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School Spotlight - The Walden School

Participants at the Creative Musicians Retreat are a diverse group: amateur and professional musicians of all ages, undergraduate students, graduate students, composers and improvisers who come together for a week of creative music-making.

Initially known for their flagship program, The Young Musicians Program, (upon which the organization was founded in 1972, and in which students ages 9-18 participate in a five-week experience that is part camp, part school and part festival), The Walden School has more recently branched out into programs for adults musicians. If you’re a composer or educator interested in expanding your skills in music composition take a look at Walden’s Creative Musician’s retreat.

The Creative Musicians Retreat is their newest program and provides an opportunity for adult musicians at all levels to experience the rich curriculum, community music-making and innovative approaches to improvisation and composition long employed by Walden faculty at the School’s Young Musicians Program. The Creative Musicians Retreat offers something for anyone wanting to invigorate his or her musical life.

At the Creative Musicians Retreat, participants take classes, sing in chorus, write music, and improvise. Participants are exposed to a variety of Walden musicianship materials, including acoustics, drills with intervals and triads, resolving structures, rhythms, solfège and harmonic analysis. Classes also include topics in contemporary music, technology-based music, and master classes are offered as well. The program is not designed for the brand-new, novice musician, but it is also not designed exclusively for those with extensive training. Seth Brenzel, Executive Director of The Walden School, explains, “You don't have to identify yourself as a composer in order to attend or be a wonderful match for any of our programs. It's true that composition and improvisation are emphasized as part of the curriculum, but at Walden, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to compose music; it's simply part of being a well-rounded musician. And so if you're at all musically inclined, you are given the tools and the training to express yourself through music.” 

The Teacher Training Institute offers opportunities for music educators. The school offers professional development opportunities to help music educators sharpen their musicianship skills, enrich their teaching with imaginative activities, and more effectively guide the creative voices of their students. Workshops offered by The Walden School Teacher Training Institute are based upon The Walden School Musicianship Course, an original approach to teaching the fundamentals of music with an emphasis on creative application, specifically through music improvisation and composition. In addition, the course offers activity-based methods for developing high-level fluency with theoretical concepts and effective methods for teaching ear training.

The Walden School works extensively with professional composers. Brenzel adds, “There are numerous professional composers who are employed on our faculty, and many visiting composers over the years participate as moderators of our weekly Composers Forums. In the past several years, Joan Tower, Stephen Jaffe, John McDonald, Paul Moravec and Melinda Wagner have been in residence. And professional composers attend both our Teacher Training Institute and Creative Musicians Retreat each year.” 

To request more information or submit an application for the Walden School’s programs, visit: http://waldenschool.org/contact-us/. 

School Spotlight - Kettle Run High School, Nokesville, VA  

Thanks to my supportive school and band boosters, we have, on occasion, had nationally-recognized composers and clinicians work with my ensembles. As many music educators will agree, once a student hears the same comments and suggestions from a new face, they grasp the concept immediately. Collaboration is one of the most efficient means to improve – period.

Matt Yonkey, Band Director at Kettle Run high school in Nokesville, Virginia leads a successful and well-rounded music program comprised of a marching band, wind ensemble and symphonic band, jazz band, and indoor percussion and guard group. His ongoing goal is to maintain a “second to none” program, and he strives to expose his students to as many musical opportunities as possible, in what he sees as an ever-evolving field. Student Estefania Gimon shares that among her favorite experiences in this music program have been, “Marching in Disney World, attending the George N. Parks Drum Major Academy, and leading our marching band to success as the first female drum major for my school.” Student Christian Toms says that a love of the saxophone, a goal to be “as good as possible” and the challenges of a competitive program all keep him engaged. The young Kettle Run High program has won many awards and looks forward to increased opportunities for new music collaborations. Director Yonkey explains, “Thanks to my supportive school and band boosters, we have, on occasion, had nationally-recognized composers and clinicians work with my ensembles. As many music educators will agree, once a student hears the same comments and suggestions from a new face, they grasp the concept immediately. Collaboration is one of the most efficient means to improve – period.”

CSIC interviewed Kettle Run High Band Director Matt Yonkey in January of 2012. 

CSIC: Please tell us a little bit about your band program and share a few highlights of the program.  

Matt: In its fourth year, the Kettle Run has laid the ground work for a band legacy.  In each of its four years, the bands have earned the distinction of ‘Virginia Honor Band’ the Virginia Band and Orchestra Director’s Association’s highest honor awarded in the Commonwealth.  To earn Honor Band, the marching band must earn a ‘Superior’ rating in the fall at the VBODA State Marching Assessment and a ‘Superior’ rating in the spring of same academic year at the VBODA State Concert Assessment.  Only two other schools in the Commonwealth have earned this distinction since opening.  Besides the Cougar Marching Band and Concert Bands, there is an active indoor percussion and guard group as well as jazz ensemble.

CSIC: Why did you decide to become a music educator? 

Matt: When I was in grade school, I was very fortunate to perform with a number of top notch local, regional, state and all-eastern groups.  Saxophone was my life and love thanks to my fantastic public school band directors and private lesson teachers.  They instilled such a passion for the horn and love of music that I wanted to share with as many young people as I could.  I owe my successes to each of them.

CSIC: What changes have you seen in music education in the last ten years? 

Matt: Technology has changed music education and education as a whole for better and for worse.  Technology has given students instant access to performances via YouTube, enhanced practice tools via SmartMusic, instant performance feedback via mp3 recorders, the list goes on and on.  Unfortunately, technology has also made teachers available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week through email.  When was the last time we picked up the telephone?

CSIC: What are your goals for your band program? 

Matt: Having a band that is ‘second to none’ is my overall goal.  Sharing with my students the same philosophies and teaching techniques I was given and trying to keep up with an evolving field is extremely important.

CSIC: Can you please share a few stories about your music students who have gone on to study music in college and/or have found success as music professionals (or maybe success as a professional where music has played a part)?

Matt: A number of my students have gone on to be successful musicians and that is my biggest professional accomplishment.  Most recently, one of my saxophone students graduated from Berklee School of Music a few short years after picking up the saxophone as a junior in high school.  He approached me with an interest in music one day during a lunch break and I told him that I would help him and it is never too late to get started.  Once he chose the saxophone, we would meet before school, after school and before long he was first chair in the local district band and earned scholarship money for college.  I am very proud of him.  Other students share similar successes and are contributing positively through the recording industry and pursuing music education degrees.  I am very excited for these kids.

CSIC: What do you see as the primary benefit for the students in an apprentice-type, professional/student relationship? What does it provide that a teacher/student relationship cannot provide? 

Matt: Students are most efficient with a variety of developed teaching tools and opportunites.  We are such ‘routine learners’ – change IS good!  Once the students are receptive of change, they really bite in and achieve.  Having a differentiated learning environment with an apprentice will provide yet another ‘out-of-routine’ learning experience.

CSIC: Has your band program collaborated with professionals in the past? 

Matt: Thanks to my supportive school and band boosters, we have, on occasion, had nationally-recognized composers and clinicians work with my ensembles.  As many music educators will agree, once a student hears the same comments and suggestions from a new face, they grasp the concept immediately.  Collaboration is one of the most efficient means to improve – period.

CSIC: How does collaborating with outside music professionals affect your job as an educator? 

Matt: Music is universal and regardless of what music we are performing, guests can listen, adjudicate and offer suggestions. 

CSIC: What kind of collaboration with a professional composer most interests you? 

Matt: The customized piece of literature.  Having the opportunity to work directly with the composer allows for a catered piece to fit the current musical output of my ensembles.  Many times you will buy a ‘stock’ chart and there will be deficiencies in one area or another and as a director, you need to be very creative to overcome these.  A composition written for a particular ensemble will benefit the group and hopefully many groups for years to come.

Learn more about the J.Graham Brown band program at www.kettlerunband.org.

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. Band Director, Matt Yonkey

School Spotlight - J. Graham Brown School, Louisville, KY  

No stranger to music composition, the J. Graham Brown School is searching for a professional composer for a Spring 2012 collaboration.  

The J. Graham Brown School has elementary, middle, and high school students in the same building. This inner city school in downtown Louisville is in the top 4% of best schools in America as determined by U.S. News and World Report in 2011.  The award-winning band program has been in existence for approximately 39 years. Under the direction of K. Michelle Lewis the program has earned distinguished ratings at concert and sight reading festivals and was the recipient of the Grammy in the Schools Enterprise award in 2011.  The band program consists of a percussion ensemble, elementary, middle and high school steel drum ensembles, a jazz program and concert bands.   

It is no surprise that this forward-thinking school incorporates music composition into their curriculum. Band director, K. Michelle Lewis explains, “One of the main goals I have for my students is to learn how to use music as a device for communication.  This means communication with one another and the audience.  Another goal is for my students to be able to feel confident at composing music for their instrument, or for other instruments they are interested in.” She tells CSIC about a current project: “The members of the J. Graham Brown School jazz and concert bands are currently involved in a composition project that consists of touring downtown Louisville, taking pictures of the city that inspire them, and writing a piece of music about the architecture. The students will use the images as an impetus to create their own pieces of music. This project is entitled "Sounds of the City," a collection of original compositions by the J. Graham Brown School Band. Our high school band students will present their works in a public performance with the pictures running behind the compositions as they are played.” An introduction to music composition happens early at Brown. Lewis says, “The middle school band was involved in a research and implementation of Orff methodology in which they composed their own band piece and performed it in their final concert of the year.” 

Lewis has seen first-hand the cuts to the arts that Composers and Schools in Concert was formed, partially, to address.  “I’m seeing more and more schools get rid of music programs from the elementary level on up through high school.  I believe this is affected by the lack of academic progress and test scores not being high enough.  Many schools do not allow students who are failing to participate in music programs if they are failing an academic class,” says Lewis.  I’m hoping the new Program of Studies that Kentucky has adopted will be a positive change for the arts in our state.  The music programs will now be evaluated from a performance standpoint, which means that music must be offered to students during the school day.” 

The J. Graham Brown school music program is eager to collaborate with a professional composer, and says they are “open for almost anything,” musically.  “Collaborating with music professionals outside of the school system is an awesome experience for the students as well as myself,” explains Lewis. “The students get to experience rehearsals and/or sectionals with professionals in the field who bring a different aspect to their education than what I can give them.  It also enhances my professional development as a music educator.  I’m constantly learning something from everyone every day, even my students.  I feel that collaboration is extremely important if you want to be on the cutting edge of education.” 

The J. Graham Brown School is currently seeking a professional composer to collaborate with during the spring of 2012 to help coach the students in their project Sounds of the City to be performed in May of 2012. For more information please contact Composers and Schools in Concert at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. .  

Learn more about the J.Graham Brown band program at www.brownband.webs.com. 

School Spotlight - Rio Americano High School, Sacramento, CA 

The Rio Americano High Band program, of Sacramento, CA, is exemplary and enormously successful. So, what’s the recipe for success?  It seems to boil down to this: Passionate musical directors.  Talented kids.  A potent sense of family within the program.  And above all, a community of parents and friends who support the student musicians and educators, and who are willing to fight to protect music education.   

   The Rio Americano High Band program, of Sacramento, CA, is exemplary and enormously successful, but it’s not because they have a lot of funding.  As president of the Rio Americano High Band Booster Club, Joanne Swedlow, puts it, “Rio is not a magnet school, or a charter school, or anything like that.  It’s just a perfect storm of talented kids and passionate directors.”   CSIC believes there’s one more element to that perfect storm, and that element is community involvement; the parents who make up the Rio Americano High Booster Club, and the kids within the program who watch out for each other.  “There are positions on the band board, who track the kids all the way through the program, and present them with photo albums when they graduate.” Joanne shares. “Rio has an incredibly active Booster club.”    The level of engagement among the Rio Americano band students, and their interest in each others’ growth, is remarkable.  Kids put together their own combos, and seek mentorship from the older students.  “It’s just part of the culture,” says Joanne.  “The older kids teach the younger ones how to work together; how to put together their combos.”  Rio Americano band student Emma Hollis expands on that concept, saying, “The environment of band is so positive and loving, we're a huge family. Even though I have only been in band for a year, I have grown so much as a musician, and as a person, and I have made so many close friends from being part of the band program.” If there’s one thing that Joanne Swedlow hopes readers will take away from this article, it’s inspiration to see this caliber of music program in every school, everywhere.   “It’s interesting to note that more than 10% of the student body at Rio Americano High School participates in the music program,” she adds. Perhaps, taken one school at a time, similar levels of participation and achievement at other schools are not as daunting a prospect to achieve as they may seem, if some of Rio Americano’s tactics are applied. 

      The Rio Americano Band program consists of three programs, (Concert Band, Jazz Band, and Instrumental Ensemble), offering students a range of music education and performance opportunities from beginning to advanced levels.  The band program is nationally recognized; the AM Jazz Ensemble was recognized as one the United States' top 15 high school jazz bands at the Essentially Ellington Competition and Festival in New York City in 2001, 2002, 2006, 2007 and in 2010 they came in 5^th. The Rio Americano AM Jazz Ensemble has also won the Monterey Jazz Festival in the High School Big Band category an unprecedented seven times. Josh Murray, who along with Max Keisner directs Rio Americano’s music programs, describes the mission of these programs thusly: “To use music as a means of helping kids to achieve their full potential as human beings, regardless of what educational or career path they choose. We want to instill creativity, self esteem, work ethic and a sense of personal responsibility in our students. “   Rio Americano student musician and composer Jeric Rocamora adds, “Working with Mr. Murray and Mr. Kiesner is definitely one of the best experiences I'll have, and the education is superb. The musicianship they draw from all the students really shows that anyone can sound good, if they practice hard and put their mind to it.” Rio Americano has had dozens of students admitted to conservatories and top music schools, including Berklee School of Music, Eastman School of Music, Oberlin Conservatory, NYU, The New School, USC- Thornton, and the New England Conservatory.  Joanne points out that Josh “teaches the kids how to comport themselves as professional, working musicians.”  

      Rio Americano is set to collaborate with professional composers Omar Thomas and Christopher Caliendo in Composers and Schools in Concert’s premiere pilot event, Commissions in Concert 2011.  Student musician Annie Cherchnich shares, “The idea of working with a professional composer is really exciting, because I know that the music will not only be challenging, but cater to our ensemble's instrumentation.  I hope to learn about the composer’s inspiration in approaching composition and see how my peers will work together with a new musical perspective.“  She’s looking forward to premiering Thomas’ new piece, saying, “Knowing that a piece is specifically written for my ensemble makes me take my role in playing and performing (that) much more seriously.  It creates a feeling that because it is written for me, I want the premiere to accurately convey the composer’s goal. 

       “What the kids give to each other… you’re not going to get that from technology,” shared Laurel Hollis, another Rio Band parent and member of the booster club.  She went on to say that she’d love to see some of the money dedicated to implementation of new technology in the schools dedicated to improvement of existing music programs, instead.  Citing studies that show the correlation between musical studies and high achievement in other areas, Laurel underscored the importance of the arts.  Rio Americano student Jacob Swedlow adds, “Music actually saved my education.  I really didn’t like school before I started in the 6th grade.  My elementary school did not have band.  I switched schools in sixth grade so I could go to a middle school that had band.   I thought that even if I hated school, at least I would like band class.  As it turned out, I loved band class and that made me like the rest of school, too.  If it wasn’t for the music education at my middle school, I don’t know if I would have ever liked school.  Now I’m doing really well in my academic classes as well as my band classes.”       

      So, what’s the recipe for success?  It seems to boil down to this: Passionate musical directors.  Talented kids.  A potent sense of family within the program.  And above all, a community of parents and friends who support the student musicians and educators, and who are willing to fight to protect music education. 

CSIC is looking forward with great anticipation to Rio Americano’s world premiere concert with composers Omar Thomas and Christopher Caliendo, in October of this year. 

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Initially known for their flagship program, The Young Musicians Program, (upon which the organization was founded in 1972, and in which students ages 9-18 participate in a five-week experience that is part camp, part school and part festival), The Walden School has more recently branched out into programs for adults musicians. If you’re a composer or educator interested in expanding your skills in music composition take a look at Walden’s Creative Musician’s retreat.

The Creative Musicians Retreat is their newest program and provides an opportunity for adult musicians at all levels to experience the rich curriculum, community music-making and innovative approaches to improvisation and composition long employed by Walden faculty at the School’s Young Musicians Program. The Creative Musicians Retreat offers something for anyone wanting to invigorate his or her musical life.

At the Creative Musicians Retreat, participants take classes, sing in chorus, write music, and improvise. Participants are exposed to a variety of Walden musicianship materials, including acoustics, drills with intervals and triads, resolving structures, rhythms, solfège and harmonic analysis. Classes also include topics in contemporary music, technology-based music, and master classes are offered as well. The program is not designed for the brand-new, novice musician, but it is also not designed exclusively for those with extensive training.  Seth Brenzel, Executive Director of The Walden School, explains, “You don't have to identify yourself as a composer in order to attend or be a wonderful match for any of our programs. It's true that composition and improvisation are emphasized as part of the curriculum, but at Walden, we believe that everyone should have the opportunity to compose music; it's simply part of being a well-rounded musician. And so if you're at all musically inclined, you are given the tools and the training to express yourself through music.” 

The Teacher Training Institute offers opportunities for music educators.  The school offers professional development opportunities to help music educators sharpen their musicianship skills, enrich their teaching with imaginative activities, and more effectively guide the creative voices of their students. Workshops offered by The Walden School Teacher Training Institute are based upon The Walden School Musicianship Course, an original approach to teaching the fundamentals of music with an emphasis on creative application, specifically through music improvisation and composition. In addition, the course offers activity-based methods for developing high-level fluency with theoretical concepts and effective methods for teaching ear training.

The Walden School works extensively with professional composers. Brenzel adds, “There are numerous professional composers who are employed on our faculty, and many visiting composers over the years participate as moderators of our weekly Composers Forums. In the past several years, Joan Tower, Stephen Jaffe, John McDonald, Paul Moravec and Melinda Wagner have been in residence. And professional composers attend both our Teacher Training Institute and Creative Musicians Retreat each year.” 

To request more information or submit an application for the Walden School’s programs, visit: http://waldenschool.org/contact-us/.