Election and 2009 Conference News
Monday morning, the first of two WASBE General Meetings was held. Two important announcements came out of that meeting. First, the results from the 2005 Board of Directors election were announced:
All positions are for a term of six years. The Board would like to thank outgoing Board members Felix Hauswirth, Virginia Allen, Timothy W. Foley, and Rolf Rudin for their contributions.
As well, the WASBE Board of Directors has selected Cincinnati, USA as the host for the 2009 WASBE Conference. The Board would like to thank all six bidders for their interest.
Monday’s Sessions
History of Asian Wind Band Movement With Demonstration of Old Asian Instruments
Presented by Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society
Let me preface my commentary with two action words: bewildered and fascinated. As often happens when a Western mind encounters Eastern culture, I was fascinated by the music and lecture which was presented by the Singapore Indian Fine Arts Society (an organization that also runs a music school). The 4 musicians were introduced by the school principal, a lady named Lalitha. Each of them was a master musician. The instruments displayed were the Mridangam (a long tubular drum with skins on both ends), Tabla (percussive drums capable of delivery a variety of colours), flute (wood) and sitar (a stringed instrument which is plucked and strummed). The droning tones of a Thambura were also present but not the instrument. It turns out that one can purchase an electronic Thambura tone generator which sends out a pitch like a tuner’s “A–440." The lessons were clearly presented in good English and many of us learnt that Indian musicians used a scale similar to our Western major scale but altered the tones by bending them either by pulling on the strings, adding pressure on the drum skin or using breath and embouchure (in the case of the flute). A system of rhythm counting called the “Tala” was also introduced. This seemed like a good way to teach our own bands how to sub-divide pulses into groups of 3, 5, 7 or 9. I am sure there is even a way to divide into 11 but perhaps we need to be initiated into the religion first. In addition to all this, they also performed several pieces which had a spiritual sense about them. They even explained how they approached improvisation.
What about the “bewildered” part? Well, as much as I learnt, I did not see how the presentation related to the title of the session. As principal Lalitha said in the beginning, the music does not seem to have a beginning or an end. It is a force of the cosmos. Maybe it’s just my Western education that demanded a structure. However, something must have moved me I am sure because I drove out to little Indian and bought a book on the Mridangam. I want to learn more.
The Band in Singapore
Presented by Dr. Eugene Dairianathan
I am often reminded to approach life with an open mind. I must confess that I had entered this presentation expecting to fall asleep. However, Dr. Dairianathan is a man with strong convictions and I ended up learning more that I deserved about bands in Singapore. It turns out that there is a secret to the success of the band program in this country. The government made a commitment in 1969 and has followed through ever since. In fact (if I remember the figures correctly in my half-dazed state) by the year 2000, middle schools with at least 43 band members were receiving something like US$120,000 from the government. Maybe this is a model we can take back to Western countries. In addition to the facts and figures, Dr. Dairianathan also discussed some colourful historic events relating to the development of the band movement. Since Singapore was a British colony at one time, the influence of bands from India (another British colony) also deserved mention.
Building Resonance & Sonority
Presented by William V. Johnson
When a past President speaks, everyone listens. This is especially true when the subject involves something so near and dear to our hearts. The most impressive part of this lecture/demonstration was the Hai Sing Catholic School Band, comprised of 14 and 15 year-olds. All of them have only played their instruments for a year or two but the music they made was impressive. Sometimes in life you just had to be there — I can write a novel but you will still not get the picture. The discipline and dedication shown both by the students and their teacher Tan Soh Hwa came through in their performance.
In addition, Bill shared a few secrets about getting a good band sound. He also had many strong views about common band practices and bad habits. For example, you need to ask him why he thinks bands should tune to A–440 and not higher. Wow, all this and a couple good concerts coming up featuring a band from Hong Kong and the University of Florida Wind Symphony. As a special treat, President Johnson has requested all bands to perform music from their own country.
Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia
Monday afternoon treated us to a wonderful performance of some truly interesting wind works. The Hong Kong Wind Philharmonia under the direction of Mr. Jerry Junkin presented the most expressive and well-prepared programme yet in the conference. Opening with the Mozart Gran Partita, the ensemble presented a very animated interpretation of this masterwork. The full ensemble then took to the stage to introduce the audience to the work of Dr. Lo Hau-Man. Conversing with the Stars is a dialogue between two solo horns and wind ensemble. It is a dark and angry piece that certainly demands a second listen. The first half concluded by taking a very hard turn to Dr. Chris Coleman’s A Jazz Funeral. Quite frankly, this piece left me behind. It is not that the work is hard to understand, but it seemed so out of place following the previous music. I found it difficult to enjoy a work that may be an outstanding addition to the repertoire for lighter concerts. I thoroughly enjoyed the Great Wall Cappriccio by Liu Wen-Jin and arranged by Carson Yum that began the second half. This work is for the Chinese bowed instrument the Erhu and it is an effective work that features an instrument that is new to most western ears. Again we took a hard jolt in the programming by following this sensitive Asian work with Hindemith. Having said that, the performance of Symphonic Metamorphosis was outstanding with some truly brilliant moments. Mr. Junkin has some outstanding players in his ensemble, particularly on Oboe and Flute. This was a very good group performing some excellent repertoire. I’m not sure that all of this repertoire belonged on the same program but preparation and performance of it was outstanding and did offer the WASBE audience exciting presentations of good music new and old.
©2005 WASBE