Artist in Residence!

I am very excited to announce a new partnership between Berkley High School and acclaimed jazz musician Kris Johnson. Kris is now co-teaching the new BHS after-school class focused on improvisation skills. The class meets at 4:00 PM on Wednesdays and Thursdays. Here are a few photos from today's class:






Here is Kris's bio:

"A native of Detroit, MI, Kris’s education began with Damien Crutcher’s music program at Southfield-Lathrup High School (2001), Harold McKinney’s jazz workshop, and the Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Orchestra under the direction of Marcus Belgrave. The trumpeter, composer, arranger, and educator has a diverse musical background, and holds a Master’s (2007) and Bachelor’s (2005) degree in Jazz Studies from Michigan State University.

Kris has performed with many jazz greats including Tony Bennett, Patti Austin, Wess Anderson, Wycliffe Gordon, Jon Hendricks, Monty Alexander, Rodney Whitaker & the MSU Professors of Jazz, and many others. PBS viewers may have seen Kris in the documentary “Inside Jazz: Everybody’s Welcome,” where Kris was a featured soloist in a master class with jazz great Wynton Marsalis.

Currently Kris is proud to be touring with the world famous Count Basie Orchestra.

Kris has performed at the Idlewild, Lansing, and East Lansing Jazz Festivals. He also performed with the Marcus Belgrave Trumpet Summit at the 2003 Detroit Ford International Jazz Festival, and with the Gerald Wilson Orchestra at the 2005, 2006, and 2007 Detroit Jazz Festivals. Kris was also a member of the Jonathon Dixon Quintet, which won the Heineken Star Quest Jazz Competition and performed at the Detroit Jazz Fest in 2005.

Kris recently received first place in the 8th Annual Great American Song Contest (instrumental category) for his composition “My Apologies.” “My Apologies” and several of his other compositions are featured on his first CD release, “Exodus” (2008). His writing can also be heard on the track “My Favorite Things,” from Yolanda Adams’s 2007 release, “What a Wonderful Day,” on which he played trumpet and arranged the horns. Kris has also composed a jazz oratorio "Jim Crow's Tears" which is influenced by the history of minstrelsy and blackface. In July of 2008 Kris will premiere "Un Voyage dans les Rêves", a piece commissioned by the Arts League of Michigan in Detroit.

Kris served as the Assistant Director of Detroit Symphony Orchestra’s Civic Jazz Ensembles from 2005 - 2008. This job entailed directing weekly rehearsals with the Civic Jazz Band II and writing custom arrangements for the Civic Jazz Orchestra and Civic Jazz Band II. While pursuing his Master’s Degree at Michigan State, Kris served as a Graduate Assistant teaching Beginning Jazz Improvisation I & II, and conducting the MSU Jazz Octet III.

Kris is also a prominent private instructor who consistently produces high quality students. Many of his students have received scholarships to music programs and colleges including Manhattan School of Music, Michigan State University, Interlochen Fine Arts Academy & Camp, and the Stanford Jazz Workshop.

Kris has written three music theory books including “Anthology of Scales,” “Anthology of Chords,” and “Anthology of Intervals and Sequences.” He is also the co-author of a series of jazz piano method books with Rick Roe (Associate Professor of Jazz Piano, Michigan State University)."

Thriller Video from Indoor Marching Concert

The indoor marching concert last night was a lot of fun. Hope you enjoy this video, courtesy of Michael Levy...

http://vimeo.com/7196277

Tag Days 2009

We had a successful tag days fundraiser this year due to the support of many band and orchestra students and parents. A special thanks goes to Robertta Goffeney, tag days chairperson, who spent countless hours organizing this event. Here are a number of photos from the weekend:

October Update

I thought I may as well give a general update on how all the bands are doing now that we are a few weeks into the school year. Safe to say there's a lot to discuss.

At Norup, each band is getting into a routine of skill building and introduction to repertoire. 8th grade has been working overtime, already under the gun for three playing tests on major scales and patterns. On the rep side, we're working on a few pieces including Susato's "Battle Pavane" and "Chester Variations." We went outside for the first time today to review marching basics, ahead of the Halloween parade in a few weeks. I had a good laugh as they tried to remember how to execute a "left face."

7th graders, small but mighty, are in a good place as they move beyond the 6th grade-friendly key signatures and ranges. Repertoire study has been fun so far, including an arrangement of "Malaguena" and a simple march titled "Mt. Vernon March." The emphasis is really on moving slowly through new skills and knowledge, and so far I'm impressed with the band. We also had our first attempt at marching today.

6th grade is going great so far! I always forget how fun it is to start moving beyond the first five or six notes to a full octave, and playing some fun music like "Cardiff Castle." The instrumentation is good, and the kids are so willing to try new things. I'm trying to mix more musicianship and singing/moving into this beginning band semester, so I guess we'll see how that goes. This summer was definitely a good reminder of why that stuff is so important as compared to only working on fingerings and rhythms.

The marching band is approaching a few weeks that are...well, busy if not ridiculously busy. This includes 3 assemblies at the middle schools, senior night, homecoming pep assembly, parade, and game, indoor marching concert, trip to U of M Band-o-Rama, and the first ever "Band Bowl" touch football game. Whew! Enough said. The kids are working as hard as ever.

The concert band is also off to a good start. Almost all members are veterans, so the starting point of technique is much higher than last year. I'm also doing certain things very differently, including the approach to technique building, repertoire, rhythm study, etc. It will be really interesting to see how far this band pushes itself--I'm optimistic at this point.

More to come in November!

A Few More Pictures...

Photos from the Football Game on 9/17

Here are some photos from the September 17 game against Andover HS. It was fun to watch our team win big, and the band did a nice job putting the final song, "Thriller," on the field for the first time. We have a few more final touches to add for our last two games, but I'm very happy with the current progress.

In other news, I was in Ann Arbor on Tuesday night for a saxophone quartet rehearsal. I had about an hour to kill, so I visited the Michigan Marching Band afternoon practice. It was really fun to see the BHS alums marching, including freshman Ben Duchan, sophomore Kathleen Elmquist, and junior Andrew Lapin. I also saw a number of alums from Andover HS where I student taught. The band looked and sounded great.

Enjoy the pictures!

Marching Band Reminders

I'm just writing with a few reminders about this week in marching band. First, we have our next football game performance this Thursday evening at 7:00 PM. This time, we'll be meeting at the fields across from the high school at 4:45 PM for a warm-up and run-throughs rehearsal. This rehearsal should last approximately 45 minutes, leaving about an hour for students to get dressed and get something to eat before meeting at Anderson MS (in the courtyard) at 6:30 PM. Don't forget to be in full uniform!

Second, as I've told the band several times, there is NO invitational this weekend. Because the scheduled invitational took place during the Jewish holiday, it was moved to this past weekend (which I thought was a little early in the school year). Therefore, again, there is NO invitational this weekend.