Oregon, Day 3

Tuesday, November 10. I had a class at 8 o’clock this morning with a class of FIFTH GRADERS. I did my funny breathing thing, played a tune and we are done; 30-minutes in and out. Then I went over to the high school, where I spoke to a class of young musicians who are interested in various area of the music field. Having been involved in different sides of music (teaching, playing, union activities, management, auditions, and the like) I was able to field many questions, give informed answers (peppered with MY take on things) on a variety of subjects. These are sharp, educated young adults and engaged me in many topics and asked some really pointed questions. This was a 90-minute session. After this class, Mary Lou had her second band and showed the tape from their last marching band show. It was cool just hanging with the kids for this period. DURING the class time, I gave a private lesson to a young tuba student who just switched from baritone and is HIGHLY motivated to improve on tuba. I gave him a copy of my book and we worked for almost an hour.

After that, the wind ensemble rehearsed my piece in the auditorium, then I spoke AGAIN to this class about the biz and various experiences I have had over my career. They asked for some stories about odd or funny thing that went on around playing and teaching. With my years with Cleve, I had DOZENS of stories to tell.

After, I went for lunch at a nice Chinese place. As I type this, I await my 6:30 ride to the concert.

The concert went well. The combined Jr. High band played two tunes, then the HS played a tune. I played the ‘Concertino’ and 'Syrinx.' The HS band played a very emotive piece honoring our servicemen & women, and we were done. In and out one hour, MY kind of concert!

We went to ‘A slice of New York’ (it wasn’t) for pizza. I had a salad. Heading off to bed. I leave for McMinnville tomorrow AM. A good day!