Music Notes

By Sarah Likins
Orange County High School,
a Blue Ridge Virtual Governor's School project
Published: April 17, 2008

The Orange County High School band students will experience an exciting event on April 29: the bands and music education majors of Lycoming College in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, will be visiting OCHS. Lycoming College chose OCHS as one of the many high schools they will visit on their southern tour of the United States. But, the Lycoming College Bands are not just performing for Orange; they are also conducting clinics and directing the OCHS bands.
Throughout the day, these college music educators will be involved in the music programs at the high school. During the symphonic band class, these music majors will conduct the band in place of our regular band director. Guest conducting is a great educational experience, as students learn what other conductors expect. The high school students also learn a different style of conducting that they may not be used to, and gain a new perspective on the music they are playing. A guest conductor may take the liberty of changing tempos and the overall dynamics and style of a particular piece of music. Musicians can then interpret the music in a different way and change aspects of the music that are improved from these new adjustments. The jazz ensemble will participate in this same experience later in the day.
Guest conducting in this case will also be a learning experience for the music education majors of Lycoming College. The music education students can learn what works for high school musicians, what these musicians understand, and how they adjust to the directing of a different person. The more opportunities music educators are allowed to guest conduct, the more they learn the style that works best for them and how to communicate to their future students.
After school, band students from OCHS will be able to have more one-on-one time with the band students from Lycoming College. The college students will have clinics for OCHS band students where they will give their perspective on their instruments and what works well for them and also, hopefully, recruit some future music students.
On the night of April 29, the Lycoming College Bands will perform selections from their repertoire in a concert at 7 p.m. at Orange County High School. Selected students from OCHS will perform with these bands in what will surely be a great concert and a great experience. The general public is invited to attend this concert and enjoy the Lycoming Bands just the same as the OCHS band students.
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