2/8/08

Listen to a bit of Weill: Threepenny Opera ("Mack the Knife").

Who knows a foreign language? Evan knows "gutter Spanish," like "Debbie hace Dallas."

Sullivan: What is your responsibility to history?
What do you want people to know about you as a composer?
Joe doesn't care what people say about him, "long as they tell the truth."
Subjectivity isn't the question. What objectively can we say about music.
Sullivan: I love you = You're alive.

Joe: Music is an all-powerful force.
Where are the women composers?
Sullivan burned his bras.

3:08 - Marina showed up. Isn't it ironic...
Kevin W. wants to die.

Roger: lack of women composers is due to lack of role models.

45 minutes later: "back to the original issue of composers and history..."

Your opinion of musical worth is based on how much you know about the music.
Marina thinks the undergrads are dumb and ill-informed.
Everyone thinks she's just being a bitch.

Cultural value of composers...?

Sullivan doesn't know what we're talking about either.
Joe brings up an Apple Jacks commercial from the early 90s.

3:43 - Igor shows up. He'll have an opinion...
Sullivan: We should disagree about things.
Agreement is a destructive force.

Sullivan: something about humping a bear?

Still, nobody knows what we're talking about.
Augusta Reed Thomas's jazz band piece (BINGO!)

Sullivan calls Evan a mindless peon.
European countries are limiting support of the arts, following the American model.

Sullivanism - (n) hyberbolic inflammatory statement; bombshell

(posted by Dave, not Sam)

Maslanka Visits the studio:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Maslanka

He's big on going with the power of the "ah ha" moment. To follow it all the way - it is an act of bravery. Advocates self hypnosis. Very spiritual guy. Veeeeeery Spiritual. Advocates using imagery as an entry to meditation ie the unconscious mind ie the composer's mind. Talks about psychic force.

Most important is persistence regardless of how you feel.

Veeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeery Spiritual Guy.

Special guest Ed (Matt’s brother) – a presentation on writing for young band.

Lot’s of discussion about how one cannot be prosperous ($$$$) without really submitting to convention.

How much time will be spent on rehearsing your piece? It’s hard to say because of the way that school scheduling goes.

He doesn’t buy the idea of “Educational Pieces.”

Discussed how easily band music can become international.

Band composers use myspace to get the word out.

A lot of discussion about considering how weak the players are in many ways – instument grouping etc.

Talk about publishing – See Pepper Music.

Sullivan monologue –

what can we do (besides ostinato) to get the kids into it?

canon forms, ostianato, melody

in studio class

started with mention of the youthville porgram. degenerated from there.

teaching composition to k12 students

after studio

band program funding

funding for the arts
in public schools
in general

middle school band music

the guy who wants to race in the olympics with prosthetic legs

how we're tired of hearing about Augusta Read Thomas' jazz band piece

the repetitive nature of discussion in studio class

the asian girl who came in late and who nobody knows