Comments on: Three Evenings With John Mackey http://www.sequenza21.com/2010/10/three-evenings-with-john-mackey/ The Contemporary Classical Music Community Wed, 22 May 2013 02:29:02 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.5.1 By: Rusty Banks http://www.sequenza21.com/2010/10/three-evenings-with-john-mackey/comment-page-1/#comment-25204 Rusty Banks Wed, 06 Oct 2010 11:46:16 +0000 http://www.sequenza21.com/?p=3898#comment-25204 I know! It was like, the one for-reals piece for band. Forever. It would always come up in that conversation about band music not having to be so cheesy. But then it was hard to come up with others. But that’s the thing; there are only a few war-horses in the band rep (and they’re 20th century). Lot’s of room, need, and even desire for new pieces.

]]> By: Steve Layton http://www.sequenza21.com/2010/10/three-evenings-with-john-mackey/comment-page-1/#comment-25202 Steve Layton Wed, 06 Oct 2010 03:21:42 +0000 http://www.sequenza21.com/?p=3898#comment-25202 Aggh! They’ve been playing “Music for Prague” as the go-to piece since *I* was in high school! ;-)

]]> By: Rusty Banks http://www.sequenza21.com/2010/10/three-evenings-with-john-mackey/comment-page-1/#comment-25200 Rusty Banks Wed, 06 Oct 2010 00:45:05 +0000 http://www.sequenza21.com/?p=3898#comment-25200 These days it does seem like a lot of people are getting the “idea” of composing for band, but maybe we’re a long way away from saturation. Or better yet, maybe an institution is forming where newly-created works are the norm. That used to be the case for the symphony orchestra. But let’s face it, if an orchestra only programs works written between 1840 and 1940, it might be a damned shame, but every program could be fantastic. Wind/Perc literature is a long way from that, and will be for a while, even if we all stop what we are doing and put our best efforts into composing for band.

That said, the last few wind ensemble concerts I saw had some goooood pieces, and amazing variety.

Oh, and don’t forget high schools. Have you seen these kids play Music for Prague? Many composers would find this quality of performance just dandy for one of their works.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t6W8Z-g3fPw&feature=related

]]> By: Steve Layton http://www.sequenza21.com/2010/10/three-evenings-with-john-mackey/comment-page-1/#comment-25199 Steve Layton Tue, 05 Oct 2010 23:22:39 +0000 http://www.sequenza21.com/?p=3898#comment-25199 You’re on to something here, Rusty, though I’d advise everyone to get cracking, before saturation sets in.

]]> By: Rusty Banks http://www.sequenza21.com/2010/10/three-evenings-with-john-mackey/comment-page-1/#comment-25193 Rusty Banks Tue, 05 Oct 2010 18:28:21 +0000 http://www.sequenza21.com/?p=3898#comment-25193 I really think we will look back at the early 21 century and say that Wind/Percussion ensembles were the important large ensembles for music of the time. I think eventually we may even stop using the qualified term “Band” composer for composers like Mackey. My latest blog post talks about this some:

http://sequenza21.com/banks/

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