Mr. Sorensen's Midwest Experience.

Thursday, December 18th.
6:53 AM: Boarded the Metra train out of Kenosha for Chicago $7.05
9:00 AM: Lunch at Heaven on Seventh with Mr. Rovik and five other band directors. I recommend the Cajun Omlete
10:00 AM: Checked in at the clinic and checked out some new music. Look out gang, the method books are coming. Be afraid, be...very...afraiddddd.
11:30 AM: Session "Communicating with Your Administrators...Or... How to Talk So Your Principal Will Listen."
12:30 PM: Lunch
1:00 PM: Session "Students, Compose! Teachers, Keep Your Rehearsal Time While Meeting the National Standards." Pretty good session on slipping composition into what we do, without really disrupting anything.
3:00 PM: Chicago Symphony Brass Concert. WOW is all I can say. 20 brass players, one percussionist and the program went for 2 hours followed by a 40, yes 40 minute encore!!! Mr. Rovik and I had seats on stage behind the ensemble so we could see and hear the entire concert from the musicians' point of view.
Later that night I went to a reception hosted by a travel company who is in the process of taking the St. Olaf Band to Japan. Lots of good information here.
9:45 - 11:00 Dallas Brass and the US Army Field Band Jazz Ensemble. These two concerts were next door to each other so I floated back and fourth.
Friday, December 19th.
8:00 AM: Breakfast at a greasy spoon just off Michigan Avenue. I think I'm still feeling that one.
8:30 AM: Session: "Waisting Away in "Obsolete-A-Vill" Changing Attitudes about Technology in the Instrumental Rehearsal Room
10:00 - 11:00 AM: My Brass Quinet "Wisconsin Chamber Brass," Played Christmas carols at the Conn-Selmer booth; pictures to follow.
11:30 AM: Session: "It's Not About Me - The Conductor as Servant-Leader." Yep that's right gang, I'm here to serve you...heaven help us.
1:00 PM: Session: "Pump Up Your Program: Developing Student Leaders Through Chamber Music." Solo/Ensemble time is upon us. Here we go all you crazy wild chamber musicians.
2:00 PM: Spent some time on the floor of the convension trying out all the new instruments that are out there. Clarinetists, you gotta look at the Bliss clarinet put out by Leblanc. Google it, it's cool.
4:00 PM: Session "Creating a Beautiful Trumpet Sound" This was a fantastic clinic given by Fred Martin who is a legend in the Drum and Bugle Corps world and his son Chris Martin who is the new principle trumpet player for the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. The room this one was in had a sign posted: Max Cap: 250...there were easily 600 people in the room to hear Chris play; it's a good thing the fire marshal wasn't one of them.

Well, I hope you all enjoyed your snow day on Friday. I also hope you all brought your instruments home to practice over the break.

Catch ya later.

JS

Question of the Week for December 15th and December 22nd.

Very shortly you will have about two weeks of vacation. During that time I hope all of you find some very interesting things to do, and I don't mean playing a video game until you are the reigning champ. You all live within one hour of either Chicago or Milwaukee, and about that close to Madison. Please tell me, if price were not an object, what one musical event would you like to go to and why? Please don't tell me "to see a Broadway show in Chicago." Tell me which show, which performance (7:15 on Saturday, December 30th at the Cadillac Theatre...) This will take some Internet research. My hope is that you realize just how easy it is for you and your family to take in some world class performances right here in the Midwest.

Remember that you must form your answer by using correct grammar and punctuation. Additionally, I should not need to know the question to understand what you are talking about. Please form your answer accordingly.

Merry Christmas!!!

Question of the Week for December 1st

Did you enjoy participating in the McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade? Should we apply to participate in the year 2010? Why or why not? If you didn't make the trip, please answer as if you were there. Orchestra members should tell me if they would like to participate in the parade in the future. We can surely find something for you to do.

Remember to answer the questions with complete sentences. Here is a good example: I really enjoyed participating in the McDonald's Thanksgiving Day Parade; it was superiously fantasmagoric! We should most definitely plan to participate in the parade in the year 2010. I had the most funtabulous time watching the other bands warm up, meeting McKey, America's Next Top Model, being on television, oh my...the list goes on and on.

Question of the Week for November 24th

Okay, here is where we start to do some thinking. For this week's question you are to go to the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's web site (see link on the left side of your screen) and find the same information you did about the MSO. Please write your answer in proper format. If you didn't answer the question last week you should do so, then answer this week's question. All answers are time stamped so there is a record showing who answered on time and who did not. Remember, your grade is based half on content, half on your writing skills.

Question of the Week for November 17th

Go to the Milwaukee Symphony web site (a link is on the left side of the blog) and find one interesting fact about the symphony. This could be as simple as telling me the name of the musician who plays your instrument or the program for a particular concert. Starting with this question, you will be graded 50% on content and 50% on your writing skills. Basically, this means that you must not only have the right answer, but also present the answer in a complete sentence with correct grammar and punctuation.

Here's an example of a full credit answer:
The name of the Pops Conductor for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is Marvin Hamlisch.

Here's an example of a 50% credit answer:
The name of the Pops Conductor for the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra is Boo Boo Kitty. (notice that the content is incorrect)

Here's an example of a 50% credit answer:
Pops Conductor=Marvin Hamlisch. (notice that the writing skills required are incomplete)

Good luck!

Question of the Week for November 2nd

Solo and Ensemble Festival will be here before you know it. If you want to go, I need to know what it is you are going to play. Go to: www.wsmamusic.org, "festival music list," "Searchable Database," "2008-2009 Festival Music List," then find a tune you want to play. Let me know the type of solo/ensemble by the number (example: trumpet solo is 101), then the class and finally the number within the class. So if you wanted to perform the flute duet called "French Trilogy," you would tell me "720B1." If you select an ensemble, let me know the names of all the students in the ensemble.

If you don't want to go to contest, find a tune anyway, but also tell me that you do not want to go to contest. If you want to do more than one tune, let me know that too.

Later!

JS

S-dog can dance

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Question of the Week for October 27th

Pretend you have $300.00 and need to spend as close to that amount as possible on the Wilmot Band. Go to: http://www.wwbw.com/ as begin shopping. Tell me what item/s you would buy and why.

A Young Mr. Sorensen

This video is from my days with the Navy Band in Charleston, SC. That's Tommy Osborne, one of my early mentors as our trumpet soloist. I'm the 19 year old playing the lead trumpet book in the back row. Dig those monster sun glasses I was sporting! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FaR16CAmOhw

Question of the Week October 20

Please go to www.youtube.com, find a video of a musical performance you would like me to see. Copy the url of the video into your comments. Please tell me why you chose this performance. If you can't do this project from home, come to my office during your study hall or after school. I have access to You Tube at school. Later!!

Question of the Week for October 13th.

Mr. Rovik and I are attending the Midwest Band and Orchestra Clinic in Chicago on December 18th and 19th. Since we will be at this event during a time that you will still be in school (haha), we thought you should have some input into what sessions we should attend. Click on the link http://www.midwestclinic.com/, go to "conference," click on "Schedule of Events" and let us know what sessions on Thursday and Friday you would like us to attend. If we can get to them, we will report back. FYI: we can not attend any sessions on Thursday from 3:00 - 5:00, cuz we have tickets to hear the Chicago Symphony Brass Ensemble at that time. Happy Clicking ;-)

Question of the Week for October 6th.

Wednesday, October 8th is Parent/Teacher conference. What would you like me to discuss with your parents?

Did you Pick The Right Instrument

Okay, here it goes...Let's see if you all choose the right instrument. Here again are the questions, but this time with the answers.

1. I love being the center of attention. If true, you have the potential to be a first chair trumpet player.
2. I can't keep my hands to myself. Students who mark this true should go anywhere but the percussion section - the last thing they need is sticks in their hands.
3. I have problems putting four-piece puzzles together. If true, this person should avoid woodwinds - too many parts. You should play a brass instrument where a simple twist of the mouthpiece into a leadpipe will get you off and running.
4. I love hitting things. These students should be in the percussion section - it will make their day.
5. I have the discipline of an anteater in an ant pile. If true, you should be in a class where you can do constructive things with a blowtorch.
6. I love the feel of watermelon juice dribbling down my chin. You should play tuba because you seem to enjoy unusual pleasures.
7. I love putting things together. You should play bassoon - it's like putting together a jigsaw puzzle every time it comes out of the case.
8. I love taking things apart. You should play percussion. You will be taking things apart and putting them back together for the rest of your musical career.
9. I love making funny noises. Trombone is the perfect instrument for you.
10. I can't wait to wear a band uniform. You should play flute so you might influence all the others who complain about it.
11. I like duck hunting. Clarinet or saxophone - you can put your mouthpiece to extra use.
12. I can dead lift 120 pounds. Tuba - you might actually take it home to practice.
13. I like to whittle. Oboe or bassoon - you can make your own reeds.
14. I am a complainer. All students complain, you can play anything you want.
15. I like living on the edge and taking chances. French horn - who's to say what the right fingering should be!
16. I sometimes miss hands when I try to clap. Whatever you choose, don't choose percussion.
17. I can curl 40 pounds with each arm. You should play the school owned baritones so you can help me pull the stuck slides out.
18. I laugh at almost anything. Flute or clarinet so there's a possiblility that you might laugh at my corny jokes.
19. I hate sports. These students should play horn or tuba because you are less likely to quit and go pro.

There you have it; the unofficial way that band directors around the country help students decide which instrument they should choose. I hope you had fun along the way. Don't forget our rehearsal on October 13th 6:00 - 7:30 PM.

Question of the Week September 29th, 2008

This is a survey I found in the Instrumentalist Magazine. Let's see if you choose the right instrument. Simply number your comment section 1 -19 and answer True or False. Results will be posted on Friday. As always, leave your name or secret identity.

HAVE FUN!

1. I love being the center of attention.
2. I can't keep my hands to myself.
3. I have problems putting four-piece puzzles together.
4. I love hitting things.
5. I have the discipline of an anteater in an ant pile.
6. I love the feel of watermelon juice dribbling down my chin.
7. I love putting things together.
8. I love taking things apart.
9. I love making funny noises.
10. I can't wait to wear a band uniform.
11. I like duck hunting.
12. I can dead lift 120 pounds.
13. I like to whittle.
14. I am a complainer.
15. I like living on the edge and taking chances.
16. I sometimes miss hands when I try to clap.
17. I can curl 40 pounds with each arm.
18. I laugh at almost anything.
19. I hate sports.

Question of the Week September 22, 2008

There was a lot of good feed back from last week's question. I think we are actually going to be able to honor some of your requests. However some of you didn't follow through with the directions. I was looking for actually published music that we can use. If you told me that you think we should play "Jungle Boogey" in jazz band, that's great, but you didn't do the research. I need you to tell me what you want to play, then find a published version of the tune that we can use. Example: Jungle Boogey for Jazz Ensemble, published by Hal Leonard cost $50.00. If you found the "lead sheet," meaning a copy of the melody to Jungle Boogey, well, we can't use that in band. So this weeks question is the same as last weeks:

Go to www.jwpepper.com, find a published version of a song you would like to play in band, orchestra or jazz ensemble. The song must be published for that ensemble. If it's for concert band, then there must be flute, clarinet, saxophone, trumpet, trombone, euphonium....parts or you don't get credit for answering the question. If you answered correctly for last week you don't have to do this week's question; they will be lumped together as one week, so now we are down to 8 questions of the week.

Happy surfing!!

Question of the Week September 14th

Many students have come to me asking if we can play a certain piece of music. I'd like to honor these requests, but first off, we need to find out if the music you want to play is in print for concert band, orchestra or jazz ensemble. So here's your chance; let me know about a piece of music you would like to play, but first, do some research to see if we can actually get the music. Go to www.jwpepper.com, click on the type of ensemble you are looking for, then search through the data base. Once you find find it, come back to this blog, click "comment" under this text, and tell me the title, composer and arranger, publisher, type of ensemble (concert band, marching band, orchestra...) and the price. I'll look into it. Good luck!

Question of the Week September 8th.

If you could improve one aspect of your playing before the winter break, what would it be? Think about your performance in the seating audition. What was the one thing that you thought you could improve on, "If I only had more time to PRACTICE."?

Summer Band Next Year

Next summer I'm going to offer "Band" as a summer school course. It will be offered to incoming freshmen, all current Wilmot Band students as well as any other student who is eligible for our summer school program. I'll have to check with our guidance department, but I think this means that any student who can get themselves to our school, regardless of where they go to school, can take the class (aka: join the band). The band will meet twice each week. The schedule will be something like this:

Day 1: 9:00 - 10:00 Brass Sectional, 10:00 - 11:00 Full Band Rehearsal.
Day 2: 9:00 - 10:00 Woodwind Sectional, 10:00 - 11:00 Full Band Rehearsal
Percussion Sectionals as needed.

For our first year out we will schedule 3-4 performances, all of them local and in support of our community. Look for more information around Christmas time.

Passports

Our trip this year is to Toronto over the Memorial Day weekend. From everything I have read, it appears that passports for travel to and from Canada will not be needed until the first week of June 2009. Folks, that's a little to close to Memorial Day for me; so I am going to require all students and chaperones who will travel on this trip to have a current passport with them. Passports take a while to get so please do it early. I'm not going to set a date that you must have your passport, but realistically, you should shoot for winter break at the latest. Anyone without a passport won't get on the bus and will not get their money back.

All information for passport application can be found at: http://travel.state.gov/passport/passport_1738.html

Question for the week of September 3, 2008

Why are you in the Wilmot High School instrumental music program? Click comments to share your answer. Please include your name for credit.

2008-2009 Calendar

The calendar for the 2008-2009 school year will be available the first day of school, September 2nd.