News

Hello All,

This was sent to me by Kelly Dean our lead trombone and I thought it very interesting. I would like to share this with all of you as well. No matter what your day or week has been like we should all try to remember to stop and listen to the music. It comes to us in various different ways and in many forms but you can always find it just a listen away. At this time of year we all get caught up in so many things. Please don’t miss the things that are just there waiting for you. Have a wonderful holiday and don’t forget to stop and listen!

Please feel free to share this with your friends and family.

Carol


Thought of the Day

"A Violinist in the Metro"

A man sat at a metro s tation in Washington DC and started to play the violin; it was a cold January morning. He played six Bach pieces for about 45 minutes. During that time, since it was rush hour, it was calculated that thousands of people went through the station, most of them on their way to work.

Three minutes went by and a middle aged man noticed there was musician playing. He slowed his pace and stopped for a few seconds and then hurried up to meet his schedule.

A minute later, the violinist received his first dollar tip: a woman threw the money in the till and without stopping continued to walk.

A few minutes later, someone leaned against the wall to listen to him, but the man looked at his watch and started to walk again. Clearly he was late for work.

The one who paid the most attention was a 3 year old boy. His mother tagged him along, hurried but the kid stopped to look at the violinist. Finally the mother pushed hard and the child continued to walk turning his head all the time. This action was repeated by several other children. All the parents, without exception, forced them to move on.

In the 45 minutes the musician played, only 6 people stopped and stayed for a while. About 20 gave him money but continued to walk their normal pace. He collected $32. When he finished playing and silence took over, no one noticed it. No one applauded, nor was there any recognition.

No one knew this but the violinist was Joshua Bell, one of the best musicians in the world. He played one of the most intricate pieces ever written with a violin worth 3.5 million dollars. Two days before his playing in the subway, Joshua Bell sold out at a theater in Boston and the seats average $100.

This is a real story. Joshua Bell playing incognito in the metro station was organized by the Washington Post as part of a social experiment about perception, taste and priorities of people. The outlines were: in a commonplace environment at an inappropriate hour: Do we perceive beauty? Do we stop to appreciate it? Do we recognize the talent in an unexpected context?

One of the possible conclusions from this experience could be: If we do not have a moment to stop and listen to one of the best musicians in the world playing the best music ever written, how many other things are we missing?

September 11, 2008

Pollyanna Gorman's Tribute to 9/11 Victims & Families

Many of us remember where we were and what we were doing on that fateful day 7 years ago. It affected all of us in some way and every year we stop to remember and to give triburte to those that were lost. Also, every year, Pollyanna Gorman conductor of the Golden West Pops pays tribute in a small way of her own. This year was no exception.

On Thursday morning at exactly 7:35 am in the parking lot of her work place Polly gathered with her friends and family to pay tribute to the men and women who were lost to us that day and to the families who were left behind. Her words were few, only acknowledging why each song was played and for whom, but the music was heartfelt. She expressed her appreciation for all those who have served and are serving now in the military by playing the Star Spangled Banner, then quickly moving to a solemn rendering of Taps for those that were lost and finally playing Amazing Grace for the families who are still grieving. It wasn’t a lengthy tribute and there was no fanfare or cameras. Just a group of friends that gathered together to remember.

Please, all of us, remember and be thankful for those we have lost and for those we will lose in the future. In Polly’s own words, “Thank you to all of you who risk your lives every day to make our country safe”.

July 28, 2008

“From Africa to Alaska”

The members of the Golden West Pops come from all walks of life.  Some are accountants, some nurses and a few are retired.  Every one of us is unique in his/her own way.  Our love of music makes us all the same in one respect but we sometimes forget how interesting and different our fellow member’s lives are from our own.

 Attached is the bio for just one of those individuals.  Since this article was written there have been many more accomplishments to add to the story.  A trip to Alaska being the last great adventure, a beautiful new instrument which has a story unto itself and a planned showing of their artwork in the next few months. 

 Just click on the link below to read about the life of this very talented musician.

 Dennis McNutt Profile

May 30, 2008

I started looking into the origin of the “Concert Band and what, by today’s standards, does that mean for the Golden West Pops. So here is what I found. Hopefully it will give you some insight as to who we are and why we exist.

Definition:
Concert Band, also called wind band, symphonic band, symphonic winds, wind orchestra or wind ensemble, is defined as “a performing ensemble consisting of several members of the woodwind, brass and percussion instrument family”. Its repertoire includes original wind compositions, arranged classical items, light music, and popular tunes. Instrumentation is similar to the marching band but it’s primary function is as a concert ensemble (thank goodness!).

History:
In the 18th century military ensembles, known as Harmonie bands, did double duty as entertainment at the royal courts sometimes alone or with strings. Composers, Mozart to be certain, began writing chamber music for these groups which included two oboes, two clarinets, two horns and two bassoons. (ok, so not quite what we have today)
When Turkish music was introduced it contributed to the expansion of the “Western European” wind band due to the dramatic percussion parts. This required the addition of percussion instruments such as bass drum, cymbals and triangles as well as the piccolo to balance out the weight of the percussion. (yeah PICs!!) Eventually more clarinets and brass were added and by 1810 the “wind band” was developed into pretty much what we have today.

In the 19th century the English and American traditions mainly used the Military Bands for ceremonial and festive occasions. They performed mainly marches. The only time wind bands were used in a concert setting was when they performed transcriptions of orchestral or operatic pieces. There were very few if any original concert works for a large wind ensemble. In 1909 the first notable and original symphonic work for wind ensemble was written by Gustav Holst. (can you guess?) Everyone’s favorite, First Suite in E-Flat. After that a variety of British, American, Canadian and Australian composers began writing pieces. Most notably are Howard Cable, Percy Grainger and Ralph Vaughan-Williams.

In 1952 Frederick Fennell established the Eastman School of Music Wind Ensemble. This is considered to be the beginning of what is known as the modern Wind Ensemble. It is generally modeled after the wind section of a Wagner orchestra. Considered to have one player on a part this is only true with chamber pieces. Full band pieces require doubling or tripling of the clarinets and trumpets. Contemporary composers found that the wind ensemble offered a welcome opportunity to perform new music. College band directors have been the driving force in expansion and improvement of the repertoire for the typical concert band.

Most adult bands outside of colleges are community bands. A community band consists of wind and percussion players generally sponsored by a city or town and consisting of amateur performers. The standard concert band will have several players on a part depending on the personnel and the conductor. The Wind Ensemble, however, will have very little doubling, mostly in the flutes and clarinets.

And so the Golden West Pops is formed as a community band in the form of a Wind Ensemble. Look to future postings to give you the “History of the Pops”.

March 10, 2008

Each year around November I start looking for new pieces for the group to play the next year. We usually have a theme of some sort and carry about 30 songs in our folders. About a third of these pieces are ones we can’t get rid of; Star Spangled Banner, Armed Forces Salute , America the Beautiful etc. The rest I try and select with a particular theme or style in mind. One year we had Broadway /musicals as a theme and included everything from “That’s Entertainment” arranged by Warren Barker to “Evita” by Andrew Lloyd Webber to “Selections from Mamma Mia” by Abba.

This year our theme is music through the ages. We have a couple of pieces from the 20’s, some ragtime selections, a few swing pieces, surfer music, jazz, rock, Dixieland, Latin, funk and even some classical. As we rehearse I try and point out the differences in the styles: Dixieland versus Ragtime, surfer music versus jazz etc. This keeps the rehearsals interesting as we try, for instance, to play two pieces back to back that are close to the same style but need to be played differently.

History of Ragtime style music:

Just before the twentieth century began, a craze for "ragged music" swept the United States . After enjoying great popularity for a few decades, ragtime faded, as all crazes do. But it left a permanent mark on American music. Not only was ragtime itself one of the first widely popular styles of music that actually developed in the U.S., but it also played a major part in the development of a style that has been called "America's music": jazz.

By the 1920's ragtime was considered "old hat". New crazes came along, and new kinds of music. But ragtime continued to be performed and recorded, and it clearly had a major influence on early jazz greats such as "Jelly Roll" Morton, and on early jazz styles such as Dixieland and "Harlem Stride" jazz piano. As jazz went on to develop other styles, ragtime faded and was nearly forgotten. But some enthusiasts who were exploring the roots of jazz began a ragtime revival in the 1940's. The revival gained momentum very slowly until, in 1973, the movie "The Sting" reintroduced ragtime to the general public. Classic rags, particularly Joplin 's "The Entertainer", became once again a part of the standard band and piano repertoire. Ragtime continues to be popular with both musicians and audiences and has at last gained widespread respect and recognition as an art that produced works of true genius.



Pollyanna Gorman

Music Director

Conductor

February 21, 2008

Golden West Pops' new web site was launched for public viewing today.  The Board of Directors, as do all GWP members, wish to thank Steve Hess for designing and implementing the original website and generously providing host server space for the site at no cost to GWP, and Frank Heinrich for his dedicated webmaster support since taking it over from Steve in 2006.  Frank graciously, and possibly not without some relief, passed the webmaster baton to Rob Fleming officially effective on the launch date of this new site.

We welcome all inputs regarding suggested improvements to the web site. All will be considered for incorporation, but the Board of Directors will render the final decision for all web site changes.  

Two new members joined the Golden West Pops tonight: Patty Sperry playing baritone and Pam Johnson playing French horn. They were introduced by Polly Gorman and warmly welcomed into the organization by all band members.

Keep an eye on this page for more GWP new developments and important announcements.