February 2012 Teaching Schedule

-- My teaching schedule for February will be uninterrupted.

-- Here are the Theta Music Trainer exercises I'd like students to work on in January:

Melody -- Flash Intervals

Harmony -- Chord Spells

Harmony -- Key Puzzles

Sound -- Band Match

The top Theta Music achievers for the month of January were:

Emma, Allyn, & Waldon

-- As a reminder for students enrolled in CM, here are the CM dates for next month:

* Performance evaluations will be held on the weekends of March 3 & 4 and March 10 & 11. 

** Theory testing will be conducted on the weekend of March 3 & 4.

Have a happy day,

Jesse

Meeting about working at Marsh Theater in S.F.

This afternoon I rode a BART train to North Berkeley to meet with Emily, the Program Director of the Marsh Youth Theater in San Francisco. She had contacted me about the possibility of working as music director for a show at the Marsh this summer. The show is a staging of "Jip, His Story", which is based upon the book written by noted children's author Katherine Paterson.

We went over some of the music from the show. I played several excerpts to demonstrate my comfort with different musical styles. Then we hashed out the calendar - rehearsals don't begin until June and performances will be held the first three weekends in July - as well as the compensation I can expect to receive. I was uncertain about whether to take this job or not, but after today's meeting I feel convicted that it's an opportunity I should not pass by.

This June promises to be an exceptionally busy month for me, but I look forward to meeting and beginning work with a new creative team.

Jesse

New March Diadem music

Here's a cliche: "Writers who teach can never find the time to write themselves." And so a dream dies; a flame flickers out.

As a teacher (and now a parent of a young child), I find it more difficult than ever to carve out time to compose music, or even practice music I'm passionate about. It's a daily/weekly/monthly battle. More than a year ago I recorded the music that comprises my latest solo endeavor. I call the project March Diadem, and I titled this collection of songs "Enemy Apathy".

As a way of explaining the content of the music, here's an email I sent to a friend last week, providing a link to the music:

Alek -

I think I neglected to send you a link to recently completed music from my solo project March Diadem. Here's the link. I composed the songs and played everything.

My parents met each other through a Christian ministry and I grew up going to church every Sunday. My Dad was usually the teacher. This music project is my way of trying to merge my upbringing with my work as a musician. These are "songs from scripture", as the site banner says. Thought some background might be helpful.

Last time we met up, you asked me if I've been writing songs. This is what I've been doing lately.

Jesse

Memorial Service @ St. Benedict's Church, Oakland

I was initially reluctant to take this gig because I watch my son every weekday morning, and the memorial was to start at 11am. But Linda, the vocalist I worked with today, convinced me to sign on. She has a daycare set up in her home and it would be available to leave the boy there. After being assured of all the details regarding his care, I assented to play for the service.

I had difficulty putting my suit on this morning -- the little guy was underfoot and really wanted my attention. I had to step around him and his outstretched arms several times lest we be late. I packed him and all his gear - bottle, extra food pouch, diapers, wipes, and a change of clothes just in case - and we headed off to Linda's house in the Oakland hills.

Linda and I rehearsed together at her home prior to departing for the church. She doesn't have a piano. Instead, I played on a funky 61-key keyboard. Some of the keys on the instrument were splattered with paint (care of one of Linda's daughters). It was a funny setup. We ran through our three songs: "Amazing Grace", Schubert's "Ave Maria", and "I'll Be Seeing You". All was smooth.

Arriving at the church, we found the deceased woman's body laid in an open casket in the building's entry. This is a crazy way to "meet" a stranger. I shuffled on in, past the mourners and toward the piano. From afar, the instrument looked to be a standard Yamaha grand piano. But upon closer inspection it revealed itself to be some bizarre digital/acoustic hybrid. I opened the lid and found no action therein: no strings, no hammers. Only a black felt cloth covering the area I expected to see standard innards. On top of the cloth was an abandoned bottled water container. This contributes to the sound? I don't know; I'm new to this venue. I discarded the plastic container.

The piano is plugged in to a Peavey speaker that sat at my left foot. I performed the memorial service with this monitor blaring upward at my left ear. It was not an ideal setup - I had no idea how well I was projecting around the room. I played a bunch of mellow hymns for prelude music. My three pieces with Linda were presented within the proceedings. I closed with a stately rendition of "When the Saints Go Marching In".

It was a simple gig. Music can be comfort and solace. I picked up my son back at Linda's and he was a happy boy. It was clear that he had been well taken care of. We said our goodbyes to our new friends and then headed back home.

Jesse

January 2012 Teaching Schedule

-- My teaching schedule for January will be uninterrupted.

-- Here are the Theta Music Trainer exercises I'd like students to work on in January:

Melody -- Parrot Phrases

Harmony -- Tone Trees

Rhythm -- Rhythm Puzzles

Sound -- Dango Brothers

The top Theta Music achievers for the month of November were:

Carissa, Emma, Katie, Alex, and Kaitlyn T.

-- As a reminder for students enrolled in CM, here are the CM dates for this spring:

* Performance evaluations will be held on the weekends of March 3 & 4 and March 10 & 11. 

** Theory testing will be conducted on the weekend of March 3 & 4.

Happy 2012,

Jesse

D.M.T. Chorus rehearsal & performances

The year 2011 has hit me like a ton of bricks. I feel as though I've aged five years in the span of these mere twelve months. I had my first child this year, and that has certainly played a big part in the fatigue. He's lovely, but he's also hugely challenging; I'm sure any parent can relate.

I lacked the energy to properly document the D.M.T. Winter concert proceedings this time around. I will say that ultimately all went well. Pam was again the guest director and she did a fine job picking the program and bringing ample gusto to every rehearsal and performance. 

Just like last December, my workload at the piano was immense. In total, I learned 22 unique pieces of music for these 4 performances. Only a couple we're especially challenging. But still, my brain was swimming. I developed a habit: midway through the 2nd half of each performance I would turn to the bassist Aaron and marvel/complain "There's so much music in this concert!" 

The work passed in a blur and now I had two weeks off to pause and reflect. 

Jesse

Recital w/ sax & clarinet students @ Community of Christ Church, Fremont

"Excuse me, Boss?"

"Hey, Boss?"

I turned around to face the person hailing me. I was in a hurry to enter the church as I was only barely arriving on time.

"Yeah. What's up?" I replied.

"You know you can't park here. I have this whole row of spots reserved," he said, waving his arm to demonstrate his area of parking lot dominion.

"I'm only going to be here an hour," I protested.

"I need this spot clear for customers," he insisted.

I promised I would be back out in one minute to move my car. Inside the church the recital prior to us was running extremely late. Ultimately, the pieces I accompanied began a full half-hour late. Clearly, some music teachers don't bother to time their student's performances. I can imagine these teachers sitting docile in the quiet hours of the night, all the while inwardly exulting, "We'll go as long as we need to - every one of my precious students will play their piece... and I don't care who we keep waiting!"

As I moved my car to another spot far, far away I reflected to myself, "Why is that Christmas tree vendor calling me 'Boss'?! If that's what he's going to call me, he should at least offer me a proper parking spot!"

The recital was fine. Some of the students I accompanied had never worked with a pianist before. They dropped beats from a measure here, dropped full bars there, forgot how to tune their instrument. All in a day's work for me. No matter what happened, I endeavored to make the student look and sound good.

Jason, their instructor, introduced me as "One of the finest pianists in the Bay Area." I smiled and chuckled to myself when I heard that.

Jesse