The wonderful Dr. Patrick B. Murphy of Tecumseh Junior High School and Jefferson High School Orchestras in Lafayette Indiana is at it again with a series of tutorial videos for Zydeco Two-Step. He does a fantastic job of breaking each part down and giving expert guidance. Check them out and play along!
1st Violin
2nd Violin
Viola
'Cello
Bass
Dr. Murphy previously posted tutorial videos for North Pole Workshop, which you can find here. Again, these are fantastic videos and I hope Dr. Murphy's students and administrators appreciate the time and hard work that goes into making them.
How about a little online concert? Let's kick things off with Gauntlet, performed by the McMath 8th Grade Orchestra of Denton, Texas.
This might be one of the best performances of Gauntlet I've ever heard. Here's why:
1. The tempo is perfect.
2. The expression is really great (especially in the "hard part": mm. 56 to 80)
3. Fantastic intonation and rhythmic precision.
4. The articulations are dead-on perfect. Listen to how short those staccato notes are. They're so dry they're practically a fire hazard. You could go out and get a bite to eat between each of those notes.
Up next is the 2012 Middle School Honors Orchestra (there's no indication of what district or city, but I've been able to narrow it to the state of Georgia) performing Zydeco Two-Step (they start playing at 1:00).
Nice job! It's a little faster than I'm used to hearing it, but it was handled nicely and the increased tempo adds a rollicking feel to the piece. Also, nice use of dynamics. Everyone looks like they had a good time playing this one.
Finally, here's the Cooper Middle School Orchestra (possibly of McLean, Virginia?) performing Las Mariposas Exoticas.
Delightful! They did a good job of making it sound delicate and light. The key to this piece is to make the arco articulations match the sound of the pizzicato and this group did a great job, especially at the ends of phrases.
I thought I'd program a short online concert of some of my more popular selections today.
Up first is the Cleveland School of Arts Orchestra performing Gauntlet. They do a lot of tuning and warming up (and it certainly pays off), but if you're interested in getting to the good stuff, skip ahead to the 1:45 mark.
Nice job! I especially like what they did with the "hard part" (mm. 56 - 80).
Up next is the Shaw Middle School Orchestra performing Zydeco Two-Step:
Excellent! The keyboard player did a great job.
Our final group is the Traverse City Symphony Strings - a civic orchestra - performing the heck out of Agincourt.
"Out of This World" is certainly an apt description of this group! They're a small ensemble, but they play with all the ferocity and musicianship of a group three times their size. I was also blown away by the production of this video - the multiple angles and great editing do the ensemble justice. Here's my favorite shot:
"Energy" at the end! A well-marked part is a joy for a composer to see.
The annual Midwest Clinic is only a few weeks away and, sadly, I won't be able to make it to Chicago this year. Midwest is a huge event - a giant convention for music educators around the country to learn from each other in seminars, find out about the latest products, and hear the best of the best school-level, college, and professional bands, orchestras, and ensembles.
This year, if you go, be sure to wake up bright and early on Wednesday, December 16 and head to the Skyline Ballroom at 8:30am to hear theJ. Frank Dobie High School Chamber Orchestra of Houston, Texas. They're going to play Quicksilver and I'm sure they'll do a spectacular job.
I found a performance from the Midwest Clinic on YouTube to share - the Hershey Symphony Festival Strings playing Zydeco Two-Step at the 2006 convention. The intonation is perfect, but the tempo is way too fast. Still, it's an honor to have my music selected for such a prestigious event. Just one more thing to be thankful for this holiday weekend!
