conducted a percussion showcase
called “Motion in Percussion” which contains space pop style and many stereo sound effects.