I was thinking of that Charlie Brown tune “Christmas Time is Here” when I wrote the title to this post, and then I thought about how awful a movie that would be, and then I realized I’m too lazy to go back and change it even though I took the time to write the rest of this sentence……….are you still reading?
I’m headed up to Northwood High School in Nappanee tonight to meet with their new director (who happens to be a friend) Eric Criss about their fall marching show. I owe a lot to Eric for putting so much trust in me when we first started working together when he was at Columbia City. I’ve learned a lot from being able to essentially design their entire show (except for guard stuff) for 2 years. Its taught me about working with the strengths and weaknesses of small band programs. They didn’t march a drumline, for example, so I had to rely on the pit for a lot of the pulse and drive throughout the show (which they handled quite well at the performances I was able to catch).
Beyond that, I’m trying to get Carroll High School’s show finished as well. Right now I’m writing for three bands (possibly four) and several other bands are performing previous compositions of mine. At some point though, I think I’m going to have to set a limit on the number of shows I write. I worry about taking on too many clients and not doing my best work. I would say 5 to 8 would be the maximum amount I’d want to have. I want to be able to focus on my wind ensemble and other writing and not use up all of my ideas with marching band. Plus, I have some major problems with the direction of modern competitive marching band that I won’t go into right now.