Reflection
This year at our winter concert, we played a set of three pieces that showcased different aspects of our abilities: Whodunnit, a Pink Panther-esque swing chart that utilized dynamic contrasts and a large shout section; Alice in Wonderland, a quick jazz waltz with a flowing melody using ample polyrhythms; and Zebrano, an Afro-Cuban/Samba selection that necessitated rhythmic accuracy and percussive clarity.
Although we prepared well for the concert, common trend through the three pieces during rehearsal was a lack of Communication on the part of the students to make it known to the director what we thought was going wrong. For instance, in the former of the three pieces, one can notice that the baritone saxophone doesn't always line up with the rhythm section. All of us in the section noticed this, but nobody really said anything until a couple of days before the concert, and by then, it was too late to make any meaningful change that would stick during the performance.
As an example of what happens when effective communication occurs, we brought up a section in Alice and Wonderland that was not altogether there, and because we had enough time to fix the issue, that passage was flawless in the performance. The same goes for people critiquing what I am doing. I messed up a section of the first piece, as is noticeable in the recording. While this issue was addressed in rehearsal, and I can blame it on a plethora of other factors, first being that the electric keyboard that was missing some of the notes that I needed, the fact remains that if the issue was caught earlier, it probably would have been corrected in the performance.
Another graduate profile area that I would like to mention is Cultural Competency.This is more due to the fact that I really can't put this one in any other reflection than anything else, but is still worth a mention. The range of music that we performed spans many cultures, and broadens horizons in terms of exposure to ideas different than the ones that are familiar to us. Music is a universal language, but it comes in many different dialects. By learning the vocabulary of different cultures, we can communicate wider range of emotions and ideas, which is at the heart of music.
Although we prepared well for the concert, common trend through the three pieces during rehearsal was a lack of Communication on the part of the students to make it known to the director what we thought was going wrong. For instance, in the former of the three pieces, one can notice that the baritone saxophone doesn't always line up with the rhythm section. All of us in the section noticed this, but nobody really said anything until a couple of days before the concert, and by then, it was too late to make any meaningful change that would stick during the performance.
As an example of what happens when effective communication occurs, we brought up a section in Alice and Wonderland that was not altogether there, and because we had enough time to fix the issue, that passage was flawless in the performance. The same goes for people critiquing what I am doing. I messed up a section of the first piece, as is noticeable in the recording. While this issue was addressed in rehearsal, and I can blame it on a plethora of other factors, first being that the electric keyboard that was missing some of the notes that I needed, the fact remains that if the issue was caught earlier, it probably would have been corrected in the performance.
Another graduate profile area that I would like to mention is Cultural Competency.This is more due to the fact that I really can't put this one in any other reflection than anything else, but is still worth a mention. The range of music that we performed spans many cultures, and broadens horizons in terms of exposure to ideas different than the ones that are familiar to us. Music is a universal language, but it comes in many different dialects. By learning the vocabulary of different cultures, we can communicate wider range of emotions and ideas, which is at the heart of music.