of sailors and whales

Do you have 20 minutes for some imagination at sea? This is one of the pieces my band is playing next Sunday. It is called "Of Sailors and Whales" and was written by a great symphonic band composer, W. Francis McBeth, who was on the faculty at Ouachita Baptist University. This is a 2012 performance by the Ouachita Wind Ensemble in honor of McBeth who died earlier that year. Of Sailors and Whales is a really cool piece in multiple movements, and a lot of fun to play (and sing in one movement). Our concert will also feature a very fun Gershwin medley piece and two other more traditional concert band pieces along with the usual America the Beautiful and Stars and Stripes. Usually we play nine or ten pieces, but this and the Gershwin are both quite long.

Whine alert: I so wish I didn't have to travel for work this coming week so I could practice more. I could practice in the hotel room, but it would disturb others. (I am reminded that I used to practice between 90 min. to 2 hours a night in high school to the point where it would get on my mom's nerves and she would call up to my attic bedroom asking me to "stop all that toodling for the night." How many kids got asked to stop practicing? I don't think it was because I played badly... I was just relentless.)