In the spring I was invited to teach saxophone at the International New Horizons Band Camp at the Chautauqua Institute in NY. I quickly accepted the invite, knowing that this could be a once in a lifetime opportunity - though I really hope to be invited back after having an amazing week.
The New Horizons Band is a program created in 1989 by Roy Ernst, now professer emeritus at the Eastman School of Music in Rochester, NY. The concept is to give adults, particularly those over the age of 50, an entry point into ensemble music. In American culture, the opportunity to join a band and play as you learn your instrument stops after elementary school. At least it did until Roy created this program. New Horizons is like a "fifth grade band" for adults. You can pick up an instrument and play in a concert band as you learn the instrument. It is an inspiring program. Roy began with about 40 adults in one band in Rochester, NY. There are now well over 100 bands world wide. I haven't counted lately, but I'd bet it's over 200 bands by this point. I've been conducting the Portsmouth New Horizons Band since it was founded in 2003. But more on that later - back to the camp.
Tom and I arrived at Chautauqua on Sunday afternoon. It was essentially a 10 hour drive from Portsmouth that we spread out over two days. Upon arrival, I was suprised to find a densely populated colony at the Institute. Houses are built very close together and the streets are very narrow. Here are some examples of the streetscapes:
After checking in, we were sent to our first rehearsals of the camp. The camp offers a wide variety of music classes for the campers - everything from chamber music ensembles to blues or dixeland bands to musical theater or Dalcroze movement. But all participants fall into one of five large ensembles: Band 1, 2, or 3, Orchestra, or Chorus. I would be spending a majority of my time working with Band 1. These are the musicians who are new to their instrument - most of whom had be playing for less than a year. They were an enthusiastic group and really fun to work with. We rehearsed in McKnight Hall, a beautiful small theater with an audience capacity of approx. 100. Here are some photos from a rehearsal break:
The Band 1 woodwind section was a trio - Holly on flute, Barb on clarinet and Fran on alto saxophone. Here's a great shot of the honorary fourth member of the woodwind section, Barb's assistant Abby:
Band 1 was a small group - only 8 musicians. This is a scenario I (and many other New Horizons Band directors) am familiar with. There initially was a great deal of apprehension about the lack of doubling - pretty much only one player per part. But the instrumentation was well balanced for such a small group: flute, clarinet, alto sax, four trumpets, trombone. I knew from the start that it would work. But with only four days to rehearse, work would be the key word.
On that first day, Sunday, we rehearsed in the afternoon, had dinner together in Bellinger Hall with the entire camp, and then rehearsed again in the evening. The camp was off to a great start.
I stayed at the Carey Cottage Inn during the camp, a nice, fairly large inn in the center of the Institute. On the first night, hurricane Ike ripped through the campus, downgraded to a tropical storm by that point, but still intense. It had pushed tropical air all the way to New York, and when I returned to the Inn at 9 p.m. it was extremely windy and near 90 degrees - way hotter than typical for a mid-September night.
When I got to my room, the sirens started going off. I immediately thought they were tornado warnings, and it didn't suprise me the was the wind was howling outside my window. I got into bed and then at one point the entire room shook. It was so quick and violent I was ready for a tornado to rip the roof off the inn. But then things began to calm down.
The next morning I learned that a 75 foot tall tree had fallen on the inn. That was why the building shook. It fell on the opposite side of the building from where I was staying, so I was not alerted. But the guests on that side of the inn were relocated to other rooms. The tree was precariously perched against the building and the innkeepers were worried that another gust could bring it crashing through the walls. Here are some pictures from the next morning:
They came to cut down the tree that day, but I was able to get before and after pictures. Quite a way to start the week!
Continue reading with part two here.
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