Texas Bandmasters Association
Bandmasters Review • June 2014
7
I received an email message today from Mike
Brashear, asking me to write an article for the June
issue, previewing my clinics for the upcoming TBA.
First, let me say how honored I am to be invited by
President Richard Herrera to be the featured clinician.
I hope I’m up to the task.
In his message, Mike mentioned I’d written an
article for the magazine several years ago. I’m a bit
embarrassed to admit I don’t remember it (encroaching
Alzheimer’s, perhaps?). So, I did a little digging around
on the computer and found it. I’m happy to report I’m
in complete agreement with everything in it. But one
thing I found especially interesting was something I’d
appended at the end that didn’t appear in the original
article. At the risk of offending a lot of people, not to
mention further exposing my antiquarian ways, I offer
it to you now.
I just stumbled across this article, which I’d
written a couple of years or more ago, and
while I know it’s unlikely it’ll ever be seen
by other eyes, I nevertheless feel compelled
to exorcise one more curmudgeonly thought
that weighs heavily on me. What’s wrong
with the word “band”? It strikes me as the
height of irony that so many highfalutin
professional orchestra conductors routinely
refer to their ensembles as “the band,” yet
a great many of us who actually conduct
(gasp!) bands avoid the use of that dreaded
word at all costs. Does the use of term wind
ensemble (the first to leave the reservation)
or wind orchestra, or wind symphony, or
(insert your own choice from the many
others available) really confer more musical
respectability than that time-honored word
“band”? I think not, and I’m proud to claim
the title. I’ll shout it from the rooftops: I’m
a BAND DIRECTOR! And oh yeah, if you
absolutely must use the word, be sure and put
“wind” in front of it. That way we eliminate
any chance of confusing it with, say, a rock
band, a rubber band, or maybe a wedding
band. So many possibilities.
The only thing I would add to that is, there’s at
least one thing to say for having reached my current
superannuated state: you don’t feel much constraint
about speaking your mind.
Now that we
have that out of
the way, on to
the clinic. I’m
indebted to Mike
for allowing me to
use the prosaic
title, “Lessons
Learned in 50
Years of Band
Directing”— Sessions 1, 2 and 3. I truly did try to come
up with something catchy but, alas, that was the best I
could do.
Truth be told, the title’s not altogether accurate. I
only spent 48 years in the classroom but I continue to
remain active with and passionate about — hold on,
here it comes — band. So I’m not sure if that number
50 overstates or understates the facts.
I’ve got four Powerpoint (actually, Keynote)
presentations dealing with things I’ve learned and
have come to believe over these past 50+ years. There
are a number of video clips of real kids that I hope will
enhance the presentation and make some of the points
I attempt to make a little more meaningful.
You can expect to hear about the typical stuff:
tone production, pitch, balance, rhythm, expressive
playing, and all the other usual suspects. Part of it will
relate to what has fairly recently become matters of
Dr. Gary Garner
Lessons Learned
Dr. Gary Garner,
2014 TBA Featured Cl inician,
wi l l present
“Lessons Learned in
50 Years of Band Direct ing”
Monday, July 28 at 8: 15 a.m.
Tuesday, July 29 at 9:30 a.m.
Tuesday, July 29 at 4:00 p.m.