It’s great for passion to be reignited.

Getting back to my Central Time body-clock, I need to talk about the awesomeness of the Arts Schools Network 2011 Conference in Anaheim, CA. You can see/download the program itinerary here. There were some great site visits, and visiting with students from LA County High School for the Arts and Orange County High School of the Arts and an inclusive pass to the 2011 NAMM show (National Association of Music Merchants).

Walking through the halls of these high schools, the group (~100 of the Conference Goers, split on two tour buses) were led by students and staff to observe visual and performing arts classes, student performances and work on each campus. Just speaking with the young, creative minds shows opened my mind to the way that students are connecting with each other and staying inspired.

At this conference, I was able to present on a student recognition effort for all ASN member schools. We’ll announce more when the time is right.

But Below you’ll find some pictures from the ASN conference, the NAMM show (I met lots of cool people) and a quick video interview with Kristy Callaway, Executive Director of the Arts Schools Network.

We’re looking forward to next year’s conference in Orlando! The sessions alone are worth it, along with the opportunity to connect with K-12 and College Art School Leadership.

You can see more directly on the Arts Schools Network website by clicking this link.

Update, We’ve added a video interview with Kristy Callaway from the NAMM show / ASN Conference.

by Dejen Tesfagiorgis

Technical Sgt. Tyler Kuebler, a member of the Airmen of Note’s saxophone section, performs during the 3rd annual Joint Service Jazz Festival in Washington, DC. The concert, which took place at the Carter Barron Amphitheatre on August 16th, also featured the Army Blues and the Navy Commodores. (photo by SFC Mark Wood, U.S. Army Band)

A while back I interviewed Airmen of Note Lead Alto Technical Sergeant Tyler Kuebler (http://tylerkuebler.com/). The Airmen of Note is a killer band, and having the opportunity to talk with Tyler (University of North Texas Undergrad and MM, University of Miami DMA) was fantastic, definitely worth the 8AM trek to their rehearsal. You can hear the band warming up the the background.

Tyler Kuebler’s Bio:

Tyler Kuebler is originally from Agoura Hills, CA, and currently performs as Lead Alto with the world-renowned USAF Airmen of Note. After serving with the USAF Band’s Airmen of Note from 1998-2002 as Lead Tenor, Dr. Kuebler is thrilled to be back with the band after a six-year hiatus, this time leading the section.

Prior to rejoining the USAF Band, Dr. Kuebler was an Assistant Professor of Saxophone, Jazz Studies, and Music Theory and Director of the Studio Jazz Orchestra at Southern Illinois University Carbondale. During his tenure at SIUC, Tyler was also a member of the New Arts Jazztet, a faculty jazz quintet in residence at the university. In addition to his educational commitments at SIUC, he taught at various music summer camps, including the prestigious Blue Lake Fine Arts Camp in Michigan and the Governor’s Honors Program in Georgia.

Throughout his career, Dr. Kuebler has had the opportunity to perform and record with some of the biggest names in jazz and popular music, including the Maria Schneider Orchestra, Maynard Ferguson, Sammy Figueroa, Julio Iglesias, David Liebman, Jack Sheldon, Randy Brecker, Paul Anka, Jerry Bergonzi, Clark Terry, Bobby Caldwell, James Moody, Dick Oats, Joe Lovano, Louie Bellson, Slide Hampton, Rosemary Clooney, Kenny Werner, Bob Mintzer, Gerry Mulligan, Conrad Herwig, Ernie Watts, John Fedchock, Jon Hendricks, Pete Christlieb, Peabo Bryson, Steve Allen, the Temptations, and the Four Tops, to name a few.

Dr. Kuebler earned his B.M. and M.M. degrees from the University of North Texas, where he was a member of the world-renowned One O’Clock Lab Band for four years. The University of Miami conferred his Doctor of Musical Arts degree. Throughout his education, Tyler has studied with such influential teachers as Jim Riggs, Neil Slater, Gary Keller, Whit Sidener, Dan Haerle, Mike Steinel, Ronnie Miller, Yusef Lateef, Dr. Billy Taylor, John Mosley and Shuichi Komiyama.

Check out his website, and some Airmen of Note performances (Click here for their music. Please, Let me Google that for you)

Some of Tyler’s Quotes from the Interview:

Since the Airforce Band is active duty, I had to go through basic training…but that prepares you for the military side of it. Once you’ve through with that, then you’re full active duty.

(How do band members push each other) You can never relax because everyone is playing at such a high level all the time…Healthy competition keeps you on your toes.

Start Studying the Masters, internalize what you’ve learned, and take that as a starting point.

There’s not many people that can just be players these days…unless your only goal is to play and you’re willing to accept the sacrifice in all levels of your life.

No matter what you play, always play piano. You got to have piano chops for general musicianship.

Like what you see? Want to hear from a certain artist? Let us know your thoughts by commenting below.

Monday, Feb 22, the New York Times ran a tech-forward article about Tufts University Admissions, now accepting YouTube videos as a “delightful way to get to know the applicants.”

High School Seniors made videos as an essay supplement to the application for general undergraduate admission. There is tremendous value in allowing applicants to present themselves visually, and take full use of technologies that many in this college-bound generation grew up with.

A few quotes directly from the article (available at http://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/23/education/23tufts.html):

“We’ve got some who are really good with the technology, there’s a real technical savvy out there in this generation, and this lets them show off their splicing, their stop action, their animation,” said Lee Coffin, the dean of undergraduate admissions.

Even without prompting, admissions officials say, a growing number of students submit videos. Maria Laskaris, the dean of admissions at Dartmouth, noticed the trend last year, and said this year had brought even more videos, mostly showcasing music, theater or dance talents.

At heart, this is all about a conversation between a kid and an admissions officer

This also reminds me a little of  Google’s 2008 Project, YouTube Symphony, where musicians uploaded auditions for a free trip to Carnegie Hall, to play a commission from Tan Dun, under the baton of Michael Tilson Thomas. A few words from Tan Dun can be found here (http://bit.ly/19EyUM).

The benefits with using a platform like ArtsApp for rich media is in the administrative backend reporting, privacy, control and integration with the existing application process. We hope to reach out to you as social web technologies continue to show value as educational tools.

Discussing the experience on the National Mall, Lapp was generally impressed by the variety of designs. Organization is an important aspect of a successful and competitive house (especially in areas like leadership, public relations, communication, and transportation); Lapp thought that each team handled their logistical issues skillfully, and competed with both rigor and courtesy.

By getting so many students from so many different parts of the globe involved, the competition succeeds in raising awareness about current problems in design efficiency. In the 2009 competition, the crucial event was “Net Metering,” in which the house is fitted with a meter to calculate its energy output. These numbers were tabulated on the last day of the competition, and decided the overall winner. Lapp suggests that while energy output is important to each solar house, the competition is weighted too heavily in this particular event. In his opinion, in coming years, the Department of Energy could think about redistributing the points in the ten different competitions to give more importance to issues like architecture and engineering. Currently, the Architecture and Engineering events (along with five others) are scored out of 100 points, while the Net Metering competition is scored out of 150 possible points. The remaining two events are scored out of 75 points. This means that Net Metering accounts for 15% of a team’s total score, which Lapp feels is too much.

Rice University's ZEROW HOUSE

One issue that Lapp feels was not addressed properly was that of cost efficiency. He said that Rice University, for example, created a functional and livable home called ZEROW HOUSE for about $100,000, but placed 8^th in the competition after attaining a low score in the Home Entertainment event. This particular event requires that the solar home provide power to a television and computer for a specified period of time. The affordability of the home was thus trumped by its poor score in an event that caters to the more frivolous items in the home. On the Solar decathlon website, the Rice University team describes their project: “Instead of building a house just for the competition, [we] designed a home they could give back to the community. The team has already negotiated an agreement with Project Row Houses, a local community development organization, to give the ZEROW HOUSE a permanent home in Houston’s Third Ward after the competition.” ZEROW HOUSE was the only competition entry to cost less than $250,000. By contrast, the winning house cost in the range of $650,000 – $850,000.

When discussing the judging, Lapp said that he would have liked more feedback on particular events, especially in Architecture. He also suggested that, while the single-family residence is a good place for students to innovate, the ideas about energy efficiency could be expanded to building types that are not privately-owned. Community centers, schools, libraries, museums, and other civic institutions would benefit greatly from the ideas that the Solar Decathlon competition generates. Lapp hopes that in the future, the competition will encourage the use of solar efficiency beyond the home.

Dr. Abreu, image courtesy of www.tedprize.org

The now world-famous educational program that has revolutionized music education and brought us super stars like Gustavo Dudamel and the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra has finally arrived in the United States.  The New England Conservatory of Music, located in Boston, has been exploring this partnership for several years. Dr. José Antonio Abreu, the founder of the Venezuelan based foundation, was awarded an honorary doctorate by the conservatory in 2002, and in 2007, the Simón Bolívar Symphony Orchestra under the direction of ‘the Dude’ himself performed at NEC’s Jordan Hall.

The program, titled El Sistema USA, is beginning by educating 50 ‘fellows’ over the next 5 years, who will each institute “núcleos” around the country, typically where music education is limited or non-existent. The first class of ten arrived in Boston for the start of classes last week, and their diverse backgrounds and common desire to replicate the ingenious program make for a hopeful and exciting group of folks.

I am, admittedly, a cynic in many things, and tend not to be caught up in hyped-up news items. But I have to say, I’ve never felt so hopeful, nay, joyful, about anything of this nature. This fresh approach of music education represents not simply a positive change for music education, or even for classical music, but ultimately for American society. I am neither the first nor the last to do so, but with all my heart, I wish those 10 students at NEC the very best of luck in this most important mission.

In Delirious New York (1997), Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas re-imagines the modern city in the Manhattan grid

by Aneesha Dharwadker

An education in architecture requires patience, stamina, and certain amount of finesse. As a student, I managed to learn something of all three, primarily in the context of the design studio. I studied in a five-year professional program in a small town in central New York, where I could not help but concentrate on my work. Cornell University is rather like a mountain kingdom from another time, and its architecture program is saturated in a formalist pedagogy of the 1970s. While the curriculum is rigid, there is certainly room for experimentation. And, perhaps most importantly, there is the opportunity to experience the world and bring new ideas back to the studio.

In the year between May 2007 and May 2008, I traveled extensively through Europe and India as both an independent researcher and a study abroad student. This year was an experiment in comparative urbanisms: my understanding of design matured dramatically through an immersion in different eastern and western cities. While I spent the majority of my time in New Delhi, India, and Rome, Italy, there were smaller places in between where I gained a great appreciation for what design has accomplished (especially during modernism) and what design might be today. It was the time abroad that cleared my head, and allowed me to refine ideas about the relationship of architecture to culture and how that affects the formation of the modern city.

Understanding the role of architecture in the 21^st century will ultimately derive from understanding the role of cities as global participants. These are the sites of social, political, and economic import, and of historical and cultural density. Urban architecture is a manifestation of this density (manifest density, if you will), and today, the architecture takes on multiple responsibilities. In addition to acting as cultural and geographical icons, buildings today attempt to sustain themselves naturally, taking advantage pre-existing conditions, like sun and wind, and harnessing them for energy. Architecture must deal with aesthetic and practical issues simultaneously, and as we continually put strain on our resources, the need for this balance is all the more pressing. It is in the cities that these ideas have already begun to appear and develop, and at the rate that we now exchange information, the ideas can spread globally in a moment.

We are at a turning point now, where architecture must accept multiple responsibilities with global implications. As a student of architecture, I have found new and exciting ways to look at cities, and to see design as one of many actors in urban culture. It is important to keep a critical eye—as students we are taught not simply to be designers, but to constantly think, see, and draw analytically. And, of course, to perpetuate the critical discourse.

Sean Combs (aka P. Diddy, Diddy, Puffy, Puff Daddy) has recently launched his latest reality show, “Making HIS Band,” featuring instrumentalists and singers competing for a spot as a touring live band for Comb’s forthcoming album, Last Train to Paris.

Normally I don’t follow reality shows or believe in the ‘musicianship’ displayed in 90% of MTV, but after the first two episode I can see the HUGE long-term potential in this series. Young artists can benefit by seeing non-traditional avenues to performance careers. Showcasing the discipline and musicality of aspiring band members also shows viewers that practice, routine, listening, and supporting each other are integral parts of being a performing artist. I was especially surprised to see the keyboard coach hand out a book of Hanon Studies to the keyboard players. Hanon Studies on MTV?!?

Here are a few lines about the show from the MTV Making HIS band webpage:

With the help of his judges (Laurie Ann Gibson, world renowned choreographer, Om’Mas Keith, producer and lyricist, Rob Lewis, songwriter to the the stars, Nisan Stewart, musical director/unofficial peacemaker, and Romeo, former vocal coach to Michael Jackson himself), Diddy will put his would-be collaborators through rounds of grueling auditions designed to weed out the wannabes from the future music legends and turn this talented team of rookies into the Bad Boy backup band of his dreams.

Those who do make it through the early do-or-die rounds will still have endure scathing reviews, endless trials and constant critique in order to prove they’ve got the talent, drive and ambition to succeed.

The series is pretty legitimate, and the auditions very critical. The first episode showed panel members holding auditions in LA, Chicago, Detroit and New York. This is no Big Brother, if you don’t perform to the judge’s standards, you’re out of the house. Eight of the show’s forty were sent home after their first challenge – Play the first 9 Hanon studies on command in any key.

Some of my favorite quotes so far:

1. Strength, speed, agility, all are indispensable qualities for fine execution of music.
2. None of you played the Hanon Exercises with Swag.
3. This is a proficiency test, you all divided yourself.
4. (On Hanon and basic piano technique) You all can play [Diddy's] songs, but we’re going to see who has the discipline to get through the boring sh*!

We’ll see the long-term effects of show like this making it to mainstream television.

More internet browsing, more resource discovery. This weekend I was looking at the Oberlin Conservatory of Music website and found a great beginner’s resource to gigging and freelancing. Click Here to view the page yourself.

In a snapshot, Oberlin’s Gig Referral Service offers the following:

1. Procedures to join the Oberlin Referral Service (Oberlin students only)
2. A Musician’s Guide to freelancing
3. Faculty Referral Form
4. Sample Contract
5. Links for Clients to assess, hire, and evaluate Oberlin musicians.

I’m an advocate for schools and organizations providing these resources for students. Anybody who wants to freelance should have a look at these documents as a good starting point.

The area to caution is when an artist expects opportunities to just fall in his lap. Meeting and collaborating with other artists is as important as studying your craft. I would say that Networking with new people and artists is a CRUCIAL element of being a professional artist that is missing from Oberlin’s “Guide to Successful Gigs.” Without entrepreneurship, the arts cannot survive.

The links above are a good place to start, but as a beginner getting gigs and performing is a matter of letting people know what kind of art you create, not a matter of waiting for someone to book work for you.

That being said, Oberlin has a fantastic website. Lots of news, RSS Feeds, and a great snapshot of what this school has to offer. I especially like the designation of “Practice Rooms With Windows (150).

Twitter feeds and student stories also help prospective students get into the culture behind the institution. Oberlin is on point about hosting AND INFORMING PEOPLE of events on campus. Also, embedded videos on teacher bio pages give a visual representation of teaching methods and theories behind selected instructors.  Oberlin tuition isn’t cheap (~$50,000/year sticker price) but the school is surely making an effort to connect with young artists before they even step on campus.

Regardless, Oberlin’s ability to tell their story and integrate with social media on their website serves as another model for arts organizations to emulate.