Crossroads South Wind Symphony & Jazz Band Blog

This is the recording you did for the assessment on Thursday.  What would you change knowing the story of the piece after hearing this recording?

~ Mr. Strusz

 

 On A Hymnsong of Philip Bliss - Assessment: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

ON A HYMNSONG OF PHILIP BLISS (1989) is Holsinger’s translated the American hymn “It is Well with my Soul”. It is his largest selling work and has been used in several televised memorial performances in recent years, including commemorative services for the Challenger astronauts, Ronald Reagan, and the fallen heroes of the American armed forces. This piece was written to honor Rev. Steve Edel, the retiring principal of Shady Grove Christian Academy, and was presented to him as a gift by the academy’s concert band.

This hymn was written after several traumatic events in Horatio Spafford’s life. The first was the death of his only son in 1871, shortly followed by the great Chicago Fire which ruined him financially (he had been a successful lawyer). Then in 1873, he had planned to travel to Europe with his family on the S.S. Ville du Havre, but sent the family ahead while he was delayed on business concerning zoning problems following the Great Chicago Fire. While crossing the Atlantic, the ship sank rapidly after a collision with a sailing ship, the Loch Earn, and all four of Spafford’s daughters died. His wife Anna survived and sent him the now famous telegram, “Saved alone.” Shortly afterward, as Spafford traveled to meet his grieving wife, he was inspired to write these words as his ship passed near where his daughters had died.
Bliss called his tune Ville du Havre, from the name of the stricken vessel.
The Spaffords later had three more children, one of whom (a son) died in infancy. In 1881 the Spaffords, including baby Bertha and newborn Grace, set sail for Palestine. The Spaffords moved to Jerusalem and helped found a group called the American Colony; its mission was to serve the poor. The colony later became the subject of the Nobel prize winning Jerusalem, by Swedish novelist Selma Lagerlöf.

How does this information change your approach to this piece?

~ Mr. Strusz

PS – all of the above information was taken from various places on the web, but mainly from Wikipedia.com

Take a listen to this version of Witchcraft from our rehearsal this morning.  Compare it to the professional recording and say what you think we are doing well and what still needs to have some improvement.

~ Mr. Strusz

 

 Witchcraft 03-03-10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

 

 Witchcraft - Mark Taylor arrangement: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

Many of you have asked about this year’s Hershey shirts and what they look like.  I have no idea what the choice will be and I am usually the last one to find out the chosen color.  Here is your chance to make some suggestions.  Tell me what you think the 2010 Hershey shirt should look like.  I will share this post with the rest of the music staff when we talk about the shirts.  Be as descriptive as possible.  Here are the past colors: (HINT – these are the past colors, not suggestions for the current shirts.  See if you can come up with some new and creative combinations.)

1. white with black letters
2. dark green with yellow letters
3. gold with black letters
4. black with gold letters
5. recycle bin blue with gold letters
6. band chair red with gold letters
7. tan with black letters
8. stone blue with dark blue letters
9. texas orange with peach letters
10. purple with grey letters
11. red with grey letters
12. turquiose with brown letters

This recording of Choreography is the 2nd take of the day.  This is not the one that had Mr. Tucholski reading the message with our background.  If I do not put that recording up on the blog, I will play it for you at our next rehearsal.  What do you think about our performance on this recording?

~ Mr. Strusz

 

 Choreography 02-25-10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

You had a chance to tell us what event you would want to take part in during the Winter Olympics and now you have a chance to volunteer me for an event.  What Winter Olympic event would you volunteer me to participate in?

~ Mr. Strusz

The 2010 Winter Olympics started this past weekend for those of you who might have missed in while playing in the snow.  What event would you want to be a part of if you had the chance?

~ Mr. Strusz

What are you doing or did you do to enjoy your snow day?

~ Mr. Strusz

Our new song is titled: On A Hymnsong of Philip Bliss.  After listening to the piece, what do you picture as the storyline of the song?  What challenges do you think we will encounter while working on this piece?

~ Mr. Strusz

 

 On A Hymnsong of Philip Bliss: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download

After all of our hard work in the rehearsal on Tuesday, we came out with the following recording as a result.  What has improved since our last recording and how else do you think we can improve?

~Mr. Strusz

 

 Choreography 2-09-10: Play Now | Play in Popup | Download