This semester is a tough one to write about. On the one hand, I suffered a devastating personal injury that severely limited what I could do, AND I had a traumatic family loss. On the other hand, band was a large part of what sustained me through these awful events.
This was supposed to be my sabbatical semester, where I stepped away from teaching at Hartwick and worked on scholarly and creative projects while spending more time with my amazing family. Most of that did actually happen, after a fashion, with the projects getting a bit of short shrift. This is because on January 19, while rollerskating at a children’s birthday party, I fell and broke my left arm, specifically the humerus right above the elbow. On January 27, I had surgery to repair it all. In the meantime, I had a concert to conduct! The Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble had its Pops concert on January 26, and I remained responsible for half the program. Here is what we played:
Luke Payne conducted:
Selections from Wicked – Stephen Schwartz
Amy Hoxie conducted:
The Rolling Stones on Tour – Mick Jagger and Keith Richards
The Peanut Vendor – Moises Simons
The Queen of Soul – Aretha Franklin
I conducted:
The King and I Highlights – Richard Rodgers, arr. Herfurth
Selections from The Phantom of the Opera – Andrew Lloyd Webber, arr. Barker
Four: On a Remix of Beethoven – Randall Standridge
I muddled through, barely able to get into my concert clothes (I wore a cape to mask it), unable to use a baton since I couldn’t turn pages with my other hand, and in a fair amount of pain. The band was wonderful and very accommodating. Here’s a taste of what it looked like:
My surgery was the next day. I allowed myself plenty of room to recover, and had to accept limitations like being unable to drive for 2 months. All told, I ended up in a cast for 3 weeks and a mobility brace for 6 more, followed by physical therapy for 10 weeks and counting.
I did manage to get out. We took a family trip to California in February, where I took one day to visit Gregory X. Whitmore and the outstanding Pacific Symphony Youth Wind Ensemble. We worked on Joel Puckett’s piece Avelynn’s Lullaby together, and read through Omar Thomas’s Shenandoah.
March was busier. On March 6-9, thanks to the grace of my colleagues, I was able to attend the NYSBDA Symposium (good thing – I was the president!) and take in great sessions, Honor Band concerts, and hang out with our Living Legend, Rodney Winther. On March 17-19, thanks to the grace of my wife (who came with me) and my in-laws (who stayed with our kids), I spent 3 days in and around NYC visiting bands and checking in with great friends. On March 26-29, I was able to finally get myself to the CBDNA National conference in Fort Worth, Texas. This was a tremendous experience, and I wrote a little about each day:
On April 17, my dad passed away after battling glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, for 9 months. We all saw it coming, but it didn’t ease the feeling that he was taken too soon, even at age 74, nor did it dull the pain of my limited ability to visit him due to my injury. Still, I was glad to be able to celebrate him and spend time with my family.
Back home, the Hartwick Wind Ensemble prepared for their spring concert on April 24 in my absence. While I wasn’t able to be there, I was rooting hard for them! Under Paul Blake’s leadership, they played music chosen by the seniors:
Incantation and Dance – John Barnes Chance (for Colleen Long)
Star Wars: The Marches – John Williams, arr. Brubaker (for Erin Kiefer)
Arabesque – Samuel Hazo (for Isabel Dooley)
Danzon no. 2 – Arturo Marquez, arr. Nickel (for Katelyn Sanzone)
Music from The Incredibles – Michael Giacchino, arr. Bocook (for Adrianna Dugan)
Max Jackson wrote and conducted his own Symphony for Band!
Cajun Folk Songs – Frank Ticheli (for Brynn Illies)
The Cave You Fear – Michael Markowski (for Billie Metcalf)
Next came the Catskill Valley Wind Ensemble’s spring concert, “Long Ago and Far Away,” on May the Fourth. I was much more able to conduct by then. Here is what we played:
Amy Hoxie conducts:
Suite of Old American Dances – Robert Russell Bennett
I conduct:
Moonscape Awakening – Joni Greene
The Empire Strikes Back – John Williams
March from Symphonic Metamorphosis – Paul Hindemith, arr. Keith Wilson
It was around this time that I finally hit my stride with sabbatical projects, having worked on them in bits and pieces throughout the semester. I flexed my composer muscle (I even made it onto a list!), writing 2 out of 3 movements for a planned suite (stay tuned – it’s SO METAL) and a new young band piece:
I began sustained work on a planned book project about symphonies for band, continuing the work of my doctoral thesis. That will be ongoing for some time – I’m currently finishing chapter 4 out of 17.
As I write this on May 22, I am still not whole. Physical therapy has led to tremendous progress, and conducting mostly feels natural, but I still can’t do some weird and simple things like tying a tie and holding a trumpet properly. Band and the people involved in it were certainly a lifeline for me in this process, but I have a long way to go, and I am forever changed by this experience.