This fall was no walk in the park. COVID still raged. Bands were being held to 6 foot, even 12 foot distance requirements. And yet we played on as best we could.
At my main gig at Hartwick College in Oneonta, NY, we rehearsed in person, having remained mostly safe amidst a large outbreak at another college in town, despite some contained spread on our own campus. The Wind Ensemble spent the semester split into two 12-person-ish groups (a Tuesday Band and a Thursday Band), experimenting in Flex Band music, including the following:
Tuesday Band:
we’ll find our way. – Tyler Jones
“Dance” from Simple Gifts – Frank Ticheli
Heaven’s Morning Breaks – Brooke Pierson
Arith-Metric no. 1 – Brian Balmages
Thursday Band:
Sounds from the Gray Goo Sars CoV-2 – Jennifer Jolley
“In Yonder Valley” from Simple Gifts – Frank Ticheli
Given all of the distancing, PPE, and space requirements, we were not able to have an audience, so we recorded a piece at a time whenever it was ready. That was all gathered into a Watch Party, which we premiered on YouTube on December 8. Take a look:
We also collected student performances for a a Virtual Band performance of the fourth movement of Darius Milhaud’s Suite Francaise, to be assembled in January.
In addition, we hosted the Fourth Annual Hartwick College Honor Band, this time entirely virtually, which included contributions from Hartwick faculty and students, as well as more than 60 high school students from all over New York (plus some Rhode Islanders). Everyone involved played the following:
We also got to spend some time with each composer in some wonderful q&a sessions. The result of all of this was two virtual videos, which were put together by our amazing intern, Adam Fredette. Take a look:
I somehow remained active outside of Hartwick. An invitation to present at the NYSSMA Cyber Summit led to the creation of Futures in Band, where I collect and share stories of adult amateur musicians. I encourage you to fill out this survey if you have a story to tell about being in band after high school, especially if you pursued a career outside of music.
Meanwhile, the Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble was not able to meet in person at all. So we got together to create a virtual version of Sleigh Ride by Leroy Anderson, bringing a little joy to the holiday season. Here it is:
All of this was unusual, and all of this was hard. But we managed to keep the spark of music and our camaraderie alive, against so many odds.